It’s Time for Nightwing to Leave Batman and the Bat-Family Behind

Nightwing is probably the third most important comic character of all time, after Superman, the first superhero, and Batman, the most popular (sorry, Marvel fans of all stripes, it’s always been Batman.) Dick Grayson’s Robin was the first kid sidekick, opening the door for characters like Bucky, Toro, Sandy the Golden Boy, Speedy, Kid Flash, and many more (even Superboy, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl, who originally Diana as a young girl,) owe their existence to Dick Grayson. He was the first sidekick to graduate, as it were, becoming his own character and leaving his mentor’s shadow. Since then, Nightwing has become more and more important to the superhero community, to the extent that he’s the last rung before you get to the Trinity in terms of importance. Nightwing has become everything that he should be and more.

Nightwing is, without a doubt, the most popular member of the Bat-Family. Batman has some awesome sidekicks, but none of them have the record of success that Nightwing does. Nightwing has relationships with so many heroes, from Superman to the Flash to anyone who has ever been a Titan, that it often feels like he’s grown beyond the Bat-Family. DC has toyed with putting Dick on his own, in the excellent Grayson, and it’s about time that we get a return to that. Nightwing is bigger than the Bat-Family, and it’s time for him to move on.

Nightwing Has All the Tools to be His Own Hero

Nightwing has been defined by his relationship with Batman for ages. It all started back in the late Silver Age/early Bronze Age. Teen Titans was a draw, and Dick showed that he didn’t need Batman for readers to connect with him. The massive success of New Teen Titans in 1980 was the blow that finally broke Dick away from Batman. Suddenly, he was the most recognizable member of the hottest DC team of the 1980s. This led to him becoming Nightwing, and for a long time, the various Teen Titans books — New Titan Titans, Tales of the Teen Titans, and New Titans — became his home. Nightwing was his own hero, and eventually, he made the trip to solo books. An argument can be made that Nightwing’s solo books are at their best when Batman isn’t involved in them at all. Nightwing is a character that has developed his own villains, and has had various supporting casts over the history of the Nightwing titles. Dick would get roped into some of the Batman crossovers, but he was mostly on his own for a good long time. After Bruce Wayne’s “death” in Final Crisis, Dick became the best Batman imaginable, teaching Damian Wayne the ropes as Robin and starting his own version of the Justice League. The New 52 would end his tenure under the cowl, and since then, Nightwing has been more Bat-Family adjacent before (more than likely because of how well the Batman family of books sold) than he once was.

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Dick Grayson’s entire identity as Nightwing was tailor-made to allow him to step out of the Bat-Family. Dick didn’t choose the name “Nightwing” because it was dark, he chose it because of stories Superman told him about his pre-Crisis adventures in the Bottle City of Kandor as the powerless vigilante Nightwing (with Jimmy Olsen in the guise of Flamebird, both names taken from Kryptonian mythology). Dick didn’t choose a name related to Batman, he choose one related to Superman. Nightwing isn’t a dark vigilante like Red Hood, he’s a smiling crimefighter, making jokes and bringing hope. Nightwing isn’t trying to scare anyone, he’s trying to save everyone. Nightwing doesn’t need the Bat-Family (beyond maybe Barbara Gordon, but I’m not getting into the Babs/Starfire debate), especially with the introduction of his half-sister and the introduction of Maggie Sawyer to the Bludhaven police department. Nightwing doesn’t need to get pulled into the Batman drama, and his solo series has been showing that since its DC Rebirth relaunch. Robin and Red Hood need Batman; their entire identities are based around him — Damian is the heir of Batman and Jason is Batman’s greatest mistake. Nightwing is Nightwing; he’s stepped out of Batman’s shadow ages ago.

Nightwing Can Start His Own Superhero Family

Nightwing has been training heroes for ages now and if there’s anyone who can start an all-new superhero family in the DC Universe, it’s Nightwing. One of the coolest things about the last few years of Nightwing is that the character has been taken further from Batman. After Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Nightwing basically became the leader of the superhero community, and it was a very good look for him. It’s past time for Nightwing to get a sidekick of his own. Bludhaven has become as a much a character as Gotham, and it’s the perfect place for Nightwing to start his own Batman-like dynasty of superheroes.

Nightwing doesn’t need to be a part of Batman’s extended circle. Honestly, it’s about time for someone else to take his place as second in command anyway, someone like Jason or (if we were lucky) Batwoman. Nightwing hasn’t really needed the Bat-Family in ages, and it’s about time that DC pulled the trigger and kept him out of it completely.

Do you think Nightwing should still be in the Bat-Family? sound off in the comments below.