Summary
Dick Grayson’s death in the Injustice universe is both disappointing and dark.
Nightwing’s death was due to Damian Wayne’s excessive violence, causing controversy.
Nightwing’s death signifies the fall of a universe and is a symbol of hope in DC.
Dick Grayson, is a fan-favorite character both as Batman’s sidekick and as the more experienced Nightwing, but his death in the Injustice universe is legendary to some… and catastrophically disappointing to others. In the original comics, the orphaned Dick Grayson rises to become not only Robin, but eventually the solo superhero Nightwing. But in one of DC’s darkest universes, Dick doesn’t last long after this promotion.
The alternate universe Injustice: Gods Among Us gained its reputation following the success of the original Mortal Kombat-inspired video games, spawning Injustice comic books and an animated movie. This world centers around Superman turning evil after the loss of Lois Lane and his unborn son at the hands of Joker. Superman starts his One Earth Regime, forcing many other heroes to adopt tyrannical ideologies. But Dick Grayson is one hero who never loses his heart in these dark times… but he does lose his life.
Nightwing’s death occurs in Injustice: Gods Among Us #16, by Tom Taylor and Mike S. Miller. During a fight at Arkham Asylum, Nightwing contains escaping patients alongside Damian Wayne, Batman’s son with Talia al Ghul. When Damian starts to brutalize the inmates with excessive violence, Dick tells him, “Robin doesn’t beat people once they’re down!” Damian angrily responds, “You’re not Robin anymore! Stop telling me what to do!” and throws an escrima stick at Nightwing while he’s busy with the Arkham inmates. It hits Dick’s temple, and as he becomes disoriented, he trips and breaks his neck on a rock, killing him instantly.
Related Nightwing’s Heroic Death Is An Unforgivable Betrayal of Batman
Nightwing may be one of DC Comics’ most selfless heroes, but his final sacrifice comes at a grave cost – and Batman is the one paying it.
Nightwing’s Death Was The True DC Injustice
Injustice: Gods Among Us #16 by Tom Taylor and Mike S. Miller
The death of Dick Grayson is controversial not just for shock value, but due to how anticlimactic it proved to be. It also proved that no hero is truly safe from the plot in this universe. Batman disowns Damian Wayne as Superman recruits him to join the One Earth Regime. After Nightwing’s death, a part of Batman never truly heals. The loss of Batman’s adopted son validates that Superman’s One Earth Regime must end.
Actually, Batman’s newfound tragedy and determination are comparable to when he lost his parents as an eight-year-old. The issue ends with three short phrases in Bruce’s internal monologue. “He’s gone. I’m abandoned again. My son is dead.”
Nightwing’s ‘Death’ In The Main DC Universe Was Just As Bad
The Ric Grayson Era Was A Dark Time
Nightwing also “died” in DC’s main continuity in 2018’s Batman #55 when he was shot in the head by the Russian assassin known as KGBeast. Although Dick Grayson survived his head wound, he did suffer amnesia which led to the end of his identity as both Dick and Nightwing, choosing instead to go by the name Ric Grayson and become a taxi driver. As such, this arc was just as controversial as Nightwing’s death in the Injustice universe, an unwelcome and drastic change to the status quo which Dick Grayson came back from in the main DC Universe after several years, having regained his memories and reclaiming the Nightwing mantle once more.
Although Dick appears in the first Injustice video game, he gets entirely replaced by Damian Wayne’s Nightwing for Injustice 2. In the Injustice: Year Three comics, a deceased Dick takes up Boston Brand’s mantle of Deadman. If there’s anything Nightwing reminds fans, it’s that there’s always hope. Dick Grayson’s Deadman did manage to meet Damian Wayne and forgive him for causing his death.
Dick Grayson’s Death Usually Signifies The Fall Of A Universe
Dick Grayson Is DC’s Biggest Symbol Of Hope
Nightwing has always been DC’s biggest symbol of hope. Whenever DC wants to explore a darker universe, one of the first things they do is usually kill off Nightwing. In Injustice Nightwing died right before things really started getting bad, and that’s likely because Dick would’ve been able to talk the majority of heroes out of siding with Superman. Over in DC vs Vampires, it’s actually a vampiric Nightwing that brings about the end of the world. In DCeased, Nightwing is one of the very first people infected and instantly killed by the zombie virus that Darkseid unleashes.
Killing off Nightwing is a well established trope to show that the story or universe is going to be nearly irredeemably dark. Nightwing went through another “death” in Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s run, where the villain Heartless orchestrated the public fall and humiliation of Dick Grayson. While this isn’t a physical death as often happens in alternate universes, it’s still a form of death that was a major blow to his reputation. It seems that no matter how great a hero Nightwing proves himself to be, writers often return to the idea of killing him off, sometimes to the annoyance of fans.
Nightwing
Nightwing is the superhero moniker taken up by Dick Grayson, upon his aging out of the Robin role and becoming a superhero of his own. Inspired by the original Kryptonian hero of the same name, Grayson has risen to comic book immortality with the identity, earning respect as one of the greatest leaders in the DC Universe.