Nightwing is Confronting the Greatest Failure of DC's Heroes
Warning: contains spoilers for Nightwing #79
It's no understatement to say that Nightwing has been learning from Batman for his entire life. Though Dick has picked up Bruce's fighting skills and dedication to justice, Dick has also learned from the Dark Knight's greatest failures and in a new comic, he points out the biggest failing of not just Batman, but DC's entire superhero community.
It's no understatement to say that Nightwing's had a difficult few years, but after regaining his memory and fighting in Dark Nights: Death Metal, Nightwing has returned as the hero of Blüdhaven. Though he easily beats up a group of thugs and rescues a three-legged puppy, he feels something's off. Luckily for the former Boy Wonder, good news is in store as he comes home to find Barbara Gordon waiting for him. She gives him a letter from the recently deceased Alfred. Batman's butler and confidant tells Dick that he is proud of him and confident that the young hero still has tremendous potential to do good. As a result of this, Alfred entrusts Dick with his entire fortune, making Nightwing officially richer than Batman.
Now, in Nightwing #79 from Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, Nightwing is seriously considering the implications of his newfound wealth. As he and Barabara go out to get food, he laments that Bruce never did enough with his money. Certainly, Batman tried to fix Gotham by fighting crime, but to Dick, Bruce Wayne never tried to fix the systemic issues which made Gotham so susceptible to crime in the first place. Dick goes even further than that, asking Barbara what's even so heroic about beating up bad guys in the first place. The two talk some more before a homeless man and his son ask if Dick and Barbara have any spare change. Seeing an opportunity to do some genuine good, Dick invites the man and his entire community of homeless people to a local pizza parlor, where Dick pays for everyone's meals.
Though this criticism of Batman and superheroes is quite common, is it a legitimate one? That question is difficult to answer because of the nature of comics continuity. There have undoubtedly been storylines and individual issues where Batman has used his money for social change before, but because stories like that are rarely flashy or exciting, they're easy to forget and even easier for writers to ignore. Regardless of how Batman uses his money though, Dick's point about superheroes just punching bad guys is less complicated.
While Batman might be an effective crime-fighter and has saved countless lives, it's difficult to say that Gotham is any better than when he first started. Though Gotham's rampant crime and supervillain problem isn't Bruce's fault, it's obvious that the root of Gotham's problems, whatever that may be, just isn't being addressed by Batman's methods. Regardless of how readers feel about the effectiveness of Batman's methods, Nightwing is offering an alternative way of fighting crime that has the chance to make real change for one of DC's deadliest cities.
