WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Nightwing #78 by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas and Wes Abbott, on sale now.
Nightwing #78 works as a new beginning for Dick Grayson. For a long time now, Dick hadn’t been himself. After he was shot in the head in 2018, he forgot who he was and assumed the identity of Ric Grayson, a different kind of crime-fighter. Thankfully, Dick’s memories were finally restored during 2020’s Joker War, an event that saw him suit up as Nightwing once more. Now, as the DC Universe heads into the Infinite Frontier relaunch, Dick heads back to his old stomping grounds in Blüdhaven.
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There, he resumes his responsibility as protector of the city — and it all begins with a flashback that reveals what drives him as a superhero. The scene may reveal how he and Barbara Gordon first met, but it also serves as a character-defining moment that proves that Dick Grayson is, essentially, the DC Universe’s Captain America.
Nightwing #78 opens with a flashback that reveals how a teenage Dick Grayson first crossed paths with Barbara Gordon. A very long time ago, in Gotham Heights Park, three rich kids are bullying a young boy. Barbara is the first to step in, trying to get the trio of assailants to back off. Just a few seconds later, Dick also shows up, advising the bullies to back off. When one of them attacks Dick, he is quick to spring into action, using his skills as Robin to fight all three bullies in broad daylight, without a mask.
The young crime-fighter’s narration reveals that he knows Bruce will disapprove, but the simple truth of the matter is that he simply hates bullies. Later, when the police step in and take Dick home, Dick is worried about what Bruce will say, but Alfred Pennyworth reassures him that he is glad that Dick Grayson doesn’t need a mask to step in and save someone. This is the quality that defines Dick, and it’s something that carries over into the present.
In present-day Blüdhaven, Nightwing saves a three-legged puppy who is being chased and abused by a gang of cruel thugs. Whether it’s a boy, a puppy or Gotham City residents, Dick Grayson is always ready to save people from those who would bully them — and that is a sentiment he shares with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America.
In 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, the MCU introduced Steve Rogers, a puny man who wanted to do nothing but help — only he was incredibly limited by his small and weak physique. But even though he had no muscles to speak of, that didn’t stop Steve from standing up to bullies. When Abraham Erskine asked what motivated Steve to repeatedly try to signup for the armed services, he delivered an iconic line: “I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”
This served to define the MCU’s Captain America as someone who stood up to stop the evil and powerful from preying on the helpless and the innocent. And this, in turn, positioned Steve Rogers as the emotional core of the Avengers and the moral leader of the MCU.
The same can be said for Nightwing. While Superman represents hope in the DC Universe, and Batman is known as the most efficient superhero, Dick Grayson stands above both characters thanks to his moral compass. Superman and Batman deal in cosmic absolutes, but more often than not, Dick is the one with his feet on the ground, rescuing three-legged puppies and standing up to bullies, no matter who they are.
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