DC Comics revealed several surprising details pertaining to its Nightwing series today. The first detail concerns the series’ creative team. According to DC, writer Scott Lobdell will take over for Benjamin Percy as of Nightwing #51. Additionally, the publisher today revealed the exact nature of Nightwing’s upcoming (and much-teased) injury, his recovery and what eventually gets him back into the fight.
So, beware: Spoilers for Nightwing #51-53 will inevitably follow this point!
DC Comics offered no additional details about Lobdell being added to Nightwing, though Percy did post some thoughts to Twitter on Tuesday. In one tweet, Percy says he wishes he “could have told the story [he] planned to tell,” but promises readers he is leaving on a high note. Neither Percy nor DC elaborated on the reason for the creative team swap. Artists Travis Moore and Christopher Mooneyham will remain on the series. Lobdell has decades of experience in the comics industry and is perhaps best known for his Uncanny X-Men run and its spinoff series, Generation X.
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The additional Nightwing plot details outright reveal the nature of Nightwing’s upcoming, grievous injury, which was recently teased in promotional art. According to the synopses for Nightwing #51-53, the hero will be shot in the head in Batman #55, causing him to suffer an amnesiac episode in which he forgets ever donning the mantle of Robin and, later, Nightwing. Meanwhile, a band of vigilantes and Scarecrow are out to defeat (or corrupt) Nightwing, who may not be as feeble as they have been led to believe.
The synopses for the three issues can be found below. The release dates for the issues remain the same at the time of reporting.
NIGHTWING #51
After the cataclysmic events of Batman #55, our hero doesn’t remember training to fight, being a member of the Bat family, or being a superhero… and he could not be more content. It’s his life, and he’s happy to just live it with new friends and a roof over his head (wherever that roof might be). So when Bludhaven finds itself without a protector and a new group of vigilantes pick up the slack, Grayson is more than happy to yield any perceived responsibility to the people of the city. But as things start to spiral out of control, muscle memory kicks in… and he is startled to discover that he’s more than just a pretty face.
NIGHTWING #52
The city of Bludhaven is descending into madness… with citizens falling victim to not only a group of vigilantes taking justice into their own hands, but to a new brand of fear focused on the past. While Grayson is happy to simply look to the future and move forward with his life, how will he deal with a threat that originates in his past? A threat dead set on destroying the Boy Who Fears Nothing? A threat that goes by the name of Scarecrow? Will Grayson continue to leave it all behind, or will he be left with no other choice but to pick up the pieces of Nightwing’s shattered life… starting with a mask?
NIGHTWING #53
Nightwing was shot in the head… and now, only Grayson remains, caught in the clutches of the Knight Terrors! As the group of vigilantes take on the persona and mantle of Nightwing, he is forced to ante up his hand when one of his close friends is murdered… Will he cast his lot with his old superhero friends to take down these rogues, or will he decide to embrace his “newfound” abilities and fight against those who have wronged him? The answer lies somewhere in the gray area, when an unexpected threat from Scarecrow changes the game.