Following rumours of his untimely death, original Robin turned solo hero Nightwing is being recast in new DC Comics title Grayson, by writers Tim Seeley (Revival) and Tom King, who is a former CIA counter-terrorism officer, and artist Mikel Janin (Justice League Dark).
Discarding the mask, Dick Grayson will be an agent of Spyral, a spy agency introduced in Grant Morrison’s Batman Inc. Most recently, Kathy Kane, the all-new Batwoman joined the agency.
Speaking to USA Today, King described the book as a chance for Grayson “to take off the mask and step out on his own in a world where he’s not simply being another hero like the hero he grew up with.
“He’s doing something that’s going to cause pain to his friends and family, but he believes in the cause. That tension between having to do something good but having the cost of it being pain to his family, it drives him a little crazy.”
Dick Grayson has enjoyed more character development than many major DC superheroes since his debut in 1940, rebelling against Batman he became a core member of the Teen Titans, taking on the mantle Nightwing and establishing himself as a solo hero.
Since the fondly remembered Chuck Dixon arc in Bludhaven, Grayson reached a ceiling in terms of his development – he’s been allowed to sub for Batman, in Grant Morrison’s Batman & Robin, but for the most part he’s become another slave to the status quo.
I’ve been a fan of Nightwing since his solo series began and I’ve tried to grow up with him as far as his journey would allow, but whenever I felt like I was getting some payoff, editorial equilibrium was crudely rebalanced. It happened to Tim Drake too.
Maybe now I can complete that story, see him face new challenges and take a step back from the Bat-family – after all, dad’s never going to leave the family business.
Grayson #1 is on sale 2 July 2014. Find out more with new digital magazine Uncanny Comics.
