Warning! Spoilers ahead for Nightwing Annual #1

In DC Comics’ annual issue of Nightwing, a flashback to the past reveals the night Dick Grayson became a true brother to future Red Hood Jason Todd.  While both young men served as Robins to Batman, it’s no secret that they have just as many differences as they do similarities. However, the new annual issue proves that at the end of the day Dick and Jason have each other’s backs due to their bond as brothers.

In Nightwing Annual #1 from writer Tom Taylor with artists Cian Tormey and Daniel HDR, a flashback sees Alfred tricking Nightwing into coming home to Wayne Manor. At this point in the DC Universe’s past, Nightwing has recently been fired by Batman and has moved into Titans Tower as a result. Furthermore, Jason Todd has recently been chosen to be the Dark Knight’s next Robin. However, with Batman being out of town, it seems as though Alfred has decided it was the perfect time for Dick and Jason to get some quality time together, seeing as how Dick is frustrated by feelings that he has been replaced and Jason is struggling to live up to the standard Dick set as the first Robin.

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Despite Jason being grounded by Batman, Nightwing takes the new Robin out into the field to teach him things about being Robin that the Dark Knight can’t. Taking the Batmobile, the two young vigilantes patrol Gotham while Dick provides keen insights into Robin’s role and what he should do while working at Batman’s side. However, Dick also sees the brutality Jason Todd struggles to keep buried, encouraging him to be better and promising to keep the evening a secret from Batman, declaring that the two of them are officially brothers.

Not only is this flashback an incredibly endearing scene that Bat-Family fans will no doubt love, but it ties in quite well to the current crisis that’s also featured in the annual issue, which sees Red Hood being framed for murdering a handful of FBI agents. Without any hesitation, Nightwing believes Jason when he says he didn’t do it and is no longer a killer, despite his dark past using lethal forms of justice. Even with video footage to the contrary, Nightwing stands by his brother and helps him clear his name.

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Sure enough, the real killer ends up being Clayface posing as Red Hood, which then leads Dick and Jason to find and take out the man who hired the Gotham villain to kill the FBI agents. Regardless, seeing Nightwing and Red Hood working together is always entertaining, and the flashback to the night when they truly became brothers is a wonderful addition to their shared history in DC Comics.

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Kevin Erdmann
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Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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