Nightwing Has One Reason He Doesn’t Work With Cops

Warning: contains spoilers for Nightwing #80

Though it was once an important part of his identity, Nightwing’s time as a cop is often forgotten. When Dick Grayson first joined the police force, it was a decision that appeared to make perfect sense from a character standpoint. He was already an experienced crime-fighter, and without his own commissioner Gordon, being a cop would give Dick access to the police’s resources. In a new comic, however, Dick’s time on the force is cast in a completely different light when he reveals just why he quit.

Nightwing’s new adventures in DC’s Infinite Frontier have seen Batman’s first sidekick question his career as a hero. After becoming richer than Batman due to Alfred’s passing, Nightwing decides that he can do more with his money than just fund his crime-fighting endeavors. Instead, he and Barbara Gordon decide to buy an entire population of homeless people pizza and one night in a hotel. Though the night goes well for Dick, he doesn’t know that a new villain is killing the homeless people of Blüdhaven, and the villain’s latest victim is one of the people Dick had just fed.

Now, Nightwing #80 from Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, sees Dick waking up to cops knocking on his door. To his horror, they reveal that the homeless man, Martin, had his heart ripped out. Because Dick had paid for a hotel room for the man, he is the cops’ first lead. While Dick is concerned about the man’s son, the cops seem to imply that Nightwing himself had something to do with it. When one of them asks about Dick’s own history as a policeman, Dick responds that he quit because there were too many criminals. Despite the jab at law enforcement though, Dick is able to clear himself of suspicion with the help of Barabara, leaving him free to investigate the crime more thoroughly than the actual police officers.

One of the things that makes the moment stand out is the subtle double meaning of Dick’s phrasing for why he quit being a cop. Him saying that he quit because there were “too many criminals” could be interpreted as him saying that he couldn’t handle all of Blüdhaven’s crime. Given his expression and the political corruption of his city though, it seems fairly clear to readers that he meant there were too many criminals among his fellow officers.

The new Nightwing series is one of DC’s best comic books out right now, and this demonstrates why. Dick isn’t just beating up criminals and calling it a night, he’s trying to tackle the institutions which make Blüdhaven so crime-ridden, and part of that is undoubtedly the corrupt police force. Readers have seen in earlier issues that Blüdhaven’s cops are indeed working together with organized crime, so it’s clear that tackling police corruption will be key to Nightwing’s attempts at cleaning up Blüdhaven.

About The Author

Evan Mullicane
(362 Articles Published)

Evan D. Mullicane is an editor, critic, and author based out of California’s Bay Area. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys reading graphic novels and writing fantasy.

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