Nightwing is Edging Dangerously Close To Becoming A Villain

Warning: spoilers ahead for Teen Titans Academy #2 and Nightwing #80!

Nightwing’s love triangle with Batgirl and Starfire is back in full force across both Teen Titans Academy and the standalone Nightwing series, yet how Dick Grayson is approaching the romantic dilemma may be an uncharacteristically scumbag move. Nightwing may be unwittingly edging towards the path of villainy with his latest choices regarding his romantic life.

In Nightwing #80 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, Dick Grayson is accused of being a serial killer after a man he attempted to help the night before is found dead with his heart ripped out, like several homeless people in Blüdhaven before him. Dick calls in Barbara Gordon to help him with his alibi, and when pressed on the nature of their relationship, the couple stares at each other before Nightwing admits to wondering about that question himself. Despite the non-answer, Nightwing’s encounter with the police ends with the detectives leaving after being unable to pin the murder on Dick Grayson. Nightwing then sets out to find the murdered man’s son, fearing he may be in danger.

While “It’s complicated” may be a comical answer to one’s relationship status most times, in the case of Dick Grayson’s love life in particular, this answer might be downright insidious. In Teen Titans Academy #2 by Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval, Nightwing has gotten back together with Starfire and informs her that he intends to head back to Blüdhaven, which she protests by bringing up Batgirl ‘s presence in the city and the duo’s previous romantic entanglement. Dick assures Koriand’r that he and Batgirl are finished romantically before heading out. Meanwhile, in Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing series, after arriving in Blüdhaven Barbara and Dick quickly begin showing signs that their romantic feelings for each other may not be as dead and buried as Dick made Starfire believe.

Ultimately, this dissonance between Dick’s actions in the present continuity may be due to the fact that two different creative teams are currently working on the character. Or it may be the result of Nightwing’s love triangle taking a direction towards non-monogamy as the X-men’s Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine have done. If neither of these options are in play, however, Nightwing may intentionally be leading Starfire on and toying with her emotions as he gets back together with Batgirl in Blüdhaven. Regardless of whatever direction this love triangle is taking (or not taking), the respective creative teams should get on the same page to avoid giving readers the impression that Nightwing has become a real jerk when it comes to his romances (unless, of course, that’s the plan all along!).

Nightwing’s love triangle may be drawing to a definite conclusion (at least for this continuity!) or it may be disrupting Dick’s life in brand new ways. Until the creative teams working on Nightwing and Teen Titans Academy coordinate and get on the same page regarding Dick’s romantic pull to both Starfire and Batgirl, Dick Grayson may have just entered the running for D.C.’s biggest scumbag.