Nightwing gets past his trauma and learns a big secret
By Mark Lynch
Tom Taylor’s Nightwing is one issue away from its epic conclusion and he chose to conclude it with Dick Grayson becoming afraid of heights. A move that becomes more than prevailing over fear.
After Heartless frames Dick Grayson for murder (Nightwing No. 115), Nightwing leaves Bludhaven. He decides a trip to Nanda Parbat will help him clear his mind and get over his fear. That's where he meets the one person who can help him. Dick Grayson goes to Boston Brand aka Deadman.
While at the temple (Nightwing No. 117), Deadman tries exposure therapy. He brings Dick to an extreme height and tells him to fall. Dick does, but only because he passed out. They failed, but a lesson is learned. There's something inside Nightwing's past that he needs to get over.
During Nightwing No. 105, Nightwing drinks a glass of poisoned water given to him by Shelton Lyle (Heartless). The poison activated Dick's fear of heights. However, that's not enough to purge the phobia. He has to learn where it started. What he discovers is a revelation that no one saw coming.
Nightwing tracks Tony Zucco down to Melinda Zucco’s house. Before Zucco and his goons could kill Melinda’s mother, Dick easily dispatches the henchmen. Meanwhile, Tony Zucco runs. Before Tony can escape, Nightwing grabs Zucco, slams his head into a wall, and says he knows the truth. The night that the Flying Graysons died, Dick’s parents weren’t the target. Dick realized this because he was supposed to jump first. Tony Zucco wanted to punish Haly’s Circus and the Flying Graysons by killing Dick.
As amazing as this reveal was, there’s something readers should notice. Heartless hears everything that Dick Grayson tells Zucco and seemed shocked by this information. However, he wants Nightwing’s heart for himself (read Nightwing 2022 Annual No. 1 for that story).
Learning that Dick Grayson was supposed to die may have spoiled the need or desire for Dick’s heart. We'll learn the reasoning behind this in Tom Taylor's final issue of Nightwing. Stay tuned to Caped Crusades to find out how it ends.
Are you ready for the end of Nightwing: Fallen Grayson? Are you enjoying Tom Taylor's run?
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