Summary
- Nightwing faces a major challenge as Tony Zucco, the man who murdered his parents, learns his secret identity in issue #115.
- The narrative raises the question of what Zucco will do next now that he knows Nightwing’s identity and is working with a new villain.
- With only three issues left in Tom Taylor’s run, questions arise about whether he plans to kill off Zucco, as he did with Blockbuster after the latter discovered Dick’s identity.
WARNING: Contains Potential Spoilers for Nightwing #115!
As Tom Taylor’s Nightwing run progresses, it’s becoming abundantly clear that Batman needs to give Dick Grayson a refresher course on maintaining his secret identity. The list of villains who know Nightwing’s true identity seems to be ever-growing. However, the latest villain to learn that Dick Grayson and Nightwing are the same person is perhaps the most notable and high-stakes revelation yet: Dick’s greatest enemy, Tony Zucco.
Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing #115 intensifies the Fallen Grayson story arc. In this issue, Shelton “Heartless” Lyle stages a fire at a gala, tricking Dick Grayson into helping him rescue his butler, Gerald Chamberlain.
They then dose Dick with a sedative, pretending to drag him out of the fire and load him into an ambulance in front of witnesses. Diverting the vehicle to an undisclosed location, Heartless, Gerald, and Tony Zucco plan to frame Dick as Heartless. While searching Dick’s unconscious body, the trio discovers Nightwing’s mask, revealing his secret identity to them.
Tony Zucco–The Man Who Murdered Dick Grayson’s Parents–Finally Learns Nightwing’s Secret Identity
Despite multiple villains discovering Nightwing’s true identity in this issue, Zucco finding out Dick is Nightwing is especially impactful given their 84-year history in comics. As most fans know, Zucco was responsible for murdering Dick’s parents and has since been a recurring villain in Nightwing’s various narratives. Although he has long been an adversary of Dick’s, Zucco was unaware that the “two people [he hates] in this world” were the same person. Hence, Dick’s first true adversary—who is ultimately responsible for setting him on the path to becoming a hero—learning his identity is a major development in Nightwing lore.
With Zucco now knowing Nightwing’s secret identity, the big question for the narrative is: what will he do next? Considering that he is working with Heartless and seems to be under the newer villain’s thumb, it is likely that Zucco will have to play by Heartless’s rules, meaning fans aren’t likely to see much retaliation or leveraging from Zucco. However, there is always the possibility that Zucco will break his pact with Lyle to extort Dick and get the revenge he feels is owed to him. It will be interesting to see how Taylor handles this development, especially since his run on Nightwing is coming to a close.
Blockbuster Learned Nightwing’s Secret Identity Too, But Tom Taylor Killed Him Off (Will Zucco Meet the Same Fate?)
With only three issues left in Taylor’s Nightwing run, it will be interesting to see if he ties up the Zucco situation neatly or leaves it for the next writer to build upon. It’s particularly intriguing because Taylor has already used the ‘major villain discovering Nightwing’s identity’ plotline with Blockbuster, only to kill him off before any consequences could unfold. This made Blockbuster learning Dick’s identity somewhat pointless. Hopefully, Taylor avoids repeating this with Zucco and instead allows it to develop into a true conflict for Nightwing to overcome.
Nightwing #115 is available now from DC Comics!
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NIGHTWING #115 (2024) |
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Nightwing
Nightwing is the superhero moniker taken up by Dick Grayson, upon his aging out of the Robin role and becoming a superhero of his own. Inspired by the original Kryptonian hero of the same name, Grayson has risen to comic book immortality with the identity, earning respect as one of the greatest leaders in the DC Universe.