Warning! Contains spoilers for Batman: The Brave and the Bold #13!
Summary
Nightwinghas had a few different villains, unique to him, that he’s gone up against over the years, from Lady Vic to Double Dare. But none of these characters has really managed to stick with him as a true rival. It seems that DC is finally trying to take another crack at giving Nightwing a nemesis by introducing a new Nightwing-specific villain: the Unfallen.
While patrolling Blüdhaven in the story “Down the Road” by Tim Seeley and Kelley Jones fromBatman: The Brave and the Bold#13,Nightwing is suddenly pulled into a supernatural mysterythat involves everyone’s favorite ghostly hero, Deadman. The two acrobats need to team up to solve a mystery after Nightwing witnesses a woman jump from a bridge and seemingly vanish.
While following the leads thatNightwing and Deadman have discovered, it seems they’re being hunted by something truly dark. Atwisted being known as the Unfallen lurks in the dark and is seemingly intent on dragging Nightwing down into the darkness, which seems to make him the perfect nemesis for Nightwing after his recent comic run.
Nightwing’s New Costume Is Here (and Taking Major Inspiration from the Last Person His Fans Will Ever Expect)
Dick Grayson is officially ditching the beloved finger stripes for a new costume, and it seems he’s taking fashion inspiration from one iconic hero.
The Unfallen, Nightwing’s New Enemy, Is the Opposite of Everything Dick Grayson Fights For
The Unfallen Joins Blockbuster and Heartless in Nightwing’s Rogues Gallery
Nightwing has always struggled to keep an interesting and compelling rogues gallery that’s truly his own. Not many Bat-Family fans could name villains like Lady Vic, Double Dare, Brutale, Shrike, or Jacob de Witt. Usually,the only Nightwing villains who stand out as potential arch-rivals are either Blockbusteror, potentially, Deathstroke. Maintaining a compelling rogues gallery is simply one of the challenges of being a legacy character, and to this day, Nightwing continues to struggle to have a set rival. Not evenNightwing’s new villain, Heartless,has proven himself as a true nemesis.
The villain is a perfect foil for Nightwing, who has made his heroic identity all about lifting people up.
Nightwing has made it very clear that he wants to provide a net to catch those who “fall” in Blüdhaven. Because of this desire,he has used his vast new fortune to provide social safety nets for the less fortunatein his city. The Unfallen appears to be a demon specializing in pulling people down into darkness. The villain is a perfect foil for Nightwing, who has made his heroic identity all about lifting people up. That the Unfallen is supernatural just taps into the creepy side of Blüdhaven that has really only been explored usingNightwing’s best villain so far, Jacob de Witt.
New Villain the Unfallen Drags People Down into Darkness
Nightwing Tries To Lift People Up, Making Them Perfect Opposites
Nightwing has faced countless villains over the decades, but none has really managed to leave their mark as true enemies of Nightwing. While the Unfallen is unlikely to break this curse, there’s certainly no harm in trying, and the metaphorical potential is high. Nightwing has entered a new age where he’s all about providing for his city and improving it — instead of just fighting the corruption in it. Because of this, a villain who’s all about dragging people down makes the perfect antagonist for this era ofNightwing.
Batman: Brave and the Bold#13is available now from DC Comics!
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #13 (2024)
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.
