Nightwing Lore Changes Forever, As It’s Confirmed His 2005 ‘Death’ Changed DC’s Entire Continuity

Warning! Spoilers ahead for DC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis!The course of the DC Universe changed forever all because of a death that Nightwing avoided. A creative decision that didn’t pan out is re-examined years later and reveals that Dick Grayson had a drastic effect on his world after escaping the Grim Reaper.

The 2005 event Infinite Crisis saw a lot of heroes meet their maker, including Superman’s half-clone Conner Kent, aka Superboy. But this monumental moment was originally conceived with Nightwing in mind, largely due to former DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio’s insistence. Years later, DiDio returns to pen a story that shows how Nightwing’s death altered the very world around him.

DC Confirms Nightwing Was Supposed to Die in Infinite Crisis

And the DC Universe Has Been Trying to Kill Him Since

In DC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis’s story “Crisis Obscura” by Dan DiDio, M.L. Sanapo, Hi-Fi, and Carlos M. Mangual, Nightwing is at the docks and tracking a shadowy figure who is breaking into an abandoned building. Dick is in communication with Oracle, but her cameras can’t pick up the figure Nightwing is following, and she loses track of him once Dick enters the building. Inside the warehouse, Dick finds several glowing shards depicting moments from Infinite Crisis as the figure tells Nightwing this was the moment that changed both of their lives.

Superboy met his maker in
Infinite Crisis #6 (2006)
.

The figure reveals that the shards are moments of time that were not meant to become reality and trace back to a moment where Nightwing didn’t die as he was meant to. The hooded figure is revealed to be a time-displaced Superboy, the one who actually died in Nightwing’s place. Superboy has come to fix the timeline, telling Nightwing that his death would have ended all crises and ushered in a new Golden Age. Superboy also notes that since Dick avoided dying once, the DC Universe has been trying to kill Nightwing to correct itself.

…telling Nightwing that his death would have ended all crises and ushered in a new Golden Age.

Nightwing tries to make good with Superboy, but Conner is on a mission. He grabs Dick and throws him into one of the shards, taking Nightwing back to the moment when he should have died. Worse, Superboy set Nightwing’s death to occur in an infinite loop, forcing Dick to die in every conceivable way during Infinite Crisis. But with Dick dead, the timeline corrects itself and two decades later, Superboy and Cassie Sandsmark are living together peacefully while Nightwing continues to die horrible deaths over and over.

How Nightwing’s Future Developed Post-Infinite Crisis

Nightwing Grew to Become a Leading DC Icon

Despite DiDio’s openness about how a target was painted on Nightwing’s back in Infinite Crisis, the story ultimately swapped him for Conner. It was a good thing too, because in just a few short years, Dick would get the opportunity to step up in a major way by replacing Bruce Wayne as Batman during the “Batman: Reborn” era. Fans everywhere marveled at Dick’s evolution and though his tenure as the Dark Knight was undone just a few short years later with the New 52, Nightwing was rapidly evolving into a pillar of the DCU.

Be sure to check out Nightwing’s phenomenal journey as the Caped Crusader starting with
Batman and Robin #1 (2009)
!

That’s not to say that Nightwing’s career in the years after Infinite Crisis was perfect. As this story showed, Dick went through some major trials, such as being nearly killed during the crossover event Forever Evil. Dick was forced to go into hiding as a Spyral agent for a while, but he reclaimed his life just in time for the “Rebirth” era. Unfortunately, Dick was shot in the head just a few years into this new chapter of his life, giving him amnesia and causing Nightwing to abandon his life and become a taxi driver named Ric.

…Nightwing has become the leader the DC Universe needs.

But those downswings led to one of the best eras for Dick Grayson during the “Infinite Frontier” and “Dawn of DC” periods. Nightwing helped lead the heroes when the Justice League died during Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and later stepped up to lead the Titans as the DCU’s premier superhero team. He faced challenges, of course, during chaotic events like Titans: Beast World and Absolute Power. But in times of crisis, Nightwing has become the leader the DC Universe needs.

Does the DC Universe Seriously Hate Nightwing?

Nightwing’s Epic Growth Almost Never Happened

One thing to remember is that this story is meant as a tongue-in-cheek non-canon tale. After all, it’s written by Dan DiDio, who has gone on record multiple times about how he wanted Nightwing to die during Infinite Crisis. But DiDio left DC Comics years ago and this story doesn’t have any impact on Nightwing or how the DC Universe actually feels about him. It’s simply a one-off story that revels in gallows humor about DiDio ‘correcting’ what he didn’t get to do years ago and finally killing Nightwing (multiple times at that).

It is interesting to contemplate how things would have gone had Nightwing actually died back during Infinite Crisis. As the story implies, Tim Drake likely would have become Batman instead of Dick, while Conner and Cassie step up to form a brand-new Trinity for the DC Universe. The New 52, “Rebirth”, “Infinite Frontier”, and “Dawn of DC” all could have wound up being substantially different had Dick not been around. Granted, Superboy eventually returned, so it’s likely Nightwing would have eventually as well.

Had Nightwing died in
Infinite Crisis
, the fan-favorite Bat-Family member might have never become the superstar he is today.

Sadly, even if Nightwing managed to come back from his once-planned death, it’s hard to say if he would have achieved the same heights as he did after Superboy took his place. The late 00s was a good period for Dick, and though it was filled with a few less-than-stellar moments, it led Nightwing to one of the best eras in his life. Had Nightwing died in Infinite Crisis, the fan-favorite Bat-Family member might have never become the superstar he is today.

Nightwing Not Dying Was the Best Outcome

Sorry Superboy, But Infinite Crisis Worked Out for the Best

While Superboy dying wasn’t great to see, it’s absolutely the ‘better’ outcome than if Nightwing died. Sure, it’s comical to see DiDio finally see his wish come true and subject Dick to multiple deaths. But this look at one of the strangest roads not taken in the DCU is a grim reminder of how lucky fans got. Nightwing survived Infinite Crisis and while he went through some tough years after, it’s a damn sight better than what could have happened to him.

DC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis is available now from DC Comics.