Explosive New Nightwing Arc Teased By The Creator

2 days ago 5

Patrik Walker is an Emmy Award–winning writer who covers all things Comics & Superheroes. His work can also be found at the Dallas Cowboys, The Sporting News, and CBS Sports, among other outlets. One of the most respected names in his field, he is also a diehard enthusiast of all things comics, anime, gaming and movies — thriving in spaces where discussions involving those or similar topics reign supreme.

Bruce Wayne is getting a lot of love nowadays, from both DC Comics and DC Studios, but what of the guy who was, at one point, his right-hand man in helping to dish out justice in Gotham? Granted, the world is draped in anticipation for The Batman Part II, finding out who'll play the Caped Crusader for James Gunn and the DCU, and enjoying the earth-shattering revelation that Wayne once had a fling with Marvel's Mary Jane Watson (no, seriously); Dan Watters is making sure no one forgets Dick Grayson — formerly Robin, currently Nightwing.

One of the most beloved characters of all-time from DC, one of the best versions of Nightwing, to date, has come from the creative mind of Watters, but it's been quiet on that front as the calendar prepares to turn to 2026.

After all, the 2024 calendar year was a stellar one for Watters and the DC Universe, his Titan's Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor series announced in March, he and famed artist Dexter Soy teamed up in July as the new dynamic duo for Nightwing and, in September 2024, Watters connected with another well-known artist, Hayden Sherman, for the Batman: Dark Patterns 12-part series.

But, in 2025, his most prominent work had nothing to do with DC Comics, instead shifting focus to Dark Horse Comics for Cyberpunk 2077: Psycho Squad #1-4, and that begs the question of whether Watters has put down the escrima sticks for good — the answer, thankfully, being a resounding "no", per Watters himself in a recent letter for thedeadairchannel.

"For those who've been asking: no, I'm not leaving Nightwing."

He then went on to explain that the next arc of Nightwing will expand upon his current vision of the character, and that involves an epic uptick in the storytelling and visuals when the world becomes reintroduced to Grayson in the near future.

"This is going to be a shift in scale and genre, and feels like a culmination of all I've learned writing, particularly this book and Batman: Dark Patterns. If you enjoyed the latter, miss it, and haven't jumped on Nightwing, 136 will be the place to do that."

This Nightwing Is Dark and Filled With Terrors

What exactly does it all mean for Nightwing, you ask? Well, according to Watters, the tortured soul that is Grayson won't get a moment of respite from either his own internal demons or the ones he'll have to face in real life by way of Gotham's darkest and most twisted criminal elements, and an unnamed legendary artist has signed on to help Watters bring his vision to life — the anonymity adding that much more suspense to it all.

"Poor Dick Grayson is about to go through it. We're throwing him back on his own resources. He was trained by the world's greatest detective, and he's going to have to flex those chops. Oh, and the artist who's joining us for this new era? An industry legend. The artist of one of the comic runs that made me want to do this job. The pages have begun to come in, and they're stunning. You'll find out soon."

Soon won't be soon enough for the most staunch fans of Nightwing, but they'll have to commit to getting their fix from currently existing comic book works of Batman's former sidekick turned anti-hero, and there's always the two seasons of the TV series Titans that was created for and streams to this day on HBO Max (and soon enough, Netflix as well, most likely). The portrayal by actor Brenton Thwaites is worth the price of admission, and could very well hold you over until Watters is done cooking.