The world of Injustice: Gods Among Us is one of DC Comics' darkest alternate universes, and the emotional death of Nightwing offered a unique insight into Batman's thoughts on losing his sidekick and adopted son. While Injustice is set in an alternate universe where Joker breaks Superman's heroic spirit, it is established that Batman's relationship to his Robins unfolded in a near identical way to that of his Earth-0 counterpart, meaning Bruce's fascinating reaction grants a heartbreaking look into the inner workings of the Dark Knight fans know and love.
Injustice: Gods Among Us is critically acclaimed comic continuation of the popular video game series of the same name, which follows a team of heroes led by Batman who oppose a new totalitarian regime created by Superman, after the Joker killed Clark's wife Lois and their unborn child. The series time and time again proved that no one was safe from death, but that didn't make Nightwing's passing any less horrible. While Dick's death continues to remain controversial to some fans, mainly because of how anticlimactic it was, it was special for directly relating Batman's thoughts in a way few modern comics have.
What made Nightwing's death in Injustice: Gods Among Us #16 - written by Tom Taylor and drawn by Mike Miller - even more tragic is that it was inadvertently caused by Batman's biological son, Damian Wayne. Damian sided with Superman through most of Injustice and when facing off against Dick, he threw one of Nightwing's classic escrima batons at him. Although this did not directly kill him, it did cause Nightwing to lose balance and hit his neck on a sharp rock, instantly causing his death. The other major difference between the death of this former Robin, and when Robin has died in other timelines, is that Bruce's inner dialogue is visible, and it is striking how clearly Tom Taylor is able to show the trauma response he has to the loss of his adopted son. Typically readers are able to see the direct aftermath of a death via action, or a character processing it internally well after it actually occurs, but in this moment Bruce puts words to his anguish, and is immediately brought back to the murder of his parents, showing just how much their deaths continue to impact him, his view on family, and his mental health.
It is no shock or surprise that the loss of a Robin, which has happened multiple times over the years, is devastating for Batman, but what Injustice argues is that Nightwing's death also forces Bruce to relive the worst night of his life, the senseless murder of his parents. Batman's internal dialogue confirms this when he says to himself, "I'm abandoned again," showing how the loss of his parents, his perceived "abandonment" by them, continues to haunt him. This is further illustrated by the direct comparisons Bruce draws to his emotional reaction to Dick's death stating, "It's the scream of a child abandoned suddenly, long ago. As the scream echoed in that alley, it echoes now in my mind."
While Bruce has obviously grown a lot since the death of his parents and does not make a desperate scream out loud, it is clear that the reaction he has to Dick's death is a continuation of his formative experience in Crime Alley. Batman's pain isn't simply fresh, but connects back to his origin, retraumatizing Bruce repeatedly throughout his vigilante career.
The death of Dick Grayson suggests that each time Batman has lost one of his proteges, he has experienced not just the pain of that loss, but a far more complex process in which he emotionally experiences a sense of abandonment that goes right back to his childhood, whether or not they eventually return. While Batman might not always be able to show his love for his sons explicitly, his heartbreaking reaction to Nightwing's death in Injustice: Gods Among Us confirms that his grief at their passing is far darker and more layered than most fans know.