Warning! Spoilers to Nightwing #77 ahead!
It's been a busy year for Dick Grayson, as the superhero who goes by Nightwing's life has appeared to have gone full circle. After spending a year recovering from the side effects of a failed assassination plot, Richard Grayson has returned to his old Nightwing uniform and his role as the guardian of Bludhaven. However, Gotham is never too far away and Dick finds himself ziplining through the chilly Gotham night on Christmas Eve with his old mentor and partner Batman in Nightwing #77 whose late-night adventures include an Easter Egg to the classic Batman: Hush story-line.
In the issue by Dan Jurgens with art by Ronan Cliquet, Nightwing has yet to confirm that he'll attend the Bat-Family's Christmas party despite Bruce and the other members desiring his attendance. Considering his recent defeat of his original assassin KGBeast and the dissolution of his relationship with his former partner Bea, Dick has had a rough time recently and may prefer to be alone. Of course, Batman drops the tense subject in lieu of their two current problems, a revolt at Arkham Asylum and a situation at Dexiturn Technologies. They agree to split up, Bruce taking the former and Dick taking the latter, in hopes of getting the present of an early night with time off for the holidays.
The image of Batman and Nightwing running on the horizon of Gotham's rooftops is an homage to the cover for Batman #615, an issue in the well-received 'Hush' storyline. In the story by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, Nightwing returns to comfort Bruce who had to bury his childhood friend Tommy Elliot. While Batman investigates the truth behind Tommy's murder, Nightwing keeps him company in the Batcave with conversation and questions, later comforting his former mentor over his memory of almost killing the Joker. While both vigilantes are no closer to figuring out the identity of the mysterious "Hush", they team up for old times sake and to get some air, taking a Batmobile together to defeat the Riddler and his goons, a scene which includes more clues for the World's Greatest Detective to follow.
While artists have included homages to other artists' work or references to classic moments or storylines within a character's history, Nightwing artist Ronan Cliquet couldn't have picked a better storyline to reference. The superstar team of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee made their story arc a must-read, a critical and commercial success that is not only considered one of the greatest Batman stories but was even loosely adapted in 2019's Batman: Hush animated movie. While the artwork is a clear homage, the content within it could also serve as a reference to 'Hush' regarding Batman and Nightwing splitting up. After stopping the Riddler's attempted robbery, the Dark Knight and Nightwing split up, with Dick taking out Riddler's henchmen and Bruce chasing down the cowardly Riddler and his stolen money. The only difference is that in one story, both heroes were working together to take down one foe and in the other, they're splitting up to deal with two completely different situations.
In the end, Dick Grayson finds he didn't get the easier assignment as the situation at Dexiturn would be all kind of fun that ensured Nightwing wouldn't get off shift earlier as he hoped. But both Dick and Bruce were able to bring hope and happiness to those who needed it which is in itself one of the best things you could give during the holiday season. Whether the Easter egg in question was an unintentional or deliberate homage, it was a pleasant surprise that recognizes one of the best Batman stories in the last few decades which would have consequences that are still being explored to this day.