The latest installment of the epic DC vs. Vampires event hints at a massive bombshell that may completely change how DC Comics' heroes approach the fight against the vampire horde led by Nightwing. A short story at the end of DC vs. Vampires: All Out War #2, gives readers a glimpse of just how Nightwing's horrifying empire and the vampires' war for control of Earth all began in one familiar city.
DC vs. Vampires: All Out War #2 provides some insight into just how the nightmarish vampire apocalypse began with a short story titled "Nightwing in Dark Birth Part 1" by Emma Viaceli, Haining, Troy Peteri and Ben Abernathy. The story shows Nightwing’s journey into the underbelly of Blüdhaven with its mayor on what is meant to be a diplomacy mission. In a secret cavern beneath the city, Nightwing and Mayor Zucco discover the vampires’ expansive lair and learn that everything is not what it appears to be. Instead of meeting the queen of all vampires, the pair find themselves being roped into what seems like the very murder scheme that kicked the series off.
At the very end of the issue, there is one panel of Nightwing being surrounded on both sides by vampires while they tell him that he’ll be needed in order to kill "Mary, the false queen." In DC vs. Vampires #3 by James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg, Otto Schmidt, Tom Napolitano and Ben Abernathy, Green Lantern Hal Jordan uses the vampiric power of hypnotism on Wonder Woman, a being with notably strong willpower of her own. This might have been the first hint that something has been wrong with Nightwing from the beginning, and may explain how differently his character has been written in this series. Most fans would characterize Nightwing as an empathetic and compassionate hero, willing to always put himself before others, yet the Dick Grayson seen in DC vs. Vampires is a cold-blooded killer.
Ever since Nightwing killed Batman by punching him through the heart, literally stabbing him in the back, fans have wondered what made Nightwing turn on his family so easily. With the vampire Andrew Bennett appearing at the beginning of the series to warn the Justice League of the oncoming threat, it’s clear that being a vampire does not inherently make someone evil. With the combined knowledge that Nightwing was surrounded in Blüdhaven and that vampires are capable of hypnosis, it would be reasonable to conclude that Nightwing has in fact been hypnotized into acting like the savage murderer he’s become. This would paint the existing story in an entirely new light, having Nightwing as less of a traitorous scumbag and more of a prisoner trapped inside his own body.
There are other things that hint at this as well, such as Nightwing deciding to spare Damian and Alfred in DC vs. Vampires: Hunters #1, by Matthew Rosenberg, Neil Googe, Antonio Fabela, Troy Peteri and Ben Abernathy, claiming that he wants his brothers to be turned into vampires instead of killed. His seemingly random acts of compassion make much more sense when one considers that he could be subconsciously fighting hypnotism the entire time he’s acting. What makes this setup even more interesting, however, is that it would point at an even larger threat being established in the shadows of Nightwing’s new bloodthirsty empire.
Whatever the case, it seems as though the DC vs. Vampires series is ready to give fans a taste of Nightwing’s vampire origin story soon enough. With his backstory about to be revealed, it’s likely that a new, even bigger threat will be established as an endgame villain.