A surprising number of references to Nightwing and his rogues' gallery have made their way into the Arrowverse considering that Dick Grayson has yet to make an appearance on Arrow or The Flash. Until recently, direct ties to anything relating to the Batman family of comics on The CW superhero shows were largely forbidden. This resulted in the writers of the Arrowverse leaning heavily upon the Nightwing properties which were related but not explicitly part of the Gotham City setting, in order to expand their shared universe while drawing upon the lore of the non-powered side of DC Comics' universe.

As the first person raised by Bruce Wayne to join him as a partner in crime-fighting as Robin, Dick Grayson quickly assumed a central role in the world of DC Comics. A founding member of the Teen Titans, Dick would take on the name of Nightwing in order to get out from under his mentor's shadow. He took the name from the legend of a Kryptonian folk hero once told to him by Superman, whom he came to admire and emulate almost as much as Batman in his dealings with the superhero community at large. This has led to Dick having a unique role as one of the more sociable figures among the next generation of heroes in the DC Universe while still maintaining a dark, mysterious facade as the protector of the city of Blüdhaven. Small wonder then that the Arrowverse should make mention of this, however indirectly.

Related: Arrow Namedropped A Nightwing Villain Perfect For Batwoman's TV Show

Most of these Nightwing references amounted to simple Easter eggs referring to locations from the comics. Still, a few of the more notable villains from Nightwing's adventures also made appearances in the flesh, albeit in drastically different forms than in the comics.

Blüdhaven

A Welcome to Blüdhaven sign in the comics

In the DC Comics universe, Blüdhaven, NJ, is the one place in the United States more corrupt and lawless than Gotham City. Hard times fell upon the town when its two major products - whale meat and asbestos - were outlawed in the US. Legalized gambling saved the city just in time for organized crime to take it over.

What little has been seen of the Arrowverse version of Blüdhaven indicates that it's just as much a wretched hive of scum and villainy as its comic book counterpart. Blüdhaven generally makes an appearance or is mentioned whenever a location famed for its disreputable nature is required by the story. The exact location of Blüdhaven in the Arrowverse has never been established, but it's apparently close enough to Star City to have a direct train line running to it, as Oliver Queen threatened one man with being dropped onto the tracks in front of the 10:15 express to Blüdhaven.

Guillermo "Brutale" Barrera

Arrow Guillermo Barrera Brutale

The Arrow season 1 episode "Dead To Rights" opened with Oliver Queen intercepting an assassin named Guillermo Barrera as he arrived in Starling City by helicopter. In the Nightwing comics, Guillermo Barrera is the real name of the supervillain known as Brutale. Originally a high-ranking interrogator and torturer in the fictional Central American nation of Hasaragua, Barrera fled the country after a democratic revolution overthrew the government that employed him. Finding his way to America, Barrera put his knowledge of anatomy and expertise with bladed weapons to work as Brutale, wearing a horrific gargoyle costume covered with hundreds of knives of all sizes.

Related: Arrowverse: 15 Batman Easter Eggs Fans Completely Missed

 Walter Steele's Abduction In "The Undertaking"

Arrow Oliver Queen in The Undertaking

In the Arrow season 1 episode "The Undertaking," Queen Enterprises CEO Walter Steele was abducted by a gang in the employ of Malcolm Merlyn. Steele was getting too close to uncovering Merlyn's master-plan to destroy the slums of Starling City with an earthquake generator and Merlyn needed to get him out of the way for a while. Luckily for Steele, his step-son Oliver Queen uncovered the kidnapping plot and was able to rescue him from the abandoned housing project in Blüdhaven where he was being held.

Roy Harper's Hideaway in"The Man Under The Hood"

Arrow Roy Harper John Diggle and Sara Lance in Season 2

When Roy Harper became infected with the rage-inducing Mirakuru serum in Arrow season 2, he broke up with his girlfriend, Thea Queen, and went into hiding outside of Star City. This didn't stop Deathstroke from tracking him down and trying to use Roy's blood as a means of mass-producing Mirakuru in order to empower his army of super-soldiers. It was revealed in the episode "The Man Under The Hood" that, when Deathstroke found Roy, he had been living in a homeless shelter in Blüdhaven.

Dudley "Torque" Soames

When Deathstroke and his army of Mirakuru-enhanced minions attacked Starling City in the Arrow season 2 finale, ARGUS Director Amanda Waller was content to destroy the city rather than chance Slade Wilson or any of his crazed super-soldiers surviving to fight another day. Thankfully, she was unable to order a drone strike thanks to the efforts of Lyla Michaels and John Diggle, who released Deadshot and the rest of Arrow's Suicide Squad members from their cells. One of these Suicide Squad recruits was a man named Dudley Soames.

Fans of the Nightwing comics will recognize Dudley Soames as a long-time nemesis of Nightwing. A dirty cop in the employ of the Blüdhaven Police Department, Soames was also on the payroll of the supervillain Blockbuster and pretended to ally himself with Nightwing shortly after he came to Blüdhaven. In truth, Soames attempted to play Blockbuster, the BPD and Nightwing against each other to his personal enrichment. Unfortunately, for Soames, he was not as indispensable or as good at hiding his treachery as he thought he was and Blockbuster twisted Soames' head around on his neck like a bottle-cap in response. Miraculously, Soames survived this, later establishing himself as a rival crime boss called Torque.

The New Brother Blood and The Renegades

Arrow Season 2.5 Comic New Brother Blood and Church of Blood

As the title implies, Arrow Season 2.5 was a comic book based in the Arrowverse, which depicted several events set between season 2 and season 3 of Arrow. The book was notable for having been written by Arrow showrunner Marc Guggenheim and showcasing several adventures that would have been too expensive for Arrow to depict on a TV series' budget. Chief among these was a Suicide Squad story that pitted the show's versions of Deadshot and Bronze Tiger against a terrorist leader based on Black Adam.

The first major story arc of Arrow Season 2.5 centered around a new Brother Blood, closer in tone to the character from the original New Teen Titans comics, attempting to reform Sebastian Blood's cult. This second Brother Blood was eventually unmasked as Clinton Hogue - Sebastian Blood's former bodyguard. The team chased Hogue back to his hometown of Blüdhaven, where he enlisted the help of a group of mercenaries known as the Renegades to help him capture Felicity Smoak.

One of the Renegades utilized a special suit of armor that allowed him to generate electrical shocks. Though not identified by name, the costume and modus operandi resembled that of a frequent Nightwing villain called the Electrocutioner. It's also worth mentioning that Dick Grayson briefly adopted the codename Renegade while attempting to infiltrate the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

Page 2 of 2: Kodomo, Tobias Church, & Other Nightwing References In The Arrowverse

Arrow Kodomo Simon LaCroix

Kodomo

The Arrow season 3 premiere episode, "The Calm", ended with the shocking murder of Sara Lance, aka the Canary, by an unseen bowman (who was later revealed to be Speedy, though she was only acting under the control of the Dark Archer). The hunt for her killer led Team Arrow to Simon LaCroix - an Blüdhaven-based assassin with a love of archery, who went by the code name Kodomo. When confronted regarding Sara's death, Kodomo was able to provide an alibi for his whereabouts on the night of the killing, proving he was in Blüdhaven on the night in question.

Related: DC Explains Why Nightwing is The Most Important Hero

Tobias "Charon" Church

Tobias Church in Arrow S5

Arrow season 5 opened with Mayor Oliver Queen having to contend with a new crime lord muscling in on the underworld of Star City. Tobias "Charon" Church earned his mythological nickname for his trademark of leaving two gold coins on the eyes of his slain enemies, in order to pay the ferryman Charon for passage into the afterlife. Before coming to Star City with designs of building a cross-country criminal empire, Church was said to have taken over the rackets in Hub City and Blüdhaven - an impressive feat given how notoriously powerful the mobs of both cities are in the comics.

Izzy Bowin's Tour Schedule

The Flash Izzy Bowin Easter Egg Blue Valley DC Comics Cities

The Flash season 4 episode 14, "Subject 9", centered around an aspiring country-western music star named Izzy Bowin, who had unknowingly developed the metahuman power to manipulate sound waves. While trying to find out more about Izzy, Iris West went to her personal website, revealing a schedule for her current concert tour. The schedule had a number of fictional cities from the DC Comics' universe, including Star City, Central City, and Blüdhaven.

Ricardo Diaz Visits Blüdhaven in "The Dragon"

Arrow Season 6 The Dragon - Black Siren and Ricardo Diaz

The latter half of Arrow season 6 saw the heroes of Star City battling crime lord Ricardo "The Dragon" Diaz, as he expanded his power base in Star City and beyond. Arrow season 6 episode 19, "The Dragon", focused on Diaz and Black Siren as they attempted to take over an international crime syndicate called the Quadrant. Their first stop on a nation-wide tour of organized crime headquarters was a night club in Blüdhaven, which was a front for the Quadrant's activities in that notoriously corrupt city.

Blockbuster

Blockbuster being tended to by an elderly woman in Nightwing comics

In the comics, crime boss Roland "Blockbuster" Desmond is the Kingpin to Dick Grayson's Daredevil. Possessing a metagene enhancement that transformed him into a super-strong, extra-durable giant, Desmond also possesses a genius level intellect that enabled him to corner the costumed criminal market in Blüdhaven. Blockbuster was recently name-dropped in the Arrow season 7 episode "Star City Slayer", where it was confirmed that Black Canary helped put Blockbuster - whom it was said ruled the Blüdhaven mobs - behind bars back in her days as an undercover cop in Central City. Given the timeline involved, this would have placed Blockbuster in Central City just before the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion, suggesting we may yet see the arch-enemy of Nightwing in the Arrowverse at some point in the future.

More: Theory: Arrow Is Remaking Legends of Tomorrow's Star City 2046