Dick Grayson is one of the greatest heroes in the DC universe, beloved by almost everyone in the DC superhero community thanks to his rise from the Dark Knight's first Robin to the solo hero Nightwing. However, he's long been haunted by one dark decision that he's finally managed to correct with his recent smackdown of the Blüdhaven gangster known as Blockbuster.
Almost every superhero knows Nightwing, he has connections from the Bat-Family to the Teen Titans to the Justice League, and is therefore one of the most well known and well-connected heroes in the DC universe. But despite all this light and all the people who care about him, he has also had some incredibly dark moments in his history. Raised by Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson has coped admirably with the trauma of his parents' murder, but there is still a rage bubbling in his heart for those who prey on the innocent.
Batman has made every single member of the Bat-Family swear not to take a life for any reason. This hard set rule for no killing is what has often brought Red Hood into conflict with the Bat-Family. But in Devin Grayson and Patrick Zircher's Nightwing #93, Dick Grayson did something just as bad as killing in Batman's eyes. The vigilante Tarantula asks Dick to step aside and allow her to kill Blockbuster, who had just blown up Nightwing's apartment and killed every friend he has in the city. Dick knows he shouldn't let Tarantula execute the villain, but because of the trauma he's going through, Dick doesn't stop her, and she shoots Blockbuster to death. Nightwing was haunted by his failure to act, breaking contact with the Bat-Family and even going undercover as the supervillain 'Renegade' since he felt he could no longer call himself a hero.
Nightwing Reclaims His Soul
Nightwing eventually confessed to Batman and turned Tarantula into the police for the crime of murdering Blockbuster, but in Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo's Nightwing #96, Nightwing is given a second chance. When Blockbuster launches an all-out attack on Nightwing, Dick uses his contacts and skills to destroy the villain's network but allows him to live and even escape, despite Blockbuster now knowing his secret identity. Dick has every reason to treat this fight as his personal revenge fantasy, but he doesn't take things any further than they have to go, acting like a consummate superhero throughout. Dick's focus is 100% on saving the city, making this moment the heroic answer to his one-time temptation to allow someone else to end Blockbuster for good.
Nightwing's Ultimate Triumph
Unfortunately for Blockbuster, that doesn't mean he survives the day, as rival villain Heartless takes advantage of Blockbuster's fall from power to extract his heart. However, this is something Dick couldn't have foreseen, and is presented as Blockbuster's sins catching up with him. Nightwing has been through a lot in his career of crime-fighting, he has a lot of regrets and has made a lot of mistakes, but thanks to recent events the brutal death of Blockbuster because of Nightwing's inaction is no longer a burden that he has to bear. Nightwing took his nemesis down by the book, breaking the gangster's grip on Blüdhaven with a clean heart and his alliances stronger than ever.