WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Justice League #68
Dick Grayson is one of the greatest hand-to-hand fighters in DC Comics, and if a throwaway line in a recent issue of Justice League is to be believed, Nightwing may have finally surpassed even Batman himself. For years, Nightwing has been his own man, and, along with Wally West's Flash, Dick has long been the gold standard for sidekicks stepping out of their mentors’ shadows.
Dick has undoubtedly earned his reputation as an A-list hero and even Batman considers Nightwing his greatest triumph. But Justice League #68 - by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski - paint that triumph in a different light, at least according to the agents of Checkmate.
While filling in the rest of DC’s Checkmate superspies on Lois Lane’s kid brother Leo, also known as the Daemon Rose, King makes a very interesting comment on the super spy’s combat capabilities. Sharing footage of the Rose taking on a gang of Deathstrokes, King says, “He has no enhancements that I know of. No powers. He’s just very good. Nightwing good.” While that may seem like a simple comment to establish Leo Lane’s fighting skills, it actually reframes Nightwing’s combat notoriety in the overall DC Universe.
Dick has always been an exceptional fighter, but the fact that he was used as a measuring stick to describe the Daemon Rose’s skills instead of Batman says one of two things. Either Bruce is in a whole class higher than Dick – which is indeed possible – or Nightwing is now recognized as the gold standard for hand-to-hand fighters in DC Comics. Though Bruce may still be considered the superior fighter, it’s entirely possible, if not probable, that his adopted son is actually better.
Bruce traveled the world learning from all sorts of masters, and he synthesized their training to perfect his war on crime. Meanwhile, Nightwing was trained from a young age by the one man greater than all of Bruce’s masters combined: Batman himself. Not only was Nightwing’s training more refined and perfected, but he’s only a couple of years behind Batman in terms of crimefighting experience. Plus, he’s actively spent the majority of his life employing the martial arts against his foes on a nightly basis, while Bruce didn’t officially hit the streets as Batman until his mid-20s.
Though Batman could still potentially beat Nightwing in a fight thanks to his extra gadgets and armor, when it comes to straight hand-to-hand skills, Dick Grayson is stiff competition. Bruce Wayne is no pushover by any means, but he trained his partner too well to expect a confrontation to go any other way. But if Batman is lucky, he’ll never wind up in Nightwing’s crosshairs.