Warning: SPOILERS for Nightwing Annual #2

When Nightwing took a bullet to the head in the pages of Batman, fans didn't realize it would mean the death of Dick Grayson. They especially couldn't have guessed 'Ric' Grayson would be born in his place, stripped of all his memories. Now that the truth of Dick's memory loss has been revealed, readers finally know why.

The secret behind the controversial 'amnesia' has been revealed in the newly released Nightwing Annual #2, arriving at a time when Dick Grayson is about to become Talon, having been groomed and defeated by The Court of Owls' top assassin. And while that is Dick's family legacy (and he doesn't really have any choice), recent comics have suggested Nightwing could be returning soon. Now that Nightwing Annual #2 has traveled back to show the full story about Dick's recovery, it finally makes sense. Needless to say, there are MASSIVE SPOILERS ahead.

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The Annual finally revisits the days immediately following Nightwing's injury, and Dick Grayson first waking up from a medically induced coma. It effectively tells two different stories: a slight flashback showing how Dr. Haas--a world-renowned brain surgeon--is called in by Bruce Wayne to save Dick, and a therapy session between the doctor and Dick (awake, but without any of his memories). Even the brilliant Dr. Haas can't explain why Dick's memories have been wiped clean, or why none are returning... until the final pages of her and Dick's therapy session, when it all makes sense.

Nightwing Comic Memory Less Secret Owls

The story reveals that not only is Dr. Haas working for The Court of Owls, but that her carefully planned and executed "drug regimen and psychological manipulation buried Grayson's memory and left him right where we want him." Combining this with the childhood story recounted to Dr. Haas by Dick Grayson, it's confirmed that The Court of Owls has been grooming Dick Grayson alongside his great-grandfather, William Cobb. That childhood story is the one memory Dick has of a traditional 'home,' visiting relatives with his acrobat parents. Relatives revealed to also be The Court of Owls, implanting memories and psychic triggers even before his parents' death.

The evidence still suggests Dick will defy this attempt at programming and shrug off the role of Talon. Which means the only question is: will this reveal make the months of 'Ric Grayson' all feel worth it for readers unclear on where the series was headed? We'll leave them to decide, when they pick up a copy of the book for themselves.

  • NIGHTWING ANNUAL #2
  • Release Date: October 30th, 2019
  • Written by: Dan Jurgens
  • Art by: Travis Moore
  • Cover Art by: Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund
  • The bullet that shattered Nightwing's life was the shot fired by the KGBeast in the now-infamous BATMAN #55-and it changed the course of Dick "Ric" Grayson's career. Gone were the memories and alliances that once defined him, replaced by a near blank-slate persona.Now go inside those early moments of Ric's new life, his strained reunion with a stranger named Bruce Wayne and an entire life turned upside down. But amid the chaos lies opportunity...not for Ric, but for an old foe who's been waiting a lifetime for a moment like this. Echoes of the past return in a story that tees up Nightwing's own Year of the Villain!

Nightwing Annual #2 is available now from your local comic book shop. The full debut of Ric Grayson in his role as the new Talon will likely arrive in Nightwing #67 on December 18th, 2019.

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