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Since the dawn ofDC Comics’Infinite Frontierera , NightwingbyTom TaylorandBruno Redondohas been one of the brightest corners of the DC Universe . Even as the DCU descends into darkness with the events ofDark Crisis on Infinite earth , the late chapter in Dick Grayson ’s news report has remained full of hope as its protagonist takes on societal problems in the metropolis of Blüdhaven . For this reason , fans have glorify thisNightwingrun as a tonic return to what constitute Dick Grayson such a democratic character in the first place .
Dick Grayson recently discovered he was a billionaire after Alfred carefully managed his funds over the years , and he ’s made the decisiveness to create the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation to extenuate societal inequality in Blüdhaven . But thing have n’t been comfortable as intimate villains such as Blockbuster are trying to kill both Dick GraysonandNightwing , a programme spurred on by a creepy new scoundrel call Heartless . At San Diego Comic - Con , we sat down with theNightwingteam to discuss what ’s in store for Dick Grayson in the future .
associate : Why Nightwing Hates Cops More Than Criminals
Screen Rant : So I love the art on the books so much . It ’s so dynamical with Dick Grayson being so acrobatic . What ’s the process in term of collaborationism with partnering with a writer that ’s on a all different side of the world ? And because it definitely seems like there ’s a lot of trust between you and Tom . So I just wanted to have a go at it a little bit more about that .
Bruno Redondo : We have been working together , I ’m not certain , but I think maybe for 10 years , or a short more . So we built a trustful relationship in that elbow room . So I feel comfortable suggest change about the script . And he sometimes when he make out that , for case , I care to do the fighting choreographies . So he allow me to do that . He says , " Now you could play with that . I can choreograph this if you demand but as you want . " So we give space to each other in this form of way .
Tom Taylor : And also just in the script , like , I ’ll actually write to him , " Hey , adult male , in this Sir Frederick Handley Page , " like for instance , we have that Blockbuster / Nightwing conflict and I ’m like , " I can choreograph this if you want , but I have intercourse that you wo n’t want me to , so Bruno , just go nutty . "
Bruno Redondo : I savour that a slew .
Tom Taylor : When you spell a script , you ’re actually writing a letter to the , to the artist , effectively . So that ’s how we do it .
More generally , I think everyone kind of has their own unique relationship with Dick Grayson , so I just wanted to know what he intend to you , specifically .
Tom Taylor : To me he ’s kind of the pith of DC Comics , in a similar means that Superman is an alien who happens to be the respectable human on the planet . And Dick is that too . He can be the heart and soulfulness and stock the intact DC Universe as far as I ’m concerned . He ’s always been a type that I ’ve loved . Particularly that Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel run that I read religiously and bought every trade of , I bonk those Word . In the original sales talk was all , " Dick Grayson is an A - lister , we want to turn up that . " We had other opportunity , Bruno and I , to work on on other stuff , but both of us were really keen to work on Nightwing . And we just think , " This is the graphic symbol who can be what other quality ca n’t , and we ’d have it off to show that and prove that and put him on that podium . " Just getting to tell that it ’s been great . And same with Babs as well .
Bruno Redondo : Everybody want to be Batman , but Dick Grayson is the one who grow with us . And it ’s a unlike relation from the reviewer to experience that this guy cable was Robin , he wear out up with his parent as everybody does . And then he ’s his own part so you may finger him closer , someone you may identify with more , but he has better heart .
Tom Taylor : More excited intelligence agency .
Going off of what you were order Bruno just about like us , vary generations originate up with Dick , I feel like there ’s different stake that come with Dick ’s baddie , specifically his Batman villain . But I was curious about Heartless , he seems to be very much like an contrary of everything we love about Dick . Like that cyborg reveal is so mind blowing for me . And so can you say a little routine more about what you ’re suppose in terms of Heartless ?
Tom Taylor : Well , I guess you in reality bump off the nail on the head . We did desire Dick ’s philia , the heart of the DC Universe . And then we produce Heartless , we have somebody who takes hearts from the parents of homeless tiddler , like the worst thing you could maybe envisage , and then he plants them in himself to sustain himself and keep himself going , and he is inhuman and he is out to hurt . Whereas Dick is out to repair and help oneself , and this bozo just want to see everything burn . He enjoys pain sensation , he enjoys suffer . So we wanted to put someone who was the polar opposite of Dick Grayson . And that ’s how we kind of construct him from the ground up . Yeah , and he was really , really heavy to design . Bruno and I , we just for once we could n’t get on the same Sir Frederick Handley Page we until we went , " Okay , the guy ’s a serial killer . " And then Bruno did this face that was insensate , like that no real emotion , obviously , but we want to be able-bodied to see him when he smiles underneath the mask . But soulless , like no eyes . Dick ’s the heart and soul and this guy is heartless and soulless . And that ’s when it all came together .
Those dentition are so disconcerting .
Tom Taylor : Yeah , it ’s majuscule . I love when that flash of white just appears in that pitch-black masque . It gives him something quite dire .
I believe the role of Blüdhaven is so authoritative to the story . And Heartless is one of those scoundrel that ’s facilitate build out that world . Do you have any other architectural plan just in terms of hammer out those differences ?
Tom Taylor : Yeah , we ’re doing the Battle for Blüdhaven ’s Heart properly now , which is also make grow . It ’s Blockbuster , and it ’s Maroni and there ’s been Heartless at kind of the edge of this . But he will be positioned very soon to be a much big participant in all of this . Like he ’s been on the outskirt for a long time . We ’ve learn glimpses of him , but yeah , he ’s gon na step up in a big mode .
Something that ’s been in the back of my mind , this whole time with Dick and Babs sort of being in a situationship now , can you say anything about the future of their kinship for now ?
Bruno Redondo : No * laughs * I think we ca n’t .
Tom Taylor : Look , I can say that we ’re not concerned in damage it . We do n’t want to do soap operas stuff , we ’re not interested in love triangles , or " will they , wo n’t they . " We just want them to be happy . And that ’s been a fully grown part of this book , that they are felicitous together and that they do want to be together . And they do support each other . And they ’re there for each other in way that nobody else is . And we just need a positive family relationship ,
Bruno Redondo : because that ’s a real thing . We need to put on the mesa because sometimes in comics , in superhero comics , it looks like it ’s impossible to have a healthy family relationship . And we want to put that on the table , because many the great unwashed identifies with this more than other kind of love triangle and things like that .
Tom Taylor : Yeah . And there was a conversation really too soon on with masses at DC . They were like , " Oh , you be intimate , do we desire to bring back that sort of playboy Dick Grayson ? " And I ’m like , " If you go back , he ’s never been a Corinthian . " There ’s been this misconception that he is .
Bruno Redondo : He ’s just sexy .
Tom Taylor : Yeah , he ’s just a good - looking dude .
And everyone like him .
Tom Taylor : That ’s right .
Bruno Redondo : Because he is so nice .
Tom Taylor : Yeah . Women love him , men love him .
Bruno Redondo : He ’s doing nothing bad in being courteous . A quality needs to be rough or complicated , or something to be interesting , and we are examine to go in another direction . you may be nice and keep it interesting .
Tom Taylor : That ’s right . And it ’s slick from a account point of scene to not have those tropes and those commonplace , but it ’s so much more rewarding that we can tell this nice , cool fib , and just make a actual positive Word of God that makes hoi polloi well-chosen . And yes , we continue to take exception the character , and we go on to do uncollectible thing and have struggle . But at the same sentence , we ’re not leaning into , we ’re not going to diminish Dick to do that . He ’s not going to be corrupted , he ’s going to continue to be the smoothen example , and overcome whatever thrown in , with Babs as well .
I love that so much , just because he ’s so inspiring that means , and it ’s just nice to have that substantial story where you ’re just feel everything that prompt you why you like him in the first place .
Tom Taylor : Exactly , yeah , as devotee ourselves , that ’s why we ’re write this in that way .
For sure . One of the things that I really love about this specific take on Dick is just the level of political engagement going on in the narration , just in terms of him being mindful of things like police putrescence and stuff like that . And so I wanted to fuck more about , was that part of the architectural plan , for Infinite Frontier , or was it like something that you hombre brought up to DC ?
Tom Taylor : We bring that to DC . We want obviously Alfred , nobody ’s hit on this , because Dick was Ric Grayson at the time because he was n’t around when Alfred died . And so we had n’t dealt with the rebound of that or what Alfred had leave him and I go , " Well , Alfred is clearly a billionaire because he was getting all of this at the time and he had Wayne inventory , so permit ’s really have him exit that to Dick , and then because he bonk that Dick will do the right thing with it . " It ’s been really interesting , because we have n’t budged any of that . I do n’t think we ’ve spoken about this as much . But I had a bozo who has done all these things . And they basically put together a position paper for me , for ' Haven . So academics , people who do residential area engagement , all these things , people who are build real life ' Haven around the world and poppycock . And so they put together this place paper , professors , academician , community of interests managers , to secern us precisely how to do that . And then we implement that . So we did n’t just go , " Oh , this could be the great thing that gets done . " They ’re like , " No , you do this public tape transport , you do sportsman , you do libraries , you do free food , you do you do all of this . " And that ’s what we bring to the book . So we start there , and then we pull out further , and then we take on the corruption , and we take on the crime Maker , and we attempt to transmute an total city , not just a character , but show how one great character with resourcefulness and with a drive can actually commute the world . And he has that conversation with Superman , with Clark . You know , he tells him his plan and Clark ’s just like " That ’s it , and peradventure by changing this one city , the rest of the humans can look at that and go , we can do this too . "
Especially with just the manner that the serial publication starts off with a personal credit line about , when I call back Haley ’s inaugurate , the remainder in characters between the cities , between Blüdhaven and Gotham , and Blüdhaven being mean . But I just enjoy seeing so much grounds pointing in the opposite , because Dick is definitely having this ripple effect run short on in the city .
Tom Taylor : Yeah . And that is 100 % the idea , to show success . Yes , we throw everything against him , and we ’re doing it right now with the Battle for Blüdhaven ’s Heart , but our idea has always been , " No , we want him to actually transform the metropolis . " And we said that in the original sales talk . We were like , " No , we want him to come after . "
Bruno Redondo : That is not an leisurely fight .
Tom Taylor : Yeah , we require to show a hero who really has an idea and makes it chance . And so him carry down , we ’ve just get down the commissioner , we ’ve take basically take down the law force and replaced them , because they ’re corrupt , and they ’re awful , working for the incorrect hoi polloi and not work for the right the great unwashed . So being able to do that in a book like this is complete .
Another affair I was question with all this is , is there gon na be a Batcave or something ?
Tom Taylor : He was kind of getting it and then Bruno , there was a filling - in return and I be adrift it up .
Bruno Redondo : I do n’t feel he ’s a Batcave guy , because that ’s like a ego monument . And I conceive that Dick is a ground character . So I feel he has some tools , but with not so much theater , like his father , one of his father . We talked about this here , and I was against that too nerveless and expensive office , well designed . I feel he ’s more like somebody who drop his escrimas on the flooring and falls into the bed .
Or in through the windowpane .
Tom Taylor : Yeah , that was a large dialog box .
Bruno Redondo : But he has his own wardrobes hidden . Because he has to take care .
Tom Taylor : Yeah , he ’s not a guy rope who want trophies to the past times . He ’s not gon na a guy who ’s gon na have elephantine cent and dinosaur .
Bruno Redondo : That ’s way cool , that ’s awesome , but for Batman . Yeah , he ’s a different kind of character , not much cars , and those things .
What ’s your hope for the bequest of yourNightwingrun ?
Tom Taylor : Look , I just desire it ’s a account that people can always go back to , and it can put a smile on their face . I just really need to tell a positive story that was n’t bogged down in internal dramatic event and too much of the bad of human beings . I want a shining beacon of Leslie Townes Hope and good that shines through in a really well-chosen story . Yes , it make people cry sometimes , but for good reasons , because of Alfred or because of the friendships that they have because of the relationship was so practiced . And it ’s a tricky matter to get across and sometimes people are like , " No , you need to do this terrible thing , you sleep together , he demand to suffer an arm in the next issue or something . " And it ’s just like , " No , we do n’t require to go there , we just want to severalize a positive story . " And yes , there ’s spate of challenges coming his agency , but we require him to glint through them .
Next : Nightwing & Batgirl Disprove The bounteous Lie About Superhero Romance
Nightwing#95will be publish by DC Comics on August 16th , 2022 .
