Nightwing Just Took an Incredible New Spot in Superman’s Family – Armessa Movie News

Warning! Contains Spoilers For Action Comics #1058!

There’s no doubt that Nightwing is one of the most popular characters in the DC Universe — especially among the Superman Family. A new major reveal shows just how close Superman considers Nightwing, considering the very name “Nightwing” was given to Dick Grayson by Superman from a very personal family story.

The deep connection between Nightwing’s name and Superman’s Kryptonian family heritage is revealed in Action Comics #1058 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Rafa Sandoval, Matt Herms, and Dave Sharpe. In this story, Kara reads to Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra from a book of House Fables from Krypton, which includes the story of Nightwing and Flamebird, a Kryptonian legend of two great heroes.

This story isn’t new information to avid readers, but what is how the story is specifically related to the House of El as one of the designated “house fables.” Kara explains that every house on Krypton had a “house fable,” which is a special story passed down generation by generation in that house. This completely changes what Superman passing the name onto Nightwing means.

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Nightwing Has a Special Place in the House of El

Nightwing has always been well-liked around the DC Universe, but one of his biggest supporters has always been Superman. When Dick first tried to branch out from Batman and be a different kind of hero, one of the first people he reached out to was Superman, hoping to become Superman’s sidekick. While Clark gently rejected the former Boy Wonder, he did tell him an important Kryptonian legend: the story of Nightwing and Flamebird, who were two great heroes on Krypton. This story is what inspired Dick to take up the Nightwing name. Originally this story was shown as just a standard Kryptonian legend, but it turns out it has a much more personal connection to Clark himself.

With the revelation that the tale of Nightwing and Flamebird is the specific house tale of El, the meaning of Clark passing the tale down to Nightwing has completely changed. When the story was known as a general Kryptonian legend, telling Dick the story was a sweet gesture on Clark’s part, but ultimately impersonal. Now that readers know the tale is specific to Clark’s family, it means that Nightwing is truly Superman’s legacy. By taking on the name of Nightwing, Dick is representing Clark’s entire El family legacy — and that Clark would trust Dick to do that speaks volumes about Superman’s respect for him.

Nightwing and Superman have been good friends since Dick’s Robin days, and that friendship has even passed onto Superman’s son, Jon. Clark hasn’t made it a secret that Dick is his favorite Robin either, and now that readers have the full context of the story of Nightwing and Flamebird, it definitely holds up that Superman considers him his favorite. Because of their closeness, Nightwing is not only Batman’s legacy — he’s Superman’s legacy, too.