A Nightwing Game Shouldn’t Have to Pack Its Bags and Move to Bludhaven

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home April 6, 2025 6 Views 5 Min Read
A Nightwing Game Shouldn’t Have to Pack Its Bags and Move to Bludhaven



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Besides having them gradually introduced with minor roles until they were all around in some capacity during Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady made sure not to include much in the way of exposition for any of its Bat-family affiliates. Barbara Gordon is perhaps the only Bat-family member whose story is neatly outlined in the Arkhamverse timeline thus far, but only because she’s been present in almost every single entry between Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham Shadow. The Arkhamverse’s Dick Grayson, however, was introduced unceremoniously in Batman: Arkham City’s challenge mode as Nightwing.

This quickly established how long Bruce Wayne must have been Batman for by this point with Dick being Batman’s original Robin and therefore having a storied history in the Arkhamverse, regardless of whether or not that history had been detailed. Still, this was fine because Tim Drake was Batman’s current Robin anyhow, and the premise of Nightwing being for Bludhaven what Batman is for Gotham City is exciting for the character. But, while Bludhaven would be fertile soil for a Nightwing game, Gotham City could simultaneously be the heart of a Robin game following Batman: Arkham Shadow.

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Batman’s Arkhamverse Leaves a Breadcrumb Trail Leading Straight to Bludhaven

A Nightwing Arkham game Frankensteined out of the bones of Batman’s entries would certainly not be out of the realm of possibility and it’s an idea that’s floated around in players’ hopes and desires for a while now. Moreover, it’s an idea that Batman: Arkham Knight seems to have at least left teases of a game set in Bludhaven not at all being unreasonable.

Knight’s “GCPD Lockdown” and Harley Quinn’s Story Pack both allude to what a Nightwing-led game could take shape as: the former with a sole focus on Nightwing’s combat and predator gameplay (with a brief opening at the Bludhaven Docks) and the latter taking place in Blüdhaven. It’s not as if Rocksteady is completely adverse to the thought of abandoning Gotham City as it has done so with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and with Batman alive and well in the present day it would make sense that Nightwing’s presence would be redundant.

Even half-seriously, a newly emboldened Aaron Cash volleys the idea of replacing the GCPD’s broken Bat-Signal and having Nightwing be Gotham City’s defender in Batman’s abrupt absence, to which Nightwing declines. If Rocksteady or another developer wished, a Nightwing game following Knight would already have a solid framework and a great segue.

Why Dick Grayson’s Arkhamverse Story May Be Stuck in the Past for Now

A Nightwing game would have a wealth of worldbuilding and lore potential in a wholly unique town, especially with “GCPD Lockdown” illustrating that Nightwing’s crime-fighting exploits would not be restricted to the nighttime. That said, it might finally be time to explore Dick Grayson as a fledgling Robin instead, and Batman: Arkham Shadow has devised a novel and wonderful origin story for the Boy Wonder.

Shadow chose to debut Dick as one of the Rat King’s Rats with a handful of clues discerning his identity despite the game not explicitly stating that he was indeed Dick until a recently released epilogue scene where Bruce Wayne is moving him out of the Beacon Hotel and into Wayne Manor. No future Arkham game ever touching on Dick’s history as Robin would be a shame, but Shadow effectively creates that throughline now regardless of what’s in store for the character.

Rather, a sequel to Shadow could easily have Batman mentoring Batgirl and Robin alongside one another and make that throughline even richer. Consequently, a Nightwing game absolutely should take place in Bludhaven, while a Robin game could still take place at the Arkhamverse’s home in Gotham City.

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