Summary
WARNING: Contains Potential Spoilers for Nightwing #116!Tom Taylor’sNightwinghas just rewritten the rulebook onScarecrow’sinfamous Fear Toxin, taking this classic Gotham Rogue’s bio-weapon to terrifying new heights. With the Original Boy Wonder as its first victim, fans are given a chilling preview of the dark fate that could befall the rest of the DCU’s heroes if this new strain of Fear Toxin is weaponized on a massive scale.
Part three of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’sFallen Graysonarc is finally here, picking up where the major cliffhanger inNightwing#115 left off—Dick Grayson being shot by the Blüdhaven Police Department after beingframed as Heartless by the real villain, Shelton Lyle.
Issue #116 opens with Dick handcuffed in a hospital bed under police custody, but in true Boy Wonder fashion, he manages to escape and heads to his and Barbara Gordon’s apartment. There, Dick shares his goal to unmask the true Heartless, but first, he must overcome his crippling fear of heights, which is preventing him from functioning as Nightwing. It is at this moment that Barbara revealsBatman has discovered the cause of Dick’s fear—Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin.
Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin Gets Major Upgrade inNightwing#116
While patching Dick up from the abuse he suffered at the hands of the Blüdhaven Police Department, Barbara informs him that Batman examined his blood and found traces of a poison similar to Scarecrow’s fear toxin, specifically engineered to create a fear of heights. If the Dark Knight is correct, this could be the most dangerous form ofScarecrow’s Fear Toxinto date. Unlike the typical toxin, which induces extremely vivid and traumatizing hallucinations,this version targets specific fears, something previously unheard of.Additionally, its long-lasting effects make it particularly dangerous.
Even though Batgirl concedes that Dick shouldn’t be experiencing any more biological effects from the dose he received, as the traces left in his blood are minuscule, it was still enough to revert him back to his old fear, making the effects thus far indefinite.It is unclear if Scarecrow engineered the Fear Toxin himself or if Heartless—the one Batman confirms poisoned Dick—created the strain. Either way, Nightwing is now faced with the problem of overcoming this fear while also being at risk of getting dosed again by Heartless.
Heartless’s New Strain of Scarecrow Fear Toxin Could Have Devastating Impacts on the DCU if Weaponized
Whether Scarecrow or Heartless created this strain of Fear Toxin, it still showcases the full potential of Scarecrow’s power. With a Fear Toxin that can target individual fears and has long-lasting effects, Scarecrow could effectively neutralize DC’s heroes without them even realizing it until it’s too late. For example, if Crane could engineer the Fear Toxin to give Batman a fear of dark alleys, the Dark Knight would be incapacitated until he found an antidote or overcame the fear. It will be interesting to see if Taylor explores this further in hisNightwingrun and answers questions such as whetherScarecrowis involved.
Nightwing’s Shocking New Look as “Fallen Grayson” Announces a Major Shift for DC
Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s critically acclaimed Nightwing run is officially coming to its end and will forever change Dick Grayson.
NIGHTWING #116 (2024)
The Scarecrow
Nightwing
Nightwing is the superhero moniker taken up by Dick Grayson, upon his aging out of the Robin role and becoming a superhero of his own. Inspired by the original Kryptonian hero of the same name, Grayson has risen to comic book immortality with the identity, earning respect as one of the greatest leaders in the DC Universe.
