When Nightwing was shot in the head in the pages of Batman, it was the end of Dick Grayson–and the birth of Ric Grayson, a man who looked the same, but shirked responsibilities and heroic instincts, instead embracing the vagrant and nomadic spirit of the circus in which he was raised. Now in DC’s official preview of Nightwing Annual #2, every readers is getting caught up to speed on Dick’s lost memory of being Nightwing. Which may be another sign his path back to that role, and his Batman family, could be the character’s next step.

Since the injury, Ric Grayson has started fresh, and staying true to his circus roots. But while the Batman family loved Dick enough to leave him be, the same can’t be said of his biological family–basically just his great-grandfather William Cobb, immortal Talon of The Court of Owls. The most recent issue of Nightwing saw Cobb forcing Grayson into becoming the new Talon. But with recent solicitations and teases of coming stories suggesting Dick–sorry, Ric could be looking to change his direction yet again, the Annual revisiting the circumstances of Ric’s birth could be telling. At least, we hope it is.

The Nightwing Annual preview (courtesy of AiPT!) takes readers several months back in time, much closer to the days when Ric was first making his presence felt. Even then, it seems, he was far from determined to leave the past behind him without a second though. Readers can see the preview pages for themselves, along with the plot synopsis for the Annual, below:

  • 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 will be available at your local comic book shop on October 30th, 2019. The full debut of Ric Grayson in his role as the new Talon will likely arrive in Nightwing #67 on December 18th, 2019.

MORE: Every Nightwing Reference In The Arrowverse

Source: AiPT!