Nightwing's New Costume Is Here (and Taking Major Inspiration from the Last Person His Fans Will Ever Expect)

Summary The upcoming Nightwing #117 introduces a new costume and a darker storyline for Dick Grayson's character.

Nightwing's new suit is exceptionally similar to Jason Todd's Red Hood costume in Red Hood: The Hill.

Fans can expect a new Nightwing suit featuring combat gear and tactical clothing that strays from his classic look.

Nightwing's new costume is officially here, and its stylistic choices will undoubtedly receive the Red Hood stamp of approval. Typically, it's the younger brother who mimics the elder, but Dick Grayson has once again flipped the norms, borrowing his younger brother’s look with the debut of this new suit on official variant covers for the upcoming comic release.

This new suit marks one of the biggest changes to the Nightwing costume in recent years, replacing Dick’s typical blue and black Kevlar and Nomex attire with something that would be more at home in Jason Todd’s closet.

On sale August 21, 2024, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing #117 will see the five-part Fallen Grayson story arc in full swing. This story arc will conclude Taylor and Redondo’s tenure on the series and promises to see Dick Grayson’s story take a darker turn, featuring the beloved hero's fall from grace.

NIGHTWING #117 (2024) Release Date: August 21, 2024 Writers: TOM TAYLOR Artists: BRUNO REDONDO Cover Artist: BRUNO REDONDO Variant Covers: BRUNO REDONDO, STEVAN SUBIC, SERG ACUNA, BELÉN ORTEGA, JASON GEYER, and ALEX SAVIUK While Dick connects with the ghost of his past, “Nightwing” takes to the streets to defend his honor. But how can he be in two places at once? And what shocking revelation does Dick learn when confronted with the truth behind his parents’ deaths? The “Heartless” saga continues in the penultimate chapter of this celebrated run!

However, like the true showman he is, Dick’s fall from grace will also include a costume change, with two variant covers—one by Redondo and the other by Stevan Subic—teasing a new Nightwing suit. Notably, the design appears to be strongly inspired by Red Hood’s typical stylistic choices.

Dick Grayson’s New Nightwing Suit Takes Major Inspiration From Jason Todd’s Red Hood Costume

This new suit marks one of the biggest changes to the Nightwing costume in recent years, replacing Dick’s typical blue and black Kevlar and Nomex attire with something that would be more at home in Jason Todd’s closet. The new outfit features off-black tactical pants, combat boots, arm wraps, escrima stick thigh holsters, and a t-shirt adorned with the Nightwing symbol on the chest. This ensemble is strikingly similar to Jason’s current costume in his ongoing series, Red Hood: The Hill. It will be interesting to see if Taylor acknowledges the costume similarities in the narrative.

This drastic change immediately prompts the question: What event could have caused Dick Grayson to ditch his iconic finger stripes? This new suit almost has a thrown-together quality to it, featuring many clothing items that could easily be purchased at DC’s version of Walmart—including the Nightwing-inspired t-shirt. This suggests that Dick has somehow become separated from his usual suit and resources, forcing him to create a costume on the fly. The only elements from the original suit that remain are Dick’s Escrima sticks and his mask.

1:52 Related 10 Years Later, Nightwing's Gold Batsuit Is Still the Dark Knight's Coolest Alt-Costume Nightwing has donned Batman's cape and cowl several times. However, his Earth-2 Batsuit is by far the coolest iteration of the Dark Knight's costume.

Will Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Tactical Nightwing Suit Live on After the Conclusion of Their Fallen Grayson Story Arc?

The end of Taylor and Redondo’s tenure on the series raises questions about the longevity of any changes they make to Nightwing, including whether the new costume will persist beyond this story arc. It will be interesting to see if future artists and writers adopt these changes or if fans can expect a complete overhaul of Nightwing when a new creative team takes over. Taylor and Redondo have teased that this story arc will position Dick perfectly for future writers and artists to build upon. This suggests they intend for their changes to have a lasting impact on Nightwing canon.

Nightwing #117 will be released on August 21, 2024, from DC Comics!