Warning: contains spoilers for Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #2!
Nightwing brings a whole new meaning to the Flying Graysons and his family name in Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #2. Dick Grayson takes on the challenge of trying to dispose of an armed bomb without causing fatalities. This is a tough challenge, but as he falls, Nightwing realizes he knows everything he needs to know.
Dick Grayson, famous for being the first Robin, is still living his superhero life under the mantle of Nightwing. He has headlined several comic series and been a staple in the "Bat-Family." While the Bat-Family keeps expanding, Nightwing doesn't fail to be any less heroic. In fact, the bolder and more independent he gets, the more compelling he becomes as a character trying to get out of his mentor's shadow. He has had to fight his own battles while being dragged into Batman's. Simultaneously, he tries to be a pillar of strength and a good older brother to his adopted siblings.
Let Them Live!: Unpublished Tales From the DC Vault #2 is written by Elliott Kalan with art by Mike Norton. In this issue, Ambush Bug takes readers back to the vault for a story titled "Without a Net", written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by Jorge Corona. It focuses on Nightwing stealing a bomb from the Order of St. Dumas. After having been on radio silence, Nightwing calls Bruce to let him know that he is leaving the Order's command center ahead of schedule. This means that Nightwing does not have typical extraction methods or any means of receiving traditional assistance from his family. Instead, he plans to jump - from up in the troposphere.
Nightwing jumps and after several sky battles, interruptions from planes, and many calls with also how to fall. In fact, that's what he tells Batman before the final jump. Through the conversations he had and the observation he did on the height he is at relative to the spots he could fall to, Dick has done something not many heroes could do.
He has calculated his velocity relative to everything and suspects that he has a safe landing zone. So he does what only he can do - he takes a leap of faith. This moment is powerful because it encapsulates everything that has led up to Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing, while not sacrificing any of what came before his new super identity. He won't always be Robin, but he will have always been Robin. He will also have always been a Flying Grayson. He isn't just a son of Batman or a sidekick. He is his own hero. Instead of relying on anyone else to get him out of this situation, he relies completely on himself and what his past taught him. Nightwing saves the day and makes a name for himself by staying true to his original family, adding to their legacy in a way only he can.
