Things aren’t looking good these days for Dick Grayson, the original Robin. Some fans are even worried that he’s going to be killed off soon. But not me. Despite all of the ominous clues that DC Comics has been dropping, I don’t think they’re going to kill off Nightwing because of one very important detail.

They haven’t announced it in the news media.

That’s just ketchup

In the current Forever Evil storyline, the Crime Syndicate of America has defeated the Justice League and kidnapped Nightwing, exposing his secret identity to the world to show they mean business. They’re keeping him alive for their own twisted reasons, and Batman is already mounting a rescue, but DC has been dropping a few hints lately that the Dark Knight might not succeed, and the original Dynamic Duo will be no more.

The biggest hint came on Tuesday with the release of DC’s solicitations for April. That image I posted above is the cover to Nightwing #30, billed as the “final issue” of the series, because DC is apparently canceling the book. The text for the issue #30 preview reads:

The Bat Family is forced to face the brutal aftermath of FOREVER EVIL, but after everything they’ve been through, can they stand together?

So a cover stained with blood and a broken mask, and a solicitation that mentions “brutal aftermath”. Do you see what I mean? DC is practically screaming at us that Nightwing is toast! That preview couldn’t be more clear!

Except that’s not how DC announces big changes these days.

The big trend for DC and Marvel recently has been to announce all big storylines in the news media before the comics see print. Sometimes this occurs only a day or so before the comic comes out, but recently, they’d been making media announcements ahead of the solicitations. For example, just last week, DC announced via the Associated Press that Lex Luthor was joining the Justice League rather than wait for it to be revealed in the April solicitations. Likewise, Marvel revealed Peter Parker’s return to Amazing Spider-Man before they put out their own previews for April.

And the death of a character with the rich history and public appeal of Dick Grayson is going to make the news. There’s no doubt about it.

The deaths of Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Human Torch and Catwoman all made the news, even though Catwoman was actually revealed in the very next issue to be Martian Manhunter, and he wasn’t dead at all.

If DC Comics was really going to kill Dick Grayson at the end of Forever Evil, they would probably have announced it in the media already. They wouldn’t put out a solicitation like the one they did on Tuesday, practically promising a death, without first milking it for national news coverage. That’s just how the comic book industry works these days.

Am I wrong for liking the red more than the blue?

I could be wrong. DC might be waiting until the day or week of the actual death to make headlines. But too many people are talking about Nightwing dying. It’s all over the comic news sites; heck, it’s clearly on my blog, you’re reading my article right now. But knowing what I’ve seen about comic stories announced in the media, I just don’t think DC would leave a story this huge to the minnows in the media pond. Why let minor web sites like mine nibble at the bait when DC could make headlines and get TV time by announcing the death of the original Robin?

Not to mention the fact that Dick Grayson is rumored to appear in the Man of Steel sequel. The character is perched on the edge of a major comeback in mainstream popularity. Killing him now would be silly, but killing him and resurrecting him in less than a year to make it in time for the movie is even sillier.

I don’t know what’s going to happen to Dick Grayson in the next few months. But I’m pretty sure he’s not going to die.

Dick Grayson can’t seem to catch a break. And I don’t just mean the murder of his parents when he was still a boy. I mean Dick Grayson as a comic book superhero can’t seem to catch a break in DC Comics’ New 52 universe. In less than two years, Dick found out that his childhood home, Haley’s Circus, was actually a front for the villainous Court of Owls secret society, and that Dick himself was in line to become one of their undead assassins (until the whole Batman and Robin thing happened instead). Then he found out his childhood sweetheart was a psychopath who betrayed him and tried to kill him, only for her to then be murdered by the Joker as a means of punishing Dick.

Then when he inherited Haley’s Circus and sunk all of his life savings into fixing it up, that too was destroyed by the Joker. Then Dick found out that Batman was keeping secrets from him, leading to an angry split between the two heroes. Then he found out the man who murdered his parents was still alive and hiding in Chicago!

And now Nightwing has been chosen as the sacrificial lamb for the new Forever Evil event.

So that’s why they put him in red

Don’t worry, he’s not dead…at least not yet.

But something almost as huge happened to Nightwing in this week’s Forever Evil #1. As a big Robin and Nightwing fan, I’m worried about any major change to one of my favorite characters. But I’m here to tell you that this change might not be all that bad. In fact, this could work out very well in Nightwing’s favor.

As long as DC manages to use it to tell some good stories. That part is questionable.

But this isn’t the end of the world. Join me after the jump for full SPOILERS and why I think this could be good for the character.

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