I would really like to see these two together in a book. Working together or as enemies. Would you buy this book? how would you write the story?

I'm not sure how a story like that would go down. I'd probably end up buying it eventually, since it would have Nightwing in it. I think it would be cool to see a fight between the two. As for the plot elements, the most plausible instance I could imagine would be Nightwing teaming up with the Suicide Squad for whatever reason due to circumstances.

I would buy it. The idea seems interesting.

So it'd probably be one of those mini 4 issue series, similar to the one that had Nightwing and Huntress team up.

Lets make the story take place in Bludhaven, so Batman couldn't be substituted in.

Harley goes to Bludhaven, something is going on with her solo series and by going here, it'll help her out. However, when she gets there, there is a bounty on her. Hitmen are out to get her. And who's here in Bludhaven that could help her out and get to the bottom of this case? It's Nightwing. And the villain who's going to be the mastermind behind the whole thing is someone like Black Mask or someone similar.

@nightwingism: I can dig it. what I like about it is that Nightwing is possibly the only member of the batclan that would have compassion on Harley and actually give her a chance if something was going down and she really needed help (hes kind of a bleeding heart). it could either be a serious series or more light-hearted because they are both kinda goofy.

If they were to go the Suicide Squad route, I actually kind of had that as the first step Waller blackmailing him (before he becomes a public hero). waller blackmails him, throws him in belle reve but its all a pretense because she has had her eye on him for a while because of his leadership potential (The Riddler actually recommends him to Waller-long story). so he works with the Suicide Squad for a while as their leader

@vernierhawk001: I think with Nightwing, despite being more willing to give second chances, he definitely wouldn't be like buddy-buddy with Harley. It'd be like "serious cop who can be fun" with "insane cop who can be serious". I think with these two characters, it'd be a good juxtaposition for Nightwing to be taken seriously, because he actually is pretty serious when you get down to the nitty-gritty of his character, while Harley at that level is that funny, insane character.

I think with a Suicide Squad route, they would have to implement story beats early on in Nightwing's solo in order for the blackmailing to actually be effective. Because then we, as the reader, know the gravitas to the scenario. We would know there is something actually being held over his head.

Lets say the writers were to do this story soon, so it'd take place during Rebirth, it'd be pretty cool to have the whole "Dick working with a murderer (Raptor)" thing being held over his head. And Waller knows this because, hello, she knows everything. And she'd just be waiting in Dick's Bludhaven apartment, super sly. She'll tell him I know who you are, I know what you've done, and you are going to do a mission for me. Or else.

Dick is a smart guy, brash and abrasive at times, but smart. He'll listen, and let her say her piece. He'll question her on why he'd do this mission. She reveals what she knows, and the damage it could do to his reputation "and the rich boy who, should I say, supplies you." hinting to Dick that she knows Batman is Bruce.

Mission? Simple. Guy from whozzawhazit is investing in a million dollar industry that deals with selling thingymajigs off the coast, to people in America. This is bad, as the thingymajigs are actually highly advanced military drones that can probe minds and makes it easy for Guy to take control over the world. The kicker? Guy barely exists, and Nightwing will discover this truth and the mission goes on. Guy will be made up, a facade, a gear in the machine. The machines are actually part of this big elaborate plot that is being orchestrated from afar by BRAINIAC. So Nightwing and the Suicide Squad vs. Brainiac.

Nightwing, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Enchantress, Bronze Tiger, and lets say Rick Flag will be the members of this team. Rick and Dick will butt heads because of the fact that they are leaders, but Dick doesn't want to be it but so much better at it, and Rick is a leader without his people. Deadshot and Killer Croc have beef with the boy wonder, being a person who's put them away so many times, now is leading them to their deaths. Harley Quinn doesn't like the boy in blue either, but she's able to tolerate him more because of his dashing good looks and the fact that his ass looks "FANT-ASS-TIC". Bronze Tiger and Enchantress are indifferent.

@nightwingism:

Harley is so different depending on who writes her. A Connor Quinn would interact differently than the one from Suicide Squad, dont you think? but I agree that they wouldnt be buddy buddy. I like your characterization.

As for the suicide Squad scenario, I was thinking of leveraging all the stuff thats happened in Forever Evil and Grayson. for instance, everyone knows that grayson is nightwing. as for the "imprisonment", I have not researched this but i would think that there has to be some consequence to working for a foreign intelligence service. maybe not. Spyral knew who most of the heroes were so its not a stretch that Waller could know. and she is twisted enough to keep it to herself. The idea of him getting in trouble becuase of his work with spyral also adds tension between say Babs and Bruce because she knows he joined spyral at bruces behest and that he is now being a sacrificial lamb, if you will.

I like your suicide squad team except I would add Rose Wilson as his partner (kind of like they characterized Flagg and Katana in the movie...someone who had his back that he could trust a little more than the rest. yes, i know they arent exactly friends but i figure Waller would have paid her to keep Grayson alive). I would also add Edward Nygma to the team as the team coordinator/tactician. He would not actually go into the field but would kind of be their Oracle.

I also agree that FLagg and grayson would butt heads.

They are together in some issues of Grayson

@vernierhawk001: Oh yeah, definitely. Her solo series and Suicide Squad persona are radically different. Her solo reminds me of a deadpool type character, while Suicide Squad reminds me more of a Joker. They are both pretty good, despite not being a fan of the Connor's version, which is why I picked one over the other.And for the fact that story telling wise, her solo tends to be more "out there" less mission based, hence Suicide Squad being the perfect place. Also, going this way gives the opportunity for Nightwing to show off his darker leader side to a group of people who aren't exactly the most morally sound people.

Everyone forgot that Dick and Nightwing were the same person in Grayson 20(?) I believe. However, you could vein off your idea, and have it where once she figured out, she probably had some form of physical documentation of this revelation. And once everyone forgot that Dick and 'wings were on in the same, she could have reread the document and BAM. It's not like she isn't going to trust herself. So she could leverage his identity. But, similar to Lex, she'll probably be able to figure out Bruce is Batman too then (if she doesn't already at this point which would be weird) and hang that over his head too. The idea that she would be willing to sell out Bruce and the entire Bat-crew to get Dick to work with her would be pretty cool. But that's also pretty similar to why Dick joined Spyral. To figure out how much they actually know, and how close they are to discovering more identities.

To go a completely different route, Waller could hold some information over Dick's head, like something about his lineage. I always thought it was a wasted opportunity to have Dick being a "Crowne / Cobb" and not have that be an important storyline in place. So she could always be like "I know who you are, I've known for years. But guess what, I know more about you than you could ever. I know about you being the last of your family. But what if I told you that you weren't." We know that Amelia Crowne got married to another guy, 2nd cousin, instead of being with William Cobb (Talon) so it isn't a stretch to think that maybe she formed a family with him, and there are still Crownes in Gotham. Similar to the Waynes, Cobblepots, and Elliots. So we have Dick basically being able to go into a family and be like "Hey so my grandpa was supposed to be your great uncle-in-law so we are basically 3rd cousins." And the prospect of having a family, a support net, is really imperative to the character of Nightwing. So who knows. This is just the thing that makes Dick agree to waller's mission.

Rose Wilson is an amazing character, love her. She works well with Dick in pre-reboot, and we've seen in Deathstroke's series that her and Nightwing have a history, even before he became Nightwing, so it would make sense for her to a Katana-esque character. Except (there always is) take out the fact that she is there to back-up Nightwing, and is actually there to watch over him. Whole new dynamic but with the same relationship. Waller knows they have a history, and she knows Dick would trust these guys as far as he can throw them. So with Rose, a familiar face, it gives Dick a focal point to try to help him out in rallying the squad. And obviously she will follow Dick, she's in love with the guy. And making sure he doesn't get killed by people, or Waller if he decides to dash, is just an extra bonus.

As for Nygma, I don't think he'd be really necessary. I don't think there is anything he can do that no one else on the team can do at roughly the same level. He can oversee a battle field, but so could Dick, Rose, Rick, Bronze Tiger, and Deadshot. Just in a different way. So as an oracle-like element, Nygma would basically serve no purpose. He might be able to fill in some blanks as to what something is, or where something is, but even then, it would be a suicide mission, Waller doesn't care if they actually succeed or not. As long as they get the job done.

However, if you wanted to get his inclusion, you can easily make it where Riddler is the guy who brings this to Waller's attention, and is the only one who can stop it as he helped manufacture the thingymajig

@nightwingism:

Wow. I did not realize that that is how they closed Grayson. seems like a big waste to have everyone forget....thats a frustrating aspect of DC storytelling: Forever Evil had a chance to change the status quo but they did not stick to it. I mean, we could have had Nightwing again but explore how his role changes since folks know who he his. anywho....

I like the idea of Waller keeping around info revealing that Grayson is Nightwing. I would have to go back to Nightwing 30 to reread the details of why he joined Spyral but I imagined this as being a much more personal thing. I remember Spyral knowing lots of different identities so it was kind of like he was saving everyone. this is Babs and damian and alfread he is thinking about (not to mention bruce and the others). I imagined that as being a much more personal reason for him agreeing to this. as the "older brother" he feels responsible or burdened to protect them. maybe it isnt that different than The Spyral reason, though.

I am fine with Waller having something else of interest to Grayson but id want it to be something that impacts someone else....you know, he is sacrificing for someone else.

I just reread your idea and I do find it interesting....DG having a family.

Its funny: I reread your ideas regarding Rose and I think we were thinking the same thing. not sure what idea of their relationship I conveyed but I meant it almost exactly as you characterized it. rose is there to watch over him. I think she is characterized a bit differently in the N52 than she was before. You said they hinted at history between nightwing and rose in the new deathstroke series? can you show me where? im not reading that book right now but that would be great to see.

Hmm...I dont think I agree about Nygma, however. I probably did not make a good case for him being there but I really think the dynamic he adds would be valuable. There is the obvious hero vs villian bit. theres the fact that Nygma would be older than Grayson. I read Snyder's Death of the Family (actually, i think it was a backup to that run) where he was basically characterized as a genius. Grayson is my favorite comic book character and is a lot of things: an amazing leader, really sharp guy, a great field commander, excellent detective and a superb tactician. I have never seen hm characterized as a genius in the comics, though. Not saying he is dumb by any means but that doesnt make him the "chessmaster" type. I think that is what The Riddler could bring to the table

@vernierhawk001: No yeah, it was kind of dropping the ball of what could have been if they let his identity be known to the world. I think a cool ending would have had him been force to retake the Nightwing mantle to save the world from those agencies. Like, he decided to take off the spy gear, shed that skin despite what his team was thinking, and dawn his costume again. I mean, the whole last 3 (?) issues were of him fighting off his own Spyral teammates, so it could be a thing where he doesn't even want to be on any of their sides, doesn't want to be affiliated with any particular group. And Nightwing is really that, the stepping out of the shadows of someone. I think it would have been really cool to have a superhero as big and well known as Dick being a "public hero", and lended itself to very interesting conflicts between him and the bat-family.

He joined Spyral because Batman wanted him to relay how much information they actually had on all the superheroes, and what not. It wasn't as big as a crusade as it was just a mission to survey and shut down. So it was, in a way, to protect all the superheroes from being outed, but it wasn't his idea in the first place.

And yeah, having that extra little push would be really good. But I think that something else should be tied into another storyline as well. Like, my "ideal" story would be like a 3 book crossover, with Nightwing, Suicide Squad, and like Batgirl. Batgirl is the extra push, something about Penguin's son and her maybe. Maybe something she did as Oracle. Or they do a batgirl story where Waller requested to help her, and it's like a thing where Waller now holds this over her head, and uses that in her favor to get Nightwing to do her bidding.

I really love the idea of Dick having a family. Like, the Bats and Titans are a great family, but you don't see that dynamic as much as when you are out of the costume. So having a story that really gets into the fact that he isn't part of this family, but shares their blood, and ancestors, only not being apart of their lives because of the act of their great-grandpa. Someone would accept him, he's family. Someone would hate him, he's circus trash.

Here's the image that shows the best. There was one more scene, but it was just her saying she was trained by Nightwing, nothing too major or anything. She's super cool, and she has this flirtatious relationship with him as shown with "alter boy" the comments she's making to him. And she looks a little bit younger than him, don't know if it was intentional or just the way the artist draws, but still. It'd be cool to see this relationship play off in some book. Maybe Rose is what pushes Dick to help. Which would make a double whammy because you have Waller using Rose to watch Dick to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, and to save his life basically, and you have Dick along because he doesn't want Waller killing Rose or anything. They are both there to help the other, but don't know it.

Like, Nygma would be great, he's a cool character, but I never thought of the Suicide Squad of being the type to have a third-eye oracle type character to protect them. But if it could work organically in the story, and not just be a thing where you fling a character into a story and hope it sticks sort of deal, then I think why not.