Using his experience and wisdom, Nightwing is becoming a mentor to the next generation of DC heroes, including the recently introduced City Boy. Having recently led the universe into a new Dawn of DC, Nightwing has been featured prominently as a mentor to the younger heroes of the world. Specifically, he took Jon Kent’s Superman under his wing, training him to get the most out of his Kryptonian powers, and offering him the acceptance and mentorship that Clark Kent’s Superman once offered a young Dick Grayson.
Nightwing continues to mentor the future generation of DC in City Boy #4 by Greg Pak, Minkyu Jung, Sebastian Cheng, and Wes Abbott. City Boy #4, featuring the title character and Nightwing in a thrilling team-up, goes on sale on September 5. Of course, before any two heroes can work together, first they need to face off in an unfortunate misunderstanding – and Nightwing and City Boy follow that tradition, as Dick Grayson must fend off a gigantic bat made of concrete and metal in a preview from DC.
Nightwing Unites with City Boy
City Boy first was introduced to the DC Universe earlier this year as someone who used his ability to talk to cities to his advantage, tracking down valuable items to make a living. More recently, though, as a new hero still trying to understand his abilities, City Boy is struggling to maintain control of his powers. Cam has spent a lot of time talking to cities, but once he puts the city’s consciousness in motion, he can’t necessarily keep it at bay. Unfortunately, Dick Grayson needs to brave the uncertainty of City Boy’s powers, as he’s desperate to track down a criminal who only DC’s newest hero can help him find. Cover art and variant cover art from Jung and Sunny Gho, Inhyuk Lee, and Mike Choi can be viewed below.
Nightwing Has Become DC’s Ultimate Mentor
Before getting his own ongoing series, City Boy made his debut at the top of this year. He has the power of symbiosis, allowing Cameron Kim to communicate and interact with cities as if they were living things. This also allows him to touch objects and recollect the past surrounding them. That ability was on full display in the Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1 one-shot, where his finding of a loose batarang allowed him to track it back to Nightwing. Now, as the two reunite, City Boy is in desperate need of guidance, more so than before. Nightwing is no stranger to inspiring people to be their best selves. As such, this team-up could be a vital step in City Boy learning how to be a proper hero – after all, if Dick has something to teach a lifelong superpower like Jon Kent, he can definitely share something valuable with a neophyte hero.
Alternatively, this could also be a vital step for Nightwing in his new role as the face of DC, post-Dark Crisis. He’s mentored people before, but in the case of Jon Kent and the Titans Academy, he’s mentored people who either had experience using their powers, or whose abilities were manageable. City Boy is way more powerful, and Dick Grayson doesn’t know if he can be trusted to operate solo – this issue, he’ll find out one way or another. With City Boy being an actual product of the new Dawn of DC, Nightwing (now the heart of DC’s multiverse) can directly play a part in reshaping the DC Universe as audiences know it by showing the ropes to a key figure for the next generation of heroes. City Boy still has a long way to go to reach his full potential as a hero, but Nightwing is seemingly going to guide him in the right direction.
City Boy #4 is available from DC Comics September 5.