Flash Humiliates Nightwing by Making His TV Catchphrase Official Canon
Warning! Contains spoilers for The Flash #781!
The Flash and Nightwing have been friends for years, but that won’t stop Wally from embarrassing his pal, as he showed by officially canonizing one of the silliest parts of Dick’s past. This falls in line with a general philosophy that DC’s new Infinite Frontier continuity has taken towards accepting all elements of their characters’ pasts. When this is applied to a character with as much history as Nightwing, this can have hilarious results.
Nightwing is the alias of Dick Grayson, the original Robin. Dick has worked hard to become his own hero outside of Batman’s shadow. He patrols his own city, Bludhaven, has led his own team, the Teen Titans, and even has his own rogues gallery. But many people still think of Dick Grayson as Batman’s kid sidekick, the Boy Wonder. This is largely due to the cultural impact of the 1960’s Batman TV show starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. Though people make fun of it now, Adam West's Batman remains popular with writers like Alan Moore. The show was delightfully irreverent and one of its most iconic running gags was Robin saying “Holy” followed by some silly and pertinent phrase whenever something shocking occurred. While many comic versions of Nightwing have distanced themselves from this version of Dick Grayson, a recent Flash comic has officially canonized its most iconic feature.
In The Flash #781, written by Jeremy Adams, penciled by Fernando Pasarin with inks by Matt Ryan, The Flash takes Kid Flash out with him on patrol. When the two uncover a Legion of Doom base (which was recently mocked by Future State) in the center of the Earth, Wally says, “Holy Dome of Doom,” referencing Robin’s old catchphrase. He then explains to Kid Flash that Nightwing used to say that sort of thing all the time but his fellow Titans relentlessly teased him about it for years.
This is a great way to canonize an iconic but absurd part of Dick's past. By having Dick get teased for saying objectively silly statements, the revelation actually presents realistic consequences for this running gag while also preserving the light-hearted nature of the bit. Also revealing this key piece of information alongside finding a Legion of Doom dome in Skartaris of all places fits extremely well as both of those locations are also usually viewed as campier parts of DC's universe. So the "Holy" reveal feels a lot more natural as it takes place surrounded by other pieces of comic silliness.
Flash encourages Kid Flash to bring up his old catchphrase the next time he's training with him, ensuring that Dick will never live down one of the more embarrassing elements of his past. But given Nightwing's current comics has also referenced the 1960s Batman show, DC might not want him to. Thus Flash's canonization of Nightwing's catchphrase is a broader sign of how DC's new approach to continuity treats the sillier elements of its superheroes.
The Flash #781 is currently available now from DC Comics.