Warning! Spoilers for Absolute Power #3!Batman is a pretty strict teacher, and he holds people to the same strict rules that he follows himself. If someone is going to join the Bat-Family, they must follow two main rules; No killing and no gun. But Nightwing Just broke one of the main rules in order to save the world.
The heroes of the DC Universe are under attack as Amanda Waller assumes total control over Earth. With her Amazo army, Waller was hunting heroes and stealing their powers. Desperate to escape Waller’s onslaught, the heroes retreat to Themyscira, where Nightwing breaks one of Batman’s biggest rules in Absolute power #3 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez and Ariana Maher.
With all the heroes losing their powers, they need a way to fight back against Waller’s overwhelming army. Nightwing asks Hal Jordan to hand out weapons from the Justice League’s armoryResulting in every hero in the area grabbing guns and other heavy weapons, all under Nightwing’s direction.
Nightwing distributes massively powerful guns to heroes in need
But Batman hates anyone using guns
It makes sense that Batman would be against guns, considering he lost his parents to gun violence when he was a child. Batman is traumatized by this event, leading to his two main rules: no killing and no guns. Batman maintained his no-gun rule for almost his entire careerOnly breaking it in very difficult circumstances, such as when he shot Darkseid during Final crisis. While Batman would probably understand why Nightwing decided to break this major rule, it’s also clear that he wouldn’t exactly be happy about it.
Nightwing is just a bit more flexible when it comes to using guns than his mentor.
Batman has had a few conflicts with Nightwing over guns in their shared history. At one point, Nightwing decides he wants to spend 24/7 protecting and helping people, leading to Dick Grayson became a police officer, which required him to carry a gun. This new career path caused a little friction between Bruce and Dick, as Bruce really didn’t see why Nightwing felt the need to do this and why he needed a gun, especially after all the training Batman put him through. Nightwing is just a bit more flexible when it comes to using guns than his mentor.
Nightwing has a lot of experience with guns
Police Office and Super Spy
Being a police officer isn’t the only time Nightwing has used a gun, as he also regularly had one during his work as an agent of Spiral. When the going gets tough, Nightwing knows that certain rules are only going to hold him back, and to survive, sometimes people have to do things they may be uncomfortable with. While Batman will almost never use guns for any reason, Nightwing Proved that sometimes to save the world you have to break the rules.
Absolute power #3 Available now from DC Comics!