In the issue #93 of DC’s Nightwing comic book series, Dick Grayson inadvertently tells Barbara Gordon, a longtime love interest whom he has gone back and forth with romantically over the course of many years, “I love you.”
Dick inadvertently utters the three phrases while he is interacting with Babs at her lair in Gotham City. “I’m sorry,” “I’m sorry,” and “I’m sorry,” The two examine footage together while being accompanied by Haley, Dick’s three-legged rescue pooch. The footage shows Nightwing fighting off several masked assailants who were responsible for vandalizing a statue of Alfred Pennyworth that Dick erected in the middle of Blüdhaven in the previous issue. Dick erected the statue in this issue.
After Barbara explains that she has been successful in compiling a database on the identities of the masked men, Dick takes a look at the material and murmurs, “I don’t think this is going to work.” “You are simply amazing. I love you.” A split second later, a dumbfounded look emerges on his face, and he apologises, but not before Babs grins and asks him if he truly meant to apologize for expressing his passion for her. He says that he did not mean to apologize for expressing his affection for her. A phone call interrupts Dick just as he is about to elaborate, saving him from the unpleasant situation.
Since almost the same time as they have worked together as Batman’s original companions, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon have had sporadic moments of romantic interest in one another. These moments have ranged from platonic to sexual in nature. After being depicted as flirtatious young adults in series such as The Batman Family, which ran in the late 1970s and showed Dick as a college-age crime fighter and Babs as a slightly older congresswoman, the relationship between the two has developed over the years, particularly after Babs was shot by the Joker in 1988’s The Killing Joke and spent many years in a wheelchair.
Over the course of writer Chuck Dixon’s tenure on the ongoing Birds of Prey and Nightwing series during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dick and Babs made significant progress in their relationship. In issue #117 of Nightwing, published in 2006, Dick even popped the question to Babs. Even though Babs said yes, the couple’s engagement was broken off off-screen.
In the storyline that is currently being told, Dick and Barbara had a profound affection for one another, but they avoided committing to a serious relationship until Nightwing #85. In that issue, the two locked lips as they were assisting one another in combat during the “Fear State” event. Since that time, the two have been taking things one step at a time when it comes to making a commitment to one another. Now that Babs is contributing more and more to Dick’s Blüdhaven endeavors, there is a good chance that the two sweethearts will one day be more willing to openly show their affection for one another when the time is right.
Nightwing issue #93 was written by Tom Taylor, illustrated by Bruno Redondo, inked by Wade Von Grawbadger, colored by Adriano Lucas, and lettered by Wes Abbott. Redondo was also responsible for the issue’s cover, while Jamal Campbell, Serg Acua, and Nick Robles contributed to the variant covers. DC Comics is now selling the issue to customers.
