Nightwing’s Turn to Evil Just Proved He’s a God-Tier Tactical Genius

In the latest issue of DC vs Vampires, Nightwing’s Vampire King proves his genius through his solution for dealing with the DCU’s surplus of aliens.

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for DC vs Vampires #11

While Nightwing has become the evil Vampire King in the alternate reality featured in DC vs Vampires, he’s also revealed to be a tactical genius in DC’s most recent issue. Vampirekind has taken over the world at Dick Grayson’s command, and the key to securing their victory was a systematic corruption of the Earth’s supervillain and superhero communities. However, they weren’t the only threats Nightwing had to account for.

As seen in the first few issues of DC vs Vampires, the Legion of Doom was one of the first targets to be attacked in the vampire revolution. Several major players such as Lex Luthor were killed while other villains were bitten and turned into powerful vampiric captains. Likewise, heroes with light-based powers and magical abilities were the next to be hit, those who posed the biggest danger to vampires and their weaknesses. Eventually, the entire world was conquered with Gotham becoming the new vampire world capital from which Nightwing’s Vampire King has ruled with an iron fist, leaving only a handful of heroes alive to try and restore the world as it was.

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However, the new DC vs Vampires #11 from Matthew Rosenberg, James Tynion IV, and Otto Schmidt reveals that Nightwing also had to contend with the vast number of aliens living on Earth. Unlike humans, it’s confirmed that alien blood largely provides no sustenance for vampires. However, Nightwing was convinced not to slaughter the Earth’s alien population lest he inadvertently trigger alien invasions seeking retribution. Instead, Nightwing instigated deals with various worlds, ensuring that their alien citizens would be safely returned on the condition that Earth would be left alone.

DC Reveals Why There Isn’t A Vampire/Alien War

Nightwing having the foresight to cut deals and peacefully send aliens back to their home worlds is tactically genius. It also proves that he’s genuinely trying to build a new world order that favors vampirekind for the long term. Rather than potentially engaging in needless wars with several different alien worlds, Nightwing has basically guaranteed that the majority of his threats will remain terrestrial. However, the odds are strong that he’ll soon have to contend with Supergirl as soon as she finds a way to break through the artificial cloud cover vampires fabricated to block the sun, allowing them to freely roam the world at will.

At any rate, Nightwing’s Vampire King is clearly prepared to maintain his global rule using all sorts of methods. As such, he likely has contingencies in place for the small team of heroes who’ve infiltrated Gotham to kill him, all of whom are led by Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl. While Nightwing may have gotten rid of vampirekind’s potential alien problems, he might not be ready for the wrath of the heroes who are still living. DC vs Vampires #11 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Next: Nightwing’s New Sidekick Shows How Far Dick Grayson Has Fallen