Nightwing #100 set the stage for the Titans to replace the Justice League

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By Michael Doran
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Samantha Puc
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Dick Grayson is tasked with replacing the JLA and filling some pretty big superhero shoes

Nightwing #100 art
Nightwing #100 art (Image credit: DC)

The Titans are taking over as DC's preeminent superhero team.

Which means the Titans are replacing the Justice League. 

At least for now...

Writer Joshua Williamson's promise in early 2022 that when he "killed" the Justice League in Justice League #75 the DC Universe would be without the team for a while seems to be coming true.

DC has not yet announced any plans for a new Justice League series in the Dawn of DC era and the publisher has made clear in various titles now that Dick Grayson - the hero of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths - and the Nightwing-led Titans will be asked by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to fill the power vacuum left in the wake of the DC Trinity "rethinking" the Justice League. 

Nightwing #100 cover (Image credit: DC)

That storyline seems to kick off in earnest in January 17's extra-sized Nightwing #100, by writer Tom Taylor and artists Bruno Redondo, Rick Leonardi, Scott McDaniel, Mikel Janin, and Javier Fernandez.

In this brief preview of the issue, Batman and Nightwing meet at the grave of Alfred Pennyworth, and the mentor seems to begin the conversation suggesting the protégé take his place among the hierarchy of DC superheroes and his former JV squad take over as the varsity.

And the Titans were always the only alternative.

"In the Dark Crisis or post-Dark Crisis DCU, it would make sense for Nightwing, Donna Troy, Tempest, Roy Harper, and then their New Teen Titans teammates Starfire, Cyborg (a Superman figure in the Flashpoint reality and Justice League founder in the New 52), Raven, and Beast Boy to graduate and take up residence in the Hall of Justice with full-on Justice League status," wrote Newsarama last year. "If there's a true vacuum where the Justice League pantheon used to be, the Titans are far and away the most equipped to fill that void. 

"Theirs would be a promotion earned. A lifetime of preparation and training paid off. Finally graduating to being the main DC team would be a legacy fulfilled." 

Check out the full brief preview: 

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Nightwing #100
(Image credit: DC)

In addition to the main cover by Redondo and Adriano Lucas, Nightwing #100 will also have a series of variant covers by Jim Lee, Jorge Jiminez, Javier Fernandez, Travis Moore, Babs Tarr, Jorge Fornés, Dan Mora, and Jamal Campbell. See them in the gallery below.

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Nightwing #100
(Image credit: DC)

Dick Grayson is one of the best legacy superheroes in comics.

Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.

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