Nightwing's a Female Hipster Now?

So I just read an article, well a blog by Cody Connelly, which was aggregated by BleedingCool for my viewing pleasure.  In it he discusses some potentially heart-breaking news for "wing-nuts" (outdated and regrettably uncreative terminology for fans of the DC Comics character Nightwing) that Scott Snyder will debut a female Nightwing in Batman #28.  Now before you get all flippant about spoiler warnings this is going to be one of those possible future issues that we're all so fond of...ya know, the ones that are only canon insofar as the publishers plans stay set in stone for months and years at a time. Done laughing yet? Hey Damian is still dead. That's right, SHUT UP.  Anyhoo, here's what Snyder had to say about the issue to his Twitter followers the other day:

"Then I started thinking about all the crazy plans we have in BATMAN, and in BATMAN ETERNAL (the weekly), for Gotham of 2014, and I figured: what if, as a thank you to you guys for all the support, we took a month off from Zero Year right at the halfway point, and instead did a special issue that showed you what's coming up in the world of Batman AFTER ZY? Not an issue that cuts to the present, but one that actually shows you a glimpse of the FUTURE of Batman - Gotham circa summer 2014? So I got to talking with the other Gotham writers, and we agreed that with all the crazy stuff that's going to happen in 2014 - and my goal above all in 2014 is to keep things daring and fun - it'd be a thrill to do a total spoiler issue. A stand-alone issue that takes place in the near future and reveals all sorts of massive surprises coming to Gotham in the spring of summer of 2014."

 So forgetting all the times that comic fans have been told that the contents of an issue on sale this or next month contains future spoilers, like a future for the Teen Titans where Beast Boy is the lone survivor or something even more believable like a Batman future where Terry McGinnis has taken over the role for good, lets take this one with more than a grain of salt because it is the New 52 after all... anything is possible in this era. The Batman Eternal print line has a lot of room to play with and there are a few female characters waiting in the wings (ha-ha) so you never know.  Now lets take a look at the design because I think it's got some real promise. First off, the design just screams Cos-Play win! This is a great brand for fangirls to rally around because of the long-standing legacy of the brand which leaves for lots of storyline potential. The color scheme is a callback to the original Nightwing design, which is a wise because, really what was wrong with that? The decision to make Nightwing red in the New 52, I think, had more to do with the Robin brand in making Nightwing a more visible extension of the Robin identity.

Anyways, here's what Connelly thinks the story on all this is: "While this is purely speculation, I have a feeling Harper Row will take on the role of Nightwing. The character depicted in the Nightwing design does look like her and the costume fits her style. Also, it would make since for a character that Snyder created to take on the role and become a full -fledged member of the Batfamily."

Dead on Connelly! Or, at least, I hope your right because that sounds like a great decision. Harper Row has all the makings of a home run character. Introduced in the pages of Snyder's Batman the character is described on ComicVine as a "young, punky Gotham City electrical engineer who wants to assist Batman in repayment for protecting her brother and her from assult, much to Batman's frustration." Not only that, but her abusive criminal father has given her a some anger issues and likely a few shady backstories to boot. Her harsh personality is softened by her protective streak as expressed through her relationship with her little brother Cullen.
 
Of note, while Cullen is gay, which draws ridicule from his father and provides Harper another reason to be at odds with him and in the right with us, so far she appears to be straight and could therefore  make her a potential love interest for a Tim Drake or some lucky nice guy vigilante in the long run. Then again, how about a nerdy normal guy - how's that for a social mirror effect? Cos-Play FTW. Anyways, she's smart, punky, kicks bad guys and will make a great addition to the Bat-family so long as they don't play the chords of this cliche too hard. One nose earring and some daddy issue sub-text goes a long way. I digress. Sure hope they don't kill Grayson altogether. While I think this is going to be a lot better than the 2007 model in which Jason Todd was to take over the mantle after Nightwing died a forgettable death in the pages of Infinite Crisis - I think they would be leaving way too much money on the table to get rid of him entirely at this point. Plus, with his identity public knowledge, there is room for a new Nightwing whereas there are plenty of other stories available for an off-the-radar Dick Grayson.

He could be a new Steve Trevor or a Green Lantern or something.  Even a bad guy for a minute, though I'm against that for a bunch of reasons...but lets leave that for another rant.