Cover: Tony S. Daniel

Batman #55

Nov 2018 · DC · 3.99 USD

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“Beasts of Burden Part 1”

About this Issue

Batman (Vol. 3) #55 is the opening chapter of the 'Beasts of Burden' arc and delivers one of the most genuinely shocking plot pivots of Tom King's celebrated run on the title: KGBeast shoots Dick Grayson through the head with a sniper rifle, in front of both Batman and Commissioner Gordon, sending shockwaves across the entire DC line. The assault directly triggered the 'Ric Grayson' era in the Nightwing title — Dick survived the bullet but lost his memory, temporarily erasing Nightwing from the DC Universe — making this issue a hard-line dividing point in Dick Grayson's continuity. Within King's larger 'City of Bane' mega-arc, the shooting is later revealed to be part of Bane's long-game strategy to psychologically 'break' Batman by destroying everyone he loves, giving the cliffhanger a weight that only deepens on re-read. The issue also marks a rare modern spotlight on Anatoli Knyazev (KGBeast), a villain who had lingered on DC's bench since his 1988 debut, and reestablishes him as a credible, cold-blooded threat rather than a Cold War relic.

writer Tom King · artist, inker Tony S. Daniel · inker Danny Miki · colorist Tomeu Morey · letterer Clayton Cowles · cover Tony S. Daniel

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History

The issue was written by Tom King and illustrated by Tony S. Daniel — with inks by Daniel and Danny Miki, colors by Tomeu Morey, and letters by Clayton Cowles — and was published on September 19, 2018, with a cover date of November 2018. It falls in the middle stretch of King's 85-issue run on Batman (Vol. 3), a run launched under the DC Rebirth banner in 2016, and follows the emotional fallout from the Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle wedding collapse in issue #50. Editor Jamie S. Rich oversaw the issue. The decision to sideline Dick Grayson had immediate ripple effects on the sister Nightwing title: writer Ben Percy departed and was replaced by Scott Lobdell beginning with Nightwing #50, which picked up directly from the events depicted here.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published September 19, 2018 (cover-dated November 2018); part of Batman Vol. 3, the DC Rebirth-era series.
Written by Tom King; pencils and inks by Tony S. Daniel (with additional inks by Danny Miki); colors by Tomeu Morey; letters by Clayton Cowles.
Story arc title: 'Beasts of Burden, Part 1' — the arc ran through Batman #55–57.
Key story event: KGBeast shoots Dick Grayson (Nightwing) in the head with a sniper rifle on the rooftop of the GCPD, in front of Batman and Commissioner Gordon, closing the issue on a cliffhanger.
First appearance of Phantom Pharaoh, a new villain introduced as an antagonist Batman and Nightwing confront earlier in the issue before the KGBeast ambush.
Dick Grayson survives but suffers severe brain trauma and amnesia, leading directly into the 'Ric Grayson' storyline beginning in Nightwing #50 under writer Scott Lobdell.
The shooting is later contextualized as part of Bane's coordinated plan to break Batman mentally and emotionally, a thread central to King's overall run.
Two covers were released: a main cover by Tony S. Daniel and a variant cover by Francesco Mattina.