Followers lastly received to be taught the true origins of Heartless in Nightwing 2022 Annual (by Tom Taylor, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott). The problem not solely revealed that Heartless, aka Shelton Lyle, has been linked to Dick Grayson because the evening his dad and mom died, but additionally set him up as a darkish distinction to Nightwing’s compassion. Nonetheless, the reason of Heartless’ origins proves that he was seamlessly written into the story in a method that eagle-eyed followers will discover satisfying.
The hints have been all the time there about Heartless’ true id, and whereas it might not have been apparent, wanting again, the clues painted an image for readers. This is not Shelton Lyle’s first look, and his introduction to Dick Grayson’s story not solely arrange a motive but additionally gave readers every little thing they wanted to foretell the place his life was headed.
Nightwing Revealed that Heartless Entered the DC Universe Lengthy In the past
The large worry about Heartless as a personality was that his true id was going to be underwhelming. Through the course of his misdeeds, there have been so few hints given about his id that one could not be blamed for worrying it will be shoehorned in on the final second. The annual challenge alleviated that worry by exposing Heartless as the primary villain launched in Tom Taylor’s run on Nightwing. Nobody knew it on the time, however he was there from the start, and there have been all the time sufficient hints to steer readers to the appropriate conclusion.
Shelton Lyle was first launched in Nightwing #78 (by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott). A bully from one among Gotham’s rich households, he got here to blows with Dick throughout their time in highschool, however it was assumed that this was the final anybody would see of him. He gave the impression to be nothing greater than a one-off character designed for example how fantastic an individual Dick was compared to his cruelty and disrespect for others. Because it seems, Shelton was launched for a goal and could be totally utilized.
Heartless was Current in Earlier Nightwing Tales
Shelton’s first encounter with Grayson ended with Shelton dropping just a few enamel after he headbutted him. This, after all, tracks with what is understood about Heartless — he voluntarily misplaced physique components to turn out to be a extra environment friendly killer. Shortly after his standing as a cyborg was revealed, he additionally uncovered readers to a short look into his life. Not solely was he rich sufficient to have a butler and superior medical expertise, however he additionally displayed a callous disregard for anybody’s emotions or hopes.
This all matches up with who Shelton was as a younger man. He was merciless, cowardly, and pathetic, the form of one that reveled in tormenting others, however could not deal with it when somebody confirmed any form of resistance or kindness. All these clues have been delivered subtly and paid off. Heartless’ id not solely is sensible but additionally feels immensely satisfying if astute readers linked the dots from the start. In fact, now Nightwing has to understand that an previous bully he hasn’t thought of in years is way extra harmful than anybody might have anticipated.