Nite-Wing

Nite-Wing
Tad Ryerstad as Nite-Wing on the cover of Nightwing vol. 2, #31 (March 1999); art by Scott McDaniel.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Tad: Nightwing (vol. 2) #8 (May 1997) As Nite-Wing: Nightwing (vol. 2) #21 (June 1998)
Created by	Chuck Dixon (writer) Scott McDaniel (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Tad Ryerstad
Partnerships	Torque
Notable aliases	Tadpole
Abilities	Capable street fighter Carries many billiard balls Use of a modified three-foot pool stick or steel rod as weapons

Nite-Wing (Tad Ryerstad) is a fictional character in the DC Comics series Nightwing.^[1] He is an antagonist, a fascist foil to the eponymous superhero (Dick Grayson).

Obsessed with becoming a superhero to attain purpose, fame, and wealth, Ryerstad based his vigilantism on mass culture such as comic books, films, television and paperbacks, his hates and prejudices, and accusations against him (despite his claims to be fighting injustice). He is rejected and despised by Nightwing and other heroes after they discover that he is a psychopathic, reactionary neo-fascist unable to distinguish right from wrong, a spree killer no different from the supervillains and other criminals he seeks to fight. Ryerstad becomes a fugitive, pursued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nightwing. He blames Nightwing and his allies for ruining his life by depicting him as a villain and seeks to kill them, whom he calls "betrayers of justice" and believes that this would "clear his name".

Chuck Dixon said in a 2008 interview, "I wanted to show, without the proper upbringing and the wrong motivations, what would happen if a guy tried to become a vigilante. Tad's a guy who just gets everything wrong that Dick Grayson gets right, and he doesn't even necessarily have good in his heart ... He wanted the bragging rights of being a hero without having anything to recommend him as a hero, except that he got a buzz off the danger".^[2] The character was created as a part of DC Comics publications' effort to counter the then-popular style of violent and reckless pseudo-heroes in comics and other media and demonstrate that archetypal superheroes with strong morals, like Nightwing, made for a better hero. He is based on the 1950s Brooklyn Thrill Killers.