For more than a year, Black Canary has been working with the mysterious Oracle who’s been sending her on missions all over the world. But she doesn’t know Oracle is really Barbara Gordon, the former-Batgirl. Despite this, Oracle has earned Canary’s trust enough that she’ll lay down her life for her, as seen when Blüdhaven crime boss Blockbuster finds out Iracle’s been draining his various illegal accounts to pay for Black Canary’s missions.
The lives of Nightwing and the Birds of Prey have been converging (since THE HATEFUL, 2000). And while Black Canary makes her way back to Gotham City to save her partner, Oracle will have to rely on Dick Grayson and his new crime-fighting protege Nite-Wing to fend off Blockbuster’s metahuman minions…
Crossover: This is a standard four-part crossover event.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- NO MAN’S LAND (1999-2000) – Nightwing & Oracle start getting closer
- THE HATEFUL (2000) – Blockbuster finds out what Oracle’s been up to
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Nightwing #45
- Birds of Prey #20
- Nightwing #46
- Birds of Prey #21
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Nightwing #45 In Blüdhaven, Nightwing and Nite-Wing are given to Blockbuster’s torturers for questioning. His goons destroy Nightwing’s car, the Nightbird, and tear the tech out of it. Blockbuster hires Mouse and Giz to track Oracle down. In Hasaragua, Black Canary is being pursued by Lady Vic and Brutale, until she lures them into a gators’ den. She checks in with Oracle who’s fled her lair and is on the move. Blockbuster, Mouse and Giz head to Gotham City to find Oracle. Blockbuster’s right-hand man, Cisco Blaine, turns out to be an undercover FBI agent. He shoots the torturers and frees Nightwing… |
| ✔ | Birds of Prey #20 Black Canary defeats Brutale and Lady Vic, who sell out Blockbuster as the one who sent them to kill her. Vic recovers, knocks Canary unconscious and takes her on a jet back to Gotham. In Blüdhaven, Cisco reveals his real name is Ronnie Houston. When Nightwing heads off, Ronnie tries to release Nite-Wing. Mouse and Giz accidentally lead Stallion into a trap set by Oracle. Nite-Wing reunites Nightwing who proudly announces that he killed ‘Cisco Blaine’… |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Nightwing #46 Nite-Wing refuses to turn himself in and flees, leaving Nightwing to deal withBlockbuster’s simian ally Grimm. Alfred Pennyworth and Robin come to Nightwing’s aid, shooting Grimm with rubber bullets. They escape in a van, but are pursued by the motorcyclist Thrilldevil! Nightwing jumps onto Thrilldevil’s bike and they fall off the Gotham Bridge together. Black Canary escapes her bonds and exits the jet over Gotham with a parachute. She hires a sports car and heads in Oracle’s direction. But Mouse, Giz and Blockbuster arrive at Gotham Bay first… 1st appearance: Thrilldevil |
| ✔ | Birds of Prey #21 As he’s too big to fit through the portholes in the submarine in the drydock, Blockbuster sends Mouse, Giz, Stallion and Electrocutioner in search of Oracle. Barbara Gordon floods their section of the sub, causing Electrocutioner to fry his allies. She takes out the other goons using stealth and acrobatics, then narrowly escapes the flooding sub just as Black Canary arrives to pull her out of the water. When Blockbuster and his men corner them both, Canary hands herself over, claiming she’s Oracle. Having survived his fall, Nightwing finds Barbara Gordon distraught… |
| Must Reads | Issue(s) & Fallout | Event/ Crossover |
| ✔ | Birds of Prey #22-26 (2000-2001) Blockbuster travels to Gorilla City with Grimm and Black Canary to obtain the heart of another gorilla to replace his own. | |
| ✔ | Nightwing #47 (2000) Nightwing beats Nite-Wing to a pulp and calls the Blüdhaven cops, confessing to the murder of Ronald Houston while pretending to be Nite-Wing. | |
| Nightwing #54-55 (2001) Thrilldevil returns, still remaining among Blockbuster’s gang in Blüdhaven. |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Birds of Prey vol.3 (2016) | Birds of Prey #12-21 Nightwing #45-46 |
| Nightwing: The Hunt for Oracle (2003) | Birds of Prey #20-21 Nightwing #41-46 |
| Nightwing vol.5: The Hunt for Oracle (2016) | Birds of Prey #20-21 Nightwing #35-46 |
| Nightwing: A Knight in Blüdhaven Compendium vol.2 (2025) | Action Comics #771 Batman Annual #23 Nightwing #26-59 Birds of Prey #8, 20-21 Nightwing Secret Files #1 Nightwing 80-Page Giant #1 Nightwing: The Target #1 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2025
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