DCU Comic Book Reviews

NIGHTWING #118

The Gang's All Here

May 2006

Written by Bruce Jones

Pencils by Joe Dodd

Inks by Bit

Cover by Jock

Synopsis

One year later…Kidnappers patrol the streets of New York City looking for their target.  However, Nightwing stops them, killing both men in the process.  Dick Grayson enjoys an early morning rendezvous with a woman he met a bar.  As Dick leaves, her boyfriend Ron arrives.  He gets angry at Cheyenne, who blasts him with metahuman powers.  Meanwhile, Dick is reading a newspaper article on Nightwing’s activities when he runs into Clancy.  Later, Dick rents a warehouse and then goes out on patrol as Nightwing.  He runs into the Pierce Brothers, who reveal themselves to be metahumans.  One of them pushes Dick off the building and to the street below.  Before he lands, Dick is saved by…Nightwing!

Review

Clancy is back! I always liked her.  She was always an intriguing character early in the Nightwing series.  I am not that familiar with the later Devin Grayson run, so I ma not sure if she was used beyond the beginning.  However, she is welcome her and I hope the new creative team puts her to good use.  And imagine Dick and Clancy finding each other in the same bar and again on the same street in such a large town as New York City.  What are the odds?  It strained credibility and I wish there could have been a better way to get these two together.

There are a lot of things going on in the issue.  Part of me thinks it might have been better if it had been split into two different issues to allow some of the characters to get some breathing room and to give the plot some breathing room.  While there are enough bits and pieces thrown into this issue that can be picked up later and explored further, there are some that I don’t think needed to be introduced so early.  Two moments come to mind:  the revelation of Cheyenne being a metahuman of some type and the conversation between Nightwing and Clancy in the alley.

Before this issue was released, there was a lot of ambiguity as to who was going to be Nightwing, so I was not surprised when Jason Todd was first shown as Nightwing (assuming it is him; while I can’t imagine who else it could be, it was never stated implicitly).  And even one year later, Jason Todd still is the same as he was at the end of the Batman run.  I like that and I like his character, but I am a little worried this current story arc will turn into Under The Red Hood part 3.  I found the following to be interesting:  Jason says, “no self respecting superhero wouldn’t know about the frappin’ Pierce brothers,” and then later, Dick is completely clueless about the Pierce Brothers.  I wonder if this is something that will be explored or just a comment about Dick being so new to the city.

Another aspect to this story that is interesting is Dick’s personal life.  Hints are strongly dropped that he has severed all ties with Batman, although I am not wondering if it is a nod to Superboy given the ending to Infinite Crisis #5.  Besides that, it seems he is single and no longer attached and certainly getting some action.  Perhaps Clancy will become a lover interest.  And who exactly was Dick talking to on the phone.  Batman?  Barbara?  Curious.-- MRB

 

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