DCU Comic Book Reviews

NIGHTWING #151

The Great Leap...And In The Black, Epilogue

February 2009

Written by Peter J. Tomasi

Pencils by Don Kramer

Inks by Jay Leisten and Rodney Ramos

Cover by Philip Tan

Synopsis

In Minnesota, Nightwing checks on Carol Bermingham to make sure she is doing okay within the witness protection program.  In Arkham Asylum, Nightwing checks on Two-Face.  In Fort Tyron Park, Deb tells Nightwing she is leaving the city; she can’t handle living in constant fear and wants to live in a place a little it safer.  In Metropolis, Nightwing watches as Valhalla Cemetery is dug up and the caskets of are taken to the hall of Justice.  In the Sonoran Desert, Alfred and Tim Drake watch as Dick Grayson free falls from the Earth’s stratosphere.  Although Dick breaks a few world records with his free fall, he did do it for the notoriety, just for himself.  That night at Wayne Manor, the three sit down to watch a movie and eat popcorn.   

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was just about perfect coda not only to the current “Great Leap” story as well as Tomasi’s short run on the title, but also for the book in general. It is almost a shame that there will be one or two more issues before the title is canceled (as DC claims) or it goes on hiatus and returns in three to four months (as I think will happen).  This issue ends a lot of the various plot threads from Two-Face to Dick’s latest girlfriend, to the opening arc with Talia and Dr. Kendell, and the whole flying without a net action.  Granted, when this issue is put into the “Great Leap” paperback, the cemetery scene will seem out of place, but I am sure for long time fans, it will be a nice closer.  I suppose one could argue that there is no connective thread in this issue and that it is only just a series of moments, and I would be hard pressed to disagree.  However, I still think it works because each of those “snapshots” if you will effectively does what it should:  put an end to the story.  Now, it will be curious to see how they end the book. 

I liked the final shot, with the three of them sitting around the television and with one chair missing.  It is a very subtle reminder that, at the current moment, Batman is no longer with them, but at the same time it doesn’t hammer home the situation so that years from now, when someone picks up the trade paperback at the local library, they won’t feel like they only getting part of the story. 

The movie they are watching at the end is the Magnificent Seven (1960), a western starring Eli Wallach, Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson.  It is a remake of the Japanese film Seven Samurai (1954), which is widely considered to be an important and influential film.

 

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