Note: we’re doing all our individual issue DC reviews in separate posts beginning this week. To find the reviews of all the other issues from November 15 and previous weeks, check our index.
Nightwing #33 – Tim Seeley, Writer; Javier Fernandez, Artist; Chris Sotomayor, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8.5/10
Corrina: Villains Gonna Be Bad
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS RESIDE IN THESE REVIEWS.
Ray: Tim Seeley’s penultimate issue of Nightwing is one of the most exciting of the run, a non-stop action sequence that pairs Nightwing and his historical arch-nemesis Blockbuster against Dick’s personal nemesis Raptor – and an army of Blockbusters. Raptor’s poisoned the casino with Blockbuster serum, leading to a group of rampaging civilians turned monsters tearing the casino apart. In fact, the only person who isn’t a Blockbuster right now – is Blockbuster himself. He can’t stay in Blockbuster form too long, and depowers at the worst possible time, leaving him reliant on Nightwing’s help to escape. The best part of this issue is the teeth-clenched alliance between Nightwing and Blockbuster, as they make their way through the casino, betrayal never far from Blockbuster’s mind.
Then there’s the reintroduction of Tiger Shark, who has also been Blockbuster-ized, and turned into a ravenous monster. The scene where Nightwing does battle with him in an elevator vestibule delivers some of the biggest thrills of the issue. Raptor, meanwhile, has retreated with Pigeon to the rooftops, where he’s obsessing over his inability to kill Dick. The big flaw here is that while Raptor is a fantastic villain, Pigeon is…not. She’s only had a few scenes, and we don’t know why she went from a winged thief to a psychopath who wants to destroy the whole city. I did like seeing Dick’s former allies in the reformed villains help out the city, but Shawn’s storyarc really seems to have petered out. Overall, though, this run is heading for an epic conclusion.
Corrina: My favorite part of Seeley’s arc in Bludhaven has been the reformed villains, including Shawn but I also kinda love Grimm too. (What’s not to love about a cynical, talking gorilla?) Though they were only in a small number of pages this issue, they made an impression, from the rescue of the tourists outside the casinos to Shawn’s call to Dick about Pigeon’s plan to help Raptor terrorize the Blud. If Dick does end up leaving this city, I suspect we’ve seen the people who will protect it when he does.
I do wish Pigeon had been more fleshed out before this issue because her relationship with Raptor is odd and interesting, two angry souls who’ve vowed to be angry together. But Raptor’s threat is somewhat of a side issue, I suspect because the real reckoning next issue is going to be Blockbuster and Nightwing for the soul of Bludhaven. I’m betting on Shawn’s wild cards.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
