Ray: Although Dick Grayson has his memories back, the Ric Grayson era isn’t quite over yet. The last few issues of Dan Jurgens’ run before Future State are going to deal with the fallout, as Dick tries to figure out if he can slip back into his old life. This oversized issue runs the gamut of catching up with players from both sides of his life, starting with Donna Troy and Garth. This issue basically confirms that the New Teen Titans era is back in continuity as well, which was a pleasant surprise. But Dick quickly becomes dubious as it seems everyone he knows is trying to fast-forward his recovery. Donna and Garth mean well as does Barbara, but Bruce seems actively manipulative and pushes Dick into confrontations he’s not ready for. That’s our Batdad, always missing the emotional cues. It’s a pretty good parallel for how people with medical or psychological issues struggle when interacting with people who have no way of understanding what it’s like to live in their shoes.
Of course, there’s one person missing from Dick’s reunion tour—Alfred, and the man who Dick saw as a father/grandfather figure is still very present in spirit. His narration from their last conversation and Dick’s guilt over not being there to save him is very powerful. That’s the emotional core of this issue. I couldn’t quite get into Dick’s last interaction with the replacement Nightwings—I just don’t think these guys were particularly interesting characters. Beatrice has always been a decent character, and I am rooting for her and Dick to work it out, but I kind of doubt it’ll happen. Especially with KG Beast lurking in the background, reacting violently to being seen as a failure and vowing to finish the job on Nightwing. The scenes where he weaves a trail of violence on his way to Bludhaven are intense, but it feels like the ending scene is one we’ve seen played out many times before. Overall good issue, as Jurgens continues to rise above the status quo.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
This post was last modified on October 19, 2020 5:13 pm
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