Future State: Nightwing #1 – Andrew Constant, Writer; Nicola Scott, Artist; Ivan Plascencia, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Continuing the tightly linked Bat-verse of Future State issues, this story focuses on how far the Magistrate is ready to go to apprehend or kill Gotham’s vigilantes—and how far down the rabbit hole Nightwing has gone to try to stop them. The opening segment is a gritty battle as Dick intercepts an attack by Cybers on a pair of civilians who are supposedly out post-curfew. At least, that’s how it seems at first—it’s actually a trap designed to lure him out in the open and pit him against some of the Magistrate’s elite soldiers. It doesn’t take long to see that this is a very different Nightwing than we normally see. He’s cold, brutal, almost cruel when dealing with villains, and it’s clear that the pain over Bruce’s apparent death is still very raw. Andrew Constant’s take on Dick is both familiar and unfamiliar, and Nicola Scott draws some great battle sequences high over the streets of Gotham.
From there, Dick retreats to the one sanctuary he has left—Arkham Asylum, which he’s turned into his private lair for the anti-Magistrate resistance. There are cameos by some other heroes, but the main appearance here is the new Batman—who Dick is obviously rather chilly towards, given that he’s taking the place of the presumed-dead Bruce Wayne. This is a good look at how heroes function—able to put personal feelings aside for the greater good. Batman introduces a new case that seems to hint at the Magistrate’s forces not just being evil—but full-on monsters who need to be destroyed at the root. There’s no time to investigate in full, though, because the sanctuary is soon invaded and the two heroes are alone against an army. This issue is maybe a little too one-note gritty at points, but it has a good hook for a solo adventure for Nightwing. The Gotham stories continue to be the most well-thought-out of the line so far.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
