Nightwing #101 – Tom Taylor, CS Pacat, Writers; Travis Moore, Eduardo Pansica/Julio Ferreira, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: After last issue’s oversized anniversary special which set up Dick as the leader of the new flagship Titans team, this issue takes us back—following up on the plot of #98. That bizarre issue, introducing Nite-Mite and pitting Nightwing against an army of demons to save the life of Blockbuster’s daughter, introduced a new major villain to the series—the demon Neron, who was promised Olivia Desmond’s soul and is willing to kill anyone he has to in order to finish the job. Olivia is safe in a hidden sanctuary with Raven and Beast Boy, but they need to find her an actual home—and she’s still being hunted. Neron recruits an unlikely villain as his new liaison, and sets into motion a plan involving the ruins of Titans Academy.
This issue is all over the place, but not in a bad way. When Dick gets the call that a body has been found in Titans Academy’s ruins, he immediately assumes it’s a student—and that pulls in the other Titans including Starfire. But it’s not a student—it’s a prominent citizen that the Titans have a history with. But while this issue takes a disturbing supernatural twist near the end and leaves Dick in surprising peril, it also works nicely as a compelling backdoor pilot for the Titans series. It’s great to see Dick working with Raven and Beast Boy again in particular, and I like seeing those two portrayed as competent adult heroes instead of being constantly reset back to their teen years. But this series continues to deliver, even as it maybe juggles a few too many plots.
This issue also involves a new backup, as CS Pacat and Eduardo Pansica, continue the story of Dick’s training regimen for Jon Kent. The young Superman wanted the help of an expert, and Dick knows how to face off against overpowered villains and how to pull your punches. The story starts with a lighter tone, as they battle an army of goons, but then it heads to a circus where history nearly repeats itself—and the entire audience finds themselves in danger. Taylor set up the bond between these two early in his run, and it’s great to see Pacat build on that.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
