Nightwing #121 – Dan Watters, Writer; Dexter Soy, Artist; Veronica Gandini, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: While Dick Grayson has done a lot of good in Bludhaven with his money, it’s far from secure – as this issue makes very clear. This run kicks off in the aftermath of the death of a member of the Teddy Gang, who turned out to be a teenage boy who left a younger brother behind – and now Nightwing is on the warpath. But Spheric Tech had the Bludhaven PD in their corner, and a direct attack will just make him a target. So he takes another route – using Dick Grayson’s money to get in the front door. Olivia Pearce is looking for investors, Dick has all of Alfred’s money, and he approaches her to get a seat on the board – as well as a listening ear about how she really feels about the Titans. Of course, this is just a feint to get what he really wants – access to her hard drive, which he clones and hands over to Oracle for hacking purposes.
It’s interesting to see Dick take this one death so personally, but it makes sense in a way – the boy who died was an orphan too, one who didn’t have the second chances he did. Of all the Bats, Dick is probably the one who can simply not turn off his compassion and give up on anyone, so he finds himself deep into Teddy territory, trying to save what he thinks is one lost boy – and winds up being pulled into the story of a whole group of them. Bludhaven still has a lot of people left behind, and money can’t solve all those problems – so it falls to Nightwing to take the fight back to the new super-cops. Compared to Watters’ other DC work, this is very straightforward and a lot less dark, but it delivers a great story with a strong understanding of what sets Dick apart from the rest of the Batfamily and why Bludhaven might be even harder to save than Gotham.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
