Nightwing #18 (mini review)

(w) Kyle Higgins     (a) Juan Jose Ryp


**SPOILERS FOR BATMAN INC #8**


All these "Requiem" issues lamenting the death of Damian Wayne have varying levels of actual requiem-ing. For instance, Batman and Robin #18 processed the tragedy by showcasing Bruce's spiral into depression, working for days without sleep and becoming increasingly aggressive, all while losing himself in the thought of his dead son. On the flipside, Red Hood and The Outlaws #18 barely makes mention of the events that transpired. Nightwing #18 finds a middle ground with Dick Grayson's emotional fallout.

While Kyle Higgins does a good job navigating Nightwing through his feelings of guilt and depression, it's kind of overkill. And not because of how it's written, but because most of Dick's emotional eureka moments happen twice. He talks about the destruction of Haly's Circus twice, he gets pissed at Bruce for lying twice, and he mentions how he and Damian were like brothers twice. It would have worked better if Higgins had perhaps worked his way from having Dick simply understand his situation to Nightwing accepting and processing Damian's death. Instead, the sentiments are played out by the middle of the issue, leaving Higgin's big reveal as the main focus of the second half. It's an interesting enough surprise, but already feels contrived. So, we'll see.

GRADE: 7/10

REVIEW: NIGHTWING #15

(w) Kyle Higgins
(p) Eddy Barrows
(i) Eber Ferreira

Dick Grayson's adventures in the 'New 52', as a whole so far, have been somewhat up and down in terms of quality and content. After an initial arc dealing with Haly's Circus, Kyle Higgins has had trouble finding his footing with Nightwing, including an underdeveloped arc about a cult of anarchists looking to 'take back' Gotham, and a short story about Lady Shiva, probably one of the most uninteresting villains ever. Nightwing #15, however, swings into action and utilizes it's "Death of the Family" tag to it's fullest. In other Bat-books, the Joker's methodology has been somewhat hazy--while everyone has theories about what's going on, Scott Snyder isn't letting the cat out of the bag, and there's only so much that can be said before a big reveal--this issue sees a very fleshed out attempt to break Dick Grayson. Not Nightwing, but Dick Grayson. This month's Batman #15 included Bruce's assurance that the Joker does not know the Bat family's identities, but it's pretty obvious he does.

Dick is under a lot of pressure. He's the owner and operator of Haly's Circus and he's trying to keep his newfound entertainment business in Gotham City permanently so as to build up the city's profile while also establishing more structured lives for his performers. It's a noble task, and one that Dick's impassioned about, but it's also a project that keeps getting sidelined for Nightwing-related activities. This month, Dick's heroic life meets his personal for the second time in the 'New 52' as Joker frees Raya from Blackgate Prison to make everything even more personal. Joker's shtick for Nightwing is the idea of being a 'knock-off', a pale comparison to the almighty Batman. Higgins employs a classic Batman trope by having Nightwing find Joker in a warehouse that used to make knock-off Wayne Enterprises products. It's poetic justice, and something only Scott Snyder has really been utilizing recently.

Nightwing #15 is one of the strongest tie-in issues for "Death of the Family" yet. Unlike the other Bat-allies, Dick's life is literally crumbling right before his eyes: everything he's spent the last year building is being destroyed in a succinct and straightforward way. This is what Joker's reign of terror needs to feel like across the board, in all the Bat-titles tying into "DotF"--full of terror, death, and lots of Joker's insanity.

GRADE

8/10

(COMIC) BATMAN AND ROBIN #10

STORY: Peter J. Tomasi
ART: Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray

In the month after "Night of the Owls", all the Batman-related books are starting new story arcs. Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's Batman and Robin #10 might be simultaneously the most interesting and the most boring new story of the bunch. Since Big Ol' Bats already has three series dedicated to his solo outings, Tomasi has been focusing on Damian Wayne quite a bit, not only dealing with his daddy issues throughout the first arc, but also with Damian's talent for strategic battle during last month's Talon incursion. This has been a consistently smart move on Tomasi's part.

Batman and Robin #10 kicks off "Terminus", but you'd barely know it if you didn't want to. The so-called Terminus takes a far, far back seat to the issue's main events. All the same, this guy obviously has criminal intentions, and his body seems to be falling apart. Terminus spends the issue regenrating in some crazy regeneration machine. That's it. I'm sure there will be more to this, but it also doesn't seem very interesting. At this point, Terminus is just some dude who wants to kill Batman - hold the phone! No, the real meat in this issue comes from the 'War of the Robins' storyline.

Bruce has called all the Robins, former and current (except for Jason Todd, for obvious reasons), together for a family portrait at Wayne Manor. One of the best things about the Robin mantle is that there isn't one type of person who becomes Robin - they come in all shapes and sizes and personalities. Within minutes, Tim Drake and Damian are at each other's throat. Dick Grayson loftily sits above their squabble, as his position as Robin can never be questioned (he's the O.G., baby!)

The feud between Tim and Damian is interesting, mostly because it stems from simple disrespect. Whenever Batman and Superman had disagreements, they never lost respect for one another, but neither boy here regards the other in any good light. For Damian, Tim is stuck-up and looks down on Damian, while Tim feels that Damian is a psychopath and unworthy of a title he and Dick worked hard to maintain. That's pretty much the description you're going to get anywhere else. The truth of the matter is much deeper, even if Tomasi doesn't know it.

Tim Drake was the son Bruce never had. Sure, Dick was the first Robin and literally had no parents and was adopted by Bruce, but they've always had a stronger working relationship (at least in my memory. Maybe I need to go back and reread old Silver Age issues). Tim, on the other hand, was the one who figured out who Batman was, the one with the detective skills to rival Bruce's own, and the Robin that took the name from respectable to iconic. Like I said, Tim was the son Bruce never had. Until Damian. Tim's real beef is that Damian is a real Wayne and Bruce's actual son. Obviously, it's painful to see your mentor and father-figure move on to a new apprentice, a new disciple. And sure Tim left of his own accord, but he keeps the mantle Red Robin, an obvious homage to his former title which means he still has deep emotional ties to the name and the job. Dick, conversely, left and took the name Nightwing, moved to a new city and generally tried to distance himself from Batman for quite some time.

Damian, of course, lives in Tim's all-encompassing shadow. Tim held the mantle for so long and did so well, it's obvious to Damian that Bruce is looking to make Damian more like Tim. The entire first arc of Batman and Robin was about Damian's issues with his upbringing as a killer, and in a sense, he was able to make a good step forward in dealing with those issues. But Tim is always there - a constant reminder of how good a Robin can be and how lacking Damian is compared to Tim.

The night after their blow-up at Wayne Manor, Damian calls all the former Robins together, even extending an invitation to Jason Todd, the Red Hood! When they all show, Damian declares "war" on them. Damian explains that at some point, he will confront each of them and defeat them at something they consider themselves the best. Of course, they all immediately assume Damian means a fight, but the little Robin's much smarter than that! His only goal with Tim is to get Red Robin to admit he'd had homicidal thoughts. Tim rebuffs this by saying he's never acted on those thoughts, which is what separates them.

I really do tend to enjoy superhero stories where the heroes are in-fighting, and the "War of the Robins" portion of Batman and Robin #10 is totally awesome. My psychoanalytical critique aside, these characters are all awesome and now, they've got an arc slowly building that will pit them all against one another in a variety of circumstances. FANTASTIC. Terminus will probably continue to be a boring sub-plot that will eventually slip it's way into the main story, pulling the entire arc down as a result, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, awesomeness.

GRADE

A

(NIGHT OF THE OWLS) NIGHTWING #8

STORY: Kyle Higgins
ART: Eddy Barrows, Ruy Jose, and Eber Ferreira

I've been reading Nightwing since the launch of the 'New 52' last September, and I honestly thought long and hard about the decision to omit it from the regularly-covered titles for "The Endless Reel". In the end, I opted to focus on two of the 'main' Bat books (Batman and Batman and Robin) instead of branching out too much. That being said, Nightwing is a great title with a poignant first arc dealing with Dick's connection to Haly's Circus and how that part of his life will never really go away. Plus, it made for a great segue into the "Night of the Owls" event!

While the cover might call Nightwing #8 a 'Prelude' to the main event, that's only half-true. The issue is split between a historical narrative about William Cobb - Dick's great-grandfather - and Nightwing answering Alfred's call to arms in Batman #8 by attempting to reach Mayor Sebastian Hady before the Talons can assassinate him. Unfortunately, both storylines suffer from the split. William Cobb's backstory only covers childhood and early adulthood before the issue ends, and Nightwing's fight against the Talon assassin seems brief and almost easy for Dick.

At the end of the issue, Kyle Higgins reveals that the Talon is actually William Cobb - rescued from the Batcave by a fellow Talon - who is hunting down his descendent because "[Dick's] betrayal takes everything I sacrificed and made it worthless." I'm sure Higgins will continue to delve into the history of William Cobb next month, but for now, it feels fragmented.

GRADE:

B+