The Revolution is still waiting for Wolfman to work some miracles on Nightwing. There is no doubt that Wolfman’s Nightwing is better than the pathetic Bruce Jones run on this title. However, that really isn’t saying much. I’m hoping that Wolfman can get this title moving in a positive direction with Nightwing #127. Let’s hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Penciler: Dan Jurgens
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We start with Nightwing bound and thrown into an open casket in the ground. The mysterious hitman begins to fill the hole up with dirt. Nightwing closes the casket to prevent any more dirt getting into the coffin. The hitman continues to fill in the open grave with dirt. The hitman tells his assistant that it was too easy taking down Nightwing.
We then cut to Nightwing in the casket turning on his flashlight. Nightwing thinks how he managed to create a pocket of air by closing the casket. Nightwing figures that the cliff is 25 to 30 feet behind him. That since graves are usually 6 feet deep, that it would be easier to dig around and up than go all the way to the edge of the cliff.
However, Nightwing figures that he can’t take the chance that the hitman would be waiting for him outside the grave. Nightwing knows that with his injured shoulder that he can’t go one on one with the hitman in another fight. Nightwing punches a whole in the casket and starts digging with his Nightwing blade. Nightwing wonders how the hitman could have known.
Nightwing reminds himself to not panic. To remain calm and dig. To help himself remain calm, he thinks about who would have killed the Raptor. We flash back to Nightwing talking with J.J. who had found out that the Raptor was probably looking for the other scientists thinking that they could cure him. That the Raptor was dying from high energy alpha particles from the Raptor suit. For the Raptor to get radiation exposure there must have been a break in the suit’s radioactive shielding around its power source.
We cut back to Nightwing digging thought the ground. He thinks about all the different women and all the girl trouble that he has had in his life. Nightwing starts to freak out again and then reminds himself of what Batman always told him: “Your mind is your greatest weapon. Don’t ever forget that.” Nightwing repeats to himself that Batman is never wrong.
We then flashback to Nightwing talking to the Raptor’s wife and son. The son yells at his mother saying that there is no way his father would ever kill anyone. The son then bolts out of the apartment. Nightwing follows the son and talks to him. He lets the son vent his pain and gives him a shoulder to lean on.
We then cut to Dick getting a massage from Ryan. Ryan tells Dick that she and her ex-boyfriend, Jorge, are back together again. Ryan asks Dick if they can just be friends. Dick says no problem.
We shift back to Nightwing still digging through the ground. Suddenly the dirt starts to cave in. Nightwing reaches back and grabs the coffin and pulls it into the tunnel he dug to prevent the dirt from caving in. Nightwing repeats Batman’s mantra: “Your mind is your greatest weapon. Don’t forget that.”
Nightwing continues digging and then his flashlight dies on him. Nightwing continues to repeat Batman’s mantra and continues to dig. We flashback to Nightwing arriving at the cemetery. Nightwing discovers that the Raptor’s grave is empty. That someone stole his body.
Suddenly, the mysterious hitman snuck up from behind and hit Nightwing with a shovel. The hitman throws Nightwing into the empty grave and begins to shovel dirt over Nightwing. The hitman then says that Nightwing should have stayed home with that pretty girl (Ryan). The hitman continues “It would’ve been better than dying, Grayson.”
Nightwing wonders how the hitman knew his name. Nightwing hears a voice saying that he as supposed to die in the crisis and now he will. Nightwing yells “NO!” and makes one final punch through the dirt and breaks the surface. Nightwing pulls himself out of the ground saying that he is going to live.
We then cut to some unknown location where five shadowy figures instruct a bunch of scientists to begin their experiment on the Raptor’s body. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Nightwing # 127 was a pretty good read. To be honest, after my initial read, I was less than impressed with this issue. I thought that it was a bit boring and pretty much brought this story arc to a screeching halt. Then I read it a second time, and a light came on in my pathetic excuse for a brain. I saw what Wolfman was trying to achieve with Nightwing #127. After the second reading, I enjoyed this issue much more.
Wolfman took this issue to perform some much needed character development on Nightwing. Poor Nightwing hasn’t gotten much character development in a long time. As a matter of fact, it seems that the past couple of writers seemed to totally lose focus of Dick’s personality and what makes him so special. Wolfman appears to be determined to re-focus Dick’s character and to flesh out what makes him one of DC’s greatest and most important characters.
Nightwing #127 was an excellent character study. Did it have much action? No. Did it move at a brisk pace? No. Did it really advance any plotlines? Not until the very end. However, this issue was a much needed character study and the reader got a great insight into Dick Grayson.
Wolfman shows the reader Dick’s incredibly strong will to live. Also, the reader understands that what makes Dick Grayson so formidable is his mind. And I love how Wolfman handled Dick’s relationship with Batman. It seems that so many writers want to portray Batman as a horrible father and how Dick doesn’t want to be anything like Bruce and how Dick can barely stand Bruce.
It was excellent to see Nightwing call up his training with Batman. Even though Nightwing has grown up and gone his own way, he is still the Batman’s protégé and in times of crisis, Dick still turns to Batman’s training in order to pull him through. I loved that he kept repeating that his mind is his greatest weapon. And Dick is right. That is what separates Dick from other metahumans. I also liked that Dick said that Batman is never wrong. That was a great way for Wolfman to show that despite everything, Bruce is Dick’s father. And all sons believe that their fathers are infallible.
Wolfman really has a great feel for Dick’s character and treats the reader with the best version of Nightwing that I have seen on this title in a very long time. Of course, what made this issue such a great read was the big bomb that Wolfman drops on us at the end. The mysterious hitman knows that Nightwing is Dick Grayson. Once again, we hear that Dick should have died in the Crisis. Combine that with the mysterious people having tests conducted on the Raptor’s body and you have a pretty interesting mystery.
I cannot wait to find out who hired the hitman and just how in the world does the hitman know Nightwing’s secret identity? Wolfman has also finally managed to get me interested in the Raptor’s plotline with this mysterious group of people having his body stolen and then experimented on. And we still haven’t touched on the Monitor who approached Dick to tell him that he was supposed to have died in the Crisis. Wolfman is finally getting several very intriguing plotlines cooking on this title.
I’m glad that Wolfman is ending this unappealing Ryan/Dick love angle. It had the makings of another uninteresting and generic love story that I wasn’t really psyched to read. Personally, I’m still waiting for a Dick/Starfire love connection. I know it will probably never happen, but with an old school Titans writer like Wolfman now writing Nightwing, anything is possible, right?
The Bad: Despite all the enjoyable character work, I still found this to be a slow issue. Several of the scenes felt rather unnecessary. For example the two page scene with Nightwing talking with the Raptor’s wife and then talking with the son seemed rather pointless.
Jurgens and Rapmund provide journeyman artwork on this issue. It gets the job done, but it certainly doesn’t add much to the story. I’d like to see a change in the art duties on this title. I would love to see Marco Marz and Luciana Del Negro take over the art chores on Nightwing.
Overall: Wolfman is finally starting to get Nightwing back on track. Wolfman is laying the foundation for several interesting plotlines. For the first time in forever, I am actually looking forward to reading the next issue of Nightwing. This is probably a good time for new readers to jump on this title.