Nightwing #118 marks the end of an era. This is the final issue of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s creative run on this series. What Taylor and Redondo have done over the course of their 3+ year run has elevated Dick Grayson and his world to be a key part of the DC Universe. Now with this final storyline they have really test Dick Grayson with his archnemesis in Heartless doing everything he can to destroy everything that was created during this run. Let’s find out how things end with Nightwing #118.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Inker: Caio Filipe
Colorists: Adriano Lucas and Bruno Redondo
Letterer: Wes Abbott
NIGHTWING #118 SOLICITATION
“THE FINAL ISSUE OF TOM TAYLOR AND BRUNO REDONDO’S AWARD-WINNING RUN! Embark on an exhilarating journey through the streets of Blüdhaven as we bid a heartfelt farewell to the dynamic duo of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo in the epic conclusion to their award-winning run. With Nightwing’s fear of heights overcome, he returns to Bludhaven for one final face-off with Heartless and Tony Zucco. It’s the battle you’ve all been waiting for! And if we’ve learned anything from Nightwing these last couple of years, we know he never has to do it alone. One thing’s for certain though, Bludhaven will never be the same after this!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Nightwing #118 delivers exactly what fans of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo could want. The story told with this finale has all the multiple layers that shows why this creative run has been a blast to read. All those layers come from this conclusion speaking to why Dick Grayson is someone that should be considered one of the key characters in the DC Universe.
Right away Nightwing #118 shows us what will ultimately be the deciding factor in Dick Grayson’s fight against Shelton Lyle, aka Heartless. Everything about Heartless is a character that simply lives for Shelton and no one else. Meanwhile, we see that Dick Grayson has a whole support system he can turn to for help. The Batman Family all have each others backs and work to save people they swore to protect.
This plays in well into how Dick Grayson counters Shelton’s attempt to frame him as Heartless. Dick knew that simply showing up where Shelton appeared publicly as Heartless wouldn’t be enough. In order to prove his innocence Dick had to get across that it is caring for people that makes others believe him over Shelton. That is shown with how as soon as Dick reveals that the Batman Family have found and freed the children Shelton capture everyone Heartless “recruited” quickly turned on him.
Through this action Dick showed Heartless how flimsy his endgame plan was. Heartless certainly accomplished framing Dick Grayson and using the fear injected into Nightwing. But even all of that could not break the trust people have in Dick Grayson in and out of being a superhero. As soon as Dick Grayson showed evidence of his innocence people believed him. Then when he revealed to the parents Heartless forced to work in his gang they all trusted his word and quickly turned on the villain.
This set the stage for Nightwing to have his final fight with Heartless. And we once again see that Heartless was ultimately no match for Nightwing. Even with his assistance help Shelton proved that at the end of the day what made him the villain he became was the money and resources he had. Even when he was able to kill both Blockbuster and Tony Zucco it wasn’t because of his skills or talents. Shelton was simply a bully who used forced that when faced against someone with genuine skill like Nightwing he was no match. Shelton not even knowing about the heart he stole from Blockbuster was from a gorilla was the final nail in how poorly thought out all his plans were.
Making the way Nightwing defeated Heartless even sweeter was how Dick Grayson ensured no one would remember Shelton. Since technically the public never learned Shelton Lyles was Heartless that there is no legacy that Shelton was leaving. Nightwing, with Oracle’s help, making sure that only the Heartless identity would be blamed for all that happened and no one would know Shelton was behind the mask was a great way to end things. This lack of legacy tied to the name Shelton Lyles is the ultimate defeat for the villain of this entire creative run.
Wrapping things up with Dick Grayson visiting his parents grave and bringing his sister, Melinda, and her wife, Audre, with him was a satisfying conclusion. By ending things this way it further established Melinda as a permanent member of Nightwing’s supporting cast. It at least made it so that future creative teams can continue to strengthen the sibling relationship that Taylor and Redondo made such a key part of this run.
All of this made Dick Grayson telling his parents he hopes to marry Barbara Gordon some day and he found his home with his current family such a satisfying way to end things. Confirming that Haley is still alive after a bit of a scare was also a big relief that made the final page by Redondo hit on all the emotions it intends to hit on. It all summarize how Nightwing’s home will be with his found family, whether blood related or not.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Nightwing #118 is an excellent conclusion to Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s incredible creative run on this series. The way Dick Grayson defeated Heartless how the trust he has in others and others have in him is what makes Nightwing a top-tier superhero. This will certainly go down as one of the most memorable creative runs from DC Comics.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
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