Sometimes you just have to be glad that Dick shows off a bit.
What They Say:
When a mysterious assassin targets him, Nightwing must work fast to uncover the killer’s plot before he strikes again. But as Haley’s Circus continues to perform in Gotham City, Dick finds himself torn between two lives: his old one as a circus performer and his new one as a super hero.
The Review:
Bringing Dick back into Gotham and all that it entails is definitely something that’s welcome, even though he was working the gig under the big cowl for awhile. There’s a different kind of life to him when he’s in his Nightwing mode that has an air of performance about it but also just an aura of freedom. While I would have preferred to see him settling into his street level life here a bit more before the storyline really got going so we could explore how he is now post-Batman, they have at least worked a good angle with him by bringing his distant past back into the picture with Haly’s Circus. Getting him to revisit those that he had a strong connection with after growing up in the circus allows him a different look at who he is now by remembering who he was then, and his parents as well.
Unfortunately, his being sought out as Dick Grayson by is assassin complicates thing since Dick Grayson doesn’t exactly have a dark reputation. At least among people in general, as there are likely a few women who think he’s all dark and mysterious. This guy though is intent on killing Dick because he suddenly has the label of being the fiercest killer in all of Gotham, which is a huge statement. While the attacker does have some skills to be sure, it’s good to see that Dick isn’t easily taken care of and doesn’t struggle seriously. He’s more thrown off by things than anything else, though even that doesn’t paint him well after being Batman for awhile. While you don’t want him to lose his happy go lucky kind of style, you do want to see him harden up just a little bit more.
And he does do that in this book in a sexual way, which is also very good to see because I like the sex-happy Grayson. With Raya back in his life, at least temporarily, she’s heavily on his mind so he can’t say no when she asks him to drive her to Atlantic City to see Haly himself. I don’t know how well the whole circus was truly covered pre-Flashpoint, but I like what we learn about Haly here with how he knew so much about Dicky all these years and held onto that secret without fail until the very end. I also like that he’s trying to make amends about things while doing what he thinks is right by trying to get Dick back into the circus business as that’s where he believes he belongs. The potential for him being more involved in that way, and being able to get closer to Raya on a more regular basis, could tweak the series in a rather good way over the long haul. But it’s far more likely that something else will be worked out, which is unfortunate and predictable.
Release Notes:
This comiXology edition of Nightwing comes with the main cover as released with the print edition and no other extras.
In Summary:
Things are more a mystery here than anything else, but it’s the good kind of mystery where you do want to know more rather than being frustrated feeling you’re intentionally being left in the dark. The story itself is moving as a lot of Nightwing stories over the years have, a little haphazardly, but that’s how Dick’s life always seems to go since becoming an adult. I like the possibilities that that the circus offers up, but I’m also a long time comics reader so I suspect it’ll have some neat hooks to it but will shuffle off into the background and be forgotten sooner rather than later. Each of the New 52 really needed to start off strongly with a hook and even though I’m thoroughly enjoying Nightwing, it does feel as if it picks up where his previous series left off and is just moving forward. Which is good and bad, because I think they really needed to change things up a little bit more for Dick than they have. Still, there’s plenty to like here with good dialogue, a sense of fun when appropriate and some solid artwork.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
