Nightwing #114 is written by Tom Taylor and published by DC. Artwork is by Bruno Redondo, colours are by Adriano Lucas and letters by Wes Abbott. Main cover art (left) is by Redondo.
Nightwing #114 is available from today, in print and on digital where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
The Eisner Award-winning duo of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo reunite to tell Nightwing’s greatest story yet. The culmination of Heartless’s sabotage on Nightwing reaches its dramatic climax when Nightwing loses his ability to leap, impeding his duties to be the superhero we know and love.
Review
This is it. The endgame of Taylor and Redondo’s Nightwing begins today with the first part of the “Fallen Grayson” storyline. There’s just five months left to revel in the creative ingenuity of this team before a new era begins. But before we get to that there’s the little matter of Dick’s fear to jump and how that undermines his confidence in every aspect of his hero life.
Taylor opens this first part of the story with a brief flashback to Dick’s first fall. The moment serves as a sweet reminder of how Dick idolised his parents. It also shows us his inexperience and emphasises just how fan he’s come since their deaths. These scenes offer the perfect parallel to where we find Dick now, traversing snow-capped mountains in an attempt to conquer his fears.
But how did Dick and Bitewing come to be on this mountainside? Well that’s all part of the journey. So we go back a further couple of weeks to the night of a fundraiser in honour of The Alfred Pennyworth Foundation. But not before an encounter on the streets of Gotham leaves Dick shaken. Taylor is neatly beginning to deconstruct the idea of Nightwing, or at least challenging that idea in a profound manner. The final act of the story being to threaten Nightwing’s legacy feels right. The story has never been predictable under Taylor’s watch. But already I’m hoping it ends with Dick conquering his fear and Nightwing solidified as a symbol of strength in the DCU.
Whilst this is by no means the end of the Nightwing title, Taylor seems to be treating this final arc like the end. All the best endings are rooted in the beginning and so Tony Zucco rightly factors in to our hero’s downfall. From every aspect this feels like the right thing to do. Neither character would exist without the other and a potentially final confrontation could make the perfect swan song to this chapter of the story. Empowering him, even weaponising him against Nightwing with Maroni and Blockbuster’s lieutenants makes Zucco a real threat to Blüdhaven.
As the story transitions to the fundraiser it feels like something major is about to go down. With various members of the Bat-family in attendance and Alfred’s memory looming large it could be a key moment for Zucco to strike. In a way he does. But it’s in a completely unexpected way which rips the rug right out from under Dick and everything he’s been striving to do for his city. I don’t want to the spoil the moment but it’s integral to further deconstructing the character and challenging his perspective on everything and everyone around him.
Most importantly, none of this feels like action for the sake of action. Every detail of the plotting is key to what Taylor is trying to do. There’s no sense of Nightwing as a book running out of steam. Instead it feels like we’re hurtling towards the inevitable conclusion with Taylor inspiring the reader to root for our hero. With Bruno Redondo at this side this final arc looks spectacular. The blues of the snowy mountain scenes are delectably offset against the more vibrant hues of Blüdhaven and Gotham. I’ll never tire of seeing Redondo’s renderings of Nightwing in costume either. It’s quintessential Nightwing from start to finish.
Verdict
The final arc begins in fine style with Taylor challenging Dick at every turn. Whilst on one side he seeks to conquer his fears, on the other side we’re seeing the beginnings of what feels like an insurmountable final battle which lies ahead.
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