Nigthwing #57 is available now where all good comics are sold!
Synopsis
Destiny…fate…predetermined inevitability… these are all things that Ric Grayson has struggled to reconcile now that he has been given a second chance at life. A life recently unburdened with years of trauma, defeat and struggle when the hero known as Nightwing was shot in the head. Now, Ric must come to terms with who he is, and what kind of hero he wants to be…if he wants to be one at all. And while Ric is content to walk away from the mantle, one woman has been hiding in the shadows, waiting to solidify an identity of her own…an identity tied for all eternity to the clown price of crime…enter The Joker’s Daughter!
Review
Okay I admit defeat. I enjoyed this issue of Nightwing. I am embracing the story of Ric Grayson. Not fully. But for now at least I am onboard with what writers Scott Lobdell and Zack Kalpan are trying to do.
Rather than following the mould they are beginning to break free from it. With Grayson now aware of his past self we are now witnessing an interesting moral dilema for the character.
Does he:
A) reject his past and fully embrace the Ric Grayson persona?
B) reject his current state of mind and try to emulate the man he was before in the hope his memories return?
Seeing him grapple with these choices is something which interests me. It goes beyond the simple notion of wh owill be Nightwing going forwards .It trascends all of the previous few issues development of the vigilante gang and instead takes a quick look at the actual mental state of the Grayson character.
But this is still a comic so, of course, there is plenty of other action going on. I thought it was interesting to bring Joker’s daughter back in to continuity. If I’m not mistaken this is the first time we’ve seen her in the Rebirth-era.
Though her appearance is fleeting it sets up an interesting story going forwards. I’m intrigued to know what made the writers choose her as the villain for this arc. Bludhaven has been lacking some good villains, it’s about time Nightwing developed some of his own.
This issue feels very much like a new beginning. Ric has a new romance, a new purpose and now a new villain to face. So this issue very much lays the groundwork for what is to come. In that respect it is, at times, a little plodding but the bigger moments outweigh this well.
My highlight moment was the brief appearance by Babara Gordon and her conversation at the bar with Bea. It was funny and heartfelt an dreally portrayed everyone’s love for the Grayson character well. We’re all grieving the character he was and Bea helps us face up to that.
Verdict
This issue is something of a step forwards for Nightwing. Whilst the Ric Grayson arc continues I’m glad to see it venturing in to new territory and trying something new with its story.
6/10
Nightwing #57 features a plot by Scott Lobdell and script by Zack Kalpan. Travis Moore provides the artwork with Tamra Bonvillain on colours and Andworld Design on letters. Cover artwork is by Chris Mooneyham and Nick Filardi.
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