Writer: Devin Grayson
Artists: Patrick Zircher (p), Andy Owens (i)
Publisher: DC
The Plot:
In the aftermath of Blockbuster's latest attack, Nightwing is on the warpath, as he's tearing into any known associate of Blockbuster that he can lay his hands on, and the message he's sending is that he's coming for him. Meanwhile Lady Vic has been sent to deal with Tarantula, as Blockbuster believes his latest operative needs to be done away with because she disobeyed his orders. The issue ends with Nightwing being confronted by one of his deadliest adversaries.
The Good:
I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but I remember I was whining about six months back about how this book was in dire need of a major shakeup of its status quo, and sure enough this arc would seem to be a realization of my concerns as if nothing else Devin Grayson has turned this book on its ear. Dick's relationship with Barbara looks to have ended, he's been fired from his job as a police officer, his greatest enemy has uncovered his secret identity, and the rest of his supporting cast in Bludhaven have been blown to kingdom come. Now this issue opens with a fairly shocking scene as it would appear that an angry Nightwing has become a killer, as there's no way a normal human could survive a fall from that height, and the art doesn't give us a shot of the character landing in the water, but rather a shot of Nightwing looking deadly serious, which leave one with the impression that we've just witness Nightwing cross a line that I never expected the character to. Now I'm glad to see this book is getting a good shake up and the simple fact that I'm actually fully invested in what is happening has to mean she's doing something right. This issue is also a pretty action intensive affair, and while I wish the villains had managed to put on a better showing, I will say the confrontation scene between Nightwing and the pair who blew up his building was well done, and the cliffhanger moment does manages to sell the idea that Nightwing is in for a rough go of it against this character.
Patrick Zircher is turning in some wonderful work on this series as he's been handed a action intensive plot and he's clearly having a grand old time delivering it. Nightwing looks exactly like the deadly serious figure he needs to be as that shot of the character after he tosses that thug to his seeming death is a powerful visual. The rest of the action sequences are also well delivered, as one has to love the sequence where Nightwing tears his way through the interior of a speeding van, and the battle between Lady Vic and Tarantula is a nice display of two characters in continuous motion. The sequence where Nightwing gives the pair of villains a taste of what it feels like to be burned alive is also quite impressive, and the scene where Nightwing lashes out at the wall of television screens makes for a solid presentation of the character's fury. The final page shot of the last hurdle that Nightwing will have to overcome is a great closing shot, as the character projects a wonderful sense of danger. I also have to give full marks to this issue's cover, as it's a great action shot, that nicely suggests the action one can expect to find inside.
The Bad:
I'm sure Chuck Dixon can't be overly pleased with this arc as Devin Grayson essentially has Nightwing carving a path through the rogues gallery that he created during his run, and by the end of the issue almost all of these villains have been shown to be not only rather easy to beat, but even more worrisome none of them are able to put up even a reasonable showing that they could pose a threat when they are confronted by an angry Nightwing. Now I'm not overly upset by Devin Grayson's decision to use Nightwing's anger as a wrecking ball to lay waste to the character's rogues gallery, as frankly none of these characters really captured my imagination. However, from an entertainment standpoint I do have to express some concern that Devin Grayson seems to feel that an angry Nightwing automatically equally highly ineffectual opponents who can't mount even the pretense that they might pose a danger to our hero. Now sure presenting Nightwing as a one man army nicely plays off the big shock that was established in the previous arc and reaffirms his anger, but watching him tear apart villain after villain while they don't even manage to get a single attack away, quickly makes for a dull reading experience. There's no sense of doubt to these battles, and in some cases the performance by these villains is so pitiful that it's going to be difficult to view them as threats when they make their next appearances.
You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry:
It's difficult to know what to make of this issue as on one hand it does establish Nightwing as a pretty formidable fighter, especially when he's angry. On the other hand the issue is also incredibly dismissive of Nightwing's rogues gallery, as unless she has plans on rebuilding the book's cast with villains that she feels would present a more formidable challenge for our hero, than one has to wonder how she expects us to take these villains as serious threats in their future encounters, when this issue clearly establishes that they are no match for an angry Nightwing. What makes it worse is the defeat of Lady Vic by Tarantula, as it required a trained fighter to fall for a trick that really isn't all that clever, and out of all the villains that Devin Grayson casts aside in this issue, Lady Vic was the one that I had become rather fond of, and as such it's disappointing to see the character knocked off in such a dismissive fashion. Still the issue does manage to deliver a sense that this issue is making lasting changes to the book even if it means gutting the book's rogues gallery.
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