It’s all led to this! Nightwing and the Zanni are having a grand showdown with the fate of Blüdhaven at stake. Luckily, Nightwing isn’t alone in this battle. In the show-stopping finale to Dan Watters and Dexter Soy’s collaboration on Nightwing, the duo makes sure to go out with a bang.
This issue feels special. The Zanni has been a threat that has captivated Nightwing readers for some time now and seeing how things finally wrap up feels satisfying. Sure, the Zanni isn’t exactly what we all pictured, but the threat he poses to Blüdhaven is very real, the Cirque de Sin has worked very well to serve as a foil to Nightwing’s purpose in Blüdhaven. Here, Watters does a wonderful job balancing the intensity of the threat Nightwing is up against while still allowing characters like Nightwing-Prime to serve a great purpose. While I’m not quite sure whether it was necessary for Barbara Gordon to suit up as Batgirl (I am a tad biased into believing the character operates better as Oracle), I think it’s generally nice to see her push herself to protect Blüdhaven while Nightwing is elsewhere. Altogether, I think the issue successfully balances multiple plots while finding subtle ways to interweave them just in time for a great conclusion to the arc.
DC
It’s going to be rough not having Dexter Soy on this series, as he has brought some of my favorite Nightwing artwork to the series. But let’s talk about the good things that are illustrated here rather than lamenting about his departure. As previous issues have been, Nightwing #135 is a gritty issue with sharp and dynamic artwork that helps intensify the story’s tone. A great example of this is on the final page, where the simple paneling utilized works quite well to direct readers towards Nightwing’s next foe while slowly implying the level of threat they are likely to serve. Another important thing to note here is how Veronica Gandini helps to elevate Soy’s dynamic art style by adding colors so intense they ripple off the page. I found Gandini’s choice to favor darker hues to reinforce how gritty and serious of a story Watters and Soy attempt to deliver to readers. Altogether, I felt this issue was wonderfully illustrated and was nothing short of a bombastic sendoff from Dexter Soy on the title.
DC
Nightwing #135 nicely wraps up this act of Dan Watters’ time on the series. It’s clear he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon as the story ends by planting seeds for future threats Nightwing may find himself facing sooner rather than later. Additionally, the story does an overall good job wrapping things up without rushing anything. While I don’t necessarily love that the Zanni was an outer dimensional threat akin to Nite-Mite rather than a greater evil presence haunting Dick Grayson, I think this still worked to show how flexible of a title Nightwing is capable of being. We experienced a gritty street level story, political challenges in Blüdhaven, and unexpected magical interference, and despite all these different themes the series has maintained a consistent tone since Watters jumped on the title. This isn’t a happy-go-lucky series where Nightwing will have everything nicely wrapped up with a bow on it. He’s going to face challenges that push him far out of his comfort zone. And hopefully, he’ll be all the better from those obstacles.
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