Nightwing is messed up. He may or may not have caused multiple deaths. To be fair, someone else may have grabbed the steering wheel and caused a deadly car pileup. but the problem is that the perpetrator is a ghost. The lack of definitive proof of this has caused there to be an insurmountable amount of guilt for Blüdhaven’s protector. Luckily for him, who better to help him out than The World’s Second Greatest Detective? Well, sometimes people who care about us overstep and think they’re doing us a favor when in fact they’re adding to the tornado in our mind. Turns out, Batman isn’t exactly a calming presence for Nightwing when he’s at his worst. Let’s see why. This should be fun!
DC
I’m surprised it took this long for a Batman crossover in the Watters era. He and the Justice League did make a brief cameo when Bryce got powers, but that was different. Here, the Dynamic Duo are teaming up to solve a mystery. While we often see the two heroes being people who can work with each other without needing words, Watters adds another layer to that. Sure, they’re capable of being a well-oiled machine, but being able to read one another like the back of one’s own hand also results in being able to gauge when someone may be overstepping. As a result, we see a more interesting conflict occurring between the pair.
While it’s nice to see Bruce cares about what’s going on in Dick’s life, that doesn’t mean Dick wants Bruce’s help. Throughout this issue, Watters is able to take the parental relationship that the pair have and recontextualize why they don’t always get along. If this isn’t making sense, consider this: how often do you feel a bit exasperated when your parents insert themselves into your problems unprompted? Yeah. If it can be challenging for us, you better believe it’s not easy for Dick Grayson. Moreover, by further isolating Nightwing, Dan Watters continues to lead the story towards a situation where Dick is going to have to solve this problem on his own.
Something worth noting is how quickly Denys Cowan begins to delve into Nightwing’s mental state. There’s a chance Nightwing caused multiple people’s deaths, and he is not taking that well. Cowan reinforces that in many ways, but one that stuck out to me is when we get a look in Nightwing’s bedroom, there’s no doors or windows. Whether this was intentional or not is up for debate, but I appreciate the message it sends. Nightwing is clearly spiraling, and having his room look like a small box reinforces how claustrophobic he may be feeling.
DC
There’s many other beautiful artistic decisions made in the issue that I think deserve attention. While I won’t spoil them, I want to quickly gloss over them: Cowan’s linework is stunning. Whether we’re seeing wider landscapes like Blüdhaven’s bridge with two iconic heroes upon each pillar or more personal scenes where Nightwing’s talking to Batman, I found Cowan’s artwork perfect for this story. So much of the raw emotional gut punches this issue carries are reinforced by Norm Rapmund’s shading adding a grittier layer of depth to it. Additionally, Francesco Segala’s colors reinforce the muggy and darker turn this issue has, Weather is extraordinarily important in comics as it can help convey the story’s tone. Blüdhaven feels as gloomy as Nightwing’s mood is. Moreover, I found that the artwork in the story gave the issue life and helped turn Blüdhaven into a living character.
So, how does this issue hold up? I personally found this to be a great entry into the series. There’s intrigue, drama, and stunning art. It’s always nice seeing Nightwing and Batman work together on a case, but it’s also nice being reminded that they aren’t best buds. Seeing their issues pop up while Nightwing’s down spiraling helps reinforce how much pressure Dick is under. Seeing Nightwing lose his cool is a great indicator of how imperfect he is. Nightwing is far more than the quippy charming DC version of Spider-Man. He’s a lot more like Cyclops or Daredevil, if we’re making comparisons to Marvel. And an issue like this does a lot of heavy lifting to remind readers how intense of a person Dick Grayson can be. Altogether, this is a great issue that shows one of DC’s most popular character’s life continues to be on an intense downward spiral. So, if you miss Crash Out Nightwing, this issue is for you!
You must be logged in to post a comment.