COMIC REVIEW: NIGHTWING #125
Author: Chris Clow
Saturday, October 7, 2006

EDITOR'S NOTE: This review contains some SPOILERS.

Ah, a new issue, a new creative team, and a new story. For comic readers, that can be a very refreshing thing. And with names like Marv Wolfman and Dan Jurgens, the two men who brought us DC’s previous “Crisis” events (Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, respectively), you know that it’s going to be a fun ride for the next couple of months.

In Nightwing #125, we join good ol’ Dick Grayson scouting a new villain in New York. He’s deep in thought about why he does what he does, and spots his newest villain, who goes by the name of Raptor. He’s got an armored suit and is flying through the NYC skyline by jetpack. His suit kind of reminded me of Firefly’s, but his gimmick seems to be completely different.

Nightwing was tracking this guy after an APB was sent out on him for, “A dozen different felonies, including murder.” When we catch up with Nightwing, he jumps on top of Raptor seventy stories off the ground. Raptor tries to fling him off and blast him with napalm, but Nightwing manages to use his last line to land on the ground, dislocating his shoulder in the process. A voice is heard in his head, telling him he should’ve died in the Crisis. Nightwing shakes it off, and continues his pursuit.

When Nightwing catches up with Raptor, he’s standing over a pretty grotesque burnt corpse that’s still smoking, proclaiming, “I didn’t do anything, but I will.” Raptor delivers a kick to Nightwing’s already injured shoulder, and gets away…for now.

Later, back in street clothes, Dick walks into his apartment complex and meets not one, but TWO gorgeous women in athletic garb. One introduces herself as Ryan Diaz, and happens to be a masseuse. She comments on how tight Dick’s muscles feel. Then, an amusing job hunting scene ensues, where Dick tries his hand at being a cab driver. He doesn’t fare very well, and is later treated to a massage by his new, gorgeous friend Ryan. She invites him to a party later that night. All of a sudden, he thinks about the man Raptor killed, and leaves to the scene of the crime, looking over the computer database there. He finds a pattern: Raptor seems to be killing scientists who once worked for Lex Luthor.

He finds the next man on the list, goes to his home, and sure enough, there’s Raptor. The next would-be victim was alive as a battle ensued. It goes out into the streets of the neighborhood, but Raptor manages to lose Nightwing and fly away. When Nightwing goes back up into the house, the victim is burnt and smoking. Raptor wasn’t the killer after all, as Nightwing asks, “What the hell is going on here?”

Dick gets back to his apartment, and says he’ll go to the party after a quick power nap. Two hours pass, then four, then six, when a silhouette appears behind him, saying that he should’ve died in the Crisis. Outside his apartment, we see Ryan knocking on Dick’s door as the silhouette moves closer, telling him he should’ve died. Then we’re left to a cliffhanger.

I really like the flow of Wolfman’s writing. After coming off the last stint with Bruce Jones, Nightwing’s stories lost a level of coherency. Jones’ story had potential, I just didn’t think it was executed very well. With Wolfman, we’re given a straight forward beginning that’s peppered with the perfect amount of intrigue and suspicion.

As far as the art of Dan Jurgens, I’ve always felt he knew exactly what he was doing. The first comic book I ever read was one of the issues of the “World Without a Superman” arc, and he was the artist, so I’ve always held his work with an amount of reverence. He gives great detail to the charred bodies of the victims and his facial expressions have always told a story unto themselves.

A strong first issue for the new creative team. I hope that in the future, Dick Grayson is given this superstar treatment more often, because you know we all love him!