With the events of “Forever Evil” in his near future, Dick Grayson has one last Windy City adventure in “Nightwing” #26.
Major spoilers are discussed.
Written by Kyle Higgins
Illustrated by Will Conrad with Cliff RichardsWith the events of FOREVER EVIL looming, Nightwing enters the final stages of life as he knows it!
Comic book timelines are a funny thing, with single characters appearing in multiple adventures at the same time. There are enough version of Wolverine and Batman running around at the same time that they each could be their own football team. Things get even more interesting when multi-part events are told over a period of weeks and months, with characters still appearing in their own monthly titles. The “Forever Evil” event has already made large changes to the DCU, as told their the titular mini-series and obligatory tie-ins, include the public revealing of Nightwing’s real identity. The non “Evil” related books are still telling their own stories, and won\t reflect the status quo changes until the event ends in approximately 3 years. “Nightwing” #26 gives Dick Grayson one last hurrah in Chicago, secret identity intact, before the mask gets ripped off.
Picking up after the Prankster terrorized the city, anti-superhero sentiment as reached an all time high in Chicago. Nightwing, however, refuses to give up his usual heroics and is still busy patrolling the streets of his adopted hometown. There has been a rash of break in and thefts at hospitals, targeting the city’s supply of a powerful new anti-psychotic drug. Security is on high alert, which makes thing even more difficult for Nightwing to investigate. After Grayson seemingly catches the thief, and dodge police bullets at the same time, the true mastermind is revealed as a familiar face from Nightwing’s home town.
After two dozen issues writing the character, with the past five set in his real-life home city, Kyle Higgins knows Nightwing and his world backwards and forwards. Under his watch, Higgins has turned the hero into something akin to DC’s Spider-Man. Higgins’ Nightwing is determined, quippy, lighthearted with just a tinge of internal sadness, and spends entire pages flipping through the air. And just like Peter Parker, Dick Grayson’s finances and living situation are a constant source of stress. Grayson is forced to deal with nosey roommates and unexpected guests, all while maintaining a menial minimum wage job. Taking Grayson away from the Bat-Cave, and Bruce Wayne’s wallet, was the best decision Higgins has made drying his run. It has made the character into one of the most relatable in a DCU filled with gods, and showed the level of his resolve. Nightwing is a hero, and nothing is going to stop him from protecting people, even at the risk of eviction.
So at the end of this issue, Mad Hatter is revealed as the mastermind behind the drug thefts. Bringing a Bat-villain across country to Chicago for Nightwing to face is an interesting choice. The move to Windy City represented a clean slate for the character, who stepped out of the shadow of the bat to forge his own identity, which includes giving him his own villains to face. Bringing in a familiar bad guy does has advantages, such as bringing more attention to the book, and possibly skipping some exposition. Comic book characters are often defined by their rogues gallery; the Joker and Lex Luthor tells us as much about Batman and Superman as themselves. Creating new Nightwing specific villains would be a great chance to flesh out the character, and hopefully the appearance of Mad Hatter, admittedly a C-list Bat enemy, is just a brief dip back into the familiar.
Will Conrad has done exceptionally well with his time on “Nightwing”, and this issue provides him with a bit support with fellow artist Cliff Richards.. As with Higgins’, the new setting has given Conrad the change to expand his palette and create a whole new world for the character. As Chicago is an actual place, the city feel much more realistic and distinct than some generic comic book cities. And Grayson’s cramped and small apartment will be familiar to anyone who has ever been in their 20’s, as will his appropriately greasy job. Conrad is great at action scenes, particular the way he uses several ghost images to show Nightwing flying across a single page.
Continued belowA good portion of the books action involves a chase across the Chicago skyline. While the wide images with both characters look graceful and fluid, there a several moments where there’s a random panel with a weirdly angled closeup. This happens a few times throughout the issue, and it feels strange and disjointed. If anything is only serves to break the momentum of the scenes for no apparent reason. It’s an unfortunate pattern of interruption in an otherwise visually appealing book.
“Nightwing” #26 is the beginning of the end for the character. Soon the series will catch up to “Forever Evil”, and Dick Grayson will have the face the world without a mask. Kyle Higgins and Will Conrad seemed to determined to send the character off on a high note, with one last adventure across the rooftops of Chicago. The story moves along a good pace, and features several scenes of Nightwing adapted to his new life with his trademark humor and determination. Higgins and Conrad are successfully guiding Nightwing to the end of one chapter of his life, and the book remains as enjoyable and entertain as ever.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy. The last hurrah before Nightwing’s world changes forever. At least until the next reboot.
