Nightwing 10 - Dick has a new mission

[icon_uk]

Not as Nightwing, but as Dick Grayson


I'm ignoring the Paragon A plot, because the B plot interests me a lot more.

The first page is pretty much purely for fanservice, as Dick arrives in his new base of operations somewhere in Gotham's Old Town. He's on the phone to Lucius Fox, who he approached to ask about finding a source of finance for his plan. It's a risky, personal venture, and his own funds won't cover something on this scale, and he doesn't want to go running to Bruce for the money.




I hope that that's a colourist error there and the costume in the case on the right is supposed to be BLUE!

For those unclear about the implications of that name to Dick, her intro page explains why that might be an issue.





Now on the one hand I like this as an idea. Dick trying to bring hope to the hopeless, and light the darkness has pretty much been a defining part of his nature since 1940, so this is just a new twist to that. I'm still not a fan of him being stuck in Gotham like that, but this moves him into a different area of it I suppose.

My other problem is one that is more or less highlighted by the clown with his "bang gun", I hardly need add what scene THAT reminds me of.

The other is that when I imagine fairgrounds in Gotham, my mind imagines that something like this is pretty much inevitable.



Now I should say that a sidekick bound to every rollercoaster certainly wouldn't put ME off visiting, in fact I'd want an annual pass and possibly a job there, but I doubt that I'm a target audience.

Basically, given the grandiose nature of the Gotham Rogue's something like this must surely be a magnet for trouble!

Still, I'll be interested in seeing how this pans out.

Comments

[darkknightjrk]

I kinda dropped off on the book during the whole Circus thing, but what this implies as Dick's mission...this feels more like the fresh, invigorating take on the character I've been looking for. Hopefully Higgins can do something cool with the character now that he isn't binding time for Snyder's run.

[icon_uk]

Hopefully Higgins can do something cool with the character now that he isn't binding time for Snyder's run.

There should ALWAYS be binding time with Dick Grayson! :)

[shadowpsykie]

yeah he walked into that one :D

[grimmbear]

I see what you did here. ;)

[icon_uk]

Who? Me? I'm not the one who got biding and binding confused

It was clearly a Freudian slipknot

[auggie18]

Yeah, maybe it's just me, but I avoid the hell out of a Gotham-based circus. Or fair. Or anything that would have clowns or anything that could be even vaguely described as a 'freak show.' I mean, isn't that just asking for trouble?


It's the twin laughing catbird diamond that contains the seed of the rarest plant on earth! Let's bring it to Gotham, surely nothing will go wrong there!

[md84]

It's a party, and everyone's invited. Actually, I could see another villain deliberately doing this to get the Rogues' Gallery in one place for some sinister purpose.

[shadowpsykie]

It's the twin laughing catbird diamond that contains the seed of the rarest plant on earth!

Teeheehee

[stolisomancer]

At this point, is there anything you could do in Gotham that wouldn't have at least some degree of super-villain friendliness inherent to its design?

If it has toys, games, rides, or craziness, it's Joker.
If it has plants, it's Ivy.
If it has a basement or sewer access, it's Killer Croc.
If it's an old warehouse, it's going to have a heist planned in it and you may as well not include glass in the skylight.
If it involves mental or physical care, that's the Scarecrow.

[auggie18]

Haberdashery would attract Mockingbird.

Plastic Surgeon would attract Jane Doe or Hush.

Anything related to hats would attract the Mad Hatter.

Children's bookstores would attract Humpty Dumpty.

Puzzle/gaming shops would attract the Riddler.

Comedy Clubs...yeesh.

What the hell can you do in Gotham? Other than die?

[md84]

You could go to the movies. There aren't any Gotham rogues associated with movie theaters. Just don't go into any alleyways on the way home.

[kirayoshi]

The original Clayface?

[md84]

Oh yeah, forgot one of the Clayfaces was an actor. And I feel really silly for forgetting about Film Freak.

[thosefew]

Film Freak's an old dead villain who could be alive in DCnU.

[icon_uk]

I think there was even a new Film Freak

[coldfiredragon]

But movie theaters are prime locals to pick up bed-bugs so Gothamites are screwed no matter which way they turn... risk evil super-villain at Amusement mile or risk paying thousands to have your home and belongings saved from a pest infestation.

[md84]

You can't even attend a magic show -- the Joker did kill and impersonate a magician in one story arc and tried to kill his entire audience.

[icon_uk]

Well even dying isn't guaranteed plain sailing, given the likes of Mortimer Kadaver being around.

[icon_uk]

Starbucks?

[stolisomancer]

I would have thought that you of all people would be familiar with the subtle, caffeinated evil of the Silver Age menace known only as the Barista.

[icon_uk]

I liked the Post Zero Hour revamp where he was reinvented as a fairly laid back anti-hero, got a sidekick and the two of them became know as Decaf and Latté

[shadowpsykie]

yeah i like this idea.

though yeah... i thought Joker when i saw that clown immediately

[icon_uk]

That's actually been a plot point, the clowns at Haly's LOATHE Gotham City because of the Joker (especially that clown there who usually wears a green wig)

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Yeah, I thought he looked oddly Joker-esque...

[perletwo]

Yeaaahhhh. Gotham did have a place for hope once. It was called "wherever Stephanie Brown happened to be." #bitemedcnu

[crabby_lioness]

I once saw a photo of a man who planted a garden in an abandoned lot in a ghetto. He got it looking really beautiful. The local gang destroyed it. Every time he replanted it, they destroyed it with more violence. They were personally outraged that anyone dared make any effort to beautify their world.

[icon_uk]

That could, of course, also be used as an analogy for the mission of Batman and Robin, and that never stopped them!

[cypherfdp]

Maybe all the sidekicks who are out of a job can work there.

Comic book superstars such as Whitewash Jones!

[auggie18]

I would love to see a modern, bad-ass version of that dude. Like, he's a normal guy in charge of a group of rowdy super powered pre-teens and he keeps them in line through sheer awesomeness.

[icon_uk]

Dick would be just the sort to take in a couple of amnesiac runaways, nice kids, Donna something and the other one thinks his name is probably Wally.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

So wait, what happened between the circus and Grayson? I thought he owned/ran it now? And now they tried to kill him?

[icon_uk]

He does own it, but two of his childhood friends (The girl Raya, who was also sleeping with him, and her real lover, the thought-to-be-dead-but-actually-insane-failed-Talon guy, tried to kill Dick at a special performance in Gotham, in the process of which the circus got wrecked.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Ah, I see. Crazy.

Thanks!

[espanolbot]

Wait, Dick found that she used the murder of her best friend to take down a former parent-in-crime who'd be blackmailling her before giiving him the actual murderer (who escaped because Dick wasn't able to catch up to him sooner) during Scott Snyder's Black Mirror arc.

Why are they on search good terms all of a sudden?

[icon_uk]

Ah, I haven't read Black Mirror so I have no idea she'd appeared before.

I'm also not sure I follow the train of events you outline, but I assume that was Sonia and Nightwing, not Sonia and Dick, and besides, he wants her to invest in his plan.

[bradygirl_12]

Even when I hate the story (Haly's Circus as a hotbed of assassins, for cryin' out loud) I like this book for the art. Is Dick looking gorgeous here or what? :)

[filthysize]

I hope that's not the amusement park Joker kidnapped Gordon at in Killing Joke.

[icon_uk]

I hadn't even thought of THAT possibility!

[sir_razorback]

How many iconic amusement parks could Gotham possibly have, though? :/

[icon_uk]

Based on the number of Joker stories over the years something like 37 sounds about right (And that's not counting a couple the Scarecrow used for "Thrill ride" experiments I'm sure.)

[damar148]

Amusement Mile, a reference to Arkham City?

[b_dangerous]

You know, before I scrolled down to see him RIP OPEN HIS COSTUME, I could have sworn the fanservice was that one costume with the arm stripe going down it-- suggesting finger stripes somewhere.

That got me really excited. lol Tumblr has ruined me.

[maxisanacorn]

Nice art. At times he doesn't look...completely Caucasian....I like when people remember he's supposed to be of partial Roma descent.

[icon_uk]

I think that's just artists interpretation than a statement of ethnicity. Is Roma actually a physically identifiable ethnicity?

Only one writer has ever had him be of partial Romany descent and I'm not sure Dick in the DCNu is at all since Devin Grayson had him be Romany on his fathers side ( his mother wasn't Romany), and his father's side is now completely different.

[nomore]

I guess that would depend on the group of Romani people honestly, as well as be individual?

May I ask what issue (s) was his descent mentioned in? Not that I missed that as fact but I haven't actually *read* it, so I'm curious.

[icon_uk]

I believe the first mention of it is in Gotham Knights #20 in 2001 (the first of a two part story introducing Yoska Graesinka, an old Romany guy who claims to be Dick's paternal grandfather. He wasn't, as it turns out, but thought he was, and the fact he was Romany was enough to make it a possibility)

The only other real mention of it is in Nightwing 98 or 99, where Dick ponders a future in jail, and notes that it's a common fate for young men of his ethnic group.

Whilst a potentially interesting plot thread, it was not handled well IMHO.

[nomore]

Thank you for the information, I'll check it out. ;D