Nighting #75 - Overdue, but it works!

[icon_uk]

There are some interesting bits in this issue, but to me the highpoint was the scene where we finally see Dick addressing the biggest change in the outside world whilst he was... unavailable, and has to deal with...


..another death in the family

Dick is back as a crimefighter, but is still uncertain about being Nighting again, and is using the costume the Joker had him use as "Dickyboy" (an odd choice IMHO, but trauma is rarely logical in it's processing)







Yeah, I knew this bit was going to hurt, and credit to Dan Jurgens for making it work.

Also a nice scene where Dick meets Bludhaven's Nightwings for the first, kinda, time.

Comments

[reveen]

Can they just split the difference and have him be a ghost Butler?

[tripodeca113]

Awhhhh, but in a sad way.

Alfred's like the butler in the Ducktales remake.

[icon_uk]

Ducksworth - "I've decided you're doomed. My time would be better served preparing your places in the afterlife. Cheerio." (phases through floor)

Beakley - Not reassuring he went DOWN instead of up.

[thanekos]

This is trading on the reader's prior investment in the character in the most mechanical, workmanlike way.

I can't fault it for being any of those things, and it is a very competent job, but man - this is so illustrative of the boundaries of storytelling with characters everyone's tacitly accepted will habitually snap back to some base state.

[icon_uk]

Yeah, this is Dan Jurgens clearing up someone else's messes again and doing a decent job of it, but that doesn't make me any happier about the messes.

[zachbeacon]

I still can't get over how stupid it was to kill Alfred while Tim was offworld and Dick was Ric.


Also, at this point Dick's relationships are starting to have the Spider-Man problem. Any relationship not with a certain redhead is doomed (though maybe they can remain friends with the ex-thief or cosmic powered teammate they used to date) and that relationship is also doomed because editorial doesn't want them together long term.

[magnetoisright]

It's almost as if Tom King couldn't write his way out of a paper bag if he was made of scissors

[zachbeacon]

I think I like his Batman work more than most, it doesn't seem like he had anything to do with Young Justice, and the Nightwing stuff apparently played out differently than planned but this is really a case where the editor should have said "no". Killing off a major character at the end of your run with no build up and leaving the next guy to deal with it is a dick move.

[juniper6]

😢

[starwolf_oakley]

It goes back to something I noticed during IDENTITY CRISIS, surprisingly. Bruce Wayne is amazed other superheroes can have a life outside of The Life. Or have a life as part of The Life. He just can't. (Not post-Crisis, at least.)

IDENTITY CRISIS also started "Bruce Wayne is a paranoid lunatic and is right to be so after what Mindwipe Inc. did to him," but let's ignore that.

[zachbeacon]

I mean it's telling that everyone in Bruce's life (Alfred, Leslie, Lucius, and the kids) has gotten pulled into "the life" in on way or another.

Personally I can't help but think about the time Bruce Wayne was framed for murder and Batman casually talks about dropping the BW identity as if it's no big deal.

[deepspaceartist]

and is using the costume the Joker had him use as "Dickyboy" (an odd choice IMHO, but trauma is rarely logical in it's processing)

I mean, he doesn't have many choices if he doesn't want to use Nightwing, does he? He could use his old Batman suit, but that might be weird for him with Bruce around in Gotham. He probably isn't big on using one of his old Robin suits. (And they'd probably need some tailoring to fit properly.) And he's not really in the right headspace to come up with something new. So that just leaves Dickyboy as his only available existing suit.

Though maybe he could take Red Robin (or re-take it, in a meta sense) since Tim isn't using it. And it'd be hilarious for Dick to turn the tables on Jason and steal the Red Hood identity for a while.

[superfangirl1]

Dick morning and paying respect to Alfred, brought tears to my eyes. But wonder when someone going to mention to him, what happen to Damian.