Nightwing #24 Review – Nearly 50 Villains? No Problem.
Sure, at the end of the last issue it looked like this was the end of Nightwing. He was duped into sneaking on a ship to stop a rather horrible casino owner, Tiger Shark. Instead of getting the drop on Tiger Shark and the cops on his payroll, Tiger Shark and a room full of villains got the drop on him. Tiger Shark is ready to pay whomever kills Nightwing and thus bring an end to superhero vigilantes in Blüdhaven. For now, anyway. You know another will just pick up where Nightwing left off.
Somehow, though, Dick is able to pull off the impossible (as usual) and survive the ambush. Someone stabs him in the thigh, and he still walks it off. Oh to have this guy’s pain tolerance and stamina. Despite beating his way through dozens of villains as he tries to escape, most of the comic was a bit a of a snoozefest.
The action artwork was amazing. Seeing how Nightwing contorts his body to kick some ass is always glorious to behold. That was most definitely not the snoozer. Nightwing reading off from memory the names and MOs of every villain coming at him, however, was as interesting as reading someone else’s family tree. Was it impressive that he still does all that memorization homework Batman made him do as Robin? Why yes. Yes it is. Do I care who all these villains are, when he’s just dispatching them right and left? Not really. Are their names humorous? Actually, yes.
Nightwing’s conversation with Giz has he tries to escape the ship is amusing as well. It breaks up the reading of a Rolodex of villains, and Giz is a funny guy. He does help Nightwing reach the only escape route, but Nightwing doesn’t necessarily escape. Blockbuster had something waiting for him at the end, and it wasn’t a fight.
Blockbuster didn’t entirely betray Nightwing, but he has no desire to help him, either. He does want to save Blüdhaven from Tiger Shark and these other crazies, but he doesn’t want Nightwing patrolling the rooftops either. He knew Nightwing would easily thwart everyone, but he also knew Nightwing wouldn’t want them killed, regardless. At the end of this issue, I could almost hear a narrator saying we’ll find out what happens to Nightwing next issue, same bat-time, same bat-channel. Which, by the way, will happen in two weeks. Well, technically it will happen in one week, since it took me a week to even read this issue.
This issue had an end-game in mind, but getting there was a bit of a page filler. Not even Shawn’s venting to her friend about Dick has that much bearing on the plot, other than making it rather clear their relationship is nearly over. I have a feeling Dick won’t stay in Blüdhaven long after this anyway. Desmond’s little speech got some gears turning.
Our Rating: meh
Author: Tim Seeley
Artists: Miguel Mendonca, Diana Conesa, and Chris Sotomayor
Publisher: DC Comics
Publish Date: 07/05/2017
Acquired via Purchase
