Dick Grayson has just announced his plans to âsaveâ BlĂŒdhaven, but his home in Gotham City needs him more right now. The Scarecrow has put Gotham into the Fear State, and Simon Saintâs militant occupation of Gotham isnât making things any better. Itâs no longer a Gotham that Nightwing recognizes – but can he save it from becoming worse? Nightwing #84 is written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Robbi Rodriguez, colored by Adriano Lucas, and lettered by Wes Abbott.
[Note: For full Fear State coverage, check out Matt Lazorwitz and Will Nevin get into everything going down over at Bat Chat…then back to me for Harley Quinn]
Ahh, crossovers. Love âem or hate âem, you canât quite avoid âem unless you stick to following the really D-list characters – and Nightwing is anything but. Dick Grayson might be all about saving BlĂŒdhaven, but Gotham needs its Nightwing back. While some titles seem to effortlessly meld a crossover event into the stories theyâre already telling, Nightwing is pulled fully out of its narrative to help fight against Scarecrowâs “Fear State“, complete with guest artist, Robbi Rodriguez.
Thereâs always been a lot of overlap between Nightwing and Spider-Man, and I thought they made it as explicit as possible with the not-quite-thwips from last issue, but I might have been eyeing the wrong arachnid. Bringing in the co-creator of Spider-Gwen in for the crossover not too long after Spider-Gwenâs own multiversal reimagining as Night-Gwen – Grayson should really look into some web-shooters at least, is all Iâm saying.
Unfortunately, while Rodriguezâs style works fantastically with the brighter colors and punk aesthetic of Earth-65, he doesnât quite hit the same heights while in the darker, broodier Gotham, made all the darker for the situation itâs in. There are a few panels where thereâs room for Rodriguezâs art and Ariano Lucasâ colors to really shine through, but for the most part the effect is a jarring change from Bruno Redondoâs clean-cut lines and clarity of form.
This could have worked – a wilder, grungier Nightwing in a city warped beyond recognition, but Tom Taylorâs writing in is definitely holding the art back – at least for this issue. I fully expect to see wilder things ahead, because while Scarecrow might not be my favorite Batvillain, his fear-based hallucinations really give an artist the chance to let loose. For now, though, the story we have is fairly straightforward, and a little clunkily written.
After a quick recap for those jumping into Nightwing just for the crossover, Dick receives a coded message from Barbara, calling all Batfamily hands on deck. Nightwingâs return to Gotham is burdened with far too many narrative captions. Simone Saintâs overzealous personal police force makes the city a more dangerous place than ever – especially for vigilantes like Nightwing himself – but there is far too much talking when a silent moment will do. His inner monologue doesnât really add too much to what the artâs already showing; itâs clearly trying to strike a mood, but feels more awkwardly moody in a run thatâs spent so much of its time trying to be brightly hopeful.
The book does lighten up a fair bit once Batman arrives and Nightwing has someone he can actually talk to. The original dynamic duo pairing up again and being somewhat awkward about it is something I will never tire of. Nightwingâs one of the few people who can look past Batmanâs mystique, and more often than not Bruce is kind of awkward about it – but the two always spring back to professionalism in a snap, working smoothly together like theyâve never been apart. Thereâs a constant oscillation between familial awkwardness and superheroic efficiency between these two, itâs silly, itâs heartwarming and a little tragic.
Batman sends his former protĂ©gĂ© over to Barbara Gordon, someone Dickâs got a little easier rapport with. After catching him up on things, the most pertinent of which is the fact that her Oracle program has been hijacked and is being used to further terrify Gothamâs citizens, she decides its time to enter the fight, suiting up as Batgirl.
I do enjoy Rodriguezâs take on the Batfamily. Nightwing himself is a little silly, a wilder boy with a light heart doing his best in a dark world. Batman is shadow itself – two glowing points of white light wrapped in darkness, and all you can see from the part of his face that is exposed is a scowl. Batgirl – Batgirl has her own wildness, balanced with a certain intimidating poise and confidence. I love her as the Oracle, but this Batgirlâs here to kick ass, and Iâm kind of excited to see it.
Itâs a strange detour into what I feel is a forgettable crossover, but there are still some moments to enjoy here, and to look forward to. Itâs a shame that the regular Nightwing story had to be derailed to this extent to make this crossover happen, though.
