Whether they be masked supervillains or corrupt politicians, Nightwing’s got no shortage of foes to square off against. With both Melinda Zucco and Heartless making their first big moves, it’s Nightwing’s turn to take the full measure of his enemies. One of them, however, is holding a bigger secret than Nightwing could ever have guessed that – changing everything he thought he knew. Nightwing #81 is written by Tom Taylor, wuth art by Bruno Redondo, colored by Adriano Lucas, and lettered by Wes Abbott.
A Blind Date in Blüdhaven
Sometimes I worry that all the romance has gone out of superhero comics.
The First Skirmish between a supervillain and their hero used to be a bigger deal. The supervillain would pick the place, take pains to set up an elaborate trap, dress in their finest costume, practice what they were going to say several times in a mirror – because no matter how good your costume is, it takes effort to emote when your facial expressions are all hidden.
In return the hero would take the time to assess their threat. A little back and forth, some banter, a little dancing, testing each other out before parting ways for the night with the promise of more to come later – in time.
Nowadays, everyone skips straight to the punchy-punchy. The villains lay bare their motivations the first chance they get. What little banter there is all me, me, me – how clever does this make me sound? What pop culture reference can I make here to show my relevance? How can I use this fight to let everyone know how I’m feeling? (I’m looking at you, Spider-Man)
Nightwing and Heartless, though – they’re clearly true romantics. Masks meeting on a well lit dock – candlelight would have been preferred, but it’s traditional for a supervillain to go overboard and set everything on fire. Heartless dressed up for this – a simple, but effective design that takes full advantage of Adriano Lucas’ talent for beautiful pinks, shining right out from where the villain’s heart should be. The mask is especially great work – hiding the lower half of Heartless’ face in shadow, but showing enough teeth from his lower jaw to give Heartless both expressiveness and menace.
He may seem inscrutable at first – clothes covered in infrared lighting that makes him all but invisible to cameras – but Nightwing learns to appreciate the small gestures, like Heartless extinguishing just enough flames to let innocent children go. A few words exchanged, a traditionally thematic threat offered, and then – then they dance.
It’s street level superhero fighting at its finest. Missteps are made as the two figure each other out. Nightwing pays attention to his villains, dammit, and is more than willing to learn from his mistakes. The banter is light, airy, and fun, as Nightwing takes what would usually be analytical caption boxes and instead narrates his findings to the voice in his ear, Barbara Gordon. He notes Heartless’ enhanced physiology, but also notes the villain’s terrible technique.
The Artistry of Superheroics
When Batman analyzes his foes, it’s clinical, cold – a gathering of clues he can piece together later. Spider-Man mixes scientific observation with humorous put-downs. Superman looks to accomplish the most good, or failing that, mitigating the most harm, but Nightwing – he may have been trained by Batman, but superheroics are an art to him, and the art here is magical. Nightwing moves through the battle with a magnificent grace, quickly learning what style of fighting works best with this villain – he knows how to adapt quickly to his partner’s methods.
But Heartless understands his hero, too. At just the right moment, Heartless executes the time-honoured villain getaway move – putting the lives of innocents in danger to mask his escape, promising to continue the fight at a later date.
What follows is a scene that cuts a fine line between heartwarming and saccharine – it works for me, but I wouldn’t fault you for rolling your eyes just a little. For all their skills, Nightwing and Robin are out of their depths when it comes to being able to save the kids, and Nightwing’s only move is a desperate, hopeful reach – he calls out to the kindness of strangers. Puts faith in Blüdhaven to show itself as a city worth saving. Sure enough, his faith is rewarded, and various ships – all named for various creators who’ve worked on Nightwing in the past – come in to save the day.
It’s rest and recuperation for Nightwing after this battle – he’s taken a few serious hits. As a side note, I’d like to appreciate how familiar Nightwing’s home feels, after the detailed look Redondo gave us of it last issue. A handful of issues in, and we have settings that feel like coming home.
Blüdhaven’s Other Power Player
Dick isn’t given very restful news, however – while he was out fighting Heartless, someone else in Blüdhaven made their own power move. Melinda Zucco, the daughter of the man who killed Dick’s parents, has been sworn in as Mayor, and she’s under the thumb of crime boss Blockbuster. While Dick isn’t aware of the latter, knowledge that Zucco has ties to the Maroni crime family, and his own personal history with the Zucco family is enough to keep him up at night.
He swings his way over to Zucco’s home, running into her bodyguard (and possible partner?). This is a very different fight – she has no tricks, no themes, no powers – just skill, and in Nightwing’s weakened state it’s not long before he’s knocked out, taken captive, and unmasked, because Melinda Zucco wants to have a word with him. It turns out their connection is a lot closer than he could have guessed – Melinda’s biological dad is John Grayson. She’s Dick’s sister.
It’s the kind of twist that usually tires me. Long lost siblings, changing everything a hero thought he knew about his long-dead parents – it’s a well writers tend to dip into far more than is necessary. The way Melinda’s been set up here, though, makes me a little more excited about this reveal than I otherwise would have been. While she’s been positioned as a corrupt politician, there’s been just enough characterization to make her both an interesting person, and enough doubt left on the page to make it easy to believe she’s not entirely comfortable being at the beck and call of Blüdhaven’s criminal organizations.
I’m intrigued by her story, and given Nightwing’s plans to use his new fortune to help the city, I was hoping to see the two work together. Sure, it’s a cheap shortcut to establish a very literal kinship between the two – but on the other hand, it’s a classic comics move. Tom Taylor has repeatedly made magic with comic book cliches, enough to give me faith that I’m going to enjoy this story as it develops. It works, because through everything – the heart in this comic shines brightest.
Armaan is obsessed with the way stories are told. From video games to theater, TTRPGs to comics, he has written for, and about, them all. He will not stop, actually; believe us, we've tried.
