Batman #56: This sort of story lends itself to King's style, as Batman goes on a single-minded rampage to find Dick's would-be assassin. (King actually never confirms Dick has survived, by the by. You only know that if you're reading "Nightwing.") We learn the shooter is KGBeast who attempted to kill Dick as punishment for Batman costing him his arm in a previous fight. But, King doesn't just simply present that motivation as a fait accompli. He teases out KGBeast's motivation as he storms to his father's cabin in Siberia, where his father expresses disappointment in him. According to his father, arms are more useful than sons. This conversation shows King at his best, as he delves into the psyches of his players better than most authors. You actually feel sympathy for KGBeast. When he kills his father, it has the air of a man settling scores before he dies, setting the stage for what promises to be an apocalyptic showdown with Bruce next issue.
Nightwing #50: This issue wins this month's "most anticipated issue" award and I'm thrilled to say it didn't disappoint. In fact, I wonder where this Percy has been all this time. It feels like a mistake to take him off the title just as he hits his stride. Rather than telling the same old Nightwing story, we get an entirely new one here as Dick deals with the loss of both his identity and memory. His way of dealing is to become a sexy rogue (or, at least, sexier and rogue-ier than he normally is). As Barbara says, he drinks too much, he fights too much, he gambles too much, he does "everything" too much. (Hooya!) He takes up sexily sleeping in his tighty-whiteys in wealthy people's houses while they're on vacation (leaving them money for their trouble), and he bounces from back-alley card game to back-alley card game. Along the way, Barbara follows him, trying to convince him to get help. But, Percy makes a compelling argument for why he doesn't need or want help. As Dick says at the end, he has the chance not just to glue himself together in a way other people recognize, but to become his own man. Through flashbacks to a confrontation with Scarecrow when he was Robin, Percy reminds us Dick has been pursuing this goal for a long time. With only a vague memory of his circus life driving him, Dick decides to embrace being a ghost who can walk through time and walls. (One of the side effects of his injury is him losing time, waking up places he doesn't recognize.) It's honestly an exciting moment, and I hope DC doesn't rush him to remembering who he was. It really is a quintessential Dick Grayson story. It also helps that this Dick is dead sexy here. Moore not only portrays him as sexier than he's ever been with his shaved head, but he and Percy imbue him with a swagger unlike anything we've seen before. (I think Moore may be gay based on his blog, and I feel like it really took a gay penciler to reveal Dick in all his glory.) It's like a less fucked-up Jason Todd or a full-volume Dick Grayson. In fact, I'd love this Dick to meet Jason. That would be a story. At any rate, I am 100 percent on board with where we're going here. Did we jettison the Wyrm story? Maybe? Who cares? Vicki and Willem can escape on their own. I'm all about sexy Dick doing sexy, morally questionable things. Onward and upwards!
Also Read: Death Orb #1
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