Nightwing #9 Review and *SPOILERS*

Dream Warriors!

Written By: Tim Seeley
Art By: Marcio Takara, Marcelo Maiolo, Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: November 26, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Now that we're done with Raptor and the Monster Men, I really hope that we can get Nightwing back to the way that we all want him to be.......... and if you think he's been fine this whole time....... Well, I'm not talking to you.  This series has been weird so far and felt off to me, but since this is a Nightwing book, I'm going to give it some leeway and just hope beyond hope that it finds its footing because I really want to like this book........ It's just been really hard.  So let's jump into this one-shot story and see why Superman has come to Gotham and why he needs Nightwing's help.  Let's check it out.

Explain It!:

Our issue begins with Nightwing having some bad dreams about his fellow Titans dying right in front of him and him not being able to do anything about it.  It seems that our hero has been having bad dreams like this for awhile now and since he's been dealing with Monster Men and Raptor, he doesn't really see it as something that's that out of the ordinary........ That is, until Superman shows up outside of his window.  That's right, after Dick puts some pants on, the two rush off to the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman has apparently been watching out for signs of villains he fought in his own timeline and has come across a signal associated with the materioptikon, which Dr. Destiny used and the signals originate at an ARGUS facility and in Nightwing's mind itself.  With that knowledge, Nightwing allows Superman to strap him up with a device that will allow the Man of Steel into our hero's dreams so the two can pull an Inception and find out if Dr. Destiny is inside of him, tormenting his sleep. 

Once our heroes go inside the dreamscape, we see that Dr. Destiny is indeed inside of Nightwing and is using his knowledge of his friend's vulnerabilities so that he can kill them inside of Dick's dreams, which are in turn feeding Dr. Destiny, making him more powerful.  After getting some encouraging words from Superman and realizing that since these are his dreams and that he's the master of them, Nightwing gets the courage to take on this villain and create all of his Super-Friends to help, including Tim Drake and the New 52 Superman.  After the "dream" Tim Drake tells Dick that Dr. Destiny's weak point is inside his chest, our hero goes in for the strike, allowing Dick to finally wake up.

In the end, with Dr. Destiny's hold on Dick gone, Nightwing and Superman alert the Justice League to Dr. Destiny's whereabouts at the ARGUS facility and the team finds him strapped up to a device and being used as weapon for Kobra, who are still pissed at Nightwing's meddling from the previous arc.  As our issue closes, Dr. Destiny is shut down and Kobra is defeated, but more importantly, Batman now has a new respect for the Pre-Flashpoint Superman now that Dick has kind of vouched for him.  As our heroes leave we know that things have changed and from the information that Superman provided to Nightwing during this issue about what his version of Dick did, Nightwing seems like he's on his way to Bludhaven to look for a new start.  

That's it for this issue of Nightwing and even though this was a silly Nightmare on Elm St. style story....... or Inception...... or Cell if you like, this was still one of the best issues of Nightwing that we've had so far because while the rest of the series has been dark as hell and our hero came off as a shell of his former self, this issue was just full of that hope that Rebirth seems to be all about.  Not only did we get Nightwing and Superman becoming friends like our hero was with the New 52 Superman, but we also see our hero going off to Bludhaven like he should.  It was just a strong issue that gave Nightwing a chance to grieve and kind of move on from the deaths of Tim Drake and Superman since he knows that they'll always be with him in his dreams........ and yeah, that's kind of hokey, but it was still nice to see.  I liked the art in this issue more than I have from any previous issue we've gotten and I find myself being sad that this is only a one-shot and that Marcio Takara is moving on now because I'd love for this book to look like this from here on out, but hopefully if the stories continue like this, I'll be able to over-look the art a bit.  

Bits and Pieces: 

While this issue is only a one-shot, it's fun as hell for what it is and gives me hope that the Nightwing series can be something that I can finally get behind.  We get a great team-up, excellent art and an ending that will leave a continued feeling of hope that I look forward to reading all about in this series and others.  Go check this out because it's something that you won't want to miss.

8.5/10