Nightwing #69 Review

Memory Loss

Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Ronan Cliquet
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 19, 2020

I am taking over review duties for this book, and while Nightwing (and Dick Grayson more specifically) is my favorite character in all of comics, I can't say I'm in love with this guy Ric.  I mean, I'm not digging the grease paint look for one, but this amnesia bit has gone on way too long.  The worst part is, there seemed to be at least two times in the past year that could have brought back good old Dick.  I keep hoping that every new issue is going to be the one, but I kind of stopped expecting it.  So, how was this issue, and is the end in sight?  Let's find out...




We open with the news of the Nightwing Squad hitting Gotham, and a certain someone is none too happy about it.  The hints are there to guess who it is, and we will find out eventually in this issue anyway.

As far a Ric goes, he's off in Switzerland, and that just felt odd.  It makes some sense, but still.  We get a little glimpse into his jumbled up brain, and there is hope we can get out of this as soon as Ric can sort through the right and wrong memories floating around in there.  We get a cool page with Talon Ric vs. Nightwing Dick, and I know which side of the fence I'm on there.

The issue continues with a flashback showing Bea and Ric discovering Ric's doctor is indeed an Owl...an owl who leaves things behind that shouldn't be left behind!  Oh snap!

Back in Switzerland, Ric guesses what Dr. Haas was up to, but since we know what is going on, it felt redundant.  That's really what this whole issue feels like as well.  In a book that recaps it's two big things (Dick was shot and lost his memory) over and over; having even more recap makes it a bit of a slog to get through.

Ric finally does find Haas, and we discover she wasn't as forgetful as it seemed.  That's about the only new thing we get, though, and I am starting to think this issue is for those who bailed on the Year of the Villain issues, but why would they come back for this?  It was a lot better coming from William Cobb, by the way.

We do get some progression near the end when Haas reactivates her mind control on Ric, but it's interrupted by an odd explosion.  By the end, Ric is still not Dick but has the tool to change that...if he knows how to use it.  We also get a cliffhanger that felt like a hail mary to get people to read this book, but it also felt out of place and made me roll my eyes a bit.

Bits and Pieces:

Well, we still have Ric, and while that's enough to make a lot of people avoid this book, I was more upset at the flood of recap that dominated the narrative.  Seriously, most people know what's going on in this book and have been avoiding it.  Please, bring back Dick so we can get something good before 5G hits.

5.5/10