Nightwing #76 Review

 

Writer: Dan Jurgens

Artist: Ronan Cliquet

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 18, 2020

Nightwing may go down as one of the most frustrating books of this era.  Fans didn't even get the character for over two years, instead they got Ric, then Gray Son, and then Dicky Boy.  Dicky Boy!!!!!  Well, Nightwing is back, but there hasn't been that significant moment in his solo book for me to point to and shake my head yes.  So we get it in Nightwing #76?  Well...

One of the most frustrating things that kept happening during the Ric times was the constant recap of how we ended up there.  I complained a lot about it in my reviews and on the podcast because it got so ridiculous.  The book was always in a holding pattern, and the reminders ended up feeling like stabs in the back.  Thank god that's over with.  Right?!? 

Well, KGBeast has returned to finish the job he started back in Batman #55, and unfortunatley, someone thought that meant we needed to recap once again all the shit that lead to this book sucking!  I know that there may be new fans that could use the recap, but there are also fans who stuck through this bullshit story all this time to get at least an issue with Nightwing doing something more than making Napkin Man jokes.  That was never funny, and I cringe more each time it's used.  Please, Tom King already fucked up our favorite hero, don't dip into his cesspool!  If Dan Jurgens wants Nightwing fans to love him forever, he should go out of his way to point out how stupid all of that was!

If I asked my Magic 8-Ball what is going on here, I'm sure it would tell me that Jurgens doesn't have enough time before Future State to start a longer arc and is wasting a bit of time to stretch this out until 2021, but at least give fans something to stretch out!  

KGBeast coming back to finish the job is intriguing. Still, it never felt like there were any real stakes (it would have been crazy to kill Nightwing after we waited that long to get him back), and Jurgens only uses him as a means to an end to get rid of Bea, on of the few good things in this book over the last couple of years.  That just ended up feeling like an editorial reset button.

The bottom line to all of this is Nightwing fans deserve better.  They deserve something more than a reminder of how their favorite character got sidetracked for so long.  I'm sure some will say it's satisfying to see Nightwing lash out and bring down KGBeast, but it felt shallow and even a bit out of character after all this time.  I think we've had enough out of character moments in this book to last a lifetime already!  Readers deserve a couple of moments of their hero being awesome before the end of 2020 and beating down KGBeast in a couple of panels just didn't cut the borscht.

Bits and Pieces:

After waiting so long to get Nightwing back, Dan Jurgens reminds us about how and why this book sucked for 2+ years and got rid of one of the only bright spots from those dark times.  The art is good enough, but I am just left wondering why DC keeps treating loyal fans like they hate them.  Casual fans and reviewers (just look above this blurb on the roundup) may be fooled by this, but true Nightwing fans deserve way more!

4.5/10