Nightwing #89 Review

 

Superior Sons

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Bruno Redondo

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: February 15, 2022

Tom Taylor's run on Nightwing has been a huge hit, though I have been up and down with it.  Dick Grayson is my favorite character because he is the nicest guy in the DCU, and Taylor nails that in each issue... maybe a little too much at times.  Dick is great, but he doesn't have to be the Saint of all Saints, and he certainly doesn't need every other hero rushing to save him all the time.  Still, though, Taylor is far from ruining anything with the character (the other Tom is doing enough of that), and it's a guarantee that readers will smile once or twice with every issue.  So let's jump into Nightwing #89.

Nightwing #89 opens with a flashback scene with Batman and Nightwing, and Dick is wearing his awesome red and black New 52 era costume.  I know it's not everyone's favorite, but I loved it because it fit so well with the other Robins.  Of course, the big mystery is who the dynamic duo are after, and when we find out, it's a smile-worthy moment.

Jon Kent Superboy (remember - Flashback) got lost flying at night when he wasn't supposed to, and the World's Greatest Detectives cracked the case.  Tom Taylor does what he does best with little jokey moments mixed with feels between Dick and Jon and also Clark and Bruce.  Still, though, these moments are starting to feel a bit cliche and sterile, if that makes sense.  It's like everyone in this book is part of a television show where they come out and say their lines, and then everyone smiles at the camera until the director yells cut, and it's off to the next big set piece to deal with the next drama.  There isn't a ton of weight to anything going on overall.

That continues as Jon talks to his crystal-hologram father in the Fortress of Solitude but misses the real thing, so he wants "solitude."   Dick Grayson is always around to help, and besides funding The Truth, he is sure to have some encouraging words for Jon.  The television feeling continues here as Wink and The Aerie shows up, and I can imagine the studio audience applauding!

The bigger story in this issue is seeing what should be some of Bendix's Post-Humans killing off Meta-Humans.  Dick and Jon are on the case, and the issue ends pointing directly at Lex Luthor.

Nightwing #89 is a quick read with some pleasant moments, and I like that.  However, I again feel we aren't getting enough story in each issue.  Maybe it's because Tom Taylor plays it so safe, but I smiled a couple of times, and it looked fantastic.

Bits and Pieces:

Nightwing #89 is a nice issue with a Super Sons team of sorts.  Readers here for the smiles will be happy there are a couple to be had, but it feels a bit like empty calories at times.  Still, everything looks great, and it's not a bad thing to smile once in a while.

8.0/10