NIghtwing #100 Review

   

   

Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Bruno Redondo, Scott McDaniel, Rick Leonardi, Eddy Barrows, Javier Fernandez, Mikel Janín, Karl Story, Eber Ferreira, Caio Filipe, Joe Prado
Colors by: Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Wes Abbott
Cover art by: Bruno Redondo
Cover price: $7.99
Release date: January 17, 2023

Nightwing #100 puts Blüdhaven in a state of chaos when Heartless stages a prison break that sends all of Blüdhaven Prison's criminals running through the streets. Will this be the most explosive Nightwing story ever?

Is It Good?

No, it's not the most explosive Nightwing story ever. On the contrary, this is as weak an anniversary issue as you could imagine, and not fall asleep while eating your bowl of Wheaties. Nightwing deserves better than whatever Tom Taylor is doing with the character, which is a little.

When last we left Nightwing, he stopped a bank robbery in Blüdhaven's version of Gringotts, only to learn that the illicit bank has a special box waiting for him. Bizarrely, Nightwing never mentions the box to anyone and takes no steps (that we see) to retrieve it. You'd think Taylor and DC were saving up all their best bits for the big #100 issue to reward your patience for sticking with the title this long without any significant events happening.

Was that patience rewarded? Not even a little bit. Heartless stages a prison break to "remind" Nightwing that he's still around. Nightwing eventually controls the situation by talking nicely to the escapees and directing the Titans to round up the rest. In between the tiny bits of action, there's a lot of feel-good validation as the Titans, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman repeatedly tell Nightwing how great he is. In short, the story is entirely focused on making you feel good about Nightwing, especially when he's offered the job of being Earth's protector by the Trinity.

Check out our Nightwing #100 Video Review

"Whoa! Wait a sec! What does that mean," you may ask. Honestly, I don't know. The JL was disbanded after the Dark Crisis event, but the Trinity and other heroes who were members of the JL haven't gone anywhere. Dick isn't being asked to reform the JL, and the more powerful heroes (e.g. Superman) are still doing their thing, so it feels like Nightwing is being bestowed an honorary title of "Boss" with no real purpose.

If that wasn't confusing enough, significant portions of this issue are taken up with narration and monologues bemoaning the destructiveness of Blüdhaven's prison system. The prison's functioned for years with Nightwing, so why is it an issue now? It's not, but Taylor spends unnecessary time telling you it is, so portions of this issue read like a socialist pamphlet. That may or may not work for you.

But all that aside, the most frustrating misstep of this issue is a complete lack of attention to Heartless. This run's big bad unleashes an entire prison population on the city, yet he's not caught, confronted, or even gets into a fight with Nightwing. Heartless incites the incident and walks away to continue doing his worst while Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Titans do nothing to apprehend him.

How's the art? Sadly, it could be better. As you can see from the credits above, a veritable army of artists worked on this issue, and it shows. Some scenes switch from one art style to the next without a clear distinction, and it's a visually jarring read. None of the artists turns in terrible work, but for a #100 issue, you wouldn't expect a comic where the art feels cobbled together from loose bits of art.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter


Bits and Pieces:

Nightwing #100 is an embarrassing waste of a milestone comic. Multiple artists give the comic a cobbled-together visual aesthetic, Nightwing's neverending conflict with Heartless goes nowhere, and Nightwing is offered a job with no apparent purpose.

6/10