REVIEW: ‘Nightwing’, Issue #90

Nightwing #90 gets back into the drama of ‘Get Grayson’ with a guest appearance from the Flash. Tom Taylor continues penning the DC series with art coming from guest penciler Geraldo Borges. Adriano Lucas brings colors while Wes Abbott controls the words. In the last issue, Nightwing went off mentoring Jon Kent, but that story concluded in Superman: Son of Kal-El #9. now back in Bludhaven, again, Dick gets caught up in trying to stay alive as Blockbuster sends more assassins his way.

However, Blockbuster not only doesn’t play fair, but he also broadens the scope. This time around he hires out a supposedly mythic organization to just wipe out Dick’s entire building. This immediately took me back to the original Nightwing series from the 90s. The method this organization uses is, well, outrageous, but this is superhero comics, after all. Dick gets tipped off and manages to play hero for his neighbors, but a chance distraction causes a stumble.

Enter Wally West, the Flash, Fastest Man Alive, and Dick’s BFF. Flash comes to Dick’s rescue and thinks it best for him to lay low for a minute and recuperate. Not only is it a smart idea, but it allows Taylor to do what he does best: characterization. Here we get a Dick Grayson bothered by the repeated assassination attempts, worn out, exhausted. Flash shows up just in time to comfort and also to lend a helping hand, so we get more of Dick the man than Dick the stalwart hero. Taylor delivers a fine balance as Dick tries to navigate very public and heroic lives but this is improbable with an archenemy out to kill both. This has developed a theme the past few issues showing Dick isn’t alone, and Taylor uses it not only to show off his skill at dialogue but to affirm Nightwing has backup in his war to uplift Bludhaven.

Nightwing #90  progresses a lot from past stories on Dick, in more ways than his building getting blown up. We get more of Barbara, Clancy and other characters that have had definite impacts on Dick’s life, so it will be interesting to see where this all leads and how it will differentiate the Blockbuster/Nightwing war from what was laid out before the New 52. Having the Flash around should make problems a clean sweep, but nothing is ever that easy.

Borges enters the scene to offer up his take on our hero and his city. His is a heavier inked, darker lined style of illustration, but in terms of layout and flow, he captures the freeform motion of Bruno Redondo to a tee. Lucas seems to have changed the color scheme a bit in this issue. His usual Springtime spectrum remains, only now every now and again we get a dominant coloration on a character as opposed to background alone. The effect stands out. It isn’t bad, in fact, it pays off well. It’s simply a noticeable difference. And word SFX is summer blockbuster size thanks to Abbott, which for me upped the excitement of each panel early on. 

There is a wonderful setup for all the inevitable showdowns coming. Not sure yet if this will be a full-on war, but the next issue will contain some very personal confrontations. Grab this issue and settle in for a dramatic series of events.

Nightwing #90 is available wherever comic books are sold.