Sacrifice Of The Hero — Reviewing ‘Nightwing’ #135

Deep within the mind of Blüdhaven’s children, the voice of a fifth-dimensional clown haunted both their dreams and their nightmares. As the physical city lies in ruins, a hero has risen to drive the nightmare circus away for good.

At long last the curtain is ready to fall on the current era of Nightwing, as the series 135th issue brings a close to what Dan Watters, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, and Wes Abbott have been building since #119. While Watters (and likely Gandini and Abbott) will continue on, Soy’s time with the series has come to an end.  What a way to go out.

-Spoilers Follow-

I’ve loved every bit of this particular run since it began. Following the grand work from Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Abbott in the previous run was not a small task. Yet, this creative team not only met the bar, but they also created their own bar with which to measure — building upon the foundation of that previous run and doing their own things with all the toys, rather than just cleansing the board or trying to match what came before.

Sacrifices were made in this last arc, as Nightwing took on the Cirque Du Sin face to face. Blüdhaven lies heavily in ruin, even the symbol of Titans Tower nothing but rubble now. Watters wove the various pieces of this run with such care and precision. Making sure it all came together in the end.

Those caught in the gang war rose up once more while Spheric Solutions and Oliva Pearce are gone. Nightwing Prime is off the board, being a true hero as he sacrifices himself to stay with the Cirque Du Sin and fight off the evil Zanni each and every time it tries to infect more children. A new mayor has seemingly dastardly plans for the city, proving to be a likely foil for the hero in the coming days.

Soy’s rough angular but soft and approachable art style has done wonders for this series. While he wasn’t able to work on most of this arc, the final issue is his to bring to life. Nailing the atmospherically dense and dark vibes needed for this street level meets other dimensional horror story he makes the Zanni so horrifying as it tires one last time to stop Nightwing and take back the children it stole away.

Each stroke on the page feels bold and refreshing, really living in the moment with such ferocity and emotional depth to match the overall scale depth. This style has been a true boon to this rougher run of the character and will be missed as things move forward.

Matching each beat of intensity has been Gandini with a moderately focused color palette, one which creates a very neutral or natural color baseline which gives the spaces familiar and relatable appearances. It taps into a rougher texture of their own as the overall feeling leans on the darker and heavier elements. Flashing some bolder colors when the moment calls for it, especially with so many costumed and powered figures running around.

Nightwing’s voice is a distinct and powerful one. A voice that has been curated and delivered by Abbott for years now. He makes sure to infuse every letter upon the page with all the right energy and emotion. Letting it naturally flow across the pages in the most logical and aesthetically pleasing ways.

Giving every character and the world itself something tangible and resounding as we play out the sounds in our minds. Just the way things should be.

Nightwing #135 is now available from DC Comics.