After 5 Years, Nightwing's Dark New Era Is Here, And It's Glorious

One of the toughest things for a comic book writer is to follow a classic, but it must be done. Someone had to write the Uncanny X-Men after Chris Claremont, and someone had to take over the New 52's Batman after Scott Snyder. Most recently, fans have writer Dan Watters taking over for Tom Taylor’s epic run of Nightwing.

Tom Taylor’s 41 issues were everything that DC Comics fans loved about Dick Grayson. He was smooth, charismatic, and had creative and entertaining action sequences. There was also a lot of depth, proving that Nightwing was more than the hero with the best butt in comics. So how did Dan Watters follow the great Tom Taylor? By switching up the tone and making things even more difficult for the former Boy Wonder.

Dan Watters' Dark Tone Makes Nightwing Different

A new supernatural villain stalks Dick Grayson

When Dan Watters first took over, it was clear that this wasn’t going to be anything like Tom Taylor’s run. For starters, the first villain Nightwing encounters (Zanni) is a supernatural entity that wants more than to defeat Dick. It wants to destroy everything Nightwing has become since the death of his parents. He was cruel, uncaring, and willing to use children and babies as bait to capture Grayson.

Zanni wasn’t the only antagonist in this story arc, however. The CEO of Spheric Solutions, Olivia Pearce, was also an important villain. Pearce was supplying the Bludhaven Police Department with weapons that could stop tanks and big-time superpowered beings. Meanwhile, the people the BPD were after were low-level crooks and teenagers.

Just when fans thought that’s all there was to Pearce, it was later revealed that she has a connection to both Zanni and a mission that went bad when Dick was Robin. Together, not only did they make life difficult for Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon, but they destroyed parts of Blüdhaven in the process. That destruction leads to the next storyline that's been breaking Dick Grayson emotionally.

Creating A Terrifying Masterpiece

Artists Dexter Soy and Denys Cowan bring the horror

It’s not just the tone that makes this a bleak series. Artists Dexter Soy (Red Hood and the Outlaws) and Denys Cowan (Deathstroke Annual No. 1, 2016) took all the happiness Bruno Redondo brought to Blüdhaven. It’s not surprising to see this city as corrupt as it truly is. But after three years of smiles, seeing the dark colors and heavy inks serves as a stark reminder that there’s a nickel’s difference between Gotham and Blüdhaven. Honestly, the only thing separating them is villains like Joker and Two-Face being more recognized than Heartless and Blockbuster.

But the antagonists' looks aren't the only scary part. Dan Watters adds people to remind readers that the person next to you could be someone truly evil. They could be a crooked police officer or an enforcer who’s secretly a cannibal (the latter really happened). Or someone who’s causing chaos and poverty just to see how the citizens of Blüdhaven would react.

In Closing

Finally, Dan Watters’ run of Nightwing shows how to reinvent a classic character while still paying homage to what came before. Comic book fans know Dick Grayson as the charismatic, backflipping, quipping member of the Bat Family, and while he’s been more like The Dark Knight than The Bright Knight, Watters has made his transformation make sense. This writer believes that Grayson will eventually return to the character DC fans know and love. When that happens, readers who’ve kept up with Dan Watters' Nightwing will appreciate the process. Until then, enjoy this different and entertaining take on the classic character.

This writer believes that Grayson will eventually return to the character we know and love. When that happens, readers who’ve kept up with Dan Watters' Nightwing will appreciate the process. Until then, enjoy this different and entertaining take on the classic character.