Nightwing #117 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 117, October 2024

It’s probably a safe bet that many a bibliophile simply enjoyed Issue One Hundred and Seventeen of “Nightwing” because Bruce Wayne impressively dons the titular character’s costume for most of the twenty-two page periodical, and is subsequently shown smacking the hell out of a pair of security guards at Shel Pharmaceuticals. However, Tom Taylor’s script contains plenty more elements to it than just having Batman successfully masquerade as his adopted son’s acrobatic alter-ego; “I patrolled each night. The suit is… snug. I quipped. Twice.”

For openers, the Australian author genuinely deep-dives into the (Teen) Titans' bruised psyche and pens an enthralling insight as to just what makes the Dark Knight’s former sidekick tick. This secondary plot could easily have been handled in a number of sedentary ways, and indeed does to begin with, by having Richard Grayson settle down to some “scented candles and a bubble bath”. But time clearly waits for no-one, especially when they’re desperately attempting to learn the truth behind their parents’ deaths, and soon the reader is witnessing Dick being abandoned for twenty-four hours at the top of a seriously-high, wind-swept mountain with no-where to go but straight down.

Such a terrifying dilemma really helps show the formidable courage of the original Boy Wonder, and leads into a scene which surely had most of this comic book’s audience cheering out loud, as Nightwing triumphantly returns to Bludhaven, brutally batters half a dozen of Heartless’ mask-wearing goons, and then gives his long-term nemesis, Anthony Zucco, a spine-chillingly palpable death stare.

Adding some serious “Crack” to this publication’s more robust action sequences is Bruno Redondo, who miraculously captures all the extra ‘heft’ to a punch or kick an onlooker may well expect from the slightly thicker-set Batman, as opposed to slightly leaner Grayson. In addition though, the illustrator is able to imbue this comic with a surprising amount of physical humour, most notably whenever Deadman is around trying to encourage his one-time protégé to fall, or a nearly naked Richard having a ‘Eureka’ moment whilst running down the hallways of an ancient temple wearing just a blue towel.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #117 by Bruno Redondo