Nightwing #131 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 131, December 2025

Despite Nightwing teaming up with an eleven-year-old who appears to have all the powers of Superman, Dan Watters’ script for this particular twenty-two-page periodical may well surprise its readers by not just relying upon Bryce Moran rescuing Dick Grayson’s acrobatic alter-ego whenever the masked vigilante finds himself in trouble. Indeed, for much of the titular character’s battle against Killer Moth, the ‘Kryptonian’ largely stays in the shadows, simply watching how his mentor reacts to Drury Walker's somewhat over-the-top antics until the unexpected arrival of the Clean-Cut Crew; “He’s still coming to grips with his powers. But all things considered he’s doing a great job.”

Furthermore, the English author rather quickly evens up the power gap between Bludhaven’s latest metahuman and the sinister Spheric Solutions, by depicting its owner Olivia Pearce quickly taking advantage of the fact that “Kryptonite isn’t as rare a resource as it used to be”, and arming one of her Wanderer Robots with a ray-gun specifically powered by the deadly radioactive mineral. Such a plot device genuinely adds some vulnerability to an otherwise invincible protagonist, and allows the writer to subsequently tap into the kid's very evident flaw that he simply doesn’t know how to protect himself.

Lastly, Issue One Hundred And Thirty One of “Nightwing” also contains a nice little ‘personality piece’ between the vigilante and his metropolis’ increasingly amiable Police Commissioner. This relationship is still a far cry from that experienced between Jim Gordon and Batman in the dark days of Gotham City, but it shows a definite drop in hostilities. In fact, Maggie Sawyer actually calls on Grayson’s help to investigate a sudden flurry of missing children, and even acknowledges that Dick was correct in suspecting “the CEO of Spheric Solutions” formerly worked for the super criminal gang Cirque Du Sin.

Similarly as successful is Dexter Soy’s artwork, which does a very nice job of switching from this comic’s sedentary, dialogue driven scenes with those packed full of pulse-pounding pace. In addition, the illustrator somehow manages to capture poor Bryce being trapped inside a heavily-muscled man’s body by imbuing him with the subtle movements any onlooker would expect from a bored youngster who has been told to read “Forensic Pathology And Toxicology – An Introduction” rather than fly around in outer space.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #131 by Dexter Soy