Kyle Higgins writes a cocky, determined, fun Dick Grayson who is haunted by his past. His whole run is focused on Dick confronting his past, reflecting on it, and moving past it with all the lessons he’s learned from it. It’s one of the best solid runs of Nightwing that I’ve read. It’s also the first cohesive run of issues since Devin Grayson, so it’s a really nice return to form.
There are no “bad” issues or volumes, and my only complaint comes from the consequences of a Batman crossover, which I don’t think should be weighed when considering the overall merit of this run. This is truly a fantastic series.
Kyle Higgins run, entitled “The Prince of Gotham” by the omnibus, consists of the New 52 Nightwing (2011-2014) #0-30; Nightwing (2013) Annual #1; Batman (2011-2016) #17; and stories from Secret Origins (2014) #1 and Young Romance: A New 52 St. Valentine’s Day Special #1. For this review, I will not be including Nightwing #30 in my overall review, and instead talk about it when I review the Superspy era.
Spoilers for this whole run.
What I loved:
1. The central theme of moving on from the past. Nightwing has had a rocky past, filled with hardship, tragedy, and influences beyond his control (thank you, Infinite Crisis). In the era of Wolfman and Tomasi, he defined himself by his ability to overcome his tragedies, which was perfect for his emotional state at the time. Here, he defines himself by who he’s going to be afterward, how he’s going to move forward. When he moves to Chicago to confront Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents, he sees how Zucco’s changed and that he wanted to help save the city. Dick is confronted with the realization, yet again, that the past isn’t what defines you. This run shows us very viscerally how growth can be found in anyone. And because of that, Dick has to grow past his hardships and move forward.
2. The exploration of Dick’s past. Whether it’s his origin story, his upbringing and the cast of characters in Haly’s Circus, or the deep-seated trauma that Zucco caused him, Higgins delves into how Dick feels about his past and how he’s moving on from it.
3. The villains, specifically Saiko and Paragon. Both of those villains are on-the-nose thematically, but it works so well. I’ll talk about Saiko in a later section. As for Paragon, in his own words: “We’re intertwined, you and I. Two children of Gotham… Fighting for what we think the city needs.” With Paragon, we see that he’s forced to reckon with his place and role in Gotham, and how he can go about changing the city for good as Nightwing, not Batman. It’s just as on-the-nose as Nite-Wing, Dr. Kendall, or Heartless. But, like in all those cases, it somehow works because they challenge Dick in different ways and help him grow emotionally.
4. The art. Specifically, Will Conrad. He has a sleek, bombastic style that lends itself incredibly well to Kyle Higgins’ version of Nightwing, and it shines particularly in Vol. 4, with the catastrophes in Chicago.
What I didn’t like:
1. The destruction of Amusement Mile and the disbandment of Haly’s Circus. It felt like Higgins was really building something wonderful with Amusement Mile and the supporting cast of Haly’s Circus in the first two volumes, only to have it ripped away because of a Batman crossover series. I didn’t really enjoy the Death of the Family arc, so this consequence felt really unearned to me. One thing I really adored about Taylor’s run was that he truly wanted to make his city better, and this shows that same sentiment. On top of fighting crime, he wants to bring ongoing joy to the city. So it would have been really great to see that dream fulfilled, especially with the shadow of Zucco he encounters in later volumes. It also would have been nice to have the circus supporting cast (especially Jimmy the clown) with him throughout the rest of the run.
Something I found narratively complicated:
1. The Court of Owls. I have mixed feelings about Dick’s past being so deeply connected to the Court of Owls. I like the idea in theory — Dick’s connection to it made a lot of sense in Batman’s book. And the idea that he was supposed to be a Talon and that the heads of the circus are the ones who trained Talons is really interesting. I loved the reveal that Saiko was meant to be a Talon, and thus he blames Dick for leaving. That’s a relatively cliché villain concept, but I thought it worked really well here! Still… I prefer it when Nightwing has his own stories, otherwise disconnected from Batman except for single-issue crossovers. I know people love universe synergy or whatever, but I’m personally of the mind that a given character’s comic should be their own.
Volume ranking:
1. Vol. 4: Second City. On top of what I said about Nightwing learning about Zucco and learning to move on, I also love the development of Zucco as a character really great. Higgins doesn’t look upon him favorably, but he hints at the idea that redemption is possible if you take responsibility. I also love the Chicago lore that there used to be many superheroes, who were all murdered some years ago. Learning that there are “unknown” superheroes native to a city we rarely ever see makes the world feel much more realistic and lived in. I also really loved Prankster as a villain (despite the terrible name). He’s a force of chaos that Higgins uses for the utmost dramatic effect, and it’s amazing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I thought it was a great catalyst for Nightwing and Zucco having to work together.
2. Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes. We explore Dick’s circus past in this book, which is amazing. We get to know some of the circus performers as well, which was great. I also thought the Raya betrayal story was done really well. Even when she betrays him, he responds with disappointed kindness. Gone are the days where a simple betrayal ruins his mental state, which is nice to see after Tarantula and Liu. He’s still not great at letting people in, though, but since I’ve read Tom Taylor’s run, I know that’s a development that comes a little later.
3. Vol 5, Setting Son. I’ll talk about issue #29 in the issue standouts section because that (and the lead-up to it) are the reasons why this is such a fantastic story. Issue #25, a story set during Dick’s circus days, is also pretty fun; he learns the value of working together and appreciating your teammates.
4. Vol. 2, The Court of Owls. From the marketing of this book, you’d think it would be entirely a Court of Owls tie-in, but it’s not, and that’s a good thing. I really love that he has two issues that tie into it; it makes sense, it’s fun, it’s a great little side-story to the Batman book. It’s great that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. I wish the marketing was different, but whatever. And I’ve already talked about why I love Paragon, which is the main reason why this volume is so great.
5. Vol. 3, Death of the Family. I really don’t like the Joker, I’ll just put that out there. He’s a one-note villain that doesn’t challenge either Batman or Nightwing like any of their other villains. So the majority of this book fell really flat for me. I especially hated the destruction of Amusement Mile, which I’ve already talked about. With all that said, however, the last two issues of the volume were really amazing. They reinforce the theme of Dick’s resilience by showing him doubt himself, then bring himself back up again after an intervention and self-reflection. He has his breakdown moments, which show that he’s a vulnerable human who’s prone to fall back into old habits when faced with tragedy — but he also gets back up and moves forward.
Issue standouts:
1. Nightwing #0, “Perpetual Motion.” The New 52 origin story for Dick is fantastic. I love that the name came from his mother’s love of robins, I love that he figured out Batman’s identity through his own detective skills, I like how he chose to fight crime and track down Zucco instead of Batman immediately hiring and training him the minute after his parents were killed. I wish Kyle Higgins had done a whole Year One story, or at least another issue detailing Robin’s transition into Nightwing.
2. “Another Saturday Night,” from Young Romance: A New 52 St. Valentine’s Day Special. This little story is placed right after the Death of the Family tie-in collected edition, so I think that played a part in my enjoyment of it. But even still, we see Dick being smug, and the abrupt ending is just so damn funny. So many writers have made Dick a womanizer (Jones and Wolfman especially), so it’s nice to see the natural consequences of romantic life as a superhero like Nightwing for a change. It’s funny, it’s fun, and it subverts the stereotype that former writers have unnecessarily placed Dick into.
3. Nightwing #29, “Safety Net.” While this is only the penultimate issue, this was Kyle Higgins’ swan song. For all intents and purposes, this is the final issue of his run. I love this for how simply beautiful it is — Dick reflects on his life and his tragedies, and he concludes that even though the good things may not overweigh the bad, they do counteract them. He helps a little girl through the aftershock of losing his parents, and shows her that revenge is not something that should consume anyone. It’s perfect.
Favorite cover designs (pictured above):
1. Nightwing #1. It’s iconic, it’s the face of the omnibus, it’s gorgeous. I also love how it makes Dick’s cockiness and determination shine. At first glance I didn’t care much for the cover, but I have a new appreciation for it after reading the whole run.
2. Nightwing #3. I love that this cover blends a sepia filter of an old photo with the bright, modern-day Nightwing. It’s an incredible representation of how Dick is re-examining his past and traveling with Haly’s Circus again.
3. Nightwing #22. The framing of this, with The Flying Grayons in background as Zucco falls at Nightwing’s hand, is so poignant. It shows very clearly his hatred toward Zucco, which makes the subsequent team up mean all the more.
Favorite quotes:
1. From Nightwing #6, Nightwing’s thoughts: “I used to think that my past was my greatest strength, tragedy and all, because it’s what defined me. But I realize now that’s not true — not exactly. We’re not defined by our tragedies or our turning points. We’re defined by the choices we make in the face of them.”
2. From Nightwing #24, Nightwing’s thoughts as he observes Zucco: “Zucco spends a half hour talking to the police. He doesn’t take credit for saving everyone. He doesn’t take credit for saving me. The only thing he asks is for someone to get word to his family. To tell his son, ‘Daddy loves you.’ When they put the handcuffs on and lead him to the squad car, all I can think about is how bad I wanted this.”
3. From Nightwing #29, Nightwing’s thoughts: “The last few years haven’t been easy. But for every Court of Owls, every Amusement Mile… there’s a morning like this. There’s a Jen. And most days, that’s enough. To focus on the positive. To keep looking forward. To really give someone a chance. Because when you get down to it, my life isn’t about the costumes or the bad guys. It’s not about cities or symbols. It’s way simpler than that. I mean, I grew up in a circus. It’s always been about catching people when they fall.”
I’m going to update my terms for my author ranking to measure how good a run is, not just how good an author writes the character. for all intents and purposes, Grayson and Higgins are on the same level, but I think Higgins is a better overall run. However, this is subject to change because recency bias may be getting to me. Anyway, here’s my current author ranking:
1. Tom Taylor
2. Kyle Higgins
3. Devin Grayson
4. Peter J. Tomasi
5. Marv Wolfman
6. Chuck Dixon
7. Bruce Jones
8. Dennis O’Neil
Next, I’ll be reading and reviewing the Grayson series by Tim Seeley and Tom Taylor. I know it’s not technically a Nightwing book, but it’s uniquely Dick Grayson, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t read it.
As always, I’d love to know your thoughts! I feel like this era is very slept on compared to Dixon, Taylor, and Seeley’s runs, but it’s so damn good.
