Review: Nightwing #125
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dan Watters
Art: Francesco Francavilla
Colors: Francesco Francavilla
Letters: Wes Abbott
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Police Commissioner Maggie Sawyer must investigate the murder of a cop, the cop who killed the Teddy Gang member. Was it Nightwing? Another cop? Or…someone, or some thing else…?
Positives
Francesco Francavilla returns to Nightwing for an intriguing issue. Francavilla’s art and colors are unique and he never disappoints. His ability to set a mood and create atmosphere serves Nightwing #125 well. It eschews superheroics for a more thoughtful and psychologically intense tale. He captures intimate expression as well as bigger emotions.
Watters script takes the events in this issue and presents personal stories in a way that reframe what’s been going on in the series. We get a closer look at the cop who killed the young Teddy Gang member, and we get a look at his wife whose story is more complicated than one might expect. This provides the opportunity to explore the entire situation with more nuance and subtlety. It also provides Maggie and Nightwing an encounter that explores their friction over the current situation with the police and the Helios Tech.
The appearance of a mysterious character whets the appetite for what happens next. It’s not entirely clear what’s going on and the mystery is fun! Since the mystery of who killed the cop is solved in this issue, the fact that the nature of his killer becomes an even bigger mystery is a solid plot development.
Negatives
It’s hard to find something to complain about with Nightwing #125.
Verdict
Nigthwing #125 is perhaps the best issue of the series since Dan Watters took over writing duties. The last issue was a bit disappointing, but this issue turns things around. This mystery sets the series in a different direction. Spheric Solutions will continue to be a player, but Nightwing is going to have to face some other dangers before taking them on with finality.
