Nightwing Vol. 1: On with the Show

Nightwing

by Dan Watters, Dexter Soy (illustrator)

Nightwing goes All-In! Join a brand-new creative team as they send Dick Grayson into a world of rival gangs and escalating violence in his home of Blüdhaven.

Dick Grayson joins DC's "All In" initiative with a brand-new creative team for Nightwing. It's not all sunshine when Blüdhaven erupts into a warzone between rival gangs fighting for the future of crime. Nightwing must push himself further than he ever has to save his home and legacy. Don't miss this groundbreaking new era from the new creative team of writer Dan Watters and artist Dexter Soy.

Collects: Nightwing #119-124

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2025

About the author

Dan Watters is a UK based comic book writer. His first book, LIMBO, was released through Image Comics in 2016. He has since written THE SHADOW at Dynamite Comics, and ASSASSIN’S CREED and WOLFENSTEIN for Titan Comics.

Currently he is writing the relaunch of LUCIFER for Vertigo’s Sandman Universe, as well as DEEP ROOTS for Vault Comics. Deeply rooted in London Town, and firmly of the Devil's party.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this grittier Nightwing book. The story the artwork and the characters are awesome. This is a great start to the new Nightwing series after reading this book I am definitely all in.

Since taking out the gangsters and criminal elements at the top of the underworld in Blüdhaven there is a power vacuum. Who will step in to take over and what is their connection to Nightwing?

The book is action-packed, but more than that it shows Nightwing/Dick's compassion and his grit. There is also a moral dilemma in the family. This is an all-around great book. The book finishes with a thumbnail variant cover gallery and a sketchbook of character designs.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did originally read this as single issues and the story holds up...multi layered that continues into the next volume

[Mattthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a decent start for the new creative team. overall, an enjoyable read. Artwork was not as good as Redondo, but still good. looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here.
Recommend.

[Utkarsh Bansal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between DC's Nightwing and Marvel's Ultimates, it's incredible to see superhero stories challenging the genre's fascist past and going as aggressively leftist as you can under a megacorporation. Hope the adaptations follow suit someday.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.8 stars

[Anthony Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm having, soooo much fun. Wow. Dan Watters really gets it.

[Emma Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how any animal just gets named after Nightwing. I do like this art style..

[mica · Rating 4 out of 5]

TE AMO NIGHTWING!!! nananan muy bueno, me encantó todo

[Arthur Hucknall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant continuation from tom taylor’s run. Dan Watters makes bludhaven his own building upon the groundwork of Taylor’s run. Watters truly understands the character of nightwing and i’m personally very excited for what’s to come in the next chapters of this story.

[Izabela Lewalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

4-5: A solid start to a new run

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like every time a new writer takes over Nightwing the foundation of their arc is based off their reaction to the previous writer's run. Since Rebirth, Tom Taylor tried to wanted to correct the infamous "Marc Grayson" arc by playing into the fanservice. Now Watters is trying to correct Taylor's sit-com storytelling by giving Dick a more discernable personality and reducing the supporting cast of his ex-machina hero friends. I really liked the set up of this story and the new characters seem to be promising. Great art too!

[Maddi Spletter · Rating 2 out of 5]

After finishing up the last volume, it felt a little off kilter. It felt like what Taylor and company had set up was thrown out and ignored. Melinda seems out of character, Babs was regulated to coms, and Haley was present for 3 pages (also the claim that Dick has never had a dog before when Bruce had Ace and Damien adopts every stray animal under the sun)

The storyline is interesting, but idk if I will continue to follow the new team.

[Lynzi Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh yeah this rocked. nightwing is meeeeean!!!! this took what worked about the taylor run and made it so much better (ie. babs' involvement and haley). i actually feel like stuff is happening here! i love dexter soy's jason and his artwork here is really nice. excited to read the rest of this run :)

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darker shift from the previous creative team and a slightly bumpy beginning. Still interesting enough to follow awhile even if I dislike retconned shadowy nigh-demon conspiracies

[Sky Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Nightwing works better in a group than by himself but this was still fun and the villain looks really interesting. The biggest reason I picked it up was for Dexter Soy lol😛

[Jeremy Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun!

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally really good writing. I just wish the various gangs weren't so flipping gimmicky.

[Elif · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t help but compare every Nightwing issue or volume to Taylor and Redondo’s work… This volume was okay. The villains were aight. Art was fantastic! The art kinda saved it, not gonna lie.

[Zach Corbeil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the art but i thought the story was a little lacking. Didn’t feel like it had a satisfying ending and didn’t have any interesting villains. Still a lot of good Nightwing moments. Especially the bunny scene.

[Axel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Zanni is a very very interesting villain and I can't wait to see how he develops!

[☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

c'était trop trop bien ALLO???? fast-paced, rempli d'action et mama les dessins sont à tomber par terre. le rythme est excellent, tout est parfaitement dosé. j'ai trop kiffé l'histoire, les antagonistes, les flashbacks, la narration omg TOUT. je l'ai pris sans trop réflechir en sortant d'une journée de taff et je l'ai lu sur le chemin du retour, c'était tellement prenant j'avais même pas remarqué que j'étais arrivée dans ma ville, coup de coeur for sure

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good run and it introduces a great mystery and multiple foes for Nightwing and fleshes out his past and what not. This maybe the start of my new favorite run. Seriously I loved this one a lot!

I love the whole Gangs splitting up their turfs and then getting blown up and so their gang members start fighting and I love the gang names, it feels so classic and then we see Dick trying to prevent the gang war, then new co. Spheric solutions who gives cops new gadgets that are highly advanced and we see the CEO Olivia Pearce connection to Nightwing from his Robin days and that element too. And that tropes for villains is common for Nightwing but the way with which it has been added and explored here makes it so fascinating!

And at the same time you have Dick learn all this stuff and his reaction to that and how it challenges him plus him wanting to save everyone and you see slowly how he tries to save the gang members especially the teddies who are like these little kids and all and its a heartbreak for real! LOVE THE EXPLORATION of that! Like he will do anything to save people and you see how messed up their stories are and everything!

Cops vs Gangs and most of them are innocent! The teddies! The flyboiz! Its leading to a fascinating arc and sets up a status quo for Dick like you are compelled to ask this question as a reader what will Dick do and its fascinating! PLUS THE NEW VILLAIN - THE ZANNI omg the whole reveal of what it is and what plans it has for Dick and obviously the circus joker element! There is so much potential here for him to become one of Nightwing's deadliest foes!

So yeah amazing comic and I highly recommend it and I am so excited about this arc!!

[Khanh-Chau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am liking this run of Nightwing so far, and this volume was an enjoyable start to it, especially with Dexter Soy's style for Nightwing (although I think Dexter disappears for part of the run after this volume, which I'm like oh...! But comes back eventually)! The artstyle is gritty; I think it captures Nightwing's vibe in a more serious sense, while he's still being sarcastic and goofy at times. Think that really adds a lot for this run for me. Variant covers are niceeeee.

I personally think it's a fun story, especially connecting some stuff to Nightwing's past and lore, like the circus vibes (there are some nice tie-ins later on in the series which I really liked, but spoilers), although I wouldn't say the plot is anything jaw-dropping. I think the gangs aren't that memorable/special as of now and the plot around it is alright, but I do like the build up of the mystery connected to his lore and the main villain behind it, so can see how that turns out.

The characters are still accurate in my opinion with Nightwing and Oracle. I like how supportive and involved Oracle is with Nightwing still, but at times it does feel like that's all she's doing lol.

Hoping for the best with this run!

[kesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

following taylor and redondo's run, watters' all-in nightwing is facing a power vaccuum in bludhaven where an all-out (ba dum tss) gang war has erupted. i appreciate having fleshed-out bogeys and this was too jam-packed for me with the main baddies + gangs being introduced in a speed run. however, i do recognise that first vols have to work hard to catch readers up on time skips and set the stage - fr just a personal preference cause im slow

nonetheless, watters does an incredible job of showing dick's compassion and the extent he is willing to go to as a protecter of the people whether "good" or "bad" - his nightwing has layers and still carries that street level aspect i rate and of course as a 6'4 clairo listener matcha drinker, i love that we still gets dick-babs teamwork and wholesome romance moments

dexter soy has gained a new fan boy because gawddamn he knew what he was doing with the cake shots, the brooding shadow panel and the way he drew dick during the fight scenes mama mia time to read some red hood but also uy pilipins

the prev. run definitely left a tall order, all-in certainly doesn't hurt the character in this first vol. and honestly the family-moral-social-political dilemma is so reality check of watters - a solid start

3.25/5 stars

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following Tom Taylor's run on Nightwing was always going to be a tall order. Dan Watters doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, instead plunging Bludhaven into a gang war (that city sure loves a gang war), and introducing a new foe in Spheric Solutions. As the streets burn, Nightwing sets out to save everyone, even if it kills him in the process.

Watters keeps a lot of what worked about the last run, like Dick's sister, his relationship with Barbara, and of course, Bitewing, so the transition from one writer to the next doesn't feel bumpy at all. There's an undercurrent of something bigger at play too, with a creepy new villain lurking in the shadows, and I'm excited to see that play out.

Dexter Soy's art continues to impress. While I do miss his painted style from his early work, he's proven to be a reliable Bat-Family artist after a long run on Red Hood, and he fits the gritty world of Bludhaven just as well.

Not the biggest splash of All-In, but Nightwing's new team are dependable if you're after a good time.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new creative team brings a welcome new vibe to this series, and a different balance of strengths. I prefer Watters’s writing over Taylor’s, trading upbeat but ultimately flimsy wheel-spinning for a gothic tone closer to Ram V’s recent Detective Comics run. Watters also seems more willing to lean into throwback comic goofs, like the heavily-themed warring street gangs, while incorporating bold-for-Big-2-comics commentary like the corrupting influence of the increasing militarization of police.

If the writing is improved, the art is a notable drop off from Bruno Redondo. Soy’s art isn’t bad, and it probably better fits the darker tone, but the average page is still much less fun to look at than Redondo’s. Still, this is an encouraging start overall, and I’m interested to see what’s next for Watters’s Nightwing.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

When in doubt, give Bludhaven a gang war...

The city has been through a LOT. Just as things are starting to settle, we get introduced to the local Bludhaven gangs. There's the Flyboiz, drug dealers mutated by their own supply. The Teddies and Mama Bear wear stuffed animal heads and keep the peace in their territory. Blockbuster may be gone, but his followers have gathered to defend their turf. The Cleancut Crew is a throwback to the classic looking gangster/thug.

Somebody blows up the bosses and the chaos that ensues ...could be good for business.
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New arc. New writer. Classic Gotham/Batman/Catwoman story. The art kind of swings from amazing to 'meh'...but that's alright.

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Bonus: Spheric is like EVERY corporation in DC. Prove me wrong
Bonus Bonus: We're just learning about the main villain and their connection to 'the Little Circus Boy'...

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo are hard acts to follow, but Dan Watters and Dexter Soy do a solid job of continuing Nightwing's gorgeous looking street-level adventures. That said, repetition has set in: once again, city officials are teaming up with the wrong sorts to "root out crime," meaning Nightwing has to fight the overpowered cops just as much as he has to fight the gangs.

The fresh twist here seems to be that Nightwing is actually siding with the gangs, or at least trying to get them to not fight each other after their leaders are all killed. Another oldie-but-goodie shows up in the villain pulling the strings, some carnival-related baddie from Nightwing's past. All told, it's a fine, if predictable narrative to follow. Dexter Soy's artwork goes darker than Bruno Redondo's, but it still looks terrific, making On with the Show a superb read to look at if nothing else.

[Colin Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much dig Dan Watters take on Nightwing, bringing out the weird and monstrous side of Blüdhaven while retaining Dick’s optimism and humor. The militarized police force storyline also hits close to home but I wanted to see a bit more from the different gangs. They were infused with distinct personalities and designs in the first issue but really only the Teddies and Flyboiz got some spotlight. Soy’s art is okay but doesn’t do much for me. I did really like the last issue in the collection, though, with the Cirque taking over Blüdhaven in Dick’s hallucinations.

[yzf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely enjoyed Watter’s run more than the previous which I felt dragged on a bit too long. His grittier writing of Nightwing as a character and Bludhaven as a city is complimented by Dexter Soy’s art style immensely. I like that the story is not completely black and white when it comes to the aspects of “good” and “evil”, this going for Nightwing himself.
Hope to continue seeing this creative team since they really seem to understand the history and complexities of the character.