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Nightwing (2011)
Nightwing, Volume 5: Setting Son
Even though Nightwing has relocated to Chicago, the ghosts of Gotham City won't let him be. An old friend, the Mad Hatter visits his new found home, forcing Nightwing into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious Marionette. With Nightwing trying to establish a new life in Chicago, his sins from his past will come back to haunt him unless he can make peace with his old life.
Collecting: Nightwing 25-30, Annual 1
Collecting: Nightwing 25-30, Annual 1
200 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2014
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886 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
December 31, 2025
(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: Eschewing ambition, it’s a somber, sentimental, stymied withdrawal to bread and butter Batman; a messy tidying up.
*Progress updates: Annual #1–Issue #25 ◦ Issues #26-29
Notes: Eschewing ambition, it’s a somber, sentimental, stymied withdrawal to bread and butter Batman; a messy tidying up.
*Progress updates: Annual #1–Issue #25 ◦ Issues #26-29
January 9, 2015
3.5 stars
Quite a few tie-ins in this volume, if you like that sort of thing.
It starts off with the Zero Year tie-in. Don't get excited, it's not like Batman shows up.
It's about Dick in the pre-Dead Family stage. It just so happens that Haley's Circus is in town during the Riddler's takeover of Gotham City. Basically, a stick-by-your-friends-don't-be-a-cocky-ass kind of story.
Then we fast-forward back to Nightwing and Barbara during her I-don't-wanna-be-Batgirl crisis.
And there's a whole Will They? Won't They? thing, as Dick tries to get Babs to remember the Good Old Days and move with him to Chicago.
Of course, Reasons happen, and Nightwing ends up unpacking his boxes by himself.
Once he's back, there are a couple of random (but not awful) stories that seem a bit like filler.
As in, Let's tidy up any loose ends in this thing, guys!
Once the annoying roommates, ex girlfriends, random b-list villain, and Kid-With-Similarly-Tragic-Backstory are all taken care of, we can move on to the final chapter of Setting son.
*Here Be Forever Evil Spoilers*
The Sinister Six unmasked and then (supposedly) killed Nightwing. Obviously not, but that's what everyone thinks.
Anyway, I'm guessing this is the transition issue where we see Bruce send Dick off to fight as an undercover agent or whatever.
I really like the idea of Grayson as a spy, but this last issue was LAME.
There's this dumbass fight scene between Bruce and Dick, as Batman tries to see whether or not Nightwing is Too Broken To Do What Needs To Be Done!
Or some such nonsense.
It drags on and on and on, the two of them screaming dorky stuff at each other, blood spurting, masks breaking, fisticuffs flying...
But the main thing is that Nightwing stays 'dead', and Dick is off to infiltrate a new Secret Society of Evildoers. They're a group of Cape-Killers, that no one has ever heard of before now.
First the Court of Owls, and now these guys? Way to shit the bed, Batman!
Overall, this was decent. If you aren't a huge fan of the character I don't see any reason to put this on your must-read list. However, if you are interested in what's happening/going to happen with Nightwing, then by all means grab Higgins' run on him. This was a good (enough) ending to make me glad I stayed with it.
Get this review and more at:
Quite a few tie-ins in this volume, if you like that sort of thing.
It starts off with the Zero Year tie-in. Don't get excited, it's not like Batman shows up.
It's about Dick in the pre-Dead Family stage. It just so happens that Haley's Circus is in town during the Riddler's takeover of Gotham City. Basically, a stick-by-your-friends-don't-be-a-cocky-ass kind of story.
Then we fast-forward back to Nightwing and Barbara during her I-don't-wanna-be-Batgirl crisis.
And there's a whole Will They? Won't They? thing, as Dick tries to get Babs to remember the Good Old Days and move with him to Chicago.
Of course, Reasons happen, and Nightwing ends up unpacking his boxes by himself.
Once he's back, there are a couple of random (but not awful) stories that seem a bit like filler.
As in, Let's tidy up any loose ends in this thing, guys!
Once the annoying roommates, ex girlfriends, random b-list villain, and Kid-With-Similarly-Tragic-Backstory are all taken care of, we can move on to the final chapter of Setting son.
*Here Be Forever Evil Spoilers*
The Sinister Six unmasked and then (supposedly) killed Nightwing. Obviously not, but that's what everyone thinks.
Anyway, I'm guessing this is the transition issue where we see Bruce send Dick off to fight as an undercover agent or whatever.
I really like the idea of Grayson as a spy, but this last issue was LAME.
There's this dumbass fight scene between Bruce and Dick, as Batman tries to see whether or not Nightwing is Too Broken To Do What Needs To Be Done!
Or some such nonsense.
It drags on and on and on, the two of them screaming dorky stuff at each other, blood spurting, masks breaking, fisticuffs flying...
But the main thing is that Nightwing stays 'dead', and Dick is off to infiltrate a new Secret Society of Evildoers. They're a group of Cape-Killers, that no one has ever heard of before now.
Overall, this was decent. If you aren't a huge fan of the character I don't see any reason to put this on your must-read list. However, if you are interested in what's happening/going to happen with Nightwing, then by all means grab Higgins' run on him. This was a good (enough) ending to make me glad I stayed with it.
Get this review and more at:
July 19, 2017
It's hard to rate something when I know I would have been able to follow along better if I were caught up with the Justice League, but alone this volume was a bit scattered. I know his story continues in Grayson, so I'll be checking those out after I do catch up with some of the other series I'm reading now.
May 27, 2015
Did Higgins not see the switch from Nightwing to Grayson coming? (Not so spoilery spoiler: Dick is officially dead, but working undercover as a spy.) I ask because so much of this volume, and the volume before, was trying to set up this whole new life for Dick in Chicago. Yeah, so much for that. Which is all well and good, I suppose, because I wasn't actually finding it particularly compelling. Yes, I still like Dick, and I think Higgins was doing his best with the material. I just didn't really care for the concept. And it's kind of weird to have a DC hero in a real world city.
Super picky side note for something that probably only sort of bothered me: Dick is sharing an apartment with two other people, because we're supposed to be pretending that he doesn't have money. Because I'm sure that Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy, did not set up sufficient trust funds such that Dick could live comfortably for the rest of his days no matter what he did with his life. Ok, Bruce's financial adviser probably did it for him, but you get my point. And I'm sure there's no way that Bruce's financial adviser would be smart enough to make sure Dick couldn't blow all his money in one investment.
Super picky side note for something that probably only sort of bothered me: Dick is sharing an apartment with two other people, because we're supposed to be pretending that he doesn't have money. Because I'm sure that Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy, did not set up sufficient trust funds such that Dick could live comfortably for the rest of his days no matter what he did with his life. Ok, Bruce's financial adviser probably did it for him, but you get my point. And I'm sure there's no way that Bruce's financial adviser would be smart enough to make sure Dick couldn't blow all his money in one investment.
May 22, 2022
I guess this was fun?
Its a collection of short stories like one set in zero year when Dick went to Gotham to watch some movie and the lights down and how he fought against Amygdala with his friends and all that entailed there plus moving out to Gotham and a team up with Batgirl to take down Firefly ( a fun twist on the villain btw) and the "Will they, won't they" tension being apparent and I love the drama specially now.. considering his present status quo with her in Infinite frontier!
So yeah a fun story and then in Chicago, trying to fight off against Marionette and Mad hatter and how the two are connected and it makes for a solid read for sure!
But the best one was the coming of Zsasz and what dick does to save this girl whose parents were killed by the villain and its a tale of inspiration and hope and seeing Dick in that view was amazing!
And what seemed like a final goodbye from the writer in this run as he had to pack it all up after forever evil where something big happens to Dick and before the Spyral agent saga!
So yeah overall a fun read and an amazing ending though my biggest gripe is so many plots were abandoned later and never addressed but oh well, good art throughout and a great read! A definite ending to a great series overall!
Its a collection of short stories like one set in zero year when Dick went to Gotham to watch some movie and the lights down and how he fought against Amygdala with his friends and all that entailed there plus moving out to Gotham and a team up with Batgirl to take down Firefly ( a fun twist on the villain btw) and the "Will they, won't they" tension being apparent and I love the drama specially now.. considering his present status quo with her in Infinite frontier!
So yeah a fun story and then in Chicago, trying to fight off against Marionette and Mad hatter and how the two are connected and it makes for a solid read for sure!
But the best one was the coming of Zsasz and what dick does to save this girl whose parents were killed by the villain and its a tale of inspiration and hope and seeing Dick in that view was amazing!
And what seemed like a final goodbye from the writer in this run as he had to pack it all up after forever evil where something big happens to Dick and before the Spyral agent saga!
So yeah overall a fun read and an amazing ending though my biggest gripe is so many plots were abandoned later and never addressed but oh well, good art throughout and a great read! A definite ending to a great series overall!
March 24, 2015
As part of Sidekicks week among the Shallow Comics Readers, I'm diving headlong into four volumes of Nightwing - the one, true sidekick of our warm and fuzzy pal The Batman.
Last book in the series guys, let's not fuck it up shall we? Getting off to a rocky start - wonder if you knew where this series was headed, and were told to just circle the airport for a couple of issues while DC editorial got its shit together.
Seriously, a "Nightwing adventure before he was Robin?" OK I'll bite, but at least make it something other than a done-in-one morality tale. Good gods, so this is the origin of Dick's...not-so-much-of-a-dick behaviour? Way to show how he earned it eh? Ignores his friends and family, learns A Good Lesson in teamwork, then turns over a new leaf forever?
Then another one-shot on selfishness...yeah, I think even *I'm* getting the point Mr. Higgins. Can I get a bathroom pass now? I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach.
Followed by some of the worst made-up science I've seen in a while. Higgins, I've respected you for this whole run (despite what DC has made you do to Dick), but when you say "scientists discovered a new element, and made an anti-psychotic drug out of it", you raise the wrath of Science Lad. First, all new elements are being discovered in places like the Hadron Collider these days - radioactive elements that last maybe a millionth of a second and decay to more stable particles. So good luck gathering enough of that to react in a lab experiment. *Then* you really lose it by thinking an element we've never heard of (and probably never existed in nature) is something that would have a strong psychoactive effect on the brain? In what universe does the human brain evolve receptors or channels for something that it's never been exposed to? I can't even...
This book totally telegraphs that it's about to end - the wistful summation of everything that's ever happened to Dick, the passing-along-my-wisdom as my life wraps up a chapter - it couldn't be clearer that Dick is in for a title change very soon.
Even the Annual (which is meant to be a bridge between Nightwing and Grayson) isn't that good. It starts off totally batshit - like, Wolverine & The X-Men bonkers - but then it goes into a beating-because-I-love-you transition that only makes sense if you're Hannibal Lecter.
Art-wise, the rotating scribblers makes it hard to get into a consistent mood reading this, but the artists with the best handle on the action and acting are the pairing of Russell Dauterman and Pete Pantazis. Gorgeous, off-the-house-style...
Seems like I am fonder of this series than I ought to be - for as much lighthearted fun as it started out as, it went down the Dark (Knight) Road and never quite came back. Lotta inner reflection and regret for a book about a guy who famously "never looks back". Feeling a bit ripped off.
Addendum (what I posted over on Anne's insightful review):
My god was this the lamest way to turn Mr. Grayson into a world-travelling super-spy. "Dick, no one can know you're alive...they're out to get us, I need you close to them..." And then to beat him down "as a test"? Why, because without the Bruce Wayne will to live, he'll never be as good as James Bond (who I think we've seen recently isn't exactly high on life)?
There are 100 ways to give a plot reasons. Congrats on finding the bottom of the cliched barrel.
Last book in the series guys, let's not fuck it up shall we? Getting off to a rocky start - wonder if you knew where this series was headed, and were told to just circle the airport for a couple of issues while DC editorial got its shit together.
Seriously, a "Nightwing adventure before he was Robin?" OK I'll bite, but at least make it something other than a done-in-one morality tale. Good gods, so this is the origin of Dick's...not-so-much-of-a-dick behaviour? Way to show how he earned it eh? Ignores his friends and family, learns A Good Lesson in teamwork, then turns over a new leaf forever?
Then another one-shot on selfishness...yeah, I think even *I'm* getting the point Mr. Higgins. Can I get a bathroom pass now? I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach.
Followed by some of the worst made-up science I've seen in a while. Higgins, I've respected you for this whole run (despite what DC has made you do to Dick), but when you say "scientists discovered a new element, and made an anti-psychotic drug out of it", you raise the wrath of Science Lad. First, all new elements are being discovered in places like the Hadron Collider these days - radioactive elements that last maybe a millionth of a second and decay to more stable particles. So good luck gathering enough of that to react in a lab experiment. *Then* you really lose it by thinking an element we've never heard of (and probably never existed in nature) is something that would have a strong psychoactive effect on the brain? In what universe does the human brain evolve receptors or channels for something that it's never been exposed to? I can't even...
This book totally telegraphs that it's about to end - the wistful summation of everything that's ever happened to Dick, the passing-along-my-wisdom as my life wraps up a chapter - it couldn't be clearer that Dick is in for a title change very soon.
Even the Annual (which is meant to be a bridge between Nightwing and Grayson) isn't that good. It starts off totally batshit - like, Wolverine & The X-Men bonkers - but then it goes into a beating-because-I-love-you transition that only makes sense if you're Hannibal Lecter.
Art-wise, the rotating scribblers makes it hard to get into a consistent mood reading this, but the artists with the best handle on the action and acting are the pairing of Russell Dauterman and Pete Pantazis. Gorgeous, off-the-house-style...
Seems like I am fonder of this series than I ought to be - for as much lighthearted fun as it started out as, it went down the Dark (Knight) Road and never quite came back. Lotta inner reflection and regret for a book about a guy who famously "never looks back". Feeling a bit ripped off.
Addendum (what I posted over on Anne's insightful review):
My god was this the lamest way to turn Mr. Grayson into a world-travelling super-spy. "Dick, no one can know you're alive...they're out to get us, I need you close to them..." And then to beat him down "as a test"? Why, because without the Bruce Wayne will to live, he'll never be as good as James Bond (who I think we've seen recently isn't exactly high on life)?
There are 100 ways to give a plot reasons. Congrats on finding the bottom of the cliched barrel.
April 2, 2022
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 stars
Art: 4 stars
Prose: 3.75 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Pacing: 4 stars
Character Development: 4.25 stars
World Building: 3.5 stars
Tim Seeley and Tom King should have never written issue 30. Wasn't needed and should have been placed as an annual in the Grayson run to act as a bridge. Really enjoyed Higgins last issue and that should have been where this trade ended! We get the real Dick Grayson right there!
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 stars
Art: 4 stars
Prose: 3.75 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Pacing: 4 stars
Character Development: 4.25 stars
World Building: 3.5 stars
Tim Seeley and Tom King should have never written issue 30. Wasn't needed and should have been placed as an annual in the Grayson run to act as a bridge. Really enjoyed Higgins last issue and that should have been where this trade ended! We get the real Dick Grayson right there!
January 16, 2015
Nightwing's final volume begins with a Zero Year tie-in which is pretty decent if unremarkable, but it does teach Dick some good lessons that continue into his adult life.
Next comes the Nightwing Annual which ties into Batgirl: Wanted over in (you guessed it!) Batgirl, which introduces the New 52 Firefly in an interesting way whilst examining the relationship between Barbara Gordon and Dick along the way.
Then there's the two-part Mad Hatter story, which unfortunately doesn't really go anywhere exciting, and has no conclusion other than 'everyone got away', so that's probably the low point of the volume. And finally there's a two part story that pits Dick against Mr. Zsasz, and looks back at what made this Nightwing run so great as well as looking forward to the future, with some remarkable art from Russell Dauterman, who's now drawing the new Thor, so this was a good springboard. These two issues are a nice way to see out the series and could easily end the volume on their own, but issue 30 pops up at the end as both an epilogue to the events of Forever Evil surrounding Nightwing and a prologue to what comes next as Dick journeys off into his new guise as super-spy Grayson. Colour me intrigued, so this issue certainly does its job well.
This Nightwing run has had its ups and downs, which this volume does too, but it's a good ending to the series and primes me for more, so when's the 1st Grayson trade out already?
Next comes the Nightwing Annual which ties into Batgirl: Wanted over in (you guessed it!) Batgirl, which introduces the New 52 Firefly in an interesting way whilst examining the relationship between Barbara Gordon and Dick along the way.
Then there's the two-part Mad Hatter story, which unfortunately doesn't really go anywhere exciting, and has no conclusion other than 'everyone got away', so that's probably the low point of the volume. And finally there's a two part story that pits Dick against Mr. Zsasz, and looks back at what made this Nightwing run so great as well as looking forward to the future, with some remarkable art from Russell Dauterman, who's now drawing the new Thor, so this was a good springboard. These two issues are a nice way to see out the series and could easily end the volume on their own, but issue 30 pops up at the end as both an epilogue to the events of Forever Evil surrounding Nightwing and a prologue to what comes next as Dick journeys off into his new guise as super-spy Grayson. Colour me intrigued, so this issue certainly does its job well.
This Nightwing run has had its ups and downs, which this volume does too, but it's a good ending to the series and primes me for more, so when's the 1st Grayson trade out already?
May 7, 2021
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Okay, not too many spoilers.
A flashback to the Year Zero events and the first, pre-Batman adventures of Dick Grayson. Nightwing packs up his Gotham apartment for the move to his new city and has an adventure with post-Batgirl Barbara Gordon. Gotham costumed (and non-costumed) criminals stop by Chicago. A sharp-eyed observer uncovers Nightwing's secret identity, and suffers gains and losses for the knowledge. The events of Trinity of Sin and Forever Evil intrude on the continuity between the penultimate and final issue. (The final issue spoils events of Forever Evil, so be careful!). Spyral is introduced. Last of this Nightwing series, followed by Grayson.
Often bordering on four-stars, I mostly have issue with some forced-feeling plot devices.
Okay, not too many spoilers.
A flashback to the Year Zero events and the first, pre-Batman adventures of Dick Grayson. Nightwing packs up his Gotham apartment for the move to his new city and has an adventure with post-Batgirl Barbara Gordon. Gotham costumed (and non-costumed) criminals stop by Chicago. A sharp-eyed observer uncovers Nightwing's secret identity, and suffers gains and losses for the knowledge. The events of Trinity of Sin and Forever Evil intrude on the continuity between the penultimate and final issue. (The final issue spoils events of Forever Evil, so be careful!). Spyral is introduced. Last of this Nightwing series, followed by Grayson.
Often bordering on four-stars, I mostly have issue with some forced-feeling plot devices.
April 3, 2025
I’m wrapping up the last few gaps in my Nightwing reading before I dive into making my video covering 30 years of the character. This volume really drives home how much this entire run feels like a missed opportunity. Higgins seems to struggle with capturing Nightwing’s essence from the previous run, and it shows.
He comes across as flat, almost like a bad version of Spider-Man, with lame jokes that don't land. The flashback issue here is forgettable, the roommates storyline ended up being a complete waste, and the overall volume feels disjointed. A two-part storyline gets wrapped up without any real emotional payoff. The only issue that stands out is the final one, where Bruce talks Dick into staying "dead" to keep his undercover mission a secret, but even that feels underwhelming by the end. The emotional moments only shine in the first half.
Overall, this run just doesn’t hit the mark for me. It's a letdown from start to finish. I’d give it a 2 out of 5.
He comes across as flat, almost like a bad version of Spider-Man, with lame jokes that don't land. The flashback issue here is forgettable, the roommates storyline ended up being a complete waste, and the overall volume feels disjointed. A two-part storyline gets wrapped up without any real emotional payoff. The only issue that stands out is the final one, where Bruce talks Dick into staying "dead" to keep his undercover mission a secret, but even that feels underwhelming by the end. The emotional moments only shine in the first half.
Overall, this run just doesn’t hit the mark for me. It's a letdown from start to finish. I’d give it a 2 out of 5.
November 30, 2015
The next to last issue, written by Kyle Higgins, was the emotional closure to Nightwing. The last issue brings us to the next chapter in Dick Grayson's life, an agent of Spyral.
Sad to see this iteration close, as it was exciting seeing Dick relocate to Chicago and start over, but c'est la vie.
Well done, DC, on one of the best books of the New 52.
Sad to see this iteration close, as it was exciting seeing Dick relocate to Chicago and start over, but c'est la vie.
Well done, DC, on one of the best books of the New 52.
May 14, 2022
Enjoyed this comic. Hope Dick will survive being an agent of Spyral. Poor Dick though. Everyone has to think he's dead.
November 22, 2018
And... Nightwing New 52 ends with a sad sputter.
I remember being so disappointed in this ending/this volume when I read it for the first time in 2014. On a second read, it's not as bad as I remembered ...it's not just not so good.
The whole volume feels like a rush to try and end this series by putting together a bunch of random one-off issues that have plot-threads tied to this series. We have another issue with young Dick Grayson from Haley's Circus and of course one of the boys is a Maroni...
The next issue is also an OK one-off story (Dick and Barbra team up to protect an actress from an arsonist), but the art is terrible, and the whole almost-romance-but-imma-bounce-at-the-end with Dick & Babs was cringy. (The only redeeming page was the first date and picture. <3)
"Some Strings Attached" and "Curiouser and Curiouser" with Mali/Alice was OK, but Nightwing's annoying roommate situation wasn't a nice humanizing touch to the comic (look at poor Dick, he needs to live with roommates, it's so relatable), it was just annoying.
Of course Tony and Sonia Zucco are in this too, to bring everything back in the final volume.
Dick's roommate, Michael, drops the controlling detective (who was seen murdering superheroes in the last volume) just to bring him up and not give us any answers.
Annnd, in a mirroring plot device that is too on the nose, Nightwing has to stop a young girl from going after Mr. Zsasz (I hate him as a character) by herself after seeing both her parents murdered in front of her.
There is one double page which I liked very much of Batman and Robin facing off against Two-Face, Scarecrow, the Joker and Harley Quinn, Ivy & Mr. Freeze.
The text boxes say: "Part of it's a defense mechanism. You don't want to be defined by the terrible thing that happened. You don't want to be hurt anymore. You want to be someone stronger."
There are two panels of Robin fighting Harley, and then a whole single page of Nightwing jumping off a rooftop. "Until you find the right you."
The issue ends with Dick talking to the little girl about being an orphan (he gives her the bracelet he had given his mom) and then makes a date with Sonia Zucco. The last page is a full page of Dick unzipping his sweater, his Nightwing uniform poking out underneath. "It's always been about catching people when they fall."
Aw, that's nice. Too bad the series is ending.
The last issue is a set up for Grayson, Volume 1: Agents of Spyral, and an introduction to Spyral. (I read all of Grayson and I still don't understand Spyral btw.) Batman and Dick have a showdown/beatdown in their masks to somehow prove that Dick is strong enough to go undercover with Spyral, and it's literally some'oll bullshit. It's just such a terrible way to introduce an idea for a new series. The dialogue as they fight is stiff and weird, and the art is all jagged, and blech.
Batman: "Why do we fall Dick? We fall so we can learn to get back up."
Dick: "No. No, that's not true. We fall because someone pushes us. We get up to push back."
Batman argues that he knows all the other heroes are weak, that they can't go undercover because they would give up.
Batman: "I know I'm hurting you.My family. I'm making that sacrifice. Because I don't give up. I don't give in. But what about you? Are you them? Or are you me? ... Tell me Dick, my boy, after all of this -- will you give up? Will you give in?"
Dick cracks Bruce across the face, and then Batman calls it & Dick wins? But wins, what? The assignment to go undercover that he doesn't want? To say dead to all his friends and family, including Alfred who is literally crying in the elevator above them atm.
The volume ends with Dick working on his own & then Spyral recruiting him. The end.
I remember being so disappointed in this ending/this volume when I read it for the first time in 2014. On a second read, it's not as bad as I remembered ...it's not just not so good.
The whole volume feels like a rush to try and end this series by putting together a bunch of random one-off issues that have plot-threads tied to this series. We have another issue with young Dick Grayson from Haley's Circus and of course one of the boys is a Maroni...
The next issue is also an OK one-off story (Dick and Barbra team up to protect an actress from an arsonist), but the art is terrible, and the whole almost-romance-but-imma-bounce-at-the-end with Dick & Babs was cringy. (The only redeeming page was the first date and picture. <3)
"Some Strings Attached" and "Curiouser and Curiouser" with Mali/Alice was OK, but Nightwing's annoying roommate situation wasn't a nice humanizing touch to the comic (look at poor Dick, he needs to live with roommates, it's so relatable), it was just annoying.
Of course Tony and Sonia Zucco are in this too, to bring everything back in the final volume.
Dick's roommate, Michael, drops the controlling detective (who was seen murdering superheroes in the last volume) just to bring him up and not give us any answers.
Annnd, in a mirroring plot device that is too on the nose, Nightwing has to stop a young girl from going after Mr. Zsasz (I hate him as a character) by herself after seeing both her parents murdered in front of her.
There is one double page which I liked very much of Batman and Robin facing off against Two-Face, Scarecrow, the Joker and Harley Quinn, Ivy & Mr. Freeze.
The text boxes say: "Part of it's a defense mechanism. You don't want to be defined by the terrible thing that happened. You don't want to be hurt anymore. You want to be someone stronger."
There are two panels of Robin fighting Harley, and then a whole single page of Nightwing jumping off a rooftop. "Until you find the right you."
The issue ends with Dick talking to the little girl about being an orphan (he gives her the bracelet he had given his mom) and then makes a date with Sonia Zucco. The last page is a full page of Dick unzipping his sweater, his Nightwing uniform poking out underneath. "It's always been about catching people when they fall."
Aw, that's nice. Too bad the series is ending.
The last issue is a set up for Grayson, Volume 1: Agents of Spyral, and an introduction to Spyral. (I read all of Grayson and I still don't understand Spyral btw.) Batman and Dick have a showdown/beatdown in their masks to somehow prove that Dick is strong enough to go undercover with Spyral, and it's literally some'oll bullshit. It's just such a terrible way to introduce an idea for a new series. The dialogue as they fight is stiff and weird, and the art is all jagged, and blech.
Batman: "Why do we fall Dick? We fall so we can learn to get back up."
Dick: "No. No, that's not true. We fall because someone pushes us. We get up to push back."
Batman argues that he knows all the other heroes are weak, that they can't go undercover because they would give up.
Batman: "I know I'm hurting you.My family. I'm making that sacrifice. Because I don't give up. I don't give in. But what about you? Are you them? Or are you me? ... Tell me Dick, my boy, after all of this -- will you give up? Will you give in?"
Dick cracks Bruce across the face, and then Batman calls it & Dick wins? But wins, what? The assignment to go undercover that he doesn't want? To say dead to all his friends and family, including Alfred who is literally crying in the elevator above them atm.
The volume ends with Dick working on his own & then Spyral recruiting him. The end.
July 28, 2020
2.75⭐️
A weak ending, plus DC needs to stop with the Dick/Babs stuff (I know that mess is still ongoing but I can hope). Stand by the fact that they shouldn’t have retconned her age. Looking forward to reliving the joy that is Grayson though!
A weak ending, plus DC needs to stop with the Dick/Babs stuff (I know that mess is still ongoing but I can hope). Stand by the fact that they shouldn’t have retconned her age. Looking forward to reliving the joy that is Grayson though!
January 17, 2015
The New 52 Nightwing series to me was a bit hit and miss. Overall it wasn't bad, I just thought it had the potential to be so much better. This final volume was one of the better in the series, but I did think some of it was a bit of a downer. It wraps up leading into the new GRAYSON series where everyone thinks Nightwing is dead and hes now working undercover. (This spins out of FOREVER EVIL). The final issue of this volume also includes the most brutal Nightwing-Batman battle I've ever seen. Just rough.
As with the previous volumes, if you're a Nightwing fan you'll probably enjoy it, but if you aren't, this probably won't change your mind either.
As with the previous volumes, if you're a Nightwing fan you'll probably enjoy it, but if you aren't, this probably won't change your mind either.
November 1, 2015
Talk about going out with a whimper.
October 3, 2018
I never was a very big fan of Nightwing, but finding this issue for a fews bucks I decided to give it a try. The illustrations are very beautiful, dynamic, great colors and visually attractive. The story and the action on the other hand are a bit to «young» for me I would say. The action is less brutal, and the life story event are more teen/young adult related. Nightwing is an interesting character in relation with Batman, but on his own, it lack of a little something to catch me an keep me in. Not bad, just not for me!
February 5, 2018
Closer to a 3.5, but I'm a sucker for Dick Grayson. I had forgotten that I need to read Forever Evil to understand the final issue, but hey, considering I started reading comics again a year ago because of the Grayson comics, I think I've got a pretty good handle on the whys and wherefores. Not the tightest volume out there, but I liked the wrap up and am I the only one that got a little chill of that full page spread of Dick as a Talon surrounded by the Court?
June 7, 2018
I enjoyed this volume, a set of stories, more than the previous one, one long storyline. Artist Will Conrad is one to watch, and artist Russell Dauterman appears here perhaps before beginning his amazing run as artist on Thor with Jason Aaron. If you like Nightwing, here you go!
March 10, 2015
When it comes to Kyle Higgins's run of The New 52 Nightwing, there has been a share of hits and misses. At its best, Higgins can craft a lengthy story arc that captures the spirit of the titular hero and comes within range of matching the revered Chuck Dixon run that popularized the character over a decade ago. But at its worst, Nightwing has been saddled with short and unmeaningful story arcs that fail to progress the character and feel more like filler to segue into the next big crossover event. It's not often Higgins's fault, as he seems to have ideas for the character that don't always come to fruition. Unfortunately, Setting Son appears to be rather exemplary of the problems what made an otherwise-great series occasionally frustrating to read.
Setting Son collects a number of segregated short stories that take place during different points of Dick Grayson's life, with a number of different artists illustrating. A few stand out enough to make the book worthy of its admission price, and a few are forgettable.
The first chapter ties into the "Zero Year" event, chronicling the adventures of a teenaged Dick Grayson as he leads a group of other teens out of danger. It's a fine story that covers traits that fans often associate with the character: leadership, the ability to improvise of the fly, the sense of camaraderie, and the occasional arrogance that leads him to trouble.
The second chapter partners Dick with his fan-favorite romantic interest Barbara Gordon. There's an unremarkable whodunit story that is supposedly an analogue to the revolving door relationship between Dick and Barbara, but it struggles to hold water. However, the interactions between two crimefighters are the highlight of the chapter, and it's good enough to make one wish that Barbara had appeared more often in Higgins's run, even if their famed relationship from Dixon's run is no longer in continuity.
Following that is a pair of two-part story arcs that take place in Dick's new home of Chicago. It's unfortunate that thanks to Nightwing's involvement in Forever Evil, Higgins had to follow up a strong Tony Zucco arc (covered in the previous volume Second City) with a couple of holding pattern stories. The first is a highly forgettable and sloppily drawn tale that rehashes every Mad Hatter story ever told. The second story, however, is the strongest part of this book. It involves a young girl and Victor Zasz, and feels like a beautiful retrospective to the entirety of Kyle Higgins's Nightwing saga. It hits the right emotional notes, and makes one appreciate what Higgins has done with the character ever since the ill-advised reboot. The art by Russell Dautermann in these two chapters is the best that the series has had ever since the move to Chicago.
The final chapter takes place after Forever Evil. But rather than deal with the fallout, this chapter comes across as something of an extended preview of the new Grayson series from Tim Seeley and Tom King. It's split into three parts. The first deals with Leslie Thompson recounting a story about Spyral, a spy organization that may know Batman's identity. The second part is a highly divisive segment that features Dick and Bruce having a brutal no-holds-barred sparring match in the Batcave. The idea behind it appears to be that Bruce wants Dick to rise up from his defeat during the events of Forever Evil. The execution is, however, sloppy, and laden with awkwardly placed exposition that attempts to sell readers on Grayson but just seems to confuse instead. The last chapter, beautifully illustrated by current Grayson artist Mikel Janin, follows Dick as he travels around the world in search of Spyral. Overall, the chapter doesn't make for a very good preview, which is unfortunate, because the Grayson series itself is one of the best ongoing books to come out of DC or Marvel these days.
Looking back, Kyle Higgins's Nightwing was a series that had a lot of strong moments, but was also hampered by editorially mandated tie-ins and status quo changes. Out of the Batman line of books in The New 52, it was arguably the best title that didn't star Batman himself. Setting Son, while it may be rather uneven, does manage to provide a satisfying end to this run.
Setting Son collects a number of segregated short stories that take place during different points of Dick Grayson's life, with a number of different artists illustrating. A few stand out enough to make the book worthy of its admission price, and a few are forgettable.
The first chapter ties into the "Zero Year" event, chronicling the adventures of a teenaged Dick Grayson as he leads a group of other teens out of danger. It's a fine story that covers traits that fans often associate with the character: leadership, the ability to improvise of the fly, the sense of camaraderie, and the occasional arrogance that leads him to trouble.
The second chapter partners Dick with his fan-favorite romantic interest Barbara Gordon. There's an unremarkable whodunit story that is supposedly an analogue to the revolving door relationship between Dick and Barbara, but it struggles to hold water. However, the interactions between two crimefighters are the highlight of the chapter, and it's good enough to make one wish that Barbara had appeared more often in Higgins's run, even if their famed relationship from Dixon's run is no longer in continuity.
Following that is a pair of two-part story arcs that take place in Dick's new home of Chicago. It's unfortunate that thanks to Nightwing's involvement in Forever Evil, Higgins had to follow up a strong Tony Zucco arc (covered in the previous volume Second City) with a couple of holding pattern stories. The first is a highly forgettable and sloppily drawn tale that rehashes every Mad Hatter story ever told. The second story, however, is the strongest part of this book. It involves a young girl and Victor Zasz, and feels like a beautiful retrospective to the entirety of Kyle Higgins's Nightwing saga. It hits the right emotional notes, and makes one appreciate what Higgins has done with the character ever since the ill-advised reboot. The art by Russell Dautermann in these two chapters is the best that the series has had ever since the move to Chicago.
The final chapter takes place after Forever Evil. But rather than deal with the fallout, this chapter comes across as something of an extended preview of the new Grayson series from Tim Seeley and Tom King. It's split into three parts. The first deals with Leslie Thompson recounting a story about Spyral, a spy organization that may know Batman's identity. The second part is a highly divisive segment that features Dick and Bruce having a brutal no-holds-barred sparring match in the Batcave. The idea behind it appears to be that Bruce wants Dick to rise up from his defeat during the events of Forever Evil. The execution is, however, sloppy, and laden with awkwardly placed exposition that attempts to sell readers on Grayson but just seems to confuse instead. The last chapter, beautifully illustrated by current Grayson artist Mikel Janin, follows Dick as he travels around the world in search of Spyral. Overall, the chapter doesn't make for a very good preview, which is unfortunate, because the Grayson series itself is one of the best ongoing books to come out of DC or Marvel these days.
Looking back, Kyle Higgins's Nightwing was a series that had a lot of strong moments, but was also hampered by editorially mandated tie-ins and status quo changes. Out of the Batman line of books in The New 52, it was arguably the best title that didn't star Batman himself. Setting Son, while it may be rather uneven, does manage to provide a satisfying end to this run.
December 18, 2014
Reviewed First at Brunner's Bookshelf
I did things a little backwards. I have only read Vol 1 of the New 52 reboot, but when this became available through Edelweiss as an Advanced reader copy I jumped at the chance to put my name in the ring. I was fortunate enough to be granted a copy from DC Comics and I am very grateful. Nightwing is one of my favorite superheroes. I always loved the lighter side Dick Greyson brought as Robin to the Dynamic Duo. When he left the cave to become his own man as Nightwing I was hooked. I always enjoyed the stories that he came back into to, and then when he was rebooted the first time with the new black and blue suit I collected every single issue till Battle For the Cowl when Nightwing's series ended.
I really liked this Vol even if I was a little lost at times. I have heard from friends what all is going on with Dick in his series so I wasn't spoiled by anything, but still a little lost. This book is a collection of stories from Dick's past. Starting out early on with him as a boy in the circus with his Mom and Dad still alive. Then we move onto modern day with a pretty good story guest staring Batgirl herself. The writing on these was great and I couldn't put this book down. I'm already heading to get Vol 2 so I can catch up on all that I missed.
The art work on this book was also really good for the most part. There is a section with Batman that was to dark which made the characters seem to lack detail. The rest of the book was really well done and fit the stories perfectly. This is one of my favorite graphic novels I have read this year and there are a lot. I can't wait to get caught up because I am really curious to see where Nightwing's story takes him from here. There are a few series that have had a really good story line since the New 52 began. Some of my favorite heroes have had less then stellar stories and I kind of wish things would go back to the way they were. Nightwing has grown and been one of the best stry lines I have read and for now I have only read the beginning and the present. Kyle Higgins has had a great run on this series and if the books in between are as good as this I'm in for quite a ride.
I've gushed for long enough about Nightwing so let me get to the rating. In case you haven't figured it out I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars. I loved this and can't wait to catch up on all I have missed.
I did things a little backwards. I have only read Vol 1 of the New 52 reboot, but when this became available through Edelweiss as an Advanced reader copy I jumped at the chance to put my name in the ring. I was fortunate enough to be granted a copy from DC Comics and I am very grateful. Nightwing is one of my favorite superheroes. I always loved the lighter side Dick Greyson brought as Robin to the Dynamic Duo. When he left the cave to become his own man as Nightwing I was hooked. I always enjoyed the stories that he came back into to, and then when he was rebooted the first time with the new black and blue suit I collected every single issue till Battle For the Cowl when Nightwing's series ended.
I really liked this Vol even if I was a little lost at times. I have heard from friends what all is going on with Dick in his series so I wasn't spoiled by anything, but still a little lost. This book is a collection of stories from Dick's past. Starting out early on with him as a boy in the circus with his Mom and Dad still alive. Then we move onto modern day with a pretty good story guest staring Batgirl herself. The writing on these was great and I couldn't put this book down. I'm already heading to get Vol 2 so I can catch up on all that I missed.
The art work on this book was also really good for the most part. There is a section with Batman that was to dark which made the characters seem to lack detail. The rest of the book was really well done and fit the stories perfectly. This is one of my favorite graphic novels I have read this year and there are a lot. I can't wait to get caught up because I am really curious to see where Nightwing's story takes him from here. There are a few series that have had a really good story line since the New 52 began. Some of my favorite heroes have had less then stellar stories and I kind of wish things would go back to the way they were. Nightwing has grown and been one of the best stry lines I have read and for now I have only read the beginning and the present. Kyle Higgins has had a great run on this series and if the books in between are as good as this I'm in for quite a ride.
I've gushed for long enough about Nightwing so let me get to the rating. In case you haven't figured it out I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars. I loved this and can't wait to catch up on all I have missed.
January 14, 2015
I dont understand why they are changing the series to Grayson and in this volume you dont see Nightwing too muchits more focused on Dick Grayson
June 10, 2022
Wow, this volume is reaally good. And i reaaaally wasn't waiting for this.
This one wraps it up the Nightwing title on the New 52, with some couples of short stories that probably were better than the last two volumes of this collection.
First, we see what Dick was doing during the Zero Year stuff. It was a bit of a lame, but Will Conrad's art was ok. Then, we see Dick and Babs in a mission to stop the new Firefly from get his hands (or his flames) on a famous artist. Good one.
The next one is about this Marionette character and her possible drug addiction. Good one as well. And then, a story about a little girl that Dick have met in the last issue, what happened to her parents and what Dick has to do to help it. Amazing story, really brought a good closure for his parents death and what he was trying to do with the Circus, the Amusent Mile and all. And have the amazing art of a really young Russell Dauterman, which was incredible. I believe he was very raw, in comparision with the beast he has become on the The Mighty Thor, Volume 1: Thunder in Her Veins, but, still, was very good. Really took the volue, by far.
And then, on the end, we see Tim Seeley and Tom King paving the way for their Grayson stuff. This is really a run that i'm interested in see.
In general, i believe Kyle Higgins did a good job. Suffered with the editorial decisions, as usual, but he knew how to write this character that i love so much.
This one wraps it up the Nightwing title on the New 52, with some couples of short stories that probably were better than the last two volumes of this collection.
First, we see what Dick was doing during the Zero Year stuff. It was a bit of a lame, but Will Conrad's art was ok. Then, we see Dick and Babs in a mission to stop the new Firefly from get his hands (or his flames) on a famous artist. Good one.
The next one is about this Marionette character and her possible drug addiction. Good one as well. And then, a story about a little girl that Dick have met in the last issue, what happened to her parents and what Dick has to do to help it. Amazing story, really brought a good closure for his parents death and what he was trying to do with the Circus, the Amusent Mile and all. And have the amazing art of a really young Russell Dauterman, which was incredible. I believe he was very raw, in comparision with the beast he has become on the The Mighty Thor, Volume 1: Thunder in Her Veins, but, still, was very good. Really took the volue, by far.
And then, on the end, we see Tim Seeley and Tom King paving the way for their Grayson stuff. This is really a run that i'm interested in see.
In general, i believe Kyle Higgins did a good job. Suffered with the editorial decisions, as usual, but he knew how to write this character that i love so much.
March 22, 2017
I just finished reading the last 2 volumes of Higgins run so I thought I'd save time and just review them both here.
Higgins did a really good job with his time on the Nightwing title. As a whole it was a real solid run. Volume 4 definitely had a stronger storyline, though the last volume definitely goes out on an emotional note. Higgins ties into the rest of his run well to show Dicks growth from the beginning of the series through to the end. There were a few story threads that didn't get completed which I was disappointed in. I felt Tony Zucco's story was just getting started with a mysterious boss trying to get him out of prison. Then there was Mali AKA Marionette, who I was really intrigued with, detective Maxwell Morgan's secret, and the mysterious mask killings from years prior. It felt like Higgins was going to come back to those threads, but unfortunately it seemed DC had different plans for Nightwing after the events of Forever Evil. So in some ways it almost feels incomplete here.
The last issue collected here is Nightwing Annual issue written by Tom King and Tim Seeley, which takes place after Forever Evil, this sets up Dicks next stage of life as a double agent in Spyral in the 'Grayson' series. Which I've heard good things about.
I'm just hoping at some point these loose threads are tied up.
Higgins did a really good job with his time on the Nightwing title. As a whole it was a real solid run. Volume 4 definitely had a stronger storyline, though the last volume definitely goes out on an emotional note. Higgins ties into the rest of his run well to show Dicks growth from the beginning of the series through to the end. There were a few story threads that didn't get completed which I was disappointed in. I felt Tony Zucco's story was just getting started with a mysterious boss trying to get him out of prison. Then there was Mali AKA Marionette, who I was really intrigued with, detective Maxwell Morgan's secret, and the mysterious mask killings from years prior. It felt like Higgins was going to come back to those threads, but unfortunately it seemed DC had different plans for Nightwing after the events of Forever Evil. So in some ways it almost feels incomplete here.
The last issue collected here is Nightwing Annual issue written by Tom King and Tim Seeley, which takes place after Forever Evil, this sets up Dicks next stage of life as a double agent in Spyral in the 'Grayson' series. Which I've heard good things about.
I'm just hoping at some point these loose threads are tied up.
September 19, 2017
Not too bad, better than the last. I do like the introduction to the Grayson series, that was pretty good. I wish the whole thing with him and Luthor that lead to that woukd have been included at least but yea. A decent end, and good segue to his secret agent days
May 15, 2022
Like 2.5 stars
This one was super all over the place and disconnected. I’m not even sure which books I could read to get a good grip on what happened in other batfam runs.
This one was super all over the place and disconnected. I’m not even sure which books I could read to get a good grip on what happened in other batfam runs.
May 28, 2024
Puntaje: 3.3 Estrellas.
Con esta reseña doy por finalizada la relectura de toda la serie de Nightwing de los Nuevos 52. Qué tremenda aventura ha sido recorrer estas páginas, en especial porque descubrí que no me acordaba de muchas cosas, por lo que en gran parte del tiempo sentí como si lo estuviera leyendo por primera vez.
Ahora bien, aquí viene el comentario duro. De toda la serie, este fue el volúmen más flojo. Y la razón es sencilla: Todos los volúmenes anteriores tenían un arco principal o acompañaban a un evento de Batman, por lo que había un desarrollo de la historia que nos iban presentando. En cambio, este quinto volumen fue una combinación de arcos pequeños que se sintieron como un “Acabemos rápido que nos vamos”. Además, hubo muchos cambios de ilustración entre los cómics de este tomo, algunos de ellos no me convencieron del todo.
En su momento nunca leí la serie de “Grayson”, que es la continuación directa de Nightwing, y esto porque no estaba del todo convencido con ese giro que le estaba dando DC al personaje. Entiendo que después de lo sucedido en “Maldad Eterna” las cosas no podían seguir igual, pero no estoy muy seguro de que Dick agente secreto sea mi tipo de historias.
En general el cómic estuvo entretenido, pero no llega a ser memorable. Por supuesto que es una lectura obligatoria para los que están leyendo el run de Nightwing en los Nuevos 52, pero no es una historia que te vaya a dejar asombrado. Aún no sé si leeré Grayson, eso ya lo decidirá el destino.
Con esta reseña doy por finalizada la relectura de toda la serie de Nightwing de los Nuevos 52. Qué tremenda aventura ha sido recorrer estas páginas, en especial porque descubrí que no me acordaba de muchas cosas, por lo que en gran parte del tiempo sentí como si lo estuviera leyendo por primera vez.
Ahora bien, aquí viene el comentario duro. De toda la serie, este fue el volúmen más flojo. Y la razón es sencilla: Todos los volúmenes anteriores tenían un arco principal o acompañaban a un evento de Batman, por lo que había un desarrollo de la historia que nos iban presentando. En cambio, este quinto volumen fue una combinación de arcos pequeños que se sintieron como un “Acabemos rápido que nos vamos”. Además, hubo muchos cambios de ilustración entre los cómics de este tomo, algunos de ellos no me convencieron del todo.
En su momento nunca leí la serie de “Grayson”, que es la continuación directa de Nightwing, y esto porque no estaba del todo convencido con ese giro que le estaba dando DC al personaje. Entiendo que después de lo sucedido en “Maldad Eterna” las cosas no podían seguir igual, pero no estoy muy seguro de que Dick agente secreto sea mi tipo de historias.
En general el cómic estuvo entretenido, pero no llega a ser memorable. Por supuesto que es una lectura obligatoria para los que están leyendo el run de Nightwing en los Nuevos 52, pero no es una historia que te vaya a dejar asombrado. Aún no sé si leeré Grayson, eso ya lo decidirá el destino.
March 23, 2015
Volume 5 of Nightwing opens with an asinine Zero Year story, and ends with the goofiest, most absurd, eye-rollingest fight scene I may have ever read. In between there's a lot of throw-away plots featuring weirdly high-profile characters, and some seriously boring art. There are two issues towards the end, Higgens' send-off proper to the character, featuring great artwork by Russell Dauterman, that hit some good notes, and earn the second star for me. Outside of those two measly issues, is a grip of sloppy nonsense, and of course, no ICYMI for how and why Dick is (sorta) dead now. I cannot stop thinking about how good this book could have been, without being bound to the Batman ongoing for cross-over convenience, and if it had deviated from the freak of the week formula. Hopefully, post-Convergence, someone does something amazing with Nightwing. Till then, I'm keeping an open mind towards the Grayson trade, even if the set-up here was laughably bad.
January 3, 2015
Kyle Higgins writes a beautiful close to Dick Grayson's last run as Nightwing, at least for now. Dick Grayson has been unmasked but before we say goodbye to Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins gives a little trip through memory lane by having Richard Grayson do what he does best finding optimism in the harsh moments of life and inspiring others like him to go on despite their losses and often bitter past. I enjoyed each issue in this volume. The closing to this arc was incredible with Batman giving his eldest ward one great and dangerous mission, Nightwing must stay dead and infiltrate a spy network that is seeking to unmask all crimefighters. I am looking forward to Richard Grayson next adventure. This has been a great series for Kyle Higgins and I am hoping to see Nightwing rise from the ashes like a phoenix stronger and a bit more different in the near future,
December 1, 2014
This volume of Nightwing's adventures open with a Year Zero story that introduces Dick Grayson to the Maroni crime syndicate. Dick Grayson runs into Barbara Gordon and Tony Zucco's daughter (both old girlfriends) in Gotham and Chicago. Then there is Mad Hatter's visit and other tragedies. The final straw is a call from Batman for an undercover mission. Things certainly are not dull around Nightwing!
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