Nightwing, Vol. 2: Death Traps

Nightwing by Dan Watters

by Dan Watters, Dexter Soy (Artist), Francesco Francavilla (Artist)

The critically acclaimed Nightwing run by Dan Watters continues, pushing Dick Grayson to his limits as he faces the ever-present dangers lurking in the shadows of Blüdhaven

Following the explosive events of Vol. 1, Blüdhaven remains a city on the edge, where crime never sleeps and trust is a luxury few can afford. As tensions rise between Nightwing and Commissioner Maggie Sawyer, a shocking murder investigation forces them both to question everything they thought they knew. Acclaimed writer Dan Watters (Lucifer, Arkham City: The Order of the World) continues his gripping take on the beloved hero, with stunning artwork that brings Blüdhaven’s dark underbelly to life.

Collects Nightwing #125-129.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Batman, Comic Book, Action

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2026

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

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.1 stars

[Axel · Rating 3 out of 5]

mediocre y además lo salva el annual (que me ha encantado) porque los demás capítulos me han parecido mediocres y encima copaganda. La gente en Twitter lo hypea demasiado y a mí me gustó más el volumen anterior, pero bueno a ver si los 3 siguientes números del próximo volumen sí son tan buenos cómo dicen.
El Zanni y la metanarrativa siguen siendo INCREÍBLE y por eso me ha gustado muchísimo más el annual que el resto de números.

[achilles · Rating 5 out of 5]

the dan watters run is both chill and exciting at the same time i love it

[Riley Pilgrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a lot weaker than the first volume. I think Watters did an amazing job with the annual, and the mini arc with the corrupted cop story. However, once he dived into the 5th dimension stuff he lost me, and overall I didn't connect with that story at all. It was the weakest part of Taylor's run, and it feels like Watters included it because Taylor had established it previously. With that being said Watters did do some interesting things with it; with Nightwing Prime now being officially part of the world and stuff. Although, again, this arc just didn't do much for me.

The best part of this book was the stuff with Maggie, and her investigation into who Olivia Pearce really is. This was the annual, and I really loved the deep dive into Oliva's origin. I found it to be real sinister, and sort of meta in a way with how it was told.

I'm still going to continue reading this run, as I do feel like the annual has set up some really cool stuff to come.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hesitant to even give this one three stars, but the annual was at least interesting. The Nite-Mite issues were terrible and felt like they were 300 pages long.

[Leo Kirchner · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Slight Spoiler** I'm not going to lie Francesco Francavilla's art is really hard for me to look at. It personally just isn't my taste of comic book art but that's fine. I also feel like the "cop killer" guy was like a Scooby-Doo villain and I really didn't like that. It felt totally out of place with the last volume from this squad. After the "cop killer" arc it went back to Dexter Soy's art which was amazing just like the last volume. But it's too bad that the story line that went with it didn't help much. I thought it was too goofy and kind of undoes what the last volume did with a certain ex-teddy. I did enjoy the backstory on the main villain of the run in the annual issue but I wish Soy's art would have been there to help tell that story.

[Bab · Rating 5 out of 5]

hell yeah

[Spens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5

This was such a letdown both in terms of art and story from such a strong start in the first volume. I'm not even sure I want to continue reading this run.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

AND IF I SAID THE GOAT WAS COOKING‼️‼️

[Sparangus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Dick, Vol.2

[Haylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the first volume more, but still loved this! Can't wait to continue this run!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are really three separate story lines going here, and only two of them work. (Maybe a DC diehard would enjoy the Nite-Mite bit but it felt convoluted and weird for weird's sake. Although judging by the reviews here, I'm not alone in thinking that.) Two different artists; both are good but it's hard not to miss the Redondo run. Will stick with this arc to see where it goes.

[allyboon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightwing Vol. 2: Death Traps

Writer: Dan Watters
Artists: Francesco Francavilla, Dexter Soy
Originally published: April–August 2025
Collects: Nightwing #125–129 + Nightwing 2025 Annual #1
Collected edition published: January 20, 2026

★★★★☆ (4/5)

This was definitely more unhinged than the last volume. The Captain Hallow storyline was probably my favorite part—the whole mess with the corrupt ex-cops, Sawyer, and Nightwing had that grounded tension I liked from the previous volume.

The Nite-Mite/Titans Tower storyline was confusing as hell, but also surprisingly informative. I wasn't expecting a Nightwing comic to go this far into Fifth Dimension and memory-manipulation territory. It was still fun, but compared to the first volume, it lost some of that overly serious, high-stakes vibe I liked.

Still, I enjoyed it, especially the Dick and Babs moments. And Alfred cooking chicken soup for baby Richie?. I miss that man.

4 stars.

Future Me Notes

Frank Dietrich, a cop who publicly praises the Helios Project at Hogan's Bar, is murdered in an alley.

Commissioner Maggie Sawyer tells Frank's wife what happened and discovers that Frank was actually an abusive asshole despite his public reputation.

Nightwing helps Sawyer investigate and gives her a device to contact him.

Sawyer receives a mysterious call giving her an address and telling her to come alone.

Sergeant Leopold Holm, a former cop, tells Sawyer that Captain Hallow killed Frank.

Hallow arrives, but Holm has secretly turned against the corrupt cops and exposed them.

Sawyer calls Nightwing and a fight breaks out. Hallow throws Holm through a window.

Dick discovers that there are multiple Captain Hallows, all former cops fired following the corruption scandal from the previous Nightwing run.

The ex-cops decide to kill Sawyer.

Sawyer meets her girlfriend Katie and Katie's daughter Claire.

With Oracle's help, Dick tracks mud from Hallow's coat and locates their hideout.

Nightwing attacks the hideout and discovers one of the criminals is missing.

One of the Hallows attacks Katie and Claire, but Dick saves Claire when she falls.

Sawyer and Nightwing begin working together more closely.

Another Captain Hallow is discovered inside the police department, showing how deeply the corruption goes.

Bryce appears at Titans Tower.

Nite-Mite becomes involved with the situation.

"insert dick compliments" to babs' "you know I know."

Melinda appears before cameras, becomes frightened, and faints.

Dick rushes to the hospital while Barbara deals with the Titans Tower breach.

Zanni transforms Nite-Mite into a monster.

Olivia Pearce and Dr. von Gunther create a Kappa-energized weapon capable of killing Fifth-Dimensional beings.

Olivia gives Dick a new suit and gives him 24 hours in the tower before they take over.

The 2025 Annual — Olivia's Backstory

The Annual's story is primarily about Commissioner Maggie Sawyer investigating Olivia Pearce while Dick is trapped inside the extra-dimensional nightmare surrounding Titans Tower.

Sawyer starts digging into Olivia's history because the identity of Olivia Pearce doesn't seem to have a normal paper trail.

Her investigation leads her to Olivia Hillman, revealing Olivia Pearce's real name.

The story then goes back to Olivia's childhood.

Young Olivia is fascinated by comic books, especially the fictional adventures of the Gray Ghost and Wonder Boy.

Comics become Olivia's escape from a disturbing home life and her abusive father.

Her obsession with fictional heroes eventually becomes much more than simple escapism.

Olivia encounters the Zanni, a strange creature from the Fifth Dimension.

The Zanni recognizes Olivia's fascination with fictional stories and begins manipulating her through that obsession.

The Annual establishes that the Zanni has been influencing Olivia since she was young, making their connection much older than Dick realizes.

The Zanni's influence leads Olivia toward the Cirque du Sin.

Olivia becomes involved in recruiting people for the Cirque, with the Zanni using its supernatural abilities to manipulate people into joining against their will.

Lloyd Carroll is revealed to be the Ringmaster, and the Annual gives his origin/history with the Cirque du Sin.

Strong Man is shown as part of the Cirque's history as well.

Olivia eventually takes on the identity of Colombina.

The story makes it clear that Olivia's obsession with stories has become warped: she doesn't simply want to read or enjoy fictional worlds—she wants to make those worlds real.

Sawyer realizes that this obsession is part of the reason Olivia became so fixated on Nightwing.

The Annual also reveals that the Zanni itself is interested in Nightwing, meaning Olivia's obsession is being pushed toward a larger purpose.

The Zanni isn't simply Olivia's accomplice. It has its own plans, and Olivia is effectively one of the people it has manipulated into carrying them out.

Sawyer's investigation therefore connects Olivia's present-day schemes to her childhood, the Cirque du Sin, and the Zanni.

Dick only appears as a cameo in the Annual; the issue is primarily Sawyer's investigation and Olivia's origin.

The Annual takes place while Dick is trapped in Titans Tower, fitting between the events of Nightwing #127–128, with the storyline continuing into #129.

Back in the main story, Dick discovers that much of what he is experiencing inside Titanis/Titans Tower has been created from memories Nite-Mite pulled from his mind.

This explains why the Van-Zee he encountered wasn't actually the real Van-Zee.

Van-Zee betrays Dick and traps him with Haley, who became enormous.

Dick manages to calm Haley rather than simply fighting her then they escaped.

The supposed Nightwing Prime is revealed to actually be Bryce, the former Teddy.

Bryce isn't actually Van-Zee. Nite-Mite created the identity from Dick's memories because he desperately wanted someone who could help him.

Nite-Mite summons the Deathwings again.

Alfred appears through Dick's memories, cooking chicken soup for baby Richie.

Nite-Mite experiences pain for the first time and begins drawing even more heavily from Dick's memories.

Barbara makes chicken soup for the sick Nite-Mite.

Bryce doesn't want to return to the person he was before the Titanis events.

Once the crisis is resolved, Bryce flies away, upset that his new heroic identity is disappearing.

Haley returns to being a normal dog.

Nite-Mite falls asleep and turns into goo. Temporarily, I hope

Dick becomes genuinely concerned about Nite-Mite while Barbara stays surprisingly calm through the whole situation.

Olivia begins advertising the suit she gave Nightwing and says it will be released commercially after its successful trial run.

Bryce begins genuinely believing that he is Van-Zee, almost as though the identity has become a second personality.

Bryce decides he wants to become a hero whether Dick approves or not.

Notable Appearances / Cameos

Nightwing / Dick Grayson

Barbara Gordon / Oracle

Maggie Sawyer

Melinda Grayson-Lin

Katie

Claire

Frank Dietrich

Sergeant Leopold Holm

Captain Hallow

Olivia Pearce / Olivia Hillman / Colombina

Dr. von Gunther

Zanni

Nite-Mite

Night-Hare

Bryce

Van-Zee / Nightwing Prime

Alfred Pennyworth

Superman / Clark Kent

Batman / Bruce Wayne

Wally West / The Flash

Brainiac

Haley

Dr. Chase Meridian

Dan Turpin

Guy Hillman

Gray Ghost

Wonder Boy

Strong Man

Lloyd Carroll / Ringmaster

Cirque du Sin

Deathwings

Teddies

[Maddie Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

nightwing x oracle my beloved

[Suillellus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read, but yeah definitely a big pivot from the first one. With how the last one ended, I was expecting a lot more of the gang and police stuff to continue in this one, but both got sidetracked for the 5th dimensional stuff. Seeing Maggie and Kate was a pleasant surprise, although I dont get who Kate's kid is, unless that's Rebirth shenanigans (or unless that's not Kate Kane but another Katie with red hair...) As others have said, the Maggie stuff was the most interesting part, but I loved the creativity that came with Night-Mite, although I was also confused by it and how exactly it got resolved with chicken soup (honestly, how it started too, like how did Zanni flashbang Night-Mite like that??) Also, I kind of wish there were more than just ~4 not THAT out there things in the 5th dimensional space, but I get that there was no time.

The art was great as always, though honestly after the other artist's work on the intro story, seeing olivia's doll-like, pencil-sharp nosed face was very jarring. I originally didn't like the new artstyle that much, though it definitely grew on me by the end. But by god do some artists draw Nightwing fugly and thankfully Dexter Soy at least is not one of them. Really love how his art pops out its just generally great.

The creative narration work given by Nightwing Prime, Night-Mite, Maggie, Zanni, the crazy ringleader, etc. was probably my favourite part of this book. However, I was kind of confused at the end with Olivia's backstory. Wow I must sound like the most neurodeficient comic book reader alive if you look at my last couple of reviews, but you have to understand that I either read these at 2am when I'm a quarter awake, on the bus before school (my brain isn't working) or after school (it also isn't working), so it's not my fault this happens to be when I have free time. Back to the comic, I do understand technically what happened, but it all feels so convoluted and what was the point of repeating 'death traps' all those times? Aura? But then the Zanni's insistence on being edgy and mysterious to the point of incomprehensibility makes him lose significant aura in my eyes.

Ah well, I'll probably pick up the next volume when it comes to the library, but I don't expect I'll be hunting it down or buying anything from this series. I hope the gangs come back eventually (wow this is like the opposite to Lookism lol). Nightwing's crashout in Volume 1 after the dead child was the peak of this series, and I honestly have no idea where its even heading next. Also I really wonder if batman and/or the others are ever making an appearance...

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was legit so good and probably one of the best things I have read this year!!

I love how this run is just taking the meta elements of comics and weaving is so effortlessly into Nightwings world and its awesome showing him in stories both realistic and fantastical and its amazing! Like the first story is a cop gets murdered and we follow Maggie Sawyer whose investigating who it could be and she is hesitant about taking Nightwing's help and over the course of her investigation we find its CAPTAIN HALLOW, an urban BPD myth and then the reveal of who it is...that was just amazing showing it from the POV of Maggie and like showing the tension between the heroes and the police and whether the latter can trust the former.

Also love how the next 3 issues are basically a horror story where Bat-mite takes over the tower and gets changed by ZANNI whose like the big over arching threat of this run and its amazing seeing it like how Nightwing goes to the tower which has been taken over and going through it fighting death wings and other traps like whatever memories from Dicks past Nite-mite conjured up and its awesome and its so unique and props to the artist for having done so and then finally towards the end you see Nightwing-Prime aka Van-zee the kandorian Superman gave the identity to and going back and pulling from various eras of DC continuity and its so awesome seeing it all! Like I said Dan is on fire with this run and then how he solves the case!!

And who he turns out to be ultimately and how Dick solves the case like it was just amazing. I loved this story its just 3 issues but it was so much fun reading through it!

And then the annual which is handsdown the best annual maybe or something like I am at a loss of words of how good it was and it tells you the backstory of Olivia Pearce aka Colombina and connecting that to the lawsuit where they banned gruesome storytelling in comics and Comics code authority.. just wow and this story is so deep and filled with metaphors like Dan's best issue so far which I think I say about everything he writes now! WOAH! And also we learn of the ZAANI's origin of sorts with this one!

I am just in love with this run its perfect on so many levels and Dan is cooking with this run and the art by Dexter soy continues to be awesome!!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Watters's first arc of Nightwing was fairly safe in that it was another gang war type Bat-story, but this collection branches out a little more.

The opening arc is part ghost story, part bad cop story, and then the following arc leans into the insanity of comics as Nitemite finds himself possessing the old Titans Tower and keeping Babs hostage. Both of these are a little different to what we're used to for Nightwing, but they work very well as a result, as well as feeding into the larger story that Watters is telling with the Cirque Du Sin and Spheric Solutions moving into Bludhaven.

The best issue of an already good collection however is the Annual, which gives some backstory about the Zanni, while also being a meta commentary on the power of comic books as a whole.

Artwise, we've got Dexter Soy from the previous volume, as well as Francesco Francavilla for the ghost story arc, which is always a good time.

I knew Tom Taylor's Nightwing run would be a hard act to follow, but Watters is definitely making his own mark so far.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of issues is broken into halves, and I liked one half much more than the other. The first half is a Francavilla-drawn exploration of “the blue line of silence” maintained by cops to extrajudicially protect (and internally police) other cops. An interesting thriller plot and thoughtful commentary held my interest, plus Francavilla makes it look great in his gloopy black light poster style.

The other half is much less interesting. Watters opts for a wacky throwback plot that relies on a lot of obscure decades-old Nightwing-specific lore in a way that didn’t seem interested in welcoming in readers who can’t already cite all that Nightwing wiki trivia by heart. Soy draws this half of the issues too, and his artwork continues to be generically unimpressive.

“Because we can’t rely on a superhero’s gut checks to make policy decisions for a whole city. You were elected. He was not.”

[Ángel Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque hay que reconocer que la primera historia (la del asesino de polis/poli asesino) es un mojón considerable, las otras historias que componen el volumen están pero que muy bien, sobre todo el anual, que es una maravilla, y eso que a mí Francavilla me parece una especie de Mazzuchelli procedente de Mundo Bizarro. Pero vamos, todo lo que tenga que ver con el «Cirque du sin» me resulta fascinante, y la historia de origen de Colombina me parece de las mejores que he leído desde hace mucho, mucho tiempo.

La del pobre Nitemito también me ha gustado bastante; ahora, que habrá que ver lo que hacen con el zagal ese reconvertido en pseudo-kriptoniano, que el experimento puede salir o muy bien, o muy mal. En fin, en Watters we trust, porque por ahora no está desmereciendo a su ilustrísimo antecesor al frente del título, el enorme Tom Taylor, y eso son palabras mayores...

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this run. This volume has several smaller stories. First, the Captain Hallow story, with corrupt cops and a creepy urban legend. I do wish that Captain Hallow hadn't looked quite so much like Wesley Dodds Sandman, but figure that may have been intentional, to throw off readers who remember him. Next up, a fifth dimensional story that I think maybe took up a little too much space. Still, Watters did something different with Nite-Mite, and brought in a new character who has some interesting possibilities ahead of him. Lastly, Maggie investigating Pearce. Very unsettling story that gets closer to fully unmasking her while still leaving a lot of unanswered questions on the table.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightwing with a darker, weirder edge than in Tom Taylor's run.

Darker: Nightwing and police chief Maggie Sawyer battle a cloaked villain who kills cops who betray other cops. Notably, "betray" in this case means "doesn't let other cops get away with murder." A real ACAB throwback, but fashioned almost as a film noir, with plenty of shadowy twists.

Weirder: Titans Tower, now abandoned, is overtaken by fifth dimensional forces when Nitemite tries to visit Earth. Nightwing enters the Upside Down and meets a version of himself who might be friendly? Their goal: save Oracle, who's trapped somewhere in the madness.

Both stories satisfy, though in very different ways.

[Memphis Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is some *weird* stuff in this run of Nightwing! 5th dimension creatures, a woman selling weapons who wears a false face, and some very extratextural stuff about comics themselves.

It could all collapse but it doesn’t! Characters are distinct and relateable, dialogue is sparse and smart, and the various plotlines intersect and resolve in a great setup for volume 3. Artwork is terrific and fits perfectly to the wild yet magically realistic content.

Tom Taylor’s run was my favorite Nightwing ever but if the new team continues to be this good it may equal Taylor’s.

Five stars and can’t wait for volume 3!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Francesco Francovilla bookends the art on the book with Dexter Soy in the middle. The first story is about an urban legend going after police officers who break the blue line of silence. Then Nite Mite returns but it's not a fun story. It's just weird and does some weird stuff with where Nightwing's name comes from. It's from Krypton's history and the end result is kind of stupid. The final story is about the Zanni and what's going on there. Again, ultimately a little too out there for Nightwing IMO.

[kopano · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s science fiction, it’s fantasy. It’s horror, it’s silly. It’s all silly, really. The prevailing thought that a sense of tangible realism makes for better superhero stories has its time and place, but its been in place for a very long time, and I just find this so refreshing for being anything but grounded.

[Maddi Spletter · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some fun things in this run, fun call backs to prior comics, Haley, and interesting story twist that is fun. However, the art really threw me. It is a great way to show different perspective but it took me a while to get past it. Not the worst one I have read and I don't think we are quite to the good parts of this run.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Dexter Soy's art, and this is a solid story but its much more about Commissioner Maggie Sawyer than it is Nightwing. I am really into Olivia Pierce and the Zanni as the villains, I like their angel.

[Thezachespinoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've certainly read worse Nightwing, but trying to do meta-storytelling in a grant Morrison-esque meta plot for a new villain just doesn't quite cut the chuck with the Boy wonder.

It was certainly a swing, but most definitely a miss.

[Nick Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this book fluctuates between staggeringly, incredible panels and ones that look like they were rushed out the door. Even though I’m still enjoying this run quite a bit. I like the mystery stuff. The Gray ghost issue is excellent. 4.2/5

[cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[radha · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love you dan watters