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Nightwing (2016)
Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy
A riot erupts in the streets of Blu dhaven! While the new Nightwings do their best to contain the situation, Ric faces off against Talon-but the battle is one not just of brawn, as Ric's psyche is pushed to the limit when he learns about his family history all over again! Accepting his destiny as the Gray Son, Ric Grayson joins his great-grandfather as the newest Talon! Collects Nightwing #63-69 and Nightwing Annual #2.
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2020
36 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
About the author
Dan Jurgens
2,245 books285 followersDan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 6, 2020
I'm glad this book finally got good again. The Ric Grayson story up to this point has been kind of stupid. But with the return of Dick's great grandfather, William Cobb, it all begins to make sense. He's a great foil as Talon as well. Jurgens actually made this one of the better Year of the Villain storylines.
Ronan Cliquet takes over on art with Travis Moore doing the annual. The book finally looks pretty again. Chris Mooneyham's scratchy art in the previous arcs was certainly not for me.
Ronan Cliquet takes over on art with Travis Moore doing the annual. The book finally looks pretty again. Chris Mooneyham's scratchy art in the previous arcs was certainly not for me.
November 4, 2025
This volume was okay. 2.75 🌟
May 18, 2022
This one was really good omg!
We see Dick in his early memory loss days and how he is trying to cope with it and Bruce and the bat family coming in to help him to no avail and the frustration and all and that leads to some interesting stories and then seeing how Dr Haas manipulates him and then the coming of Talon aka William Cobb and how that shakes his world both as Nightwing and with his GF Bea and ky leads to some interesting moments like the mine control and all and an alternate life that could have been and then fighting against some Condor Red and then getting free of the mind control.
It's the usual story telling thing but what I like is the way it's done and it doesn't waste time and shows Dick at his best and yeah I love it and it also has some meta commentary which was fun. All in all good read and that ending leads to the next story arc like really well! And the art is just too good.. One of the best artists to draw Nightwing I will say!
We see Dick in his early memory loss days and how he is trying to cope with it and Bruce and the bat family coming in to help him to no avail and the frustration and all and that leads to some interesting stories and then seeing how Dr Haas manipulates him and then the coming of Talon aka William Cobb and how that shakes his world both as Nightwing and with his GF Bea and ky leads to some interesting moments like the mine control and all and an alternate life that could have been and then fighting against some Condor Red and then getting free of the mind control.
It's the usual story telling thing but what I like is the way it's done and it doesn't waste time and shows Dick at his best and yeah I love it and it also has some meta commentary which was fun. All in all good read and that ending leads to the next story arc like really well! And the art is just too good.. One of the best artists to draw Nightwing I will say!
September 21, 2020
Ha, this wasn't half bad.
I was expecting to go into this fully hating it. Everything about Ric so far has been pure garbage. I mean it's one of the WORST evolution of a character I've ever seen. Didn't help Lobdell was writing and he's trash 95% of the time. So with the awful stank of the last 10+ issues I wasn't much looking forward to this but I said fuck it and downloaded it from Hoopla.
This is moving the storyline forward for Nightwing returning to being the hero we all know or love. It actually opens with a great annual of Dick losing his memory and kind of recapping the events as it happened. This time though we get the insight into right after the events and how Bruce reacted. We also get to see Damien at Dick's bedside in the hospital and it's these moments that really lifted the volume for me.
The rest of the volume goes more into cliche area but not horrible atleast. Nightwing's band of Nightwingers is slowly getting picked off because Talon has had enough of these 'Fake" Nightwings. He knows who Dick is and he won't let him rest till he becomes just like him, a owl for the court of owls.
This storyline is basically a fairly typical superhero tale. We know what will happen, no surprises, but written well enough and pacing decent enough to make it readable. Biggest plus is knowing Dick gaining his memories back slowly and the next event, Joker war, where he will no doubt gain all his memories again (Thank god).
Not great but far better than the last 3 or 4 volumes. A 3 out of 5.
I was expecting to go into this fully hating it. Everything about Ric so far has been pure garbage. I mean it's one of the WORST evolution of a character I've ever seen. Didn't help Lobdell was writing and he's trash 95% of the time. So with the awful stank of the last 10+ issues I wasn't much looking forward to this but I said fuck it and downloaded it from Hoopla.
This is moving the storyline forward for Nightwing returning to being the hero we all know or love. It actually opens with a great annual of Dick losing his memory and kind of recapping the events as it happened. This time though we get the insight into right after the events and how Bruce reacted. We also get to see Damien at Dick's bedside in the hospital and it's these moments that really lifted the volume for me.
The rest of the volume goes more into cliche area but not horrible atleast. Nightwing's band of Nightwingers is slowly getting picked off because Talon has had enough of these 'Fake" Nightwings. He knows who Dick is and he won't let him rest till he becomes just like him, a owl for the court of owls.
This storyline is basically a fairly typical superhero tale. We know what will happen, no surprises, but written well enough and pacing decent enough to make it readable. Biggest plus is knowing Dick gaining his memories back slowly and the next event, Joker war, where he will no doubt gain all his memories again (Thank god).
Not great but far better than the last 3 or 4 volumes. A 3 out of 5.
May 15, 2020
Given where the stories cut off, and where the next trade apparently starts, I'm going to assume that this volume actually collects issues 63-69 and Annual #2, since that's the entire Year Of The Villain story for Nightwing.
One of the best retcons from the New 52 was Dick Grayson's history with the Talons, and bringing them back in here for another set of retcons is actually a pretty good idea too. Dan Jurgens uses past Nightwing history to inform his Year Of The Villain story as well as shedding some light on the real effects of Ric's brain damage (and setting up his eventual return to Dick Grayson as well). Seeing Ric struggle with multiple sets of memories and trying to do the best he can with the Nightwings and Bea is a great set-up, and the fight scenes with the Talon are well done as well.
Dan Jurgens clearly had a plan when he took over this title, and it's very clear from the get-go; the stories here are much more coherent than the last few, and while he does shuffle the cast around a bit (the new Nightwings definitely take a back seat), he doesn't change everything instantaneously. There's a reason Jurgens has been in this industry as long as he has.
The art has definitely become more consistent as well; new series artist Ronan Cliquet takes over with his well-established smooth style, while my personal favourite Nightwing artist Travis Moore does a little fill-in and the over-sized Annual as well. Gone are the scratchy lines of Chris Mooneyham, and Nightwing's suddenly a beautiful book all over again.
A new creative team knocks the cobwebs off of Ric Grayson by throwing a villain from his past directly in his face. Good storytelling, great art, and a clear plan in place mean that Nightwing's a book you should sit up and take notice of once more.
One of the best retcons from the New 52 was Dick Grayson's history with the Talons, and bringing them back in here for another set of retcons is actually a pretty good idea too. Dan Jurgens uses past Nightwing history to inform his Year Of The Villain story as well as shedding some light on the real effects of Ric's brain damage (and setting up his eventual return to Dick Grayson as well). Seeing Ric struggle with multiple sets of memories and trying to do the best he can with the Nightwings and Bea is a great set-up, and the fight scenes with the Talon are well done as well.
Dan Jurgens clearly had a plan when he took over this title, and it's very clear from the get-go; the stories here are much more coherent than the last few, and while he does shuffle the cast around a bit (the new Nightwings definitely take a back seat), he doesn't change everything instantaneously. There's a reason Jurgens has been in this industry as long as he has.
The art has definitely become more consistent as well; new series artist Ronan Cliquet takes over with his well-established smooth style, while my personal favourite Nightwing artist Travis Moore does a little fill-in and the over-sized Annual as well. Gone are the scratchy lines of Chris Mooneyham, and Nightwing's suddenly a beautiful book all over again.
A new creative team knocks the cobwebs off of Ric Grayson by throwing a villain from his past directly in his face. Good storytelling, great art, and a clear plan in place mean that Nightwing's a book you should sit up and take notice of once more.
May 21, 2020
Excellent conclusion (for now) to the Ric Grayson storyline. I loved how the Nightwings played such a part in defending Bludhaven from itself, and I'm very much looking forward to the upcoming storyline with the Joker!
May 21, 2021
N.B.: 3.5 rating round up.
Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy continues where the previous trade paperback left off collecting seven issues (Nightwing #63–69) of the 2016 on-going series with Nightwing Annual #2 and collects eight interconnected one-issue stories.
Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy is perhaps the best of the "Ric Grayson" era stories, which isn’t that of a high bar to begin with. The central narrative has unique villains with the return of William Cobb as Talon and Dick Grayson evil great-great-grandfather, a compelling conflict, and generally adds to the development of the character in interesting ways. It appears that the Court of Owls are behind Dick Grayson's memory loss and their interest in recruiting Dick Grayson is still as strong as ever. However, the book's subplots are lackluster and generally distract from and weaken a better storyline.
Dan Jurgens penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written mediocrity well. Jurgens has created the main villains behind Dick Grayson's memory loss. The Court of Owls has been manipulating Dick Grayson creating his memory loss, which pushed him away from the Bat-family, and that they are planning to rewrite his memories to make him subservient to them and his great-great grandfather in William Cobb and a Talon help precipitate matters. However, it is the secondary story that suffers as the Nightwings and their vigilante crusade feels underdeveloped and weak, which took space and time from the main narrative.
Ronan Cliquet penciled the trade paperback with the exception of two issues Nightwing #68 which was co-penciled by Travis Moore who also penciled Nightwing Annual #2. The trade paperback’s opening chapter, with artwork from Travis Moore, is the most impressive, as it contains well-designed and detailed depictions of characters and events. Then, Ronan Cliquet takes over for the rest of the collection. Overall, Cliquet's work is well done and looks particularly good in a few places. However, the stylized visuals don't pair well with the intensely grounded and gritty story being told.
All in all, Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy is an above average continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy continues where the previous trade paperback left off collecting seven issues (Nightwing #63–69) of the 2016 on-going series with Nightwing Annual #2 and collects eight interconnected one-issue stories.
Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy is perhaps the best of the "Ric Grayson" era stories, which isn’t that of a high bar to begin with. The central narrative has unique villains with the return of William Cobb as Talon and Dick Grayson evil great-great-grandfather, a compelling conflict, and generally adds to the development of the character in interesting ways. It appears that the Court of Owls are behind Dick Grayson's memory loss and their interest in recruiting Dick Grayson is still as strong as ever. However, the book's subplots are lackluster and generally distract from and weaken a better storyline.
Dan Jurgens penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written mediocrity well. Jurgens has created the main villains behind Dick Grayson's memory loss. The Court of Owls has been manipulating Dick Grayson creating his memory loss, which pushed him away from the Bat-family, and that they are planning to rewrite his memories to make him subservient to them and his great-great grandfather in William Cobb and a Talon help precipitate matters. However, it is the secondary story that suffers as the Nightwings and their vigilante crusade feels underdeveloped and weak, which took space and time from the main narrative.
Ronan Cliquet penciled the trade paperback with the exception of two issues Nightwing #68 which was co-penciled by Travis Moore who also penciled Nightwing Annual #2. The trade paperback’s opening chapter, with artwork from Travis Moore, is the most impressive, as it contains well-designed and detailed depictions of characters and events. Then, Ronan Cliquet takes over for the rest of the collection. Overall, Cliquet's work is well done and looks particularly good in a few places. However, the stylized visuals don't pair well with the intensely grounded and gritty story being told.
All in all, Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy is an above average continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
August 30, 2020
I liked the plot and story, but this volume was way too dramatic. It was like reading a Hindi movie. Jeez.
Bruce behaving like the world’s most petulant boss hurt my brain. He kept going ‘unacceptable’ every time the doctor told him there was no hope. Uh.... you know who says that? Stupid people. I had a boss who used to say that all the time and she was the absolute worst human being. That’s not how I see Bruce.
The parts I liked were when the author drove home the familial love between the characters. Bruce’s confidence that he could save his beloved son was touching, but it lasted one or two pages.
Jurgens has a huge problem writing the first generation League characters, as seen in his Titans run. And he struggles to bring Bruce’s fears and helplessness to the fore.
Instead, the way Bruce and Damien try and remind Ric of his past is... laughable at best. It’s the kind of old-timey stuff that shouldn’t exist in writing any more.
I like how the Owls story was plotted into the curious case of Ric Grayson, but again, it was too dramatic and expository. How can you feel the urgency and gravitas of the situation if you’re cringing at the expository dialogue.
Another major problem with this book was Ric not reaching out to Bruce, Alfred or Barbara after his run in with the Talon. I mean, they are the only family he knows and has, and they were desperate for him to remember them. Why didn’t he go to them for answers? I’m also confused whether Ric remembers his life or not. He has two sets of memories, but that means he has memories, right? So, since Bruce is alive and not dead like in the fake memories, why doesn’t Ric figure out what is real and what isn’t? There’s a lot of bad writing here.
I feel like DC wants Dick and the Owls to have this creepy, scary partnership, yet they’re incapable of writing it well enough. Maybe DC should hire new writers who can make this title innovative and creative.
The art was inconsistent. When it’s Travis Moore, the art is stupendous. Everyone else is too busy and frankly, not pretty enough. This is Dick Grayson, he needs to look gorgeous in every panel, why doesn’t DC just get that.
Bruce behaving like the world’s most petulant boss hurt my brain. He kept going ‘unacceptable’ every time the doctor told him there was no hope. Uh.... you know who says that? Stupid people. I had a boss who used to say that all the time and she was the absolute worst human being. That’s not how I see Bruce.
The parts I liked were when the author drove home the familial love between the characters. Bruce’s confidence that he could save his beloved son was touching, but it lasted one or two pages.
Jurgens has a huge problem writing the first generation League characters, as seen in his Titans run. And he struggles to bring Bruce’s fears and helplessness to the fore.
Instead, the way Bruce and Damien try and remind Ric of his past is... laughable at best. It’s the kind of old-timey stuff that shouldn’t exist in writing any more.
I like how the Owls story was plotted into the curious case of Ric Grayson, but again, it was too dramatic and expository. How can you feel the urgency and gravitas of the situation if you’re cringing at the expository dialogue.
Another major problem with this book was Ric not reaching out to Bruce, Alfred or Barbara after his run in with the Talon. I mean, they are the only family he knows and has, and they were desperate for him to remember them. Why didn’t he go to them for answers? I’m also confused whether Ric remembers his life or not. He has two sets of memories, but that means he has memories, right? So, since Bruce is alive and not dead like in the fake memories, why doesn’t Ric figure out what is real and what isn’t? There’s a lot of bad writing here.
I feel like DC wants Dick and the Owls to have this creepy, scary partnership, yet they’re incapable of writing it well enough. Maybe DC should hire new writers who can make this title innovative and creative.
The art was inconsistent. When it’s Travis Moore, the art is stupendous. Everyone else is too busy and frankly, not pretty enough. This is Dick Grayson, he needs to look gorgeous in every panel, why doesn’t DC just get that.
February 2, 2025
Aside from the first issue, “Richard Grayson” started to feel more like his usual self in this one. The other four Nightwings were a little bit more compelling, too, handling local crises that were a bit more their speed as first responders. Bea showed she’s a fighter too. Reading about Bea here having already read her later arc in Standing at the Edge and last year’s Nightwing annual, it doesn’t quite add up, but I’m obviously not going to hold that against this volume. I’m also compelled to like how the Court of Owls behaves here more than they have in another more recent read of mine, because I’ve made it clear that their involvement in Batman in recent months (late 2024-early 2025) has been extremely underwhelming. They’re always scheming for their own interests, which may at times be international as Dick’s Swiss doctor, but their perceived best interests of Gotham are always at the heart of their motivations. Basically, every aspect worked for me here, even if I wasn’t particularly wowed by any of it. Except Travis Moore’s art, which is always gorgeous when we get a couple pages of it in this volume.
December 28, 2021
The Gray Son Legacy opens with Nightwing Annual #2 (with the prettiest art by Travis Moore). I get why this was included in this volume, but I also would have appreciated it (without the spoilers), or something like it, two volumes ago. :-/
We get the Ric recap here & seeing it now I realize how missed it was in Nightwing, Vol. 8: Knight Terrors.
Anyway, the recap of Batman holding Dick in his arms after he gets shot. Oof, my little heart. (● ´□` )♡
And, OMG, the (new) scene with Damian visiting Dick in the hospital! (● ´□` )♡
Damian: "You failed. Made yourself vulnerable. Took a bullet to the head and now you're in a coma. Father is so consumed with worry that his effectiveness is compromised."
Damian: "He brought you in here in time. Got you the help you need. Time for you to do your part, Grayson."
Damian: "Wake...up."
Damian's obvious worry, masked by his blame, and his tears on the next page... heart-wrenching!
Jurgens did a good job with Annual #2. From the Batfamily insisting his name is "Dick", instead of "the patient", to only have him change his name to Ric...
To Ric having repeat almost word for word the explanation that the doctor gives him for his memory loss (it was either in Vol 8 or 9): "(you) lost bone, blood, brain tissue, and cerebrospinal fluid."
To these emotional pages...
(Look at Bruce's face!!)
And the reveal....
Also, Dick was so mean! He was walking through the Wayne Manor (knowing full well he grew up there, even if he doesn't remember it!), and just dissing everyone without shame!
Dick walks into Mayne Manor: "Spacious. You could park a truck in here."
Bruce: "I suppose that's true. But you certainly enjoyed living here."
Damian: "As I do. Welcome, brother."
Bruce: "This would be a fine place to recover. Why not make it home again?"
Dick: "I know what a true home looks like, Mr. Wayne. This doesn't feel like one. Frankly, it feels more like a mausoleum. Cold. Huge rooms, marble staircases, and gold faucets will do that. What I don't get is the sense of a loving family."
OUCH.
The end of this issue drops a huge ass reveal that the rest of this volume builds on: .
Doctor Hass to Dick: "No one is ever too old to let the best moments of their childhood be their guide."
Oof, what a thing to say to the person who was raised by a man who let the worst moment of his childhood be his guide.
**Beware, open spoilers below this point.**
We saw Talon in issue #62 at the end of Nightwing, Vol. 9: Burnback, and we see him on the cover of this volume, so maybe not so much a spoiler... :)
Talon goes after the Nightwings, because "you do not get...to be him."... Poor Zak! He just got out of the hospital and Talon stabs him a billion times, strings him up, and leaves him hanging to die. Damn if he doesn't have the worst luck out of the 4 Wings. :(
Talon with the help of Dr. Haas hacks Ric's brain to turn him into another Talon. They feed him a whole life's worth of false memories: assassin training & a life serving the Court of Owls instead of his forgotten life with Bruce. :(
This whole plot point of the Court of Owls/Talon waiting for this moment in Dick's life is a bit much IMO. They just were waiting for a moment like this in Dick's life? What if he never got shot? Would they have kept on waiting?
Their whole plan depended on Dick randomly (unconnected to the Court of Owls) getting shot in the head and Bruce Wayne calling in the best doctor in the world to come and treat him (who happens to work for the Court of Owls, very coincidentally)? It's a bit much.
But, there it is. Dick was being manipulated this whole time. :(
Ric was a creation of Dr. Haas and the Court of Owls so they could create Richard Grayson/Talon.
I still don't fully forgive DC for this plot device... It's like when Marvel made Captain America a member of Hydra in Captain America: Steve Rogers, Vol. 1: Hail Hydra. Yes, it was the fault of the Cosmic Cube (Kobic), but it was still shitty.
Same here. "Ric" is the fault of the Court of Owls and it makes sense (if you forgive all the comic-book coincidences), but it was still shitty to read up until now. :(
(In issue #65 Luthor's weird symbol is up in the sky & causes panic. So fine, fine, I'll read Event Leviathan after all this...)
The introduction of Condor Red in issue #67 was interesting & I liked that it broke the Talon hold on Ric. There are some lines Richard Grayson still can't cross. <3
Annoyingly, Ric goes off by himself in the last issue of the volume (#69) to take down the Court of Owls. He's struggling with two sets of fuzzy memories in his noggin fighting for dominance. One is the set of assassin memories implanted by the Court of Owls, the other is a hazy memory of his time as Robin & Nightwing. He (annoying) doesn't reach out to Batman to say "Hey, btw I'm sorry I rejected you. Can you now help me & get one of your magic Leaguer friends to fix me?" Instead, he just has an existential issue where he goes after Dr. Haas to try and deal with it himself. :(
Dr. Haas doesn't make it, but Ric got her magic crystal...so yay! Hopefully, we'll get Dick back soon? <3
The issue ends with a creepy cameo from Joker... And now we're ready for Nightwing, Vol. 11: The Joker War next!
3.5 star volume.
We get the Ric recap here & seeing it now I realize how missed it was in Nightwing, Vol. 8: Knight Terrors.
Anyway, the recap of Batman holding Dick in his arms after he gets shot. Oof, my little heart. (● ´□` )♡
And, OMG, the (new) scene with Damian visiting Dick in the hospital! (● ´□` )♡
Damian: "You failed. Made yourself vulnerable. Took a bullet to the head and now you're in a coma. Father is so consumed with worry that his effectiveness is compromised."
Damian: "He brought you in here in time. Got you the help you need. Time for you to do your part, Grayson."
Damian: "Wake...up."
Damian's obvious worry, masked by his blame, and his tears on the next page... heart-wrenching!
Jurgens did a good job with Annual #2. From the Batfamily insisting his name is "Dick", instead of "the patient", to only have him change his name to Ric...
To Ric having repeat almost word for word the explanation that the doctor gives him for his memory loss (it was either in Vol 8 or 9): "(you) lost bone, blood, brain tissue, and cerebrospinal fluid."
To these emotional pages...
(Look at Bruce's face!!)
And the reveal....
Also, Dick was so mean! He was walking through the Wayne Manor (knowing full well he grew up there, even if he doesn't remember it!), and just dissing everyone without shame!
Dick walks into Mayne Manor: "Spacious. You could park a truck in here."
Bruce: "I suppose that's true. But you certainly enjoyed living here."
Damian: "As I do. Welcome, brother."
Bruce: "This would be a fine place to recover. Why not make it home again?"
Dick: "I know what a true home looks like, Mr. Wayne. This doesn't feel like one. Frankly, it feels more like a mausoleum. Cold. Huge rooms, marble staircases, and gold faucets will do that. What I don't get is the sense of a loving family."
OUCH.
The end of this issue drops a huge ass reveal that the rest of this volume builds on: .
Doctor Hass to Dick: "No one is ever too old to let the best moments of their childhood be their guide."
Oof, what a thing to say to the person who was raised by a man who let the worst moment of his childhood be his guide.
**Beware, open spoilers below this point.**
We saw Talon in issue #62 at the end of Nightwing, Vol. 9: Burnback, and we see him on the cover of this volume, so maybe not so much a spoiler... :)
Talon goes after the Nightwings, because "you do not get...to be him."... Poor Zak! He just got out of the hospital and Talon stabs him a billion times, strings him up, and leaves him hanging to die. Damn if he doesn't have the worst luck out of the 4 Wings. :(
Talon with the help of Dr. Haas hacks Ric's brain to turn him into another Talon. They feed him a whole life's worth of false memories: assassin training & a life serving the Court of Owls instead of his forgotten life with Bruce. :(
This whole plot point of the Court of Owls/Talon waiting for this moment in Dick's life is a bit much IMO. They just were waiting for a moment like this in Dick's life? What if he never got shot? Would they have kept on waiting?
Their whole plan depended on Dick randomly (unconnected to the Court of Owls) getting shot in the head and Bruce Wayne calling in the best doctor in the world to come and treat him (who happens to work for the Court of Owls, very coincidentally)? It's a bit much.
But, there it is. Dick was being manipulated this whole time. :(
Ric was a creation of Dr. Haas and the Court of Owls so they could create Richard Grayson/Talon.
I still don't fully forgive DC for this plot device... It's like when Marvel made Captain America a member of Hydra in Captain America: Steve Rogers, Vol. 1: Hail Hydra. Yes, it was the fault of the Cosmic Cube (Kobic), but it was still shitty.
Same here. "Ric" is the fault of the Court of Owls and it makes sense (if you forgive all the comic-book coincidences), but it was still shitty to read up until now. :(
(In issue #65 Luthor's weird symbol is up in the sky & causes panic. So fine, fine, I'll read Event Leviathan after all this...)
The introduction of Condor Red in issue #67 was interesting & I liked that it broke the Talon hold on Ric. There are some lines Richard Grayson still can't cross. <3
Annoyingly, Ric goes off by himself in the last issue of the volume (#69) to take down the Court of Owls. He's struggling with two sets of fuzzy memories in his noggin fighting for dominance. One is the set of assassin memories implanted by the Court of Owls, the other is a hazy memory of his time as Robin & Nightwing. He (annoying) doesn't reach out to Batman to say "Hey, btw I'm sorry I rejected you. Can you now help me & get one of your magic Leaguer friends to fix me?" Instead, he just has an existential issue where he goes after Dr. Haas to try and deal with it himself. :(
Dr. Haas doesn't make it, but Ric got her magic crystal...so yay! Hopefully, we'll get Dick back soon? <3
The issue ends with a creepy cameo from Joker... And now we're ready for Nightwing, Vol. 11: The Joker War next!
3.5 star volume.
June 16, 2021
Fires and riots in the streets of Bludhaven, but these must be those good riots and fires caused by people who just CARE to darn much, since no one is ever blamed, responsible, or at fault. Also, Dick gets his memory back like you knew he always would since comic writers always lie about everything they claim is such a big event and world changing for realz we mean it this time, but they haven't yet dealt with the fallout from his being an assh*ole to Barbara while slumming about with a hippie side chick.
August 11, 2020
A new Volume of Nightwing starts off action packed, and it's refreshing!
Starting off with a recap of his recovery right after the shooting by KG Beast, we see that the Court of Owls has sunk their claws into Grayson. With a Talon (supposedly his great-grandfather) after him, we see him being brainwashed and set as an assassin after The Nightwings. Despite his "dual-minded nature" now (having to fight both sides for which one is "right"), he is able to accept a huge portion of his memories as Dick Grayson and the history of the character we know well.
We end with two cliffhangers: 1) Grayson saves his therapist, even though she is a horrible brainwashing Owl, but he seems to still need to decide who he really is. 2) Joker watches the news and discovers that The Nightwings are operating, and he is offended. That crazy man always had a thing for the Bat-Family.
A great step in the right direction for the title. Recommend.
(Also, if you've been avoiding the title for a while, this is a good place to restart.)
Starting off with a recap of his recovery right after the shooting by KG Beast, we see that the Court of Owls has sunk their claws into Grayson. With a Talon (supposedly his great-grandfather) after him, we see him being brainwashed and set as an assassin after The Nightwings. Despite his "dual-minded nature" now (having to fight both sides for which one is "right"), he is able to accept a huge portion of his memories as Dick Grayson and the history of the character we know well.
We end with two cliffhangers: 1) Grayson saves his therapist, even though she is a horrible brainwashing Owl, but he seems to still need to decide who he really is. 2) Joker watches the news and discovers that The Nightwings are operating, and he is offended. That crazy man always had a thing for the Bat-Family.
A great step in the right direction for the title. Recommend.
(Also, if you've been avoiding the title for a while, this is a good place to restart.)
June 2, 2020
Being able to understand why a character sucks is small compensation to tolerate that your character sucks. The amnesia thing has been dumb from the get go, and this long game explanation did very little to salve my emotional wounds. This character has been around for too long to be treated like this.
February 1, 2021
Hmmm okay weird, so somehow Dick's Great Grandfather is still alive and the reason for all this memory wirr-warr that made Dick forget he's Nightwing (and make him not want to be a hero/vigilante and so on)... Seems kind of far fetched to me, but anyways I hope this means that now we will soon see our old Dick Grayson back again, the way that we know him?
![Profile Image for Amanda [Novel Addiction].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1415744673i%2F4886503._UX200_CR0%2C36%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
September 8, 2020
I know it's his coat, or whatever, but this cover makes him look like he has elf ears.
May 15, 2022
This seemingly wrapped up the Nightwing-Talon storyline. It wasn't bad, but I'm not a big fan of retconning and that's what this felt like. Still entertaining, and at least it felt different.
November 5, 2025
I'm glad to see that we are all emerging from Ric's performance together 🤣👍. This was definitely a good call to shift further away from Ric to return to our lovable Dick Grayson.
Our plot begins with Ric sitting in his neuropsychologist' Dr. Hass's office, discussing elements of his past, including the last few events that he can trace. We, as the audience, catch a glimpse of the assassination attempt made by KGBeast that left Nightwing bleeding on the G.C.P.D. rooftop while Gordon called for help & Batman prepared to bring Nightwing to the hospital. Ric recalls that the whole incident is hazy but is encouraged to move past the event and lean further into his past.
R retells a story from his past about one of the many proformance he did with his parents and how his mother, Mary, encouraged him as a child. Ric then asks his mother if there will be anything special planned for Thanksgiving in Gotham with the circus, and just as she is about to break the news, in walks John Grayson with two older relatives, great uncle Landon & great aunt Judith. John lights up in excitement as he believes he is the last of the bloodline, while Dick is excited to meet new relatives who praise him for his natural-born talents as a young acrobat. It is then that the great-relatives introduce the Grayson family to their Thanksgiving dinner. We then proceed to see the happy family dining together and a grateful John & Mary Grayson thanking their family for giving their son a traditional family Thanksgiving, which is often hard for them to do while performing in the circus. After dinner, Dick is encouraged to go play in the children's playhouse belonging to their daughter from when she was a young girl, where he stumbles upon a book titled "The very friendly owl." At the end of the night, when the family says their goodbyes, Dick asks if they could visit again, to which the relative replies they would gladly welcome their family next year's Thanksgiving. Dick then asks if he can keep the book he found, to which Judith denies ,claiming the book is to be saved for her daughter, who wishes to pass it on to her future children. Dick accepts and gets into a cab with his parents recalling how the following year, they were killed in an acrobatics incident.
Dr. Hass then implores Dick to recall what he remembered post waking up from surgery, to which Dick recalls a voice encouraging him to wake up. We gain inside privy to witness Damien dressed as Robin, standing on Dick's bed demanding for Dick to wake up, claiming that the battle towards recovery lies in his hands now as their father has done all he can. Damien then disappears into the night, distraught by what he had witnessed. In the following scene we see Batman & Robin regroup on the rooftop where Bruce tells his son that he tracked down KGBeast before the two emerge in the hospital in regular clothes to greet Alfred & Barbara who were waiting for any change in Dick's response. Bruce then reveals that he hired the best neurologist from Switzerland to monitor Dick's progress and hopefully improve his current condition. Upon a brief meeting with the concerned family and friends, Dr. Hass advises that Dick's memory may be altered. What follows is a major shock from the Batfamily when Dick awakens and claims to not know who anyone is in the room. Bruce reacts in disbelief but then asks if everyone can leave, believing it was a ploy, but once everyone is gone, Dick confirms that he doesn't know who he is. A now heartbroken Bruce leaves the room and threatens/pleads to Dr. Hass to fix his son, to which she responds that she will continue treatment but doesn't know if Dick will ever retain his memory.
Months go by, and progress seems to be limited, but Dr. Hass encourages Dick to visit his supportive family in Wayne Manor to hopefully be prompted by the familiar environment to recall parts of his past. Dick begrudgingly agrees despite not feeling comfortable with the whole situation and is greeted by Bruce and Damien before being walked around the Manor. Dick finds the environment to be sterile, then is later brought down to the cave where he is greeted by Batman & Robin, who both try to explain his lapse in memory by replaying the video of Dick being shot by KGBeast. Dick becomes emotionally distraught and then flees the Manor, claiming not to know anyone and finding the whole ordeal to be one traumatizing joke. Dr. Hass returns with him to the hospital with Bruce's final words stating that Dick's progress in her care is unacceptable.
We then return to Dr. Hass's office, who releases Dick/Ric to the public and encourages him to leave for Blüdehaven as Gotham is Bruce's home base, and he will want to continue reconnecting Ric is then given the book he recalled as a child by the Dr. claiming to have owned the same copy as a kid before turning him loose and allowing a path for Dick to disappear.
We now cut to modern days as the four Nightwings are stopping a robbery or one of many as Blüdhaven has been under attack since the rolling blackouts emerged in summer. Zak & Ric end up stopping at the museum robbery, and then Ric takes off for the night as the rest of the Nightwings appear. The next day, Ric sets up his cab and begins his daily ride on the road as a cab driver when he picks up an awfully stocked customer, William Cobb, who is heading to the town hall. Cobb asks Ric a lot of invasive personal questions that he shoves off and answers nonchalantly.
Later that night, Ric stops off at Bea's bar and takes a nap before setting out to save some lives as a Nightwing adjacent vigilante. Bea warns him to be careful before opening up the bar briefly to Tiny. Everything takes a turn for the worse when Talon appears on Zak's rooftop. The two briefly engage in battle before Zak is badly beaten, called a fraud, and then left hanging from the side of the building. The Nightwings receive his distress signal and manage to get Zak's medical attention while Ric goes to investigate with Hutch and Sap when he gets a distressing phone call from Bea altering his plans.
Meanwhile, Bea serves one final customer named William Cobb, who claims to have been left high & dry at his hotel that closed early as he seeks a drink. When a hoard of people barge in, threatening to take over the bar, Cobb's suddenly disappears, and Talon emerges. Talon saves Bea's life while killing many people in the process. At the bar, Ric discovers that Bea has been kidnapped but traces her back to the roof, where he encounters Talon. Talon explains that he is Ric's great-grandfather and how he has been monitoring Ric's progress for years since being under Batman's protective guidance. Ric doesn't recall anything that happened but fights Talon with vigor regardless. That is until he fails, and Talon places Googles over Ric's eyes set to reprogram his memories that would place Williams at the center of Ric's life. Bea tries to intervene but is reminded by Talon that she could be killed by him at any time. Upon the initiative of the sequence, Ric begins to have his memories erased and replaced by the Court of Owls, all led by Dr. Hass.
When Ric's programming is completed, he awakens as a fully trained Court of Owls' Assassin. William gives Ric his mission to track and kill the Nightwing. Ric sets off to do so now dawning a new Talon official outfit, but Bea remains skeptical. Meanwhile, down below in an alleyway, Hutch, Sap, & Colleen encounter a dangerous assault of blades as the news Ric Grayson Talon gives them hell to pay. Ric easily overpowers the team, and just as he is about to pull out a dagger to kill Sap, a costumed falcon-like man appears out of nowhere to stop him. The man named Condor Red carries Ric to a nearby bridge and then drops him to have the Talon fall to his demise. However, Ric holds on, and it isn't long before the two engage in battle before Ric destroys all defenses in the suit, leaving the man to beg for his life. Bea silently roots for Ric to wake up as he lies still with a dagger in hand, ready to kill once more, until Ric is awakened by a flood of memories. His head is split between two different versions of himself, but Ric rises up to fight Talon, who is holding on so strongly to the idea of Ric doing the Owls bidding. A brief fight emerges, but Ric gains the upper hand and pushes Talon off of the bridge before he falls into the water as Ric is pulled to safety by Hutch. Bea & Ric reunite and then take off to discuss all that hasand happened.
On a nearby rooftop, Bea asks Ric what he recalls and where they are with their relationship. Ric explains that he now has two distinct lives and memories as both Ric & Dick Grayson. Bea becomes disheartened, believing that Ric will want to naturally return to his life with his past family and love with Barbara, but Ric says that he wants to remain with Bea as his girlfriend. Ric reassures Bea that nothing needs to change and that he still loves her deeply. The two kisses on the rooftop as our closing scene before our final capture.
Our last arc begins with a news story on the Nightwings with Blüdhaven singing their praises for all the work done during the rolling blackouts while also speculating who they might be. In the next scene, we see Ric in a new tactical costume infiltrating a castle in Zurich, Switzerland. After a brief interaction with a few guards, Ric manages to locate Dr. Hass, who is guarded by fellow Talons, is now wearing owl masks. Ric asks her why and how she could do this to him by separating his mind from his memories, leaving him with false/half-truths. Dr. Hass explains that it was always her intention to bring Ric home to the Court as their prized assassin and then show him a crystal that made him susceptible. Nearby, a clock ticks down and detonates, leaving the castle flooding with water as Ric tries to save the Dr. but fails and is left only holding the crystal. In our final scene, we see the Joker, who is to make things right and kill the frauds who have been impersonating Nightwing,g, for he knows who the real Nightwing is.
Wow, this was quite an epic adventure filled, with a lot of twists and turns. An excellent way to cap off the Ric Grayson era and lean into the grand reveal of Joker War. Overall, I enjoyed what this plot set out to accomplish particularly with the opening scene that delved into Dick Grayson's childhood and perfectly expressed the mixed emotions that both Richard (the newfound TBI amnesia patient was experiencing) as well as Bruce (the grieving bargaining father figure who wanted his son to return whole). The tie-in with the Court of the Owls is expertly done with just the right amount of motive by William Cobb. However, my only regret was the lackluster wrap-up of Talon's demise and how we failed to see more of an influence between Lex Luthor/Brainiac and Talon teaming up to capture Grayson. I really like the way that Dick was triggered to awaken by being confronted with the demand to kill an innocent man. It speaks to his character and the indepth teaching from his father figure Bruce Wayne 😏👍. All in all, it was a rather entertaining arc, so I'll give it 8.2/10 🌟. I'm looking forward to reading the Joker War tie-in for Nightwing 😁💙📚.
Our plot begins with Ric sitting in his neuropsychologist' Dr. Hass's office, discussing elements of his past, including the last few events that he can trace. We, as the audience, catch a glimpse of the assassination attempt made by KGBeast that left Nightwing bleeding on the G.C.P.D. rooftop while Gordon called for help & Batman prepared to bring Nightwing to the hospital. Ric recalls that the whole incident is hazy but is encouraged to move past the event and lean further into his past.
R retells a story from his past about one of the many proformance he did with his parents and how his mother, Mary, encouraged him as a child. Ric then asks his mother if there will be anything special planned for Thanksgiving in Gotham with the circus, and just as she is about to break the news, in walks John Grayson with two older relatives, great uncle Landon & great aunt Judith. John lights up in excitement as he believes he is the last of the bloodline, while Dick is excited to meet new relatives who praise him for his natural-born talents as a young acrobat. It is then that the great-relatives introduce the Grayson family to their Thanksgiving dinner. We then proceed to see the happy family dining together and a grateful John & Mary Grayson thanking their family for giving their son a traditional family Thanksgiving, which is often hard for them to do while performing in the circus. After dinner, Dick is encouraged to go play in the children's playhouse belonging to their daughter from when she was a young girl, where he stumbles upon a book titled "The very friendly owl." At the end of the night, when the family says their goodbyes, Dick asks if they could visit again, to which the relative replies they would gladly welcome their family next year's Thanksgiving. Dick then asks if he can keep the book he found, to which Judith denies ,claiming the book is to be saved for her daughter, who wishes to pass it on to her future children. Dick accepts and gets into a cab with his parents recalling how the following year, they were killed in an acrobatics incident.
Dr. Hass then implores Dick to recall what he remembered post waking up from surgery, to which Dick recalls a voice encouraging him to wake up. We gain inside privy to witness Damien dressed as Robin, standing on Dick's bed demanding for Dick to wake up, claiming that the battle towards recovery lies in his hands now as their father has done all he can. Damien then disappears into the night, distraught by what he had witnessed. In the following scene we see Batman & Robin regroup on the rooftop where Bruce tells his son that he tracked down KGBeast before the two emerge in the hospital in regular clothes to greet Alfred & Barbara who were waiting for any change in Dick's response. Bruce then reveals that he hired the best neurologist from Switzerland to monitor Dick's progress and hopefully improve his current condition. Upon a brief meeting with the concerned family and friends, Dr. Hass advises that Dick's memory may be altered. What follows is a major shock from the Batfamily when Dick awakens and claims to not know who anyone is in the room. Bruce reacts in disbelief but then asks if everyone can leave, believing it was a ploy, but once everyone is gone, Dick confirms that he doesn't know who he is. A now heartbroken Bruce leaves the room and threatens/pleads to Dr. Hass to fix his son, to which she responds that she will continue treatment but doesn't know if Dick will ever retain his memory.
Months go by, and progress seems to be limited, but Dr. Hass encourages Dick to visit his supportive family in Wayne Manor to hopefully be prompted by the familiar environment to recall parts of his past. Dick begrudgingly agrees despite not feeling comfortable with the whole situation and is greeted by Bruce and Damien before being walked around the Manor. Dick finds the environment to be sterile, then is later brought down to the cave where he is greeted by Batman & Robin, who both try to explain his lapse in memory by replaying the video of Dick being shot by KGBeast. Dick becomes emotionally distraught and then flees the Manor, claiming not to know anyone and finding the whole ordeal to be one traumatizing joke. Dr. Hass returns with him to the hospital with Bruce's final words stating that Dick's progress in her care is unacceptable.
We then return to Dr. Hass's office, who releases Dick/Ric to the public and encourages him to leave for Blüdehaven as Gotham is Bruce's home base, and he will want to continue reconnecting Ric is then given the book he recalled as a child by the Dr. claiming to have owned the same copy as a kid before turning him loose and allowing a path for Dick to disappear.
We now cut to modern days as the four Nightwings are stopping a robbery or one of many as Blüdhaven has been under attack since the rolling blackouts emerged in summer. Zak & Ric end up stopping at the museum robbery, and then Ric takes off for the night as the rest of the Nightwings appear. The next day, Ric sets up his cab and begins his daily ride on the road as a cab driver when he picks up an awfully stocked customer, William Cobb, who is heading to the town hall. Cobb asks Ric a lot of invasive personal questions that he shoves off and answers nonchalantly.
Later that night, Ric stops off at Bea's bar and takes a nap before setting out to save some lives as a Nightwing adjacent vigilante. Bea warns him to be careful before opening up the bar briefly to Tiny. Everything takes a turn for the worse when Talon appears on Zak's rooftop. The two briefly engage in battle before Zak is badly beaten, called a fraud, and then left hanging from the side of the building. The Nightwings receive his distress signal and manage to get Zak's medical attention while Ric goes to investigate with Hutch and Sap when he gets a distressing phone call from Bea altering his plans.
Meanwhile, Bea serves one final customer named William Cobb, who claims to have been left high & dry at his hotel that closed early as he seeks a drink. When a hoard of people barge in, threatening to take over the bar, Cobb's suddenly disappears, and Talon emerges. Talon saves Bea's life while killing many people in the process. At the bar, Ric discovers that Bea has been kidnapped but traces her back to the roof, where he encounters Talon. Talon explains that he is Ric's great-grandfather and how he has been monitoring Ric's progress for years since being under Batman's protective guidance. Ric doesn't recall anything that happened but fights Talon with vigor regardless. That is until he fails, and Talon places Googles over Ric's eyes set to reprogram his memories that would place Williams at the center of Ric's life. Bea tries to intervene but is reminded by Talon that she could be killed by him at any time. Upon the initiative of the sequence, Ric begins to have his memories erased and replaced by the Court of Owls, all led by Dr. Hass.
When Ric's programming is completed, he awakens as a fully trained Court of Owls' Assassin. William gives Ric his mission to track and kill the Nightwing. Ric sets off to do so now dawning a new Talon official outfit, but Bea remains skeptical. Meanwhile, down below in an alleyway, Hutch, Sap, & Colleen encounter a dangerous assault of blades as the news Ric Grayson Talon gives them hell to pay. Ric easily overpowers the team, and just as he is about to pull out a dagger to kill Sap, a costumed falcon-like man appears out of nowhere to stop him. The man named Condor Red carries Ric to a nearby bridge and then drops him to have the Talon fall to his demise. However, Ric holds on, and it isn't long before the two engage in battle before Ric destroys all defenses in the suit, leaving the man to beg for his life. Bea silently roots for Ric to wake up as he lies still with a dagger in hand, ready to kill once more, until Ric is awakened by a flood of memories. His head is split between two different versions of himself, but Ric rises up to fight Talon, who is holding on so strongly to the idea of Ric doing the Owls bidding. A brief fight emerges, but Ric gains the upper hand and pushes Talon off of the bridge before he falls into the water as Ric is pulled to safety by Hutch. Bea & Ric reunite and then take off to discuss all that hasand happened.
On a nearby rooftop, Bea asks Ric what he recalls and where they are with their relationship. Ric explains that he now has two distinct lives and memories as both Ric & Dick Grayson. Bea becomes disheartened, believing that Ric will want to naturally return to his life with his past family and love with Barbara, but Ric says that he wants to remain with Bea as his girlfriend. Ric reassures Bea that nothing needs to change and that he still loves her deeply. The two kisses on the rooftop as our closing scene before our final capture.
Our last arc begins with a news story on the Nightwings with Blüdhaven singing their praises for all the work done during the rolling blackouts while also speculating who they might be. In the next scene, we see Ric in a new tactical costume infiltrating a castle in Zurich, Switzerland. After a brief interaction with a few guards, Ric manages to locate Dr. Hass, who is guarded by fellow Talons, is now wearing owl masks. Ric asks her why and how she could do this to him by separating his mind from his memories, leaving him with false/half-truths. Dr. Hass explains that it was always her intention to bring Ric home to the Court as their prized assassin and then show him a crystal that made him susceptible. Nearby, a clock ticks down and detonates, leaving the castle flooding with water as Ric tries to save the Dr. but fails and is left only holding the crystal. In our final scene, we see the Joker, who is to make things right and kill the frauds who have been impersonating Nightwing,g, for he knows who the real Nightwing is.
Wow, this was quite an epic adventure filled, with a lot of twists and turns. An excellent way to cap off the Ric Grayson era and lean into the grand reveal of Joker War. Overall, I enjoyed what this plot set out to accomplish particularly with the opening scene that delved into Dick Grayson's childhood and perfectly expressed the mixed emotions that both Richard (the newfound TBI amnesia patient was experiencing) as well as Bruce (the grieving bargaining father figure who wanted his son to return whole). The tie-in with the Court of the Owls is expertly done with just the right amount of motive by William Cobb. However, my only regret was the lackluster wrap-up of Talon's demise and how we failed to see more of an influence between Lex Luthor/Brainiac and Talon teaming up to capture Grayson. I really like the way that Dick was triggered to awaken by being confronted with the demand to kill an innocent man. It speaks to his character and the indepth teaching from his father figure Bruce Wayne 😏👍. All in all, it was a rather entertaining arc, so I'll give it 8.2/10 🌟. I'm looking forward to reading the Joker War tie-in for Nightwing 😁💙📚.
July 9, 2020
The Ric Grayson saga has been awesome so far, this volume was a bit of a mess.
So it starts off with recapping everything that's just happened, Ric losing his memory. The Bat family talking to him, just for him to explain he doesn't know them, it kind of drags. Then you have a psychiatrist introduced, she's supposed to have be there from the very beginning, treating Ric right after the accident. However if you've been reading this you'll know the first psychiatrist to help Ric was Jonathan Crane, so it breaks breaks continuity.
The bulk of this, well the middle portion is about the court of owls trying to convert Ric into one of their own. We got a glimpse of this last volume with Lex talking to Talon, now I liked all the recruiting bit and the fights, even the love interest. Where it falls apart is the mind control device, they use on Ric to make him don the mantle of a Talon. Great idea but they use three different things to control his mind, really? You couldn't settle on one, it just makes it convoluted. The whole court of owls bit rubbed me the wrong way, they state that everything was planned. Even though Dick getting shot in the head was a random, it's like being pooed on by a bird, only to say you planned for it to happen. It's just so left field, that no one could possibly think of that.
Now I had to actually check this was all written by the same person, and yes it was all written by Dan Jurgens. I don't understand how it turned into such a mess, when only one guy was writing it. Now I'm not a writing but if I was telling this story. I would have had the Talon acting independently, with the mind control goggles provided by Lex. Thus cutting out all the messy bits provided by the court. They just serve no purpose in the story apart a plot device, plus a lot of them where killed in the new 52. So it's not that far fetched that Talon was acting alone.
There just so many things in this that breaks the narrative, that's been set up before. It even ends with a slap in the face where Ric says, Ric Grayson is evil and Dick Grayson is good. They're the same person, it's like saying Bruce Wayne is evil but Batman is good, it makes no damn sense.
So it starts off with recapping everything that's just happened, Ric losing his memory. The Bat family talking to him, just for him to explain he doesn't know them, it kind of drags. Then you have a psychiatrist introduced, she's supposed to have be there from the very beginning, treating Ric right after the accident. However if you've been reading this you'll know the first psychiatrist to help Ric was Jonathan Crane, so it breaks breaks continuity.
The bulk of this, well the middle portion is about the court of owls trying to convert Ric into one of their own. We got a glimpse of this last volume with Lex talking to Talon, now I liked all the recruiting bit and the fights, even the love interest. Where it falls apart is the mind control device, they use on Ric to make him don the mantle of a Talon. Great idea but they use three different things to control his mind, really? You couldn't settle on one, it just makes it convoluted. The whole court of owls bit rubbed me the wrong way, they state that everything was planned. Even though Dick getting shot in the head was a random, it's like being pooed on by a bird, only to say you planned for it to happen. It's just so left field, that no one could possibly think of that.
Now I had to actually check this was all written by the same person, and yes it was all written by Dan Jurgens. I don't understand how it turned into such a mess, when only one guy was writing it. Now I'm not a writing but if I was telling this story. I would have had the Talon acting independently, with the mind control goggles provided by Lex. Thus cutting out all the messy bits provided by the court. They just serve no purpose in the story apart a plot device, plus a lot of them where killed in the new 52. So it's not that far fetched that Talon was acting alone.
There just so many things in this that breaks the narrative, that's been set up before. It even ends with a slap in the face where Ric says, Ric Grayson is evil and Dick Grayson is good. They're the same person, it's like saying Bruce Wayne is evil but Batman is good, it makes no damn sense.
July 24, 2020
I have already read the issues in this volume (as individual issues when they were released). And while I do think some issues are better than others, overall, I enjoyed this arc. I'm a sucker for anything Court of Owls related and seeing it and Talon (William Cobb) make a return was something I liked. This volume gives us a reason as to why Dick isn't remembering anything and why he doesn't want to. As well as how Talon plans to integrate his great grandson into the role of Talon. While some people may take issue with it, I thought it made sense. It at least gave us an explanation for Dick's disinterest in remembering his time with Bruce along with his tenure as Robin and his time as Nightwing.
I do have one little nitpick. It kind of relates to the conclusion of this arc as well as going forward, which does have a bit of a spoiler.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the Gray Son Legacy.
I do have one little nitpick. It kind of relates to the conclusion of this arc as well as going forward, which does have a bit of a spoiler.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the Gray Son Legacy.
July 24, 2021
I stopped reading Nightwing after he got shot and lost his memories because I heard how bad the Ric stories were. After reading Joker War and the Nightwing tie-ins and seeing the story line of Ric finally ending, I am now working my way backwards in reading the volumes. I have not read issues 50-62 yet. I wasn't going to wait 2 years for Dick to go back to normal and possible rage after each issue or volume I read.
With that said, this volume is good. In the beginning it was easy to pick up who these people were and since I read Joker War, I know what Bea means to Ric. We get to see the events of what happened after Nightwing was shot. We get to see people's reaction to it like Bruce, Damien, Barbara, and Alfred's. I enjoyed the hospital scenes and seeing how hard it was for Bruce to see the aftermath of Dick losing the memories of him and everybody around him.
We find out more about Dick as a young child, how he's been since his memories have not returned. We even learn in this issue, why his memories did not come back. We see the owls again, especially Talon, Dick's Great-Great Grandfather. I enjoyed Dick and Talon's interactions.
I liked the story and the art was great. It did include a little bit of the Year of the Villain event.
Time to read the previous volumes, which I've heard are not great. But I like to find out for myself since I don't always agree with people's opinions. The great thing about this volumes is I get to read about 7 months worth of single issues at a time.
Overall, for a Ric story, I liked it. At the end is a little tease for the start of Joker War.
With that said, this volume is good. In the beginning it was easy to pick up who these people were and since I read Joker War, I know what Bea means to Ric. We get to see the events of what happened after Nightwing was shot. We get to see people's reaction to it like Bruce, Damien, Barbara, and Alfred's. I enjoyed the hospital scenes and seeing how hard it was for Bruce to see the aftermath of Dick losing the memories of him and everybody around him.
We find out more about Dick as a young child, how he's been since his memories have not returned. We even learn in this issue, why his memories did not come back. We see the owls again, especially Talon, Dick's Great-Great Grandfather. I enjoyed Dick and Talon's interactions.
I liked the story and the art was great. It did include a little bit of the Year of the Villain event.
Time to read the previous volumes, which I've heard are not great. But I like to find out for myself since I don't always agree with people's opinions. The great thing about this volumes is I get to read about 7 months worth of single issues at a time.
Overall, for a Ric story, I liked it. At the end is a little tease for the start of Joker War.
February 1, 2023
I really liked this, it tied the whole Ric storyline together very neatly so it all had a logic which it seemed to lack a little up until this point.
I like Ric/Dick struggling with who he is and was and who the various parties want him to be and above all how he is certain he wants to be who HE wants to be. It's all surprisingly well written and relatively nuanced for the level comics are mostly aimed at.
That all being said I'm a little disappointed it was all driven by the Court, it makes sense and I'm sure some will love it but I think it leaves too easy an "out" whereas his trauma can be conveniently forgotten about at some point in the future when the final switch is flicked. Such a simple solution would, I feel, betray a relatively deep arc.
All said and done though, a very good addition to the series.
I like Ric/Dick struggling with who he is and was and who the various parties want him to be and above all how he is certain he wants to be who HE wants to be. It's all surprisingly well written and relatively nuanced for the level comics are mostly aimed at.
That all being said I'm a little disappointed it was all driven by the Court, it makes sense and I'm sure some will love it but I think it leaves too easy an "out" whereas his trauma can be conveniently forgotten about at some point in the future when the final switch is flicked. Such a simple solution would, I feel, betray a relatively deep arc.
All said and done though, a very good addition to the series.
July 18, 2020
I stuck with this whole Ric Grayson thing for longer than I probably should have.
The writing, by Dan Jurgens, and the art, mostly by Ronan Cliquet, are both pretty good here. This is certainly a competently told story, and I did enjoy reading it. But I'm kind of tired of the direction that this book has gone in. It's not the fault of this writer or artist. There have been some good moments in this book. But I think I'm done with it for now.
The writing, by Dan Jurgens, and the art, mostly by Ronan Cliquet, are both pretty good here. This is certainly a competently told story, and I did enjoy reading it. But I'm kind of tired of the direction that this book has gone in. It's not the fault of this writer or artist. There have been some good moments in this book. But I think I'm done with it for now.
November 29, 2020
If the last volume was exploring fandom around a character, this volume is exploring the line between gaslighting and retconning that fans must endure with comics, specifically how New 52 was handled and the mental gymnastics involved in creating head cannons to maintain sanity while reading certain DC comics.
This is much better than any of the previous volumes, but perhaps only because those were so terrible that I can no longer tell what is good in Nightwing's world?
This is consistently written and feels like a '90s comic both in the goofy one note brush it paints the looters and denizens of the city with and in the art that is a bit stripped down toward cartoonish.
This is much better than any of the previous volumes, but perhaps only because those were so terrible that I can no longer tell what is good in Nightwing's world?
This is consistently written and feels like a '90s comic both in the goofy one note brush it paints the looters and denizens of the city with and in the art that is a bit stripped down toward cartoonish.
February 12, 2023
So, the Ric run is basically the Raptor/Mary Grayson storyline from Tim Seeley, et al. except with more trash.
Someone connected to Dick’s parents (dad’s side this time) tries to convince him that his upbringing with Bruce was all wrong and will go to extremes to unleash Dick’s true potential.
Ric/Dick has an existential crisis, so he rejects his Bat family so he can figure it out on his own.
Barbara gets the brunt of his flaky behavior/angst but graciously lets him go his own way.
He moves to Bludhaven and barely gets by, but can’t seem to stop helping people.
He finds a girlfriend with a heart of gold who he’s bound to leave after she’s put up with his broke ass.
He connects to someone on the police force who isn’t sure about him but eventually agrees to work with him.
He attaches himself to a scrappy team of vigilantes who need his guidance.
Anyway. The Ric run continues to hurt...and does not make sense. Dick's memories in the hospital and recovery just...ouch. Also, DC, stop allowing writers to refer to adoptive families as "less real" than biological ones. It's harmful. I also don't understand why Ric refers to Barbara as "the redhead" in his private thoughts after the two parted cordially during Knight Terrors. She acknowledged how her attempts to help him restore his memories put pressure on him and apologized for the harm it caused, essentially giving him her blessing to do his own thing without further interference. Barbara and redhead literally have the same amount of letters and syllables, so why refuse to use her name? It’s not easier. It makes him come across as a major asshole — to the extent that I, a dedicated Dick/Babs shipper, actually felt HAPPY when Jason Bard turned up in Old Enemies.
On the more significant end of senselessness, William Cobb and the Court have been tracking Dick since birth. They’ve waited in the wings for someone like KGBeast to take a shot at Dick so they could finally put those goggles to good use and turn Dick into a Talon…that was a better use of their time than just having Cobb turn up to claim Richard as next of kin after the murder of his parents? I get they weren’t going to totally change Dick’s origin story in order to do that, but then come up with a plot that doesn’t resemble swiss cheese then.
Also, how did Cobb have a son who had a son who had a son…and they were all Graysons instead of Cobbs? That is never explained. And even if Haas gave Dick new memories, such as killing Batman or that his parents were shot…what did they think would happen as soon as he encountered an alive Bruce Wayne…? Or the internet? He has two sets of memories but the correct one is easily verifiable with a keyword search and a drive around Gotham. Babs called him a Luddite before but this just…come on.
On the more ridiculous nitpicking end, Mary Grayson wore a spaghetti strap dress to a Thanksgiving dinner in New England? Artist, please give that poor woman a cardigan, at least. Women characters deserve clothes appropriate to the climate.
Someone connected to Dick’s parents (dad’s side this time) tries to convince him that his upbringing with Bruce was all wrong and will go to extremes to unleash Dick’s true potential.
Ric/Dick has an existential crisis, so he rejects his Bat family so he can figure it out on his own.
Barbara gets the brunt of his flaky behavior/angst but graciously lets him go his own way.
He moves to Bludhaven and barely gets by, but can’t seem to stop helping people.
He finds a girlfriend with a heart of gold who he’s bound to leave after she’s put up with his broke ass.
He connects to someone on the police force who isn’t sure about him but eventually agrees to work with him.
He attaches himself to a scrappy team of vigilantes who need his guidance.
Anyway. The Ric run continues to hurt...and does not make sense. Dick's memories in the hospital and recovery just...ouch. Also, DC, stop allowing writers to refer to adoptive families as "less real" than biological ones. It's harmful. I also don't understand why Ric refers to Barbara as "the redhead" in his private thoughts after the two parted cordially during Knight Terrors. She acknowledged how her attempts to help him restore his memories put pressure on him and apologized for the harm it caused, essentially giving him her blessing to do his own thing without further interference. Barbara and redhead literally have the same amount of letters and syllables, so why refuse to use her name? It’s not easier. It makes him come across as a major asshole — to the extent that I, a dedicated Dick/Babs shipper, actually felt HAPPY when Jason Bard turned up in Old Enemies.
On the more significant end of senselessness, William Cobb and the Court have been tracking Dick since birth. They’ve waited in the wings for someone like KGBeast to take a shot at Dick so they could finally put those goggles to good use and turn Dick into a Talon…that was a better use of their time than just having Cobb turn up to claim Richard as next of kin after the murder of his parents? I get they weren’t going to totally change Dick’s origin story in order to do that, but then come up with a plot that doesn’t resemble swiss cheese then.
Also, how did Cobb have a son who had a son who had a son…and they were all Graysons instead of Cobbs? That is never explained. And even if Haas gave Dick new memories, such as killing Batman or that his parents were shot…what did they think would happen as soon as he encountered an alive Bruce Wayne…? Or the internet? He has two sets of memories but the correct one is easily verifiable with a keyword search and a drive around Gotham. Babs called him a Luddite before but this just…come on.
On the more ridiculous nitpicking end, Mary Grayson wore a spaghetti strap dress to a Thanksgiving dinner in New England? Artist, please give that poor woman a cardigan, at least. Women characters deserve clothes appropriate to the climate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2023
I don't know if this was a retroactive justification for the absurdities of Grayson's amnesia or was intended from the start, but finally we've got some explanation for the illogicality of it and it does actually make things a little better. This volume also starts to ret-con Dick back to his old self, while also integrating the Nightwings and Bea and putting him up against Talon and Court of Owls. And all of it works better than it probably should. Although Talon's dialog is cringe-inducing, the restoration of some of Dick's memories (even as they conflict with a 'new' set he received) is an interesting idea that gets a little exploration.
This is apparently part of a crossover event, although whatever that event is gets only brief mentions and isn't required reading to understand most of what happens here.
Ultimately, this book takes strides to return Dick to his original (better) self, while still holding on to some of the better pieces of the 'new direction.' Not enough to justify the detour, but it at least hints at better books to come.
This is apparently part of a crossover event, although whatever that event is gets only brief mentions and isn't required reading to understand most of what happens here.
Ultimately, this book takes strides to return Dick to his original (better) self, while still holding on to some of the better pieces of the 'new direction.' Not enough to justify the detour, but it at least hints at better books to come.
December 11, 2022
Dan Jurgens is clearly a much better fit for the title than Lobdell was because this time round it wasn’t too bad.
William Cobb returns to recruit Ric to the Court of Owls and it turns out Grayson’s amnesia has all been a plot by the Court of Owls. It’s an interesting reframing that gives this whole saga more value.
Ric is still a useless stand in of a main character and it’s far from high quality but it is a big step up.
William Cobb returns to recruit Ric to the Court of Owls and it turns out Grayson’s amnesia has all been a plot by the Court of Owls. It’s an interesting reframing that gives this whole saga more value.
Ric is still a useless stand in of a main character and it’s far from high quality but it is a big step up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 15, 2021Talon was a nice surprise, although, I couldn't tell if this was a last minute save by Jurgens to wrap up this storyline, or if this was actually what had been planned in this arc all along. Can't really evaluate this one all that much because wow was I just waiting for Nightwing to come back.
P.s. Travis G. Moore, the way you draw everyone,,, absolute king, thank you for your service.
P.s. Travis G. Moore, the way you draw everyone,,, absolute king, thank you for your service.
November 22, 2021
Typical these days - nothing is really resolved, the hero is KEPT largely in the soup, it's a soap opera strip with superhero costumes. Which would be fine, really, but that's not WHY I used to read Nightwing. C'mon, Jurgens, GIVE THE HERO SOME CLOSURE. Let him sit with a cuppa coffee and his friends for a few.
September 5, 2020
Great Nightwing story that reintroduces Talon and the Court of Owls - hardening back to the New 52 when Nightwing was a target of the Talons. Definitely enjoying the Gray Son legacy arc in the Nightwing installments
September 21, 2021
The arc with Cobb was resolved way to quickly to feel natural, and once more we couldn't care less about the Nightwings...
Aside from that the plotline of the story was good for once, but (spoilers) wtf was the point of Lex Luthor in this??
Aside from that the plotline of the story was good for once, but (spoilers) wtf was the point of Lex Luthor in this??
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