cyclonus_the_warrior's Nightwing: Traps and Trapezes #1 - Vol. 1 review

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    Sometimes losing footing in those traps and trapezes.

    Dick Grayson is back to being Nightwing, after he spent at least a year as Batman while Bruce Wayne was out of the picture. He remains in Gotham City fighting crime. The old circus he use to perform for called Haley's Circus, is back in town for the first time since his parents were murdered there. Plus there's a killer by the name of Saiko hunting Dick Grayson and not Nightwing. Grayson seeks to learn the identity of this killer and why he's hunting him. -summary

    In the mid to late 2000's, DC really did make moves towards developing more interesting story lines in the aftermath of Final Crisis. While that event was poorly handled by Grant Morrison, people can't deny that DC really tried to capitalize off of it with some interesting twist. One of those twist was the "death" of the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, at the hands of Darkseid, and Dick Grayson picking up the mantle during the Battle for the Cowl storyline. Grayson becoming Batman in that way had to be his crowning moment to me. It was the elevation of the character proving he can really move on without his mentor. It was handled well for the most part. Eventually Bruce came back to Gotham, and once the New 52 set in, Grayson became Nightwing once again and part of me sees it as some type of demotion, but hey, Bruce was back and to me he is Batman. Well, Kyle Higgins doesn't exactly re-introduce Nightwing, he instead just moves forward with him. This TPB collects Nightwing issues 1 - 7. On a side note for those whom still may be out of the loop. When DC reset their universe with new #1 titles, they really did erase all past continuity, except in regards to Batman and Green Lantern's worlds; those two remained the same even acknowledging the final storylines before the end of Flashpoint, which was the event used for the reboot.

    Kyle Higgins begins this storyline with a bang, by roping the reader into Nightwing's world with his and Gotham's development through some engaging inner monologue. If you read Batman: Court of Owls, you will notice that Gotham City itself was a character being developed in the same manner. It was treated as if the city was an entity that actually played a role in people's lives. Higgins uses this same form of development, but not exactly on such a high level as Scott Snyder; it probably wasn't his intention here. Anyway, it's clear Nightwing also believes that Gotham has an agenda involving his life, and he explains how the city has made him stronger in Batman's suit surviving all of its monsters and test. I like this part of the development, because although it feels as if Grayson took a step back becoming Nightwing again, he has grown enough to move forward, in which moving forward is the strongest running theme in this story.

    The first portion of the story is very well paced introducing what appears to be key story elements, with one being the killer Saiko making a bold claim, that Dick Grayson is the fiercest killer in Gotham City. The suspense began to build because if you read Court of Owls, in which this ties into, you're getting smaller pieces of that story. Plus a girl from Dick's childhood Raya, whom is also a part of Haley's circus makes an appearance as a possible love interest. And quite frankly, this is just when the story begins to play seesaw with my interest. The middle portion is nowhere near as interesting as the beginning.

    DC and Marvel are both guilty of this; they love to make adjustments in characters origins with intentions on making their pasts darker. Sometimes that's not always a good thing and in the case of Dick Grayson, it's a very bad thing completely. It was established in Court of Owls that there was a connection between the Owls and Grayson. Here it links to the circus horrible secret history involving raising children to be killers, and this is my problem. Part of Grayson originally being able to function as Robin and later Nightwing, was due to the tragic death of his parents and the circus being remembered in a positive light. Like Batman, it gives him reason to go to war against crime, but if the circus he was living in clearly had evil intentions from day one for him. Then was it really a bad thing for events to play out how they did? Batman actually saved his life because he probably would have become just another murdering psychopath, whom could have been spending his life in prison, or being killed and remembered as a heartless villain. Although it was sad for his parents to die, it was still a good thing. Higgins is obviously aware of this, and he tries to patch up the tarnishing of Grayson' past, with him being able to make his own choices. It's all types of wrong, because the only reasons he's a hero is because of Tony Zucco killing his parents and Batman taking him in. This reworking of his origin is horribly developed and is definitely the lowest point of this story.

    I have a problem with the breaks in the main narrative with some pretty bland enemies for Nightwing to face, that even takes a step towards the supernatural. It's your basic superhero action, unfortunately it's not as interesting as the whole fiercest killer thing. Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon, makes an appearance here to clear up a misunderstanding between her and Grayson. It's nice to see them being able to move on, but this was just filler that could have waited. It's only purpose was to tease a love triangle that I never came close towards getting into; and as a heads up, for those whom remember last seeing Barbara Gordon disabled in a wheelchair playing the role of Oracle, you can read her book Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection for those details plus her confrontation with Nightwing.

    Eddy Barrows, Eduardo Pansica, and Geraldo Borges handles the artwork, and outside of some inconsistency with designs looking more cartoony and less refined than others, there really isn't much to complain about. Nightwing's new design with the red insignia is a cool twist. It definitely reflects his personality plus love for redheads. I like how he has a certain amount of build to him, as if the artists are pointing out he gained some size taking over as Batman. I remember so many books where he appeared to be way too skinny and not the least bit intimidating. There are certain moments when the backgrounds manage to stand out, with the gargoyle statues through out Gotham providing this ominous feel as if something is watching and anything can happen. It works well into the atmosphere especially in the next panel over, when people are being knifed to death by another psycho. The action panels will hold most people's attention, and it's not over the top violent as some other books in the New 52.

    Perhaps I'm letting my long time knowledge of the character sway my judgment here quite a bit; but I think DC could have worked the Owls into this a different way. I really feel Grayson's past has been tainted, despite the great potential here for something outstanding later. I also felt this story was too by the numbers and this opening never felt too promising. I haven't been following the single issues that closely, so I'm unsure of any type of improvements at the moment. In any case, I can imagine newbies and casual fans enjoying this book a lot more. It does have the tools to rope in newer fans and that was DC's intention from day one. So, if you're enjoying the New 52 and missed this book, then give it a shot anyway.

    Pros: Has moments were it can be good, solid artwork

    Cons: Don't care for altering in origin, some messy plot points

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