Review: Grayson Vol. 3: Nemesis

Quick Summary

Pros: This is a book that literally gets better with every page you turn. It takes the mystery and action readers have come to expect and does them in new and interesting ways.

Cons: The beginning of the book is a little generic.

Overall: The previous chapter of Grayson changed up the status quo significantly and now this book has to deal with it. This forces the book to get a little more creative and change things up, while still adhering to the overall themes of mystery and action. The result is a truly entertaining book packed with emotion, twists, and a fantastic cliffhanger of a riddle to be cracked. If you have liked the Grayson series so far, do not stop reading now.

Story

If you thought that there was no way for Grayson to get better after Vol. 2: We all Die at Dawn (Review), you were dead wrong. Grayson Vol. 3: Nemesis takes the same qualities which have made the series great, mystery, action, and a little bit of humor, and introduces them in new, fresh ways. It is hard to believe that this series just continues to get better. Yet it does, making me even more excited for Volume 4.

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The beginning of this collection starts off with the spy theatrics that this series has now made a name for itself for. Jumping out of a plane, charming a beautiful woman, stealing a mystical artifact, use of mind control, and plenty of comments about Grayson’s butt: these things have becomes staples of this comic and are back in full force. Though these things don’t feel as fresh as they did in Volume 1 (Review), it is nice to see that this story does not lack what made the first few great. It almost feels, for a moment, like Seeley and King have hit a new status quo that they want to stick with.

This changes when this book’s secondary plotline kicks in. Someone is killing everyone that Dick Grayson has come into contact with on his missions, with all the evidence pointing to him. This plotline sees Helena trying to unravel the truth behind this mystery, while simultaneously giving readers another mystery as well. However, the speed at which this mystery is approached takes a little something away from it. It does not have the tantalizing appeal that the Minos mystery had.

That is until the twist happens.

Dick goes head to head with the man who is framing him for all of these murders and it ends up being… Dick? The former boy-wonder and his doppelganger trade blows for a while as the doppelganger proceeds to taunt Grayson with personal details about his past. Then, after knocking out the true Dick, it is revealed that the imposter was actually Agent 8, who was believed dead after the events of Grayson Vol. 1 (Review). With this moment I was hooked and instantly went from being mildly interested in this event to dying to discover more.

The main storyline in this book is then concluded with a nostalgic trip back to Gotham City. Dick is coerced into continuing his work for Spyral, yet he is allowed to say goodbye to his friends before leaving. Dick hasn’t seen his friends since faking his death though, so these goodbyes are also reunions, thus making them extra emotional. It is a great connection between every member of the Bat-family and serves as a heartwarming moment in a series typically lacking them. Plus, even these emotional meeting help to serve the greater storyline as Dick delivers a message to his friends through coded language. Overall this book’s final issue is fantastic in all regards.

After the final issue there is an Annual featuring a Superman/Grayson team up. All in all, this is a fun issue as it explores the unique relationship that these two have. In the past, this relationship was stellar, yet recently it rarely receives a mention. In particular, fans of Superman will greatly enjoy this Annual.

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Art

Mikel Janin does the art throughout these issues. To see our review of his artwork make sure you read the art section of our review of Grayson Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral.

Continuity

This volume flows directly out of the events of Grayson Vol. 2: We all Die at Dawn (Review). The story then continues in Grayson Vol. 4: A Ghost in the Tomb (Review). Specifically, this volume directly builds upon and mentions the events of the two prior volumes. It is highly recommended that fans read those first as this book is not a good jumping on point.

This volume also references the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.

• Dick has a hard time getting in touch with Batman for a while. Later he discovers the reason why. The cause of this is detailed in Batman Vol. 7: Endgame.
• Dick Grayson’s time as Batman is mentioned. He became Batman in Battle for the Cowl and continued throughout the first Batman and Robin series.
• Lex Luthor brings up the fact that he “murdered” Dick Grayson before. This happened in Forever Evil.
• Lex Luthor mentions being a part of the Justice League now. This happened in Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League.
• One of the villains taunts Dick about various traumatic incidents that his friends have undergone. These include:
  • Jason Todd dying. This happens in Batman: A Death in the Family.
  • Barbara Gordon being shot. This happens in Batman: The Killing Joke.
  • Damian Wayne being stabbed. This happens in Batman Incorporated Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted.
• Barbara mentions seeing Dick’s “delightful derriere” in Gotham earlier. This happened in Batgirl Vol. 2: Family Business.
• Dick is confused to see Damian alive because of the events of Batman Incorporated Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted.
• Superman talks to Nightwing about recent events in his life. For the most part this covers the events of Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth.
• Dick makes a direct reference to the Justice League being attacked by Joker. This happens in Batman Vol. 7: Endgame.
• Superman gives a quick history lesson about Blockbuster’s past. This includes a run-in that he had with Hawk and Dove. This happened in Hawk and Dove Vol. 1: First Strikes.
• The alternate Batman, seen at the end of this collection, got his current job in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy.
• There are also four splash pages, in this volume, which reference a significant degree of dialogue. Because these references are so numerous, and also not at all essential to the story, we will be covering them in a separate article in the future

Collection Notes

Every issue found in this collection can also be found in Grayson: The Superspy Omnibus.