Nightwing Vol. 2- Night of the Owls

Quick Summary

Pros: Action, character development, and drama can be found throughout this issue in a pretty standard street level superhero story.

Cons: Odd character motivations and a disappointing Court of Owls tie-in plague this book.

Overall: This book, while not as good as the first volume, ends up being a pretty average Nightwing read. It hits some high notes and some low ones but overall finds itself somewhere in the middle. Hopefully this ends up being a valley in the history of this series and that an incline is coming soon.

Story

Although not a bad story, this collection takes a dip in quality from the prior book as lackluster stories and other problems weigh it down. The story here is alright throughout and contains enough action and good portions to keep it from being bad but enough problems to keep it from being good. Hopefully, with a Lady Shiva story in the works, the next collection will be better than this one.

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Despite not being the best, this collection does feature some really nice moments and neat storytelling tricks throughout. It does a great job with the origin of Robin and tells it in a way that allows Robin to not be overshadowed by Batman. Fans will also enjoy the return of some interaction between Dick and Damian, something which has been in short supply ever since Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin ended. On top of all of this is some nice in-series-continuity and character development.

I really enjoyed seeing some of the build up and attention to in-series-continuity that this trade displayed. There are two seemingly small moments from the first volume which boomerang back into the plot in this volume; one being when Nightwing saves a car full of people and the other being Nightwing failing to save two police officers. Seeing Nightwing’s small and random act of kindness in the first volume play out in this volume was really neat. It makes it seem like the story is more connected and is a much better way to show off this new villain’s backstory without resorting to the overused tactic of flashbacks. This same tactic also provides a nice enhancement to Detective Nie’s character, even if I think the motivations do not exactly make sense (something I will address later).

The Court of Owls storyline here is a mixed bag of emotions as it starts off excellent but leaves much to be desired. The story starts out really well as it flashes from past to future to explain the tragic life of the man behind the owl mask. It actually makes you feel for the Talons in the Court and gives you a little perspective on them. However it then simply discards this story and plotline because Nightwing wins in a fight. I would have liked to see some more development of the story’s anti-destiny moral than just Nightwing winning, this does little to hammer home the theme as Cobb’s argument about his life and the life of other poor people still stands. I would also have liked seeing a little more resolution to Cobb’s tragic story, the past issue and a half show how he seems to be a victim of circumstance yet he is given no chance at redemption. Overall I am was surprised how quickly and undeveloped this story ended especially since this is probably the Court of Owls tie-in with the strongest set-up.

Besides the lackluster Court of Owls story, the issue’s biggest problem is Detective Nie. Detective Nie’s motivations make absolutely no sense. He blames Nightwing for the death of his significant other yet Nightwing was not involved in the murder at all. Nightwing did not show up until after the murder took place and the police had no indication of the ties between him and the murderer. This just ends up being another case of forced drama almost identical to what plays out in Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection (Review).

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Art

Not much can be said here that was unsaid in my review of Vol. 1. The art here is going to be a very back sample of DC’s “house art” and is not going to really rise or fall below that. This means that the art is alright and, unless you are really big into comic book art, it will not really effect your reading experience much.

Continuity

This story is a continuation of the storylines started in Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes (Review) and will be continued in the next collection, Nightwing Vol. 3: Death of the Family.

• This collection starts with a Court of the Owls tie-in that extends from the prior issue. The main action of the Court of Owls story can be found in Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review) and Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (Review).
• Near the end of the Paragon story, Detective Nie reveals that he blames Nightwing for someone’s death. That death happens in issue #2 of the series, which can be found in Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes (Review).
• At the end of the Paragon story, Paradigm tells about Nightwing saving three men in a car. This also happens in issue #2 of this series, which can be found in Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes (Review).