Review: Nightwing Vol. 7- The Bleeding Edge

Quick Summary

Pros: Individual moments from the volume are cool. The artwork is consistently positive.

Cons: The opening storyline is lackluster and ends just as it starts to get interesting. A jarring switch occurs near the conclusion of the collection and leaves the main storyline with little resolution.

Overall: This volume marks a quick descent in quality for this series. It abandons captivating stories and impressive narratives for a few quick burst of action and drama, accompanied by some great artwork. This volume is unable to tell a seriously interesting storyline and is unable to conclude any of its arcs in a satisfactory manner. Fans simply looking to see some bursts of fun action, with little care for an overarching storyline, may enjoy this book.

Story

Nightwing Vol. 7: The Bleeding Edge, by Benjamin Percy, is the first disappointment in this Nightwing series. It starts with a lackluster story arc where the threat posed by the villain never quite feels tangible and where some of the villain’s activities are downright confusing. Then, just as things are improving, the whole storyline is dropped and another one begins. The change happens so quickly that readers barely have time to adjust to the next arc before it also experiences an unceremonious end. There are some fun moments throughout all of these storylines and all of them show potential, yet none of them are able to effectively do anything to capitalize on these fun moments or their potential. In the end, this book is an upsetting twist for a series that has otherwise been fantastic.

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The Bleeding Edge starts out pretty troubled. It pits Nightwing against a villain attempting to control Blüdhaven by installing mind-altering devices throughout the city.

This portion of the book constantly tries to elicit drama and excitement by depicting battles between Nightwing and the holograms produced by these devices. However, the ephemeral nature of the holograms leaves the fights feeling hollow and even confusing at times, such as when Batgirl has to deal with them despite not having a mind-altering implant. The book even seems to recognize that these fights are uninteresting, as it constantly comments on Nightwing’s frustration at having a villain he cannot physically punch, yet does little to alleviate this problem.

Then, things start to improve. The true villain is revealed to be the Terminals, a mysterious group of shapeshifting beings with direct ties to information and technology. They begin using their shapeshifting powers to infiltrate Gotham City and begin sowing chaos and mistrust among the populace. The threat is more palpable than before and the volume’s theme begins touching on some timely topics.

Unfortunately, this is all abandoned as The Bleeding Edge really goes off the rails. The final few chapters effectively drop the current story arc and switch things over to a Wacky Races-style competition where Nightwing is forced to race for the lives of two people from the previous story arc. The change is so jarring that it takes a bit to get used to but, before readers even have time to do this, the entire adventure is over. Despite this, I actually think I would have enjoyed this weird little interlude, as the Wacky Races-style battle works out alright on its own, if it had actually come back and wrapped up the current storyline and given some sort of final showdown between Nightwing and the Terminals. Unfortunately, this does not happen and the volume ends with little to no actual resolution, further souring the entire experience.

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Art

The artwork in The Bleeding Edge is easily the collection’s best feature and is probably one of the few things preventing it from being a complete mess. Artists Chris Mooneyham and colorist Nick Filardi start the book off with a moody version of Blüdhaven that instantly sets itself apart from previous volumes. These chapters have a level of grit to them that gives the action an aura of seriousness, which lends itself to what is going on in the narrative as well. There are a few pages that don’t flow that well but, besides this, these chapters are impressive. Then, Otto Schmidt steps in for an absolutely gorgeous annual chapter, providing a wonderfully stylized take on Nightwing, Batgirl, Gotham City, and the story arc’s villain. Finally, Amancay Nahuelpan closes the collection with bombastic visuals that feature layouts that emphasize the chaos of the story being told. No matter how the book’s narrative disappoints, it is hard to deny that this is a good-looking book.

Continuity

Nightwing Vol. 7: The Bleeding Edge continues the story from Nightwing Vol. 6: The Untouchable (Review).

The Nightwing series continues in Nightwing: Knight Terrors (Review). However, before Knight Terrors, Nightwing’s story continues in Batman #51, 54, and 55, collected in Batman Vol. 8: Cold Days.