Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Nightwing Year One: Chapter One – Only Robins Have Wings
Written by: Scott Beatty & Chuck Dixon
Penciled by: Scott McDaniel
Inked by: Andy Owens
Colored by: Gregory Wright
Lettered by: Phil Balsman
Editor: Nachie Castro
Publisher: DC Comics
Year One storylines are something that I usually get a big kick out of. I don’t mind writers taking liberties with long standing origins if it’s done with a measure of respect. Updates should bring a classic origin a more contemporary tone, and, more importantly, they shouldn’t make unnecessary wholesale changes. Plus you should glean new information from the experience. Essentially it’s up to the creative team to tell us something that was never before explained. That’s a ingredients of a great Year One story.
Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon have been down this road before with their brilliant Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One stories. The pair fleshed out the early days of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon beautifully. They are two of my favorite such stories. The announcement at Wizard World: Chicago that the pair would reunite for Nightwing: Year One was a big moment. To top it off the artist would be Dixon’s longtime Nightwing collaborator Scott McDaniel. This was a perfect announcement!
Then it was just about the five months of waiting.
Finally, the waiting is over, and I’m a bit under whelmed.
The story puts forward the events that surround Dick Grayson’s firing as Robin. The highlight of the story is a modern-day Dick Grayson’s narration of the events. Dick’s narration adds some needed humanity to a rather angry story. Batman is totally unlikable; a real heel. Basically it’s the generally-accepted presentation of Batman in current continuity. Boy, am I sick of it.
Batman’s ticked that Robin shows up late to take down Clayface. Doesn’t make much senseâ€â€I guess this was a scheduled twelve rounder. Good old Bats finds it unforgivable that Robin was off with the Teen Titans battling Brother Blood. Batman’s reactions are silly and pathetic. I am so tired of Batman being written as a nasty, bully without any ability to relate to people. I miss the days when there was a human element in Batman’s character. Plus, I don’t agree with Batman’s anger over Robin being late to take down Clayface. If Robin’s out of the city, what’s the big deal. It’s not like Batman never leaves town to frolic with the Justice League. With all of the retcons maybe Batman hadn’t joined the JLA when this story is taking place. I won’t claim to know the intricacies of the mess that DC calls continuity. What I do not quite understand is Batman’s reaction to Clayface. It’s not like Dick wasn’t around for one of the fifty times that all of the inmates in Arkham Asylum escaped. It’s a c-level villain. Who really cares about Clayface. Alfred and a hose could take that loser down.
Beyond the tepid events that shift the story into gear, I’ll say that the drama is quite well done. Batman and Robin ripping into one another in the Batcave is a blast. Dixon and Beatty have captured a nice father/son dynamic between the duo. I especially like the element where Alfred is away making drinks while the brouhaha is going down, so there’s no one to stop the situation from escalating. Another great element is the almost-costume that Alfred had prepared for Dick, since he’s now a “man.” It looked a hell of a lot like the Earth 2 Robin’s outfit, which is a rather nice touch.
This issue marks a triumphant return. One that is long overdue. Nightwing has seen a ridiculously inconsistent artistic voice in the past few years. I’ve enjoyed the work of Rick Leonardi and Patrick Zircher, but their runs were all-too short. It’s a real treat to see Scott McDaniel’s back doing interiors on Nightwing for the first time since issue #40. He renders the action very well, and I love the animated feel that he brings. Clayface, although still a rather lame foe, looks better than ever in the Batman: The Animated Series style.
One issue in and I’m not loving the story yet, but the elements all appear to be here for another great Year One story. I definitely didn’t buy the reasoning behind Robin’s firing, but the starting point aside, it appears we’re in for one hell of a ride in the next five issues. Plus Deadman is scheduled to appear in issue #103! I can’t wait for that.
