Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Nightwing: The New Order #4 Review


You're Our Only Hope

Written by: Kyle Higgins
Art by: Trevor McCarthy, Dean White and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 22, 2017

This book is one of my favorites out right now and one of the reasons that I am now fully into elseworlds stories.  Before this, I was never a big fan, but with my upset with the main DCU at the moment, getting a cool alt-future story seems like it's just what the doctor ordered.  So, is this month's entry good?  Let's find out...


The issue starts with Jake (and the reader) finding out what's going on with him.  Actually, he kind of knows what's happening, but we do get Kate Kane at least acting nice towards him.  Let's see if that continues.

We then head off to see what happened to Dick after last issue's cliffhanger and it's awesome!  Well, it's not awesome what happened and where he is, but who is involved.  We already saw Starfire and Wally West last issue and I don't want to spoil anything more.  I will say that Kyle Higgins is jumping on the fun train that a story like this allows and the main destination is rescuing Jake.



Back at Crusaders HQ we continue seeing that Brady is a dick and that Dick may have a friend on the inside.  It's a cool scene to show that not everyone is happy with what's going on and may have the ability to help.

We continue by seeing where the Resistance has been operating and then the big reveal of the series so far...Jake may be the cure that Wally, Starfire and company have been waiting for!  Of course, that doesn't sit well with Dick and after a cool moment that reveals what Grayson wants more than anything else, we get a Kori and Dick origin story.

After seeing their love story, it's kind of hard to see what it's become.  Kyle Higgins doesn't hold back and does a great job showing a love gone cold.  It's all about conflict of interests, philosophies and actions, but they do have one thing in common...love for their son.



The issue ends with the gang back together for a superhero Ocean's Eleven heist in Gotham which ends with everyone stopped cold in their tracks!  I'm not sure how such a dark book can be so fun, but Kyle Higgins manages it so well.

After a bit of a down issue, this book has come back swinging.  It's all about the cool characters and interactions and while it's not all RC Cola and Pinatas (shout out to Eric Shea!), I don't want it any other way.  The art and story in this book are top notch and I hope that this is just the beginning of Higgins' return to Nightwing and the DCU.

Bits and Pieces:

Kyle Higgins continues giving fans the best Dick Grayson book on the stands and this issue promises even more.  The cool characters and great Trevor McCarthy art make this Alt-Future tale a must read.

9.0/10

7 comments:

  1. I'd take a 6 issue mini of just Lois Lane: Blue Lantern at this stage, such an interesting concept!

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    1. I agree! Love that Higgins just makes it feel so natural

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  2. If superpowers are illegal in this world, and superheroes are "banned" so to speak, why are these Teen Titans walking around in costumes with powers obviously intact? Am I missing something? I don't think that was explained?

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    1. They're the resistance that is trying to bring down Nightwing's regime and put an end to policing superpowers.

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    2. They haven't been caught and are on the run

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    3. Thanks for the replies guys.
      I'm kinda confused by this.
      I may be forgetting, but before the Teen Titans showed up at the end of issue 3, was this "resistance" or that they're on the run and trying to bring down Nightwing's regime (huh?) been mentioned in any of the previous issues??
      I recall a random Wally West mention in the first issue but nothing more??
      I'm just surprised that all these years after Metropolis, with seemingly all the heroes taken out of the picture, that the Teen Titans are just "out there".
      We see that there's tension between the TT and Nightwing for the obvious reasons, but other than that it wasn't clear to me what the hell they're doing walking around free, in the open, in costumes with powers in tact.
      Left me scratching my head and really bothered me while reading this issue.
      They really could have fleshed out the TT status quo in this universe and what they've been up to since Metroplois a little more in this issue for the benefit of the readers.
      I still enjoyed it though.

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    4. it was mentioned in the first issue that a resistance was going and sabotaging the drugs used to keep the metas in check...Wally was mentioned to be part of it. It was kind of hinted that Starfire was out and about as well, but they didn't fully explain a Resistance.

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