Nightwing #50 Preview/Discussion

[berserkerclaw]

i Do Not like the direction. issue was bad imo. i dont like them letting him go. i dont like dick having no memory. and the flashbacks with scarecrow oh come on. Crane is affriad of Batman not Robin. at least thats how it was.

[Avi]

It's really hard to decide what I think about this Issue. If they had a clear direction I might see more value in this but as it is I don't.
The flashbacks showed who Dick really is but I would have liked to see some more regret from Dick or angst instead of all cynicism and anger. For me, the largest disconnect comes from the changed direction and the changed look. If not for Barbara I could have read any comic book with a character x. And truth be told, I would have rather seen Bruce' and Alfred's reaction than Babs. All that could still be part of later Issues or even Batman but considering the writer and artist change, it is in my best interest to just not care.

Omigosh. I've been on twitter and people are FLIPPING over his looks!

"what have they done to my son.....
I refuse to believe this musty ass looking man is Dick. I refuse."
"WHO IS THIS WHITE MAN"
"it's rick"
"UNACCEPTABLE"
"they just, I DONT WANNA TALK what the fuck where is the pretty boi I love"
"THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST TRAVIS MOORE he shouldn't have to draw dick that ugly"
"I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT WAS TRAVIS MOORE OMG THEY'RE WASTING HIS POTENTIAL"

"It pains me to say this... he looks like a Rick"

XD

Best thing I've read all day. xD

[byrd156]

Ugh they still have the ugly New 52 Robin costume in here. It does have a few slight changes like the classic yellow stripes and they got rid of the crotch arrow. Come on, this would be the perfect time to change it.

[byrd156]

What the hell was up with Scarecrow? Just callously killing people and sewing their faces shut? What? How the hell can he study fear if he just brutally kills them? Jeez it seems like everyone in this damn story has no idea who they are. Everyone is so out of character, (with the exception of Babs) Dick had that good moment about caring for Crane but that's because Batman was being a dick.

Also ha ha the name of the bar is called Prodigal, how clever.

This is honestly a really depressing read, thanks DC.

[dietrich]

Probably? Because he's fast (or so they say), he meets the deathlines and he came with a good enought idea for editorial.

If the change was so sudden as it seems, I doubt it was for any other reason.

I hate posting from my pad.

You don't take a writer with a bad track record and low sales and put him on an Iconic character whose solo sales figures are higher than that of more than 1/2 of the JL because fast.

But like I said since this is Rick then maybe Lobdell might work out.

As difficult as this issue was I have to commend Percy. This was an honest look at someone struggling and sets up what's to come.

[dietrich]

Omigosh. I've been on twitter and people are FLIPPING over his looks!

"what have they done to my son.....
I refuse to believe this musty ass looking man is Dick. I refuse."
"WHO IS THIS WHITE MAN"
"it's rick"
"UNACCEPTABLE"
"they just, I DONT WANNA TALK what the fuck where is the pretty boi I love"
"THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST TRAVIS MOORE he shouldn't have to draw dick that ugly"
"I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT WAS TRAVIS MOORE OMG THEY'RE WASTING HIS POTENTIAL"

"It pains me to say this... he looks like a Rick"

XD

I actually found this Dick very hot in that rough and sexy way.

[Grayson - The Dark Heir]

I don't think that is it at all. We just saw what he was when he lost Nightwing in the Grayson run and it was nothing like this. If you want to excuse it because he has amnesia now that is fine, but it doesn't stop me from reading him like New 52 Jason a bit. I read enough New 52 where I feel comfortable making the comparison despite Jason fans not liking it. And I know Dick can be angry or sad, that is what most of the New 52 was with beating the character down so much and even prior Nightwing or Titans runs, but in this case it didn't read like he was sad or angry in the same way. It isn't that he doesn't want to dwell on it but more that he doesn't want to deal with what happened or confront it. Which is what makes this all stupid because we know he will deal with it and then regain what he lost and be back at square one. So it is pointless, but you and others don't want to criticize it I guess.

Dick's anger has been a staple of the character since NTT. It's more controlled and only comes out in short bursts, which is why we get a couple assholish moments from from him like every other year (i.e. the stuff he said to Shawn in Seeley's run). It's not a N52 thing, that's just general angst. Which we actually don't see in this issue.

I don't get this thought process though. Square one, are you talking about the status quo? We're talking about Nightwing here, he's never had a real consistent status quo since the New 52. Stories are always about the journey, not the destination if you ask me. Mind you, I don't really have faith that amnesia is going to be a worthwhile journey lol, but complaining about that is odd knowing how well we were off with Grayson. Is Grayson a stupid book because we returned to Nightwing (although the status quos for Nightwing before and after were incredibly different)?

It's not that I don't want to criticize it, it's that I already have. I think it's a dumb idea done to buy time with shock value and was forced onto Percy. I just thought I'd complained enough beforehand.

I honestly think you just don't want to admit it is bad, which is fine. Some readers are like that in that they don't want to be negative or say something is bad about a property they like, but I think this is shit and Comics 101 in how not to shake up a character's direction. I don't blame Percy at all for walking off the book when this got thrown in his lap.

Lmao no, I think it was fine. If you read my post, you'd know I don't like the direction but that I thought this was fine for what it was. It wasn't great or anything special beyond the art, I'll either drop or keep reading based on #51. Honestly this is how I've felt about Percy's whole run excluding the #48-49 arc which was fantastic.

[Restingvoice]

Fine for what it is but wish it didn't happen is pretty much the consensus of early reviews. Right now sitting on 7 out of 10. Great art, interesting take, but why though. ^^

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

Having read the issue, I liked it.

Dick still acts like Dick, he's the one guy that will keep moving forward despite the circumstances trying his best to not get shackled to the past like Bruce or Jason are. Yes, he has an edge on him, but considering his circumstances, I think is understandable. He's not being an ass nor a jerk either; at most he comes off like an overexcited teenager looking for purpose in his life. That is exactly what this direction is all about.

Now I can see why people wouldn't be fine with it, but considering Dick has been bouncing on and off from the status quo set in the 90's, I think this is a good chance to expand his character in ways it wasn't possible in other circumstances. That said, Bruce being all "maybe is for the best he doesn't have us around" is stupid as hell but also typical Bruce.

So yeah, I'm on board to see where all of this is leading to.

[yohyoi]

It was so horrible. I would rather my eyes bleed than read it again.

[yohyoi]

I actually found this Dick very hot in that rough and sexy way.

The only good point of this issue. Percy didn't even need to be there.

[RedBird]

Fine for what it is but wish it didn't happen is pretty much the consensus of early reviews. Right now sitting on 7 out of 10. Great art, interesting take, but why though. ^^

Yeah same, on the critics side I'm seeing a couple 7/10s, an 8.7/10, even a 9/10. The sentiments are true I guess, it's not that the issue is written badly by any means, for what it is, it's FINE, and Dicks anger is understandable here but it's just the story itself is pulling a lot of over used cliches into the mix. Granted I understand that's not completely indicative of a stories quality either, you can have a piece of media with an overused premise still done well and in it's own unique way, only time will tell how well the story will unfold I guess. But I can't say I was ever too thrilled about having a Spiderman 2 (2004) premise for Dick at the moment, right down to the disposal of his costume. Especially since there wasn't any organic build up to this moment and it has just been dumped onto the writers laps.

Just over a month ago I was kinda waiting for Percy to be replaced so I could move back into Nightwing for the next writer but who coulda seen this editorial flub coming. I wonder if all these 'dark directions' are actually building towards some kind of crossroads for the batfam, maybe even in relation to the doomsday clock, or if it really just is an excuse to tell another lonely angsty Batman story.

[Batman Begins 2005]

Ugh they still have the ugly New 52 Robin costume in here. It does have a few slight changes like the classic yellow stripes and they got rid of the crotch arrow. Come on, this would be the perfect time to change it.

It's a right eyesore.

[DragonPiece]

In theory, could Zatanna bring Dick his memories back? Or literally another other magic character in the DCU?

[RedBird]

In theory, yes.
Though that's not whats applicable for this story because, reasons. Magic users always seem to come and go on these things depending on how convenient or inconvenient they are to the plot and intention of the story.

To be fair the comic narrative here seems to be implying that Dick doesn't even want to remember who he is, and Bruce is apparently just fine with that I guess? So that's about all the reasoning we're gonna get.