Nightwing Issue 99 Review – “Nightwing Power Vacuum – Part 3”

Nightwing issue 99 feels just like the issue before a 100^th issue should. Big things are happening, and it looks like even bigger things are on the horizon. This Nightwing story is definitely building up to something. Everything is starting to come together for Dick Grayson now, and it looks like things may finally be going his way.

There will be some spoilers below.

It has been a few issues since my last review. It’s amazing how busy your life can get when you add karate practice twice a week into your schedule! However, I have not fallen behind on Nightwing nor has my enthusiasm for the character or his story decreased in any way. In fact, I find myself even more excited for each issue as Dick’s story continues!

Nightwing issue 99 begins with Tony Zucco coming to visit his “daughter.” He proposes that they both rule Bludhaven now that Blockbuster is out of the picture. Of course, Melinda is uninterested. After her meeting, Melinda reaches out to Dick to let him know that the person who killed his parents is in their city. Nightwing doesn’t have a plan yet, but he knows he has to do something.

As Nightwing tracks down Zucco, Dick finds out that Zucco is not alone, but has Aliki and Margot Marceau with him. People who have read past Nightwing comic runs will recognize these characters as the circus performers who became professional thieves. As always, I appreciate that writer Tom Taylor acknowledges and brings back characters from Nightwing’s past stories. It shows the respect he has for Nightwing and where the character came from.

It turns out that there is more than meets the eye with whatever it is that Tony Zucco is after. What he steals prompts a whole group of people to come after him. This definitely puts Nightwing in the awkward position where he feels that he has to protect the person who murdered his parents so that he can be once again brought to proper justice. Thankfully, Nightwing and the group seem to come to some kind of understanding, but it looks like Nightwing now has a mystery to solve! What is the answer to that mystery? It looks like we won’t find out quite yet!

Writer Tom Taylor, as always, does an excellent job of writing a comic that stays true to Dick Grayson’s character. I appreciate the throwbacks to old characters that were used in past Nightwing comics and the focus he has on making Dick a more 3-dimensional fictional being. With the creation of Melinda, Dick Grayson’s sister who now goes by Melinda Grayson-Lin, we now also get to see some new sides to the character. Dick Grayson has another family member who he can work with and depend on. I’m still holding out hope that she won’t end up betraying him in the future, but I’ve never seen anything hinting that she will.

The artists for Nightwing issue 99 are Bruno Redondo and Geraldo Borges. Geraldo’s art tends to cover some of the darker parts of the issue dealing with Zucco and also the last few pages. It’s not really too jarring to go from one artist to the other and back since both artists have worked on the Nightwing comic regularly. And of course, Adriano Lucas’ colors always tie things together so well. My favorite part of this issue when it comes to the art is probably actually the cover. It features Nightwing standing in front of an all-black background so that only his face and the blue parts of his costume are visible. It paints a very imposing figure.

Nightwing issue 99 is an important part of Dick Grayson and Nightwing’s story. It is definitely in anticipation of the 100^th issue and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

We know that Tom Taylor has something big planned, but what could it be? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out!

Author: Jessica Rae

Jessica has a BA in music with an emphasis in voice and spends her day typesetting, editing, writing, and moderating webinars. Jessica primarily reviews anime and comic book series. She also offers insights on various movies, books, games, and other geeky topics.

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