Nightwing #79 Review: Dick Grayson Soars to All New Heights

Dick Grayson is back and he’s better than ever—literally. After more than a year with a different creative team plotting a story where Nightwing was removed from the role, Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo have swooped onto the scene, taken the reins of the Bat-family’s most popular character, and are making something very special with his world.

This time last month, Nightwing #78 set a new status quo with the character deciding to again become the ultimate protector of Blüdhaven. Not only that, the recently departed Alfred named Dick as an heir of his estate, suddenly turning Bruce Wayne’s sidekick into a billionaire.

Naturally, that all spills over into the second issue in this new run as the eponymous character struggles to decide what to do with his newfound fortune. The sophomore issue from this creative team goes to great lengths displaying the internal struggles in how Grayson operates, especially with a life-changing inheritance. It’s here the team really knocks it out of the park in characterizing the series’ our lead.

For virtually his entire existence, Dick Grayson has largely been as naive as he is charismatic—a character who leaps into action first, asking questions later. A hopeless romantic and eternal optimist, each one of these traits is explored in this single issue, and by the time you get to the back cover, you know exactly who Nightwing is. Thanks to a combination of a stellar script and excellent pacing, this single issue is about as complete as one comic can be.

That’s what’s so unique about this comic so far—Taylor and company have returned Grayson to the basics while elevating him at the same time. Maybe it’s a case of the age-old adage where “less is more,” but it’s been quite some time since Nightwing has felt like the character he’s always supposedly been.

Here, we get the street-level character fans have come to know and love, but he isn’t grounded for the sake of being grounded. There’s a methodology and reason behind Grayson’s latest development, and that’s the cherry on top of this whole affair.

Luckily for fans of the character, Nightwing #79 is much more than an excellent story—it comes with dynamite artwork that takes the title to a whole new level. Between Redondo’s crisp line art and Adriano Lucas’s neon-drenched colors, this might be some of the most complete artwork you see this week. Redondo’s work here in this issue is a master class on facial expressions, adding some levity to create a needed balance with the grimy Blüdhaven scenery. The styles combine to create something unique you don’t often see from superhero comics, helping it stand out further in a very crowded world.

Nightwing is back and arguably better than ever, and it only took this creative team two issues to get it there. This series has an incredibly bright future before it, that much is given.

Published by DC Comics

On April 20, 2021

Written by Tom Taylor

Art by Bruno Redondo

Colors by Adriano Lucas

Letters by Wes Abbott

Cover by Bruno Redondo