A two-page spread for the second issue of DC’s Dark Crisis event series features a brutal fight between Nightwing and Deathstroke. The seven-issue Dark Crisis takes place following Justice League #75, aka “The Death of the Justice League.” The final issue of Justice League finds the team falling in battle to the Dark Army, leaving the DC Universe without its iconic superhero team. As heroes such as the Titans and Teen Titans mourn their mentors and friends, Deathstroke leads an evil team of supervillains looking to capitalize on the power vacuum. It appears this will all lead to a confrontation between the longtime rivals Nightwing and Deathstroke.
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Dark Crisis collaborators Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere both shared artwork from Issue #2. “NIGHTWING VERSUS DEATHSTROKE.Two-Page spread from Dark Crisis #2 by @Sampere_art and @loquesunalex,” Williamson wrote on Twitter. “The Justice League are dead.And now Deathstroke is coming for the Titans.An epic battle in DARK CRISIS #2. This July. Pre-order #1 with your comic book store.” Sampere shared the same two-page spread along with the ink version without any colors from Alejandro Sánchez.
Nightwing and Deathstroke are letting each other have it, as Dick Grayson uses his Escrima sticks to combat Deathstroke’s staff. A raging fire burns in the background to really set the mood for how personal this fight is. Deathstroke was the Teen Titans’ greatest nemesis during Dick Grayson’s time as Robin. Their heated rivalry has played out in other mediums such as the Teen Titans animated series.
Jace Fox’s Batman, Jon Kent’s Superman, Yara Flor’s Wonder Girl, Sojourner “Jo” Mullein’s Green Lantern, and Jackson Hyde’s Aquaman will step up as the new Justice League roster during Dark Crisis. This plays upon themes from DC’s Future State initiative, which flashed forward into the future to show how a new generation of heroes stepped up to replace the older guard. In fact, almost the exact same lineup made up Future State’s Justice League, also written by Joshua Williamson.
Pariah, one of the characters from Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s iconic Crisis on Infinite Earths, returns to use an ancient destructive force known as the Great Darkness to destroy Earth-0 and resurrect his lost world. The Great Darkness was behind many of the multiversal events that have occurred in the DC Universe. The remaining heroes will have to fill the void left by the Justice League.
“Dark Crisis is an epic DCU event about legacy,” said writer Joshua Williamson. “It will have all the giant, fun cosmic battles and Multiversal set pieces, but it’s not about reboots, retcons, or rewriting time and space. At its core, it’s about the characters and the relationships that we’ve seen built over DC’s great history. Dark Crisis spins out of Justice League #75 ‘DEATH OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE’ and connects all the story threads across the DCU since Infinite Frontier #0 in a major way. Unifying the new legacy of the DCU as we honor the classic. You can’t miss it!”
“To me, Dark Crisis is a big celebration for all DC fans,” said artist Daniel Sampere. “It’s a huge event full of epic heart, an event that embraces the past while looking to the future. Joshua and I are the biggest DC fans, and this is our love letter to these characters and this universe.”
Dark Crisis #2 goes on sale in July. Let us know your thoughts on the Nightwing/Deathstroke showdown in the comments!
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