Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Nightwing #4 Second Review

By Kevin Scott
October 10, 2016 - 11:59

At last, Nightwing and Raptor enact their endgame to shut down the Parliament of Owls permanently! But the Parliament has one last card up its sleeves: The Moloch, a giant owl monster whose mission is simple: eviscerate Nightwing and Raptor.

This issue brings to a close the ‘Better Than Batman’ story arc and Seeley threads in story points he can pick up in future issues. Things get wrapped up for the most part, well, as much as they can. If this issue was a film it would be a Michael Bay one, with the fighting, big cheesy moments. Which is part of the problem, as everything seems rushed and convenient, which does impact on the satisfaction. There’s a bit with Nightwing and Raptor that instead of being an intriguing ‘I didn’t see that coming’ moment. Just plays out as ‘meh’, as the set up was rushed and it all became obvious. The Batcave moment as well is something that feels forced. As at this point of their careers, it doesn’t feel like it would go down like that. The last page though does offer up something that could be intriguing.

Things seem rushed in this issue, Nightwing and Raptor’s faces especially. Some panels they are well rendered and in others they look extremely basic and this isn’t taking into consideration the depiction of expressions. At the beginning of the book Dr Leeviticu’s alternates from looking like an old woman or an old man. The fight scenes are anatomically sloppy, the owl monster looks anything like an owl and the Batman doesn’t seem well proportioned. Chris Sotomayor’s colours, like with this whole arc, are a highlight of the book. They really help set the tone and strengthen all the scenes.

Seeley has given himself a foundation to build upon and create a compelling future tapestry for Nightwing.

Rating: 5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12