This week’s Future State titles brings us to the end of Dick Grayson’s story in Nightwing 2. Jace Fox, the new wielder of the Bat mantle tracked Nightwing to his secret lair beneath Arkham Asylum, determined to work with him to end the Magistrate. Just one problem. Nightwing now works alone. Dick has seen too many deaths and the death of his mentor, Bruce Wayne, rocked him badly. He will see no more friends die and sets out to fight this fight alone.

Dick Grayson has never been Bruce Wayne. Where Bruce saw shadow and darkness, Dick tried to bring humor and a bit of light to the situation, but now he is different. Dick now carries the feel of an early Batman. Fierce, determined, Dick now carries the weight of justice on his shoulders alone. Yes. The Peacekeepers just found him in his lair, but like Bruce, that was all part of the plan…until Jace shows up.

Nightwing can handle himself, but with Jace around, that’s a variable he wasn’t ready to deal with. Lucky for Nightwing the new Batman does not back down. Nightwing may be right in thinking at least one of them should survive. Gotham needs its Batman, but Batman insists they do it together,

Nightwing 2 – Here Comes the Cavalry

The dynamic duo reunites once more. Advanced troops? No problem. One EMP blast and their hardware no longer functions. Taking out the troops without their gear? No Problem. Nightwing and Batman can take on anyone. Rebooted tanks? That may be a bit of an issue. Peacekeep-06 came ready to play. She even brought her own camera crew to show their tremendous victory. Again, just one problem. Batman radioed for back up and the cavalry just arrived!

Huntress, Batgirl Cassie, Talia Al Ghul, Oracle, Robin, Two-Face (yes I said Two-Face), Manbat and Batwoman. The heart of the Resistance came to fight. Oh yeah, did I mention Dick has a new car? The Night-mobile, the car-wing…whatever. The names may not flow as easily as adding the word ‘bat-‘ to it, but it looks amazing as it speeds away from the fight.

Nightwing 2 – The Final Confrontation

Of course Peacekeeper-06 takes off after them and manages to crash into the new Night-mobile. She thinks she can take them. Could she beat Jace? Maybe. Could she beat Dick? Not likely but possible. The dynamic duo together? Not a chance in hell!

Not only do Batman and Nightwing beat her, but Nightwing then reveals the final steps to his plan that shows how far ahead of the Peacekeeper he truly was. You see, Nightwing has the nano-swarm, a bunch of tiny, stealth drones doing exactly what Peacekeeper-06 tried to do. They filmed the entire thing live and exposed the Peacekeeper for what she truly was, and now the internet sees all.

After all that Dick gets the one thing he did not intend – the sunrise.

I still do not like Nightwing’s new outfit, but the story itself really brings out the best of who Dick Grayson is. He may not be the great detective Bruce was, but Dick knows people. He knows the head games they play and how to counter them. It also shows how much he grew in the years since his current timeline.

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