Story: Lady's Night (22 pages)
(continued from Nightwing #4)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton / Lady Vic
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Bruce Wayne / Batman, Angel Marin, Maxwell Reed, Maxine Reed, Bevins, Hank Hogan (first name not known yet), Mitch (Blüdhaven cop), Chief Redhorn, Dudley Soames, J. Devlin (Bruce's neighbor)
Synopsis:
Angel Marin is still being interrogated through a loudspeaker in a cell. The interrogator is the one who killed the Marin gang members, but claims he left the productive ones in place. Marin continues to give information on his organization, he tells that Sulieman Thomas Ali handles the Zee Moores, that Turk Fremunda has the unions, and that Ricky Noone has collections. When he's asked about Maxwell Reed, Marin says that he's "just another lawyer." On Reed's yacht the confrontation between Nightwing, Lady Vic, and Reed continues. For Lady Vic, a contract killer, Marin's disappearance doesn't matter, she still wants to collect her debt, a million dollar. Nightwing fights Lady Vic to save Reed's daughter, Maxine, Reed's henchmen shoot at both. Nightwing brings Maxine on deck, out of immediate danger. Reed ordered the yacht to pick up speed earlier, but the captain is wounded in the fight by Lady Vic, and now the yacht heads towards a closed drawbridge that is too low. Lady Vic wants Reed as bait to draw out Marin, and drags him to the life boat. According to Lady Vic Reed isn't Marin's consigliore after all, Reed only knows the consigliore. As Nightwing faces her again, she cuts loose the life boat with Reed but stays to fight Nightwing for the challenge he presents. For Nightwing though, Maxine is the priority, not bringing in Lady Vic, so he kicks Lady Vic off the yacht, grabs Maxine and jumps into the water just as the yacht is about to ram the bridge. The yacht explodes. Nightwing swims to the lifeboat, and Maxine is reunited with her father. Though Reed is grateful for that he won't give Nightwing the name of Marin's real consigliore either. Lady Vic looses her daggers during the fight and subsequent yacht explosion, and vows revenge for that, because the daggers were a family heirloom. Nightwing hurries to his other job at the Hogan's Alley bar. There Dick can see the sad state of the Blüdhaven PD: BPD cops are drinking before their shift not just afterwards. Hogan took early retirement from the BPD because of that. Chief Redhorn is disappointed with Soames, because Soames still hasn't killed Nightwing. Redhorn threatens Soames, who assures him that he will kill Nightwing. Soames is still playing Redhorn though, he thinks he's a "pompous windbag." Soames meets Lady Vic and gives her 1.5 million dollar, to pay Marin's debt, and as a retainer for future services. Soames tells her that Marin's replacement looks forward to needing her services in the near future. In Gotham Bruce attends a party at the Davenport estate. His neighbor, J. Devlin, introduces him to Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton, Lady Vic's alter ego.
Continuity References:
- Marin mentions Sulieman Thomas Ali, who "handles" the Zee Moores. Both Ali and the Zee Moores were introduced in Nightwing #3 [p. 1]
- Chief Redhorn ordered Soames to kill Nightwing in Nightwing #1 [p. 19]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick is still surprised by the lows of the BPD, for example when he learns that the cops drink before their shifts, not just afterwards. [p. 19]
- Dick thinks Blüdhaven deserves a better PD, that it needs a guardian. That's why he stays. [p. 19, 20]
- Dick is beat after he finishes his bar shift on top of his work as Nightwing. [p. 20]
- Dick wonders whether the bar job was a dumb idea, but he's determined to build his own information network, because following Soames' leads is even dumber. [p. 21]
- Dick is starting to miss Gotham. [p. 21]
Bruce Wayne Character Details:
- Bruce's neighbor J. Devlin claims that Bruce "makes Al Gore look like a party animal." And Bruce answers "crowds make me nervous" [p. 22] however this contradicts the usual, established image of Bruce Wayne as playboy.
- Bruce knows his neighbor J. Devlin well enough to call him "Dev" [p. 22]
Lady Vic Character Details:
- Lady Vic is a contract killer. [p. 4]
- she doesn't care whom she kills, not even if it's children. [p. 4]
- she "talks like Jane Seymour, fights like Bruce Lee" at least according to Nightwing. [p. 5]
- Lady Vic is not short for Victoria, but for "Lady Victims" [p. 12]
- Lady Vic's Bundhi daggers have been in her family for generations. The third Earl took them from a Thuggee chieftain at the time of the great Sepoy Rebellion. She was very attached to them. [p. 16]
- Her servant Bevins stays in the area when she goes about her job. [p. 16]
- Lady Vic's real name is Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton. She's English aristocracy. [p. 22]
Trivia:
- There's a drawbridge in Blüdhaven, called Littleneck Narrows Bridge. [p. 8]
- Hogan's Alley is a ten block walk from Dick's apartment. [p. 20]
- Al Gore is known, though no references are made to the past or present offices he might have in this continuity. [p. 22]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]
Posted by RatC