Story: The Visitor (22 pages)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Tim Drake / Robin III
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Hank Hogan (first name not known yet), Bridget Clancy, Maxwell Reed, Dudley Soames, Roland Desmond / Blockbuster II (his identity isn't revealed yet, we just see his back-lit silhouette), Angel Marin, Montello (BPD cop), Flaherty (BPD cop), Marsha Gurwitz (friend of Clancy), Sonny Brewer
Synopsis:
Dick is late for his job at Hogan's Alley again, in the bar a couple of drunk cops brag that they would arrest any masked vigilantes they meet on their beat, drinking even before their shifts. As Dick walks home from Hogan's he meets Clancy and her friend Marsha. So far he hasn't managed to see Clancy's face, so he mistakes Marsha for Clancy, because Marsha is a redhead, and Clancy has an Irish accent, though she's Asian. Dick is quite embarrassed, but Clancy and Marsha are very amused, so Dick cheers up a bit too. He comes into his apartment, and immediately knows he's not alone. He pounces the visitor, and it turns out to be Robin. Robin accompanies Nightwing to visit Maxwell Reed, who's back in his house now that Lady Vic isn't after Marin anymore. Though Nightwing thinks Reed owes him a favor, because he saved his daughter, Reed doesn't think so. Only when Nightwing pretends to be sanctioned by Soames, Reed is willing to give Nightwing information. Reed tells him about Sonny Brewer. Brewer is responsible for laying off bets for Angel Marin's bookmakers, i.e. he places bets on the favorites with other bookies to offset potential losses. Nightwing and Robin stake out the location, a dry cleaner that serves as front for the money drops. They talk about their different approaches as Robin, and take turn watching. Meanwhile Soames confronts Reed, and then kills him for telling Nightwing about Sonny Brewer. On the rooftop Nightwing has dosed off and has one of his recurring anxiety dreams about a falling boy whom he can't catch. Robin wakes him as Sonny goes into the dry cleaner. When Sonny doesn't come out after twenty minutes, they know something has gone wrong. Nightwing wants to go down to check, but Robin jumps down first to put a transmitter on Sonny's car. Nightwing tries to warn Robin, that Robin isn't getting it, that they already know Nightwing and Robin are there, that it's a trap. The car explodes as Robin tries to attach the transmitter, and Nightwing barely manages to tackle Robin to get him out of harm's way. Then several thugs come out of the dry cleaner shooting at them. Nightwing fights them and in the end he throws their cash into the flames. Nightwing worries that Robin will tell Batman that he's "not cutting it" in Blüdhaven, but Robin thinks he must make a difference if they go to all this trouble to kill Nightwing. Nightwing replies that Robin will know he got really close if he's found floating in the harbor with a twisted neck. Angel Marin can't think of more information to give his captor, so Blockbuster (only his silhouette is seen) snaps Marin's neck.
Important Continuity Events:
- Blockbuster finally kills Angel Marin. [p. 22]
Continuity References:
- When Tim talks to Dick he says "I told you I'd be stopping by after our thing with the Titans." He probably means events in Teen Titans Vol. 2 #4 and Teen Titans Vol. 2 #5, from January and February 1997. [p. 6]
- Dick mentions the twenty-one dead gang members found in Gotham's harbor, that brought him to Blüdhaven in Nightwing #1. [p. 7]
- Nightwing mentions that he saved Reed's daughter, he also notes that Reed isn't on the run anymore, and back in his house. That refers to the Lady Vic storyline in Nightwing #4 and Nightwing #5. [p. 8]
- Nightwing tells Robin that Soames brought him to a landfill to kill him, that happened in Nightwing #2. [p. 11]
- Tim says he invited himself as Robin, that refers to the A Lonely Place Of Dying storyline in Batman #440-442 and The New Titans #60-61. [p. 12]
- The anxiety dream is the same as in Nightwing #4. [p. 16]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick suspects that Batman sent Robin to check on him. He feels he hasn't made a lot of progress since he came to Blüdhaven. [p. 7]
- Dick enjoys working with Tim. [p. 7ff]
- Dick still has the anxiety dream about the falling boy he can't reach, who's shouting something to him. [p. 16]
- Dick feels responsible for how bad their night turned out. He sees it as the latest in a list of foul-ups since he came to Blüdhaven, only worse because he endangered Tim's life too. [p. 19]
- Dick feels that Tim is family, the closest thing to a brother he'll ever have. [p. 19]
Tim Drake Character Details:
- Tim is surprised how bad the situation in Blüdhaven is. [p. 7]
- Tim thinks he couldn't handle being on his own like Dick is in Blüdhaven, that he's a different Robin than Dick. [p. 11]
- Tim isn't a natural athlete like Dick, he has to work harder for that, he also envies Dick for his streetsmarts. [p. 12]
- Tim doesn't plan to be out on the rooftops ten years from now, or to take over from Batman, he intends to do his "shift" as Robin and then go back to a "normal" life. [p. 13]
-Though Dick says he was more impulsive as Robin than Tim, Tim jumps down to put a transmitter on Sonny's car without listening to Nightwing's warning. [p. 18]
Bridget Clancy Character Details:
- Clancy eats ice-cream even though it's snowing. [p. 3]
- Clancy's first name is Bridget. [p. 4]
- Clancy has an Irish accent. [p. 4]
Trivia:
- Blüdhaven bus service is lacking. [p. 1]
- While in Gotham corruption starts at the bottom in Blüdhaven it starts at the top, and trickles down from city hall and the justice center. [p. 2]
- Tim and Dick bring soup and sandwiches to their stake-out. [p. 11, 13]
- The dry cleaner at Halyard square that serves as front for Sonny Brewer's transactions is called "Snappy Dry Cleaners". [p. 10]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]