Story: Retribution Part 2: Contested (22 pages)
(previous part in Gotham Knights #20)
Writer(s): Devin Grayson
Pencils: Roger Robinson
Inks: John Floyd
Characters:
Bruce Wayne / Batman, Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Yoska Graesinka
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Barbara Gordon / Oracle, Ra's al Ghul, Enrico Inzerillo (it seems to switch somewhat whether the last name is 'Inzerillo' like in this issue or 'Inzerillos' like in the last), Jack (Giacomo) Inzerillo (Enrico's son), Ubu (Ra's al Ghul's minion)
Synopsis:
Yoska thinks Dick stayed with Bruce to steal from him, that this is Dick's "secret," and says that Dick doesn't need the adoption, that he has another plan. After hearing that, Dick breaks into laughter. Jack visits Enrico in prison, he wants him to get the word out to his men to meet him in Blüdhaven to help him raise bail. Meanwhile Oracle did a background check and research on Yoska, who seems to have no reason to lie about being Dick's grandfather. Batman realizes that Yoska thinks he is telling the truth and has been deceived himself. Yoska and Dick are in Dick's apartment, they talk about Dick's life and his past. An assassin shoots at Yoska, but Dick throws Yoska down, and Batman overpowers the shooter on the rooftop. Dick asks Yoska by whom he was told about Dick, and it turns out that "the nice man" was Ra's al Ghul. Batman learns from the assassin, Ubu, one of Ra's al Ghul's minions, that the instructions were to miss Yoska, and that he won't cause further trouble. Batman lets Ubu go and, alerted by shots, catches up with Jack Inzerillo, who has led his father's men into a trap orchestrated by another crime organization and watched them be shot. Jack had hoped to get into the other organization, and thought that the plan was just to scare his father's men, but the guy from the other organization has played and manipulated Jack, who now regrets his part in the execution of three of his father's men. Batman takes in Jack and the guys from the other crime organization. Changing to his Bruce identity he then checks on Dick and Yoska, and offers Yoska to help tracking down his real family, but Yoska prefers to leave. Ubu returns to Ra's al Ghul, who has set up the whole thing with the adoption to teach Batman a lesson, of how even the deepest loyalties are vulnerable to manipulation. Ra's al Ghul acted out of revenge, because blames Batman for the rift between himself and his daughter Talia. In the end Bruce and Dick file the papers, finalizing the adoption process.
Important Continuity Events:
- Dick Grayson's adoption by Bruce Wayne becomes legal. [p. 22]
Continuity References:
- Dick tells Yoska briefly about his father's death ("He was murdered. A man wanted money, and he cut the trapeze guy wire to prove he meant business."). That event has been retold in multiple versions, for example in a flashback in Batman #436, in ?? [p.7]
- Ra's al Ghul told Yoska that Dick is a police officer, the key issues of the arc concerned with Dick's decision to join the police force are: Nightwing #25 (we first learn that Dick decided to change Blüdhaven by joining the PD), Nightwing #41 (he graduates the academy), and Nightwing #48 (he gets a job at the Blüdhaven PD). [p. 7]
- Bruce mentions the fissure between Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia, that happened in ?? [p. 20]
- Bruce refers to Dick's past relationships with Huntress (in ??) and Koriand'r (in ??), and also sums up parts of Koriand'r's biography, which we learn about in ?? [p. 22]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick says he doesn't know what half the Rom terms Yoska uses mean [p. 2], still he can translate the saying Yoska uses before he leaves (or is familiar enough with it to know the meaning when he hears it). [p. 18]
- Dick doesn't want Yoska call him Ryeka. [p. 2]
- Dick has known Bruce since Dick was eight. [p. 8]
- Dick says to Yoska that he has a god life and owes most of it to Bruce. [p. 8]
- Dick has a photo album that has at least one picture of his father. [p. 13]
- Dick doesn't keep his gun locked up. [p. 17]
- Dick enjoyed hearing Romany again. [p. 20]
- Dick always wondered about his father's side of the family. [p. 20]
- Dick says even if Yoska really had been a relative, it wouldn't have made any difference in his relationship with Bruce. [p. 21]
- Dick mentions being left in an orphanage was the alternative to being taken in by Bruce. [p. 21]
Bruce Wayne Character Details:
- Thinking that Dick had a living relative was enough to make Bruce doubt his right to Dick's loyalty. [p. 21]
- Either Bruce doesn't remember Koriand'r's name or he just prefers to describe her ("That persecuted alien warrioress who was literally chased here by extraterrestrial slavers?") to emphasize his point, that Dick is attracted to people in trouble. [p. 22]
Gotham City Details:
- One of Gotham's prisons is called "The Schreck." [p.4]
Trivia:
- Romany saying Dick knows how to translate is:
"Si khohaimo may patshivalo sar o tshatshimo." -- "There are lies more believable than truth." [p. 18]