Story: Rough Justice (22 Pages)
(continued in Nightwing #8)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Barbara Gordon / Oracle, Wally West / Flash III, John Grayson (Dick's father, in a flashback), Mary Grayson (Dick's mother, in a flashback), Ricky Noone, Sulieman Thomas Ali, Timothy "Lunchmeat" Deever, Turk Fremunda, Dudley Soames, Roland Desmond / Blockbuster II, Chief Redhorn, Antonio "Angel" Marin (or his body anyway), Bridget Clancy, Hank Hogan (first name not known yet)
Synopsis:
Nightwing is fed up with being one step behind the criminals and mobs, playing catch-up. He recalls a lesson his father taught him about the importance of strategy, so now he systematically captures all the mob criminals he knows of. He starts with Ricky Noone and his enforcers, who work for Marin's loansharks, then Sulieman Thomas Ali, who runs the meth and crack labs and street trade, then Timmy "Lunchmeat" Deever and his "removal" experts, and finally Turk Fremunda and the unions. Nightwing brings them all to a refrigerated warehouse, and hangs them onto meat hooks. He starts to interrogate them, starting with Turk Fremunda. But Fremunda refuses to tell Nightwing both where Marin is as well as who's running Blüdhaven. Fremunda says nobody cares who the capo is, as long as everything runs smoothly. When Nightwing gets ready to leave (or at least pretends to do so), threatening to leave them to die of hypothermia, Fremunda tells Nightwing that the new boss has positioned guards at St. Antony's nursing home. Nightwing checks out the nursing home, and it turns out the lead is solid. He's now back to detective work again. Meanwhile the BPD bomb squad checks out a barrel that was addressed to Chief Redhorn. The barrel isn't a bomb, but contains Angel Marin's body, preserved in formaldehyde to obscure the true time of death. Marin's head is twisted backwards. Chief Redhorn is getting angrier with Soames, both because of the mob war and because of Nightwing. He wants the status quo back. Soames says he's working on it, but of course he's in truth working for Blockbuster. During Dick's shift at Hogan's Alley some cops talk about Marin's body. With Oracle's help he finds out that Blockbuster's mother, Joyce Elizabeth Desmond, is a resident of St. Anthony's. Dick recognizes the name and calls Wally, i.e. The Flash, for an update on Desmond. Wally hasn't run into him, but Impulse has, and he's more dangerous than he was before. Blockbuster and Soames look out over Blüdhaven from Blockbuster's villa. Soames thinks it wasn't a good idea to dump Marin's body, that now there'll be more heat from Chief Redhorn, because the deaths can't be explained anymore as Marin cleaning up his own organization. Blockbuster says that it is Soames job to keep police interests distracted. Soames might have higher ambitions, he refers to Blüdhaven as "ours" when talking to Blockbuster, and Blockbuster isn't happy about that "greed." Soames explains it as a slip of the tongue. Soames also worries about Nightwing, but Blockbuster thinks Nightwing is a mere shadow of his mentor Batman, a charlatan who can be occupied with lowlifes and streethoods. Nightwing takes that as his cue to make his presence known, and confronts Roland Desmond, aka Blockbuster. Nightwing says he almost decided Soames was Blüdhaven's new crimelord, had it not been for Desmond's mother and the gunmen assigned to guard her.
Important Continuity Events:
- Blockbuster is seen openly as the hidden power in Blüdhaven for the first time. [p. 22]
Continuity References:
- Nightwing thinks that he almost got Robin killed, that refers to events in Nightwing #6. [p. 2]
- Sulieman Thomas Ali was last seen in Nightwing #3, he was also mentioned by Marin in Nightwing #5. [p. 3]
- Turk Fremunda was mentioned by Marin in Nightwing #5, but he's seen here for the first time. [p. 5]
- The anxiety dream is the same as in Nightwing #4. [p. 14]
- Dick recognizes Desmond's name, their last encounter was in ??. [p. 16]
- Wally mentions that Impulse encountered Blockbuster, that was in ??. [p. 18]
- The "now" and "before" when Wally talks about Blockbuster might refer to the events (which were ??) that increased his intelligence in ??. [p. 18]
- Blockbuster met Batman before in ?? [p. 19]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick's father told him about the importance of strategy when he taught him to be a trapeze artist. [p. 2]
- Dick's mom called him "little Robin" [p. 6]
- Dick wonders if he might be responsible for Angel Marin getting killed, because he shakes things up in Blüdhaven. It might have happened anyway, but Dick thinks that kind of justification is a slippery slope. [p. 12, 13]
- Dick is still plagued by the recurring anxiety dream about the falling boy he can't reach, who's shouting something he can't hear. [p. 14]
- According to Oracle Dick snores, she says she can hear it through their computer connection. [p.14]
- Oracle calls Dick "Bucko" [p. 14]
- Dick sleeps in his boxers. [p. 14]
- Dick is reluctant to ask Batman for help, even for research and information gathering help. He's more comfortable asking Oracle, though the task wouldn't necessarily require her level of expertise. [p. 15]
- Dick recognizes Desmond's name. [p. 16]
- Dick hasn't met Impulse, he doesn't know his name. [p. 18]
- Dick agrees that he's no Batman, but he tells Blockbuster and Soames that he's close enough to shut them down. [p. 21]
Barbara Gordon Character Details:
- Oracle can hear sounds, like snoring, in Dick's bedroom. [p. 14]
- Oracle has access to Medicare, Medicaid, social security and private insurance files. [p. 16]
Bridget Clancy Character Details:
- Clancy was born in Hong Kong, but was adopted by an Irish family and left Hong Kong as a baby. She came to America to go to college and never went back. [p. 13]
Blockbuster Character Details:
- His mother's name is Joyce Elizabeth Desmond. She's in the St. Anthony's nursing home, guarded my three mob gunmen. [p. 16]
- He had a run in with Impulse. [p. 18]
- There are no mirrors in his house, he also keeps it dark. [p. 20]
- He once was a petty felon. [p. 21]
- Compared to Nightwing he's really huge. [p. 22]
Romances:
- Dick and Clancy are flirting. [p. 13]
Blüdhaven Details:
- The St. Anthony's nursing home is in the Caernarvon section. It's know as St. Ant's to the locals. [p. 8]
- Blüdhaven is an Archdiocese. [p. 15]
Trivia:
- There's a DC Logo on one of the letters in Dick's mail. [p. 13]
- According to Oracle Batman got half a dozen Crays in his basement. [p. 15]
- St. Anthony's records are still on paper. [p. 15]
- Dick has a coffee mug with the Bat-Logo. [p. 18]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]
Story: The Freebooters (22 pages)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Bruce Wayne / Batman, Tim Drake / Robin III, Bridget Clancy (we learn her last name, the first name is not given yet), Reynard, Sgt. A. Capone (a police officer), Sulieman Thomas Ali, Pescado (one of Reynard's men), Doc (one of Reynard's men), Mitch (Reynard's helicopter pilot)
Synopsis:
Nightwing moves into his new apartment, dealing for the first time with mundane concerns, like utility bills, on his own. He's cleaning his apartment and musing about his life, when he has to prevent a mugging right under his window. He realizes that Blüdhaven needs a protector. He e-mails Soames and they meet again. Nightwing suspects that Soames is playing both sides, and not sharing everything he knows. Nightwing knows that somebody is running Blüdhaven in the vacuum left by the Angel Marin gang, but it's not Black Mask (though he also wants to take over Blüdhaven's mobs) and it's not Freddy Minh, but Nightwing doesn't know who it is. He thinks Soames knows, though. But Soames only tells him that Blüdhaven's underworld is going through a sea change and that Black Mask and his gang from Gotham aren't helping matters. Soames gives Nightwing the tip to check out "Ali's Bank in the Zee Moores" because Black Mask has a new score planned there. Nightwing figures out that this refers to one of the places which cash checks in the "Zee Moores," a Blüdhaven slum. Nightwing watches the container and concludes that the place has to be crooked, because he doesn't see a single elderly person or "welfare mom" all day but only young guys who come in with paper bags and leave without them. Nightwing is interrogating the owner, Sulieman Thomas Ali, when a helicopter flies over them, lowers a magnet onto the container, and lifts the whole thing off ground. Nightwing throws Ali out of the container shortly after it has been lifted and then stays to fight Reynard and his men, who rappeled themselves down into the container. The helicopter has problems holding the container because of the weight and the windshear, and is forced to drop it. It collides with the edge of one of the highrise buildings. Reynard and his men manage to jump onto the roof top in time, but Nightwing has to jump off the container as it already tumbles down. When the container crashes, the crack money, that was stored in the container, rains down on the poor neighborhood. Nightwing gets back on the rooftop in time to catch Reynard and his men, and gives Reynard a message for Black Mask, that Black Mask should stay out of Blüdhaven. Later Nightwing checks in with Batman and Robin, reporting slow progress on the twenty-one dead, that the real power in Blüdhaven is well concealed, and that the police is corrupt. Batman offers to be there in a half hour, but Nightwing says he can handle Blüdhaven.
Important Continuity Events:
Nightwing moves into his new apartment in Blüdhaven. [p. 4]
Continuity References:
- Dick mentions that Batman sent him to Blüdhaven to find out who killed twenty-one of Angel Marin's gang, that happened in Nightwing #1. [p. 1]
- He mentions his former girlfriend Koriand'r (Kory), they were together from ?? to ?? [p. 5]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick feels he's letting down both Batman and the twenty-one dead Angel Marin gang members, because so far he hasn't solved the crime [p. 1]; he thinks that this ties him still to Gotham and to Bruce, though he was looking to get a new start. [p. 2]
- Dick encounters problems with the utilities companies because he has no credit history and needs to pay cash advances. [p. 4]
- It is like Dick Grayson doesn't really exist, Dick feels he hardly knows him. [p. 5]
- For years Alfred or Kory have handled the mundane details (like utility and phone bills) for him, and he had to rely on a line of credit paid for by Bruce. [p. 5]
- Dick thinks Gotham will always be Batman's town, never his own turf, and this new start on his own in Blüdhaven might be what he needs [p. 5]; and Blüdhaven deserves -- or at least needs -- a protector. [p. 6]
- Nightwing has the sudden vanishing when he meets with police officers down pat, just like Batman. [p. 8]
- Nightwing takes his victories where he finds them, even if they're just temporary. [p. 20]
- It's important to him to handle Blüdhaven on his own, and he likes the challenge of a town hopelessly lost to corruption, injustice and violence. [p. 22]
Bruce Wayne Character Details:
- Batman calls Nightwing "Dick", even even though Nightwing is in costume and their conversation centers on superhero things. [p. 22]
Romances:
- Dick is still interested in the superintendent of his building, but so far hasn't even managed to get a look at her face despite his curiosity. [p. 3]
Blüdhaven Details:
- The Zee Mores are hundreds of acres of highrise slums built in the name of the philanthropist Zeephram Moore who oversaw their construction as a "haven for the city's poor." Now they are "fortresses for the vicelords." [p. 9]
Trivia:
- The superintendent's last name is Clancy, and she prefers to be called just "Clancy" not "Ms. Clancy". [p. 3]
- There's a "Sgt. A. Capone" in the Blüdhaven PD. [p. 6]
- Soames calls Nightwing "lad". [p. 7]
- There are no banks in the Zee Moores only containers cashing checks for a percentage. [p. 9]
- Surprisingly there are what looks like rooftop gargoyles on (at least one of) the utilitarian highrise buildings in the Zee Moores. [p. 20]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]
Story: Child of Justice (22 pages)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Bruce Wayne / Batman, Mortimer Gunt (works at the Gotham morgue; only mentioned), Tandy, Freddy Minh ('alleged' vice lord of the Asian mobs; off-screen), Mrs. Minh (Freddy Minh's wife), Black Mask and his "False Facers" gang, Reynard (member of Black Mask's gang), Chief Redhorn (the Blüdhaven Police Chief), Inspector Dudley Soames
Synopsis:
Due to a summer drought the estuary backs up and twenty-one dead members of the Angel Marin gang float upstream from Blüdhaven to Gotham. Their necks were broken. Batman sends Nightwing to Blüdhaven to investigate their deaths. Nightwing looks at possible suspects who would profit from taking out the Angel Marin gang and starts with Freddy Minh. As he arrives at Minh's house, Freddy Minh is attacked by Black Mask's gang, who move a fridge while Minh's wife wails "My babies!" Nightwing pursues Black Mask's men, thinking there are kids locked up in the fridge. It turns out the "kids" are frozen, fertilized eggs, and in the moment Nightwing digests his surprise one of the thugs, Reynard, knocks him unconscious, and chains him to the fridge. Black Mask's men are after the eggs to gain leverage over Minh, so that Minh would let their gang have a piece of the heroin trade in Blüdhaven. Nightwing manages to kick the transport case with the eggs out of Reynard's hand and grabs it, but is thrown into the bay, still chained to the fridge, in danger of suffocation. He barely manages to burn through the fridge handle with a magnesium flare in time, but the masked gang members are gone. Black Mask is not happy with Reynard's work, he wants Blüdhaven. Chief Redhorn wants Dudley Soames to get rid of Nightwing, so that there won't be a costumed vigilante interfering with his corrupt PD. As Nightwing shows up to give the Minh eggs to Redhorn, he is cuffed but not for arrest and held at gunpoint by Soames.
Important Continuity Events:
- Batman sends Nightwing to Blüdhaven to investigate the death of twenty-one members of the Angel Marin gang, whose bodies have been floated into Gotham with broken necks. [p. 3]
- Nightwing decides to stay in Blüdhaven. [p. 20]
- The corruption in the Blüdhaven PD from its top officials downward is established. [p. 21]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick's initial motivation to go to Blüdhaven is to prevent the new new gang that's taking out the Angel Marin gang, to Gotham, because Batman is busy, and Tim not yet fit to handle a town like Blüdhaven on his own. [p. 5, 7]
Blüdhaven Details:
- Blüdhaven is only a short ride South down the coast from Gotham, both cities lie on the same stream. [p. 4, 5]
- Blüdhaven started as a whaling town, then became "Asbestos Town, USA", but now it declined and is worse than Gotham. [p. 4, 7]
- Freddy Minh lives on Avalon Hill in Blüdhaven. [p. 8]
Gotham City Details:
- Gotham has an annual summer drought. [p. 5]
Trivia:
- Nightwing's braid is cut-off. [p. 14]
- Nightwing has magnesium flares stashed in his costume's gauntlet. [p. 19]
- The thug in Black Mask's gang wearing a Fox mask is called "Reynard" (for the name of the fox in French fables) [p. 20]. Nightwing dubs him "Foxy". [p. 17]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]