So far, we have seen:
Tarantula being creepy.
Tarantula being an idiot.
Tarantula being a manipulative #@*&.
Tarantula being a stalker.
Look, Tarantula just isn’t a very nice person, okay?!
Pointless stuff about side characters who have no relevance to this story arc.
Batman giving Tarantula free run of Gotham City because… he’s been brainwashed? Yes, yes I’m sure that’s what happened…
And now, more of the exact same thing! Huzzah!
Before we begin, I should tell you that the actual plot (such as it is) is interspersed with scenes of some random guy I’ve never seen before being tortured by someone who we never see. It is gruesome, it is irrelevant to the Nightwing books, and I'm not really going to mention it again. Just be aware that they’re there if you ever decide to read this issue yourself… though why you’d want to do that, I don’t know.
The first page has Nightwing flying toward the reader with his arms outstretched. He looks kind of like he’s going to give me a tackle hug. The next two pages have Batman and Nightwing chit-chatting in the Batmobile (though given Batman’s penchant for small talk, perhaps “chit-chat” is too strong a word) about the gang wars. During the ride, Nightwing has yet another inner monologue about how “I have to tell him about what really happened with Blockbuster.” Um, isn’t there something ELSE traumatizing that happened to you that you should probably get around to telling somebody about at some point…?
And that’s it for that scene. Moving right along, we come to a rooftop meeting between Batman, Nightwing and Tarantula, the latter of whom is telling them all about how successful her little “let’s train a gang to be better fighters!” plan is going. Batman tells her she’s doing an “acceptable” job—though he does add a “for now”, let’s not forget the all-important “for now”!—and leaves the two younger people alone. Pardon me for questioning the great Batman, but he has apparently banned Tarantula from the city once before, and it’s apparent that he knows nothing about her. Why is he letting her do all this? Isn’t he supposed to be paranoid and super-protective of his city? But whatever. As soon as Batman leaves Nightwing alone with his rapist and tormenter, Tarantula says this:
That seems normal. I’m always thrilled to meet my significant others’ former girlfriends, especially when said significant other is still in love with said girlfriend. Isn’t everybody?
The next page is more of Onyx, and you might as well wave good-bye now because this is the last we see of her. Consider this a short respite from the marathon of idiocy we’ve been running. By the next page, we get back on track. In spades. Batman has informed Oracle that Tarantula will be allowed to do whatever she wants until after the gang wars have ended, and now they are having a friendly debate over the matter. Let’s tune into the conversation, shall we?
Line one—“She murdered Bludhaven’s last chief of police.” Wait, so you people KNOW Tarantula is a killer? And you didn’t just beat her up on sight?! If you’ve got evidence of her guilt, then take her in; if you don’t have hard evidence but know she’s guilty anyway, then at the very least you should not be letting her run around your city, which is already in major trouble I might add. Why is it so hard to tell Tarantula that you know she’s a killer, maybe bluff a little and say you’ve got enough evidence to convict her, and scare her out of town? You’re Bats, you break the law every day just by breaking into places and taking evidence from crime scenes, and you have no problem with it because it ultimately makes Gotham a safer place. So why shouldn’t you use some mild intimidation tactics on a CONFIRMED KILLER to protect your city?!
Line two—“And frankly, I have my suspicions about what really happened with Blockbuster.” Again, it’s obvious Tarantula can’t be trusted. And yet you are letting her run around your precious city doing whatever she pleases and fraternizing with criminals. Aren’t you worried that she might be, oh I don’t know, lying like a crook and actually joining forces with the gang so that she’ll be harder to defeat? This is why jails have separate cells for each inmate, you know—so they can’t get together in large numbers and pose a bigger threat! And incidentally, wasn’t Barbara the one trying to get Dick to give Catalina an alibi back in #94 so that she wouldn’t be accused of killing Blockbuster? Why is Barbara all of a sudden accusing Tarantula of that very crime? Did I miss something here?
Line three—“It wouldn’t be above Dick to be protecting her just because they’ve slept together.” Well that doesn’t sound petty and immature at all coming from his ex-girlfriend! Barbara has known Dick for years, they practically grew up together as junior superheroes, but now she has no problem insinuating—not even insinuating, just outright declaring—that he is the type of man who gives up his morals after a few nights in bed with a woman?! And it’s nice how she doesn’t even consider the possibility that Dick might actually be in love with Cat (not that he is) and is protecting her because he genuinely cares for her. She just jumps straight for the “he’s doing it for the sex” option. Why doesn’t the idea that Tarantula could be blackmailing Nightwing into constantly siding with her cross anyone’s mind? There could be—and is—something seriously wrong with him, and instead of acting like the detective she is and trying to figure out why he is behaving in such an out-of-character manner, Oracle decides she’s going to be a bitter and spiteful person who doesn’t care one iota that Nightwing might actually be in major trouble! WHICH HE IS!! Oh, and bonus points go to Batman for not even bothering to stand up for his son’s integrity, the jackass.
Line four—“Have you even asked him what he—” No, he hasn’t. And frankly, I don’t think you tried all that hard either. If you want to ask Nightwing something, DO IT YOURSELF. Or, if you’re afraid that might be awkward given that you just broke up, get someone else to do it. Alfred. Tim. Just… SOMEBODY! You and Batman aren’t the only people in the universe who have relationships with Nightwing.
Lines five and six—“Objection noted. For now, however, she’s serving a valuable function, and I want her in on the info feed.” THIS. MAKES. NO. SENSE. One of Batman’s oldest, most trusted, and most efficient operatives has just informed him (or reminded him, it’s hard to tell) that Tarantula is a hardcore criminal who has no qualms about killing or using guns—which he does, in case you forgot—but still, Batman is not only going to continue to let Tarantula do whatever she wants, he is also going to give her complete access to every bit of data concerning the positions and actions of everyone in Gotham City… and for WHAT?! Because she claims that she’s got Latino Unified (excuse me, las Arañas) under her control?! Who are you and what have you done with Batman, buster, because the Batman I know and love isn’t this much of an idiot! If we’re going to let criminals in on the crime-fighting game, why don’t you call in the Penguin and have him hand out poison-spewing umbrellas to the gangs so they can “defend themselves”? Or how about Mr. Freeze? I’m sure he’d be a big help in cooling things down between the rival gangs. Or hey, let’s cut out the middle man, unlock every cell in Arkham, and pump the police scanner through the PA system and see how well that works out for you! I don’t care how desperate Batman thinks he is—if he really needed more help stopping the gang wars, he could easily call in the Justice League or the Titans. Y’know, the REAL heroes. There is NO WAY that he has any use for a novice like Tarantula, who is not only a criminal but an incompetent criminal. She has proven to the reader time and again that she is useless in a fight and can’t go an issue without needing Nightwing to bail her out, and given Batman’s years of experience as a crime-fighter, he should be able to tell an expert from an amateur within minutes, if not seconds. There is no legitimate reason for Tarantula to be here, and the only reason that she isn’t making the whole situation worse is because the writer says so!
Line seven—“Fine, don’t listen to me—” For heaven’s sake, STOP WHINING. YOU ARE THE ORACLE. You are one of the best computer hackers on the planet, you have access to just about every piece of information you could ever need, and you can contact any hero you dang well please at the push of a button and tell them to do something about the murderous psychopath that Batman is giving free reign to. Batman does not own you, Oracle—you are your own person with your own superhero team, I might add, so if you are unhappy about Tarantula being in Gotham and/or not knowing what happened to Blockbuster, stop reporting to Batman and CONDUCT YOUR OWN INVESTIGATION!!!
Of course, the explanation for all this is really quite simple. Tarantula obviously changed her name to Mary Sue at some point and now all of the other characters are either totally blinded by her awesomeness or don’t dare to stand in the way of such an incredible being. And I’m really sorry about the overflow of mouth-foaming rage, but it really ticks me off how this monumentally bad writing and horrid characterization is making all of the real heroes look like self-absorbed jerks while placing the murdering rapist on a mile-high pedestal.
Another thing I don’t like about this particular issue (this would be… Problem #29358727?) is the way it jumps around. It’s hard to get a sense of it if you’re not actually looking at it, but we go from one scene to another with absolutely nothing to indicate they’re related or sequential. For instance, we go from one page with Onyx to one page with Batman and Oracle to one page of random man being tortured. At no point between these scenes do we get a text box or a line of dialogue explaining where we are, what we’re doing here, or how much time has elapsed between the current scene and the previous one. Did someone forget to give the comic its Ritalin this morning? Whatever. I’m worn out from all the caps locking, so let’s hope that the comic at least achieves mediocrity in this segment so I can take a break.
The next bit shows Nightwing and Robin (whose days as Robin were over just last issue) crashing through a skylight into a brothel. Or maybe it's a strip club. We never get an explanation. And do those kinds of places really have skylights? Well, apparently this one does, and as soon as the heroes enter, they start beating up the patrons. Are they doing it because prostitution is illegal in Gotham? Are these guys gangsters? Some clarification would be nice here, comic. While they fight, Robin says that he would like to ask for Nightwing’s opinion on something and BOOM. Cue flashback.
For the love of… how does nobody know he’s got issues??? One sentence—one innocent, simple little sentence that has nothing directly to do with the actual traumatic event—and Nightwing completely freezes to the point where someone throws a Molotov cocktail by his head without his noticing. Seriously, Tim? Just get him to a psychologist already. Either that or a better writer, because this scene comes off as a bit wangsty to be honest.
The Molotov cocktail does exactly what it’s supposed to do and the building is quickly set ablaze. Nightwing’s flashback continues in horrific fashion as he believes Robin is dead and starts hallucinating that the bodies of Blockbuster and some of the circus people are on the floor in front of him. Seriously, I am not joking when I say get this man to a mental health professional immediately. Gah.
As it turns out, Robin is alive and manages to get himself and Nightwing out of the building. Robin then demands to know “What was that!? What’s wrong with you!?” Okay, so give the kid props for being THE ONLY PERSON THUS FAR who actually gives a bat’s behind about Nightwing for Nightwing’s sake (the delivery could use a little work, but I’ll take what I can get). But again, Nightwing deflects the question and then Robin just kinda leaves. He does say “take care of yourself, okay?” But there’s no follow-up, no “I’ll call you”, no “are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Nice intervention there. Actions speak louder than words, Timmy—if you’re that worried about Nightwing, prove it to me.
Spontaneously cut to a scene with Spoiler in the apartment of… I’m pretty sure that’s Catwoman’s BFF Holly Robinson, but again, there’s no explanation for this at all. Spoiler is there for about three seconds before disappearing out the window, and then there’s another abrupt cut to Dr. Thompkins’ clinic, where Thompkins is doing some kind of web search about blood types and adoption databases… and cut again, this time to the Ventriloquist (one of Gotham’s crime bosses, I assume) being bullied by the torturer guy. I think. Maybe this makes sense in the greater context of the War Games storyline, but here it’s just choppy, out-of-place, and confusing. It’d be nice if the comic realized that some people buy Nightwing comics to read about Nightwing, not War Games, and at least gave us a paragraph of exposition at the beginning so we’re not all left scratching our heads.
Eventually, the comic winds its way back to Nightwing (remember him?), who is kicking butt in what appears to be Chinatown. Again, comic—text boxes are your friend. Then he gets a call from Tarantula.
I’m sure that in Devin Grayson’s world, this is supposed to be showing us how naïve and awestruck Tarantula is by all things superhero-related, but it really just drives home the point that she is inexperienced to the point of being an ascended fangirl, that she isn't taking her job as a hero even remotely seriously, and that she has no business fighting crime anywhere, let alone in a city that’s having as many problems as Gotham is having at the moment. The comic ends on a short scene with the Penguin giving some vague speech about light and dark to a gaggle of scantily-clad women. Sure, why not. It makes about as much sense as anything else in this issue.
Thankfully, it seems like Nightwing #97 is the only part of the War Games crossover that has such major problems with cohesive storytelling. That’s not to say the other two issues don’t have their weird moments, but you get a better sense of what is going on and… oh. Oh dear.
Where’s his neck?! Or his hips, for that matter?
I haven’t really commented on the art up until now, because it hasn’t seemed worth commenting on. It’s good, but nothing to write home about. In Nightwing #98, however, the quality of the art takes a major nosedive. It looks really unfinished and blocky and is frankly quite ugly. (Also, look at Nightwing’s hair—it grew at least three inches since the last issue. Guess he went overboard with the Rogaine.) Look, DC, if you’re going to put a character through hell for no reason, at least let him look good while he does it!
So anyway, Batman sends all of his operatives out to do different things in different areas of the city before… uh… I don’t know, before the sky falls in, I guess. As Nightwing makes his way to the ordered position, he monologues some more.
Okay, that’s it. I’ve been sitting on this topic for a while now, but I think it’s time we got this out in the open. You want to know what this is? I’ll tell you what this is. This is as clear a case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as you are ever likely to see in a comic book. Nightwing has been exhibiting symptoms since the first issue of this debacle, and if you need a refresher, fasten your seatbelt (the list of symptoms is taken from the National Institute of Mental Health website):
1. Flashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating = In #94 during the opening fight scene and all over #97.
2. Bad dreams = We never see him sleeping or trying to sleep, so who knows?
3. Frightening thoughts. = Not exactly evident, though personally, I think the flashbacks would qualify. Not to mention the fact that he immediately panicked about Robin being dead in #97 without really trying to find him first.
4. Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience = N/A
5. Feeling emotionally numb = Letting Tarantula push him around all the time seems to apply, and in the Devin Grayson interview, she says that Dick is in an “emotional haze” at the moment. If you no longer trust Ms. Grayson’s word on the subject (and I don’t blame you), Nightwing describes himself as “numb” (and “poisonous” while we’re at it) at the end of #93.
6. Feeling strong guilt, depression, or worry = Pick any page where Nightwing has thought bubbles.
7. Losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past = He just said it.
8. Having trouble remembering the dangerous event. = Hold that thought, we’re coming to it.
9. Being easily startled = N/A
10. Feeling tense or “on edge” = I… guess the fact that he’s pretty testy throughout #94 would qualify? This one’s iffy, I’ll grant you that.
11. Having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts. = He went off the handle at Tarantula in #94, accusing her of intending to kill Copperhead just because she said she was going to capture him, and again in #95 when she brought up Barbara at the bar. And again, since we never see him sleeping, we don’t know whether he’s having difficulty doing so or not.
That’s SIX confirmed PTSD symptoms and three unconfirmed symptoms (the ones about sleeping and feeling tense). So why am I seeing this but the World’s Greatest Detective and Co. don’t seem to have so much as an inkling? Don’t they deal with the victims of crime on a daily basis? Surely they know the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder down cold! Heck, I think Batman himself had/has PTSD from when his parents were killed. How do they not see this?!
As for the “trouble remembering” bit, that’s another unconfirmed as far as I’m concerned. One could make the argument that Nightwing hasn’t mentioned or expressed any opinion whatsoever on the rape because he’s simply blocked it from his memory. But then why does he have such a clear memory of Blockbuster’s murder and not his own rape? And why does he flash back to it in #94? I guess it’s possible that the rape pushed him over the edge and caused only partial amnesia, but that still doesn’t excuse the fact that Tarantula never brings it up and that nobody else ever figures it out. Besides, the fact remains that Nightwing has some very serious issues here, and the best detectives on the planet either don’t care or are too busy being petty to pick up on it.
Back to the story. During his monologue, Nightwing stumbles across Firefly, who has either been setting buildings on fire or making fire-themed art displays with tissue paper on rooftops. It’s hard to tell with the art.
Firefly is the knucklehead hired by Blockbuster to burn down Haly’s Circus, so you can imagine how happy our hero is to see him again. Nightwing follows him into a building, where they fight and engage in the most intelligent, witty, and epic repartee ever seen in a comic book. (This would go over a lot better if there was an official font for sarcasm.)
Oooh, burn!—oh, wait, on second thought, maybe you better not.
Eventually, Firefly figures out that this is Nightwing, a.k.a. the man who everybody and their third-cousins-twice-removed thinks killed Blockbuster—except, of course, for Batman and Oracle. I could rant about it again, or I could just direct you to previous rants I gave on the subject while discussing issues 96-97. I think I’ll do the latter.
There’s a brief scene in Holly’s apartment where Catwoman comes in to discover that Spoiler has gone missing. Catwoman goes right back out again to find her, and we cut right back to Nightwing vs. Firefly. They’ve made their way outside by this point and they tussle for a while, thankfully mostly in silence. Meanwhile (I think?), Oracle has just gotten word that the police commissioner has ordered his men to shoot anyone in a mask on sight. I’m assuming the reason for this is explained in some other book, but in any case, the revelation conveniently comes right before the cops start shooting at Firefly and Nightwing. Neither of them is particularly pleased by this, but only Firefly has a bulletproof suit. At least, I’m assuming he does, or else using him as a shield is a pretty cold move on Nightwing’s part. But it doesn’t matter in the end, as Nightwing is the only one who ends up getting shot. He does manage to knock Firefly unconscious and tells the police “You shouldn’t be wasting your time here.” Wait, they shouldn’t be wasting their time trying to take down the crazy arsonist? Then what, pray tell, should they be doing? And then, before Nightwing departs for friendlier climes, he utters the most telling line of dialogue in the entire story line:
Yes, that’s right, nerds and nerdlings. Nightwing believes himself to be lower than the lowliest of Gotham scumbags. For the love of all that’s holy, will someone PLEASE give this man a hug!
Nightwing manages to get to a secluded fire escape and calls Batman for help. The comic ends on another one of those “explain it already!” scenes, this time with gang boss Black Mask playing the worst game of hide-and-seek ever. No, it won’t make more sense if I elaborate.
Do I really need to reiterate that these comics are horrendous? Issue ninety-seven is clearly the worse of the two, with Batman, Robin and Oracle woefully out-of-character and shockingly cold-hearted toward poor Nightwing here. The comic is desperately trying to keep Tarantula in the story when she clearly has no place AND make her likable on top of that; it fails terribly on both counts. Issue ninety-eight is a bit of a reprieve from the stupid, if only because it just rehashes the same stupid from earlier without introducing anything new. Both issues (and ninety-six, while we’re at it) have serious problems balancing between the Nightwing and War Games storylines, but thankfully (?), we get to go back to concentrating on Nightwing—or rather, on Tarantula—for the remaining two issues.
Next time: The extra-sized finale! Watch Gonzo take on bad artwork, cops with bipolar disorder, and butlers who write worse poetry than the Vogons as this story arc finally draws to a close!
Images from Nightwing #97 and Nightwing #98
(Sorry about the quality of some of the scans--I have no idea why you can't read the dialogue on some of them.)
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