Nightwing #97
War Games: Act Two Part 3
Writer: Devin Grayson
Pencils: Mike Lilly
Inks: Andy Owens
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.25

This review contains spoilers.

?They say you can never go home again. But here I am.? Nightwing is still struggling with his role in War Games and his relationship with the Bat-team. As he thinks about his situation, he drops in front of a roaring sports car with its headlights blaring at him. As it gets closer, he realizes that it?s the old school Batmobile and a voice coming from it saying, ?Get in.?

As Nightwing gets in, he asks the reason for the pickup. Batman responds by saying, ?P.C.S.? which is military jargon for Permanent Change of Station. Nightwing recognizes that Batman is in no mood to talk but yet he still tries to ease the awkward silence by asking if Batman had any clues to the identity of the War Games instigator. While Batman responds with a ?Negative?, he does comment that he recognizes some familiar patterns and wonders aloud ?Who do we know who?s smart enough to have put it all together??

Meanwhile, somewhere in Gotham?s North End, a member of the Yakuza is battered and bruised to the point of passing out but an unseen figure implores his subject to stay awake as he has some new torture techniques to demonstrate. Just then, a white gloved hand grasping a steaming hot, old fashioned iron comes out from the darkness and heads right for the tied up gangster. Next thing that is overheard is a scream throughout the abandoned building.

Batman and Nightwing meet Tarantula at the top of a burned out building in the Barrio as her men keep watch below. Tarantula is defending her command of the Barrio men while Nightwing asks her why she can?t keep them inside during the police-enforced curfew. After Tarantula starts to explain, Batman accepts her reasons and abruptly leaves. Nightwing half-heartedly congratulates Tarantula who acts happy and says that she can?t wait to meet his ex.

Up on The Hill, the Yakuza and The Hill Gang are squabbling about who?s man enough to face the Odessa Mob when Orpheus steps in and starts to plan a way for someone to get in on the inside when Onyx volunteers. Orpheus hugs her and says that it?s great to see her then in the next sentence tells her that he has something for her to do. Onyx says without hesitation, ?Well, what are we waiting for?? ?Point me at it.?

Oracle is arguing with Batman about the qualifications of a certain Hispanic quasi-hero. Batman asks her to clarify her reasons for disagreeing with him, which she starts to list the murder of Bludhaven?s last Chief of Police and Tarantula?s involvement with Blockbuster?s death. Batman acknowledges her objection but states that Tarantula is serving a valuable function and that she should be on the info feed. Just as Oracle starts to object again, Batman terminates the conversation, leaving her to saying into a dead connection that she?s just a glorified (unabashed plug) Onstar operator.

In the abandoned building up in the North End, another torture subject is being prepared for more punishment. While the man pleads that he?ll tells everything, the sadist explains that he already knows more than the bound mobster has to offer. As he screams for someone to help him, the gloved hands reveal a box of cayenne pepper and what looks like a pizza cutter.

Elsewhere, Nightwing and Robin drop in at a prostitution brothel fronting as a massage parlor which seems to be teeming with goodfellas. As both men start to knock out the goons, Nightwing asks where Robin come from. Robin replies that he was looking for Nightwing. Nightwing asks if everything is alright. Robin states that he wanted Nightwing?s opinion on something.

The words, my opinion, rake over Nightwing?s psyche like lemon juice on a paper cut. As Nightwing starts to mull over what he could offer Robin in the form of advice, it?s just enough of a distraction for him not to notice a lit Molotov cocktail headed in his general vicinity. As soon as the combustible bottle lands, Robin covers two of the ?massage? workers with his cape while the stunned Nightwing gets a face full of gasoline-fueled flames.

As the fire grows into a four-alarm blaze, Nightwing searches for Robin. All of a sudden, Nightwing sees visions of his recent failures in the hypnotic flickers of the flames; most notably a dead Blockbuster and workers of the Haley circus that were killed when the circus was burned to the ground by Firefly.

These hallucinations paralyze Nightwing almost to the point of incapacitation. But a caped figure is moving through the flames towards Nightwing. A respirator is placed in Nightwing?s mouth who looks up to see Robin?s face. Robin then assists Nightwing out of the burning building. Once outside, Robin asks Nightwing what wrong with him since this was out of character for Nightwing.

Nightwing tries to evade the question by asking about the safety of the women who were just rescued. Robin asks again. Nightwing parries again by asking Robin what he wanted to ask him. Robin becomes frustrated with Nightwing?s obvious avoidance of his initial question and starts to ask Nightwing if he thought that Batman was mad at him for leaving or for breaking his promise to his dad by coming back as Robin. Then, in mid-sentence, Robin tells Nightwing not to worry about it and tells him that he has to take off to get back to Burnley. As he leaves, Robin tells Nightwing to take care of himself. AS Robin leaves, Nightwing mumbles under his breath, ?He?s not mad at you. He?s not??

Over at Holly and Karon?s safe house, Spoiler is sulking around while the two roommates are arguing over turning off the TV as the reports of an escalating gang war are abundant. As Holly gets for a couple of sodas and returns to the living room, she forgets to get a bottler opener. From the couch, Holly asks Spoiler if she could get one from the drawer to the left of the kitchen sink.

As Spoiler opens the drawer, she sees the opener but her gaze fixates on a box of kitchen matches which makes her revisit her idea that everything about War Games is her fault. Spoiler leaves with the box and as Holly goes to check up on her, she realizes that Spoiler has left the building and says, ?Oh, my God. Selina is gonna kill me??

At the same time, the Thompkins Clinic is experiencing some high volume of patients. Dr. Leslie Thompkins is typing away at her workstation while her co-worker brings in thirty-three new admission forms with more on their way. Dr. Thompkins barely acknowledges the person, who is named Patty, as she continues to stare at her screen. Patty asks Dr. Thompkins if she?s looking at the new Blood Type Database. But when she sees the screen, Patty asks Leslie why she?s looking at the Gotham City Adoption Database. Dr. Thompkins locks her computer and dismisses her question by asking about a third trauma room.

In the meantime, the Ventriloquist and Scarface are trying to make their name big during the upheaval by trying to make a big move. As Scarface tries to instruct his crew, a white gloved hand grabs his neck at the same time another gloved hand gets the Ventriloquist?s throat while an unidentified voice states, ?That?s enough!? It appears that enough pressure is applied to both of them to render them unconscious. A bespectacled man with a golf club in hand says, ?Believe me. I mean business.?

The gloved man states, ?Good? I?d expect no less.? The man sees something in the gloved person?s face and decides that it would be better to run away. Scarface and the Ventriloquist wake up from their slumber to see the gloved man with a lighter. Scarface recognizes, in disbelief, the identity of the bloodied gloved man as the lighter is lit directly in the wooden puppet?s face. The gloved man says, ?All the decisions, all of the pressure? It will be so much easier for you know that you?re working for me??

Nightwing continues his assault in Chinatown as he talks to Tarantula who?s just testing out her brand new communicator. Nightwing corrects her by saying that it?s her temporary one. He then states that she should check her flashlight as Batman has told him that he knows what?s going on now and that the team should be prepared for the lights to go outn as Nightwing gets lights out of his mouth, the whole Gotham skyline goes pitch black. Nightwing ends his line to Tarantula who is left to stare in amazement at the blackened city.

During the blackout, a white-gloved hand is striking a match to light a few candles. The man is talking about why people are afraid of the dark. The man relates it to a basic loss of control as while the people are disoriented, other creatures are moving though their territory and manipulating the environment to suit their own needs. The man continues to say that there is no need to fear those creatures who use the darkness to their advantage. ??Not as long as you stick with the one who?s controlling the light!? The light comes around to reveal the face of Oswald Cobblepot, otherwise known as The Penguin.

Who could this violent white-gloved brute be? I?ve heard theories that it could be back-from-the-dead Blockbuster, or it could be Hugo Strange. Or I even heard a theory that it?s Two-Face on a serious bender from flipping his coin. Whoever the clandestine person is, it will certainly be interesting how the Bat-group will try to tie it all together as War Games Act 2 will be past midpoint next week. Batman looks to have a grasp of the plan now but does he know who?s driving it behind the scenes? Check back here to find out.

Spread the word!