Nightwing #98
War Games: Act Three Part 3
Writer: Devin Grayson
Art: Sean Phillips
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.25

This review contains spoilers.

Nightwing #98 picks up directly after Batman?s declaration of war in LOTDK #184. Batman sends his troops out into the field: Batgirl after Croc and Suicide King, Robin on a North-South sweep of the city, Onyx back to the Hill, the absent Catwoman is already handling the East End (and unbeknownst to Batman beginning the hunt for Spoiler) and Nightwing is to take everything West of the park.

Batgirl approaches Batman and begins to tell him that she believes Spoiler accidentally initiated the War Game plan, but he stops her until Robin is out of earshot. Once Robin is at a safe distance, Batman tells Batgirl that he knows that Spoiler is responsible. Batgirl looks at Batman and asks, ?Shouldn?t we–??

?I?ll find her.? Batman says.

Nightwing runs into the rainy night. His thoughts make poor company for him. He?s worried about his involvement in Blockbuster?s murder. He?s worried about what Batman will think. ?Batman must not know yet. If he did how could he continue to send me out in his name?? He wonders. Just when he?s telling himself he needs to keep his focus, he sees something that snaps him right into the moment. Firefly is torching his way into a nearby building. Judging by the ?Escabedo? sign out front, I?m assuming an establishment belonging to Gotham?s Escabedo crime family.

Nightwing follows Firefly in and finds him rummaging through the office. ?Got killed before they paid you, huh?? Nightwing asks. ?Yeah, I?ve had bad luck with employer survival rates lately,? Firefly replies. Nightwing tells Firefly that he?s come to make him pay for what he did to Haly?s Circus (the Circus Dick Grayson grew up in and later owned until Blockbuster ordered it destroyed ? by Firefly). When Firefly asks why, Nightwing answers ?I LIKE the circus.?

Firefly turns his flamethrower on Nightwing, but he jumps under the heavy wooden desk before the blast reaches him. As Firefly taunts him, Nightwing shoves up with a burst of strength throwing the desk off of him and toward Firefly. Firefly dodges and asks Nightwing if he?s trying to kill him. ?Capes in Gotham don?t kill no one?waitaminute?you?re that Bludhaven guy. You?re the one who killed Blockbuster,? Firefly says cowering back.

Nightwing hurls Firefly out the front door of the club, but Firefly recovers quickly and brings his flamethrower to bear on Nightwing. The two tussle in the street for some time before the GCPD finally arrives. Just as the police arrive on the scene Oracle is seeing the dispatch message that officers are to kill anyone in a mask on sight. ?Way to go, Bruce?now you?ve really got them mad,? she says to herself.

The GCPD don?t waste any time following up on their orders. They open fire and catch both Firefly and Nightwing in a hail of bullets. Nightwing turns Firefly?s metal wings toward the Police for some temporary shielding, but it doesn?t help him for long as a bullet passes right through the meat of his thigh. ?Heh, they got you,? Firefly laughs.?

?But I?ve got you,? Nightwing says finally dropping Firefly with a final punch. He tells the Police to hold their fire, but they don?t listen. He rips Firefly?s flamethrower from his hands and throws it to the officer?s feet then leaps off into the night with their bullets still streaking behind him. Nightwing radios to Batman and warns him, ?Batman, the cops, they?re shooting on sight. Be careful.? As he continues, he says he?s not sure he?s going to make it to the docks ? that he?s been shot ? by the cops.

Black Mask returns to where he?d had Spoiler chained up and finds that she?s missing, but there?s a fairly obvious trail of blood running across the floor to a closed door, which gives him a fairly good idea of her location. Picking up a rather nasty looking bladed object, Black Mask counts to ten in a flash and says ?Ready or not, Here I come.?

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