Nightwing #96
War Games: Act One Part 3
Writer: Devin Grayson
Pencils: Mike Lilly
Inks: Andy Owens
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.25

This review contains spoilers.

Nightwing #96 opens up with Batman taking on some of the splintered Triad thugs in Chinatown while a third person remarks about their admiration for the Dark Knight. As the fight winds down (with the punks running way), Batman looks up to see a familiar silhouette on one of the building?s rooftop: Nightwing.

After Nightwing drops down and they exchange a few words, Batman, ever observant, notices something wrong with his former sidekick. Nightwing is still wrestling with his inability to stop the death of Roland Desmond, otherwise known as Blockbuster and feels that he has let Batman down. But as most sons act with their respective father figures, he internalizes his fear and doubts by saying, ?I?m fine.? A few more uncomfortable words are said before they throw themselves into the night and towards the next available problem area.

As they run along the rooftops, Batman starts to give Nightwing the breakdown about the Gang War that has been accumulated so far when Batman stops to let the fact that Gotham is under siege sink in. Nightwing offers his support to his mentor by asking where he?s needed. Batman assigns him to Leslie Thompson?s clinic to get all of the info from the Escabedo Cartel bodyguard. As Nightwing launches himself in the direction of the clinic, Batman warns him in a somewhat paternal tone, ?Whatever it is you?re not telling me about, make sure it doesn?t follow you here.?

Meanwhile, the remnants of the Latino Unifieds are attacking a lone Black and White when suddenly the Tarantula drops down from a local billboard and tries to disburse the crowd while also mixing it up with the cops. She then offers her assistance to the Unifieds as their unequivocal leader, which is of course met with some resistance. As she tries to convince them of her worthiness, Tarantula boasts about knocking off Blockbuster by ?putting a cap in his big, ugly face.? She then states that she did have ?a little help from her partner??

Just then, Nightwing arrives at The Thompson Clinic to find Leslie administering an ad-hoc triage in the front of the clinic. He startles her when he taps her on the shoulder and after a couple of pleasantries, Nightwing asks about the injured bodyguard. Leslie is quick to correct him by saying that there are two of them in the clinic.

They start to walk back to the Post Op area when Leslie tells Nightwing that the bodyguard for Escabedo will be unable to answer any questions for another twelve hours but he could have a go at the other bodyguard who came in several hours after the first one. While Nightwing goes to the second bodyguard, Dr. Thompkins is pulled away to take care of some incoming wounded. Nightwing get to the other bodyguard and discovers that it?s Onyx, Orpheus? bodyguard and under-cover good guy.

Onyx reminds Nightwing not to blow her cover. So he goes into ?Bad Cop? mode and demands answers aloud from Onyx. Onyx rehashes the ?anonymous summons? details but quietly states that everything blew up so fast and it?ll only gonna get worse.

Cut to the Drake residence where Jack Drake is checking in on his son as he?s still concerned that Tim will join the action as Robin. Tim reassures his dad that although it feels weird to wait around to hear what happens ?but I?m not going back to that life. My days as Robin are over.?

At the same time, amid numerous police radio bands, Oracle learns of Tarantula?s armed encounter and queries Batman about a possible agent in the Burnley. Batman states no since there is no immediate confrontation between the Escabedos and the Unifieds. She provides Batman with the info she heard over the wire and asks if she should sent for an agent sweep of the area. Batman tersely tells her to stand down and he?ll get back to her.

Batman turns his attention to Nightwing and requests for a status report. Nightwing responds with information on the new recruiting tactic that the Odessa Mob was performing as well as the info about Onyx and Orpheus. Batman acknowledges Nightwing?s reply then asks him about Tarantula?s presence in Gotham. Nightwing acts regretful that he somehow brought her to Gotham and decides rather than explain the situation to Batman he would take on the Odessa Mob?s new recruits.

As the newbies scatter for the site of Bludhaven?s defender, Batman is furious of Tarantula?s insubordination and wants a full eval of her skills from Nightwing by 10 PM. Nightwing decides to head for Burnley to confront his on-again/off-again acquaintance. During his flight, he starts to analyze their twisted relationship and feels that with her knowledge of the whole Blockbuster incident, Tarantula?s appearance in Gotham would jeopardize his relationships with both Batman and Oracle.

When he finally finds her among a group of Unifieds, Nightwing, in a very Batman-like tone, orders Tarantula to get back to Bludhaven. Tarantula suddenly goes on the offensive and attacks Nightwing. While dodging her blows, Nightwing questions her motives. She tells him that the reason she?s trying to lead them is to protect them since they remind her of herself when she was growing up.

Nightwing reports back to Batman and explains the situation. Batman asks for a recommendation by Nightwing, who states that she should get a second chance to prove herself. Batman then decides to inform both Nightwing and Oracle that for the remainder of this crisis, Tarantula will be included in the fight for Gotham. Batman concludes the conversation with both of them by saying, ?I am counting on both of you to conduct yourselves with absolute professionalism..?

This book is great as it advances the story by revealing more about Dick?s and Tarantula?s wacky relationship. I think that Grayson is solid with Nightwing?s voice and characterization. She?s coming close to Dixon as far as becoming the singular voice for the former Robin. I also like to the beginning and ending story framing by using a Nightwing inner monologue. It feels like you?re right there with him as he?s experiencing possibly the worse case scenario for him as he goes back to Gotham with more questions that he has answers.

Lilly?s art, with Owens inks, are very solid and flows quite well from page to page. While not as pretty as Greg Land?s or as acrobatic as Rick Leonardi, this art is leagues better than Trevor McCarthy, which is a compliment, believe me. The cover is by Wing-Nut fav Scott McDaniel who doesn?t disappoint (although it does remind me of some of his past Nightwing covers).

Next week will be very busy as far as War Games go as there will be three books, Gotham Knights #56, Robin #129 and Batgirl #55. See you then.

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Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #182
War Games: Act One Part 2
Writer: A.J. Lieberman
Pencils: Brad Walker
Inks: Troy Nixey
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.50

This review contains spoilers.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #182 picks up immediately from the events of Detective Comics #797, which I appreciate as if you?re going to do a ?Big Crossover? you might as well keep the continuity tight. It?s always frustrating when you pick up two concurrent issues of a crossover event and are left feeling like you?ve somehow missed something in between. That?s not the case here.

Batman and his agents are all engaged in the field. The big problem is that there aren?t enough of them. Gotham is being ripped apart. When Batman calls Oracle to find where he?s needed the most, she tells him, ?Take your pick. Wherever you want to go, we?ve got trouble.? The virtual map of the city behind her is lit up like a Christmas tree with radio calls for help coming in from throughout the city as well.

It?s Batgirl, Catwoman, Oracle, and Batman against the entire Gotham underworld. The odds aren?t looking very good and Batman realizes he?s going to need help sooner rather than later.

Batgirl is hot on the trail of Alexandra Kosov. She?s in pursuit on a Batcycle as Kosov speeds through town in her SUV. Kosov proves to be quite the driver as she eludes Batgirl by driving off a bridge(!) onto the cross-street below, then leads her into a trap ? a waiting phalanx of gangsters with machine guns. Batgirl leaps from her bike as the gangsters open fire and seeks refuge behind a brick wall.

As Batgirl is trying to avoid the hail of bullets, Oracle calls in and tells her she?s needed. Batgirl uses a smoke bomb for some cover, but by the time the smoke clears, she is alone. The gang has gotten away. Oracle tells her the Burnley Town Massive has a S.W.A.T. team pinned down on the West side. Batgirl says she?ll go, ?But let HIM know.?

On The Hill, one of Orpheus? lieutenants is telling the gang that they need to go out and make a grab for whatever territory they can. Orpheus himself arrives for the tail-end of the conversation and he?s got different ideas. He wants to ensure that the Hill stays safe as the first priority. And it looks like that will be harder than it sounds, as an explosion rocks a nearby building and a raging mob sweeps toward Orpheus and his assembled crew. Orpheus yells to his colleagues to clear out as he and Onyx defend their position.

Orpheus hears a voice calling ?Orpheus, help me!? from inside the burning building. He rushes in and ducks through the flames, across gaping holes in the floor yelling ?where are you??

?Right here,? says Batman (who seems to have taken a page from the Green Goblin playbook). ?Sorry, I didn?t know how else to get you up here.? Batman tells Orpheus that he needs him to meet with the Yakuza and convince them to let him take over. Orpheus isn?t especially convinced that the Japanese mafia will be willing to listen to him, but Batman tells him he want Orpheus in control, because that means he?s in control. If Orpheus can convince the Yakuza, Batman wants him to move on to the remnants of some of the other gangs, Junior Galante?s men, the Lucky Hand, the Unifieds. It would appear that like it or not, Orpheus is going to make a territory grab after all ? for Batman.

The Yakuza appear to be receptive to Orpheus at first when he explains that he?s offering them protection. They ask for some time to think about it and tell him to meet them at the old theater in one hour. But when Orpheus arrives at the theater, the welcome isn?t warm, the Yakuza have a ?counter offer? that apparently involves Orpheus being shot many times. The Yakuza don?t manage to get Orpheus, but they do wound Onyx who tells Orpheus to leave her as he cannot allow them to escape. He complies, but tells her to get to the Clinic.

As bad as things are getting in Gotham?s streets, these War Games extend beyond the shore as well. Out at sea, a Navy cruiser receives a faint radio distress signal. The mayday is too broken up to understand, but it?s clear another vessel is in trouble. The watch commander tells the mate to wake the Captain. They won?t make it in time. The cargo ship is being overtaken by a group of skin divers who commandeer the vessel. The pirate skin-divers radio in to an unseen base to say that they?ve taken control of the ship and that they?re plotting a new course. When we next see the ship, it?s being unloaded dockside. Its contents are being delivered to their new owner?The Penguin. ?War is business?and business is very good,? Penguin says.

The big question, of course, is whether the Penguin is behind the gang war, or simply taking advantage of it. I?m inclined to think it?s the latter. Opportunism has been one of the Penguin?s hallmarks in more recent years and I don?t think that the creative teams at DC are going to tip their hand this early on as to the real mastermind behind the chaos. I?m guessing we?ll have to wait a bit longer before the real master plan is revealed. However, the reason behind the title ?War Games? becomes clearer as the crossover continues. The War is for the streets of Gotham, with Batman and his team vs. what?s left of the Gotham gangs and whoever the mastermind behind the fracture is. With limited personnel at his disposal, can Batman secure the city before it falls solidly back into criminal hands ? either the hands of the former gangs or united under one new crime lord?

I can?t wait to see Catwoman come into play more in this story since she has experience taking and maintaining control of a neighborhood ? much more experience than either Batman or Orpheus have ? so you?d think she?d be a natural fit. I?m sure she?ll play her part since the story crosses over into her title, and she has been seen briefly in pretty much every issue, but I?d like to see her more deeply involved from a strategic standpoint. It?s nice that Orpheus is given something to do (how many times has he appeared since his mini in 2001?) in this storyline and he?s a good fit since he is known and trusted in a community that?s somewhat jittery when Batman is around.

Nightwing is next to join the fray, but will even his considerable skills be enough to tip the balance of Power in Batman?s favor?

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Detective Comics #797
War Games: Act One Part 1
Writer: Andersen Gabrych
Pencils: Pete Woods
Inks: Nathan Massengill
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.95

This review contains spoilers.

After the aftermath of the Gotham-style Mexican standoff, Batman sweeps in to take a look at the fallen pieces to find out the surviving players. As he starts to count the dead, Batman quickly determines that Scarface, Orpheus, Penguin, Mr. Fun, Onyx, Deadshot, Zeiss and the Escabedo Cartel’s bodyguard make it out alive. As Batman leaves the crime scene, the Escabedo bodyguard stumbles his way to Leslie Thompkins’ Crime Alley Clinic for some serious medical help.

Batman gets to Oracle’s Watch Tower and they start to come up with a battle plan to combat the obvious chaos that has started to engulf Gotham. As they take a brief roll call, they come to the depressing realization that until Nightwing makes to Gotham from Atlantic City, Batman has only Batgirl and Orpheus to rely on in the field. Then, Oracle tries to pick Batman’s brain to find out who he thinks masterminded the meeting that turned into a massacre. Batman dismissed any thought of finding the person responsible at the moment and heads out to join Batgirl in the battle to save Gotham.

In Chinatown, Batgirl quells a coup de tat but still has to deal with a whole lotta pissed off Triad grunts with guns. While on the North End, Batman goes to the Escabedo cartel for the location of the bodyguard. Before he can get an answer, the Russian Odessa Mob pays a visit with a Rocket-Propelled Grenade to the Cartel mansion. And at the Iceberg Lounge, Orpheus and Onyx grill the Penguin and Deadshot for info about the meeting.

Meanwhile, The Hill is ablaze as the Latin Unifieds and The Hill Gang start going at it. Orpheus and Onyx drop the interrogation of Cobblepot and make their way there. Batman is still battling the Russians while trying to keep the neighborhood surrounding the Cartel in one piece. After one last grenade into a group of innocents, both the Odessa Mob and Escabedo Cartel escape the scene when the police sirens come into earshot while Batman scrambles to save lives.

Once Batman gets the victims to safety, he gets word from Oracle that Chinatown is back under attack as the local Yakuza chapter is trying to steal the Triad?s turf right out from under their respective noses. Since Batgirl was already on her way to help out on The Hill, Batman decides to change his tactics and asks Orpheus to go up to Chinatown while Batgirl takes over the fight for The Hill.

This issue basically serves as advancing the War Games storyline without revealing too much about the reasons behind the gang wars. Gabrych is a good caretaker with this issue by keeping everything moving at a decent pace which hopefully the other books will follow. The art by Woods is very good. It?s not too flashy or overly posed. His art has seemed to progress to a more defined/realistic look from a somewhat ?cartoony? appearance in terms of facial expressions and body language while he was previously working on ?Robin?. The inks by Massengill seemed to help tighten the already sharp pencils. The cover by Jock (of The Losers fame) doesn?t look like anything he drew for that title. It almost has a certain Aparo style with a few modern twists to it.

Overall, Detective Comics #797 is a good continuation of the initial War Games crossover. The next two books up are Legends of the Dark Knight #182 and Nightwing #96. We?ll see how they turn out next week.

(Ed. Note - Even though this issue of Detective Comics is part of the Batman: War Games crossover, it also contains a non-related backup story. Therefore, it will not be included as part of this review.)

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Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure
War Games: Prologue
Writer: Devin Grayson
Pencils: Ramon Bachs
Inks: Raul Fernandez & Rodney Ramos
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: 12 Cents

This review contains spoilers.

While ?The 12 Cent Adventure? is the ?Official? prelude to War Games, many of the events of this issue were set in motion in the Batman family of titles over the last couple of months. But don?t worry. You don?t need to have read what has come before to understand what?s going on. Grayson does a good job of gathering all of the plot points together, streamlining them, and sending the story forward.

The story opens with Spoiler (Stephanie Brown was fired from her brief tenure as Robin for disobeying a direct order from Batman in ?Robin? #130 two weeks ago) surveilling a meeting of Gotham crime figures. It?s small at first, Junior Galante, accompanied by his new bodyguard Zeiss and Orpheus and Onyx from the ?Hill Gang,? but Spoiler knows she?s onto something.

Before long, Spoiler realizes she?s onto something BIG. Penguin and Deadshot arrive, Lew Moxon and Hellhound, The Ventriloquist and Scarface, the Russian Odessa mob, the Yakuza, the Latino Unified Gang, the Escabedo Cartel, Kwan Lin of the Triad and Silver Monkey by the time the arrivals cease, virtually every player in Gotham?s underworld is represented. Spoiler is getting a little worried about being in over her head.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is attending a hospital benefit for a Dr. Grall, who has invented ?A more efficient particle accelerator device for positron emission tomography? and whom survives solely on grant money. The benefit doesn?t stay peaceful for long, though, as Kobra terrorists suddenly repel into the room.

Bruce heads to the basement to switch identities and summons the Batmobile via remote control ? hoping a splashy entrance for Batman will take attention away from a missing Bruce Wayne. He crashes the Batmobile into the lobby and then stealthily tracks the Kobra operatives. When the time is right, he strikes, gassing the hallway and emerging from the smoke swinging.

Batman makes short work of the Kobra soldiers then goes after Dr. Grall. He confronts Grall with the fact that the Kobra?s knew exactly where the radioactive isotopes (which we?ve learned they?re trying to procure for a ?dirty? bomb) were in the hospital. They headed straight for them. Something they could have only done with inside information. ?How much did they pay you for the information?? Batman asks. ?Was it enough to make it worth risking every life in this Hospital?? But Grall is looking a little worse for wear, disintegrating before Batman?s eyes. He tells Batman that Kobra has changed, ?There is a new leader. This is just the beginning,? he says as he dissolves to nothingness.

Back on the rooftop Spoiler watches as tensions mount between the crimelords on the street below. Some of the gathered bosses aren?t too happy to see each other and tempers begin to flare. ?What am I doing here?? Stephanie says to herself. ?Funny, I was just about to ask the same thing,? says a voice from behind her. She turns to find Catwoman, who had been following Gallante. Catwoman tells spoiler that she?s surprised that she got clearance to watch the meeting. Spoler tells her that she didn?t. That she just happened to be there and she?s no longer affiliated with Batman.

As they continue to watch, Catwoman tells Spoiler that she might want to go ahead and call Batman in. ?If one spark goes off in that powder keg?? The words have barely fallen from her lips when one of the mobsters, Crown, starts to draw a firearm. As he draws, everyone else draws and a free for all breaks loose. Orpheus and Onyx quickly flee the scene as bullets fly everywhere. Catwoman tells Spoiler to call Batman before it gets worse and then leaps away, ?I?ve gotta clear outta here before someone decides this is all MY fault.?

But it?s too late. The damage is done. Penguin, Deadshot, Zeiss and Scarface are all visibly alive after the shots cease, but many of the others don?t appear to have fared as well. As Spoiler looks down at the dead and wounded bleeding in the street she realizes she is truly alone. She thinks about how Tim, Robin, could have prevented the massacre. As she stands feeling useless and helpless she takes off her cowl and stands, sad eyed. She takes the list of mobsters she?s been compiling, lights it aflame, and casts it to the wind.

The issue is, for the most part, written as a ?Spoiler?s War Journal? entry in Stephanie?s ?voice.? While she watches and waits, she thinks about losing the Robin job. She starts out angry, defiant, but as the issue progresses more and more self doubt begins to creep in until she finally begins to wonder if she?s worth anything at all. While there?s a lot of action in the book, the narrative also interweaves a lot about what it means to be Robin and what it means to be Batman as well.

I?ve always found characterization to be one of Devin Grayson?s greatest strengths as a writer and she doesn?t disappoint here. Through Stephanie?s journal entry we get a good insight into her thought process as she transitions from being angry about losing the Robin job to understanding exactly why that happened and making the connection that confidence and competence are not the same thing. The artwork by penciller Ramon Bachs and inkers Raul Fernandez & Rodney Ramos fits the story nicely. The layouts are dynamic and manage to cram a lot of visual information into a relatively small amount of space without feeling too cramped. Some of the character detailing occasionally reminded me of the work of Scott McDaniel.

The iconic cover image by Cameron Stewart reminds me a bit of the classic cover image of Batman in the spotlight from Batman #9 (which was so cool they reused it again on Batman #16) but with a modern flair. It?s definitely eye catching and I?m not sure who could resist picking up a copy at the 12 cent cover price.

?Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure? offers a promising start to ?War Games,? but we?ll have to wait and see if the rest of the event delivers on that promise.

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Big Summer Crossover.” Say it with me, “Big Summer Crossover!” These words have occasionally been known to strike more fear in comic book fans than Batman himself can muster from a 2 bit thug with a zip gun and a gimpy leg.

As you probably know, August 4th DC Comics launches their next “Big Summer Crossover,” entitled “Batman: War Games,” with the bargain priced “Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure.” The crossover runs through all the Batman titles (some 25 issues) in three “Acts” (one act per month) reaching its conclusion in the 40 page Batman #633 on October 27th.

Feeling unnaturally frightened? Looking around your house for Jonathan Crane? Don’t worry - 4 Color Review has the cure for what ails you. In the tradition of our well received “Our Worlds at War” coverage of three years ago, we’ll be offering week-by-week coverage of every War Games title with capsule synopses and comments posted the week the book ships.

It all starts next week with coverage of the introductory “Batman: The 12 Cent Adventure” and “Detective Comics #797″ - War Games: Act 1, Part 1. Let the “Games” begin!

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