As the Magistrate tightens his grip on Gotham City in the Future State timeline, Nightwing rises up in a thrilling new miniseries.
As Future State, DC’s line of titles showcasing alternate-future timelines, nears the end of its first month, Nightwing stars in his own miniseries as he continues to defend a dystopian, cyberpunk-tinged Gotham City. Written by Andrew Constant and illustrated Nicola Scott, the opening issue is an action-packed debut that shows the one-time Boy Wonder hasn’t lost a step. Indeed, this issue illustrates once more that Dick Grayson was always destined to take center stage.
With the Magistrate ruling Gotham, and Bruce Wayne presumed dead, all heroes are hunted across the city by the criminal overlord’s militarized police force. A little more cynical and hardened by his experiences, Nightwing is among the vigilantes leading a spirited resistance. And with the former Robin openly defying the Magistrate’s control, Dick Grayson has quickly risen to become one of the most wanted figures in the DC Universe.
One of the early hallmarks of the Future State line is a sense of urgency; a lot of these narratives are ones that hit the ground running and either deliver exposition on the fly or when their characters finally stop for breath. Those elements are present here, with Constant capturing Nightwing’s voice well as the original Robin stays one step of his hunters.
And those kicks are expertly delivered by Scott, working with colorist Ivan Plascencia, with some of the best artwork in Future State yet. There’s plenty of action, and Scott’s clean line work brings a kinetic energy as Dick eludes traps and takes his superhero act on the run. While the acrobatic sequences through the streets and across rooftops bring a level of grandiosity and scope, the action beats set inside also work well, as Scott captures the emotions of a Dick Grayson reaching the end of his mental and emotional rope. Plascencia plays up the shadows and the neon lights that illuminate this cyberpunk iteration of Gotham and helps to accentuate the weariness that Scott’s pencils and inks imbue on Dick’s face.
Nightwing finds himself at the helm of a fractured Bat Family in Future State, worn down as he continues to go it alone against the Magistrate’s heavily armed goon squad. And as dire as the stakes may seem, the creative team knows they’re crafting a fun, action-packed story rather than a morose, self-serious vision of the future. DC has maintained this balance well across Future State, and that continues here with another well-honed installment, with Nightwing standing out with some of the best action set pieces in this new line.
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