Nightwing #149 Review

NIGHTWING #149
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Don Kramer and Jay Leisten

What was a painfully generic "Scarecrow fear toxin hallucination" story ended on a very strong note with some great Harvey Dent / Two Face characterization. Much like most of Tomasi's run, the actual plot of this storyline has been a real detriment to his otherwise great characterization and interactions. The art didn't do this month's offering any favours either.

After taking some bullet wounds from a mysterious sniper *coughTwoFacecough* last issue, it is revealed the bullets were laced with some of Scarecrow's fear toxin. Nightwing, unable to rest as the girl he's trying to save was taken captive, rushes headlong, toxin still in his blood, to save her and is confronted by the entire Batman rogue's gallery.

Obviously, this is not real and we're treated to some generic 'conquer my fear' fight scenes with each villain that all ends up being fake (shocking, I know). Nightwing ended up just beating on some hired goons and it's revealed Two Face is the villain trying to kill the witness. Yes, it was painfully obvious he was the one behind the contract on her, but he also requested Nightwing's help in saving her, so there was still room for it to be someone else.

In the end, Two Face ends up killing the woman and leaves her to die as he goes off to collect his reward from the people that hired him. It is here that my opinion of this issue really changed as it's revealed Harvey Dent and Two Face were at odds with each other. Harvey was trying to stop the Two Face persona from killing her and, after receiving his money, he's shocked to hear on the television that the woman died. He lashes out at his employer, killing him, all the while screaming about how Nightwing was supposed to save her. I can't recall there ever being a clear distinction between Two Face and Harvey Dent before - at least, nothing on this scale - and I think it added a nice touch to the character and I'm curious to see where it goes from here.

Verdict - Check It. A rather lackluster issue with a solid ending.

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