I loved the story in this issue. Ric's finally becoming a character in his own right, as opposed to who Dick used to be. The artwork in this issue is solid, although I feel it's not been as good as in previous instalments. Read Full Review

NIGHTWING #56 is a decent issue. While some elements are too clean cut, Grayson returning to heroism is a nice change of pace. Read Full Review

The art is the best part of the book. The fight scenes are vivid and the quiet moments are well handled. I wish Gianfelice had a slightly better script. But the ending holds some promise. Let's see there this story thread takes us. Read Full Review

Given their amateur status, I have to wonder if the Nightwing team may fragment, with one or members becoming Flamebirds. Yes, you read that right. Because you see, kids, back when Dick Grayson was still Robin, there was another Nightwing, and he had a partner named Flamebird. I honestly doubt DC Comics would resurrect the name/character in some way, but the 11-year-old in me would love it if they did. Read Full Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. It was action packed, well scripted and brilliantly drawn. If we could just get a permanent art team settled in, then this series would be close to perfection. I'm fully invested in this title, with Ric back in the thick of things and a mysterious visitor watching proceedings from the rooftops, I'm sure that the fun's just getting started. Read Full Review

All in all, it's good to see some level of promise from Ric as a crime fighter. Read Full Review

Ric finally returns to action, and it's just as good as one would expect. Read Full Review

Nightwing's new status quo continues to be fun and while this issue isn't perfect, where we end up by the end keeps me intrigued and excited for where we're going next with Ric Grayson and the new Nightwing Squad.  The art works great for the story and all the characters involved are people I can't wait to learn more about. Read Full Review

But, it's not Nightwing. It's got the logo on the front cover, but it doesn't have the heart of a beloved character. I miss Dick Grayson. Ric Grayson is serviceable, but this is one departure from the core of the character I'm struggling to get excited over. Read Full Review

Nightwing #56 closes out theKnight Terrors storyline with a suitable boom, just not a bang. Still, the new prospect of a Nightwing team is exciting, and it's always great to see DC commit to a new status quo for an iconic character. Read Full Review

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that I'm not a fan of this arc, and I'm glad it seems to be nearing its end. The art for this run has always been hit or miss for me and this issue is no different. If I had to describe it in one word, I'd say unbalanced. The writing is slow and drags with the entire issue feeling like it takes place over maybe 3 distinct moments in time, and not in a way that seems deliberate and planned out. Read Full Review

Overall this is a tough one to call. As I said the craft is truly and completely solid, but the plot is just so problematic. I don't feel the book is utterly without merit, however I can't in good faith recommend anyone add Nightwing to their pull list at this time. I am staying put for now as I want to see where things shake out after next issue's conclusion to this arc, but it's not because of any suspense that may have consequently been built up in the Scarecrow confrontation, its solely to see if Dick Grayson is still somewhere under all this flotsam and jetsam. Read Full Review

Nightwing #56 has its moments in both the artwork and the story, but ultimately it's a bit of a letdown. It felt like they had a great ending for this Scarecrow arc, but their minds were already on 57. The lead-in to next week lets us know that Duela Dent may be on her way and that makes me really excited! It also makes me worried. Duela is a really weird character, and if done right, this will be an incredibly fun issue; if not, well then, another missed opportunity. Read Full Review

Nightwing #56 was a disappointing conclusion to the first story arc involving Ric Grayson. This issue emphasized how the change from Dick Grayson to Ric Grayson has fallen flat. The potential shown early on has faded away. It was all replaced by lackluster character development that has created concern for the future of this series. The faster we get back to Dick Grayson as the only Nightwing, working with the Batman Family and leading the Titans, the better. Read Full Review

DC continues to destroy the Nightwing brand, and that's a shame considering they've spent the last decade crafting stories that have really brought Dick into his own. This story is a mess with poor characters, a worse script, and a sorry excuse for a plot that is so inconsistent it's embarrassing. Hopefully, this will end soon, because I have no desire to continue reading this title at the moment. Read Full Review

Not the worst issue of this new Nightwing run, but pretty close, Nightwing #56 is stunning for just how disjointed it feels. Read Full Review

Feels so good to enjoy a Nightwing issue again! Issue wasn’t the best but it’s a lot better than what we have been getting. Are we seeing a new team of superheroes in the Blud? Artwork is ok, the dialogue is very good!

"Fear this"

It was alright. The art got better, Scarecrow got his strawy butt kicked and Dick, I mean Ric is slowly getting back to the hero business.

This little "experiment" was an interesting and mostly fun change of scenery, but I'm ready for things to start getting back to normal. I'm ready for Ric Grayson to start regaining his memory and once again become Richard "Dick" Grayson aka Nightwing.

Compared to #50, 54& 55, which were all great, this issue feels underwhelming as I feared,since it’s the last of this story arc.

First of all it’s a shame DC decided to change the cool cover with Scarecrow finishing off the new Nightwing& Ric coming to his help. Would have been the perfect cover, but instead we got just this cover with Ric. It however fits this issue way more than the cancelled one, so I at least get the change now, it still feels like a bad decision.

Scarecrow is still attacking Bludhaven& the new Nightwings. Because of his actions Dick feels the need to help them& from there one the plot could have been a lot better. As one of Batman‘s A villains Scarecrow deserves way better than how he was treated in this issue. While he fought Nightwing in previous comics ( For example Pre52 Nightwing Vol 2), Dick was never this big of a threat for him as he is portrayed in this story. Scarecrow successfully fought way stronger heroes than Nightwing before like Superman, Hawkman or the entire JL, not to mention the countless times he fought Batman, so Dick beating him so fast really feels wrong. A burning tire beating the fear gas doesn’t only make it look way too easy nor does it make any sense. And of course Dick is immune against Scarecrow‘s newest fear gas just like that. You could explain it with that his newest version makes people afraid of their fearlessness ( while I’d rather think it makes people choose to fight instead of flight, while facing their fears) & since Dick isn’t afraid of being fearless as we could see in his therapy session in 54, it has no effect on him. But that’s only me trying to find some sense. What felt wrong from the beginning as I pointed out in earlier reviews, that Dick never was fearless ( Nightwing vol 2 shows his fear& even in New52/ Rebirth he isn’t)& I hoped this would be adressed, but unfortunately it wasn’t, so that’s kind of disappointing, too. It especially makes no sense, because there were other stories, that shows that being fearless isn’t good at all.
Therefore Scarecrow is just there in this issue to make look Dick badass& to make him team up with the other Nightwings. This outcome is especially disappointing if you look how well Scarecrow‘s plot was built up since 50. His story had so much more potential, but DC missed that opportunity . Luckily Scarecrow was well portrayed in the previous issues& got some spotlight in #50, 54&55, so as a whole story arc I still like it, but the ending was rather bad& didn’t do his character justice.
I think it would have been better, if there was another issue where Dick is affected by the fear gas& has to fight it. Sure would have been the more exciting plot than making things too easy, but that might would have brought Dick back as the guy we know& DC made it pretty clear at the end of this issue, that this will take quite a while.
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THE GOOD:

-Didn't hate the art this issue. Didn't love it, either. It was an improvement though.

-This was the first issue I didn't hate Ric. He was actually all right.

-I thought the car thing was a very cool Macgyver style way to deal with the fear gas situation.

THE BAD:

-Scarecrow ended up being a pretty weak villain. His defeat felt too easy and nothing about his villain stands out this time, which is sad because there's so much potential in that area. He was definitely the best part of the last issue.

-I also really, really, really hate the Nightwing team. It is very forced and is a stupid idea to begin with.

-The dialogue was weird. Especially, "Hot dignity damn." Who says that?! I assume that's Joker's daughter however, which does make more sense.

-The whole fearless thing is poorly explained and hard to believe and just way, way too easy.

-This whole thing felt really anticlimactic, as if the last several issues were building up something that can be easily written off in a cliche battle.

-The corniness factor was high in this one. "Walk into my fist!" "Fear this!" more

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Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

Yeah agreed. This is the first issue where I hated Ric, he was such a jerk in the end. Scarecrow really was wasted.

myconius - Jan 13, 2019

my enthusiasm for picking up this trade is really diminishing. :P

Darkseid24 - Jan 13, 2019

I already preordered it :P

myconius - Jan 13, 2019

i'll catch the digital collected when it goes on sale. nice 'n cheap! :)

Amazing Psycamorean - Jan 13, 2019

I don't collect bad things

myconius - Jan 13, 2019

i unfortunately cannot help but let morbid curiosity get the better of me. if i were at a public execution, i probably wouldn't stop looking until the head went into the basket.

Darkseid24 - Jan 14, 2019

I loved it, so of course I collect it. I just ignore the bad ending.

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So this issue just firmly cements this very boring status quo that most people don't want, judging by the reception. And how long will it be until everyone realizes Ric Grayson, and therefore Dick Grayson, is Nightwing? He just shows up and becomes easily the most capable of the Nightwings, he's immune to fear toxin... certainly a doctor like Scarecrow should be able to fit all the pieces together, right? Especially since he's apparently obsessed with Nightwing. This idea is just so ill-conceived. I put the blame firmly on editorial and their dislike of Dick Grayson. Tom King revealed the original pitch for the Nightwing series after Dick was shot. It was going to be shared between Tim Drake who was going to be taking up the mantle and a recovering Dick Grayson who helps him behind the scenes. Would that have been a good series? I don't know. But it sounds a hell of a lot more promising than this travesty. Joker's Daughter being the antagonist for the next arc is such a joke. If there was ever a sign that this idea wasn't working, it's that. more

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Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

Yeah you are kind of right, with all the built up the last few issues this one could have been great, but DC really messed up here. Dick being fearless makes no sense. I however doubt the story with Tim would have been better. Maybe it would have been Dick& Tim punching him. With Scarecrow they could have explored Dick more as a character& show us his fears, but it’s pretty pointless now. I still love the story because of Scarecrow, but he deserved better too. Joker’s Daugther is a joke indeed.

Amazing Psycamorean - Jan 11, 2019

Well, it's too bad that Dick literally has absolutely no fear. Move over, Daredevil.

Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

Dick has fears. Pre52 the fear gas showed, that he was afraid of failing Batman& of never being good enough. And actually Scarecrow fought Daredevil in a crossover.

Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

And in another story, where he was affected by it, he was afraid of killing the villains

Amazing Psycamorean - Jan 11, 2019

Well, that's not canon anymore, obviously.

Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

Yeah, but Dick wasn’t fearless even in New52 or Rebirth, I mean when? Or I really missed something here.

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Still awful. Please get off of this Ric Grayson garbage and bring back Nightwing.

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Darkseid24 - Jan 9, 2019

Don’t think it was awful, just had so much more potential. I fear Ric will stay& is forming his teams of Nightwing for now.

RBL - Jan 9, 2019

One can only hope, first arc of this “ric” garbage was exactly that, trash.

Darkseid24 - Jan 9, 2019

Don’t think it was, but you do not really think that Jokers daugther improves the story?

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Tl;dr title of the issue is akin to clickbait of the worst caliber, we’ve been stuck with this “ric” joke for an entire arc now, he unfortunately has not left so as to warrant a “return”. Issue itself just cements this atrocious new character as what Nightwing has become while the bland “generics” operate in his stead. Anyone with a right mind would have already dropped this book, this issue does nothing to change that. I believe this is hardly worth reading and much less buying.


The “generics” take on scarecrow and show how far out of their depth they are, despite the villain monologuing instead of actually taking action. They show how they can’t separate being in uniform as law enforcement and in their position as vigilantes, which does little but show they are terrible in the role they chose to take up. There’s little else to say about them as one-note as they are.

“ric” finally does something, all while saying to himself he does not want to do that and how the people “playing at being him” brought it on themselves. He remains amazed at what he can do, yet remains adamant in avoiding his past life. His statement he just wants to take “generic romantic interest” away and flee the city shows how far removed he is from Dick Grayson. However, I do agree with his assessment that the bullet he took was worse than he thought as his current character was an outcome worse than killing him off; didio must be relishing this. His characterization switches from someone who is selfish and wants nothing to do with “hero” work, someone who relunctantly engages in said actions due to an innate desire to do good, and someone who’s far too eager to beat up bad guys. The writer can’t keep consistency.

Scarecrow is the only character presented properly. Despite not being a real fan of this character, not thinking he’s an A-list villain, I find myself thinking he should have been more prominent in this issue and was stopped far too easily.

I absolute despise the current status quo of Nightwing and only hope “ric” does not last much longer. I have no expectations of the upcoming story arc because if it continues things as they are it will continue to be one of the worst books DC releases. more

Nightwing has quickly become one of the worst books DC is currently publishing.

This issue exemplifies that. The writing, plotting, every single line of dialogue is so lazy and uninteresting it makes me wonder if anyone involved in the creative process actual wants to be doing this job. It certainly doesn't seem like it, with the complete lack of apparent effort on display in this issue.

The generic cops continue to be generic, Ric continues to repeat the same exact thoughts he's been thinking for the past 5 issues, (seriously, are they cut and pasting these inner monologues?) and the characterisation of Ric continues to be one of the worst things in comic books today. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say this either: The execution of the Ric Grayson experiment has been one of the most bungled, aimless and disastrous storylines I've seen in modern comic book history.

If you were waiting for this arc to end and tie things up in a satisfying way, or give just a glimmer of hope that things will get better in the future, think again.
As comic reader, I'm disappointed. As a long time Dick Grayson fan, I'm heartbroken by just how bad this book has become. more

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Darkseid24 - Jan 9, 2019

Then you haven’t read Darkseid War. At least Dick has still some skills, is still pretty much the same& wasn’t turned into a baby.

RBL - Jan 10, 2019

He’s not the same, he’s surprised he retains the skills and is portrayed differently regarding their usage. Darkseid War was better than this story arc which replaced the one time Heart of the DC hero community with generic one-note characters that have no personality beyond the one trait the writer gave them. I fully share this individual’s disappointment and his idea that this “ric” thing is a disastrous mess.

Darkseid24 - Jan 10, 2019

Darkseid War was not better, since Darkseid War turned so many characters into completely different characters to the point where they weren’t recognizable anymore. Not to mention, that one of the most powerful DC villains was portrayed like a total idiot& humiliated by getting turned into a baby. In Nightwing only one character is changed& Ric isn’t reduced to an idiot. And forget Ric, Scarecrow was great in this story arc& that’s why I love it. DC did him dirty in the end, but until 56 it was

Darkseid24 - Jan 10, 2019

great

JayFlashy1 - Jan 10, 2019

It's hard for me to 'forget' the fact that the main character of the book, the sole reason I pick up the title Nightwing, is written so poorly that it's almost insulting. Ric was a shaky concept to begin with, but it could have been used to explore what it means to be Dick Grayson at his core. Instead we get Ric complaining about how much he hates Dick Grayson, even though he doesn't remember anything about him, all while being a boring, one-note, and remarkably unlikeable. Scarecrow plays

JayFlashy1 - Jan 10, 2019

the same role he always has, gas the people, get beat up, go to jail. Nothing special was done with him, that would differentiate this appearance from any other. So in the end, were left with a story we could have had with Dick Grayson, and it probably would have been better written. This arc, this whole Ric Grayson idea- is a disservice to all of the characters involved, imo. (Sorry for the weird break, got cut off somehow.)

Darkseid24 - Jan 10, 2019

Yeah DC could have done more with Ric this issue& I actually hoped Scarecrow would finish off the Nightwings& affect Dick with his fear gas& we might see a deeper reason for Ric hating Dick. So that was a wasted opportunity. As for Scarecrow I disagree. The focus wasn’t on his character since years. He often just stood in the background or said some lines like in B&RE or in Harley Quinn/ Batwoman. So when it comes to him this story was special. I also never saw him giving therapy to one of his

Darkseid24 - Jan 10, 2019

enemies, so that’s definitely something new here. Not to mention that his outfit looks more like his Pre52 version again. As a fan of the villains I read many different comics, because unfortunately they don’t have their own ones. They are as important as the heroes. The heroes would be boring without them.

RBL - Jan 10, 2019

For those us who read this comic for its TITLE CHARACTER, not the villain, to see him be portrayed in a manner worse than killing him off is insulting and disappointing. As “well” as Scarecrow was shown he still went down in a single punch, so much for him being a “major villain”. Darkseid is still the far better arc than this knight terrors crap.

Darkseid24 - Jan 10, 2019

Well I’m not one of those, so I don’t bother. And of course Scarecrow is a major villain, he successfully fought the JL& Superman a couple of times. And in case you haven’t realized that yet, but the villain is rarely allowed to win. Darkseid War is not. Dick wasnt humiliated here or written as a total different character, so you are obviously biased.

myconius - Jan 11, 2019

eventually the character will just be reset. so this Ric Grayson phase will become undone and forgotten about like Dick's Super-Spy and Police Officer phases.

RBL - Jan 11, 2019

In case you missed it, the entire point of “ric’s” arc is he is not the same Dick Grayson and his distancing from that identity, so much for getting the story. @myconius Yeah, that can’t happen fast enough, because compared to those phases, this is just atrocious.

Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

@ RBL I get that, but problem is Dick is acting pretty much the same. I hoped, that with Scarecrow as the villain we would get a better reason, why he doesn’t want to be Nightwing anymore like a fear of being shot again or even questioning his life, but DC kind of missed this opportunity. Or not being that cheerful after a trauma. Maybe even physical& psychological issues. & myconius The super - Spy Phase was awful, but you’re right. DC should have portrayed Dick more broken like when he killed

Darkseid24 - Jan 11, 2019

Joker. Make it way harder for him to come back to fighting crimes. The way it happened made the Ric story pointless now.

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Oh no that one character got shot or whatever.

This is so bad... the shot in the head bring a few interesting consequences in the first issues, but now Scott Lodbel turn back to the common super hero stuff, in a bad way. This could be more ground, more human... something like Daredevil stuff.

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Dorival - Jan 9, 2019

Scott Lobdell*

RBL - Jan 9, 2019

I thought it was atrocious from the start and this cementing things as the new status quo is just a slap in the face to any fan of Nightwing.

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