Nightwing #133 Review

 

Writer: Dan Watters

Artist: V Ken Marion

Colorist: Veronica Gandini

Letterer: Wes Abbott

Cover Artists: Dexter Soy; Dustin Nguyen; Elizabeth Torque & Sabine Rich

Editors: Jessica Berbey & Rob Levin

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock

Release Date: December 17, 2025

 

Nightwing-Prime believed he was invincible. So, when he saw an opportunity to take Killer Moth down, he took it. Unfortunately, one of Spheric Solutions' wanderer robots shot the former 11-year-old street kid. After being transformed into a Kryptonian superhero by a fifth-dimensional imp, Bryce Moran can tackle almost anything Blüdhaven or Dick Grayson can throw at him. Sadly, a Kryptonite death ray isn't one of them.

 

With Bryce on life support in Titans Tower, Dick Grayson wasn't content to wait for Commissioner Sawyer to build her legal case against Spheric Solutions. But when he tackled Olivia Pearce, Nightwing got more than he bargained for. How will Nightwing emerge from their horrifying encounter? And can he rescue the children from Olivia and the Zanni's Cirque du Sin? Let's leap into Nightwing #133 and see!

 

Story

Dick sits vigil by Nightwing-Prime’s still body in Titans Tower. Bryce Moran was his protégé. Yet Dick couldn’t protect him. He’d been so sure he could tackle Olivia Pearce. Instead, using a suit Dick helped program, Olivia battled him across the skyline. Then, she made Nightwing look like a murderer on live TV. When Commissioner Sawyer visits, she turns off the TV news that reminds Dick of his failure. Then she clarifies what he should concentrate on.

 

In Nightwing #133, parents find their children's bedrooms empty. Their missing sons and daughters leave drawings behind to tell their parents where they have gone. Commissioner Sawyer knows she shouldn't be in Titans Tower. But she's less concerned about what has happened than about allowing this abduction of the next generation to continue.

 

Dan Watters shows that Dick Grayson has no shortage of supporters. Yet while the people in his life surround him, Dick waits for the person he most needs to confer with. Nightwing #133 invests in Dick Grayson's history, reminding us of his youth and the man he has become. He was Batman's first protégé. Dick Grayson has become Blüdhaven’s protector. But he grew up in a circus.

 

Even though he left after his parents died, Dick Grayson remembers what it felt like to entertain the crowds. He knows the magic the performers weave. It's not hard to remember the sense that anything can happen. But Dick Grayson walks a tightrope in Dan Watters' story. While embracing the abducted children's awe of the circus, Dick must steel himself against this Cirque du Sin, lest he also fall beneath its spell.

 

Art

A beam of light spears Nightwing and Olivia Pearce as they stand atop a building. When the camera nears, and Nightwing reaches out, Olivia’s head drops from her shoulders. Then Nightwing sits beside the technological womb sustaining Nightwing-Prime. Commissioner Sawyer can switch off the TV. Yet the towers rising beyond the wall window evoke Nightwing's rooftop battle with Olivia. Sawyer's long, dark coat emphasizes her history as a detective. The determination in her eyes reinforces her insistence that she was building a case against Olivia.

 

After V Ken Marion focuses on Nightwing’s mask, red eyes gaze upon a green-tinged city. Another person wearing a brown jacket disturbs his vigil as Nightwing sits on one of two brown boxes. Framed by the yellow strips of wall lighting, Nightwing rises to hand the visitor a brown file. But as a maze of snaking conduits seems to separate them, a girl clad in pink approaches a circus, while a young superhero clings to life in a magenta biobed. Yet red refuses to release its hold on Nightwing #133. From the red eyes that beheld the city, to the glowing circus, and Olivia’s red-and-black suit, Veronica Gandini ties the power of life to a realm that nestles uneasily against our own.

 

Wes Abbott fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters, and green and black narrative boxes with white letters. The letters grow bold for intonation and swell for raised voices, while Dick Grayson sits in readiness, awaiting the moment to act. Still, giant white letters in a red banner question whether any action he performs can salvage the trust of the city Nightwing loves. Thanks to DC Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Dick Grayson has paid a heavy price to become Blüdhaven’s protector. He continues to pay it every day for his adoptive city. People may accept their vigilante hero. But they're never quite sure how much darkness hides behind the mask. In Nightwing #133, Dick Grayson is angry. Still, he refuses to let the Zanni steal his love of life.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Nightwing #133.