DC Comics
Marv Wolfman, Cherie Wilkerson and Dan Mishkin, writers
Erik Larsen, Mike DeCarlo, Chuck Patton, Tom Poston, Tom Mandrake and Vince Giarrano, artists
This trade was just released in August, but contains three stories from the late 1980s, well before Nightwing was given his own solo series. And each of these tales is collected in trade form for the very first time, as far as I know, in this volume. The first is a then-current retelling of Nightwing's origin story from the pages of Secret Origins No. 13. The second and third arcs were originally published in Action Comics Weekly Nos. 613-618 and 627-634 and pair Nightwing with Teen Titans pal, Roy Harper, otherwise known as Speedy, Green Arrow's former sidekick.
The first reprint is the best of the bunch as far as both writing and art go; but it isn't a very critical story. The secret origin of Nightwing, formerly Robin the Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, has had some tweaks through the years, but has remained largely the same since his creation in the 1940s. This particular retelling of Dick's origin takes place at the same time that Nightwing, Starfire and Jericho have traveled to Starfire's home world of Tamaran in the pages of The New Teen Titans (1984 series) Nos.14-18. Nightwing's 21st birthday has arrived while the trio is in space, and he is understandably distraught over the events that transpired on Tamaran. The framing sequence for this origin story is Nightwing and Jericho exploring Tamaran alone while Nightwing shares the details of his formative years with his friend.
The second story, "The Chesire Contract," is also well written by Marv Wolfman, although not quite as well as his better issues of Titans. The art is a little more cartoony than Titans fans would have been used to at the time, but it isn't bad. This story is the most critical of the bunch, especially to Titans fans because it deals with the relationship between Speedy and Cheshire and their daughter, Lian. The Titans first encountered the assassin for hire named Cheshire in New Teen Titans (1980 series) annual No. 2. She returned a few more times in the intervening years, but her next major appearance came in New Teen Titans (1984 series) Nos. 20 and 21. This is also during the time that Nightwing, Jericho and Starfire are on Tamaran. Back on Earth, Wonder Girl is leading a group of reserve Titans, including Speedy, on a mission for the government to protect a group of foreign dignitaries when Cheshire shows up as the villain of the story. It is here that readers first learn she and Speedy have had a prior relationship. It is also here that both the readers and Speedy learn that that liaison led to the birth of a child.
"The Cheshire Contract" takes place shortly after this encounter as Lian is described in the story as being just a day away from her first birthday. Roy enlists the aid of his friend, Nightwing, to track down Cheshire and find the daughter he has never seen. Along the way, Speedy fills in Nightwing (and the readers) on exactly how the relationship with Cheshire began: After beating his own drug addiction (as depicted in the classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow Nos. 85-86 from the award-winning early 1970s run by Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil), Roy began working for the government as an undercover drug agent. It was in this capacity that he met Cheshire and the two became intimate.
This story is a true team-up in that both Nightwing and Speedy play equally important roles in the narrative, and Nightwing clearly gets top billing on the various title pages as the better known of the two characters. In the end, Cheshire is caught, and Roy takes custody of Lian. She would figure prominently in the character's history from that point on, both in the pages of the various Titans books and in Roy's other appearances in other titles through the years. That makes this a very critical piece of Roy Harper's history and in Titans' history because of his continuing role with that group.
The third story in this collection, "Rocks and Hard Places," is even more a Speedy story. In fact, Nightwing only makes a few appearances in this one, which was kind of a continuation of "The Cheshire Contract." Roy decides to take some time off from adventuring to spend time with and get to know his daughter now that he has custody of the infant. Recently having learned that he is of Irish heritage, Roy decides to spend six months with Lian in Ireland, and Nightwing is along to help the two get settled. The heroes find a country divided into warring factions with almost everyone being forced to choose a side.
This is the weakest of the three stories included in this trade and quickly degenerates into a morality tale that comes across as rather heavy-handed. The first two chapters of "Rocks and Hard Places" are written by Wolfman with Cherie Wilkerson serving as co-plotter, but then she takes the lead and eventually is given sole credit for writing and plotting the bulk of the installments. I'm not familiar with any other writing credits Wilkerson might have, but wasn't impressed with this outing because of what I perceive as several flaws in the story. First, this was not a true team-up to me; Nightwing helps Speedy and Lian reach Ireland despite some action, but then heads back home only to return when Speedy asks him to for the final wrap-up. Second, you could lift Speedy right out of the story and substitute any other generic hero and nothing would change; this tale has no lasting impact or effect on the character. Third, the stated reason for Speedy to go to Ireland is to spend time with his daughter, yet she is barely in the story at all. Lian isn't even mentioned except for a handful of times and then forgotten.
I also have to wonder about the logic behind the name of this collection. "Old Friends, New Enemies" is one of the chapter titles from "Rocks and Hard Places." But first, it is one of the chapters Nightwing is not even in, yet this is a Nightwing collection. And second, OK, Nightwing and Speedy are old friends, but there is nothing new in the retelling of Nightwing's origin, Cheshire is not a new villain, and of the many new characters in "Rocks and Hard Places," none of them are ever seen again.
Completists will want this collection. It's a good trade for Speedy or Titans fans since "The Cheshire Contract" is such a key part of Speedy's and later Titans continuity. But I have to say, there's not really a lot here for a Nightwing fan. I applaud DC's efforts to collect some of these older stories, but this is not one of their better thought-out and packaged efforts.
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