Last year saw the launch of DC All In, a major new publishing initiative that has brought new titles, new creative teams and an all-new universe to the world of DC Comics. This month on DC.com, we’ve asked some of our contributors to write about an All In title that they’ve personally gone All In on, letting us know what it is about the comic that they’ve been enjoying.
 

I’ve been a huge Nightwing fan for years now, but even I feel like I’m still getting to know Blüdhaven. So, it’s been really great to discover that Dan Watters and Dexter Soy’s run on Nightwing is bringing two groups in Blüdhaven into greater focus: a shady company called Spheric Solutions and a masked gang called the Teddies. After all, you can’t get to know a city without getting acquainted with its residents. I’m looking forward to seeing where this is all leading to.

When I first heard that Watters and Soy were going to take over Nightwing’s ongoing series after a powerhouse run by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, I couldn’t be more relieved that the book was going to be in such capable hands. Taylor and Redondo’s run was so impactful on me that it drove me to start collecting comics in single issue form. Taylor and Redondo showed me that there was something about Dick Grayson in particular that made me need to experience his story in the physical realm. Feeling the texture of the paper as I turned each page, trying to delicately handle the book in my hands while I laughed, gasped or even screamed (in a good way) at what I was reading, all of it led to an enhanced reading experience that Nightwing is deserving of.

I’m happy to say that this spirit has continued for me with Watters and Soy, even though their run has a different feel than that of their predecessors. To start, I have immense reverence for Dexter Soy because of his work on Red Hood and the Outlaws. He draws the perfect broody Jason Todd! There’s a harsh sense of angularity to Soy’s lines that enhance the iconic silhouettes of the characters he’s drawing. His art has high contrast between light and dark, and as we’ve seen thus far with Nightwing, he’s not afraid to throw a lot of ink down on the page. And I’m living for it! It brings an added oomph to Dick’s body in motion as he fights his enemies, with each kick or hit feeling bigger and bolder.

If Taylor and Redondo’s run was about leaping into the light, Watters and Soy’s run is about a descent into darkness. And don’t get me wrong, I love light and sunny Dick Grayson, but I think inside me there has always been a tiny LEGO Batman singing, “Darkness! No parents! Continued darkness!” That is, I’m drawn to the darkness of the Bat-Family, and I have been enjoying how Watters and Soy have been exploring Nightwing as a force of light within a dark world. There’s a real sense of stakes to a story like this, thanks to Watters and Soy’s understanding of why Nightwing is special.

And if there’s anyone who absolutely excels at writing dark stories, it’s Dan Watters. I was first introduced to his work with the Arkham City: The Order of the World series he did with Dani Strips that you absolutely need to read right now if you haven’t already. Since then, Watters has been killing it on backup stories in Detective Comics, Azrael’s recent series and 2023’s Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special #1, which brought back Bloodwynd as the Superman of Hell. If you think you prefer lighter stories, don’t be dissuaded by this. There’s a sensitivity to Watters’s writing that steers each story away from feeling gratuitous.

My personal highlight of their story, at least so far, is a cybernetically-enhanced rabbit. The rabbit was developed by Spheric Solutions as an anti-metahuman weapon, and it attacks Nightwing with a mech suit of sorts. Because this is Dick Grayson, he comforts the shell-shocked bunny and takes it home with him.

If you remember back in the early days of Taylor and Redondo’s Nightwing run, Dick rescued Haley, his three-legged dog, from a group of bullies. Although Babs cautions Dick from taking in more animals, I’d love to see Nightwing go full Batman and just start adopting a bunch of animals in need whenever he encounters them in his city. One of the things I love most about the DC Universe is that there are plenty of animal characters like Detective Chimp, Krypto, Streaky, Dex-Starr and Gorilla Grodd who exist alongside humans and aliens. Who says there isn’t room for a cyborg bunny?

As this new era descends on the DC Universe, I’m looking forward to seeing how Dan Watters and Dexter Soy carve out this next chapter for Nightwing. As much as I love the guy, I would also love to see him go up against some horrific people. It’s in the most dire situations where we’re reminded that you can’t have darkness without the light.
 

Jules Chin Greene writes about comics, TV, games and film for DC.com, and his work can also be found at Nerdist, Popverse and Multiverse of Color. You can follow him on Bluesky at @JulesChinGreene and on Instagram at @infinitevibes.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Jules Chin Greene and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.