After a pretty solid first issue, and a REALLY solid month of playing this game, this series is back with its second installment, and it’s great! I’ve been really impressed with this series so far, both the game and the comic have been way better than I think anyone was expecting.
I don’t want to spoil everything up here, though, so let’s jump into it!
I love this franchise so much I hope we get Gotham Knights content for years to come
I mean that, genuinely. I think that we lucked out HARD with the quality of writing for this line of content. The game, as I’ve mentioned before, was incredible, moving, and heartfelt, and now the comics are absolutely killing it. If you’re doubting me, look no further than how Evan Narcisse handles Nightwing.
The ideological difference between Batman and Nightwing is something that I feel has been downplayed recently, if not discarded entirely. Nightwing started because Dick had outgrown Batman’s way of thinking. Gilded City chooses to lean into this, hard. Nightwing and Batman’s fight isn’t just a physical one, hell, I’d argue the physical fight isn’t important here at all. The real conflict comes from what they’re saying. See, right in the middle of resolving a crime, Nightwing says this:
And he MEANS it. The guy he’s beating up in that panel was there to attack his ex-girlfriend, who was breaking into his apartment to get her things back. Batman was going to attack the girl for breaking in. Nightwing took the time to learn the situation, connect with the people of Bludhaven, and realize that stopping this break-in would have been ultimately bad. Batman’s way didn’t work. It’s a dedication to the ethos of Nightwing I wish we saw more of, especially when there’s so much talk around this exact topic nowadays. There’s a lot of mention of Dick striving to be better than Batman, but it’s usually just lip service or (in a recent case) just Dick being magically granted a ton of money to then just give it away, because that’s what Twitter was talking about that week. The Nightwing presented here really feels like he walks the walk.
Of course, the present day isn’t the only place having problems. Back in 1847, Gotham is still being plagued by its own share of troubles. Plagued, of course, in a literal sense, as a wave of typhoid has taken the town. It’s so bad, in fact, that many businesses are having to shut their doors. This fact prompts one of my favorite exchanges of the issue.
Anticapitalist black lesbians in an 1840s Gotham? Hell yes.
A side note, I love the white businessman letting the two black lesbians know they can talk freely about that in his office, but shutting the conversation down as soon as the factories are insulted. Rainbow capitalism at its finest.
The Runaway faces his own challenges, however, as he investigates the disappearance of the relative of a recently freed slave. I won’t spoil too much here, I feel like I’ve done that already, but let’s just say I cannot wait to see more of this 1847 timeline.
Everyone looks cool and I love them
I know I said this last review, but this comic really sold me on the designs for these characters. The game looks great, don’t get me wrong, but these designs really feel like they were made for comics.
It also really helps seeing everyone’s suits in relation to Batman’s, I feel like it really ties everything together nicely. You can see the common design elements, who kept or changed what, it’s really cool to see thought like this put into the designs. Abel and John, I know you didn’t create these looks, but you’re doing the Lord’s work. Truly.
The heroes aren’t the only stylish characters hanging around, though. The designs for the Scarecrow goons are genuinely great.
I hope we get to see their boss soon. I bet he looks incredible.
Recommended if…
- You want some genuinely good Nightwing content.
- Why is Gotham Knights media so well written? Like, seriously.
- Included game code don’t hurt much, neither.
Overall
This series, and its game, are both two of my favorite recent pieces of Batman media. If we’re going to continue to be assaulted with wave after wave of Bat-content, I hope we get more stuff like this in the future.
Score: 8/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
