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Nightwing (The New 52!) # 9 (Night of Owls)

By Mark Rodriguez

The Talons are attacking all over Gotham City. Nightwing rescued the mayor from being killed by one of the Talons, but as he was leaving he was attacked by another. This other Talon is William Cobb, his own great grandfather!


The story opens with more of Cobb's flashbacks. He says that during the time he courted Amelia, he rarely dealt with her father. One time he met up with him and Burton Crowe asked what he was doing with his daughter. He invites him to play chess and explains that world, like chess, only has light and dark and no in-between. He reminds him that even though he came from the slums and rose up in fame with Haly's Circus, he was still filth.

In modern day, Nightwing faces William Cobb and wonders how he escaped the Batcave. He tells the mayor and his men to hide in their panic room as he tackles the Talon out the window. As they all, Cobb tells Grayson to show him what he has become and to impress him. In free-fall, Nightwing fires a grappling hook onto a nearby roof. He swings down and has a rough landing while the Talon lands onto a car. However the Talon regenerates from his broken bones and demands to be impressed.



The flashback continues with Cobb remembering that Burton was against the romance between himself and Amelia, which got more complicated when she got pregnant. Cobb and Amelia were forced to cut all ties, and she was forced to marry a second cousin with nobody knowing the child was Cobb's.

Cobb tells Nightwing he was awakened first because he was the best. Nightwing says he knows Batman beat him and put him on ice. Cobb remarks on seeing when Batman hit him (to remove the Owl tooth) and he was awake the whole time he was in the Batcave. Nightwing fires a grappling hook and ties Cobb to it as he tries to get some breathing room.

Nightwing tries to get away as he has already lost a lot of blood due to the fight with the previous Talon. He passes out as Cobb taunts him. The Talon drags him down the subway and pins him to a wall. He removes his mask and tells him it's important to realize what he could have been and realize the sacrifices made to procure the future he rejected.



The flashback shows the man that recruited Cobb into the circus approach him as he griefs his lost love. He tells Cobb things don't have to be this way and he has a way for him to change things. He was taken to become part of the Court of Owls, who live in the gray between the light and dark. He would soon become a Talon and kill for the Court, changing the city to meet their ends.



He snuck into the Crowne state and took his child. He tells Nathaniel (the guy who recruited him) to raise the child in Haly's Circus in secret, he will be the Gray Son of Gotham.

Cobb continues to tell Dick that he was destined for greater things but instead took to being a knockoff of Batman. Grayson tells Cobb that Gotham does change, for example the subway they're in was modernized in time and currently uses liquid nitrogen to insulate the cables. He says he purposely brought the Talon down here because he knows they don't like the cold.

Nightwing tosses blades at the pipes and liquid nitrogen starts gushing all over Cobb. He tells Dick to stop being so trivial and embrace who he is. As the Talon succumbs to the cold, Dick carries him out and says he embraces that destinies don't exist.


My opinions

Pretty good story as we continues both the fight between Cobb and Nightwing, as well as Cobb's flashbacks that led him on his current path. Of course, with the Court being very manipulative and pulling the strings of everything in Gotham, we can all assume they set things up so that Cobb would fall for Amelia, knowing that her father wouldn't approve and set this chain of events in motion.

Cobb is possibly the Talon with the most backstory and most appearances other that the other Talon that would get his own comic series. It's just sad that something as fun as Haly's Circus that seemed innocent, other than the Grayson incident, would actually be a secret breeding ground for Talons.

Cobb dragging Nightwing down to the subway being all part of the plan was kinda odd and a leap of faith there. I mean, sure, Nightwing collapsed nearby, but he had no way of knowing that Cobb was going to drag him to the subway, or just kill him on the spot. That was kinda weird. But I guess villains love to monologue and he was counting on that. Pretty good issue and it was good to see Nightwing fight his ancestor.

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