Nightwing (the comic book) has been heavily criticized for having deviated so radically from what readers have come to expect. It seemed it was back on track when Nightwing (the character) relocated to BLudhaven. But it continued to slip a wee bit as this life-long hero continuously beat himself up for a temporary lapse in judgement that almost put him on the path to the Dark Side.

Well, who among hasn’t been there? We’ve all been indulgent in one way or another, leading us to an eventual moral crossroads. We struggle to make the best choices, and some days that struggle is easier than others. Kudos to Tim Seeley for trying to make Nightwing a little more relatable.

But this appears to be the final chapter of the “Bludhaven” arc, and it remains to be seen if Nightwing/Dick Grayson will stick it out a while longer before moving on. Thankfully, Batman is nowhere in sight – oh, right, he over in the Green Lanterns book this week.

But this issue seems to suggest a new villain in the making, one no too far removed from the adversarial nature of the Joker. It seems inevitable he will return, but time will tell. In the meantime, I’m hoping for a settling in period.

On problem I have with this issue is the character of Detective Svoboda. She’s a hard-assed, cigar-smoking cop, without an ounce of feminimity. That’s okay, I know people like that, but in this instance, it seems like too much of a cliché. If she were any more butch, she’d be Hawkman. My hope is to see less of her, until such time as she can maybe develop a more rounded personality – or at least one that I haven’t seen on any number of cop shows.