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icon_uk ([info]icon_uk) wrote in [info]scans_daily,
@ 2009-10-04 14:17:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, creator: chuck dixon, creator: greg land, in-joke: bondage, publisher: dc comics, title: nightwing

Dick meets his natural nemesis....
One of my frequent complaints about the Dixon Nightwing run was the absence of decent villains for our former Boy Wonder.

For a kid who'd grown up fighting the Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow and Mad Hatter with Batman, and the likes of the Fearsome Five, The Brotherhood of Evil, Trigon and many others with the Titans, there were mighty slim pickings in Bludhaven.

It wasn't until Nightwing 48 that Dick finally got a supervillain of her very own And given Dick's history as the worlds most tied up superhero, wanna guess what Sylph's power was? :)



(Approximately seven pages per issue of two issues btw)

To elaborate, villainwise, Blockbuster was little more than the Kingpin redux, operating behind the scenes, and as for his gang of no-hoper lieutenants... well they included Stallion (a steroid case with a bum knee), Brutale (throws knives... not terribly well it would seem) and Lady Vic (An English mercenary, her accent being most of her schtick, and a murderess who calls herself "Lady Victim" is just bizarre (There was an explanation, but I'd say that if your codename requires an explanation, you probably need a new codename)).

Also note, Blockbuster aside, not a single metahuman between them, though one has to be careful about such things, as more than one person has noted, all it would take is one moderately gifted telekinetic to decide to pursue a life of crime and Batman and Robin would be street pizza next time they jumped off a fifty storey building.

We got Scarecrow making a two issue appearance having been hired by Blockbuster, but that was it! It was approaching the embarassing, and Dick deserved better than that IMHO. We could have had Phobia or Plasmus show up to try and deal with him without his usual Titans backup.

Yup... The art is by Greg Land, which probably has foxhack's hackles rising already, but I think this is prior to his worst tracing problems... and that seems to be one of the saddest aspects of Land's tracing, he's actually a good artist when he can be bothered to be.

At any rate, back to the story....Dick's on patrol..




He see's a man falling from a penthouse, too far to do anything to catch him... but then someone else leaps after the leaper, and he stands a chance of catching her...



He realises that something is up when some of the material wrapped around her catches hold of various building parts, behave like the Bat-clans ubiquitous de-cel cables and lower her gently to the ground...



And since she followed the first leaper down, that means that she must have pushed him, which that means i

"It was MURDER!" (Which I ALWAYS hear in the voice of Lionel Stander (The gravel-voicesd Max from "Hart to Hart") for some reason)

Dick takes some of the material home with him (And I should note that it's nice that he's doing his own forensics and research rather than relying on Oracle) The post-it's on his computer read "Book for Alfred" and "Call Tim back"



He finds that the dead guy, Aaron Shue, was a multimillionaire textiles manufacturer, who was in partnership witha guy named Nelson DeSantis... the late Nelson DeSantis..

In this next page bear in mind that the woman, who we assume is known as "Sylph" because that's the name of this two part story, is talking to the body on the floor she's just killed. She is NOT a well lady...



Her powers make her sort of a cross between Spawn, Doctor Octopus and Gypsy Moth.



Sylphs's powers have a GREAT visual style... Oddly, the original versions of the covers showed Sylph wearing white rather than red... perhaps it made her appearance seem to be too close to other characters like Ghost. Personally, I think it's a bit of a shame they changed it as I think white would suit someone named after a wind sprite, and been a better contrast to her surroundings and actions.

And now we see why this woman was BORN to be Dick's nemesis.





Yeah, you haven't, and you probably wouldn't if she hadn't decided to cut your decel- line at JUST that moment.

Gotta love a villain whose entire power is based on binding and gagging the hero... well I do, but I freely admit to being a perv.



He manages to cut an arm free....



Cue almost inevitable 18 wheeler bearing down on him for the cliffhanger...

He manages to roll out of the way, and survive strands of the fabric catching on the trucks axle.



Nice little sequence showing why how good an acrobat Dick is...Even half mummified, he can still out-manouver anyone else on earth.



He survives, and looks good doing it naturally. He decides to call in the big guns on researching the background of this fabric. And it's not who you'd automatically think.... Since this is a business matter rather than heroic, he calls on Lucius Fox, on the pretext that Bruce wants him to take a more active role in his investments (Which is a nice cover)



This is during Dick's becoming a policeman arc, and I love Lucius' reaction (Though he clearly didn't know that Dick had been a bartender from some months, and it seems a little odd that he wasn't aware of Dick taking on a high risk profession). Luckily that occupise much of the rest of the issue, so the page coount if less tricky than is often the case.

We see Office Grayson meeting Amy, his sergeant, who takes him on a stakeout. Dick faking naivete about such things is quite cute.

Love Dick's closet, though one can perhaps see why Bruce would later chastise him for not hiding his secret identity better. You'd certainly want to make sure you've pulled the right shirt out of the closet getting dressed in the dark.



I think that's a typo, they should be Krocky Crunchies... unless Dick is eating generic low grade cereals, which would just be sad.

Also note, again, the greeenscreen monitor look, which went out of fashion in the 1980's..

So thanks to Lucius, Dick discovers that there was a third investor in the fabric, Leon Drexel, who now owns all rights to the patent for the cloth. So he pops out to visit him... His estate is VERY well guarded, but of course that means nothing to a Bat-clan member.



She's an obsessed killer, but she's not cruel. She doesn't kill the guards or the guard dogs, but gift wraps them. The poor little doggies look almost cute.

She makes a big entrance and is surprised to see Nightwing still alive, he apologises for that, saying that he's "difficult that way")

I also like his style in dealing with her...





This really does highlight Dick's acrobatic style no? :)



Again like the subtle reference to Dick's motivations for becoming a hero in the first place, and that she's pursuing a path he might have taken himself had Bruce not been there for him.





And this, frustratingly, is where we get to the downside of Dixon's run. The story is derailed by the next crossover event, and despite the fact that in the next issue, the police investigating Slyph's suicide leap discover that the body is actually not present within the fabric, which simply unravels to emptiness, meaning that she IS alive at the end of this, we never see her again... We never even find out how she can do the things she can with the fabric.

Oh, she made a very brief cameo in the background of Phil Jimenez's "all heroine all villainess" storyline (but then, who didn't), but other than that, bupkiss. So Dick's one and only new metahuman foe remained precisely that, a one and only situation.... Still she was fun whilst she lasted.

And just because covers don't count, I include the other cover of this arc.





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(Post a new comment)


[info]jmacq1
2009-10-04 01:34 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I remember reading this when it first came out and thinking Sylph was a pretty good villain for Nightwing. Certainly better than the third-rate Batman castoffs he'd been saddled with for most of his run (though IIRC wasn't Lady Vic introduced in his series?

Was kind of disappointed that they never did anything else with her. I think there could have been a lot of potential. But hey, maybe someone will pull her out of limbo one of these days.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 02:00 pm UTC

[info]jelly_ace
2009-10-04 01:50 pm UTC (link)
I was kinda surprised that the infamous Greg Land drew this. Gorgeous gorgeous Dick. And pretty nice action sequences, too. Although I'm having trouble with the first page...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 01:56 pm UTC
Good point! - [info]steverodgers5, 2009-10-04 02:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jelly_ace, 2009-10-04 02:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 02:32 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bluefall, 2009-10-04 04:58 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:32 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sianmink, 2009-10-04 07:32 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ex_naela777, 2009-10-04 11:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jelly_ace, 2009-10-05 04:26 am UTC

[info]ccsharumun
2009-10-04 01:50 pm UTC (link)
WOW. How did a character with such an awesome power get lost in the DCU? This is probably the coolest ability I've seen since Yomiko Readman's paper-manipulation powers in Read or Die.

And it's so aesthetically pleasing. :O

I need to go make new icons.

(Reply to this)

Nice post..
[info]steverodgers5
2009-10-04 01:58 pm UTC (link)
Visually I'm kind of reminded of Marvel's Medusa with all the red..but yeah this would have been an interesting off beat villain for Nightwing. Hope we get to see her again someday.

(Preferably when Dick gets back out of the Bat outfit..I'm already missing Nightwing..)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Nice post.. - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 02:01 pm UTC
Re: Nice post.. - [info]ravenous_raven, 2009-10-05 01:41 am UTC

[info]jelly_ace
2009-10-04 02:02 pm UTC (link)
Isn't anybody going to make the requisite "Oh, Dick, you've had years of practice with this sort of thing, defeating her would be a piece of cake" comment?

This is S_D, after all.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 02:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jelly_ace, 2009-10-04 02:13 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 02:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jelly_ace, 2009-10-05 04:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 02:58 pm UTC

[info]autolychus2
2009-10-04 02:26 pm UTC (link)
For some reason, I wanna see her fight Wonder Woman.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]thandrak, 2009-10-04 04:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:50 pm UTC

[info]queen_marshed
2009-10-04 03:04 pm UTC (link)
Once upon a time Greg Land could draw sexy tied up men... ah those were the days...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2009-10-05 03:42 pm UTC

[info]bluejaybirdie
2009-10-04 04:35 pm UTC (link)
Heh. She really is Dick's perfect villian.

(Reply to this)


[info]ladymirth
2009-10-04 04:40 pm UTC (link)
A discussion of this same post on robin_daily about Dick's competency at clearing up the crime situation in Bludhaven and whether it's possible to gauge the passage of time in comic books according to continuity. Feel free to chime in.

(Reply to this)


[info]bluefall
2009-10-04 05:02 pm UTC (link)
I think avoiding the white was a good call, but something in a baby blue or sea green would have been better (more suggestive of wind, less suggestive of Medusa).

She was pretty cool, though. Certainly I'd have liked to see more of her and less of Torque.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:28 pm UTC

[info]sistermagpie
2009-10-04 05:12 pm UTC (link)
It's crazy they don't keep her around. Visually and in other ways, she's such a perfect villain for him. He's all about beautiful acrobatic movement and she sends out sticky tendrils to catch him. Plus he's got some sympathy for her right away and there's an understanding.

(Reply to this)


[info]shadowvalkyrie
2009-10-04 05:57 pm UTC (link)
Aww, it's a shame she doesn't show up again -- she's the perfect villainess for Dick! (Probably because her motivation didn't support something longer-running? Still, there've been lame excuses for villains before, so...)

And agreed, this is surprisingly pretty, considering the source! And the hotness is definitely amped up by the bondage! Yum, thanks for sharing!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:31 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]shadowvalkyrie, 2009-10-04 07:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]shadowvalkyrie, 2009-10-04 07:42 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:45 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]shadowvalkyrie, 2009-10-04 07:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:55 pm UTC

[info]retro_nouveau
2009-10-04 07:17 pm UTC (link)
Poor Dick. "What, already Tuesday again?" One true arch-enemy.

He'll have to give up Krocky Crunchies if he's going to sit in a car for eight hours.

Add me to the "this is Land?!?1?" list. He's really cute when he's talking to Lucius. The first panel after the cover looks a little weird, though. Can't tell what's happening with his legs .... and his booty is misshapen. See what happens when you don't eat healthy for breakfast? XD

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:53 pm UTC

[info]ex_menagerie993
2009-10-04 07:52 pm UTC (link)
Kind of reminds me of a more interesting Lady Killer. I like her.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 07:56 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ex_menagerie993, 2009-10-04 08:06 pm UTC

[info]autumn_lily
2009-10-04 08:31 pm UTC (link)
What does it say about me that when Dick was all wrapped up I kept expecting Batman to swing out of nowhere and haul Dick back to the cave? You'd think Batman would have some innate sixth sense that immediately alerts him to whenever Dick is being tied up.


...it might be located in his pants...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 08:37 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]autumn_lily, 2009-10-04 09:09 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]runespoor7, 2009-10-04 08:44 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 09:09 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]autumn_lily, 2009-10-04 09:12 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]autumn_lily, 2009-10-04 09:12 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 09:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]autumn_lily, 2009-10-04 09:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 09:42 pm UTC

[info]interrobamf
2009-10-04 08:39 pm UTC (link)
I think this is prior to his worst tracing problems

Well, he used Nightwing's pose in the first cover at least two more times. One can be seen in the pages you posted, and I know it was used in the first issue with whoever captured Dick and then hung him upside down shirtless.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]interrobamf, 2009-10-04 08:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 08:57 pm UTC

[info]scottyquick
2009-10-04 08:48 pm UTC (link)
I was thinking "this is only mildly pervy, I'm disappointed in you Icon" and then we get THAT COVER and I take back everything I thought about you.

Also, I'm not really digging Land's art as much here as say, Nightwing/Huntress or BoP. Is it the inking? The coloring? It feels really flat.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 09:07 pm UTC

[info]chipsnopotatoes
2009-10-04 09:18 pm UTC (link)
Very interesting.

Sylph's costume reminds me of an act I saw in Cirque du Soleil many years ago. The acrobats start out suspended in mid air with swaths of silk tightly woven around their bodies. The silk unfurls as they slowly make their way down. It was amazing and very beautiful.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-04 09:38 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ladymirth, 2009-10-05 03:02 am UTC

[info]katzedecimal
2009-10-05 12:02 am UTC (link)
Dick meets his natural nemesis...

Is it bad that the first thing I thought was "The Top?"

(Reply to this)

Re: Lack of Supervillians
[info]richiedaley
2009-10-05 01:26 am UTC (link)
I started reading Nightwing during the Dixon/Land run, and always saw the lack of supervillians as a feature, and not a bug.

Between the hyper-realistic style, the focus on gang issues and corruption it seemed to me the book was very much about a spandex hero in a town with problems more complicated than spandex. Problems that were more likely going to be solved (as much as they were going to be solved) within the Police force than on a rooftop.

It was a concept I liked.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Lack of Supervillians - [info]ladymirth, 2009-10-05 02:55 am UTC
Re: Lack of Supervillians - [info]runespoor7, 2009-10-05 06:03 am UTC

[info]ravenous_raven
2009-10-05 01:49 am UTC (link)
wow, I really like this idea. not only does the girl-can-control-cloth concept mightily appeal to me (any Tamora Pierce fans who know who I'm talking about?), Sylph isn't too crazy, only taking out ppl she believes had a hand in her father's death. lots of potential for sympathy from Dick, maybe a villainess to be turned anti-hero, a cool power...and a simple "Krik" just ends all that :(

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]icon_uk, 2009-10-05 06:46 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ravenous_raven, 2009-10-06 12:53 am UTC

[info]ladymirth
2009-10-05 02:54 am UTC (link)
Sylph always reminded me of Andrea Beaumont, backstory-wise. Also, a beautiful young woman becoming a supervillain to take revenge on her father's murderers.

(Reply to this)


[info]interrobamf
2009-10-05 04:43 am UTC (link)
I have to say, though, that despite the tracing issues, Land actually draws a hot Nightwing. Mmmmmm.


Note to Dick: bring sharp hedge clippers next time.

(Reply to this)


[info]psychop_rex
2009-10-05 05:11 am UTC (link)
Sylph reminds me quite a bit of Marvel's Crimson Cowl character (the second one, the first was Ultron in disguise), who was also a beautiful woman who used red, prehensile cloth as a weapon. Her cloth was opaque rather than see-through, of course, and it was in the form of a cloak, not strips, but otherwise, the resemblance is uncanny.

(Reply to this)


[info]jarodrussell
2009-10-05 04:17 pm UTC (link)
Was the cloth anything like the fabric Batman used for his cape in Batman Begins?

(Reply to this)


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