Dick joins a late night go-kart league.
Nightwing #16
DC Comics (January, 1998)
“Wheels”
WRITER: Chuck Dixon
PENCILER: Scott McDaniel
INKER: Karl Story
COLORIST: Roberta Tewes
SEPARATION: Jamison
LETTERER: John Costanza
EDITORS: Darren Vincenzo & Scott Peterson
Nightwing decides his own “Nightwingmobile” (no, they don’t actually call it that), and thanks to Bruce and Lucius managing his trust fund he has the cash to do it, as well as buy a place to store it and some extra car bodies. His plan is to make a chassis that can take numerous bodies and hide in plain sight, unlike the Batmobile. He gets a chance to use it to stop a bunch of stolen TV sellers but he’s observed by Man-Bat. Meanwhile, Soames somehow survived his encounter with Blockbuster…but with his head on backwards! And John Law, the former Tarantula, gets a visit from a fan with a very extreme point of view on crime.
What they got right: I like Dick’s idea for his car, being able to disguise itself so he can sneak up on the bad guys. While I don’t think the multiple bodies thing would work for the Batmobile it has gotten less and less stealthy over the years.
What they got wrong: I’m with Soames, the doctor should have let him die. Instead we’ll have a villain with a backwards head and it’s just as disturbing as you imagine, especially in the exaggerated linework that the 90s forced on us. Why, Chuck Dixon, why?
Recommendation: This isn’t really a must-own issue but it’s a nice story nonetheless.
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