Writer: Tim Seeley / Artist: Paul Pelletier / DC Comics

Usually, when one of your favorite books becomes involved in a crossover issue where the protagonist is not the main character of said crossover, it’s a step back. Typically, this becomes a burden to the book as it’s serving the crossovers need (with some cynicism from me) to help bolster the profile and sales of the big event book. Which isn’t to say that Metal is not putting the full court press across DC’s line. But the Gotham Resistance Tie-In to Metal has been surprisingly coherent, ambitious and enjoyable thus far.

In Gotham Resistance Part II, Nightwing has come back to Gotham, having been drawn by the Nth metal and the weird ass mountain that has sprung up on his once home. Batman is still nowhere to be found, but he joins up with the motliest of crews in Robin, Green Arrow, Killer Croc and Harley Quinn. This surprising team dynamic works in the way you hope that all weird mashup team dynamics work: capitalizing on the weirdness and differentiation of the characters for both predictable and unpredictable reactions. I tend to think that people that aren’t writing Damian as a primary character, overwrite him, making him the most exaggerated spoiled prince possible, but Seeley toes the line here. Damian is allowed to be an annoyance, while also not completely upending the team dynamic.

A lot of ground is covered in this book, but what makes this a successful crossover is the use of the previous storylines for Nightwing’s book tying back into the Metal phenomenon pretty seamlessly. Also, the empowered versions of Batman’s Rogue Gallery, with a certain ice based villain starring this time, have made for some pretty entertaining and familiar character beats.

Pelletier is on board for the art this go round, and while it feels different than some recent Nightwing issues, it does fit will for the Metal series. The action scenes in particular work well, which is tough considering how many characters need a chance to shine.

As Tie-Ins go, Nightwing follows a pretty good Teen Titans issue by delivering another enjoyable trip towards the center. It seems that Nightwing might return to his own story next time, but for a brief interruption, this won works extremely well.

8.8 Ice Monsters out of 10

Reading Nightwing? Find BNP’s other reviews of the series here.

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