Release: January 2026 | Writer: Dan Watters | Artist: V. Ken Marion | Colorists: Veronica Gandini | Letterer: Wes Abbott
*Nightwing #134 SPOILERS ahead!*
Nightwing is in the fifth dimension, and has come face to face with Zanni. After diving head first into this unknown reality with the help of Martian Manhunter (read my review of Issue #133 HERE!), Nightwing now faces his next challenge in the Cirque Du Sin.
LET’S PLAY A GAME!
Martian Manhunter kicks off this issue, holding the Nite-Mite soup we have seen since Nightwing saved the Tower of the Titans from an out-of-control Nite-Mite. He explains to Barbara Gordon and the reader about the dangers of the fifth dimension. Beings like Nite-Mite have proven that fifth-dimensional beings can bend and shape the real world in a deadly manner. We saw this with his control of the Tower of the Titans back in issue 127.
As they stand on watch in Blüdhaven, Nightwing has entered the tent at the Cirque Du Sin. He is being led by the headless Olivia Pearce. He finally stands in the same vicinity of Zanni, who taunts Nightwing with the doll creations of the trapped children. He strikes a deal with him.
If Nightwing can knock down the most cans in the classic carnival game "Tin Can Valley," Zanni will let the children go back with Nightwing. The catch is that this tin can city is not just any city. It is a mock-up of Blüdhaven itself. With the throw of a ball, each can that tumbles and crumbles will be an actual building in reality.
Zanni prepares his throw as Nightwing begs him to stop. Martian Manhunter continues talking with Barbara Gordon as they stand around the resting body of Nightwing Prime. Prime is still healing from the Kryptonite blast to his chest that he received. While he is explaining to Barbara about the danger the fifth dimension presents to their own reality, he feels a strange disturbance in the city.
That disturbance is shown to us as being caused by Zanni. He launches his pitch at full speed, cracking down a large number of tin cans. Back in Blüdhaven, the city feels that damage.
Without missing a beat, Martian Manhunter makes his way towards the explosion. To my excitement, Barbara Gordon suits up without hesitation into her Batgirl costume.
More tin cans get knocked over, meaning more buildings explode and crumble in Blüdhaven. To the locals living there, this seems to be occurring without any reason. Nightwing has had enough at this point, screaming at Zanni for what he is being forced to partake in. After being handed a ball from Olivia Pearce to take his turn and destroy more of Blüdhaven, he chooses to stand in defiance.
To try and motivate Nightwing, Zanni launches the doll-like children at him. They climb and gnaw at his body, causing painful distractions while Nightwing tries to focus. He extends his arm back and launches the ball forward.
The people of Blüdhaven are trying to be saved by Martian Manhunter and Barbara Gordon back in reality, but in the fifth dimension, the ball of Nightwing travels forward at a fast pace. Zanni watches on with joy to see Nightwing destroy his beloved home... that is, until he notices that the ball is passing right over the cans. He realizes that the object is not a normal ball. It is actually a rolled-up version of the Nite-Mite soup Martian Manhunter was holding in the beginning of the book, and it is heading straight for Zanni.
Nightwing explains how this fifth-dimensional attack was actually the idea of Martian Manhunter. The way to hurt a fifth-dimensional being is with a fifth-dimensional being. This Nite-Mite bomb explodes on the chest of Zanni, making direct contact and burning a large gaping hole in his body. Nightwing kicks, punches, and uses his batons on the face of Zanni. With the anger and power of a thousand men, he rains down blows on the broken body of Zanni.
But Olivia Pearce has enough of it. She is tired of everything being taken away from her. Her childhood, her position in Blüdhaven, her life, and now her Zanni have all been lost. Her body launches her decapitated head towards the tin cans. This takes out not just another building in Blüdhaven, but the Tower of the Titans. This is the building that is holding the unconscious body of Nightwing Prime.
Writing and Art
This is another great issue by Dan Watters and V. Ken Marion. I said it last month, but I will say it again: when Dexter Soy is not working on this book, Ken is a more than welcome fill-in. Everything in this issue feels in your face, and like it is moving at a fast speed. He complements the writing of Dan so well that he deserves his flowers for the issues he works on for this series. For example, something as simple as Zanni throwing a ball is drawn in a way that feels like his throw is coming at your head at 200 mph.
The scenic shots of Blüdhaven by Ken look phenomenal as well. The way he transitions from the angle of the cans to the real-life buildings that are being destroyed is a great visual. His expressions are all phenomenal, too. Whether the character is shocked, scared, or angry, you can feel their emotion. The close-up shot of Zanni as Nightwing throws the soup ball of Nite-Mite at him is a great example.
Seeing Zanni's face turn from cocky and arrogant to fearful in a matter of 2 panels is a truly INTENSE contrast of emotion that could be felt without the words describing his internal feelings.
Conclusion
The stakes have been raised in this issue. I am always a sucker for a "die in the game, die in real life" type of concept when it comes to stories. Seeing Nightwing struggle with the fact that everything that is happening in the fifth dimension is affecting real life was painful to look at in a storytelling way. You could really feel the cries for help from him, and you wanted it to stop just as much as he did.
Not only that, we finally get to see Batgirl in action in this issue as something other than Oracle! Seeing Barbara Gordon confidently suit up without question and diving headfirst into explosive danger shows why she and Nightwing are a perfect couple. Better yet, having her team up with someone like Martian Manhunter sure makes for a unique duo. This whole issue takes the city of Blüdhaven and makes it feel bigger than just a place that Nightwing monitors. When other heroes join in on saving the city during the absence of the lead hero, it makes the city in general feel larger, like Gotham or Metropolis.
We are finally seeing the flaws of Zanni seep through in this. He does not feel like this unstoppable other-worldly being, even though he still technically is. This issue showed him actually taking a decent amount of damage. Our hero, Nightwing, has some hope finally, as he is trying his hardest to save the children who are stuck in the Cirque Du Sin. The only question is what is going to be left of the homes of the children when he and these kids return to Blüdhaven.
As expected, I am excited to see where this goes and how this is wrapping up in the final issue of this story arc next month, with the returning Dexter Soy doing interiors for one last time.
Overall Score: 8/10