I have to be honest, I was quite disappointed when I read Future State: Teen Titans, and didn't really like what was done with Dick Grayson in that title, so I'm so glad that there's a dedicated Nightwing title, and that the character gets a chance to shine here.
The issue follows Dick in Gotham under the rule of the Magistrate, a future where Batman is dead, and his allies are either in prison or on the run. Dick has been leading the masked resistance against the forces of the Magistrate, and this has led him to being one of the most wanted men in the city. Thankfully, he seems to be one step ahead of the bad guys, and is able to pick up on the traps being laid for him across the city.
This is one of the more fun parts of the book, seeing this back and forth between Dick and the Magistrate as they set a trap for him, that he easily sees coming, but then it turns out that trap was a ruse and they're secretly tracking him, but he knows this and is using it against them. It's an almost ridiculous back and forth between the two sides, and if it wasn't Dick being several steps ahead I'm not entirely sure I'd buy it; but this is a Dick who's become more like Bruce in order to survive, and this is totally a move that Bruce would make.
That being said, he's still the Dick Grayson that fans will know and love, despite having developed a darker edge, and there are some moments of humour scattered throughout the book to help lighten the mood from time to time. I was also a fan of the meeting between Dick and the new Batman, and liked that there isn't instant hostility between the two of them, some kind of 'you don't have the right to wear that cowl' type argument that would have slowed things down a lot. Instead, Dick seems to understand why this man is doing what he's doing, and accepts that he's genuinely here to do good.
It's also the second title where this new Batman has been better than in his own Future State title, the other being Future State: Justice League. I'm not sure what it is about the character, whether it's down to who's writing him, or if he just seems to work better when coupled with other characters, but seeing him interacting with Dick was more entertaining than the second issue of Future State: The Next Batman.
I've found the Gotham based books in Future State to be either really good or pretty poor, but this issue was a lot of fun. I liked seeing how Dick has changed without Bruce around, but how he's sticking to the mission, trying to live up to his mentors legacy and be a good man. I'm also getting strong vibes in this book that Peacekeeper 01 is going to end up being Jason Todd, and if so I really hope that Dick is the person who he ends up having to face off against.
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