Story: Gangland Express (22 pages)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Dudley Soames, Bridget Clancy (the super; her name doesn't appear yet), Reynard, Mrs. Minh (Freddy Minh's wife), Chief Redhorn
Synopsis:
Soames has brought Nightwing to a garbage dump, but he reveals that he has his own agenda and disagrees with Chief Redhorn on the necessity for killing Nightwing. Soames says Chief Redhorn will believe him if he tells him Nightwing escaped. As Soames wants to remove Nightwing's cuffs, Nightwing has already opened them. To Nightwing's surprised "You're not bent?" Soames replies that he believes in "a more ordered community than they have now" and says there's a lot that Nightwing needs to know. The most urgent though were a smuggled shipment. Dick gets an apartment in one of the worst parts of Blüdhaven. At night Black Mask's False Facers unload cars from a ship to a hijacked train, but the cars are a few years old. Some of the False Facers discover Nightwing and shoot at him, but Nightwing evades the bullets through acrobatic maneuvers, gets behind the thugs and disables them, but still doesn't know what's exactly is happening, and suspects Soames hasn't told him everything. Meanwhile Soames brings back the container with the eggs to the Minhs. Nightwing searches the cars to find what's being smuggled, but it turns out the used cars themselves are the contraband. Nightwing successfully fights Reynard and the other goons, totaling many of the cars in the process. For this second failure Black Mask sends a killer (in a clown mask) to Reynard, but Reynard manages to shoot the clown and says Nightwing is next on the list. Meanwhile Chief Redhorn also wants Nightwing dead and is furious at Soames' failure.
Continuity References:
- Dick's "He [Batman] didn't call me when he needed me most." refers to events in the Knightfall storyline (in several Batman titles starting in May 1993), specifically that Batman asked Azrael to stand in for him in Detective Comics #665 (?). [p. 5]
- Dick says his last relationship ended with a funeral. That refers to ?? [p. 7]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Dick feels insecure about his ability to handle the situation, but at the same time he doesn't want to call Batman for help. He still feels hurt because Batman chose Azrael to stand in for him. [p. 5]
- Dick's new apartment is in the Melville section of Blüdhaven. [p. 6]
- Dick likes Irish accents. [p. 7]
- Dick thinks his romances always end ugly. [p. 7]
- Dick says he doesn't expect to be in Blüdhaven a long time. [p. 7]
- Dick always thought the Wayne estate was too far from the action, and had arguments with Bruce about this, though looking at the dilapidated apartment he acknowledges the Batcave's good points. [p. 7]
Romances:
- Dick finds Clancy, the super, attractive (though he hasn't seen her face yet), but thinks right now is not the right time for a girlfriend. [p. 7]
Trivia:
- The sign on Clancy's door says "Forget the dog! Beware of the super." [p. 8]
- The docks the shipment arrives are called "Waterloo Docks" [p. 9]
- The smuggler ship is flying the "Rheelasian" flag. [p. 9]
- The writing on the cooler for the eggs say "L'il Igloo". [p. 14]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]