Story: Lady Be Deadly (22 pages)
(continued in Nightwing #5)
Writer(s): Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Scott McDaniel
Inks: Karl Story
Characters:
Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Dudley Soames
Minor Characters / Guest Appearances:
Biff Tooly (one of Angel Marin's gang), Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton / Lady Vic (real name not revealed yet), Maxwell Reed (Marin's consigliore), Bivens (Lady Vic's servant), Bridget Clancy (her first name isn't known yet), Hank Hogan (owner of Hogan's Alley; first name not known yet), Roland Desmond / Blockbuster II (his identity isn't revealed yet, we just see his shadow), Phillip (one of the cops working for Soames), Marcus (one of Reed's bodyguards), Sandy (one of Reed's bodyguards), Maxine Reed (Reed's daughter), Angel Marin
Synopsis:
Lady Vic has beaten up at least seven men to get to question Tooly, one of Angel Marin's gang. She asks him where she might find Angel Marin. Marin owes her a "considerable sum of money" and she now wants to collect. Tooly say nobody has seen Marin in weeks, but finally he tells Lady Vic that Marin's consigliore, Maxwell Reed, might be able to tell her where he is. Meanwhile Soames gives out Maxwell Reed's name to Nightwing, in answer to the same question. Nightwing doesn't think Black Mask is the source for the shifting power balance between Blüdhaven's gangs. Nightwing thinks it's homegrown. Soames gives the appearance of not caring one way or the other, as long as the gangs just kill each other. Dick gets a day job as a bartender at the cop bar Hogan's Alley, trying to find his own information sources in order not to rely on Soames so much. Reynard and his men corner Soames, because each time they ran into Nightwing, they were working based on tips from Soames. Soames has been giving information to both Black Mask and Nightwing, playing them against each other because he works for Blüdhaven's true power, and Reynard and his men are going to return to Gotham as a message to Black Mask. A huge shadow falls over them, and they end up dead in the alley with twisted necks. Oracle gives Nightwing a list of Marin's known associates from the FBI's database, all but Tooly and Reed are dead. Nightwing finds a terrified Tooly, who still hasn't recovered from Lady Vic's attack last night. Tooly tells Nightwing that Reed has a yacht. Tooly is under surveillance of the Blüdhaven PD, who listen in on that conversation and alert Soames, who keeps that tape. On Reed's yacht Nightwing evades Reed's bodyguards and slips into Reed's bedroom unnoticed, but Reed bites the hand Nightwing put over his mouth, and alerts the guards. As Nightwing fights with Reed's guards, Lady Vic appears, holding Reed's daughter hostage. She kills two of Reed's guards. Nightwing thinks that maybe Angel Marin is cleaning out his own mob, laughing at them. Elsewhere Angel Marin is sitting in a cell, he is interrogated through an intercom, most likely by the new mob boss, the "true power" in Blüdhaven, but the interrogator remains hidden. Marin is asked for the details of his organization, and reveals payoffs, kickbacks, suppliers, accounts, legit and not-so-legit receipts. Marin writes everything down, and is taped at the same time. The interrogator says that he needs to know more, that Marin will only live as long as he is of use.
Important Continuity Events:
- Dick gets a day job at the cop bar Hogan's Alley as a bartender. [p. 11]
- It's revealed that Soames works for the true power in Blüdhaven (i. e. Blockbuster, but his name is not given yet). [p. 12]
Continuity References:
- Dick mentions the twenty-one dead Angel Marin gang members found in Gotham's harbor, that brought him to Blüdhaven in Nightwing #1. [p. 4]
Dick Grayson Character Details:
- Though Dick suspects that Soames knows far more than he's telling, he can't touch him -- according to the "rulebook" -- because Soames is still a legitimate lawman. [p. 6]
- Dick has a recurring nightmare, an anxiety dream: He's Robin again, a small boy is falling down and shouts something to Dick that Dick can't understand because of the rush of the air, and though he gets closer to the boy, he can't reach him in time. [p. 8] Dick thinks the reason this dream is reappearing now is because he relies on Soames too much, that he has to make it on his own instead. [p. 9]
- There is something disgusting, probably moldy (?) in Dick's fridge. [p. 9]
- Dick has never tended bar before. [p. 10]
- Asked whether he drinks, Dick says "never." [p. 11]
- The reason Dick gives for wanting to work in a cop bar is that he's an "aspiring writer" who wants to listen to good stories, but it's not clear whether that is only a cover story. [p. 11] His main objective is to get more information about Blüdhaven, independently from Soames. [p. 12]
- Dicks first thought after getting his day job is that he can't wait to see Bruce's face when he hears of this. [p. 11]
- Nightwing takes Tooly's guns with him (probably to destroy them and not to "turn them in for a new pair of sneakers" like he says to Tooly, though). [p. 14]
Barbara Gordon Character Details:
- Oracle has access to the FBI's database. [p. 13]
Trivia:
- Dick notes that Gotham is different from Blüdhaven, that while in Gotham new ganglords like to announce their presence, they like their secrets in Blüdhaven. [p. 6]
- The shampoo brand Clancy's using is called "Perky Plus." [p. 10]
- The sign of the "Hogan's Alley" bar shows a shot-through, human target practice silhouette. [p. 10]
- Maxwell Reed's yacht is called "Quid Pro Quo." [p. 14]
- Angel Marin went to the St. Anscom's school for boys. [p. 22]
[Note: This entry is based on the TPB edition of the issue.]