brightestdaycare's Convergence Nightwing/Oracle #1 - Birds of Rage review

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    Hawks are Converging on Gotham...

    Convergence is officially underway, and this issue is my first foray into the Convergence tie-ins. As it is Gail Simone writing Oracle, and everyone’s favorite Gothamite backside- Nightwing, I was ready to jump on board when this issue was announced. The only other title for the Convergence tie-ins that jumped out to me, as much was Len Wein returning to Swamp Thing, a character he helped create. So, after two issues of Convergence (zero and #1), I was ready to jump into my first Convergence side story, and here goes:

    This issue opens with the “Fight for Your City” inside cover, giving us a breakdown of the different worlds that are mashed together in this story; in this we have both Flashpoint AND pre-Flashpoint Gotham cities, along with El Inferno, New York City, Angor and Follywood, Califurnia(as in the home of Captain Carrot). I was really glad to have a more specific breakdown of what is featured in this story, because the vague “checklist” of worlds and cities and groups of characters listed in the back of the Convergence issues wasn’t enough specific information to know who was who.

    I liked this story, because I have always liked Nightwing, and I think that this version of Hawkman and Hawkgirl (which is only barely a spoiler, because Hawkman is right there on the cover) is one that I will enjoy seeing more of. I didn’t really have that attachment to Oracle in this story that I usually do, especially since Barbara Gordon is someone who is basically just Gail’s spirit animal.

    The story, where we see the Hawkpeople laying down the hammer FOR SERIOUS (though I don’t think either are ACTUALLY wielding a hammer) on the heroes of El Inferno, and then they confront the robot drones of Brainiac who are seemingly watching and (I assume) recording or reporting what happens back to Brainiac directly. I liked the confrontation a lot, because it showed the ruthless, hostile side to the Hawks, and that they really didn’t care who or what got in their way, because they are bred for war, and have a MAJOR bloodlust. The story then shifts to Nightwing, who has a really great presence in this story, and has a good rapport with Oracle as well. I really liked the inclusion of Mr. Freeze, and I think that the whole back and forth with Nightwing and Oracle about Freeze after he had been stopped (again, not really spoilers there- since he is absolutely NOT a major player in this series) about how he was just “going through the motions” and that that phrase seemed to play a recurring role in this issue.

    The end confrontation between the Hawks and Nightwing/Oracle was really well crafted, and that it played well for Nightwing and the Hawks’ personalities. I just felt like Barbara didn’t really seem like Oracle, that she felt like a clunky version of the character- but I think that a non-superhuman character like Barbara could have a hard time dealing with this world around her, and THAT is why she acts so differently (though I would think she would be ABSOLUTELY FIRST in line to keep this place in check while all this crazy stuff if happening). I do like at the end of the issue when **SPOILERS** Barbara says that she had already started to work against the Hawkpeople before we, as readers, even knew she was doing anything. This really plays back into the type of character Oracle is, and I think it is what saved the whole thing for me.

    This book was very well written, which is something that comes as no surprise to me- Gail Simone has a really powerful and distinct writing style, and I hope that this trend continues into the next issue. I really hope that the other half of this story has an ending that is fitting for these characters, and some serious high-flying, butt-kicking action that you expect from Nightwing and Hawkpeople. I liked the artwork, and it felt like it lent itself easily to the different worlds and the different types of characters that were in this book.

    This book was a really engaging read, and the combinations of characters in the story are very unique. This is a strange story that is getting started in the fledgling weeks of a strange, otherworldly comic event but even so- this book was really good. I don’t know if anyone who ISN’T reading Convergence could read this book and make much sense of the story, but it does sort of act as a standalone “Vs.” story, sort of in the same vein as Marvel’s AVX “Versus” miniseries.

    I think that most everyone would really enjoy this book, (and really anyone who is reading Convergence, and is also a fan of Gail’s work) and I just hope that the second half of this story increases in quality to really bring this book up to be a masterful miniseries.

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