Nightwing (Volume 4) #105 is an issue of the series Nightwing (Volume 4) with a cover date of August, 2023. It was published on June 20, 2023.
Synopsis for "You Are Nightwing"
Nightwing and Batgirl wake up at noon to a call from Melinda, who tells them that Double Dare have stolen a dangerous bioweapon and hijacked a city train. They swoop out and board the train, which is empty except for Aliki Marceau, one of the Double Dare sisters. She attempts to flee but Batgirl is able to restrain her with a thrown pair of cuffs. They ask her where the weapon is and she tells them that there is no weapon, it's a vaccine.
Aliki explains that Double Dare were hired by the nation of Vlatava to steal a vaccine for a mosquito-borne virus ravaging the country, as the manufacturer, Shel Pharmaceuticals, is asking for more than the country can afford. They robbed a truck carrying the vaccine, but were stopped by mercenaries working for Shel. Aliki injected herself with the vaccine and got away, but Margot was captured. Vlatava's scientists can synthesise the vaccine from her blood and so Shel are demanding that Aliki hand herself over in return for Margot's life, but if she does an entire nation will suffer. Aliki was attempting to flee the city on the train, after letting all the passengers and driver off, and reach her Vlatavan contacts.
Nightwing and Batgirl realise that Shel do not know that Double Dare are identical twins and therefore don't know what Aliki looks like besides the fact that she has red hair. They decide to have Batgirl, dressed in Aliki's costume, surrender to Shel so they can rescue Margot without giving up the vaccine. However, just after Barbara changes into the costume, the train is hit by a missile and derails, crashing to the street below. The mercenaries who fired the missile capture Batgirl, and shoot at Nightwing and Aliki, who flee to the rooftops. The mercenaries chase after them, and so Nightwing escapes by swinging into and crashing through the windows of a nearby office building, then taking the elevator down to the parking lot. They steal a motorcycle and follow Batgirl's tracer to a nearby parking garage.
They reach the garage and Aliki asks Nightwing why he is helping them after what they had done to him while working with Tony Zucco, and he simply replies that they needed help. He tells Aliki to stay outside and goes in to save Barbara and Margot, but he finds that Barbara has already broken free and is fighting off the mercenaries. They fight the mercenaries together until a voice over an intercom asks Nightwing to come to the boardroom. The mercenaries stand down and Nightwing goes to meet the speaker, whispering to Barbara to get Margot out.
Nightwing walks into the boardroom and meets the CEO of Shel Pharmaceuticals Shelton Lyle, who he recognises as a bully he tangled with when he was a kid in Gotham. He confronts Shelton for extorting Vlatava for the vaccine, but Shelton points out that charging extortionate prices is not illegal; and when Nightwing tells Shelton that his men blew up a train, he claims that the mercenaries are independent contractors who have already been fired, and he is not responsible for their actions. Nightwing refuses to hand the vaccine back over and leaves.
Appearing in "You Are Nightwing"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) (Impersonates Aliki Marceau)
- Double Dare
- Haley
- Melinda Grayson-Lin (On a TV or computer screen) (Cameo)
Antagonists:
- Shelton Lyle
- "Gerald Chamberlain"
- Shel Pharmaceutical Mercenaries
Other Characters:
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Statue only) (Cameo)
- Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (Cameo)
- Angels (Mentioned only)
- Superman (Clark Kent) (Mentioned only)
- Titans (Mentioned only)
- Tony Zucco (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- United States of America
- Bludhaven
- Shel Pharmaceuticals (First appearance)
- Titans Tower (Mentioned only)
- Bludhaven
- Vlatava (Mentioned only)
Items:
Vehicles:
- Stolen Motorcycle
Notes
- This comic won the 2024 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One Shot.[1]
- This comic is drawn from a first-person perspective.
- In this issue, Aliki is drawn with a pixie cut and Margot is drawn with a bouffant hairdo. In their previous appearance in Nightwing (Volume 4) #99, they each had the other haircut. This may be an error, or it may indicate that Double Dare periodically swap hairstyles.
Trivia
- The Robin Funko is based on the Robin of Earth 66.
- The autograph from Superman originated from Action Comics #594, but Clark actually gave it to Jason Todd.
- The workers in the office building Nightwing and Aliki break into resemble the characters from The Office.
See Also