This issue is part two of the Denny O’Neil storyline “Last Days of Gotham”. This story was very disappointing. After months of reading Grant Morrison, I was looking forward to a good old fashion comic book story by one of the greats in Denny O’Neil. This issue was uneventful and the story as a whole was pointless.

The story follows Nightwing - Dick Grayson - as he battles a criminal posing as Two-Face and his cohorts. The story also deals with an actress who was abused by these criminals prior to the earthquake that hit Gotham. By the end of this story we aren’t left with much except Harvey Bullock and Commissioner Gordon moping around about the disappearance of Batman and Nightwing feeling as if he’s a rank amateur who can’t fill the shoes of his mentor Batman.

Dick Grayson has been in the super-hero business for years. Dick was about ten when his parents died and is probably now somewhere in his 20s. To me it seems as if O’Neil is depicting the character as not believing in his own abilities and that he is no where near the man he needs to be in order to fill Batman’s shoes. I completely disagree with this. Most Batman fans believe that if Bruce Wayne were ever to die or quit being Batman, Dick would be the guy to take on the cape and cowl. Dick has the most experience than that of any of the three Robins and has proven himself to be a smart and strong leader during his tenure with the Titans.

One thing that is curious about this issue is the last line, “Soon, he will be gone, but I will still be here.” The “he” in this sentence refers to Nightwing. What does this mean? Will Dick be leaving us as well? Will he die in “Battle for the Cowl”?  I hope not.

“Last Days of Gotham” is pure filler and not worth reading. If you haven’t bought this issue yet, I would skip it. The big issue as far as Batman is concerned is “Final Crisis” #6 where we learn about his “final fate”. I could almost care less about that too. If someone else does becomes Batman, I hope we at least get some good stories like we’re seeing over in “Captain America” with Bucky as Cap. I guess we’ll see.