The following contains spoilers from Nightwing #96, on sale now from DC Comics.
More often than not, superheroes more-or-less punch their way out of a situation. Whether it's disabling their big bad or tearing through minions, the mental or physical prowess of heroes is generally somewhat disappointingly represented during the climactic final battles, which adds bombastic action even as it demonstrates a bit of an anti-climax. However, Nightwing #96 manages to embrace action while allowing for the ultimate victory to be a grand payoff of the award-nominated team of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo.
This twist is seeded just a few pages into the finale of Nightwing's most-lauded arc yet, as the former Robin battles it out with Blockbuster. Interspersed with the quick, masterful shots of the hulking figure and the lithe fighter is a simple sequence in which Batgirl, who later establishes herself as Nightwing's significant other, stops the approaching villains who have been recruited by Blockbuster and insists that they see what she has to offer them. As they pause, she pulls out a tablet that contains a blueprint of some kind.
This plants the seeds for a twist that proves to be both brilliant an hilarious. As Blockbuster leaves a burning building thoroughly routed by Nightwing, he approaches a few of the villains whom he hired as protection. He orders them about in a manner befitting his usual station, only to be immediately rejected. Electrocutioner outlines that Blockbuster owns a prison that is particularly awful and drives off uttering a stream of slurs and gesticulating offensively with a Comics Code Authority label covering his obscenities. He promises that Blockbuster will not find any self-respecting supervillain willing to work with him given the awful and corrupt nature of the prison he owns.
This is a smart balance of the physical strength and strategies of the Bat-Family, while accentuating Nightwing and many of DC's younger heroes' pursuit of social justice. Nightwing #96 brings to light the systematic corruption of the American prison system and effectively uses it as a weapon. A person profiting off of the system is taken to task by the Bat-Family, and his monstrous ways are brought to light in such a way that even supervillains won't work with him.
This takes place just after Jon Kent came out to the entire DC Universe and took down a dictator by essentially using the same corruption that his enemy used to gain power. This turning of the tables is uncommon in comics, and its use shows the heroes operating less as battering rams of peace and more as actual advocates of justice, fighting corruption from its roots up rather than attacking the fruits of deep, systemic issues.
DC's heroes have been working beyond merely punching bad guys in an effort to make real change, and the Bat-Family using Blockbuster's own corrupt business practices against him is just one example of how this new generation of heroes is making real change. It's intriguing to see DC taking such narrative strides, and it will be interesting to see what becomes of Nightwing's chosen city as Bludhaven finally starts to emerge from the shadow of corruption.