Nightwing Annual #2: A Medical Review — “The Return of the Magic Cast”

May 23rd, 2007

Filed under: Comics, Medicine

Nightwing Annual #2 “Hero’s Journey”
Mark Andreyko, writer
Joe Bennet, penciler

Just like Renee Montoya, Nightwing has gotten himself a magic cast. In the first panel (when he’s leaving to join Bruce and Tim on the boat), it’s a modified short-arm cast covering the elbow, while in the second panel (when he’s on the boat with Bruce and Tim) it’s a standard short-arm cast, ending before the elbow. And I’m not bothering to show the panels where he seems to wearing the cast over his costume because I simply cannot explain those.

longer cast, blue shirtshorter cast, red shirt

Actually, I’m not sure why he needs a short-arm cast at all. He injured his right arm while trying to twist out of the way of some spikes while falling. He landed wrong and took the brunt of his fall on the right upper arm, possibly the shoulder and elbow as well. If an injury in that area is going to require a cast, it’s going to need a long-arm cast, not a short-arm cast. The sling makes sense though.

cast comparisonCast comparison

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11 Responses to “ Nightwing Annual #2: A Medical Review — “The Return of the Magic Cast” ”

  1. Petri
    May 23rd, 2007 at 10:47 pm

    Obviously his bulging biceps blew apart the cast around his elbow. As for having it around his clothes, well, I can’t come up with anything paticularly clever to explain that either.

  2. Bob
    May 24th, 2007 at 1:06 am

    That is probably my biggest pet peeve about continuity. It almost seems like laziness on the artists side. It isn’t like they can’t look back to see how it was drawn in previous issues/frames/etc. Then again, I should just relax and agree that it was his biceps that blew the cast apart like Petri said.

  3. Elayne Riggs
    May 24th, 2007 at 8:37 am

    What Bob said. This is the kind of thing my husband notices all the time. It really ought to be the editor’s job to notice it, but you know they’re only human so sometimes it slips past. And the artists have to look at the page for hours while they work, so for the inker NOT to notice that during the course of his/her workday and say “wait a second, it covers the elbow here but not here, maybe I should just get on the phone and ask which one to go with to make it consistent”… well, like I say, Robin is consistently pro-active on stuff like this, so it always surprises me when other artists aren’t.

  4. Mike
    May 24th, 2007 at 11:03 am

    Love your blog. You are the Robert Ingersoll of medical experts, only without the word padded columns and you’re a better read.

    Mike Leuszler

  5. David C
    May 24th, 2007 at 6:16 pm

    Maybe there actually *are* some magic casts in the Batcave? Batman might get many such small but useful magic items as gifts from friends like Zatanna after a team-up!

  6. Laura
    May 24th, 2007 at 7:43 pm

    Obviously, he’s trying for sort of workman’s comp fraud, wearing casts that can be removed at will. What I don’t understand is the sling. I see the front of the sling. Where’s the back? Is this some sort of new model sling that fastens to an epaulet or maybe straight down to his waist band?

  7. hansang
    May 24th, 2007 at 9:53 pm

    I happened to see your blog from few days ago.
    I’m learning a lot from your comments on House episodes.Thanks.
    Hmm, I have a question to you. Could you explain the costs-payment system of the House patients?
    They do lots of procedures, and who can afford those if patients shoud pay them all?
    How the insurance companies intervene? Is the House’s hospital special at this point?
    Of course it is a nothing but shows , but they don’t comment about money at all.

    from a Korean doctor, seoul.

  8. ScottR
    May 25th, 2007 at 8:03 am

    Best reason for a short arm cast is professional wrestling.
    He may need to offer someone the hand of friendship …
    and deliver a knee to the groin!

    Rowdy Roddy Piper is infamous for this.

  9. TayJK
    May 25th, 2007 at 9:02 am

    Obviously he learned how to do the “uniform under cast” trick from Wildcat. He pulled it off, going from towel+cast to uniform+cast while the mansion is under attack by the Injustice Society in JSA #10, as review by you: http://politedissent.com/archives/173/

  10. Luke Mac
    May 29th, 2007 at 6:06 pm

    Plus, of course: long-arm casts are incredibly funny.

  11. Christine
    June 6th, 2007 at 8:02 am

    All I have to say is: Bwwahahaha! At all of you. Hilarious and I’m SO glad that other, like myself, have been bothered by such an obvious mistake that SOMEone should have noticed it!

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