It’s time for Barbara Gordon to get her crime-fighting legs back.
What They Say:
Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl–and she’s going to have to face the city’s most horrifying new villains as well as the dark secrets from her past. You won’t want to miss this stunning debut issue from fan-favorite BIRDS OF PREY writer Gail Simone!
The Review:
The return of Batgirl has certainly been controversial for a whole lot of reasons and every one of them I can pretty much agree with. That said, I’m also excited to get a character I grew up with back in action. As much as I loved what they did with the character as Oracle over the years and how instrumental she was with so many events, the relaunch has offered up a way to explore things in a new direction with her. As we see in this opening salvo, Barbara’s life took a turn for the worse when she was the star pupil of Batman and ended up shot in the spine by the Joker during a home invasion three years prior. They don’t go into detail about what she really did then, making it somewhat unclear if her role as Oracle happened (though I hope it did), but through some mysterious miracle, she’s now got her legs back in working order and is in the final moments of recovery where she had been living with her very, very happy father, Commissioner Gordon.
Barbara’s at a point in her life where there are two very distinct things happening. The first is that she’s attempting to get her personal life on track again after coping with some of the shut-in issues she dealt with after the shooting. Though she wants to spend her time with her dad, a place that definitely makes her feel safe and comfortable, she knows she has to get out into the world again. She ends up in an altogether not bad apartment in a part of town that doesn’t look like a slum that it could otherwise and she finds herself with a bit of an activist roommate. There is some uncomfortableness there though when she catches sight of Barbara’s wheelchair ramp on the van she has and makes some not in the know comments. It’s these internal thoughts sections that work well in letting us get a glimpse of how she’s really coping with things and the way she understands how people say things without thought if the elephant in the room isn’t actually in the room.
While she tries to restart her personal life, she’s also restarting her cape career as Batgirl. And there’s a real sense of excitement about it as she gets out into the night, swinging here and there and dealing with a group of nutjobs that are doing a home invasion all of their own, something that they’re somewhat locally famous and wanted for. The thrill of being in costume is well done, beautifully visualized in her expression at times, but it’s more nuanced than just that. While she’s getting back into it, those psychological scars are still there and she ends up having to face down guys with guns, something that is a pretty intense shock to the system. They’re just the distraction though as there’s another villain making his way throughout the story here going by the name of the Mirror. He’s got a list of people he’s executing and her real name is on it. Having these two stories come together in addition to her personal side keeps this as a busy and active book that’s juggling a lot of things, but managing to hit just about all the right notes.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Batgirl comes with only the first printing cover with no extras to be had.
In Summary:
While there are plenty of reasons to be wary of what’s being done with Barbara Gordon and Batgirl, this book manages to massage the majority of it right, especially if you’re able to be open-minded about it and realize that it doesn’t really eliminate what came before since you can always go back and read it. Gail Simone does a solid job of making the thrill of returning to both regular life and costumed life apparent here and it’s pretty infectious as you want to see where Barbara will go from here. This is a character I’ve liked through multiple incarnations and this new one, a perfect point to utilize with the way things have been dealt with, is one that I’m keen to see. She has a lot of psychological things that can be followed up on and there’s lots of opportunity here. Gail Simon and Adrian Syaf have a lot in their favor in the end and this issue sets the stage that has me very interested in seeing it through.
Grade: B+
