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I'm quickly becoming a fan of DC's current overlying mythos regarding Batman, Batgirl, and Nightwing. Batgirl and Nightwing's chemistry are fast becoming my current favorite male/female team in all of comic books. As we saw in issue #25 last month, the bond between the two: Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson, is growing very strong, personal, and even romantic. Two lost souls that have lived beneath the shadow of the isolated and powerful Bat for most of their of lives are finding strength in one another. It's a story-line that is growing in every issue of Batgirl and Nightwing, and I love it.
Warning : Spoilers Most Certainly Ahead
Scott/Pelletier/Rapmund/Bellaire's issue follows up with issues #25 from the get-go: Batgirl is once again in pursuit of the serial killer/art thief known as Grotesque. One of my gripes last issue was that when Batgirl came upon Grotesque's crime scene that included an elderly couple and their dog who all had their necks slit, she didn't kick the sh@t out of Grotesque. I wanted to be rewarded with Babs completely annihilating Grotesque; again, why shouldn't she? She has been trained by the most violent and efficient superhero who has ever existed in the comic universe: Batman. Yet that issue saw her get beaten down by Grotesque. Sure, she was at least able to put a tracking device on Grotesque's motorcycle, but there was never any closure with that. Instead, we see this issue with her in pursuit once more after another deadly art theft.
This time through Batgirl manages to track Grotesque down, save one innocent being, get into another fight, only to have her neural implant get shorted by a voltage shock by Grotesque. This neural implant, introduced in Babs' reboot at the beginning of DC's New 52, is the implant that allowed Barbara Gordon to walk again.
Batgirl then loses control, Grotesque escapes, and Babs' begins to panic in doubt. In my favorite art sequence of the comic book, we see Batgirl escape a high rise building. The scene reminded me of the sequence in Batman Begins, wherein Christian Bale's first encounter with the Scarecrow's toxin led him fleeing to a rooftop for safety in chaotic, yet controlled, fear. (Apologizes, my phone's camera is horrible at focusing with some of these images).
It's a series of images and words where, if you really believe in the character and her developing relationship with Grayson, you feel sympathy for Batgirl. She's in a place where she's fragile, no longer in control of her body or her mind, and uncertain about her situation. She's human; and now that she has lost two conflicts with the villain known as Grotesque, she's likely in a place of personal doubt. Again, I appreciate that the writers here are making Batgirl a very human and relate-able human soul to her audience.
The story ends with Barbara Gordon visiting GCPD Headquarters in order to steal a data file regarding Grotesque's escape from Blackgate. This sequence depicts:
- Gordon physically downloading the data file
- Meeting a new detective from Bludhaven
- Gordon's neural implant once again shorting out, causing Barbara to have a seizure in front of her father and the new detective
Overall, I thought this issue was lacking a bit. I appreciate the humanity of Batgirl that the DC folks are placing on its audience, but I the story felt a slightly deficient in substance. I think a character like Grotesque, a serial killer who above all else is killing innocent families and arranging their bodies into twisted versions of art, is someone that Batman or Nightwing would make short work of. I want Batgirl to make short work of a villain like Grotesque too. I want to be as emotionally invested in Batgirl as I've become with Tom King's Batman and Percy's Nightwing, but I haven't just gotten there yet. And most of all, I want her to win too.
The writers, however, have a different plan for her. It's my understanding that the next issue will feature a new outfit for Batgirl. I'll patiently wait until the next issue, as always...go Batgirl!