Review: Why the new ‘Batgirl’ isn’t good
I want to start this article off by saying, I really wanted to like this comic. In fact, I was extremely excited for its release. I have always been a fan of Barbara Gordon and Batman comics. I also was excited for new perspective from DC of its female superheroes. Sadly, after the first few issues, I have to say DC took one step forward and three steps back with the new “Batgirl.”
To understand why this comic isn’t great or even good, you need to know the history of Barbara Gordon. Barbara is the daughter of Commissioner Gordon. She was raised by a Gotham cop and knew how corrupt the city was. She also was very talented in many ways — a gymnast, a computer prodigy, a detective taught by her dad, etc.
When Batman arrived on the scene, she created her alter ego as an homage to him. Later on, she was recruited and become part of the Batman family. Tragically, as part of an evil plan, the Joker* shot her point blank in the spine, confining her to a wheelchair. What made the character great is she didn’t give up on her quest for justice by this event. She prevailed and, under the pseudonym Oracle, became the first cyber superhero. She started a team of super-heroines called Birds of Prey, started charities, stopped super-villains and mentored young, new crime-fighters.
Sadly, almost all of that amazing story was retconned out of existence. Barbara was miraculously healed (although superheroes bounce back so we’ll give them a pass on that). She moved out to a Brooklyn-esque borough of Gotham, stopped using her mind to fight and used only her fist. She is now basically a version of a character from the “Show Girls” but with batarangs. On the bright side, she did get a sensible, cool-looking comic that is practical, which is something many super-heroines don’t enjoy.
On paper, this should be a good comic. The art is very bright and somewhat cartoonishly-light. The writing team has done good work before, but it falls short because they made two mistakes: they didn’t understand what people like about Gotham and all its heroes — that they’re dark and edgy.
This new Batgirl is fun and light, and there is a place for that, but not in a universe where Two Face, Joker, Bane and others exist. Batgirl is a character from Gotham where things go from bad to worse. Secondly, they wanted a “strong female hero” so badly that they stopped treating the characters as humans and individuals and made them two dimensional. They destroyed a character who used to run huge organizations and regressed her to a bad stereotype of a millennial. I’m not saying we can’t have more down-to-earth character. But in this case, they tried to jam a square peg into a round hole, infantilizing Barbara and trying to make the character conform to what is “in.”
All this being said, I think there is room for this type of hero, and I don’t hate the “Show Girls.” I can suggest several series that have original, well-rounded super-heroines that I enjoy. In fact, my next article will be about those specific comics.
Overall, I would say this comic did try and contains a cool costume but fails in many ways. It talks down to its audience and makes pre-existing characters shallow and immature. My rating is a 2.5/5 stars, and a suggested non-read.
*see batman comic run “The Killing Joke”
— Riley is a senior in marketing. He enjoys everything related to pop culture and has a show on Aggie Radio about the subject. His love for comics has always been strong and he will discuss them with you any time. Email him at rileymcmurdiethompson@gmail.com.