Review: BATGIRL #46

BG-Cv46-ds-a4572

BATGIRL #46
Written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher
Art by Babs Tarr, Rob Haynes, and Serge Lapointe
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: December 16, 2015

Barbara has been burning the candle at both ends. Nights out as Batgirl. Days hitting the pavement, acquiring information door-to-door for her thesis. Frankie is getting in harm’s way. Now, Stephanie Brown is getting in harm’s way. And the nightmares are just getting worse. But are they really just dreams?

Here’s something pretty much everyone knows about me: I really dislike Stephanie Brown.

If you didn’t know, well, it’s probably because I so rarely talk about things I dislike. I can’t say my feelings about her rise to hate, though, because frankly, I also kind of don’t care enough about her to hate her. It takes some real commitment to hate something, and I have never felt she deserved that much attention from me.

I don’t begrudge people their fondness of Stephanie, nor do I dislike her because of some false competition between her and my awesome favorite lady Babs for the role of Batgirl. If that was a battle, the victor has pretty much been crowned in perpetuity. No, I’ve just honestly always been turned off by Steph’s personality. Whether as Spoiler, Robin, or Batgirl, I just haven’t found her to be someone worth my devotion, and I’ve tried many, many times. Honestly.

And so, here I go, trying again, because it seems Stephanie’s future is now tied to Barbara’s. And so far? OK, she’s pretty ok.

Part of it is the spectacular display of prowess against the Hasigawa clan coming after her mentor went underground. Tarr gives us a lean, agile fighter who could give Tim Drake of old a run for his money with a bo stick — and THAT I’ve never seen from Steph before. The artist has the Spoiler living up to her more ninja-inspired new look in a fantastic fight scene. It’s nice to see Tarr distinguishing fighting styles, especially if — as we’ve seen in solicits — there are more young women coming to the book in the coming months with very different styles of their own. Whereas Babs has a combination of styles more inspired by the Batman, we see Eiko’s distinct effect on Steph here. And any continuation of Genevieve Valentine’s epic storyline in Catwoman gets a thumbs up from me.

But we also get to see how different Steph is from Babs through implied body language and dialogue when not in battle. Barbara, even in her lightest moments, keeps a low level of tension in regard to her surroundings that Steph just can’t seem to bear. Instead, we see a younger woman who is plainly at ease with herself, despite her troubles, and ready to kick back at a moment’s notice. Where this could come off as flighty or even naive, what Stewart and Fletcher bring to the moments is a sense of peace at who she is at any given moment. And that’s something Babs really doesn’t have.

The writers’ Stephanie Brown has a perspective on life Babs and Frankie don’t, so seeing her join the cast is certainly intriguing. It’s not exactly that I want to see that kind of confidence rub off on Babs as much as I anticipate the kind of tension it can bring to the story. It’s one of the reasons I enjoyed her interplay with Bluebird (who is also scheduled to arrive shortly) in Batman Eternal. You can be friends without being clones of each other, and quite often, it’s in the person least like you that you find true understanding.

If I’m drifting here, I apologize, but for me — and seemingly for Babs — this is set to be a major turning point in her place in the DCU. And coming to grips with what that means — and that it means broadening her role and cast — could be as big an adjustment for Batgirl fans as for Batgirl herself. I’m so used to thinking of her as a solo act, despite my love for Frankie’s role as the new Oracle. I’m so used to wanting her to prove she can handle things on her own. But the real challenge very well might be seeing if she can handle things NOT on her own.

Mysteries abound with Batgirl #46, but one thing is certain: Stewart, Fletcher, and Tarr are well on their way to making me want more Spoiler, more Team Batgirl — more everything.

The Verdict: 8.5/10

 

Authors

Related posts

Top