Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batgirl #3

By Garth the Geek
November 12, 2011 - 14:27

There’s a lot to like about ‘Batgirl’. First, there’s Gail Simone’s writing, which is fun and well-paced, handing out a heavy dose of action without skimping on the character development. Then, there are the consistently beautiful covers by Adam Hughes. And finally, there’s Adrian Syaf who, while not on par with Hughes - but then again, who is? - does an excellent job with the interior art.

Issue three continues with Batgirl’s fight against Mirror - the psychotic villain who’s on a personal crusade to erase all ‘miracles’. That is, anyone who should have died but didn’t is now on his hit list.

The issue opens with Batgirl on a frantic race across town to save a metro train from being blown up by one of Mirror’s bombs. Mirror, himself, plays a very small role in this issue, being reduced to nothing more than a voice in Barbara’s ear (via a headset) as Barbara plays a mad game of catch-up in an attempt to undo his latest plot.

Following the conclusion of the bomb, the comic’s remaining two-thirds consists of character development which, at the hands of lesser writers, might have dragged and become quite tedious. Simone, however, gave me my two favourite scenes to date:

The first scene is simple and consists of just two panels. Or, to be exact, the scene is three pages, but the highlight - the part that stayed with me even after putting the issue down - is the difference between what Barbara WANTS to say to her father, and what she actually says. It hits home because it’s something many of us do. While we drive, while we lie in bed at night - while we wash dishes or take out the trash or surf the Internet - we think about all the things we want (or wanted) to say. We relive conversations, rewrite them, spin them in our own favour. And we rehearse conversations we’d like to have. Of course, when the time comes, we rarely get to say what we’ve been practicing - maybe because the situation doesn’t warrant it or because, when we try, it just doesn’t come out right - and the same thing happens to Barbara. It’s a simple scene, but a scene that really helps to humanize the character.

The second scene occurs during an emotional confrontation with Nightwing. Barbara has spent her time believing she needs to prove herself - that the people around her don’t have faith in her abilities - until Nightwing finally spells it out for her: He worries, not because he doubts her, but because he loves her.

It’s a touching scene in which she realizes she’s been projecting her own self doubts onto others. And again, it’s a great scene that shows just how human these characters are.

And now for my one complaint. And you can generally tell how much I enjoy a story by how picky I get with my complaints. If something is bad, for example, it’s easy to make broad statements (ie. “There seems to be no logic behind the actions of the protagonist”). When something is good, the complaints begin to focus more and more on minute details. In this case, it’s a single line: “Somewhere out there is a devil who thinks he’s doing God’s work.”

This statement by itself is interesting, but in the context of the story seems out of place. Simone has already established that Mirror views miracles as “God laughing at us,” and Batgirl later comments that Mirror “wants to go back and undo every act of God that ever saved anyone who should have died.” So both Mirror and Barbara KNOW he’s not doing God’s work - he’s UNDOING it.

As a side note: If Mirror really WAS acting as God, he’d be going out and finding the most miserable bastards he could find - people who had sunk so low into depression that suicide seemed the only way out - and PREVENTING them from killing themselves as a cruel joke. Because - in Mirror’s mind, at least - preventing someone from dieing is a joke that God sometimes plays.

So yeah, that’s my complaint. One single line.

In other words, this issue is darn good. I’ve already read it through twice, and will probably read it one more time before the night is out. If you’re looking for a fun, character-driven series, I definitely recommend picking it up.

Rating: 9.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12