Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batgirl #0 Review

By J. Skyler
September 12, 2012 - 20:51

When the character line-up of DC Comics' New 25 was announced last year, a firestorm of controversy erupted over the editorial decision to return Barbara Gordon to her iconic role as the feature of the Batgirl series. It has been and continues to be a fierce debate over respecting the feminist icon she was created to be as Batgirl, versus respecting the disability icon she became following her recreation as Oracle. It's a debate that will never have a proper end, but the most tactful way DC Comics could handle the change was not to wipe Gordon's paralysis from continuity, but rather to maintain it as fundamental aspect of her character. Her recovery mirrors people who have lived with disabilities but have also made full recoveries through medical procedures and physical therapy. Writing such a transition was a task no one wanted, and one no trusted it to other than Simone. The consequence, as evidenced in Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection is a number of trade offs: we cannot expect a realistic depiction of a woman recovering from paralysis, surgery, physical therapy and psychological trauma to be the same fearless adrenaline junkie she was when she first took up the mantle of the bat. We cannot have her at the same level of maturity and expertise through the years of reading Oracle in Birds of Prey, when the primary initiative of The New 52 was to roll back iconic characters to a time when they were still attempting to find their footing. I suspect the burden must have been insufferable for Simone, but she's handled it well, and responses from audiences have been predominantly positive.

In Batgirl #0, we see Simone in her element as writer. She depicts the young Barbara Gordon as the jubilant prodigy everyone expects her to be, unburdened by constraints of cultural sensitivity which are vital to the main storyline. In this retelling of her origin myth, we see a truly modern Barbara Gordon as Batgirl for the first time, with all the same enthusiasm she possessed in her introductory story "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl" in 1967. I loathed Batgirl: Year One released in 2003, because it relied heavily on foreshadowing, depicting everything that would one day make Oracle miraculous while simultaneously negating everything that made Batgirl spectacular. Part of what made Oracle compelling in the first place was that she was forced to reinvent herself after permanently loosing her identity as Batgirl, which at one time, meant everything to her. We did not see that same emotional attachment to her masked identity in Batgirl: Year One, but we find it in Batgirl #0. Barbara Gordon's loving devotion to her father, as well as her borderline neurotic obsession with Batman and her unbridled impulse to emulate him are all explored with fantastic rendering by artist Ed Benes.

Generally speaking, I don't care for metahumans in the Batman mythos (save Batwoman's rogues gallery), which is why I found Mirror and The Brisby Killers far more compelling than the barrage of metahumans found in later issues of Batgirl. If you enjoyed The Brisby Killers from Batgirl #1, you'll love the main antagonist Harry X in Batgirl #0. From her days writing Birds of Prey, to her current task of penning Batgirl, Gail Simone seems to write her best villains as inconveniences for Barbara Gordon. Sure, characters like Savant (Birds of Prey #56) and Harry X present an immediate and lethal threat, but since few villains can match Gordon's intellectual genius, defeating them is simply a matter of calculation. It's a trait that runs through the entire issue, as Commissioner Gordon's overprotectiveness, her brother's dubious nature, the GCPD, Harry X and even Batman himself can be seen as mere obstacles to Barbara's objective.

Do I have qualms with this issue? Only one: Batgirl's initial costume, which is modeled after the one illustrated in Frank Miller's All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. It works well with Miller's storyline but seems out of place here. Batgirl should always wear a full cowl, period. Other than that, Batgirl #0 is a must read, one that will leave you wishing it were a limited series unto itself, rather than a stand alone issue.


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Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12