Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Review: Batwoman #9

By Philip Schweier
November 15, 2017 - 04:32

There’s a common trope in comics, one that I’ve seen for decades. It involves the hero – in this case, Batwoman – caught in the distant reaches of their own psyche, through drugs, sickness, mind control or some other outside influence. It spawns an environment where nothing is as it seems, and the hero – in this case, Batwoman – must battle their way back to reality.

Ho hum.

In this case, Batwoman is aided and abetted by Colony Prime, a high-tech soldier in the service to Kate Kane’s father. But he has his own daddy issues, though they are not what the reader or Kate Kane has been led to believe. But this provides insight into the nature of the Many Arms of Death, the terrorist organization Batwoman has been trying to suss out.

I’ll give the story credit for Batwoman and Colony Prime being self-aware of the “we have to combine our abilities in order to escape this nightmare” cliché. However, the fact that they are experiencing separate nightmares adds a layer of difficulty. Batwoman sees Alice’s Wonderland, while Colony Prime is mentally trapped inside a video game. Both environments have their own parameters, if only they can each overcome them, and recognize the true environment of Scarecrow’s lab.

Speaking of whom, he’s got a bit of a new look this time around. Less farm decoration, more bio-terrorist, complete with gas mask. But is he still truly a scarecrow? Or more of a Fear-monger? Or Fright Knight? Gas Master? No, Scarecrow he is and a scarecrow he should remain, complete with burlap mask and shabby clothing.

Rating: 5/10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12