I love Batman. Ironically I only read Batwoman right now, and whenever The Question pops up in another comic, but really I dig the Bats. Lately they’ve gone way too far out. I don’t like Damian Wayne (yes, he has a son), I don’t care about “Batman Inc.” (where Bruce is openly paying for a ton of people to be Batman), and I’m not really pleased with the whole six-million Batman titles.
When you add in the fact that they’re having a new ‘Crisis’ (not called Crisis, but ‘Flashpoint’) and are re-rebooting everything all over again (seriously – we’re going back to issue #1 for 52 comics… 52 is a … right it’s a thing – a trope – just stick with me here). So we get Batman #1, Wonder Woman #1. All the heavy hitters. Me? I panicked because Batwoman #1 has been ‘pending’ for almost a freakin’ year. Now the delay is starting to make a little bit of sense. It looks like they decided to hold it back for Flashpoint, but didn’t want to tell us. Okay, fine. She’s still a lesbian? Okay. Then I heard Batgirl, which is a new series with a new Batgirl (Stephanie ‘Spoiler’ Brown, who was also the chick Robin), is getting rebooted. And Barbara Gordon is Batgirl.
If you’re a comic nerd, you know Barbara Gordon is Batgirl. You know she’s the daughter (or niece) of Commissioner Gordon. She was Batgirl to the Dick Grayson Robin (they dated), and when he graduated to being Nightwing, she got shot by the Joker and was crippled and reinvented herself as Oracle. Cool, right? Right. She was so badass, being a paraplegic didn’t stop her. Well all that’s all over now. She’s back in the air. I was ready to be pissed, up until I paid attention and realized Gail Simone was writing her. Gail is pretty much the best female comic book writer in the world, IMO. She’s amazing. She got started by being pissed off about “Women in Refrigerators” and became a hugely respected writer. Love her. So … wait, you’re taking one of my favorite authors and putting her on a reboot? AND she’s telling us how much she loves Babs and wants to write her?
But … but wait. If Barbara is Batgirl and Damian is still Robin, then where’s Dick (and Tim and Stephanie)? And if she’s Batgirl, she’s younger than Batwoman, logically, who is the same age as The Question, who was a the same age as Barbara. But Nightwing (who was Robin) is back in his own #1, which (if he is Dick Grayson) implies he’s older than Batgirl/Barbara and then we still have Birds of Prey, which was a group organized by Barbara when she was Oracle and in a wheelchair and … God, if your head hurts, don’t feel bad. So does mine.
Okay, Gail. I’ll pick up Batgirl #1 and give you a chance. But you’d better explain why Batgirl is crosseyed.
Source: Gail Simone on Barbara Gordon as Batgirl
No, I won’t be buying ALL of these titles. I’m comitted to Batwoman. I will try Batgirl. But I’ll probably wait for trade of the other titles at best. I don’t like Damian Wayne and will be skipping Batman while he’s there.
8 responses
And DC confirmed, like 10 minutes after I hit publish, that Nightwing IS Dick Grayson.
The missing I’m concerned about: Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown (not really but a little), Cassandra Cain (again, not really) and Jason Todd (who should be dead again, please).
I guess I could say that I’m interested to see how this turns out, but I’m also quite worried.
This is way more involved than the typical “Crisis” continuity messes. It’s more like what happened to Spider-Man, but on a far more massive scale. It has the potential to grab new fans, but also massively alienate old fans.
So far, I’m a bit ticked about two things:
1. Nightwing. They spend an awful lot of time grooming Dick for the Bat-boots, fans grew to accept him as the new Batman, and Bruce even gave a wonderful speech about how proud he was and how his (Bruce’s) time as Gotham’s protector was over. So, what happened? I guess Bruce just come home one day and say, “Never mind, I take it back. Get out of my cave!”
2. Barbara Gordon. Wow, just um wow. Oracle was frequently heralded as an inspiration to the handicapped community. Now, they’re taking the comic industry’s most successful handicapped hero, giving her legs backs, and using her to replace an already establish Batgirl that has (once again) grown on fans. sigh
Two things I’m worried about:
1. Damian Wayne. This little punk has really started to grown on me, and his character has matured, all due primarily to Dick’s influence. Well, I guess Dick has been kicked out of the picture, so what now?
2. Tim Wayne. Tim, where are you? Speaking of characters who have grown, Tim is quickly becoming the fan-favorite of the DCU, especially after Bruce officially adopted him. The complete lack of mention as to Tim’s whereabouts is not leaving me with a good feeling.
Well, it’s all out of our hands, so we can only hope things turn out well. If not, I’ll finally have a reason to stop reading comics. 😉
Yeah, the rumors that Superman and Wonder Women may be a couple piss me off even more than everything else. I’m willing to give this a shake and follow, since I really love Batwoman, and a lot of her identity is entirely separate from the rest of the DCU (except for 52), so I’m sure she won’t be super affected.
But I liked Dick as Batman (and Bruce also as Batman, that was growing on me). Damian … I just don’t care. I don’t. It’s like Jason all over again. I hated Jason the first time around (oh and he’s alive and leading The Outlaws, which is like the Outsiders, only with Speedy and Starfire as anti-heroes…. Wait … Starfire? Why is Speedy wearing a dorky baseball cap?) and I don’t like Damian for the same reasons. The only ‘Robins’ I connected with were Tim and Dick 🙁
The only way to make this worse is to tell us that J Michael Strazinzky plotted it all out. I love JMS. I want him the HELL away from my comics.
Oh yeah, the One More Day thing pissed me off. I dropped Marvel years ago because of the endless crossovers. I only follow the DC characters I like (Renee Montoya and Kate Kane). I’m saner this way.
Yeah, the Superman + Wonder Woman rumor has some major shades of Spider-Man’s OMD disaster. I guess I’m not bothered by them tossing Lois aside as much though, because they’ve been tossing Lana aside so often.
The Lois + Superman and Lana + Clark triangle thing has to be one of the best handled relationship dramas in comic history, but it’s often pushed aside or forgotten.
For the uninitiated (and going off on a tangent), the concept of the relationship was that Lana loves Clark and would constantly beg him to give up being Superman, because she couldn’t bear to see him hurt. Lois loves Superman, and is routinely absent whenever he is injured or de-powered.
I think the relationship was last explored in the 2005 Wrath of Gog arc (available in trade), where Superman receives a near-fatal Kryptonite injection. Lois refuses to return to Metropolis to care for him, and at the request of Ma Kent, Lana agrees to watch over him while he recovers.
One particular quote for Lana that sums up their relationship, “I watch him sleep, constantly checking his breathing, because I’m afraid God might decide I don’t deserve him and take him away.”
Of course, in typical fashion with this relationship arc, it hasn’t been touched since. In fact she’s apparently Luthor’s business heir now, or something stupid like that.
Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying that I’m sure they’ll cast Lois aside if necessary, because they’ve been doing the same to Lana for years.
Considering the awesomeness of Kingdom Come, Superman and Wonder Woman did make a great couple.
I always saw Superman/Wonder Woman as unbelievable. She doesn’t need him, and he needs someone more like … Clark. Lois and Clark were, to me, a good match. I always felt bad for Lana, but while it was clear she loved CLARK, she couldn’t love Superman, and Lois seems fond of them both.
Tim’s post-Flashpoint whereabouts have finally been revealed.
I think “horrified” is the word I’m looking for.
… So she’s half Catwoman and half Wonder Woman?
It sure sounds like it! Either way, it’s way off-base for the character.