Broken Frontier

The New 52 brings about the return of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, but is this reboot worthy of the backlash or not?

Upon confirmation of the New 52’s Bat books, fans scratched their collective heads about who would be behind Batgirl’s cowl. 

“That looks like red hair, but it can’t be Barbara Gordon. DC wouldn’t dare.”

“They would never negate Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke? He’s the master!"

“What about the Oracle? NOOOOOO… “

Put out the torches and sheath those blades, it’s done. It’s what you thought (yes, that’s Barbara Gordon) and it doesn’t destroy giant chunks of continuity (Killing Joke still happened, relax). There are still questions as to the how and why, but all doesn’t have to be explained in the first issue. Writer Gail Simone knows this and uses Barbara’s subtle and sometimes emotional internal dialogue to express these concerns. Simone is more interested in the journey of getting your mobility back and the sometimes more devastating reality of survivor’s guilt. I have to admit, that’s a much more thematic story to follow.

The issue has a very “Batgirl Year One, Volume 2” vibe to it. You get the impression that even though she knows what she’s doing, she’s doing it all for the first time in her new life. After a first night bout of fisticuffs, the story begins to juggle her daily routine and a mysterious new villain with a murder to-do list. One that just so happens to have a certain redhead on it. But that’s more of a story for further issues.

Book one is more of a success than anything else, but there are some tonal shifts that come off as jarring at first. The grim and gritty reality of the crime she stops and the somewhat cute sitcom-esque nature of her new roommate is something that I hope is balanced better in further issues. It wasn’t enough of a distraction to weigh the whole book down, but it was noticed. If anything, the cliffhanger ending left me a little more distracted. 

I understand the motivation, reason, and thematic purpose of the book’s final page, but for the downed police officer to yell accusations at Batgirl in that moment felt a little over the top. A simple, “What’re you doing?” might have hit me better than “Murderer,” but that’s just me.

The art by Ardian Syaf is spectacular, especially his redesign of Batgirl’s costume. It is very much a mix of the old and new in a more exciting way than just adding a collar and kneepads. The page layouts and character acting are all top notch and never disrupt the flow or pace of story. This is top notch cartooning by the entire art team.

All in all, there was much more to enjoy about this new start than to bemoan. It's especially refreshing in its handling of Barbara’s voice. She never downplays or disparages being in a wheelchair. In fact, her feelings about it are quite the opposite. This new Batgirl/Barbara is a fresh collection of all the things she’s been through pre-Flashpoint. The exciting prospect of that is enough to give Batgirl #1 a chance.