Broken Frontier

Batgirl versus Bruce Wayne!

Bruce Wayne has been mind-controlled by Gretel and now Batgirl must fight him without grievously injuring him. Other heroes of DC’s New 52 are battling monsters and aliens in their sixth issue, but Batgirl takes the cake because she has to take on the one and only Batman. And his assistant. Gail Simone’s characterization of the titular hero is as strong as ever, but there is a feeling that she is spinning her wheels.

Simone’s first arc was incredibly strong because of the villain Mirror, who made Batgirl relive getting shot, which forced her to overcome her fears and move forward with a newfound conviction in her crime fighting. Her second nemesis, Gretel, now forces Batgirl to look at what she could have become if she did not overcome her fears and instead resorted to petty vengeance to solve her problems. This is poinant in its own way, but it feels like a retread of the themes visited in the first arc. It would be incredulous to leave the most horrifying night of Batgirl’s life out of future stories, of course, but to revisit it so soon after giving the character clear room to fly ahead into new fun and danger already feels tiring.

Batgirl is still one of DC’s stronger books, so here’s hoping some new content will help it stay that way.