Happy New Year everyone! This is Crooker, featuring issue 3 of Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa’s Batgirl, starring my favorite character, Cassandra Cain. What a great way to start the new year? New comic book day? As always, this book made me giddy with joy, so today I’m going to sit down and let you rant about it in a few hundred words.
I really like the perspective given in this issue. Here, another outside perspective is shown through Cass’s eyes and the thoughts of her followers on Shiva after the last brutal battle. The multifaceted and many different characterizations of Shiva over the years have been folded into the universe by her followers in a way that makes her resemble some kind of higher god-like figure. They worship her in every sense of the word, and through her they worship Cass. Cass’s first real confrontation with the iconic Shiva is mentioned directly (Batgirl Vol. 1 #25) and even talked about as if it were scripture. All of this makes Cass very uncomfortable. And why not? From Cass’s point of view, Shiva is a monster. She is a murderer and commits murder for various reasons, but most often for her own entertainment. It’s not that the reason is important. Cas is a bat-child, and apart from that, he has very personal reasons for avoiding murder.
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On every level, Cass has strong reasons to hate Shiva. The good deeds people do in her name, how others continue to be inspired by her, how Batman and his family inspired her, brought her in and made her part of their family. It bothers her. It is a difficult reality for her to come to terms with her own moral values, and that Shiva still provokes her and continues to kill, slaughter and hunt innocent people and those she loves, such as assassins. It also doesn’t help that we’re working with people like the Federation. That will be the last straw that will cause her to fail this time. It all culminates in the final return of Nyssa al Ghul, the lesser-known of the Demon’s two daughters and the final villain Cassandra faced at the climax of the original Batgirl movie. Reach high tide. Will she have to compromise again? Adding fuel to the fire? Time will tell.
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I love all of these. This is a very big deal with the ongoing theme of not being able to fully understand Shiva, and her different aspects and traits over the years have made her completely unpredictable. As readers, we are in the same situation as Cass here. Will we trust Shiva just because he seems sincere this time? We know she’s lied and broken promises before (she’s even changed characterizations and writers), but there’s such convincing evidence. And yet… why do we believe it will remain now? Why would we trust her just because outsiders have deified her when we know who she really is: a grinning, battle-hungry killer? Or?
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But isn’t she attractive? She is charismatic and very similar to Cass. Can she get better, can she do what so many others have done and make a fresh start? That may be true, but she’s tried to do good things before, but they don’t last. I’m not sure about her. She is Cass’s dark mirror, Cass’s shadow to Sonic, and her owl to Bat. We want good things for Cass and we know her and we know how she suffered and what she went through. And like Cass, I wish she had a better life with parents who actually loved her…but she doesn’t. That wasn’t the case until Batman. God, it’s all so fascinating. Tate, you sneaky dog, you made me talk to myself! I love it.
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Of course, the art is also great, with Miyazawa showing us incredibly subtle movements from Cass observing people. She is a character who speaks with her body and movements, and all of her body language is spot on. I also love the new character Jaysh’s honesty, which Cass is of course highly suspicious of. She uses her talents to constantly check that she is not being misunderstood. She has been through everything and even doubts her ability to trust what she sees. It’s reflected very well in the visuals and is very clever. And the fight choreography is gorgeous. Cass moves like a half-dancer, half-martial arts expert, and that’s amazing. It’s very fluid and feels like it’s moving at times, and that’s the perfect way to express her unique fighting style.
Oh yeah, Batgirl #3 is great. A single problem can give you deep analytical understanding, and you rarely even need to touch on the story or quote personal experience. This would be twice as long if I included all of the usual review criteria checklists. That alone gave us a lot more to talk about. I love talking about this character as much as reading about her, and I’m so hooked here. I’ve always been involved, but I’m very involved. Please everyone buy 1 million copies so it doesn’t end after just 6 issues. It makes me cry. I promise to do that! Don’t think I won’t do it!
“Batgirl” #3 is very layered
Batgirl #3
In the middle of the story, Bronval delves into the complex nature of Cass and Shiva’s relationship, and becomes more involved in the characters’ checkered history.
Delicate and intense character work
Full-fledged construction without abandoning the character’s past events
Gorgeous choreography and art in general
