Batgirl #2

This is one of the three comics on my "pull list." Mostly it involves my interest in being able to read modern-age stories of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, and not have to go back in time to read hokey Silver-Age stories that I imagine aren't very good to begin with. Also, Gail Simone is the perfect writer for the job, she practically created the Post-Crisis Barbara Gordon character. While issue #1 didn't set the world on fire, it did leave me hope that this would be an interesting series and was totally worth following.

And issue #2 paid off for keeping my faith. While issue #1 left off with a sort of silly cliffhanger where an officer tells Batgirl she's under arrest for failing to act when the new villain Mirror kills her partner, this issue quickly dismisses her absurd behavior when Jim Gordon basically tells her to put a sock in it when she starts blabbing about how they have to arrest Batgirl.

 What was a little surprising was Jim Gordon's surprise reaction to hearing that Batgirl was back. Jim Gordon has lived through three Batgirls since Post-Crisis, he shouldn't be that shocked. They come and go pretty frequently too. And how was he supposed to know that it wasn't Stephanie Brown Batgirl? While Jim Gordon never knew that Barbara was Batgirl, he certainly seemed to know which one was "back."

This issue was very well rounded balancing Gotham's reaction to the Batgirl return, Barbara's personal life, and her fight with Mirror. We see her go on a date (And her trying to pretend that she's a girly-girl) which normally sounds boring, but it's a brief sequence, and it does a real great job showing how a superhero can be real insecure as well.  Barbara Gordon trying to act charming and light-hearted as to not scare off the man is really enjoyable, because you see how hard she is trying to tone her intense personality down.

This date again leads into the question "how did Barbara Gordon get use of her legs again???!!!?" Again, Gail Simone chooses to make Barbara Gordon skirt around this issue, talking about miracles and how she feels unworthy of one. While this approach about leaving the giant elephant of the room can be annoying, her commitment to it makes it work better. Gail Simone wants to take the healing story to take a backseat to Batgirl's return to crimefighting story. And that's commendable, but by putting it off, it means her payoff for why it's be put off needs to be huge. And while that doesn't negatively affect this issue right now, it could create revisionist history and ruin all the good work she's done on her first two issues and I expect her to continue on the next few.

When reading the fight scene, I couldn't help but think about how Barbara Gordon thinks the same way Bruce does, always strategizing, calculating. She's an active thinker, knowing both her own limitations and strengths. Mirror completely overwhelms her as far as physical attributes, but she still battles him to a draw, and almost takes him out until he runs off when he hears sirens. Clearly, she is still having a few bumps in the road, but she's clearly on her way.

What I enjoyed: Babs Gordon is enjoying a nice little comeback. The first issues haven't set the world on fire, but it's fresh to get a new character dynamic out of Barbara Gordon. Yes, she was once Batgirl, but she's had two decades of character development since then and it shows. One of the great characters in the DCnU.

What I didn't: I'm not buying Mirror as a great villain. He kills people that should have died because he survived in an accident when his family didn't? The logic doesn't follow. I like the mirror concept, but his backstory isn't up to snuff. Something is needed to bridge that gap.

Conclusion: Barbara Gordon is one of the great characters in the DC Universe and Gail Simone writes her terrifically, inside and out. But now she just has to create a world around Babs that's equally fascinating. This issue leaves off with the words, "Next: Nightwing!" Understandably I'm excited for it.  8.3/10 (B-).