Finally, Cassandra Cain gets to break out on her own again as the sole Batgirl. As much as I like Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain is the Batgirl I grew up reading. The last decade has not been so kind Cassandra in terms of her development. She’s largely played a secondary role in any title she was part of the core cast for. Even the most recent Batgirls title Stephanie and Barbara were more of the leads with Cassandra being a strong back-up for them. Now that she is able to get back to being a solo hero I’m excited to see the vast potential of her character be tapped into. Let’s find out how it begins with Batgirl #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tate Brombal
Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
BATGIRL #1 SOLICITATION
“Hold on to your seats, clutch your pearls, and rejoice in celebration because Cassandra Cain is taking center stage in her first solo Batgirl series in nearly two decades! When a deadly group of assassins shows up to kill Cassandra, Lady Shiva comes to the rescue, and they must put their complicated past aside and work together as mother and daughter to ensure they make it out alive.
Unfortunately, things are never as easy as they seem, and Cass must embark on a jaw-dropping, martial-arts filled adventure in her quest for truth and justice… and revenge?! It’s a Batgirl book like never before, so join us as we dive into the psyche of one of Gotham’s deadliest fighters, while exploring her deep and complex relationship with her mother.” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Batgirl #1 is a comic book that has every element that you could want from a big picture standpoint. The core elements are visible to make this series a success. Unfortunately, the execution of the start of this story with so much potential is squandered by the writing getting in its own way.
The biggest problem that Batgirl #1 constantly runs into is that Tate Brombal’s writing trips over itself with how he is trying to portray Cassandra Cain. Brombal gets it right that one of the things that makes Cassandra Cain stand out is her attention to the world around her, particularly when it comes to people’s habits. Constantly being on watch to figure out what her mom is trying to get out of her through Shiva’s body language is a great way to establish this. The problem Brombal quickly creates for himself is the constant need to remind the reader about this through Cassandra’s inner monologue.
This gets into questioning how much trust there is between Brombal and artist Takeshi Miyazawa as a creative team. Because if there was a creative trust then Brombal should’ve had Miyazawa’s artwork provide visual queues as to how Cassandra is constantly keeping an eye on Shiva’s habits. Letting the artwork lead in how Cassandra Cain operates as Batgirl would’ve helped to showcase what makes her unique. But here we get a portrayal where it feels like there could’ve been a palette swap with either Stephanie Brown or Barbara Gordon because of how the writing was at the forefront.
The overcompensation by Brombal’s writing also hurt the action sequence of Batgirl #1. Rather than have the focus be on how badass Shiva and Batgirl are the writing wants you to focus on the “My name is Cassandra Cain” inner monologue. When someone has to tell you that they are a badass then they aren’t badass. That is exactly the vibe given by this choice to not let Miyazawa’s artwork for the fighting choreography to get over that messaging. If Brombal would’ve let the choreography shine it would’ve made the few sort lines of dialogue or inner monologue Cassandra has be much more effective.
The one saving grace for Batgirl #1 is the tease about how this storyline with Shiva could push Cassandra Cain. We see throughout this issue that Cassandra is living up to Batman Family method of taking on whoever they come up against. That clearly clashes against Shiva’s vision of what she wants her daughter to be as a living weapon. She wants to see the take no prisoners killer assassin come out of Cassandra’s fighting style.
Which made the final page even more intriguing. In the one instance where Miyazawa’s artwork was the emphasis we see Shiva giving Cassandra a sinister look like she planned the attack they were dealing with. This final page pushes the idea that Shiva has a long term plan to push Cassandra to become the killer she was trained to be before becoming Batgirl and a part of the Batman Family. How Cassandra responds to this type of test to her morals and convictions is what make me want to at least check out the next issue as a fan of the character.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batgirl #1 has all the pieces to make it a strong debut. Unfortunately, how all those pieces are assembled makes the structure fall apart even before the final piece is placed. This simply comes down to the overcompensation in Tate Brombal writing trying to prove he knows who Cassandra Cain. This leads to Takeshi Miyazawa never getting the chance to properly compliment the story and showcase Cassaindra Cain as the badass she is through the artwork, creating an uneven reading experience. It’s a shame that it doesn’t all come together as it should because this title certainly has a ton of potential, something that we get many hints of in this first issue.
Story Rating: 3 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
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