What I Bought Today – Batman #19, Batgirl #19, Batman and Red Robin (Batman and Robin #19) (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Y’all know what day it is, and believe it or not, I actually managed to get all the books that came out this week! lol So, let’s check out…

So today, we got death, despair, and doppelgängers! Let’s start off with Batgirl #19.

Hallelujah, Gail Simone has returned! And holy crap, she hasn’t missed a beat after being gone for a couple of months. First off, let’s talk about Barbara‘s room-mate, Alysia, who lets her back home and, after a heart-to-heart between the two where Babs tells her everything (except being Batgirl, that is), reveals she’s actually transgendered. I don’t know if that was the original plan or if they decided on this later, but it does add some depth to the character. Either way, kudos to Gail Simone and DC for doing this, and let me just say it’s most welcome to see the first openly transgender character in a mainstream superhero comic. Also, I can’t help but wonder if, after Barbara tells Alysia to call her Babs because “The people I love call me Babs”, Gail Simone is actually planning on doing a relationship angle between the two? If I recall correctly, she had once wanted to do Barbara and Black Canary as a couple but was denied by DC, so it wouldn’t be the first time she wanted to try something like this. Given my own personal experience in writing superheroine stories, I will say that I would accept this change with open arms if it did happen.

In other news, Jim Gordon Jr. is dead. Again, thank goodness. The guy was as psychotic as anybody else in DC’s long line of villains. Now, technically Batgirl does kill him, but because she got him with a Batarang to the skull when he was going to kill their mother and he fell off the pier to the sharp pointy rocks below, and she DID try to save him. Besides, it was her mother who had originally intended to kill James to protect them both. However, Commissioner Gordon shows up at the entirely wrong time, looking to arrest Batgirl for his son’s murder, not knowing the whole situation and that Batgirl is his daughter. Definitely going to make future scenarios in this comic interesting to say the least.

Batman and Red Robin…Well to be honest, this feels more like it should be called Batman VS Red Robin. First off, we get to meet the Prime Earth version of Carrie Kelley, who is a college girl who was a friend of Damian’s (the exact relationship is still not completely known). She’s intent on finding out exactly what has happened to Damian, but Bruce ain’t talkin’. In fact, Bruce is kinda busy at the moment, as he has kidnapped Frankenstein so he can take him apart (Frankenstein still lives, mind you), and figure out how he works. Why? Because Batman has officially gone Bat shit crazy, and is trying to resurrect Damian. Luckily, Alfred called Tim Drake up and asked him to check on what Bruce was doing in the Arctic, and managed to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, doing so may have made an enemy out of Batman, depending on just how far into this plan he is and how willing he is to see it through. Still, it’s an interesting set-up for the next few issues of Batman and Robin, especially considering that next month, it’s Jason Todd‘s turn to meet up with Bats.

Batman was pretty awesome. The only problem is that there was no doubt in my mind that the Bruce Wayne on the cover was Clayface. It seems he’s actually evolved somewhat, as he’s not only able to replicate one’s appearance, but their DNA as well. This makes him all the more dangerous, especially since he’s assuming the form of Bruce Wayne. He can now access anything Bruce can, from his insane wealth to the tech created for Batman Incorporated. Also, I gotta admit that I really like the extra story included in the back, written by James Tynion IV, that features Batman and Superman investigating a house filled with mystical energies, that apparently will be concluded next month along with the conclusion to the main story included here. At any rate, this is still a good issue, despite the fact that it IS really just filler until Scott Snyder begins Zero Year.

So that’s all for this week. Next week might be a big week depending on what becomes available (I have two comics being ordered in AND there’s some confusion regarding JLA #3’s release date), but for now I will say that I will be checking in on Nightwing’s move to Chicago and how things are going for Batwoman. Ja né!

Related articles

• DC Reveals Transgender Character in BATGIRL #19 (newsarama.com)
• Simone & DC Bring Transgender Character To “Batgirl” (comicbookresources.com)
• ‘Batgirl’ #19 Features First Openly Transgender Character In Mainstream Superhero Comics (comicsalliance.com)
• Batgirl 19: Mainstream comics first transgender character (comicsheatingup.wordpress.com)
• DC Comics Introduces First Openly Transgender Character (fox2now.com)
• ‘Batgirl’ Reveals Transgender Character (geek-news.mtv.com)