Batgirl #50 // Review
Barbara Gordon wraps-up another series with Batgirl #50. The fifth Batgirl series wraps-up after a little less than half a decade, which makes it roughly as long as the fourth. A lot of loose ends come to some sort of conclusion in a surprisingly well-balanced final chapter written by Cecil Castellucci, who also writes two additional stories for the special double-sized issue. A number of artists lend their styles to the issue including Emanuela Lupacchino in the main feature, Marguerite Sauvage in the second, and Aneke in the final story. The first two stories are a deep exploration of Batgirl/Barbara Gordon. The third story is a remarkably cool idea, but it feels a bit out of place.
Babs is dealing with the death of her brother. So is her father. He knows that she doesn’t agree with her politics. He doesn’t know that she’s Batgirl. In the wake of serious problems with Gotham City and a death in the family, she’s trying to figure out how best to help. Not everything requires a mask. The second story is an interesting look at the life of a character who has spent a good portion of her 50+ year history as a guest star in other characters’ titles. The final story has Batgirl, Black Canary, and a few other heroes learning a bit from a session of Dungeons and Dragons.
Castellucci saw the end of the series coming. Judging from the final issue, she had a lot that she wanted to get into. The first 24-page story covers a great deal from her personal life to family life and life under the mask. Castellucci casts a wide political net in the story, covering everything from Gotham’s own angel on the Black Lives Matter protests to the spread of COVID to income disparity between wealth and poverty. In one of the more poignant moments in the issue, Babs is outraged that Robin and Nightwing get regular stipends from Bruce Wayne while she’s struggling on her own and working a hell of a lot more. She confronts Bruce on the fact that, as one of Gotham’s wealthiest citizens, he could do a hell of a lot more good with his money than he can under the mask. This and so much more are briefly touched on in a series that Castellucci could have continued for another five years or more. It feels rushed. Babs has a lot to say before the final panel.
Lupacchino rushes around some pretty ugly places in Gotham with Babs and Castellucci. It’s a bad place and it’s getting worse. Babs is a concerned face and a head of flowing, red hair walking through it all trying to make a real difference. A story that tries to connect-up as much as this one does could really feel like a scattered mess, but Lupacchino does a good job of holding it together. Sauvage’s work on the second story is crisp and sharp in a fun contrast against Lupacchino’s. Aneke isn’t given a whole lot of space to really breathe a whole lot of life into a story featuring the Birds of Prey playing D&D. (Babs is Dungeonmaster.) It’s a fun idea, but the mix of sword-and-sorcery fantasy with earthbound contemporary crime-fighting needs a bit more space to breathe than the final story in the final issue of the fifth Batgirl series.
The character has an enduring appeal. There’s no question that she’ll be back for a sixth series. Too bad Cecil Castellucci isn’t able to spend more time with her right now, though. Castellucci had a compelling connection with the character that found her able to twist and turn with the editorial demands of all the godawful crossover events she’s had to slog through. With any luck, Castellucci or someone else similarly in-tune with Babs and her personality is able to pick-up the character whenever she inevitably appears in the first issue of her sixth series. And with any luck at all, that’s not going to be too long from now.
