Pages 1/2: Silly Babs, you know your perfect world would involve sleeping with Dinah and not Dick. Fanservice for both sides with Shirtless!Dick and Underpants!Babs
Page 3: See, there's no way this can be Babs perfect world because Damian's in it. And she has to cook for him. No one would have Damian in their perfect world, except for, well, Damian. Damian does try to remind Babs she should be hanging out with Dinah, though, so points to him for that. I think the guy Dick's playing football with is supposed to be Tim, but it looks nothing like him. Then Babs sees Steph!
Page 4: Damian is Tiny Tim now, you guyz. Then we have the inevitable TKJ reference. At least this one's marginally creative, with Calculator dressed up like the Joker, and we don't have to actually see the gunshot.
Page 5/6/7: Calculator is creepy and Steph runs from Catwoman only to get neck-noosed. She also babbles snarkily in inner monologue, because she is Steph after all!
Page 8:Steph grabs the ledge, does a handstand, clamps Catwoman between her thighs, and then flips her over and bashes her head into the wall. Damn, girl.
Page 9: Then she says "Sorry, Selina, but all things considered, I think this squares us" and box says to see the World Finest TPB. Except, I have, and I can;t make sense of Steph's statement. Selina doesn't have anything to square with Steph, other than the fact Steph left her chained up in a box, a scene I complained about. That would mean Steph owes Selina, not the other way around. I mean, Selina was fairly rude to her, but leaving her chained up should be more than enough revenge for that. Maybe what this means is that Steph secretly unchained Selina off panel when Supergirl wasn't looking and that's why Selina owes her! Yeah. That's my canon now.
Anyway, this scene has a one-up of World's Finest (even if it had to go an make me remember that frustrating scene in the first place, THANKS A LOT MILLER) in that Steph did somewhat act like a friend to Selina, checking to make sure she's okay, apologizing and referring to her with familiarity.
Anyway, then Huntress comes and Steph doesn't think she's walking away. Uh, Steph, you just beat Catwoman, I don't see why Huntress would be more of a problem. But I do love her line "No way am I walking away from this fight...but that never stopped me before, right?" So very Steph. She always fights and she never gives up.
Page 10/11: Wendy checks in and she and Steph bond over jackass daddys. I do sort of like their dynamic here, though I really home Wendy has a more interesting role than just "Oracle replacement" especially since I still want Babs to be involved in the book. Anyway, Steph gets the bright idea to dive into the sewer.
Page 12/13/14: ...Then she explodes Huntress a little. "At least zombies don't complain I'm not right for the job" Oh, Steph, I love you. And then, Giant Man-Bat Sewer Attack:
Page 15/16: How much do I love that Babs mind is a library but all the books are blank because she has hardcore mental blocks? And how much do I love her book-fu? And how much do I love her hilariously awesome mod outfit?
Page: 17/18/19: Steph babbles about the DVR she can't afford as she rides Kurt Langstrom like a bronco. A FLYING bronco. And then "oooh! An airport! I know, RIGHT? Thanks universe!" How awesome is Steph? So awesome.Wendy comes to help Steph, who jumps off, Kirk and shocks him into submission.
Page: 20: Yes, of course Babs made Steph's escape pod wheelchair accessible. Steph tries to talk Wendy into going home, but Wendy asks her if she would do that if her Dad did this, if she would go home. Noooope. So it's team up time, and Wendy will just have to fly that T-jet and keep a positive attitude, if she wants to hang around here, darnit!
Page 21: Stephanie is taking the "Gravity, then fists" approach, the approach she takes to everything. *loves* I ADORE her braid here.You guys remember all my ranting on how Steph should wear a spiked braid and that would solve all her problems, right? Well, she's wearing a braid here and it looks fabulous and practical!
Page 22: AND THEN SHE JUMPS OFF A PLANE! Yay, go Steph!
Another good issue, with some minor rough patches, 4.5/5. I absolutely can't wait for next issue, because of it's badass cover and final showdown-y feel. A recent interview shows Miller has some new Batgirl rogues in store for future issues and I am psyched! It's about time Steph expanded her rogues gallery a little. She already kind of has one with the Cluemaster and Baffler always appearing as her villains, but as Batgirl, she can't just keep fighting Batman's cast offs. And also? Issue #14 has Steph and Supergirl teaming up to fight Dracula. This tickles me so much I've been inspired to draw a picture based off it, and I'm going to do another one of ALL the Batgirls fighting vamps. Stephanie the Vampire Slayer, hellz yeah!
I'm glad Batgirl is there to be my constant source of fun and joy with my favorite character. Now if we could just fix all that other crap...
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Selina, despite her name, is actually the mouse in the game of cat-and-mouse she's perpetually playing with the capes. (Post-Crisis, at least.) She has martial arts ability sufficient to defend herself, but her actual talent is all evasion, deception, escape - she doesn't take Bruce down, she gets away from him. Even in her more vigilante-ish later days and the current Sirens stuff where she's more aggressive and active at combat, it's always reactive and involves a lot of dodging and leading people around, and ultimately her victories tend to be about being more clever than the other guy, out-bluffing or out-conning him or having stronger allies. She's not a useful shock trooper, especially when she's got no higher brain function; on an instinctive level, she's mostly wired to run away.
Helena, on the other hand, is pure predator. Take away her higher brain functions and you've got an extremely efficient, unbelievably agile, utterly relentless walking sniper rifle. I'd rather take my chances with Kirk's wild side too.
how much do I love her book-fu?
I think I've already expressed my love of the book-fu, but seriously, it was Goddamn awesome, it cannot be stated enough.
Also I didn't even entirely loathe Wendy this ish. Progress!
Maybe Steph meant that Selina half-strangling her with a whip should make them even for her leaving Selina in a box? That's the only interpretation that I can think of that would make even pseudo-sense.
Uh, Steph, you just beat Catwoman, I don't see why Huntress would be more of a problem.
I can sort of see it. It's been played up quite a bit over the last few years (including by Simone in BoP) that Huntress is a pretty damn good fighter. Not just skilled, but I'd expect her to be brutal and stubborn, too. It'd be a bit like Steph fighting an older, more-experienced version of herself with serious rage issues: even if she won she'd probably take quite the pounding in the process. Plus, deadly crossbow.
...Then she explodes Huntress a little.
Steph: "I'm sure that Huntress' armor will protect her from the shrapnel and flames."
Helena: "Ow! My midriff!"
Steph: "Oh, right."
You guys remember all my ranting on how Steph should wear a spiked braid and that would solve all her problems, right?
[tangent]Speaking of which, turns out Tamora Pierce is pretty good. Looking forward to the third Beka Cooper book.[/tangent]
It would help, but it still wouldn't solve the problem of the hole in the back of her cowl for her hair, which exposes her neck to potential stabbing. (I'm assuming tha the cowl is made of cut-resistant materials like Spectra and Razornet. If not, I'm revoking Babs' license to design costumes.)
AND THEN SHE JUMPS OFF A PLANE! Yay, go Steph!
I love the shot of her in parachuting gear, airdropping in to save the day.
She already kind of has one with the Cluemaster and Baffler always appearing as her villains...
They've both been kind of defunct as villains for a while. And while Steph facing her not-dead-after-all father again has a lot of dramatic potential, neither of them would be much of a match for her anymore. She's improved so much as a fighter since then that she'd probably wipe the floor with 'em. Maybe if Arthur has been plotting and training like crazy the whole time since War Crimes in search of revenge or something....
Wait a sec. On par with the "has anybody told Cass Steph isn't dead" question we had for months before this book started, has anybody told Steph that her dad's alive?
Well, DUH she is. :P Totally been a fan since I was ten.
I think if she had a braid, the hole would be smaller, so no stabby (at any rate, I think the hole for hair is at the bottom of her skull, not her neck. That's how Babs costume worked, anyway)
They've both been kind of defunct as villains for a while. And while Steph facing her not-dead-after-all father again has a lot of dramatic potential, neither of them would be much of a match for her anymore.
True, they were both barely a match for her as Spoiler. I was just commenting that considering she was a supporting character before all this, it's impressive she does have a few villians that are basically "hers".
Miller said in a recent interview that Cluemaster wouldn't be coming back for a while, because Steph is moving forward. I would assume someone told her her Dad was alive at some point...I mean, at least her Mom would mention it.