1 Move over, Wonder Woman! Batwoman's new covered-up getup.
I am Batwoman, Hear Me Roar
The classic comic heroine got a makeover. Can she save Gotham and the face of female superheroes?
By Allison Ford
Published: December 24th, 2010 | 12:00am
The comic book world often seems like a straight man’s world, but Batwoman is starting to kick down these barriers in the new series from DC Comics, Batwoman. She is probably the first strong powerful gay woman to have her own comic book series. Another important point: Batwoman, unlike many of her contemporaries, doesn't need to dress like stripper to fight crime.
So what do we know about Gotham’s redheaded warrior? Batwoman aka Kate Kane has survived and triumphed over some difficult obstacles throughout her life. In the graphic novel, Batwoman: Elegy (written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by J.H. Williams III), which encompasses Detective Comics’ issues #854 to #860, gives readers a deeper glimpse into the life of Batwoman. As a child, her sister and mother were killed. As an adult, she attends West Point and is kicked out for being gay. In order to serve, she becomes Gotham’s newest heroine. Her first major victory is bittersweet. She defeats a woman named Alice, who leads the Religion of Crime cult. After Alice fell to her death off the side of an airplane, Kate finds out that Alice was the sister whom she believed to be dead and that her dad, Colonel Jacob Kane, knew there was a possibility of her being alive, since her body was never found. To add to the drama of the Alice events, Alice’s body was never found after she fell from the airplane.
More recently, in Detective Comics #861 to #863 (written by Rucka and illustrated by Jock and Scott Kolins) Batwoman and Batman were after the same villain, Cutter, a man who was cutting off pieces of women’s faces to repair the face of the woman he loved. Cutter attempted to capture Batwoman’s cousin, Bette aka Flamebird. Together, Bette and Batwoman defeated Cutter and his girlfriend. Soon after their battle, Bette asks Kate if she can join in her crime fighting activities.
In Batwoman #0 (released on November 24), Batman studies both Kate Kane and Batwoman in order to confirm his belief that they're the same person. Batwoman, he sees, is battling Sister Shard, the new leader of the Religion of Crime. After defeating Shard, Batwoman tried to stop a boat driven by the Religion of Crime and failed.
During Batman’s glimpse into the life of Kate Kane, Kate visits her mother and sister’s graves daily, ignores her father, dances at clubs, and goes book shopping with Bette. Batman also tests his theory by attacking Kate, while disguising himself. Through this fight, Batman concludes that Batwoman is Kate Kane.
Our first glimpse at Batwoman in her new series, written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman, may seem a bit dull, since Batwoman is fighting old enemies, but as usual cliffhangers draw interest for future issues. What was on the boat that the Religion of Crime was guarding from Batwoman? Is Bette going to team up with her cousin?
In addition to lacking in some new adventures, another problem in Batwoman is it appears that Batwoman needs Batman’s approval. Larry Sabin (owner of Comics and Collectibles in Abilene, TX) points out that Batwoman’s “story is told and evaluated through the eyes of a man. Batman becomes a stalker in order to judge her worth and we see and hear the story through his eyes. Although this might make the story easier to handle for old Batman fans, I thought the idea was to bring new people into this art/story telling form and not to re-stimulate the one's already here. Why not hear her story from her?”
The art of Batwoman #0, however, is more enticing than the storyline. The illustrations by Williams and Amy Reeder depict well the heroine's two lives. Kate can be a girl dancing at a club or an awkward bookworm buying literature on the occult. Kate can also shred her ordinariness and become Batwoman, the much-needed heroine of Gotham.
Whether she is Kate Kane or Batwoman, as Rachel Maddow writes in the introduction to Elegy, this woman is a “damn compelling lead character” that “you won’t be able to shake.” This series is sure to be a must-read—if Williams and Blackman can capture some of the Batwoman as she was depicted by Rucka in Detective Comics. But if they continue on this current road, Batwoman might, unfortunately, become short-lived.
Will Batwoman get the story that she deserves? Find out when Batwoman #1 hits stands on February 23, 2011.
Issue #28
Comments
Want to tell us what you think? Please click here to log in or just click here for quick comments