A review by rbccawrnr
Batgirl, Volume 1: Batgirl of Burnside by Cameron Stewart
2.0
This may be more rant than review, but this book really upset me.
Barbara Gordon is a character that's been around for a while; almost since the beginning. As Oracle, she became one of the greatest disabled superheroes in comics. She led the Birds of Prey, an awesome group of all women superheroes. She also did not let a wheelchair prevent her from kicking serious ass when necessary.
As Batgirl, she was a hero in her own right. She entered the arena without Batman's permission, and earned his respect. She is smart, capable, mature, and pretty fucking awesome.
In Gail Simone's run, she was recovering from PTSD. She was rusty, and imperfect. She was dark, and when she confronted the Joker, she almost killed him. This was a moment that I (and probably quite a few other women) felt strongly about. Seeing the survivor of a sexual assault (no matter how you interpret TKJ I think what he did qualifies) beat the royal crap out of her abuser was vindicating.
My point here is that she was a person. A damaged person, an imperfect person, but still a person.
This new run? She's become a ridiculous caricature, a cliche, and yes, a MARY SUE. She's 21 again (never mind the fact that she's supposed to be several years older than Robin I, Dick Grayson), she's in college again, and she's this super awesome, wicked smart, pretty girl (oh but she doesn't think so, of course), soy latte drinking, thrift store buying HIPSTER.
Ew. Anyway. Everyone loves her (for reasons I don't really understand; she's super selfish and immature). She's navigating the treacherous waters of online dating (she needed help setting up a profile? 20 years in canon of being a hacker and she can't set up a Tinder/Hooq?). And she's just a typical 20something who parties, hooks up, and does it all on social media (is this how the world sees women my age?! God help us).
It just feels like an insult to the character. If DC wants to pander to young women (not that this bullshit is what brings in female readers...we like action and darker stories too!), fine. Use another character.
Here's my bottom line; this is a story written by a man. He writes a female character how he sees women. Simone is a woman; she writes female characters as we are. We're just people.
Barbara Gordon is a character that's been around for a while; almost since the beginning. As Oracle, she became one of the greatest disabled superheroes in comics. She led the Birds of Prey, an awesome group of all women superheroes. She also did not let a wheelchair prevent her from kicking serious ass when necessary.
As Batgirl, she was a hero in her own right. She entered the arena without Batman's permission, and earned his respect. She is smart, capable, mature, and pretty fucking awesome.
In Gail Simone's run, she was recovering from PTSD. She was rusty, and imperfect. She was dark, and when she confronted the Joker, she almost killed him. This was a moment that I (and probably quite a few other women) felt strongly about. Seeing the survivor of a sexual assault (no matter how you interpret TKJ I think what he did qualifies) beat the royal crap out of her abuser was vindicating.
My point here is that she was a person. A damaged person, an imperfect person, but still a person.
This new run? She's become a ridiculous caricature, a cliche, and yes, a MARY SUE. She's 21 again (never mind the fact that she's supposed to be several years older than Robin I, Dick Grayson), she's in college again, and she's this super awesome, wicked smart, pretty girl (oh but she doesn't think so, of course), soy latte drinking, thrift store buying HIPSTER.
Ew. Anyway. Everyone loves her (for reasons I don't really understand; she's super selfish and immature). She's navigating the treacherous waters of online dating (she needed help setting up a profile? 20 years in canon of being a hacker and she can't set up a Tinder/Hooq?). And she's just a typical 20something who parties, hooks up, and does it all on social media (is this how the world sees women my age?! God help us).
It just feels like an insult to the character. If DC wants to pander to young women (not that this bullshit is what brings in female readers...we like action and darker stories too!), fine. Use another character.
Here's my bottom line; this is a story written by a man. He writes a female character how he sees women. Simone is a woman; she writes female characters as we are. We're just people.