The penultimate chapter of Stephanie-as-Batgirl.

We start with a massive mecha-suited Reaper raid on the police department.  The Reapers say that they are only meant to keep the police busy, which seems to me to be tipping their hand to an unnecessary degree.  It goes on for a few pages which are too heavy for me, so we’ll go to the entrance of Batgirl.

Unfortunately, she’s standing over Johnny C/Grey Ghost’s body.  Damn, this series is getting depressing on several different levels.  Detective Gage scolds her for leaving in the middle of the Reaper investigation, and Stephanie opens up on him about his obvious past connection to the Reapers.  He confesses that he was one of them, or a more low-tech outfit, in college.  His fiancée was caught up in a heist, and it seems that some security guards shot her.  Wait.  Was she a Reaper?  She doesn’t appear to be in a robe.  What was she doing at a heist?  Did she know he was a Reaper?  This makes little sense, but I’m guessing because they are pretty much out of time, what with the reboot.

Gage has a recording from Clancy, sent to him and meant for Batgirl.

Clancy made a deal with the Reapers, to pull off a heist for a ‘client’ who promised them metahuman abilities for cash and the DNA they tried to steal from the nun.  The client’s check bounced.  Okay, why did he want cash if he was giving them a check?  Why did they even need the check if they were stealing cash?

Clancy was making this recording while hiding behind a pinball machine.  The Reapers found him and killed him.

Meanwhile, they get word about the raid on the police station, and word that there is a raid somewhere else – Blackgate Prison.  The Reapers have come to spring Xane (the speedster).  They’ve also overridden the ‘no-kill’ limits on their mecha-suits.

Batgirl and Gage are now above the prison in a helicopter.  Stephanie jumps out, but not before telling Gage to give Barbara ‘some time.’  You know, if Babs is going to be Batgirl, I would totally by a comic book where Stephanie is Spoiler/The Matchmaker of the DCU.

Stephanie bounces around, avoiding death and trying to get information out of them.  They’re here to kill their duplicitous client.  Personally?  Given the amount of people they killed on their client’s behalf?  I’d be okay with that.  But they’re trying to kill Batgirl, too, so Stephanie, with someone’s claws around her neck, shouts, “Shazam!”

Reapers:  “Wait . . . Guys, she isn’t magic, right?”

And this is why we need Batgirl books.  You really couldn’t have Batman try this kind of fake-out.

The Reapers hesitate just long enough for Stargirl, Supergirl, Bombshell, and Miss Martian to show up.  The Battle takes two pages, with the last Reaper giving up.

Stephanie kicks down a cell door to find the client that the Reapers are there to kill, and it’s . . . . . . . . .

Her father, the Cluemaster.

dun Dun DUN!

Conclusions:

Random Irrelevant Detail:   It appears the engagement ring that Gage got for his fiancée is platinum.  Doesn’t anyone choose gold anymore?

Suckiness Advisory Warning:  Johnny C!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Overall Awesomeness Level:  Batgirl comes out of this looking competent and tough, but not omnipotent, which is a good level for her, given her reputation and how she was at the start of this series.

Similar Posts:

• Batgirl #21 Play-by-Play
• Batgirl #20 Play-by-Play
• Batgirl Play-by-Play #19
• The last Stephanie Batgirl: Issue #24 Play-by-Play
• Batgirl #15 Play-by-play

Posted in comic books by Esther Inglis-Arkell |