Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batgirl #16 Review

By J. Skyler
January 18, 2013 - 12:55

There is a lot to be said about the institution of marriage, whether one defines it as a religious sacrament, a legally binding contract or a convenient way to come into a ridiculous amount of money in very, very little time. The most toothless argument, however, is the "Traditional Marriage Movement" which actually trivializes the honest love members of the opposite sex can find in one another by implying no heterosexual couple is capable of enduring a monogamous relationship so long as same-sex couples are permitted to walk down the aisle; that, and its revisionist history which excludes the fact that marriage has largely been used to render women as property rather than equal partners. In Women In Early America: Struggle, Survival, And Freedom In A New World (2004), author Dorothy A. Mays labels this phenomenon as coverture, stating:

"Coverture is defined as the legal status of a woman following marriage that sublimated her legal identity under the authority of her husband. Most early American law was imported from English common law, which severely restricted women's legal status following their marriage... Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765) provided a clear reflection of the legal implications of coverture: 'By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during marriage, or at least is incorporated or consolidated into that of the husband'."

In other words, it mattered not if a man and women entered into holy matrimony under the purest intentions of love, devotion and all things heaven sent—once a woman became a bride, she was essentially dead to the world. Therein lies the Joker's twisted brilliance within Batgirl #16 entitled "Ceremony." In this Death of the Family crossover event, the Joker has made it his personal responsibility to kill off every single one of Batman's allies in order to free the Dark Knight's mind of concern for those under his guidance, thereby restoring him to his peak proficiency. In a most depraved sense of social commentary, the Joker understands the simplest way to render Batgirl's life null and void is by marrying her (though that's not to say he wont have a bit of fun torturing her in the process). Seeing the Joker wield a chainsaw à la Leatherface of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise is enough to make you shudder, even without all the sound effects.

Both Batgirl and the Joker understand this sham of a marriage is the ultimate humiliation; the quintessential insult. It is quite literally a fate worse than death and Batgirl aims to end the Joker's life before she'll allow herself to be victimized a second time. For her, this is the grand finale, which makes the ending sadly anti-climactic, as the conclusion to this story and the entire Death of the Family crossover resides in next month's Batman #17, scheduled for release on February 13, 2013. Nonetheless, Gail Simone provides a brilliant issue, imbued with a crash course in feminist theory which will have you re-reading it over and over again to gain new insights into Batgirl's iconography.

As an added bonus, we see a bit of the old Oracle in The New 52 in this issue, as Barbara recalls her life after her paralysis (but prior to her recovery). Drea (@ArkhamAsylumDoc), who is a Doctor of Psychology and who has been described as invaluable in shaping Gail Simone's depiction of a woman recovering from trauma is canonized as Batgirl's therapist here, attempting to persuade a very stubborn young Barbara Gordon to work through the radical adjustments she's had to make in her life. While many are thrilled and forever grateful for Batgirl's return in The New 52, there is a twinge of nostalgia that will course through every reader's heart seeing Barbara in her wheelchair, representing those who are differently-abled and nonetheless kick-ass.

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12