In this review of Barbara Gordon: Breakout #5, Sparrow’s fate is determined while Barbara does her best to protect Councilwoman Vanessa Woods
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #5 main cover by Karl Kerschl (DC Comics)
BARBARA GORDON: BREAKOUT #5
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
Main Cover: KARL KERSCHL
Variant Covers: RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE, NIMIT MALAVIA, HAYDEN SHERMAN
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 9/9/26
This review contains spoilers
We left the last issue with Sparrow, Barbara’s friend, seemingly dead as she was found in a laundry hamper. This issue opens with Bab’s receiving a note that she is still alive miraculously. Sparrow was left for Barbara to find and she wonders why. We see a man on the phone next to Sparrow’s body in a hospital and says that it will be listed as a suicide when she dies.
Myrna sneaks into Sparrow’s room and asks her who did this to her. Sparrow can barely speak but starts to tell her. Meanwhile Barbabra approaches Vanessa Woods to tell her to stick by her but Woods wants nothing to do with her. Die runs up on Babs and fights her again, even biting her this time. Barbara tells Die that Sparrow wasn’t her but Die doesn’t want to hear it and then slashes Vanessa Woods across the throat with a makeshift knife.
Sparrow dies and Woods dies. Commissioner Vandal Savage is told that Woods is dead but that Barabra lives and he is unhappy with that. Myrna tells Barbara what she knows and says that all Sparrow did was make a noise which was “click click click”. Which Babs remembers from her first night in the Supermax when she was attacked. Then Barbara gets a note that says “I did this for you”.
Sparrow is alive, but for how long (DC Comics)
Analysis
I didn’t expect Vanessa Woods to be killed off in her second appearance in the series. I thought that character would last for a few as part of the plot. I guess it shows that anything can happen in the Supermax and when Vandal Savage wants something done, it gets done. You know, that is unless it’s Barbara Gordon.
Our girl continues to be on the back foot and multiple steps behind which is uncommon for someone as smart as Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl aka Oracle. The new mystery is who is sending these notes. What did they do for Babs? Is it the same person writing the note at the beginning of the issue?
I think I would like to see Barbara start to make some headway in solving what is going on in this prison. To me, it feels like we are spinning our wheels here. Barbabra does something, someone gets killed, Die fights her, Babs gets beat, Barbara finds something else out. Lather, rinse, repeat. I just hope we start to figure some things out here and what is going on in the prison and why Barbara still has this head bandage this whole run? Let’s get those wounds cleaned up. Of course now she got a bite on the ankle.
The SuperMax mystery continues.
