In this review of Batgirl #18, Batgirl, Tenji and Jaya head down to the Spirit World to learn the secret of Batgirl’s new blood wielding powers!
Batgirl #18 main cover by David Talaski (DC Comics)
BATGIRL #18
Written by TATE BROMBAL
Art by TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
Main Cover: DAVID TALASKI
Variant Covers: CHRISTIAN WARD, TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date” 4/1/26
This review contains spoilers
Batgirl #18 begins as the seated members of the Bat-Family wait at Pennyworth Manor for word on Cassandra’s whereabouts. At Wucorp Tower, however, Batgirl, Tenji Turner and Jaya bear witness to a portal into Spirit World forming from the gunshot wound of Cassandra’s cousin – The Bloodmaster’s – skull. As Wu Zhi races after them, the trio resolve to leap into Spirit World, determined to figure out what’s causing Cass’ new blood powers. Upon landing in the new realm, they’re immediately attacked by dead spirits, before being saved by Bloodmaster, alive and well and looking as though he’s been in the Spirit World for weeks.
Back in the real world, Wu Zhi burns a paper talisman which reappears further into the Midnight Tower, where Bloodmaster’s father sits upon a throne. He understands this message as a warning that the trio and Bloodmaster are on their way, and recruits the spirit of Wu Bing to intercept them, which she gladly agrees to.
Bloodmaster informs the trio that in order to return to the living world, they must appeal to he who is known as The Midnight Eye, traveling to Midnight Tower in order to meet him. During the journey, Bloodmaster teaches Cass how to better use her new powers, and remarks to everyone that their fortunes rely on honoring family both living and dead in order to best achieve balance in the Spirit World. At one point Tenji posits searching for Lady Shiva’s spirit, but Cass rejects interest. Eventually, the trio are just outside of the Midnight Tower when they are met with Blood Ninjas, led by Wu Bing.
Analysis
We’re eighteen months into this second Cassandra Cain series. The book has had its bright spots, most of which come to my mind in the first arc when it was Cass and Shiva teaming up. I also enjoyed the two-part detour to retell Shiva’s origins. But since the Turner farm arc, I’ve not been satisfied with the story Tate Brombal has been putting Cassandra through. While the previous issue was intriguing, we now find ourselves back in another journey story, with another whole series of warriors and customs we’re subjected to be educated on, and further keeping Cassandra Cain from Gotham and the Bat-Family. If this arc leads Stephanie, Bruce and the others to looking for Cass and contrasting her blood family with her found family, that would certainly be a compelling turn for the series to head towards. But beyond the writing of the dialogue, which I’ve long not enjoyed, the actual plotting of this issue was wholly unsatisfying to me.
With these kinds of stories, Brombal has been putting the vibe of the series on repeat. Mystic, superpowered cultists with centuries-long traditions, magical powers and metaphors which drive home how much Cass hates herself and her relation to Shiva. The worst offender of all is how that contempt for family is reiterated over and over again with other family members. Of course Bloodmaster is the son of an evil guy who hated his offspring and Bloodmaster killed his mother and etc. etc. Does Shiva’s family really not have anything other tropes to offer? More to the point, I feel like Brombal – a man who continually touts being a long time Cassandra Cain fan – came to this book with the intention of telling a fantasy story completely distinct from a Bat-Book, and merely plugged Cass into it. We’ve only been given a single issue of Cassandra being introduced to and dealing with her new powers before setting her on a mission that forces her to get used to them. I’m all for expedient storytelling, but with this chapter it puts the main character at a remove from what the book should be driving at, which in my opinion, should be the differences in how she was raised vs. how she interacts with others. When everyone is a super special high-powered martial artist, Cass gets lost in the shuffle, even if she’s still the main character. She shouldn’t need blood powers to take out a room full of people, but now she’s thrown into a new world full of monsters and undead ninjas. What are we doing?
For transparency’s sake, much of this stems from Cass’ appearance in the Spirit World miniseries which she appeared in. I’ve heard good things, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading that story. I didn’t feel lost when reading this, but I do think her nonplussed-ness could have warranted an editor’s note about her previous visit. In any case, I feel we just need a circling back to Cassandra’s point of view, and one that doesn’t get lost in dreary dialogue about how “blood is doom” and other such trite nonsense. Getting caught up in Bloodmaster’s plot is simply not what I was interested in with this new arc. Of course I want the Bat-Family to appear with our main girl, but beyond that I just associate a more grounded story with Batgirl more than anything.
Final Thoughts
I didn’t like Batgirl #18, but it wasn’t terrible. It made coming to review this comic a drag because I knew it would be negative, but the craft – while almost sloppy – is still decent enough for the story it’s telling. But eighteen issues in and I’m not happy with how this book has established itself. It’s the DC Comics fantasy series featuring Batgirl, not Batgirl’s own series.
