Batgirl #14 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Stephen Segovia, Artist; Rain Beredo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Batgirl’s journey into Samsara has taken a dark turn, as she finds herself part of a strike mission into the sanctum of the Unburied. The goal? Destroy the enemy’s source of Blue Poppies, weakening them and opening them up to a full assault that will avenge all the assassins have taken – including Cass and Tenji’s mother, Shiva. Of course, Shiva isn’t entirely gone – she’s seen throughout this issue as visions in Cass’ head, taunting her that she’s wasting her potential. Shiva has obviously always been a frenemy at best to Cass, with the assassin never agreeing with her daughter’s decision to eschew killing entirely. And over the course of this issue, th visions try to wear down Cass’ resistance and make her compromise her morals – and even potentially reject those closest to her. It’s likely this is all in Cass’ head, but it shows how deep Shiva has wormed her way in.
But of course, there’s something deeper going on here as well. Nyssa has been feeding the team, which consists of Cass, Tenji, shape-shifter Aruna, and deadly assassin Angel Breaker, a lot of information about the history of the Unburied. But along with Shiva’s killer Kalden, the team finds a whole lot of peaceful tribesmen here – along with remnants of horrific crimes that Nyssa and her allies committed. The entire foundation of their attack is a lie, and Cass is only starting to reckon with what that means for her mission. The end of the issue drops another huge bomb about the team. Overall, this is one of the faster-paced issues of the series, with a whole lot of action as the heroes race their way towards the inner sanctum. But despite that, Brombal has managed to pack a whole lot of meaning in between the pages, as Cass continues to get some of the best development she has in a long time.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
