Batgirl #21 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Stephen Segovia, Artist; Rain Beredo, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: One of the most intriguing arcs of this entire run so far, Tate Brombal’s latest saga is also the darkest as it takes Cass right back to her beginnings – her horrifically abusive childhood at the hands of David Cain. But last issue also introduced a new player to that house of horrors – Dr. Forget Me Not, a mysterious man with a face which is never fully seen. He was part of Cain’s twisted operation, and it’s now been revealed that he had a subject of his own – a little girl named Victoria Rose, who was raised alongside Cass as the only other child in the program. But while Cass was raised to focus entirely on her physical abilities, Victoria was turned into a blank slate of the mind, allowing the bad doctor to implant whatever he needed in her head for missions. Both girls were living weapons, and whatever happened next led to Victoria being found long dead in the same dress she was wearing back in the basement.
There are relatively few segments set in the current day in this issue, as Cass spends most of it unconscious. Tenji and Jaya are trying their best to protect Cass from the full forces of the rogue GCPD, with an assist from Bronze Tiger – who was around for those dark days of Cass’ training and knows a lot more about Victoria Rose. But most of the issue takes place inside Cass’ mind, as she’s taunted by the evil doctor and tries to dig through her repressed memories for more answers about the lost girl whose body was found last issue. This story has some of the most intense segments I’ve seen in a while, because seeing these events from Cass’ perspective is deeply unsettling – as it’s supposed to be. This arc does something I haven’t seen in a while, which is show us the horrors of Cass’ upbringing a child’s view in a way that only Kelley Puckett did at the very start of Cass’ tenure.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
