Right out the gate, Batgirl #18 reminds you twice that Cassandra’s world is bigger than the Bat-family. First, when the issue opens with an awkward exchange as Bruce, Dick, Steph, and others are waiting for Batgirl to show up for a family dinner, and secondly when the death of Wu Lin, the Bloodmaster, opens a portal to the Spirit World, a kind of purgatory that doesn’t seem all that scary. With her new supporting cast backing her up, Batgirl, Jade Tiger, and Jaya Jayesh jump into the Spirit World for a whimsical adventure filled with magic, danger, and swords made out of blood.
Last month, I was thrilled that Batgirl returned to Gotham with her new supporting cast. You’d think I’d be frustrated that she left just as quickly as she got back, but I’m not. Though it was created before the creators of Batgirl were even born, recently the Spirit World is linked to Cassandra because of a miniseries from 2022, and it feels like it’s her domain. So, I’ve got no problem seeing her jump right back into something that feels like hers.
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Once they’re back in the Spirit World, they’re immediately confronted by, well, spirits. Time moves differently in the spirit World and they’re aided by Wu Lin, who’s been watching the portal created by his physical body in Gotham for weeks. He acts as a kind of guide and gives them shelter, catching them up on both real world and Spirit World drama.
In one of the more quiet moments, Wu Lin teaches Batgirl how to use her new blood master abilities, and opens up a pretty interesting avenue of conversation, when they talk about intention and the karmic retribution a life on earth reaps in the Spirit World. “If a good person tries to improve the world but only ever causes misfortune, while a cruel soul betters the lives around them, even unwittingly… who will karma favor?”. I wasn’t expecting a progress vs. perfection argument on morality in a Batgirl book, but I’m happy I got it between training montages.
Still mentioned pretty regularly in this issue is the trauma Batgirl experienced as a kid at the hands of Cain and Lady Shiva. It’s been 26 years since Cassandra debuted and it still comes up on a regular basis. The burden of Lady Shiva I understand, she was in the run until pretty recently so it feels relevant, but the Cain stuff, even though he was the one who mostly raised her feels a little tired. I want to think she can move past it, but it’s written with a lot of power here, so I can’t even be mad at it.
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This is what drives Batgirl, the constant push and pull of who she was supposed to be and who she wants to be. Every time it’s come up, she may falter a bit, but she always proves everyone wrong and acts the hero she wants to be.
That’s put to the test though with the final page cliffhanger, which sets up a nice climactic finale in next month’s issue that promises to be full of action, intrigue, and danger as she’s given another opportunity to assert why she’s one of, if not, the most unique branches of the Bat family tree. I can’t wait, especially to see if this blood magic is a more permanent fixture of her character or a temporary metaphor for the genealogy she’s been fighting since she debuted.
Just as soon as she returned to Gotham, Batgirl left it for a fun and dangerous adventure in the Spirit World with her supporting cast and new/old ally, Wu Lin. It was a relatively quiet issue for Batgirl, learning how to control her affliction and turn it into an advantage, and seeing familiar faces become powerful threats to her and her found family. Top of mind is Jaya Jayesh and how she fits into Batgirl’s world as they and others square up for a final duel in the Spirit World.
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