Brenden Fletcher

Cameron Stewart

"In her civilian life, Barbara Gordon faces average, and not-so-average, troubles of a teenager in the "Brooklyn" of Gotham City, but as Batgirl she is tasked with battled the forces that attempt to bring down her friends and her city. When police corruption is taking over Burnside's law enforcement, Batgirl must find allies on both fronts. Collects BATGIRL #46-50"--

Mindfields. Volume 3

Batgirl

Maggie Gordon

DC constantly gives me whiplash in how they treat their characters. According to the company, this is a "soft" reboot of Batgirl. Realistically, it's a hard reboot and represents a massive shift in how the character is dealt with. I critiqued the new-52 Barbara for being too dark, well, this new Batgirl verges on perhaps too cartoony and/or hipster.

Trying to get away from the trials of her past, Barbara moves to Burnside, a neighborhood I just can't believe actually exists in Gotham. It's your typical, gentrifying student area, and Barbara is trying to be a normal college student, super fashionable hipster clothing included. Her old gear is destroyed, so she pulls together a new suit from the mall (which admittedly looks miles better than her old uniform). Then she's off fighting off cartoon villains, someone impersonating her, and a runaway computer system. 

This new Batgirl is supposed to be modern. In fact, most of the story relies on selfies, smart phones, and online dating. As much as I appreciate that DC is attempting to recognise the modern age and ensure that readers of all types will be interested in their books, I'm not sure I like this new Batgirl. She feels too divorced from the Batgirl she was last volume, and even moreso from the Batgirl of the past. I also cannot get a handle on her age and history. She's a college student, but she was already one before, thinking of doing a PhD? It seems like most of her original backstory is included, but then she'd have to be almost 30 years old. This Barbara, however, is quite young. 

I think this style of reboot would have worked much better with Supergirl. Barbara would be an early adopter of technology, but I have a hard time seeing her as a party-hardy co-ed. The way she dresses and the way she reacts to problems in her life feel too immature for the always level-headed Barbara who has been through so much. While I like this version of her better than her last, I still don't think DC has captured the magic of the pre-52 Batgirl.

Burnside - the coolest neighborhood in Gotham - is a hub for young artists, fashionistas and techies. And now, it is also home to Batgirl. As the newest resident of the city's hippest zip code, Barbara has new roommates, a new school and a new costume. But as Batgirl's popularity grows (along with her devoted online fan base), Burnside suddenly seems to have an excess of Batgirls. And one of these imposters is out to kill off the original! Red-hot creative team Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr reinvent Barbara Gordon from the boots up in BATGIRL: BURNSIDE (collects #35-40).

Batgirl Mindfields. Volume 3

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