Review: Batgirl Vol. 2- Knightfall Descends

Quick Summary

Pros: This collection features a marked improvement, from volume one, in both the storyline and suspense it depicts. In addition, it introduces and builds on some great villains for Batgirl to go up against.

Cons: Some character motivations still do not make logical sense.

Overall: There is a lot to like in this collection as Simone introduces several interesting villains, sets up a nice cliffhanger, and manages to tell a compelling and thought-provoking story. The few mistakes in this volume are not nearly big enough to deter from how great everything else was.

Story

Round two with Batgirl is a noticeable and positive difference from round one. Not only is the story more interesting and believable, but it also introduces not one, but several stellar villains and a pretty good setup for future stories. Knightfall ends up being a great character who leaves both Barbara Gordon and the reader with philosophical questions and suspense for her return. Overall Batgirl Vol. 2: Knightfall Descends is an improvement upon a series that started out well in the first place.

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One of the best parts of this collection is something Simone excels at: using the story’s villain to reveal pieces of the hero. In the prior volume, most of Batgirl’s villains revolved around her survivor’s guilt and hesitation to return to vigilantism. In this volume, the villains bring to question the effectiveness of vigilantism in general. Usually I would dislike a return to the questions “are vigilantes effective?” or “should vigilantes kill the criminals” because they are rather overused. However, this villain is good enough to warrant it. Knightfall is a very interesting character because of her tragic backstory, twisted current goals, and because she actually thinks she is doing the right thing. This is a character with real and solid motives, not imagined slights or nonsensical grudges like minor characters from other series. There are not many villains with this much depth outside of the “bigger” series; hopefully this means Knightfall will be returning eventually.

Speaking of villains, another of this volume’s successes comes from its development of somewhat of a personal rogues gallery for Batgirl. Nearly every other Bat-book sees the hero take on some minor villain for a few issues and then move on to the next baddie. This series seems to recognize that fans actually want to see character development. No one cares when Batman goes up against some two-bit bank robber who has just been introduced; they want to see him take on Joker or the Riddle because they can feel the animosity and history there. Simone seems to realize this and thus keeps the option open to bring back Knightfall and every other villain from this series. This combined with the return of James Gordon Jr. could make for some greatness in Batgirl’s future.

The worst part of this collection is similar to the previous one: characters occasionally do things that don’t make logical sense. Grotesque starts this off with his mild obsession over Batgirl, something that started when she knocked his mask off, which was an accident. Then the talon in the Night of Owls tie in decides to spare Batgirl, then kill her, then stop once again because… they both wear masks I suppose. Detective McKenna’s character gets better here but she still makes the odd choice to save Batgirl, have a nice conversation with her, and then pull a gun on her and demand information. Overall these don’t effect the plot too much but do manage to disrupt the flow of the story a little when they all add up.

In addition, this collection is rather liberal with its connections to other works. For one, Lois Lane is currently running an entire division of Galaxy Broadcasting yet takes the time to appear as a reporter at a Gotham charity event. Then it shows Commissioner Gordon turning on the owl signal which appears in the Night of the Owls crossovers. However, he seems to be standing directly next to the switch he just used to turn the signal on so he should be able to turn it right back off again. Once again, these are rather minor things and do not affect the story too much.

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Art

There is not a lot to say about the art in this issue besides that it falls into an odd position of being very average. There is not really anything wrong with the art and everything in this book looks alright. However, there also is not really anything that great with the art. Few panels really stand out as being spectacular. This is somewhat common from the “DC House Art” style that is present here. As a statement to this, the final issue was done by a different artist from the first couple, yet I didn’t even realize this until I sat down to write this review.

Continuity

This collection continues the story from Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection (Review) and will then lead into Batgirl Vol. 3: Death of the Family.

• James Gordon Jr. makes his first New 52 appearance in this book. His backstory and dark past can be found in Batman: The Black Mirror.
• Once again, Barbara Gordon’s paralyzation at the hands of the Joker is a central focus for the story, with numerous references to it throughout. This incident can be found in Batman: The Killing Joke.
• Batgirl and Black Canary talk about the Birds of Prey a little bit. To see their formation check out Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind.
  This collection contains Batgirl’s Night of Owls tie in. This is an event stemming from Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review) and Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (Review).
  • While the Night of Owls goes on, Commissioner Gordon receives word of several crimes going on around the city. These are specific references made to events happening in other Night of Owls tie in issues. These include the Batman and Robin and Red Hood and the Outlaws tie ins, found in Batman and Robin Vol. 2: Pearl and Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 2: The Starfire (Review).
• Alysia mentions Bruce Wayne’s urban renewal plan. The announcement and details of this plan can be found at the start of the New 52 Batman series, in Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (Review).
• It is mentioned that Lois Lane is in management now. Her promotion occurs in Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow? (Review).