DCU Comic Book Reviews

BIRDS OF PREY #99

Headhunt Part Four:  Class Dismissed

December 2006

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by James Raiz

Inks by Robin Riggs

Cover by Jerry Ordway

Synopsis

While The Huntress and Black Canary are being chase by Miss Yasemin, who is seeking revenge, Oracle is on the lookout for a young girl who calls herself the new Batgirl.  Miss Yasemin attempts to set a trap for Huntress, but she is able to see through it and capture her.  Meanwhile, Oracle convinces “Batgirl” that being a hero is not all fun and games.  “Batgirl” agrees to put away the cape and cowl, but she won’t be giving up being a hero.  Later, Dinah decides it is time to quit the team to be a mother and raise Sin.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“I hate to say it, Babs, but your ride needs some pimpin’”

This was a good issue, if a bit short.  Not only are there two stories going on, both of which could have easily been fleshed out to fit 22 pages, but there was also the ending with Dinah leaving that cut short some of the scenes of the two main stories.  Mind you, I did think this was a good issue, but I wonder what it could have been....

The scenes with Huntress and Canary fighting with Miss Yasemin were good (and the Bizarro talk from Dinah was funny), but given how easily Yasemin was caught and defeated, it seemed like an afterthought.  Yasemin was set up fairly well that suggested some good action and trouble for the Birds, but it ends rather anticlimactically.  I wanted to see a good fight, Yasemin and Huntress, two marksmen dueling it out. 

The section of this issue with the Batgirl and Oracle’s lesson about becoming a vigilante at a young age felt rushed and strangely incomplete.  Part of me wonders if some of the dialogue was cut to make room for the finale in which Black Canary leaves the team.  Really, what does Oracle tell her?  She shows “Batgirl” the bullet that put her into the chair, but she doesn’t explain why she was shot and why being a vigilante would put her into that position.  The same goes for the info on Spoiler, which consists nothing more of saying, “look she was a hero and she died.”  (And couldn’t there have been more heroes to offer as examples.  I realize that Tim Drake and Donna Troy are now alive, but those are two good examples).  It just seems as if the details were missing that would give “Batgirl’s” decision to quit being Batgirl a little more weight.  I suppose, since Oracle revelation of Spoiler’s code name comes just before a switch to the Huntress story that we are supposed to infer all that information is passed along to “Batgirl.”  Even so, it just doesn’t come through as being forceful enough to make an impact on someone so willing to be Batgirl. 

Based on the dialogue, it is unclear if Oracle (and by extension perhaps Gail Simone) is aware that Cassandra Cain (the second Batgirl) has recently turned to evil.  Oracle’s phrase, “Cassandra and I get a lunatic for a successor,” seems to indicate she holds the former Batgirl in a positive light.  If Oracle were upset, wouldn’t she hint at the similarity between the two girls?  However, towards the end, “Batgirl” makes a remark about Cassandra and Oracle slaps her silly.  That makes sense given Cassandra’s recent behavior. 

I will make a bold prediction.  Cassandra is going to be part of Titans East.  There are rumors of a traitor in the Titans East.  I bet it will be Cassandra.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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