Batgirl tries to save an old high school friend from his involvement with Two-Face. But is Two-Face the real menace?
Batgirl #24
Writer: Shawn Aldridge
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Colorist: John Rauch
Cover Artists: Dan Mora, Joshua Middleton (variant)
Publisher: DC Comics
What You Need to Know:
This issue is bridging the gap from the last creative team until the new creative team starts. So readers do not need to know much more than who Batgirl is and that her dad is Commissioner Gordon.
What You Will Find Out:
The issue starts out with Batgirl doing a drug bust and then a motorcycle chase. Batgirl easily captures the dealers. When she wraps up the case, she gets a text message from an old friend. The scene shifts to Barbara meeting Melissa at a coffee shop. Melissa is an old friend from high school. She tells Barbara that something is up with their old classmate Jacob. He has been coming into the hospital several times after being roughed up. Melissa ask Babs to have her father, the Commissioner, to look into the case.
Babs ends up tailing Jacob as Batgirl. She remembers that she and Jacob had a lot in common in high school because they both had dads that were police officers and they were both into computer coding. Barbara’s dad survived, but Jacob’s died in the line of duty. Batgirl follows him to a building that holds one of Gotham’s largest servers. She sees that he meets some armed men.
Batgirl beats her way through eight thugs as she tails Jacob. She catches up to him and finds him working on a computer. She tries to get him to leave, but they are interrupted by Two-Face and some more of his lackeys. Batgirl drops the henchmen with some knockout gas. Two-Face tells her that his plan is to have Jacob turn off all of the city’s utilities and ransom them back to the city for a high fee. Jacob knocks out Batgirl while her back is turned to him. Two-Face tells him he did a good job. Jacob then knocks out Two-Face.
The unlikely pair wakes up tied up in chairs. Jacob has a gun pointed at them. It turns out that Two-Face had killed Jacob’s father. Jacob used his computer skills to get in good with Two-Face so he could get his revenge. Jacob reveals that Two-Face has twenty-two bombs set up around the city. The bombs will go off one at a time in 22-minute intervals and that Jacob controls the trigger sequence through the computer. He aims the gun for Two-Face’s head. Batgirl managed to get free in time to disarm Jacob. She knocks out Two-Face so he will shut up. Batgirl then tries to talk Jacob down. He ends up setting the trigger sequence anyway. He says that sometimes broken things can’t be fixed. Jacob also tells her that he only set the timer for six minutes. Batgirl gets to work on the computer to stop the bombs. Jacob tells her there is no way she can stop them in time. Batgirl tells him she is already halfway there and he attacks her. She knocks him out with a kick and then stops the bombs.
What Just Happened:
This was a standalone issue, but it was an excellent one. Aldridge has a very good handle on the character of Barbara Gordon. He writes her as a very competent hero. The tone is very different than the last few creative teams on the title. It’s a bit darker and more serious. Godlewski did a good job on the art and very much fits into the art style of the series. I wouldn’t mind seeing more from this creative team.
Rating: 10/10
Final Thoughts: This issue was a great read and the creative team knocked it out of the ballpark. I wouldn’t mind seeing them as the regular writer and artist, but I think they are just filling in.
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