Around this time last year, I had the pleasure of reviewing Robin: Year One, a story that certainly defined both the character and the Dynamic Duo for the modern age. It drew very much from two things I love. Firstly, the art style and character relationships were very similar to something you’d see in Batman: The Animated Series. Secondly, and possibly more importantly for the actual plot, it took away so much from the previous eras of Batman. In some sequences in Robin: Year One, it was clear that all ages, whether it be the golden, silver, bronze or even modern ages, were all important in creating the story and it is clear that Beatty and Dixon were heavily influenced by the history of Batman. If you like that, then surely Batgirl: Year One would instantly become a classic. Well, I should really leave this to the end, but I have to say that Batgirl: Year One is the best of the three Year One stories produced by the creative writing team. Although its close, there is something about Batgirl: Year One which makes it superior to both Robin: Year One and Nightwing: Year One. Why’s that? Let me explain…
Batgirl: Year One 1-9 was published from February to October 2003. It was written by
Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon with art by Marcos Martin and Alvaro Lopez. I have read the story in the Batgirl: Year One trade paperback.
Out of all the comics that influenced this miniseries, undoubtedly the key and most noticeable one is Detective Comics 359, which first debuted Barbara Gordon as Batgirl as she fights against Killer Moth. Not exactly a classic villain, but its certainly a classic story. Both Beatty and Dixon must have used that story to write this miniseries as many aspects of it, such as Barbara’s day job as a librarian and hiding her identity of Batgirl away from her father, have always featured since the character was created. Batgirl: Year One begins very much like something out of a silver age comic. Annoyed that her father, Captain James Gordon, isn’t allowing her to become a cop like him, Barbara searches for her own way to fight crime as she spends most of her day working at the library while researching the mysterious Batman. At the same time, she begins martial arts classes and when she tries to get a job as a cop, she is turned down for being too short. Although interested in Batman’s work, Barbara is more inspired by Black Canary to fight crime as she wishes to meet her. This is a change which I do like actually. It makes Batgirl different to what Robin is. Originally, both characters were heavily influenced by just Batman. But, when you have an expansive universe full of characters, then you should take full advantage of it. Besides, the inclusion of Black Canary also sets up Birds of Prey, something I’m yet to read, but it’s a nice touch. Anyway, Barbara writes a note to Black Canary and finds the address of the Justice Society headquarters by stealthily breaking into her father’s office, nearly being caught by Officer Jason Bard (who also debuted in Detective Comics just a few years after Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl). At night, Barbara breaks into the JSA headquarters, surviving all the traps (somehow, despite only just starting martial arts) and she leaves her note for Black Canary. However, she isn’t the one who finds and reads it. That person is Wildcat, ending the first part on a mysterious note. Like Robin: Year One, Dixon and Beatty are taking the story slowly. As Batgirl, Barbara Gordon doesn’t appear until much later on and the earlier issues are great for retcons, which there are a lot of. But you kind of expect that with DC, who (lest we forget) have rebooted the Universe about ten times. Anyway, Wildcat confronts Barbara, telling her Black Canary isn’t taking on any sidekicks and that she should go home and forget about becoming a vigilante. With Barbara gone, Doctor Fate appears, telling Wildcat that he sees triumph and tragedy in Barbara’s future. With Barbara somewhat depressed about her chances of fighting crime, her father gives her an invitation to a masquerade party to get out and have some fun. Agreeing, Barbara makes her own costume after finding none at the costume shop which she likes. Hiding it from her father, Barbara creates her Batgirl costume and attends the party. There, she spots her father and Jason Bard before suddenly, Killer Moth enters and threatens Bruce Wayne, also in attendance, ordering him to come with him. As her father is knocked unconscious by Killer Moth for trying to protect Bruce, Batgirl appears and orders him to run. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson watches the party on TV and upon noticing Batgirl, he becomes Robin. At the same time, Batgirl fights Killer Moth, but he manages to escape without Bruce Wayne. With Batgirl alone in the forest, she is suddenly met by Batman and Robin, both of whom look grim. Although different in many respects, the second part is very similar to the original debut of Batgirl. Whether that be the costume party, Killer Moth, or Barbara winging her first time as a hero, it’s very similar to what was published in the 1960s. But, as with Robin: Year One, the writers alter and modernise the story and so far, it works. Although Batman demands to know how Batgirl is, Robin tries to fight her to take her down. But she easily manages to throw him to the ground before Killer Moth returns and fires a machine gun from his helicopter, causing all three heroes to retreat. When Barbara arrives home and gets out of her costume, she hides from Officer Bard at the door, wanting to know if she is alright due to her father being attacked. But, before Bard becomes too intrusive, she shuts the door on him. When she wakes up, she finds her father telling her about last night and hinting that he didn’t want his daughter to become involved in fighting “menaces” like Killer Moth, beginning the first of many hints that her father is aware that she is Batgirl. Meanwhile, Killer Moth tries to offer his services to criminals, but he continues to fail miserably. At the same time, Gordon meets Batman and Robin, concerned about both Batgirl and Killer Moth. I’m surprised that the police are treating the Killer Moth case with such seriousness. I know that he is a threat, but not a huge one. He hasn’t done anything that bad. He’s just a joke villain. Regardless, Batgirl spends most of her time beating up criminals robbing from shops while Killer Moth is beaten up by the mob for failing to pay his debts due to his failure in capturing Bruce Wayne. He blames Batgirl. As she begins her first attempt to leap off a building and grapple across the city, Batman and Robin watch her, believing that the fall could kill her. Not exactly a fantastic ending to the story, but one aspect I like about this as a whole is actually Killer Moth. He hasn’t really been changed. He still isn’t very serious, and he is still a joke, but his grudge against Batgirl is new and it makes him more into a notable character, something he often failed to be back in the silver age. Anyway, part four is where the story really begins, and it is one of my favourite parts. After Batgirl swings down from the building, her rope is cut by a batarang and she is caught by Robin, before they both fall as they crash into a building. But Batman being Batman, he saves them. But then, Batman gasses Batgirl and she falls unconscious. She then wakes up in the Batcave, where Batman attempts to unmask Batgirl, but she fights back. Then, out of nowhere, Batman gives up and leaves Batgirl and Robin alone. However, it’s a test as Batman watches the two of them from the cameras, with Alfred making another one of his sarcastic jokes involving voyeurism. Good old Alfred. Anyway, Robin shows Batgirl around the cave before tricking her to walk into the training ground, where she is forced to fight against dummies and robots with deadly weapons. Afterwards, Batgirl punches Robin in the stomach for what he did, and Batman tells her that she hasn’t passed the test. Batman then tells her that it isn’t a game as she is knocked out once again, before she wakes up at home. Some time later, a delivery arrives at the Gordon home and Barbara opens a package for her. Inside are batarangs and other bat-equipment from Robin, seemingly going behind Batman’s back to help her. This is partly why Batgirl: Year One works so well. It focuses on the whole Bat Family. Of course, Batgirl is the main feature here as she should be, but Robin’s character is developed here. Its why both stories are important to each other and you really have to have read Robin: Year One to understand fully Batgirl: Year One. The same can be said of Nightwing: Year One, but I’ll come to that some time in the future. But this part works so effectively because it shows how different Beatty and Dixon are writing Batgirl from Robin. Batman’s attitude towards her is much more hostile, yet he can recognise some talent in her and we really find that out at the very end (but the ending of the fourth part is more important than you would at first suspect). Part Five adds a new villain into the mix, one which has rarely fought Batgirl before strangely. While Killer Moth somehow manages to get some amateur goons to work for him, at a movie set, Garfield Lynns loses his job for causing the near-death of an actress by using too much fuel to film an explosion. He is fired for wanting the recording of the explosion for himself (being the pyromaniac that he is). Meanwhile, Killer Moth takes his new gang back to his hideout, which he is surprised to find has been closed down due to unpaid taxes. His gang leaves him. Poor Killer Moth. He may be a joke, but still. Walking the streets alone, Killer Moth thinks about giving up being a criminal, before he runs into Lynns, who becomes intrigued when Killer Moth mentions Batgirl.
Together, they make a deal to work together to take her out. I don’t know why Lynns would be interested. Maybe his love for pyromania spreads to his hormones. Killer Moth and Lynns, now calling himself Firefly, steal money from gangsters that saw Killer Moth as a joke, before burning down the whole building. But that’s only the start. Next will be the whole city. That’s the rather short fifth part and weirdly, Batgirl doesn’t really appear in it at all. If anything, this is more of an interlude that focuses on the villains and their plan which will obviously come to a head by the last issue. Also, Killer Moth and Firefly are a really strange duo if you ask me. It does take some time to get used to as they are very different characters with different gimmicks. Yet, by the end, it works because their attitudes are so different, and they can’t really agree on much. The sixth part is where the main story between the heroes and villains begins. Tony Bressi, a gangster which a grudge against Captain Gordon, pays Killer Moth and Firefly to kidnap the Captain and “take him for a ride”. Firefly and Killer Moth kidnap Gordon and injure many officers, including Bard. Meanwhile, Robin gives Batgirl more equipment and reports back to the Batman, who is pleased that Batgirl believes that Robin is going behind his back to help her. His plan is to give her equipment until she realises that she is no good and she’ll quit. Not sure if that’s a good plan. Anyway, Batgirl arrives at the fires and is surprised to find Black Canary, who now works for the Justice League. Instead of telling Batgirl to go home like Batman would, Black Canary asks for her help in tracking Firefly and Killer Moth, which she can thanks to a lead from Bard. Although they chase after the villains and find them, they are quickly captured by Killer Moth and Firefly. But they are another Firefly and Killer Moth. Now imprisoned by another guy dressed as a bug and another pyromaniac, Batgirl and Black Canary rescue Gordon at the start of the seventh part, while Firefly and Killer Moth fight their copycats. As the house catches fire in the fight, Batgirl manages to get out with her father while Black Canary punches Tony Bressi for starting the whole thing in the first place, before she gets all the credit in the newspapers the next day. Although Gordon is mostly uninjured, he warns that if Batgirl doesn’t stop, then he will have to intervene and take her down himself. Meanwhile, Killer Moth and Firefly rage at one another for their failure and continue to plot against Batgirl. Hold on, I should have mentioned this earlier, but why the hell were there two of them earlier? What was the point in those copycats? Am I on drugs or have I missed something here? It doesn’t seem to be mentioned ever again. Was its Batman and Robin pretending to be Firefly and Killer Moth. If so, why? Was it a trick with mirrors? What’s the point? That was just unnecessarily confusing. Regardless, Barbara visits Bard in hospital, but she is caught by her father and runs away. I’m not sure why, but he is certainly becoming more suspicious. Afterwards, Barbara heads out on patrol as Batgirl, taking out some petty criminals before meeting Robin. The two team up together to take on one of Gotham’s deadliest criminals. That of course is… the Condiment King, who is taken out in the first few pages of part eight. There goes the best villain of the story. However, Robin reveals to Batgirl that the Condiment King is the sideshow as there is a hostage crisis on a train nearby. The partnership between Robin and Batgirl is very different to Batman and Robin and Batman and Batgirl. From what I gather, they are both teenagers in this story, But Batgirl is the more mature character of the two as its clear that Robin likes her, and she doesn’t like him. But, together, they do take out Blockbuster and save the civilians on the train. But, while investigating the case afterwards, Gordon notices that Blockbuster is holding red hair in his hand, making him believe that his paranoia could be well-founded. When she heads home, she finds that her father has searched her room, but hasn’t found anything to do with Batgirl. Gordon then leaves to answer an emergency call, but when Barbara follows him, she finds the GCPD building engulfed in flames, with, you guessed it, Firefly and Killer Moth are behind it. As the villains escape on their helicopter, impressed with themselves for burning most of the building down, Batgirl follows them using her grapple hook. Fortunately, Batgirl uses her weight to pull the helicopter down, but of course, that isn’t enough. Its only when Killer Moth and Firefly attempt to fly down to escape from Batgirl and they lose control of the helicopter and crash, with Batgirl landing in a swimming pool. Batman and Robin then arrive to arrest the villains and as always, they take all the credit, causing Barbara to believe that Gotham will always be Batman’s territory and that she should just quit. However, she then finds a mysterious note from Batman, telling her to meet him. She is surprised to find that when she does find Batman, he is in his Batmobile. He takes her back to the training ground, where she fights against dummies of all of the Dark Knight’s foes, including the one who will change her life in the future, the Joker (which is nicely similar to a Killing Joke panel). She is then (continued)
initiated into the Bat Family and as Batgirl, visits her father with Gordon, who is still suspicious. But, as Batgirl leaves with Batman, Barbara appears, confusing him as his belief that his daughter is Batgirl is seemingly crushed. With that, Batgirl officially joins the Bat Family and while I’m not sure if this is still canon or not due to the dozen or so relaunches DC has had since the 2000s, to me, this is the definitive one, next to the original from the 1960s of course. It’s hard to explain why this story works so well and why it’s the best of the three Year: One stories by Dixon and Beatty. I think, partly, it is down to simplicity. I guess reading Mark Waid’s JLA stories are partly the cause of this, but I love this story because its simple and its humour is very human. The characters all work well together, and Dixon and Beatty manage to capture Batgirl in a way that I don’t think others ever have. In some regards, it is similar to Robin: Year One in that the drama is very personal, but its also different because you see Batgirl change from starting as an amateur to becoming a more sophisticated hero. Ultimately, this and Robin: Year One are about the characters more than the story and I prefer this. You can get so much more enjoyment out of the characters and due to that, it makes the story better in the grand scheme of things.
I mentioned earlier that Batman: The Animated Series, certainly impacted on the visual appearance and art of Batgirl: Year One and also Robin: Year One. This is definitely true as all you have to do is look at the art and the similarities are there. Batman is always cloaked in his dark cape and the city of Gotham looks like something from the 1930s. Yet, Martin and Lopez give something of a modern age to both the city and the characters, making them feel old and new at the same time. The simplistic, yet dramatic art style here works incredibly well on a similar scale to Robin: Year One. It reminds me of both the multiple series from the DC Animated Universe along with the 1940s golden age art, both of which are simple, yet very compelling. I will say that at times, it can be too simplistic and there are occasions when characters are missing some of their facial features. You know, noticeable things like a nose or a mouth. But this is usually rare.
VERIDCT
Overall, Batgirl: Year One is a story that does more than simply update the origin of Batgirl. It modernises and makes it more about character. It features a very simple plot, but that works in its favour as character should be the main focus here. Beatty and Dixon capture Batgirl’s character extremely well, along with her relationship with her father, Batman and Robin. It is a natural sequel or follow-up to Robin: Year One due to its simplistic, yet retro art along with the fact that you see the development of the Bat Family. Nightwing: Year One is the last of the three stories and who knows, maybe sometime soon or later, I’ll get to that as well (spoiler, I will be).
Story: 9.5/10
Art: 9/10
Next Week: Secret Origins. Written by Ed Hamilton, Gardner Fox, John Broome, Dave Wood, Robert Kanigher and Joe Samachson with art by Dick Sprang, Stan Kaye, Mike Sekowsky, Bernard Sachs, Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson, Jack and Roz Kirby, Marvin Stein, Ross Andru, Mike Esposito, Joe Certa, Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert. Expected by 07/03/2021.
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