When we last left Cassandra, she sought out guidance from Bronze Tiger. What she found out was that she has a secret half-brother named Tenji Turner, a.k.a. The Jade Tiger! While still processing this shocking revelation, an assassin from the Unburied has come to kill Batgirl and any offspring from Lady Shiva. How will Cass accept the truth of having an unknown sibling and deal with the first sword of three? Let’s find out.
Issue #10 of Batgirl was good. This series by writer Tate Brombal, artist Takeshi Miyazawa, and co., continues to be fun and fast-paced with dynamically-illustrated action sequences and emotional and layered character moments. While this issue might not be my favorite in the series so far, I still enjoyed my time reading it.
This story arc in particular reminds me of the film, Kill Bill: Volume 1, by Quentin Tarantino. For those unfamiliar, in that film, the main protagonist played by Uma Thurman is on a revenge quest and sets out to kill the antagonists one-by-one. In this arc, it’s the reverse where the antagonists are seeking to kill our protagonist, one-by-one. I wonder if Brombal had the film in mind when crafting this story. Anyway, I digress.
The issue begins with some backstory for Tenji, as we see him training with Lady Shiva. It then cuts to present day as Tenji and Cass are confronted by the Unburied assassin named Norbu the Untested. Their first fight showcased how naïve and sheltered Tenji is. At first, I didn’t like Tenji’s characterizations as he came off as too eager and reckless. But I think that was the point Brombal was trying to make with this character as Cass has dialogue voicing her frustrations about him to Bronze Tiger.
Like I mentioned before, the action sequences by Takeshi Miyazawa are once again highlights for me. They are so fluid, and you can actually tell what’s going on. I really appreciated that, and I will always continue to praise Miyazawa’s artwork if he continues to produce such exhilarating set pieces.
While I’ll did have fun reading this issue, there were a some things with the story that I didn’t like. I felt that the threat with the Unburied was undermined. Throughout the whole first arc of the series, the Unburied were depicted as this unstoppable force that made Batgirl and Lady Shiva retreat from their encounters multiple times. They even had to form an alliance with the League of Assassins and the Blood of Wu to combat the Unburied. And Lady Shiva was supposedly killed by them.
But in this issue, one of their top assassins is treated so nonchalantly. The assassin gets briefly incapacitated, and Bronze Tiger and Cass seem to go about their day like there’s no deadly assassin (who still wasn’t dead by the way) who will attack them again at any moment. We are provided with a little background for Norbu, but it seemed a little pointless considering what happens by the end of the issue. I will admit that what happens on the last page surprised me visually and left me intrigued about what happens next.
Recommended if…
- You have enjoyed the action sequences beautifully drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa.
- You are a fan of martial arts films.
- You want to see Cass navigate the realization that she has a sibling while trying not to die at the same time.
Overall
Batgirl #10 was a fun read. While not my favorite in the series, I still enjoyed my time reading it. We got some insight into Jade Tiger’s history and how he fits into Cass’ life. While I felt that the Unburied were completely undermined in this issue, the last page left me shocked with how the creators were able to go there. And now, I’m really intrigued with how the second assassin plays into this arc.
Score: 7.5/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of review.
COMMENTS
All-In,Bat Family,Batgirl,Batgirl (comic),Bronze Tiger,Cassandra Cain,DC,DC Comics,Lady Shiva,Mike Spicer,Takeshi Miyazawa,Tate Brombal
