Batwoman now comes to an end as Red Alice shakes Kate’s shackles off her and Nocturna finally gets her just desserts. With the world in danger and Batwoman now beginning to see the light again, she has finally sobered up from her magical trip just in time to become the hero Gotham needs.
Andreyko being lazy are we? The first 5 pages of this issue are exactly the same as the last five from issue 39. It’s really sad that the extra story could have been added easily but no, DC wants to shorten the story even more at the end. The issue was slightly better and has been one of the more plausible stories since August 2014. I can see the end in sight and I’m just hoping that with Nocturna now in the dog house Kate presently has one final chance to set everything right. Save her sister, win her woman back and save the world the way Batwoman should. Unfortunately this is the last issue and with one annual to go, now we are saying goodbye for the final time to the legacy that was Batwoman. The story that brought so many into her brave world and made us all fall in love with her for the last 5 years.
George Jeanty is almost to the end of his streak on this gorgeous superhero as he tries to send the story out with style. Red Alice looks awesome but the pages are a little dark, giving this issue a warped artwork style. I liked the bold reds that stand out but I felt the issue was a slight rush job, let’s hope the annual has some of the pop and wow we are waiting for.
Positives
Red Alice kills it again! Her face punch of sisterly love was just the wakeup call Kate needed to finally break free of Nocturna’s harassment. Nothing like your bat crazy sister to knock some sense out of your false lover! Her witty lines, her crazy attitude and her protectiveness of Kate is more than touching and I’m terribly sad to lose her as a character this quickly, just when we were getting a glimpse of the twin due working so well together.
Negatives
One big giant negative for this issue is the emphasis on Nocturna and her defense against being a rapist. Sweetheart I got news for you, YOU ARE! Not only is she mentally raping Kate’s mind by controlling her to do her bidding but if we clearly remember the tragic night that Kate and Maggie split, Nocturna came to her under the guise of Maggie, forcing herself upon her falsely as Kate was under the influence that night. So yes, yes you are Nocturna don’t try to cover it up like everything else.
Another grinding of my gears is the whole “fake lesbian” bit. As Kate is a true lesbian, having someone just play that card for fun is a massive insult and honestly if she had known the truth she wouldn’t have gone with her even if Nocturna played both sides of the fence. Bisexuals seem to be portrayed as crazy loons who are unstable and cant chose what they want but this is just not true and I’m sad the Nocturna’s character only reinforced the stereotype once again.
Verdict
Batwoman ends in a cliff-hanger that only her annual can now reveal. I hope for one last saving grace that Kate does the right thing and for all her tough efforts gets the chance to give herself that happy ending once again. Stay tuned to find out the last issue of Batwomans fate!
Rating
