The new Batman's been on a tear of late, popping up in almost every title that the old one used to occupy and shaking things up wherever he goes, but nowhere is that likely to be more pronounced than in the pages of BATGIRL for reasons that will become clear after the obligatory SPOILERS FOR BATGIRL #41 as well as the identity of this new Batman!
With her father as the man behind the metal mask, Barbara Gordon's life is about to be turned completely upside down. The new Batman has a zero-tolerance policy toward Gotham's various vigilantes, as well as its super-criminals, and that includes Babs, who Papa Gordon is fully unaware is Batgirl. This issue has a more serious tone than a lot of the previous ones since the latest creative team took over, but it's still got plenty of room for levity. This is mostly centered around Barbara and Jim and the latter's new look.
Gordon actually does something rather surprising after this, outing himself to his daughter as the not-so-caped crusader, but before she can finally reveal her secret double life to him, he's spilled the beans on the new objective of the Bat: to bring down Gotham's vigilantes by force. It's always tricky to see Babs keep Jim in the dark, often resorting to verbal gymnastics to do so, but this actually feels earned and genuine as the shoe's never been on the other foot before. We also see the shocking return of the villainous Livewire and Babs' own Oracle Frankie being placed in the cross-fire, as well as suffering physically for her role in aiding Batgirl. That feels like a thread that'll get picked up another time as the issue ends with father and daughter confronting one another while only one knows the truth about the other.
Now THAT is a cliffhanger!
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