Well, yes. It's just odd how specific she is about how she accomplishes all the rest (hollowing out areas, applying super pressure, and...HYDRAULIC LIFT as if it had been in her pocket all along!)




I stopped looking at the World's Finest stories for this thread when it became obvious that Robin was still being characterized like it was 1970 in that title. It's great to see World's Finest has finally caught up. Thanks for this, Chris! Now I'm wondering if I need to start including the WF stories in these reviews...

Detective Comics #510 (January 1982)



"Bride of Destruction"

Script: Cary Burkett
Pencils: José Delbo
Inks: Joe Giella
Colors: Tom Ziuko
Letters: John Costanza

Grade: D-

At this point, Burkett's scripts are so formulaic, predictable, and repetitive, it almost feels like a computer is churning them out.

Batgirl doubts herself:



is placed in a situation where (gasp!) she has to save the day:



and her perfect memory (more than just photographic, it would seem) saves the day for her:




It's...obnoxious.

Early on, Burkett was writing meaningful stories of redemption in which Batgirl's self-doubt was earned and understandable, and in which her redemption was both powerful and (seemingly) conclusive. If you're just joining this thread now, I HIGHLY recommend checking out 'Tec #491, #492, and #493 to see how all this works when Burkett is actually trying. But, here, it's trite and obnoxious. Why care about a hero who clearly has no business being in the cape and cowl beyond over-using her memory as a super-power?

And it's so hard to like her. She talks down to herself constantly, and even makes a crack about her weight in this story!



I mean, has Burkett seen Batgirl?


I can only assume Burkett does all of this in an effort to make us cheer on Batgirl, but there is truly nothing likeable about the character as he writes her. She's a dopy sad-sack in gray, and yet hardly as endearing as Eeyore.





Minor Details:

- Throughout these reviews, we've seldom seen Batgirl make use of her utility belt. Yet, much as with her superior memory, Burkett is desperately relying on things other than Batgirl's character to save the day, so he plays up items in the utility belt twice in this story:





Batgirl has no access to the Wayne arsenal nor fortune, and doesn't even know Batman's identity anymore. She is living independently on salary earned at a non-profit policy group. How is she affording and manufacturing explosive pellets and fire-suppressing foam pellets on her own?


- Out of context fun:



This needs to be a t-shirt.



If you're tired of hearing me say that Burkett is way past his prime by this point, I'm tired of reading it too. I still strongly recommend his early work on this run (he is probably my favorite Batgirl author of all time there), but he hasn't turned in a decent story since 'Tec #502 a full eight months ago.

According to GCD the ad also appeared in All-Star Squadron #1 (September 1981), JLA #195 (October 1981) and #199 (February 1982).

Ah, thanks for this. That certainly changes things a bit.

At this point I wonder why they didn't kill her instead of Supergirl during Crisis. Or both. At least the Maiden of Steel had a comics dedicated to her.

Also worth noting: the unknown writer (working with Curt Swan, penciller, Vince Colletta, inker, and Ben Oda, letterer) has slipped in the almost certainly-intentional line "Let's make this a million-dollar debut", referencing Batgirl's first appearance. 

Detective Comics #511 (February 1982)



"The 'I' of the Beholder"

Script: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Don Newton
Inks: Frank Chiaramonte
Colors: Adrienne Roy
Letters: John Costanza

Grade: n/a (only looking at Robin's treatment in this story)


Batgirl is bumped once again this month so that Batman can get 27 pages. You might assume this is to make more room for Robin now that they are a team again, but no. Regardless of what Batman #344 may have appeared to promise, there is no new dynamic in the old Batman and Robin duo; no sense that the two are now closer to equals. Dick is portrayed as a wide-eyed idiot who makes Batman look more brilliant in contrast:



and also gives Batman a reason to talk (Bill Finger's original reason for wanting to give Batman a sidekick):




Dick does get to fight the bad guy all on his own for a few panels:



but (of course) he loses. And, to add insult to injury, Batman leaves Dick out of the climactic battle entirely:



getting the final win all on his own.


The only actual characterization/dignity offered to Dick in these pages comes off as outright tragic in hindsight. Here, we see Dick attempting to piece his life together again, enrolling at Gotham University:



and anyone who's read these issues knows this little turn of events is going to end up leading Dick down one of the darkest paths he'd yet taken. Additionally, by the time this little nightmare subsides, Conway will already be laying tracks for Dick to get replaced by a younger Boy Wonder.

I'm really not sure what Dick is doing in these pages at this point, and Conway and Newton don't seem to know either. Clearly, Giordano is trying to reset the franchise as if Robin never moved away in the first place, as Bruce has now given up his control of Wayne Enterprises and is ready to move back into Wayne Manor next issue like it's 1969 all over again:



but anyone who had any investment in the Robin solo stories (forgettably as they mostly were) is going to have a hard time accepting Dick playing second fiddle to Bruce again, and anyone reading New Teen Titans right now (which is pretty much everyone) is really going to be confused by how these two versions of Robin are not attempting to reconcile at all.