FINALLY! There’s Something!
Written By: Marguerite Bennett
Art By: Scott Godlewski, John Rauch
Letters By: Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 21, 2018
Art By: Scott Godlewski, John Rauch
Letters By: Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 21, 2018
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
It’s that time of the month where I come and tell you all
about how this series is struggling. It just is. It may have it’s fans but the
series has become stagnant and slow. However, there is always a possibility
that the series may surprise us. It’s unlikely at this point but perhaps it
will. We have returned to Bennett’s writing in this issue and while I’ve been
giving her quite a bit of flack for this series, I would say that I’d rather
continue reading her story than get any more of what we got from the last issue.
Granted, if they were going to bring in someone completely new to build a brand
new story on, I would be all for that (what’s Greg Rucka doing right now?) but
let’s just dive right in and see what this issue has in store for us.
We catch up with Batwoman in her version of the Batwing and
she fills in the reader about what she’s in the middle of doing. (Not like we’ve
been reading the book or anything). She’s been chasing the Many Arms of Death
and now she has found that Safiyah, her former lover, is the head of the
organization. This is when we enter the flashback that is the real story of
this issue. She and Safiyah have been together for a while but now the island
had a sickness growing on it through the foxes that were native to the island. This
is where we catch up with Safiyah and Kate. Kate has been working nonstop to find
out the cause of the illness that are turning the foxes violent. Kate finds
that the cause is a bacteria that lives in the coral reefs of the island.
Safiyah claims that she knows who is behind it all.
Safiyah gathers the warlords and they confront the Rogue
Warloard Maksim. Maksim accuses Safiyah of shirking her duty in order to play
with her new love interest. He is striken down by one of Safiyah’s men and he throws
threats at all of those that stand there. Safiyah directly confronts him and
Maksim’s face darkens and he immediately apologizes. He is drunk and he doesn’t
mean the things he says. Safiyah embraces him and forgives him, sending him
away. However, it is all a ruse as she leads him to an ambush where the
remaining warlords are gathered. They draw their weapons and although Kate
attempts to stop them, she is held back as the warlords stab Maksim over and
over until he is dragged off dead.
This event sets Kate off and she realizes what she has been
doing for the past year in Coryana. Kate is a drunk and while her drinking has
been in check, she has simply traded one addiction for another. Instead of
being out of control through drinking, she has lost control by giving it to
Safiyah. She always knew that Safiyah was dangerous but she lied to herself
because she wanted the addiction to continue. It’s at this time that she
realizes that the bacteria that is infecting the foxes didn’t come from Maksim
but rather from her. The bacteria is one her from her accident on the water
that brought her to Coryana. After figuring it out, Kate is immediately confronted
by Safiyah.
Safiyah simply says that she did because she was protecting
what she loved. Kate isn’t able to accept this life anymore though and flees. Saifyah
is left watching her leave and that is when Tahani shows up again and asks
Safiyah what she should do. Safiyah gives her the order to not let Kate leave
the island. Kate travels to the Lighthouse to get supplies for her departure. This
is where she is confronted by Tahani and we get a fight between the two. Kate
drops the fuel that she is carrying and it ignites, sending a blast through the
lighthouse. Tahani falls but is caught by Safiyah before she meets her death.
Safiyah begs Kate to stay once more but Kate has made her choice and she dives
out the lighthouse into the water below and finds a boat. Tahani carries
Safiyah out of the Lighthouse and she sends her away. Back in the present, Kate
moves on to face Safiyah. This is where the issue leaves us.
Now, I’ve given this series quite a bit of flack for it’s
quality and I think it deserved every single point of criticism. That said,
while some aspects of the past continue to haunt this book (another Tahani
fight? What a surprise.) I have to say that I actually enjoyed this issue. It’s
far from what I want for the series and I still find myself disinterested in
the entire Many Arms of Death storyline but for all the faults this storyline
has, this flashback issue isn’t one of them. I’m just as surprised as anyone. However,
the set up for this flashback has a very satisfying pay off and everything
makes sense with Kate’s character. Maybe I’m just punch drunk again but I liked
it. I’m still not looking forward to more of this story but I enjoyed myself
reading this particular issue.
Bits and Pieces
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