Review: Batwoman Volume 5 - Webs

Following her showdown with Batman, Batwoman becomes entangled in a game of cat and mouse with a thief known as Wolf Spider. With Hawkfire temporarily out of commission, Batwoman will have to fly solo in her pursuit of the costumed larcenist. Meanwhile, Kate begins seeing a therapist at her fiancée’s behest after a traumatizing event involving Maggie’s daughter.

Batwoman Volume 5: Webs collects Batwoman #25-31 and Annual #1, written by Marc Andreyko with art by Trevor McCarthy and Jeremy Haun.

When J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman departed Batwoman following a dispute with editorial over the marriage of the titular heroine and her fiancée Maggie Sawyer, they left behind an unfinished arc with many dangling plotlines. On paper, Marc Andreyko seemed like the perfect replacement writer. His Manhunter series was a critical darling and was known for its edginess and inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters. He does indeed bring some of that magic to Batwoman, particularly with snappy dialogue between Kate and Bette (the latter still remains one of my favourite characters from this series). The dynamic between those two characters is really fun and gives an otherwise heavy title some much needed levity. Andreyko also skewers some tropes within the LGBTQ+ community and introduces additional queer characters into the cast, which Williams and Blackman seemed hesitant to do. Unfortunately, everything else just seems a little off.

From what we know of Williams and Blackman’s departure, there were supposed to be two additional issues penned by them that would have finished off the Batwoman vs. Batman arc. These issues were supposed to resolve the remaining plotlines, which superficially appears to be what Andreyko was doing in Batwoman Annual #1. The execution, however, leaves much to be desired. He fumbles around in his resolution of this arc, shunting Alice and the Murder of Crows into the fringes of the narrative while the reveal about Director Bones’ past proves anticlimactic. To make matters worse, the aftermath does nothing to provide any kind of consistency between the Williams/Blackman run and his. Kate’s father disappears from the narrative, absolutely nothing is done to explore Alice’s past, and Cameron Chase is written out entirely. With so much of her supporting cast axed, the book ends up feeling empty and naked. This needs to be a lesson learned by all writers when they take over a book from a beloved creative team – never remove characters from the supporting cast. They are the backbone of the story and are often part of what makes a singular comic so great.

Overall, I’m not terribly impressed by Andreyko’s first few issues on Batwoman. His resolution of the cliffhangers Williams and Blackman left behind isn’t entirely what I would have wanted, while his own independent storyline reads generically (a thief, really?). He also makes some unfortunate decisions regarding the direction of Kate and Maggie’s relationship, though I suspect this has more to do with editorial interference than his own wishes. Fans who have stuck with this title are sure to be at least mildly disappointed with this trade. Thankfully, there are aspects about this collection that are worthy of praise. Andreyko’s dialogue is strong and there are many excellent action sequences. He also re-introduces Nocturna, a D-list Batman villain, into the mix and she proves to be a rather interesting addition to Batwoman’s rogues’ gallery.

RATING: B-