Batwoman #5 is written by Greg Rucka and published by DC Comics. Artwork is by DaNi, colours by Matt Hollingsworth and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Main cover art (left) is by DaNi and Hollingsworth.
Batwoman #5 is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
As Batwoman’s quest to avenger her sister’s death reaches its apex, she discovers the Dark Faith have a new, much more terrifying plan. A Kane must be the Alice who ushers in the era of Darkseid…and if Beth is dead, Kate must take her place. How do you fight the devil when the devil is real? Greg Rucka & DaNi bring an epic conclusion to their first arc of this blockbuster Next Level series.
Review
Despite most of Europe being under a rather oppressive heat-wave we’re returning to Greece today for the latest issue of Greg Rucka’s Batwoman. The series 5th issue is taking a hard turn into the psychological chasm that sits between Kate and her sister Alice, made all the more complicated by Mother Superior and the Daughters Of Lilith.
Picking up right where issue #4 left off Rucka is moving the entire story at breakneck speed. Kate and Question are hot on Alice’s trail but it’s rapidly going dark. Meanwhile the Daughters of Lilith are adamant their acolyte is about to return home. Rucka kicks off issue #5 with a strong sense of the two sides heading for a collision and thankfully the payoff doesn’t disappoint. There are a few small steps needed to get us there, rightfully included to ensure the tension is at fever pitch when the moment finally comes.
Rucka parallels the opposing forces of Kate and Mother Superior productively throughout this issue. It’s something the book needed in order to bring poor Alice to breaking point. As this isn’t a straightforward story of good versus evil it needed something extra and this issue delivered that in spades. Whilst Kate is unwavering in her race to catch up with her sister. Equally steadfast is Mother Superior. She is beyond convinced that Alice is set to return to live up to whatever prophecy is in play to help bring about the return of Darkseid. So seeing those two finally clashing is electric.
It’s a dark night in Petalon which plays beautifully into the best of DaNi’s artwork. The shadowy nighttime locales all look splendid on the page. It echoes the darkness of all the series’ main cast, particularly in the moment where we find them in this issue. Having learned that Alice had been masquerading as Batwoman, this month DaNi has the added challenge of differentiating between the two women on the page. It’s done subtly through the different costumes and cowls. But when the masks come off it’s the real minute subtleties which DaNi is able to bring to the page that set them apart.
It’s a complex issue on all fronts. So whilst Rucka is doing some heavy-lifting in trying to break apart Alice’s already delicate state of mind, he can relax knowing that DaNi’s visuals are absolutely carrying all of those story beats smoothly and precisely. Strikingly, the issue feels wide in scope but intrinsically personal, something which isn’t easy to achieve in the midst of a vigilante story such as this.
There’s a lot hanging on the final moments of Batwoman #5. It’s really the culmination of everything Rucka has been building in the series so far. So it’s great to see it given the right amount of time to land with a strong impact. The push and pull between Kate and Mother Superior is pitched brilliantly to bewilder Alice without completely pulling focus from her character. It’s still a climactic face-off without needing to shift tone to force in a giant action set piece. Rucka sticking to his guns is what Kate Kane and her audience deserve and they’re rewarded with it well here.
In the end it was perhaps a little easy for Kate to manipulate Alice into turning on Mother Superior. But this is by no means the end of Alice’s mental health issues and there’s clearly room for ramifications for how Kate was able to achieve it. Rather than setting up what comes next by starting the next chapter of the story, Rucka leaves us with everything to play for. More of a dramatic pause and a huge climax.
Verdict
Batwoman #5 delivers a gripping psychological collision between Kate and Mother Superior, with Rucka wisely trusting the tension to build rather than forcing the issue into action. DaNi’s shadow-drenched art carries every beat of Alice’s unravelling with real precision.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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