“One thing ends, another begins,” indeed. Batgirl’s ongoing series is coming to an end after almost five years with a giant-sized final issue. And, true to the axiom, the finale is closing one door and opening another.
In a first look at the climactic issue #50, DC reveals they are introducing The CW’s creation and new Batwoman Ryan Wilder to the comics. Usually, this kind of thing waits but they admit they are getting right to it.
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“If you’re curious when you might be seeing Wilder in the comics, the answer is…pretty much right now,” says the description teasing the finale and Wilder’s debut.
It continues, “You can catch the scrappy hero-to-be’s first comic book appearance in Batgirl #50—and in our exclusive first look at the issue.”
Wilder is an original character dreamed up by Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries. Held down by the system, she desires to fight back against perceived oppression, as Dries has explained.
Wilder also lives in a van with a plant, just not down by the river – preferring it to shelters in Gotham. We find this out immediately when she shows up on page 7. She also dislikes that dreary old Gotham, in turmoil from the Joker War, is being gentrified.
And Wilder has a connection to Barbara, knowing her from the Gotham Library. Wilder read every book there and in one other notable detail, she can code, or at least took a class.
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Barbara, working for a Congresswoman and wanting to fix Gotham any way she can, is caught up in the social issues presented in the book more so than Wilder. She joins hands with protesters and inner-monologues about homelessness and voter registration, among other things.
From gentrification to protests and toppling of statues, Batgirl’s last issue is ripping stuff straight out of the headlines. Is it to be edgy and relevant? You decide.
It’s uncertain if the Ryan Wilder of comics will suit up as Batwoman or some other vigilante but that’s what she is going to do in Batwoman Season 2, premiering in 2021.
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Wilder actress Javicia Leslie replaces the outgoing Ruby Rose. Although Rose is gone from the show, Kate Kane isn’t getting killed off. Kane instead will be written out in a mysterious-disappearance angle.
Batgirl #50, from the team of Cecil Castellucci, Emanuela Lupacchino, Marguerite Sauvage, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Aneke, goes on sale in print and digitally this Tuesday.