cbishop's Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl #1 review

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    Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl

    It took me sixteen years to find a copy of this book. I had seen the original solicitation in Previews, and had been assured a few times that it was released, but I had seriously begun to think that it had never come out. Then, one day in 2014, there it was in the back issue bin, and I was only too happy to pay the $9.99 price tag that it had been given (cover having been $5.99). So could this Elseworlds live up to the expectations of a sixteen year search?

    The answer to that is unequivocally yes. It not only lived up my expectations, it far surpassed them!

    The only thing I sort of had a quibble with was that where Elseworlds are usually so far off from the main DCU history, this was only a few tweaks off. Like JLA: The Nail type tweaks...or in this case, two nails. The reasons this story stars Supergirl and Batgirl are:

    1. Rather than the Waynes being shot, it was the Gordons. A young Barbara was taken in by the Waynes, and eventually becomes Batgirl, to protect Gotham.
    2. Rather than Kal-El, it was Kara who landed in Kansas, and like her true origin, she was a teenager. Rather than being found by Ma and Pa Kent though, she was found and accepted by the Justice Society.

    Those are the two main beats that changed in the story. The other changes are mostly due to the absence of Superman and Batman in this universe, but Batgirl and Supergirl filled those voids pretty handily. A couple of notable minor changes to this universe: Ambush Bug is a member of the JSA, and there are three previously unknown heroes in the background of the story: Interceptor, Vectron, and Revenant. Ambush Bug is a minor player in the story, and the other three were pretty much cosmetic, but it was kind of cool to see them there.

    Elseworlds as a whole are interesting, because they're really exercises in seeing what makes a character tick. For the most part, they show that no matter what time period they are in, or what history has transpired in this version of the DC Universe, the heroes and villains stay true to their natures. Usually, they are the same characters from the DCU, with the same characterizations- the only difference being how the time and events have influenced them. And most times, by the end, we see the pivotal events of the story transform them into someone we recognize as being on the path to becoming what they are in the main DCU.

    This story is really no different. Supergirl is still less predictable than Sueprman, Batgirl is still Barbara Gordon. The Joker is still obsessed with the Bat, Lex Luthor is still...well, Luthor. And you might notice that I said Batman and Superman were absent from this universe. They were, but Bruce Wayne and Kal-El were not, and what happened to them is for one, natural, and for the other, tragic.

    I haven't really told too much about this book, because I don't really want to spoil it for anyone who might still be looking for it. I was very pleased with this book. I honestly have no complaints, beyond being surprised at how minor the changes were to bring such major changes. I don't really have a problem with that though. So for the score, I'm giving this one the full five stars.

    *******

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