Batwoman #18 Review and *SPOILERS*

Drugs Are Bad… M’Kay?

Written By: Marguerite Bennett

Art By: Fernando Blanco, John Rauch
Letters By: Deron Bennett

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 15, 2018

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Well, ladies and gentlemen…. Here we are. The final issue of this Batwoman series. It has been a long year and a half. There have been a couple ups and a metric fuck-ton of downs. However, as a huge Batwoman fan myself, I am a little disappointed that this book is just ending rather than getting a new creative team. Batwoman is such a great character and I just wish DC was more devoted to keeping her around rather than relegating her to a supporting character in the Batman books. All we can hope for though is a nice conclusion for this series and hopefully the company will eventually bring her another solo series in the future. Lets just jump right into this book and see how things come to an end.

We pick up where we left off with Kate facing off against Clock King with Renee Montoya. Kate undoes her suit and switches her mask so that she is in her traditional Batwoman suit and the battle begins. Renee attempts to escort the guest out but some of them want to stay so they can get their hands on the drugs that allow them to see the future. Kate engages Clock King’s clock henchmen and exchanges dialogue revealing that his drug cannot allow people to see the future, it only gets them high enough to believe that they can. Eventually Kate is able to dispatch of the henchmen and turns her attention to Clock King himself. Meanwhile, Renee faces off with some of the guests who have decided that it is worth the risk to keep their access to the drug.

After taking care of the guests, Renee joins Kate as she pushes Clock King through the giant clock. They’ve defeated Clock King but he offers them some of his drugs to let him go. The though races through Batwoman’s mind but she quickly pushes that thought away and continues to apprehend Clock King. He crushes the pills in his hand, releasing drug-filled dust into the air to infect the two of them. Kate’s past flashes through her mind. She sees the lost year, she sees her family and she sees her past with Renee. After shaking off the drug, Kate and Renee are able to bag Clock King with relative ease.

Kate walks Renee home after their successful case. It is here that Renee turns to her and asks if Kate is interested in trying again with her. After asking her, it is revealed that Kate has a vision when she was under the drug that allowed her to see a possible future, one that Renee is a big part of. Unfortunately, just as they are about to go out, both of their phones ring, letting them know that they have other places to be. However, they agree to go out later and Kate runs off. She leaves us one final monologue about time and as she is standing on one of Gotham’s many gargoyles, the issue comes to an end.

As predicted this issue probably should have been part of the last issue. There are tons of threads that didn’t get finished because they had them in the last issue but for the most part, a this wasn’t a terrible ending by a long shot. In fact, I kind of liked it. The Batwoman book has had a lot of inner monologue which I guess makes sense but they are very hit or miss. This one seems to have something in between the two. I like parts of it and hate other parts. Ultimately it does seem that Bennett wanted to get Kate and Renee together again in her book. I’m a fan of that though. I like their relationship quite a bit. Ultimately this book ends on a high note though.

Bits and Pieces:

Batwoman comes to an end and it was actually on a high note. This series has been a chore if I’m being honest but at least we end with a storyline that I actually could care about. The art is great and I love seeing Kate and Renee interacting again. I’m happy where we ending and I’m glad that this run has officially ended. Hopefully we will get another Batwoman book in the future and hopefully it will be much more entertaining.

6.0/10