Warning: contains a preview of Batgirls #5!
Barbara Gordon is suiting up as Batgirl once more, and this time, she’s about to take on a classic enemy from the DCAU. As Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown have had their hands full taking on the hypnotic villain Tutor, Spellbinder has revealed himself to be the mastermind waiting in the wings. A new preview for Batgirls shows Barbara Gordon joining her allies in the field to help topple the mind-controlling villains.
Like many C-list villains, there have been a few versions of Spellbinder over the years. The original Spellbinder first appeared in Detective Comics #358 in a story by John Broome and Sheldon Moldoff. There would be a number of other villains using the Spellbinder moniker over the years, but one of the most notable was the one featured in the animated series Batman Beyond. Appearing in the episode ‘Spellbound,’ the villain wore a garish black and orange costume with a spiral motif and had a proclivity for mind-controlling their victims.
Multiple mesmerizing baddies might be too much for Steph and Cass to handle alone. Preview pages show Barbara Gordon entering the fray as Batgirl, ready to take on the reinvented Spellbinder. It’s already been revealed that Spellbinder’s true identity is actually Charles Dante, an art therapist who had previously dated Barbara Gordon while the two attended Burnside College. Such a backstory was always going to put the two on a collision course, with Spellbinder shaping up as a very personal villain for Batgirl. Enjoy a preview of Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad’s Batgirls #5 from DC Comics, along with the issue’s synopsis, below:
The Batgirls and Tutor face off again, but this time at the creepy, abandoned Arkham Asylum! Can the Batgirls stop Tutor from using his art to put all of Gotham in a mind-controlled trance? Let’s hope the Batgirls found a way to avoid being put under his control…again! Meanwhile, Babs’s hands are tied—literally—when she comes face to face with Spellbinder.
The fact that Barbara is joining Steph and Cass in the action shows how serious a threat Spellbinder and his minions actually are. Stephanie has already fallen under the influence of Tutor’s hypnosis before, so the man in charge cannot be taken lightly. The solicit hints that the featured duo will focus more on taking down Tutor, hopefully using their past experience as a learning opportunity. Spellbinder, on the other hand, is being left up to the Batgirl.
If there’s been a weakness to Batgirl’s past comics, it’s been the lack of a dedicated nemesis for Barbara Gordon, especially as she has switched from on-the-ground action as Batgirl to tech support as Oracle and back again. In Spellbinder – a powerful villain with a close personal connection to Barbara’s past – it’s possible she’s found a true and lasting nemesis. That is, if she can survive their upcoming clash. He may not be the Batman Beyond incarnation, but this version of Spellbinder has set himself up as a villain to be reckoned with. Batgirl may have her hands full when she confronts the former DCAU rogue in Batgirls #5, on sale now from DC Comics.
