Mini Comic Reviews: November, 2025

This month I'll be taking a look at Greg Rucka's short lived run on Wolverine along with his work on Batwoman with J. H. Williams III, the latest in a long line of Youngblood relaunches, Descender, Paper Girls, and the secrets of The Manhattan Projects.

Batwoman: An Un-Birthday Present

A butterfly flaps its wings. No Cartwright, no Mouse, no Alice.

When Alice gets captured by the GCPD, Mouse comes to the rescue with a spot of kidnapping – and Kate goes after both of them with the help of... another Alice?

Batwoman: How Queer Everything Is Today!

"She doesn't see a sister – she sees a soul in need of saving."

When the multiverse dust settles, Kate finds herself back in Gotham – with Alice pouring tea on Catherine's grave, a father in jail, a sister in crisis, and seriously unwanted media attention.

Batwoman: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Two

“Yeah, I kind of promised our crew they'd never have to do another crossover.”

This was very clearly a middle entry in the crossover, where the heroes do a lot of busy work to set up the next part.

Batwoman: A Mad Tea-Party

“If you drink much from a bottle marked poison, it is almost certain to disagree with you sooner or later.”

Alice’s revenge has hit its crescendo, and as a consequence she has done possibly irrevocable damage to her relationship with Kate.

Batwoman: Tell Me the Truth

“Did you ever eat a bat?”

It all comes back to Alice, doesn’t it?

Batwoman: I’ll Be Judge, I’ll Be Jury

“I’ll try the whole cause and condemn you to death.”

This was a busy episode and another solid entry, with an interesting moral question for the audience.

Batwoman: Mine Is a Long and a Sad Tale

“Such a trail, dear sir, with no jury or judge, would wasting our breath.”

Alice’s misadventure is finally told, and while it is a long sad story, I was hoping for more.

Batwoman: Who Are You?

"I hardly know, sir. At least I knew who I was when I got up this morning, but I have changed several times since then."

Early in the first season of Supergirl, Kara found herself making mistakes and causing some serious damage to a tanker ship while trying to save it. This episode reminded me of that moment.

Batwoman: Down Down Down

"Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end?"

This episode was basically the coming out party for Batwoman. We got the full costume reveal and a potential new love interest for Kate.

Batwoman: The Rabbit Hole

"The little girl just could not sleep, because her thoughts were way too deep. Her mind had gone out for a stroll and fallen down a rabbit hole."

I struggled for a week with this review, partially because I wasn't sure I was on board, and partially because I wasn't sure what to say.

Batwoman

Season 1 | Season 2 |
Season 3 |
Related Links | Cast |

Batwoman (2019-2022), the sixth Berlanti-verse show to air on The CW, initially starred Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, who picked up the mantle of the Bat from her cousin Bruce Wayne/Batman. Rose's departure shifted the lead to Javicia Leslie's Ryan Wilder.

Our coverage is incomplete; Samantha M. Quinn and JRS reviewed part of season one.

Season One

1.1 Pilot
1.2 The Rabbit Hole
1.3 Down Down Down
1.4 Who Are You?
1.5 Mine Is a Long and a Sad Tale
1.6 I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury
1.7 Tell Me the Truth
1.8 A Mad Tea-Party
1.9 Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Two
1.10 How Queer Everything Is Today!
1.11 An Un-Birthday Present
1.12 Take Your Choice
1.13 Drink Me
1.14 Grinning from Ear to Ear
1.15 Off with Her Head
1.16 Through the Looking-Glass
1.17 A Narrow Escape
1.18 If You Believe in Me, I'll Believe in You
1.19 A Secret Kept from All the Rest
1.20 O Mouse!

Season Two

2.1 What Happened to Kate Kane?
2.2 Prior Criminal History
2.3 Bat Girl Magic!
2.4 Fair Skin, Blue Eyes
2.5 Gore on Canvas
2.6 Do Not Resuscitate
2.7 It's Best You Stop Digging
2.8 Survived Much Worse
2.9 Rule #1
2.10 Time Off for Good Behavior
2.11 Arrive Alive
2.12 Initiate Self-Destruct
2.13 I'll Give You a Clue
2.14 And Justice for All
2.15 Armed and Dangerous
2.16 Rebirth
2.17 Kane, Kate
2.18 Power

Season Three

3.1 Mad as a Hatter
3.2 Loose Tooth
3.3 Freeze
3.4 Antifreeze
3.5 A Lesson from Professor Pyg
3.6 How Does Your Garden Grow?
3.7 Pick Your Poison
3.8 Trust Destiny
3.9 Meet Your Maker
3.10 Toxic
3.11 Broken Toys
3.12 We're All Mad Here
3.13 We Having Fun Yet?

Related Links

Our DC Multiverse index includes links to all of our DC-related reviews.

Cast

Javicia Leslie (Ryan Wilder)
Ruby Rose (Batwoman)
Camrus Johnson (Luke Fox)
Rachel Skarsten (Alice)
Meagan Tandy (Sophie Moore)
Nicole Kang (Mary Hamilton)
Dougray Scott (Jacob Kane)
Rachel Maddow (Vesper Fairchild)

Batwoman: Pilot

Kate: “Bruce Wayne is Batman?”
Luke: “Yeah, I’m dead.”

CW pilots are a bit notorious for being kinda crappy. They usually have to backtrack from their introduction to give us their origin. There has to be a lot of characters, plot and world building and the tone of the series established in forty minutes of screen time. That isn’t a recipe for quality.