"The End" Week: Batgirl #24!

The last page of this issue almost perfectly encapsulates all of these "The End" issues: from 2011, Batgirl #24, "Unsinkable" Written by Bryan Q. Miller, art by Pere Perez.

Former Spoiler/Robin/dead Stephanie Brown, the current Batgirl, has just found her dad the Cluemaster isn't dead either, and has been responsible for most of the trouble she's faced recently. He's either legitimately concerned for his daughter and trying to make her a better Batgirl, or a bit of a nutball. Cluemaster mentions also picking up a new hobby, gardening. Namely, Black Mercy, as seen in "For the Man who has Everything..."!

Cluemaster doses Batgirl with the Mercy, but she manages to keep him from getting away before she goes under. Batgirl wakes up in a hospital, where her mom works as a nurse: Supergirl brought her in, while Dr. Mid-Nite set up a transfusion. Her mom says she's proud of her, as are the little kids of Gotham, and even a certain snotty Robin. Later, Stephanie visits former Batgirl/current Oracle/future Batgirl Barbara Gordon, who tells her she fought off the Mercy before the transfusion. Steph had several dreams while under the influence, which could also be seen as Miller burning off unused plotlines before the 52 reboot; but cleverly, they're all drawn with the Black Mercy somewhere in the picture!

I hadn't realized Miller wrote this whole run of Batgirl, but I think he'd been on fire since around #15. Of course, since Barbara's Batgirl again in the new 52, Stephanie (and Cassandra, the other other Batgirl) have either been shelved or demoted to other identities. I'm personally kicking myself that Stephanie won me over long after her DC Direct action figure--possibly the only one she'll ever get--became insanely expensive...