Remember the (one of many) short-lived New 52 series, Demon Knights? Well, some of that cast has been folded into Batwoman for no reason. And DC have dropped the “New 52” logo (it's officially dead, hooray!) on the cover though the storyline is still carrying on from when it was part of that range.
Morgan le Fay is pursuing power for the sake of power (always a compelling motivation… zzz…) and it’s up to Batwoman to stop her. Along for the ride are a motley crew: Etrigan (sans Jason Blood), Alice (now calling herself “Red Alice”, also for no reason), Clayface and Ragman. They call themselves The Unknowns - unknown to whom? Who knows. Maybe that’s the point?
Writer Marc Andreyko is just throwing whatever into Batwoman and hoping it’ll stick. It doesn't work - this storyline was rubbish! When did “Red” Alice become good? Or Etrigan for that matter? Clayface is written as good because he’s got amnesia (god, this really is like a soap opera…!). Ragman - where did he come from? He’s not Ragdoll from Secret Six if that’s what you’re thinking. And why are they all working together? It doesn’t make sense!
Kate is still seeing Natalia Mitternacht and hasn’t figured out yet that she’s a vampire who’s slowly turning her into a vampire. That’s resolved in this volume but not in a very imaginative way - it's still the only interesting storyline in this book. Also included is an unnecessary origin story from Secret Origins #3 and a pointless issue, Batwoman: Future’s End #1. I don’t really know what Future’s End is (DC characters become evil cyborgs in the future, I think - pass!) and what happens in that issue is so stupid as to continue to keep me away from that series.
I didn’t mind Georges Jeanty’s art which isn't amazing but also isn't that bad, though I hated his Etrigan who looks like he’s moulded out of Play-Doh - and this is a comic that also features Mr Play-Doh himself, Clayface! Also Morgan le Fay looks identical to Ex Nihilo from Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers. Not sure who’s ripping off who here, just clocking the similarity.
The last Batwoman book wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either - I thought Andreyko might be shaping up the series to take Kate in a potentially enthralling direction. But no, he drops the ball with this very poor quality volume full of awful storylines, poor characterisations, and weak art. The Unknowns is unfortunately yet another terrible Batwoman book.
Batwoman, Volume 6: The Unknowns
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