DC Pride's Batwoman Story is the Most Twisted Comic of the Year
Warning! Spoilers ahead for DC Pride #1!
Batwoman's DC Pride #1 story is extremely twisted, making it a contender for the most disturbing comic of the year. Looking back on her struggles throughout her childhood, Kate Kane talks about her relationship with her once-dead twin sister, Alice. This is what occurs through the first part of the DC Pride Batwoman story, but nothing can prepare readers for what's to come next. In the issue, Kate recalls the "looking glass game" they used to play when they were younger. The rules of the game were to match each other's looks exactly. On top of this, every movement they did had to be an exact copy of the other person.
As confirmed in this issue, Alice, who was born Beth, was always better at the game and Kate could never keep up. Years after Alice had supposedly died, Kate still remained obsessed with the idealism that Alice embodied for her. Alice is a deeply disturbed and twisted character with a strange history. Depicted as having lost her mind, Alice returns as a villain dressed in fairy tale attire. Initially, when Alice was first introduced, she would only talk in quotes from Alice in Wonderland. Obsessed with Alice in the books, she renamed herself from Beth to Alice. Alongside that, the most striking part of Batwoman's sister is that she also dressed up as Alice from the books. This alone is a scary basis for a character, let alone a villain.
In 'The Wrong Side of the Looking Glass' by James Tynion IV and Trung Le Nguyen, Batwoman reunites with Alice. Throughout this issue, Kate reminisces about the "looking glass game" they played as children. She always she felt like she came from the "wrong side of the mirror," which serves as a metaphor for her realizing she is a lesbian and eventually coming out. However, as Kate recounts her "looking glass" story, something is clearly off. Her narration is interrupted by someone else who is clearly not Kate. This occurs as Kate begins to wander off into descriptions of her life, with Kate explaining how she was lost. The other voice intrudes to insist she get back to talking about the gam. Suddenly Kate sees Alice, alive and in her current form, and Kate realizes that she is being controlled. Alice murmurs the name Mad Hatter, which breaks Batwoman from her trance.
As Alice's look is revealed, Batwoman exhibits a similar creepiness as she momentarily becomes just like Alice. Batwoman's face and gestures mimic her sister's, like what they would do in their game. Now, with Alice being a villain, Batwoman doesn't display the perfection that she previously described. Alice's smudged makeup along with her doll-like smile evokes a relation to horror imagery, reminding readers of The Conjuring's Annabelle. It's Alice's inability to not properly move that is most frightening. The panel jumps from showing both sisters to a closer, only slightly changed facial expression from Alice. Additionally, the sudden shift from innocent-looking Alice to her twisted present-day counterpart occurs as Batwoman is thrust back into Mad Hatter's wonderland.
Ultimately, the real reason for this comic being the most twisted story of the year is because the first half of the issue is told like it's a dream. This then is followed by Mad Hatter interrupting, which reveals that everything that's been seen has been orchestrated. The jump to Alice today is a creepy shift in tone, but it ends the nightmare of Mad Hatter's control. Not only was Batwoman being manipulated, but the reader was too, making the story all the more unnerving. In the end, Batwoman and Alice team up and easily take down Mad Hatter, defeating him and proving that there is a lot more to Alice than her scary looks. The Mad Hatter truly lives up to his name with his "mad" plan of creating a wonderland, in which both Batwoman and Alice are stuck. DC Pride #1 is available in comic book stores and on digital platforms now.
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