Review Category: Reviews

BLACK WIDOW: SECRETS OF A SUPER-SPY

WRITER: MELANIE SCOTT | PUBLISHER: DK | RELEASE DATE: APRIL 2ND

Dorling Kindersley have for the past several years been the go-to publishers for some incredibly detailed reference books about superhero characters, covering both DC and Marvel’s heavy hitters. And they’ve supplied us with some lavish year by year volumes and character guides too. One could wonder where, other than updating the existing volumes every couple of years (usually after a big universe-shattering event) where on Earth – or Earth 2 they could possibly go next.

How about some of the characters not usually in the spotlight? Not ones so obscure that nobody knows who they are – but those intriguing secondary characters who’ve been around since the silver age. How about arguably Marvel’s most intriguing female character, the epitome of mystery and their ultimate villain turned hero – Natasha Romanoff, AKA the Black Widow, a firm favourite among fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a character who’s been around since the U.S.S.R sent her to bedevil industrialist Tony Stark and Iron Man during the Cold War of the early sixties.

Since then, she has abandoned her long dresses for a mask and a cape, mask and costume, been involved with Hawkeye, joined the Avengers, changed costume in the seventies and has retrospectively had her shady background as a spy filled in, making her one of their most three-dimensional characters. But with a lot of her past being revealed in more recent years, tracing her story isn’t as easy as you might think, and wouldn’t lend itself to DK’s usual format of a brief origin, followed by features about weaponry, allies, and crucial issues. It’s all so fragmented and confusing.

For Black Widow: Secrets of a Super-Spy, DK have wisely abandoned this format and have adopted a more straightforward approach in dealing with this character. Not as based on pictures as their previous volumes, but still lavishly illustrated all the same, this takes the form of an actual biography – a novel with graphics, not a graphic novel. All the key events of Romanoff’s tempestuous life are here, in their chronological order which helps us make sense of this unique superspy turned super hero. From her birth in 1928, we learn of her childhood as an orphan, becoming essentially the property of the State, her Red Room training, false memories implanted in her brain, what she did in the Cold War before being sent to the decadent West.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a lightweight volume, this lady’s life rivals anything Ian Fleming created for Bond. It’s an essential volume in deciphering the past of this particular femme fatale.

VEROTIKA

VEROTIKA / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: GLENN DANZIG / STARRING: ASHLEY WISDOM, RACHEL ALIG, ALICE TATE, KAYDEN KROSS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (US), TBC (UK)

Known affectionately as the Evil Elvis, former Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig has been dabbling in horror comic books for a while. It’s from those pages that this portmanteau stems. However, those hoping for an Amicus-style romp will be deeply disappointed.

Bookending the tales is Morella (Kross), an Elvira type who we first see poking the eyes out of an unfortunate victim. There are three stories here, the first, The Albino Spider of Dejetter, features a protagonist who has eyes instead of nipples. The tears from these cheeky breast peepers transform a regular arachnid into the demonic beast of the tale. It sounds much more exciting than it is. Change of Face features an erotic dancer who has a penchant for slicing women’s faces off and wearing them to cover her scarred appearance. Drukika Contessa of Blood is a variation of the Elizabeth Bathory legend and is as derivative as you’d expect.

It’s impossible to go into what’s wrong with Verotika in a sensible word count. Everything from the acting to the effects are subpar and the dialogue would be laughable if any of it was uttered with conviction. It pains us to rain on anyone’s parade, but Danzig is clearly not cut out for filmmaking. His contemporary in the rock n’ roll world, Rob Zombie, managed to make the shift because his films had a style and quirkiness that gave certain audiences what they wanted. He had a voice and something to say. Glenn, on the other hand, appears to have watched The Room too many times and has said “hold my Jack Daniels”. If that was his intention, then he’s failed too as nothing anyone spouts here is remotely memorable or quotable. The host, Morella, appears ever so briefly between sections to utter a ‘humorous’ line that inevitable falls flat. Even when the ‘action’ could be raised by the dancers in the strip club, we’re left with lifeless, bored-looking women in their underwear. Danzig can’t even do exploitation right.

Had Verotika come from any number of the low budget filmmakers churning out erotic/sexploitation/gore films out there, we’d have never heard of it. It would have been one of the movies shared by fans with the note ‘wait to you get a load of this…’ With a name like Danzig attached, it’s sure to gain an audience, but we feel it’ll be for all the wrong reasons.

PHASE IV (1974)

PHASE IV (1974) / CERT:12 / DIRECTOR: SAUL BASS / SCREENPLAY: MAYO SIMON / STARRING: NIGEL DAVENPORT, MICHAEL MURPHY, LYNNE FREDERICK/ RELEASE DATE: APRIL 6TH

It’s not unreasonable to hope that a film about an evolutionary shift in the ant population causing a threat to humanity when the insects develop a collective intelligence and a cross-species hive-mind mentality might deliver a few deliciously cheesy thrills in the style of 1954’s classic Them!, in which giant ants invaded the storm drains of Los Angeles. But wait up; Phase IV hails from 1974, smack in the middle of that strange nowhere space between the lurid exploitation genre films of the 1950s and 1960 and the big budget extravaganzas that would follow in the wake of the likes of Jaws in 1975 and Star Wars in 1977. Sci-fi movies in the 1970s were not only few and far between as the genre had fallen out of favour somewhat, they were also attempting to be little more thought-provoking in an attempt, presumably, to avoid being tarred with the brush that had tainted the genre’s reputation in previous decades. Some higher profile crowd pleasers slipped through the net, though, and the likes of The Omega Man and Soylent Green are rightly lauded for their prescience as well as their sense of adventure. Phase IV falls on the wrong side of the fence; it’s very much an art house sci-fi movie and it’s really very dull indeed.

Two scientists (Davenport and Murphy) set up a computerized domed laboratory in an area of significantly-heightened ant activity in the Arizona desert near a cluster of strange towers that the ants appear to have built. The film rather unsubtly contrasts the ‘worker’ scientists busy in their enclosed environment with the worker ants scuttling around in their colonies. Chemical weapons have no effect on the ants, who eventually infiltrate the laboratory and compromise all the scientific equipment. The scientists are torn as to how to best deal with this new threat. Lesko (Murphy) believes he can communicate with the ants but Hubbs (Davenport) favours wiping the nest out and killing the queen. But Hubbs has been ‘bitten’ and starts to become delirious and the presence of Kendra (Frederick), who has taken refuge with the scientists, seems to be somehow making things worse.

Phase IV is an interesting curio but really little more. The core idea of sentient ants rarely comes across as a genuinely troubling threat to the ecosystem. Wildlife photographer Ken Middleham’s insect sequences are beautifully filmed, often fascinating, and occasionally a bit disturbing (real ants were clearly harmed in the making of the film) but the human characters are dry and starchy and the narrative’s sluggishness and the generally cold and clinical nature of the story and its settings makes the whole thing hard to relate to or much care about. The original ending to the film (rediscovered in 2012 and included as a special feature on this new 2-disc release) imagined a ‘new world’ where humanity has been subsumed and altered by the evolution of ant intelligence but was excised before the film’s release by the distributor. The theatrical ending is vague and ambiguous with a voice-over from Lesko admitting that he doesn’t know what the ants are planning and that he is awaiting further instructions. It’s a flat and lifeless ending to a film that squanders the potential of its concept by listless direction – Saul Bass never directed a feature film again thanks to Phase IV’s poor reception – and a visual palette that rarely rises above the bland and a script that abandons any attempt at pace and tension and tumbles into a pit of self-indulgence and bland scientific detachment. The film looks fairly crisp, if occasionally a little grainy, and it’s supported by the usual comprehensive set of special features we’ve come to expect from 101 Films. But ultimately, Phase IV is little more than a fitfully interesting example of the middle ground occupied by science fiction cinema in the early 1970s where it was neither fish nor fowl or, in this particular case, ant.

THE MAD MAGICIAN (1954)

THE MAD MAGICIAN (1954) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: JOHN BRAHM / SCREENPLAY: CRANE WILBUR / STARRING: VINCENT PRICE, MARY MURPHY, EVA GABOR, PATRICK O’NEAL / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 30TH

The Mad Magician tells the story of Don Gallico (Price), magician, master of disguise and inventor of stage-effects that wow the late 19th century audiences that come to the shows of big stars like The Great Rinaldi. Gallico wants to take to the stage himself but is thwarted by the contract he has with businessman Ross Ormond that effectively means everything Gallico creates, Ormond owns and can sell off to the likes of Rinaldi to present as their own ideas. Events conspire to ensure Don snaps and a murderous campaign of revenge follows.

Made and released a year after Price’s first big horror hit, House of Wax, this was also presented in 3D. Directed with solid style by the reliable John Brahm, it’s an entertaining tale of frustrated ambition and homicidal rage. Although Price gives his usual committed performance, there’s less to it than Andre DeToth’s colourful classic and Gallico has little of Henry Jarrod’s melancholy tragedy in his backstory (he apparently didn’t read the contract he signed so maybe it’s actually on him). But that doesn’t stop The Mad Magician being a worthwhile part of Price’s villainous portfolio of characters and if you love the great man’s work, you’ll find much to enjoy here.

This new release from Powerhouse Films presents the film in fine form. A 2K restoration shows off the crisp black and white photography and is as clear and sharp as you could hope for and there’s both 3D and 2D versions. For extras, there’s a good selection that compliments the main feature. We start with a brand-new audio commentary from film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby. Lyons and Rigby are both very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the commentary ticks along like a conversation between two friends (that’s a compliment). There’s an appreciation of the 3D boom of the 1950s from cinematographer Frank Passingham as well as a Super 8 version of the film. Two short films from the Three Stooges are also presented in 2D and 3D and there’s a standard set of imagery gallery and trailer. The limited edition first run of this Blu-ray also includes a booklet with essays (including one from Kat Ellinger) and guides to the promotional material and critical responses to the film at the time it was released.

For a Price film that isn’t frequently discussed when talk turns to his horror output, this is a rounded and thoughtful package and comes recommended, and if you’re a fan of Vincent then consider it an essential addition to your collection.

THE CLEANSING HOUR [FrightFest Glasgow 2020]

THE CLEANSING HOUR / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: DAMIEN LEVECK / SCREENPLAY: DAMIEN LEVECK, AARON HORWITZ / STARRING: RYAN GUZMAN, KYLE GALLNER, ALIX ANGELIS, CHRIS LEW KUM HOI, DANIEL HOFFMANN-GILL, EMMA HOLZER / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Hunky priest Father Max is the face and talent of an internet series that sees him exorcise demons in histrionic rituals that affirm the power of the Almighty in the face of evil. Of course, it’s all a sham, until his latest possessee doesn’t show up and his girlfriend takes their place, only to become genuinely possessed by a powerful demon who takes exception to the hypocrisy.

The Cleansing Hour has a lot to say about the perception of truth, beginning with a sequence that plays exactly like the climactic scene of any Exorcist-lite movie, only afterwards to pull back to reveal the artifice and reveal the technical wizardry at play. It’s an ingenious way to start proceedings, and instils in the viewer thoughts about how much of what can be seen can be believed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t manage to maintain such craftiness, and soon descends into a litany of demonic possession clichés.

The film has more ideas than it knows how to fully develop, muddling the story and ending up with too much going on for a single story, to the extent it becomes difficult to fully decide what point is ultimately being made. Additionally, it’s hampered by a flip-flopping tonal dissonance that leaves the film too brutal to be much fun but not stoic enough to be taken seriously.

Much of the plot hinges on the demon taking over control of the production and sending out the results into the wilds of the internet to convince people of its power. It’s one thing to show shots of people around the world who are regular viewers of the trash chaos perfectly willing to be taken in by the performance, but with people being sceptical enough of information reported on the reputable news programmes, to convince the viewer that everyone else believes that underway is a technological domination by religious entities a majority of the world don’t believe even exist requires a level of persuasion that the film simply doesn’t supply.

The demon forcing confessions of various sins that further damage the characters’ already fractious relationships is fairly standard fare, although one of them has unpleasant implications of relationship dynamics and women’s unspoken obligations towards men that have no place in such revelations. Although that said, the film does go the atypical route of having its male lead be the one forced into a position of an object of lust subjected to the perverse proclivities of a demon’s sadism, rather than the damsel in distress.

On the subject of such a thankless role, special mention must go to Alix Angelis as the possessed Lane, who gives a heartbreaking dual performance alternating between terrified cries for help in the few moments she manages to break free, and the throaty taunts of the demon forcing her to the limits of what a person can both physically and psychologically endure.

A further missed opportunity is to further elaborate on the flashbacks of Max’s childhood experiences being taught by nuns, and instead of delving into how people can be affected by the lingering echoes of abuse within strict religious educational systems, it merely acts as just a waiting piece of revelation hinted at for most of the movie.

The Cleansing Hour is mildly entertaining experience of well-trodden material, but not much more. A more balanced tone and greater exploration into its central themes would have done it wonders.

ANDERSON FALLS [FrightFest Glasgow 2020]

ANDERSON FALLS / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: JULIEN SERI / SCREENPLAY: GILES DAOUST / STARRING: SHAWN ASHMORE, GARY COLE, DANIELLA ALONSO, RICHARD HARMON, LIN SHAYE / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Contrary to popular belief, film critics don’t enjoy tearing a movie apart. On the contrary, we do this job because we love movies and try to look for something to enjoy in everything we watch. However, every now and then something comes along that is so utterly inept on all fronts it’s impossible to even pretend to be positive about it.

The plot of Anderson Falls sees detective Anderson (see what they did there?) investigate his wife’s death despite it being ruled a suicide because he knew she would never kill herself and is convinced she was murdered, and the process realises a series of such deaths were the work of a father-son team of serial killers.

This isn’t any kind of spoiler, as the film’s opening shows a protracted scene of the luckless woman in question being forced to swallow a bottle of pills, thereby removing any sense of ambiguity from proceedings and instead leaving the audience bored and frustrated while the police come to painfully obvious conclusions.

It’s easy to highlight everything about a film that makes no sense, as all movies to one extent or another require a certain degree of suspension of disbelief. However, when a plot runs on nothing but gormlessness, stupidity and histrionic overacting, all that you’re left to talk about is its litany of shortcomings.

No character involved behaves or speaks like anything resembling a functional human being, but since every word and action is required for the ludicrous plot – for lack of a better word – to progress, the audience is forced to endure them as it stumbles along to the revelation that the killers are driven by nothing but hateful misogyny. Not even in a way that makes a point or has something to say, but rather just moronic diatribes practically copy-pasted from the online domains of MRA morons.

Some scenes will inspire a few laughs, such as Anderson getting inside the killers’ heads by staring at photos of successful women and screaming “I hate you” at them, or the image of a pictures-and-red-string wall of crazy like Charlie Day in that It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia meme, although any humour gleaned is entirely unintentional. Its all intended to be taken very, very seriously, but the preposterous histrionics instead result in the kind of overwrought soap opera dramatics that given a minor violence edit wouldn’t be out of place screening on Sony Movies on a Sunday afternoon.

There’s no two ways about it: Anderson Falls is quite simply a terrible film. It may find an audience in midnight marathons whose audiences can laugh along with a film’s sheer awfulness, but there really isn’t anything else even vaguely positive to be said about this spiteful, incoherent, nigh-unwatchable melodramatic shambles.

DOCTOR WHO – THE FACELESS ONES

DOCTOR WHO – THE FACELESS ONES / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: GERRY MILL, ANNEMARIE WALSH / SCREENPLAY: DAVID ELLIS, MALCOLM HULKE / STARRING: PATRICK TROUGHTON, FRAZER HINES, ANNEKE WILLS, MICHAEL CRAZE/ RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The BBC’s latest animated reconstruction of one of many frustratingly missing early Doctor Who serials, presented in a generous three-DVD set, brings second Doctor Patrick Troughton down to Earth in 1960s London to investigate the mysterious disappearance of thousands of teenagers jetting off on exotic European holidays and the activities of the sinister Chameleon Tours. Two episodes of the original serial remain in the BBC Archive and they offer tantalising hints of a pacey, if ultimately unexceptional, contemporary story (always the best setting for Who adventures) blessed with a good script and some genuine creepy intrigue. The Faceless Ones never seemed destined to be regarded as one of the show’s classics but rather a solid, entertaining bedrock Doctor Who serial that gets the job done and helps set the scene for the epic (and also largely missing) Evil of the Daleks that was to follow.

All six episodes of the serial (the remaining episodes are also available here) have now been animated (in colour and moody monochrome options) and it’s probably the most satisfyingly realised animated release yet. Previous efforts (Power of the Daleks and The Macra Terror) somehow failed to fully engage and the attention often wandered as perfunctorily animated characters tottered around samey-looking locations and the stories didn’t seem to linger in the memory. The Faceless Ones works a little better because of its ‘modern day’ (i.e. 1966) setting and because of slightly more ambitious (if still slightly Captain Pugwashy) animation which makes the episodes more digestible than its predecessors.

The Faceless Ones is a perfectly serviceable mid-tier Who yarn that gives plenty of room for some four-square characterisation from guest actors like Bernard Kay, Colin Gordon, and especially Pauline Collins as Samantha Briggs (a character briefly considered as a potential new companion until Collins opted not to stay with the series) who has travelled to Gatwick from Liverpool to find out what’s happened to her missing brother. It’s classic 1960s Who as the Doctor and his friends (Jamie, Ben, Polly) materialise on the runway at Gatwick and are chased by security Police before stumbling upon the strange alien technology of Chameleon Tours. Ben, and Polly quickly disappear from the story (they return in the last episode just to say farewell to the Doctor and Jamie now that they are back in their own time period) leaving the famous Doctor/Jamie partnership to come into its own as the pair try to persuade the incredulous Gatwick authorities that there’s something distinctly extra-terrestrial going on.

Of course, the animation is never really going to be a decent substitute for watching the actual performances – Troughton’s quirky turn as the Doctor can never really be caught by such fairly flat animation – but the six episodes fly by agreeably enough, the story is linear and interesting, and by the end, you’ll actually feel that you’ve experienced a pretty fair approximation of the story as it was shown on TV. Pixar won’t be suffering any sleepless nights worrying about the animation techniques and some die-hards will find their feathers ruffled by little onscreen nods to later events in the show’s history (a poster in a Police station clearly marks out Roger Delgado and Sacha Dhawan’s Master as ‘wanted’) but if, as it now appears, there’s precious little chance of any more missing Who being returned to the archives, these animations are probably the best way to acquaint ourselves with long-lost, long-forgotten adventures from the show’s more innocent early days.

THE FACELESS OLD WOMAN WHO SECRETLY LIVES IN YOUR HOME

THE FACELESS OLD WOMAN WHO SECRETLY LIVES IN YOUR HOME / AUTHOR: JOSEPTH FINK , JEFFREY CRANOR / PUBLISHER: ORBIT / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 26TH

And now, the weather… Welcome to Night Vale is the sensational podcast that documents the strange goings on of the even stranger residents of the small town, Night Vale. It’s spawned live shows, comics and crossovers with other podcasts such as The Thrilling Adventure Hour. It’s also spun-off into several tie-in novels from the show’s creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. This particular novel features (if you haven’t already guessed from the title!) the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, who is voiced by Mara Wilson on the podcast itself.

The Faceless Old Woman follows a duel narrative of the aforementioned character, providing a back story to one of the more mysterious characters in the series. The narrative follows how the Faceless Old Woman became who she is today, retelling the trials and tribulations of her life beginning in Europe in 1810. Concurrently, we are also introduced to Craig, who’s home in Night Vale the Faceless Old Woman is currently a visitor of, and her efforts to help Craig better himself. However, unbeknown to the both of them, the Faceless Old Woman’s past and present are about collide in a big way.

The best tell of a good tie-in book is if the book can be read as standalone without the need for background from the series that inspired it. In this instance, The Faceless Old Woman can be read without any prior knowledge of the series and it still be a great tale to read. It has the hallmarks of Night Vale throughout, the creepy imagery coupled with the random sense of humour. Meanwhile, you get a multilayered protagonist in the Faceless Old Woman who has experienced so much that you constantly root for them despite the voyeuristic nature of her personality throughout.

This book is a welcomed addition to the collection of Night Vale novels that already exist and is just as strong as previous releases.

LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE

LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE / AUTHOR: SARAH DAVIS-GOFF / PUBLISHER: TINDER PRESS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A tale of survivors struggling against a voracious enemy in a ruined, post-apocalyptic Irish landscape might not sound like ideal bedtime reading in the current climate. Yet, if you can bear the discomfort and the growing suspicion that this might be a factual instruction manual rather than an imaginative work of fiction, then you’ll quickly be drawn into the bleak and brutal world. It’s startlingly brought to life by Sarah Davis-Goff in this haunting, often poetic debut novel, which is much more of a work of proper literature than a throwaway end-of-the-world horror story.

Some years after an unknown apocalypse, a young girl named Orpen leaves the only home she has ever known – a remote island off the mainland – in search of help when her sister Maeve is bitten by one of the ‘skrake’. These rotten, feral, cannibalistic creatures now roam the countryside. She carries the infected Maeve with her in a wheelbarrow, and she pins all her hopes on finding other people and the legendary ’Phoenix City’. As Orpen ventures further away from home, the world becomes ever more terrifying and dangerous. As her story unfolds, she recalls her earlier life with her sister and mother and how they taught her the fighting skills she now uses to protect herself against the horrors of a devastated world.

Last Ones Left Alive, despite its relentless darkness and nihilism, somehow rises above its story and themes to become an oddly uplifting experience. Davis-Goff’s writing – Orpen, her narrator, recounts her story in an Irish lilt that rolls off the page – is blunt and economical and yet powerful and punchy. Orpen herself is a new breed of hero, a young woman wary of human contact and yet desperate for it. Her journey through a crumbling world she never knew is haunting and troubling and yet shot through with a strange optimism born out of the resilience of the human spirit and the sense that, whatever catastrophes and crises humankind faces, there is always the capacity to come back stronger, wiser, better. Words to bear in mind at the moment, perhaps.

Orpen’s path eventually crosses with some fellow survivors, and it’s here that the stakes are raised, risks are taken, and in a genuinely-thrilling conclusion, she has to face the full terror of the skrakes. Then, when all seems lost, the book delivers a slightly ambiguous and yet hopeful ending that opens up avenues for any potential sequel (Orpen’s journey is far from over, and there’s much we still don’t know about this grim new world) and yet brings the story to a close in a wholly satisfying manner. Last Ones Left Alive is a tough and uncompromising read with a fiercely feminist perspective, dealing maturely and adroitly with ideas and concepts that could seem trite, exploitative and clichéd in less skilled hands. A hugely impressive and vital novel.

BATWOMAN

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (EPISODES 1 – 3) | WHERE TO WATCH: E4 (FROM MARCH 29TH)

Despite being the centre of so much controversy last year when she landed the lead role of Batwoman/Kate Kane, Ruby Rose is actually more than up to the job, exuding a fragile confidence that befits the dual role. As the show begins, Kate returns to Gotham after five years of training for a position in her father’s private security company, Crows Security, which is just about the only thing standing between the city and chaos after the disappearance of Batman.

Kate’s return coincides with a play by the Wonderland-themed villain Alice to disrupt the Crows’ operations and, instead of joining the Crows, Kate stumbles across her cousin Bruce Wayne’s abandoned BatCave and adopts his identity to bring some order back to Gotham. Alice is the real delight here, a portrait of the damaged artist, and a solid answer for “what’s the best version of The Joker?” There are reasons she’s obsessed with bringing down Kate’s father, and it complicates the relationship between arch-villain and superhero even further. Rachel Skarsten lights up the screen with her presence as the kooky murderer, and only Nicole Kang’s Mary (Kate’s step-sister and budding Leslie Tompkins) rivals her for sheer charm and intrigue.

With the first three episodes leaving Batwoman just about where the crossover last year found her, it’s all to play for from here on in. The mystery of why Bruce Wayne abandoned Gotham three years earlier is set to run and run, with Batman villains Hush and The Riddler already being woven into Batwoman’s mythos, and much like Supergirl, which absented the Man of Steel so that his titular cousin could establish herself as a hero in her own right, expect to see Kate Kane have to deal with some of her cousin’s unfinished business.

Batwoman is off to a great start. With Arrow coming to an end, there’s a gap in the Arrowverse for a dark vigilante show; Kate Kane – and Alice – look set to fill that gap with ease.