Printed in problem #13 of the “Batman Past” comedian, “Commissioner of Worry” was penned by Hilary J. Bader and drawn by Min S. Ku. Bader had beforehand written on “New Batman Adventures,” and despite the fact that “Over The Edge” wasn’t one among hers (Paul Dini wrote it), her expertise nonetheless explains why she selected to comply with up the episode.
Within the story, Barbara is engaged on a kidnapping case. Whereas chasing a suspect throughout rooftops (keep in mind, she was Batgirl), she’s overcome with a worry of falling, remembering how she “died” within the Scarecrow’s nightmare. It seems that Scarecrow’s Worry Toxin by no means utterly left her system, and each 4 or 5 years, she suffers a relapse of hallucinations and panic.
So, Barbara turns to Terry (who she often does not belief), filling him in on the occasions of “Over The Edge” and asking for his assist in rescuing the kidnapped little woman. They ultimately observe the abductors to a development website, however the peak triggers Barbara’s worry. When Terry tries to reassure her that Batman is defending her, her dismissing angle in direction of him comes out: “You are not him, you realize. You may by no means be him.”
However when the kidnapper Sweeney Thompson makes Barbara’s worry come true and kicks her off the constructing, Terry swoops in and saves her.
The episode ends loads like “Over The Edge” did, with Barbara awakening within the Batcave with Batman (however this time Terry, not Bruce) by her aspect.
“Commissioner of Worry” is an efficient learn for “Batman Past” and DC Animated Universe followers. “Over The Edge” is certainly an episode these followers keep in mind, so it having a long-lasting influence on Barbara is smart; it is an episode that is necessary and beloved sufficient to get a sequel.
Barbara accepting Terry as Batman, as she does on the finish of this story, can be an necessary beat for his or her characters. However whereas “Commissioner of Worry” is robust sufficient that it may’ve been a real “Batman Past” episode, it is a bit too just like the episode “Eyewitness.” In that story, the villain Spellbinder locations Barbara in a hallucination and makes her consider Batman murdered a prison. Her mistrust of McGinnis seemingly confirmed, she places Batman on the prime of Gotham’s Most Needed.
“Commissioner of Worry” is a literal sequel to “Over The Edge,” however “Eyewitness” is a religious one, inserting Babara within the position she as soon as feared her father would play.
