#throughyourlens

Robin:

From: TDKR

Robin is her first mantle, and with it her first costume. It is the classic robin uniform, worn by Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. She has no utility belt, and carries with her a rope and her weapon of choice: a sling shot. She doesn't wear a domino mask, instead a pair of boxy green glasses that she also wears when not in costume. Her design is very interesting, as it puts zero emphasis on her "feminine" aspects. Her costume is an exact copy of the boys', she is entirely flat chested (and even if she weren't, the vest is loose enough to give that impression) and she wears her hair short. She's even gendered masculine by this book's new commissioner, Ellen Yindel (as well as the rest of the police force), and the media. When Bruce comforts her with praise, he uses the gender neutral "good soldier." In fact, on first reading, we actually believed her to be a boy until the third issue.

Her femininity, at this point, in no way a facet of her character or design. Although she later takes up overtly feminine mantles, it remains as something that doesn't impact her character. She could easily be written as a boy without her characterization changing in the slightest. We find this very interesting, especially when looking at art of her as robin from other comic artists. Some of them nail her androgyny, but a fair chunk put feminine traits on her (noticeable chest, wide hips, lipstick, large eyelashes, etc) that simply aren't present in canon. While some of this may be entirely innocent interpretation of her design, there is something to be said about this being possible sexualization, or at the very least making her align with society's notion of was a "girl" should look like. Robin gets a 10/10, absolute classic, a juggernaut of a debut.

Catgirl:

From: DKSA

Just to get this out of the way: Catgirl is a 10000000/10. We adore her. We are #1 Catgirl fan. She has claws under her fingerless gloves. She has huge, chunky sneakers with MOTORIZED ROLLERBLADES. She wears a different outfit every scene. Her hair is bleached blonde. She has WHISKERS. Every aspect of her design oozes personality and charm, which makes sense since she canonically chose and designed this mantle + costumes.

First, the design list. As mentioned, she changes costume to a new pattern each appearance. She cycles through Leopard Print (pictured), Gray (pictured), Tiger Print (pictured), Black, and Gray Tabby.

She also features a second mask design. Above shows her Cat-Cowl, but she also wears a more traditional mask + cat ears. The costumes she has in this version are Gray, Leopard Print, and Black.

Catgirl is Carrie's first and only original mantle, this is her striking out on the scene, entirely on her own, and through that fact, we get a very good glimpse into her character. She's bright, and silly, and isn't afraid to take up space. Her hair is shorter, and bleached blonde, which beyond looking awesome, is probably meant to help reflect her age as a 16 year old. Catgirl feels like a natural continuation on from Robin; still bright, still just a bit goofy, but in a way, more adult.

Catgirl is also more clearly feminine than Robin, and not just in name. While she remains mostly flat chested, she is also drawn with a noticeable butt. And while she does still have a rather square design, her thin waist gives her a more feminine silhouette, compared to Robin's straight up-and-down design. Personally, these changes don't feel like sexualization, merely a reflection of the changes during puberty she would've experienced in the 3 year in-universe jump between books, but its absolutely possible.

It's also important to note that this book is the first instance of a darker, more brutal side to her personality being shown, which will be eventually explored a bit more in TGC. We think this is especially interesting since, again, Catgirl is the first mantle Carrie has all to herself, and is a clear display of her identity as a vigilante separate from Batman.

Batgirl:

From: DKIII

Batgirl, is, on first glance, very similar to Catgirl. This design is much less interesting, but she makes up for it by way of an excellent performance. By now Carrie is fully adult, and has a body type to reflect that, fully abandoning visual androgyny. She also has no real "on model" state, in each panel the details of her costume are drawn differently, only staying within the general premise of her design. Pink boots, gauntlets, and cape. Yellow utility belt. Green bodysuit with a bat emblem on the chest. It's definitely an intentional choice, but unlike Catgirl, its a decision made by the artists instead of by her character.

On that note, she very much feels as though she has less agency in this book compared to previous installments. She chose to be Robin, she made Catgirl entirely, but Batgirl is given to her by Bruce as a graduation present. She never once comments on the suit, either in internal monologue or aloud. Batgirl is lovely, but lacks the sheer appeal and narrative importance of Robin and Catgirl. Still, 7.5/10. We can't deny that she makes pink and green look good.

Batwoman:

From: DKIII, TGC

Now here is an example of Carrie done right. She's an absolute force-of-nature in this book. The cruelty briefly displayed in DKSA is given the spotlight in this book and then some. Her design is bright and creative, giving her a likeness all to herself. We do have our nitpicks however, we wish she were more muscular, and had a bit of a squarer stature, and a bit of a harder jawline, but those details are all but lost in what this design got right. The writing and design in this book are in harmony, giving a full and complete depiction of her character.

On her more brutal side, like Catgirl, Carrie chose to take up the mantle of Batwoman. Bruce and the other Justice Leaguers make no appearance in this book, showing her entirely on her own, and boy does she shine. This is the second real demonstration of the authority she wields, with Catgirl (unsurprisingly) as the first.

She makes full use of the "frightening" aspect of being a bat, and eagerly enjoys wreaking chaos. She is openly violent, and refuses to be constrained, an image of her holding a lit molotov cocktail was even briefly used as a symbol of protest. She loves her job, and looks great doing it! 9/10.

Above is her Batwoman design at the end of DKIII. 6/10. It's serviceable, but a bit lacking.

Honourable Mentions

Civilian clothes:

From: TDKR

From: The New Batman Adventures S01 E19 "Legends Of The Dark Knight"

Both of these are a 9/10. Huge fan of TNBA Carrie's long coat and wire glasses.

Mutant Disguise:

From: TDKR

Mutant Carrie is a 7/10. It's a good outfit but we feel that more could've been done with it.

Robin (Arctic):

From: DKIII