The young heroine Whistle is starring in her own standalone adventure, but she definitely has what it takes to show up in the regular Batman comics.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero, available now from DC Comics.
Whistle is one of the newest young heroes to join the DC Universe, with her debut planting her firmly in the streets of Gotham City. Surrounded by Batman’s family of caped crusaders and vigilantes, Whistle is only one of several new heroes introduced in the past decade to fight alongside the Dark Knight.
The young heroine is starring in her own standalone adventure, but she definitely has what it takes to show up in the regular Batman comics. Her combination of unique powers, origin story and premise make her the perfect spinoff character to supplement the growing Batfamily. Here’s what Gotham’s newest crime-fighting heroine’s backstory entails and how she could fit into the Batman ecosystem.
The Origin of Whistle
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero is by E. Lockhart, Manuel Preitano, Gabby Metzler and ALW’s Troy Peteri. The title character’s real name is Willow, and she’s a Jewish teenager in a particularly rough section of Gotham City. Her Jewish identity informs a lot of her character, from her design to her faith in the common good as well as her relationship with her sick mother. This poor health situation and the equally as eerie finances of the family make Willow turn to desperate measures in order to help out.
When she’s not working at a nearby dog shelter, Willow is an activist who protests in the streets to demand justice for her downtrodden neighborhood. Her version of Gotham is still besieged by versions of iconic supervillains such as the plant-obsessed femme fatale Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and the Riddler, the latter of whom knows Willow’s family. After a traumatic incident, she finds that she now has superhearing, while her dog Lebowitz can now talk to her. Using these abilities, she acts to become a local hero for her neighborhood and strike back at the evil E. Nigma’s scheme. With the book feeling like the first of many chapters, readers may be begging for more of the character on a more regular, even monthly basis.
Could Whistle Be a Regular In Gotham City?
Batman’s family is already pretty crowded, so there’s a question of whether or not there’s room for Whistle. This question is also begged by the fact that Whistle’s debut is seemingly set in something close to the normal DC continuity. This is a change of pace from other DC YA graphic novels, which explicitly feature alternate universe versions of familiar characters. As an original character, Whistle could easily be translated to other continuities. Thus, Whistle and her story could mostly be lifted and planted into the goings-on of the mainstream Batman comic book.
A relaunched Batgirl title could definitely introduce Whistle as a sidekick or supporting cast member, and Willow would be a good contrast to the recently activism-oriented Barbara Gordon. There are already tons of heroes in Gotham already, but a section of the city like Burnside could likely have enough room for her. She’d also be a far brighter hero than other Gotham vigilantes, making her stand out even further. Likewise, the push for diversity in comics means that an explicitly Jewish young woman could provide a unique perspective for a protagonist. Whether or not Whistle will show up anywhere in the monthly titles or other alternate universe takes on Gotham City remains to be seen, but she’d definitely be a breath of fresh air for the murky city.
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