Some of you may question my choice for this post's headline, what with Barbara Gordon being paralyzed and all, but please know that I chose it for a very specific reason. I genuinely want to see what that title refers to actually happen. I think it is high time that DC Comics finally did right by Ms. Gordon and removed her from the wheelchair she's been sitting in for two decades and got her back to doing what she does best . . . fighting crime as Batgirl.
What got me thinking about this post was the recent news that over in the Bat-books a character by the name of Stephanie Brown, a hero originally known as the Spoiler and then for a time was Robin, has now become the new Batgirl. I don't know about you, but upon hearing this my initial reaction was something along the lines of, "Ugh, really? The Spoiler? Really? Is that the best DC could come up with?" Do any of you out there actually give a care at all about Stephanie Brown as a character? Maybe it's just me, but I'm sick and tired of seeing all these second rate characters being granted the cowl, cape and tights that should only be worn by Barbara Gordon.
Admittedly, Barbara Gordon wasn't the first Batgirl. The original Batgirl was a woman named Betty Kane. She appeared in the Bat-books back in 1961 as a love interest for Robin, but due to an editorial change and a general decline in the sales of Batman books at the time, both she and the original Batwoman (Kathy Kane) were quickly dismissed and forgotten about. In fact, the two were so unpopular that they were officially retconned in 1985 during the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline so it's like they never existed at all.
It was in November of 1966 that Barbara Gordon appeared as Batgirl for the first time. She was originally created as a deal between DC Comics and the ABC television network, who very badly wanted a new female character for their Batman TV show starring Adam West. The move turned out to be a good one and Batgirl became very popular with both readers of the comics and viewers of the show. Soon enough, Barbara Gordon's status as a caped crimefighter was cemented into the Batman mythology and for the next 22 years she fought alongside Batman and Robin as a trusted and loyal friend.
Then, in 1988, there came a guy named Alan Moore and a little one-shot (no pun intended) comic called Batman: The Killing Joke. In this story, Barbara Gordon was shot through the spine by The Joker and has ever since been paralyzed from the waist down. For a long time, the character of Batgirl was officially retired from the Bat-family. Barbara Gordon herself evolved to become the information broker/expert computer hacker known as Oracle, but the world was Batgirl-less for a full decade.
The first woman to take on the role of Batgirl after Barbara Gordon was Helena Bertinelli (also known as The Huntress). She donned the cape and cowl for a short time in 1999 before being forced by Batman himself to stop because she wasn't being heroic enough. After her came a mute martial arts expert name Cassandra Cain. This Batgirl had both Batman's and Oracle's approval and she held the position for many years before recently stepping down after the "death" of Batman. Then, some teenager named Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe (yeah, I've never heard of her either) was Batgirl for a bit before Oracle told her to stop. And now we have Stephanie Brown stepping up to the plate as the all new Batgirl.
Pardon me if that entire list of wannabe Batgirls leaves me feeling entirely underwhelmed. Huntress, Cassandra, some punk kid nobody, and now the Spoiler? When the hell is DC going to get their heads out of their asses and restore Barbara Gordon to her rightful place as the one and only Batgirl again? She's the definitive Batgirl after all. She's the most well known and well liked of them all. She's the only one that non-comics fans have even heard of. Her appearance and costume are the quentissential version of the character. To have to keep watching one wannabe after another pretending to be Batgirl is disheartening to say the least. To give a proper comparison, it would be like if this current "death of Batman" story went for over 20 years and we were forced to endure watching people who weren't Bruce Wayne pretend to be Batman for the next two decades. How would that make you feel?
Why is it then that after 21 years, Barbara Gordon is still paralyzed? No other hero has to put up with this. Batman had his back broken too, and he recoverd in about a year. Steve Rogers (Captain America) got shot through the neck, which as gunshots go is a little more serious than through the spine, and he's coming back soon. For Christ's sake, even Aunt May, who has to be somewhere around 90 years old, was shot in the stomach and has managed to make a full recovery. So why is it that Barbara Gordon is still sitting in a wheelchair.And don't go giving me that, "Because it was Alan Moore" bullshit either. Just because Alan Moore wrote it doesn't mean it can't be undone. Everything in comics can be undone. No exceptions. If Bucky can come back from the dead, all bets are off s far as I'm concerned. The fact that Barbara Gordon is still wheeling herself around instead of leaping off of Gotham City rooftops is a crime. That crime is made even more glaring when you consider the fact that The Killing Joke wasn't even a regular continuity story. It was never meant to have a major effect on the regular line of comics, so why is it still doing so?
I know that Oracle is a very popular character and that fans love her, but come on people, wouldn't you rather see Barbara Gordon running around as Batgirl instead of people like the Spoiler? And just think of how awesome the new Oracle/Batgirl combo could be. In her time off from wearing a costume, Barbara Gordon has clearly defined herself as one of the smartest women in the DC Universe. As a hacker and general source of information, she's even more skilled than Batman is in certain areas. A properly written Batgirl comic with Barbara as the title character could be filled with incredibly smart stories that show off both her intellect and her fighting abilities. Just think how awesome it would be to see her and Batman working on a case together and trying to one-up each other with who knows more about whatever they were hunting down.
It's not like she would have to stop being Oracle either. She's already set up the Birds of Prey organization. All she would have to do would be to appoint someone to take over her day to day duties as information dealer so she can go running around and beating up thugs. In the meantime she can still supervise the group from a distance and occasionally lend a hand as Oracle when needed. She could become both an individual hero again as well as a leader of a group of female heroes. She could go on to truly become the female version of Batman that she was designed to be. She's every bit as smart and as tough as he is, it only seems right.
In 20 years, will anyone really remember what the Spoiler did during her run as Batgirl? Do any of you actually think her run as Batgirl will be more than two or three years in length? I personally doubt it will even run that long. Please, if anyone from DC Comics is out there, please bring Barbara Gordon back as Batgirl. Just say that some new spinal surgery technique has been discovered that can restore the use of her limbs. It's not a difficult storyline at all to write. We fans will love you for it. Even bitter and jaded fans like me .
[...] I know that Oracle is a very popular character and that fans love her, but come on people, wouldn’t you rather see Barbara Gordon running around as Batgirl instead of people like the Spoiler ? And just think of how awesome the new … In 20 years, will anyone really remember what the Spoiler did during her run as Batgirl? Do any of you actually think her run as Batgirl will be more than two or three years in length? I personally doubt it will even run that long. …Page 2 [...]
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with all your points there, Patrick, and agree that no Batgirl has captured the public's recognition like Barbara has -- which in my opinion also has something to do with her being Jim Gordon's daughter, intertwined in the rich Bats backstory.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think you're overlooking the value that Oracle has to DC as she is: she challenges the baseline comics assumption that only the freakishly fit can accomplish heroic deeds. Call it "politically correct" if you want to, but to me that implies the watered-down tokenist dreck of bad kids' TV. DC has instead really made a drawn-out effort to explore the complexities of Barbara's situation, and the effect it has had on her aspirations and goals. Of course some writers do a better job with that than others (and there's something to be said for the writers that simply ignore the wheelchair and tell great stories about her), but that's true in every book. Does she really have to be standing on her feet to be a worthy partner for Batman?
And yeah, on a slightly more world-weary note, I think DC is probably also sensitive to the criticism they're likely to get if they "fix" her -- removing a prominent disabled role model, implying she's not good enough as she is, offering a slap in the face to readers who can never be fixed, and on and on.
So yah, a cool post, but missing a couple key aspects of the story, I think.
An excellent comment, and I completely agree with all of your points. I would never wish to have my post be read as to say that Barbara Gordon would be made better if DC were to "fix" her and make her able to walk again. I completely recognize the fact that DC has done an amazing job with the transformation of Barbara Gordon into the character of Oracle, and that she is absolutely integral to the Batman universe as well as the DC universe as a whole. Oracle is a fantastic character. She's strong, she's heroic, she's a true role model for both women and the disabled, and you are completely right in stating that DC would catch all sorts of hell for taking her out of her wheelchair. The fans would have very strong reasons for being angry.
ReplyDeleteOracle represents a completely unique kind of superhero. There really isn't anyone out there I can think of quite like her. She's so skilled and so capable at what she does that I would strongly argue that Batman and a host of other DC heroes would be completely lost if she were to go away. My article definitely didn't address these issues enough. It was mostly just a fanboy wish to see my favorite heroine of all time return to the role she once made great, nothing more. Yes, the loss of Oracle would be tragic, which is why I'd love to see something done where she retains both roles at the same time. Barbara Gordon has a top notch intellect and it definitely shouldn't be let go to waste. I just miss seeing her bust some ass in a physical sense too. Spoiler may very well be a great Batgirl, but no one will ever be cooler than Barbara Gordon. Whether she's fighting crime with her fists or with her brain while sitting at a computer terminal, she's a hero through and through.