Hero Profile: Batgirl

One of the things that makes these blog posts fun for me is that I often find out tidbits about characters that aren’t all that well known. Or at the very least, something I didn’t know. Barbara Gordon is a prime example. Apparently, while most series portray her as the daughter of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, in the comics she started off as his niece. Retcons, parallel universes, and all of the TV shows usually go with the biological daughter angle of their family relationship, and as of the New 52 it is canon, but for the sake of presenting you with the best origins of the character, I’ll focus on the original. Also, a little info on my terminology. I break adult caregivers into two types, Father/Mother and Dad/Mom. When I say Father or Mother, I’m referring to the person of that shares half of a character’s DNA. Or, as a friend more crudely put it, the Sperm/Egg donor. Dad/Mom is the one that raised ya, that put the time in and shaped who you are as a human being. So when I call James Gordon, Barbara Gordon’s Dad, I mean he’s the one that did most of the paternal parenting. Ya’ll got that? Father and Mother make you, Mom and Dad raise you. Now that I’ve gotten that little shpeel out of the way, let’s get to it.

That's right, there's a Bat-character that smiles. Shocking
I know.

Barbara Gordon spent most of her early life in Ohio, with her parents Roger and Thelma. From an early age, Barbara was a huge fan of superheroes and her life’s ambition was to become one. She and her friends would spend hours designing superhero costumes and inventing their backstories. A girl after my own heart. Things were relatively good for Barbara, until she was thirteen. That’s when her father, having succumb to the Achilles Heel of many a fictional Irishmen, the drink, killed himself and his wife in a car accident. Don’t drink and drive folks.

Barbara, while obviously shaken by the incident, was given a new and loving home by her Uncle Jim and his wife, also named Barbara. Now, while nobody wants to lose their family and move to a new city, this turned out to be the silver lining in Barbara’s troubles as she was now in the home turf of The Batman. She spent a good chunk of her first few weeks in Gotham learning every scrap of info she could about the Dark Knight, and was even lucky enough to overhear her Dad having a private meeting with Batman in his home office… Not going to harp too much on your parenting skills Jim, but probably could have planned that better. Batman + location = destruction, a good chunk of the time anyway. First thing the next morning, Barbara insisted that Jim let her take martial arts classes. Jim was hesitant to allow this at first, but then realized that it’d probably be a good idea for she would benefit from a little self-defense knowledge. Being related to anyone in law enforcement and/or politics in a city like Gotham does tend to lead to kidnappings after all.

Stoic, but still friendlier than
Bruce. Just saying.

Over the next few years Barbara hit the mats about as hard as she hit the books. By the age of sixteen she was a black belt in karate and high school graduate. She graduated college, with honors, before she was old enough to drink. She continued martial arts training, and spent a little time as a research assistant at the Gotham Public Library to pay the bills. Her real dream was to be a police officer, but as Jim pointed out to her when she inquired about joining the police academy, she didn’t even meet the height requirement. She was told the same by the local FBI branch office. Oh, if only they knew what was going to happen next for Barbara.

A few weeks later, the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) hosted a Million Dollar Masquerade Ball. It was the sort of shindig that attracted Gotham’s most influential people, like a certain billionaire obsessed with flying rodents. Barbara, in an attempt to spite and embarrass her Dad for not encouraging the whole cop thing, was going to crash the party in a feminized Batman costume she’d designed years ago. She arrived late, but in time to see local masked psycho Killer Moth and his gang grab ol’ Bruce Wayne to use as a hostage and started raiding the country club that was hosting the event. She “saved” Bruce Wayne by tackling Killer Moth and getting his cronies attention. She lasted long enough for Bruce to get his Bat-pants on and grab Robin, but was ultimately captured by Killer Moth’s stupid, I mean, creative silk spitting Gun. Batman chose to free “Batgirl” from Moth’s trap, rather than follow the bad guys. He chided Barbara for being reckless. Shaken but not deterred, Barbara continued on as Batgirl, and by the story arc’s end was officially made a member of team Batman.

How many 15 year old's with
red hair and purple leotards live
in Gotham? My guess is one!

While she served as Batgirl for many years, never asking to be called Batwoman I might add, Barbara found the role becoming less and less fulfilling as time marched on. She had basically retired when, on a dark and stormy night, Joker stopped by and took the choice out of her hands. He shot Barbara through the stomach and kidnapped her Dad. Batman arrived in time to get Barbara to a hospital, but she’d lost the use of her legs. Her time as Batgirl was over, and she spent a month or so in a deep depression. Eventually, she realized that she could still use her other major skill, that big ol’ brain of hers, to help people. Her time as Batgirl was finished, but her life as a superhero had just begun. But I’ll cover her time as Oracle a little later.

Barbara, like the rest of the Bat-Family, has no superhuman powers, and instead relies on above average athleticism and superior brain power to get the job done. She’s a black belt in judo and karate, and has had extensive Ninja style training from Batman. She continued her training after The Killing Joke as best she could, despite being paralyzed from the waist down. Old habits die hard. She’s skilled with just about any weapon imaginable and is a demon behind the wheel of the Batmobile or Batcycle. I think we've hit bonus points on the "Fight like a girl" as a compliment chart.

Barbara also has a genius level intellect and photographic memory, which coupled with her detective training from Batman makes it so she rarely misses anything. She is also a skilled hacker, a life skill that was helpful as Batgirl and instrumental as the Oracle.

Batgirl has appeared in a number of Batman and DC related series. As stated above, all of these versions depict her as James and Barbara’ Gordon’s biological daughter. Which is a little confusing now that I think about it…

She appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series.  She first appeared as Batgirl in “Shadow of the Bat” when Commissioner Gordon is framed for corruption. Much like in the comics, Batman is reluctant to have her help in the case, but eventually bows to her legitimate skill and extends the hand of friendship/partnership. She is a recurring character in the sequel show The New Adventures of Batman.

Batgirl was going to appear in the Justice League and JL Unlimited series, but was cut due to a “Bat-embargo” that Warner Bros had placed on the show. That’s why the only Batman related character you really see in it is Batman himself. Which was dumb.

Not as...Bubbly as she used to be. Still kicks a lot of tookus.

She is a major character in The Batman animated series that ran from 2004-08 from the third season on. It’s this show’s existence that made the Bat-embargo necessary, just an FYI. In this show she is good friends with environmentalist nutter Pamela Isley. After a botched attempt at protesting a chemical waste dump, (by protest I mean sabotage) Pamela is mutated into Poison Ivy. Feeling responsible for her friends actions, Barbara dons an old gymnastics outfit, throws a bat shaped cowl and cape on it and tries to go by Batwoman. She’s like fifteen at the time, so I’m not 100% shocked that it didn’t stick. I am a little shocked that Jim Gordon never figured it out. She is your only child, the only family you seem to have, you regularly suggest she gets back into gymnastics, and she even uses her own purple uniform in her costume design. Are you blind Commissioner, or what? She spent most of her first season trying to get Batman's trust, and is only fully inducted into Batman's team after he picks up Robin.

Barbara appeared in a quick bit in the first season of Young Justice, and was introduced as Batgirl in the first episode of Season 2, where she and Wonder Girl protect UN Secretary General from intergalactic bounty hunter and morally confusing character Lobo. Her only other major appearance is in an episode entitled “Beneath” where she and an all-female Team detachment go into the country of Bialya to investigate The Light. When Nightwing, adult Robin, comments that “Alpha” team is composed of women because of Bialya’s Queen Bee’s ability to control men, she’s the one that comments if the situation was reversed would he send an all men team. Nightwing stutters a bit before sighing “There’s no right way for me to answer that, is there?” Good to see that their relationship never changes.

An over the hill version of Barbara appears in the Batman Beyond TV series. In it, she’s succeeded her father as Commissioner of Gotham city, and is generally annoyed when Terry McGinnis starts being the new Batman. She felt that vigilante justice went out with the Tommy gun. As the show goes on, she makes it clear she doesn’t hate Bruce personally, she’s just furious at him for what he’s becomes. Old friend, and, in this show, former boyfriend turned into a shell of a human being, shunning the world, including two men that were like sons to him. Waiting to die in an old manner house. Yeah, I can see why she’d be pissed at that. She relaxes a bit as the show goes on too, eventually acknowledging that Gotham needs a Batman.

End of an era.

She’s in Batman and Robin, portrayed by Alicia Silverstone. Do not watch this movie. It is really, really bad. I’ll note that this is the only time that Barbara is portrayed as having no relations to Commissioner Gordon. Instead she’s Barbara Wilson, and is Alfred’s niece. I shake my head in shame at this movie.

Batgirl is a kick ass female Superhero. She’s basically a female version of Bruce Wayne, and I mean that in the best way possible. She’s a skilled fighter, incredibly intelligent, a shrewd detective, and just all around awesome person. I for one was shocked when I found out she was forcibly retired for a number of years due to the Killing Joke. If she hadn’t continued on as the Oracle, I’d say it was a waste of an amazing character. I understand that as of the New 52, a short TWENTY YEARS LATER, aside from now being Jim and Barbara's bio-daughter, Barbara is also in physical therapy and planning to be Batgirl again once she’s gotten full use of her legs again. Way to go Barbara. She’s the vibrant, vivacious, astoundingly astute, brilliant Batgirl. Why the heck did she never go by Batwoman? Next time, Superman’s older and yet younger cousin Kara Zor-El, the Supergirl.

 http://toonami.wikia.com/wiki/File:Batgirl.jpg

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Barbara_Gordon_%28Earth-16%29

 http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/File:Batgirl-batman-162079-415.jpg

 http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/File:Commissioner_Barbara_Gordon_in_Batman_Beyond.jpg

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Joker_0113.jpg