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Stop Killing Jason Todd

@crisis-on-infinite-batblogs

AO3 I started reading Batman comics for Jason, but I stayed for the angst and bad jokes.
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danaharlowe
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fantastic-nonsense

A lot of people don't seem to understand what Barbara actually did as Oracle, so let me clear up some misconceptions. Oracle is first and foremost an information broker. She's a data nexus, a living hub of information that crimefighters around the world could reach out to for assistance and mission coordination:

"So how'd you become the data nexus for every costumed crimebuster in the world?" "That's gonna have to remain off the table too."

Yes, that role centers her gift with technology, computers and hacking, and that is the area where Babs most often shines. And yes, those tech skills are incredibly formidable and absolutely vital to her work! But the TECHNOLOGY isn't what makes Babs special.

Babs' tech skills positioned her as one of the most prominent fictional women in STEM in the 90s/early 2000s and gave her the ability to do things like build a VR fighting simulation room (eg, a Star Trek-esque holodeck) from scratch:

"Maybe we should move back to Greenie play level." "But you designed this game, Babs. And this incredible virtual reality projection room." -Birds of Prey (1999) #19

However, those skills are all ultimately secondary to her real gifts, which are her eidetic memory and her ability to gather, analyze, synthesize and distribute information to people:

"What I believe happened to Batman is too important to rely on my photographic memory..." /// "Having been blessed with photographic recall, I studied a dozen newspapers, four dozen magazines, and my main haunt: the computer bulletin boards." -Showcase '94 #12 /// "I was nine when I realized I could ace any test without really studying. The photographic memory thing." -BOP (1999) /// "My memory is eidetic (i.e. perfect). It's my greatest asset." -Batgirl (2011) #35

Oracle wasn't just a glorified hacker. She was the crimefighting community's living computer and central information hub:

"There is little she doesn't already know. There is nothing she can't find out. If knowledge is truly power, Oracle is one of the most powerful people on the planet. Despite having her spine shattered by the Joker's bullet, Barbara Gordon refused to give up. Recognizing she could no longer be the kind of superhero she had been, she instead devoted all her time to developing one of the world's most complex and powerful computer systems and set to work accumulating information, renaming herself 'Oracle.' Blessed with a photographic memory, Barbara reads dozens of the world's top newspapers and magazines daily. She's also constantly gathering information from other, less public sources, such as the CIA's mainframe, not to mention the data networks of the FBI, NSA, and Interpol (all without their knowledge or consent)." -Secret Files and Origins (2000)
"Now as Oracle, she uses information as her weapon. With her vast computer network, Oracle is linked up to every hero on the planet and is always ready to help." /// "With a photographic memory, Oracle is considered information central in the superhero community. She's a computer specialist and expert hacker--and she has files on every villain and hero."
"But Barbara invented a new life for herself as Oracle-computer master and undisputed sovereign of data collection and dissemination. There is hardly a crimefighter on the planet that has not come to rely on her skills and dedication."
"I'm keeping the secret identities and home addresses of every superhero in the world from being stolen. Think maybe that's a little bit important?" -Countdown #39 /// "Oracle: The Living Mind of the Justice League. Oracle monitors and records the worldwide flow of information. She Analyzes. She Interprets. She Calculates."

It's part of why "Cop!Babs" is so insidious as a profession DC keeps pushing onto her, because Barbara Gordon is, at her core, a librarian. As Oracle, she gathered information and valuable resources and then coordinated with crimefighters around the world to help them access and utilize it. Her day job became her night job:

"From my days as Gotham's head librarian, I knew how to find out whatever I needed. If I could do that for citizens, I could do it for colleges, non-profit corporations, private investigators...and superheroes." -Showcase '94 #12

She's not "just" a tech geek; librarians are trained to have specific sets of research, information analysis, and communication skills that others don't have. And those are skills she has that the other Batfamily members do not, and they are skills she has regardless of whether or not she can walk:

"I was tired of being a victim. I had skills and abilities long before I was Batgirl. It was time to make them work for me again. It was time to stop being afraid." -Oracle: Year One

This skillset also served her well as the co-founder and leader of the Birds of Prey; contrary to semi-popular perception, she's not just the Birds' 'Guy in the Chair.' She's the Birds' Leader and Mission Control. She tells them where they need to go, what they need to do, and how to achieve their goals. To put it into James Bond terms, she's their "Q", but she's also their "M."

So if you look at Oracle and you only see "hacker and tech specialist," you are seeing a very limited picture of who Barbara is, what her skillset is and how she uses it, and what her role in the crimefighting community was.

#barbara gordon#as a character (from a meta standpoint) Babs has such a cool history#I really want to read up on her from the 90’s and witness the post-killing-joke glow up#I don’t think we appreciate enough how groundbreaking it was in the 90’s to feature a disabled woman as a hero and a main character#AND TO SHOW HER USING A WHEELCHAIR!!!!#like that’s huge!#Barbara Gordon is so important and so powerful and that’s why this whole spinal implant thing pisses me off#she doesn’t need to be fixed#she’s perfect🥹
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Nightwing #81

"Not everything in this city is broken."

This was my absolute favorite scene from Vol. 1, hands down. Everyone seems to have given up on this city. Tim rightfully questions why they're relying on the kindness of a place known only for its cruelty. Dick is pleading- begging for someone to come through, and to show up, and to prove that they're worth fighting for. And then all the sudden someone does. The Devin. The Seeley. The Constant. Six vessels in total respond to the mayday.

Inbound... We hear you... On the way.

Not only was it a very moving scene, it was a beautiful homage to the artists and writers who have come before. It was a little love note to everyone who has helped to make Nightwing who he is. A hero, in his own right, and someone worth fighting for. Someone worth saving.

#Nightwing comics#nightwing: leaping into the light#dick grayson#barbara gordon#tim drake#panel#witty street name tag
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Nightwing #80 // Batgirls #3

It's possible that Dick and Stephanie both own one of these Black Canary t-shirts, but have you considered: Steph stole it from Babs, who stole it back from Dick, who borrowed it from her in the first place and never returned it.

#There exists in the cloud an excel doc where the batkids track the provenance of their clothes so they'll know who to steal them back from#continuity breadcrumbs#darn tootin' I own this shirt!#nightwing comics#batgirls#dick grayson#stephanie brown#barbara gordon
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