“The Women of DC Comics: A Retrospect” - Day 13: Barbara Gordon:
DC editor Julius Schwartz wanted to reinvent the first Bat-Girl, Betty Kane, into a heroine reflective of the 1960s female empowerment movement. This resulted in Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino’s Barbara Gordon, debuting in Detective Comics 359 in January 1967. Head librarian of the Gotham City Library and daughter of Commissioner Gordon, Barbara Gordon transformed into Batgirl, stopping Killer Moth and his men from crashing a charity ball. Although Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson) believed her profession as a vigilante was ‘too dangerous’ for her gender, Babs prevailed through their doubts and soon became part of the Bat Family. The same year, Yvonne Craig starred as Barbara in the tv show “Batman”, making Batgirl an inspiration for young girls and women all over the world. This overnight sensation would headline stories in Detective Comics and the Batman Family publications through the 1970s to mid 1980s, going from librarian to U.S Congresswoman. In 1988 she retired her Batgirl mantle in “Batgirl Special #1” and a week later tragedy struck in Alan Moore’s “Batman: The Killing Joke” when Barbara was shot and paralyzed from the waist down by The Joker. Thanks to John Ostrander and Kim Yale, Barbara Gordon became the genius computer hacker Oracle debuting in January 1989’s Suicide Squad (Vol 1) 23. Revealing her true identity in 1990, Babs’ Oracle for the next 20+ years in DC Comics would become Batman’s main source of intel and one of the most important allies to the heroes of the DC Universe, including a leader in the female hero trio Birds of Prey. Barbara Gordon would return as Batgirl in 2011’s The New 52 reboot under different creative teams, from Gail Simone to Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr (issue 35) to Hope Larson (Batgirl) and Julie and Shawna Benson (Batgirl and the Birds of Prey) in DC Rebirth. Whether in comics or across all other visual media, Barbara Gordon represents a true icon as both Batgirl, a strong and brilliant costumed hero and Oracle, a persona that is one of the best representations of a disabled hero in DC Comics history. [History of Babs: https://youtu.be/CbfIkO2T1oE]