Batgirl

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Batgirl is a DC Comics superhero, a female crime-fighter modeled after and associated with Batman.

Although a mostly-forgotten Bat-Girl appeared in Batman comic books of the early 1960s, the most well-known Batgirl was a collaboration between DC editors and the producers of the Batman television series and debuted in both mediums in 1967. She was Barbara Gordon, the adopted daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon.

In 1988's The Killing Joke, the Joker shot Barbara Gordon in the spine, leaving her paraplegic; she later reinvented herself as Oracle, the premiere information broker of the DC universe. She then created her own team of crimefighters called the "Birds of Prey," including the Black Canary (Dinah Lance) and Huntress (Helena Bertinelli).

The most recent Batgirl, the martial arts prodigy Cassandra Cain, first appeared in 1999 and is Oracle's protegé. She was the first in having an eponymous monthly series.

1 Betty Kane
2 Barbara Gordon
3 Helena Bertinelli
4 Cassandra Cain
5 Batgirl in other media
6 See also
7 External links

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Betty Kane

Image:Batman139.JPG Template:Main Bat-Girl was Betty Kane (first appearance: Batman #139, 1961), the niece of Kathy Kane, Batwoman. Batwoman and Bat-Girl were created to be romantic interests for Batman and Robin as much as crime-fighting associates. Bat-Girl appeared seven times between 1961 and 1964, but then disappeared in 1964 (along with Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite) when new Batman editor Julius Schwartz decided these characters were too silly.

Batwoman and Bat-Girl were revived in the late 1970s. Bat-Girl became a member of Teen Titans West. However, she only appeared a total of four times in this era.

Bat-Girl was retconned out of existence following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, even though Bat-Girl never existed in Post-Crisis continuity, a superheroine named Flamebird was introduced who had many similarites to Bat-Girl in her costume, her interest in tennis, her history with Teen Titans West, and perhaps her romantic connection to Robin. Flamebird's real name is similar to that of Bat-Girl's: Mary Elizabeth 'Bette' Kane.

In Infinite Crisis, it was implied that Flamebird had originated on Earth Two and in fact was Bat-Girl's Earth-Two counterpart. According to the new continuity, the Earth-Two Flamebird replaced the Earth-One Bat-Girl during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Image:GothamKnights43.jpg

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Barbara Gordon

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The Silver Age Batgirl was librarian-by-day Barbara Gordon (first appearance: Detective Comics #359, 1967), daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon. On her way to a masquerade ball dressed as a female version of Batman, Barbara (also known as Babs) intervened in a kidnapping attempt on Bruce Wayne by the villainous Killer Moth, attracting the attention of Batman and leading to a crime-fighting career.

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Helena Bertinelli

Main article: Huntress

During the late 1990s No Man's Land story arc, a new Batgirl emerged. She was revealed to be the Huntress, Helena Bertinelli.

An earthquake had leveled Gotham City, the government declared the city a No Man's Land and Batman disappeared. To bring order to the city, the Huntress assumed the mantle of The Bat (she discovered criminals feared her more than they did when she was the Huntress). When Batman returned, he said if she failed him she would have to give up the costume.

When Huntress failed to protect Batman's territory from Two-Face and his gang of over 200 criminals on her own (while Batman himself was unconscious and tied up), he held her responsible and stripped her of the mantle.

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Cassandra Cain

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Cassandra Cain, nicknamed "Cassie," was the last Batgirl (of partly Asian descent), having taken on the role with the approval of both Batman and Barbara Gordon. Trained by her father, assassin David Cain, to be the ultimate martial artist and assassin, Cassandra was not taught to speak. Instead, the parts of her brain normally used for speech were trained so she could read other people's movements and body language and predict, with uncanny accuracy, their next move. This ability lives up to her namesake; Cassandra in Greek mythology had the gift of seeing into the future, but was cursed so that nobody would ever believe her predictions. This closely relates to Cassandra's capability of 'seeing' her opponents next move at the cost of being (initially) unable to speak. This also caused her brain to develop learning functions different than most, a form of dyslexia that hampers her ability to read and write.(Batgirl #67). She eventually gave up the identity in Batgirl #73 with the title being canceled.

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Batgirl in other media

The Barbara Gordon Batgirl appeared in the final season of the live-action Batman television series in 1967, the same year as her comic-book debut. In fact, she was created in cooperation with the show's producers, who wanted a female character who could be added to the show's regular cast.

Some uncertainty exists over who developed what aspects of the character, with one often cited (although almost certainly incorrect) version claiming that DC Comics simply took the idea wholesale from the TV show. However Julius Schwartz, editor of the Batman comic book at the time, apparently claimed that he instigated Batgirl as a way of transferring some of the large female demographic of the TV show over to the comic. When the TV producers saw rough "concept" artwork by artist Carmine Infantino during a visit to DC Comics offices, they optioned the character in a bid to help sell a third season to a skeptical ABC television network.

Image:Yvonne Craig Batgirl.jpg

Note: Batman series producers Bill Dozier and Howie Horowitz have variously claimed credit for aspects of Batman (for example the characters of Alfred the Butler and Aunt Harriet) which they clearly borrowed from elsewhere. It's unlikely that this is a deliberate attempt to mislead, merely a result of faulty memories coupled with loose story telling. With this in mind, and recalling that the show's own credits claim Batgirl as being the property of DC Comics, Schwartz's account is likely to be closer to the truth.

In the Batman TV series, Batgirl was played by Yvonne Craig. A seven minute pilot reel was created to try out the new character. The reel starts in the Gotham City Library, where librarian Barbara Gordon is dealing with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. The Killer Moth and his henchmen attack the library, locking Barbara in an office. Bruce and Dick leave, to return as Batman and Robin, while Barbara opens a secret door to reveal her Batgirl closet, and transforms her dowdy librarian attire into a Batgirl costume (the skirt becomes a cape, etc). This "transformation," borrowed from the comic book, was dropped in the series proper as it meant Barbara would always wear the same outfit.

It has been suggested that the original intent of this pilot reel was to sell Batgirl in her own half hour show, early in the evening, while the Batman show would screen later that night to conclude the storyline. At the end of the reel, there is indeed a brief Batgirl theme tune and a caption featuring a Batgirl logo. However, given the mediocre ratings of the previous Batman season, the notion that the reel was to pitch a spin-off show seems unlikely.

The TV Batgirl was not allowed the fighting skills displayed by her comic book counterpart. She was permitted only to kick and throw objects at criminals, often allowing for an easy capture. Television networks at the time generally did not show women in realistic combat situations (indeed possibly the first US small screen fist fight involving a woman was penned by Batman script writer Stanley Ralph Ross, for the 1975 Lynda Carter 'Wonder Woman' pilot movie). In the 27 episodes which Batgirl appeared, she never captured the crooks all on her own, although she rescued the Dynamic Duo at least once.

This watered-down version of the character did little to help the show's ratings and one is left to wonder how a more 'empowered' version of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl would have fared with television audiences.

Batgirl also turned up in a handful of animated episodes of the Filmation series The Batman/Superman Hour (1969), voiced by Jane Webb, then later in the "sequel" series entitled The New Adventures of Batman (1977) voiced by Melendy Britt. Between these two appearances Craig reprised her role for a 1972 live action TV commercial promoting equal pay for women.

More recently, Barbara Gordon was a recurring character in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Melissa Gilbert, and later in the follow-up series Batman: Gotham Knights, by Tara Strong. In the animated series, she originally adopted the Batgirl identity to help her father when he was framed by Two-Face. She also appeared in the direct-to-video B:TAS features Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, voiced by Mary Kay Bergman, and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. Additionally, Strong voiced the character in the Flash-animation Web series Gotham Girls, in which Batgirl appears opposite Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn.
- A more elderly version of the character, voiced by Stockard Channing, appeared in the futuristic spin-off, Batman Beyond. Here she had given up on ("grown out of", she insisted) costumed crime-fighting and followed her father into the police force, eventually becoming Police Commissioner herself. It is alluded to that she and Bruce Wayne had an intimate relationship. The animated series contained no version of The Killing Joke, so Barbara Gordon kept the use of her legs and there is no evidence she ever became Oracle. Barbara makes claim that she was shot during her stint as Batgirl in Batman Beyond S1E12, "A Touch of Curare". Thus, while there is no solid evidence showing that she became Oracle in this continuity, it remains a possibility. This character also appeared in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, where she was voiced by Angie Harmon instead of Stockard Channing.
  - In the Justice League episode The Savage Time, the alternate Batman leads a resistance movement against Vandal Savage. Among the members of his resistance are Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, and Tim Drake. According to the series' creators, a girl seen playing with Drake was Cassandra Cain in a cameo appearance.

The 1997 movie Batman and Robin included a new Batgirl: Barbara Wilson, played by Alicia Silverstone. She was the niece of Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth. This Batgirl was similar in many ways to Barbara Gordon, but James Gordon's relatively small role in the films contributed to the differences. This version of the character is widely despised by fans, as it holds no similarity to the source material outside of the name "Batgirl."

The short-lived Birds of Prey television series (2002) featured a paralyzed Barbara Gordon (Dina Meyer) donning her Batgirl costume both in flashback sequences and in the present, thanks to a device that allows her to walk. Although based loosely upon the continuity established by The Killing Joke, elements of the Cassandra Cain Batgirl were also incorporated as one episode saw Gordon/Batgirl fighting Lady Shiva, Cain's nemesis/mother.