Batgirl: Difference between revisions

* The first series was published from 2000-2006 and featured Cassandra Cain, the [[Legacy Character|third]] Batgirl, found [[Batgirl (2000 comic book)||here]].

* The third series began publishing in 2011 and will featurefeatured Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. Despite her lengthy publication history, this is the first ongoing series to feature her as the title character. Its page can be found [[Batgirl 2011|here]].

1) The first Bat-Girl (note the hyphen, not used by any other Batgirl) was Betty Kane, debuting in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961). She was the niece of [[Batwoman|Kathy "Batwoman" Kane]], a [[Distaff Counterpart]] to Batman who'd been introduced in 1956 as a [[Love Interest]] for the Dark Knight to ward off perceptions of [[Ho Yay]]. Betty was the counterpart to Robin, gaining a (mostly one-sided) crush on Dick Grayson and his alter ego. She joined her aunt in fighting crime. Robin [[Girls Have Cooties|did not appreciate]] his counterpart, regarding her with a mixture of disinterest and distaste.

Batwoman and Bat-Girl were [[Brother Chuck|summarily dumped]] from the Bat-titles in 1964 as part of the new editor's cutting away some of the high silliness that had accumulated during [[The Interregnum]]. Years later, when Dick Grayson had become Nightwing, "Bette" Kane showed up in the ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'' series as [[Continuity Nod|Flamebird]], a part-time costumed heroine with a crush on him. She's popped up every so often for brief appearances with the Titans, but avoiding a deep look at her continuity. Recently, the Interregnum-era stories have been brought back into continuity, albeit with the more outlandish ones being retconned into hallucinations that Bruce had during an exceptionally troubling phase in his life. The original Batwoman and Bat-Girl in particular have been confirmed as having been real.

==== {{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by the Betty Kane Bat-Girl include: ====}}

2) By 1966 the ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' live action television show was on the air, and the producer asked [[DC Comics]] to create a new female hero character for the comics that would then also appear on the show to boost viewership by women. The new character debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #359 (January, 1967). The new Batgirl was Barbara Gordon, the adult daughter of Batman's ally Commissioner James Gordon. She had a doctorate in library science and was the head librarian of Gotham Library, in addition to being a skilled acrobat with judo training. Barbara was blessed with an eidetic memory and a gift for invention (or adapting available technology) as she designed and built all of her gadgets independently of Batman. Why would a woman with all that going for her name herself "-girl"? It was still [[The Sixties]].

==== {{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by the Barbara Gordon Batgirl include: ====}}

* [[Retcon]] / [[Ret Canon]]: Barbara's age. She was originally a college graduate with a Ph.D while Dick Grayson was still in high school (later a Congresswoman while he was in college, meaning she was, at some point, at least 25), but has been gradually de-aged over the years until the post-[[Flashpoint]] reboot has them at the same age, and barely out of college. Rumor has it that one of the reasons for the reboot was that word around the office was that Barbara was probably pushing 30 by this point, and that wasn't workable. This arguably began with ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'', which showed her as roughly the same age as Dick and paired them up romantically.

* [[Stuffed Into the Fridge]]: Her injury in ''[[The Killing Joke]]'' is this, no question. It's been noted that she's not so much a ''character'' in that story as she is a plot device to cause Commissioner Gordon and Batman pain. Alan Moore is on the record saying that this was a case where DC probably should have reignedreined him in.

3) Helena Bertinelli, better known as the [[Huntress]], briefly took up the Batgirl mantle during the ''[[Batman: No Man's Land]]'' event (1999). She first appeared in this role in ''Shadow of the Bat'' #83 (March, 1999). Batman eventually forced her to stop using the costume as he felt Helena's attitude and behavior were inconsistent with his standards. She went back to being the Huntress, and later joined the [[Birds of Prey]].

==== {{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by the Helena Bertinelli Batgirl include: ====}}

4) A character introduced in ''No Man's Land'' in 1999, Cassandra Cain became Batgirl with the assistance of Oracle and Batman. Cassandra first appeared in ''Batman'' #567 (July, 1999).

Despite reestablishing her as a hero, DC decided to separate Cassandra from the Batgirl persona and had her renounce the identity in the first issue of a new ongoing series, replaced by Stephanie Brown (See below). DC then declared that 2010 was a "big year" for Cassandra, but fans have called [[Lying Creator]] since her only appearance was in ''Red Robin #17'' as a crime fighter in Hong Kong. In this comic Tim gave her back her old costume and said that he hopes she will wear the symbol. [[Gail Simone]] had said that she would appear in ''[[Birds of Prey]]'', but unfortunately [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20160307024654/http://606studios.com/bendisboard/showpost.php?p=7631969&postcount=8 this was not able to happen] despite her efforts, once again leaving fans gnashing their teeth. It was later revealed that Cassandra was barred from appearing in Birds of Prey due to her being used in ''Red Robin'' and the upcoming ''Batman: Gates of Gotham'' mini-series, which of course caused the fandom to cautiously [http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/3965397198/gates-of-gotham-to-feature-return-of-cass-cain-to\ rejoice once again.] Fans were cautiously optimistic that this means she will play an active role in the upcoming ''Batman: Incorporated'' by [[Grant Morrison]]. As of issue #6, Cassandra is now an agent of Batman Inc. under the new identity of '''Blackbat'''. The miniseries "Batman: Gates of Gotham" established that she'd "always liked it" in Gotham, implying that she'd be moving back, but absolutely no sign of her has been glimpsed in the New 52.

==== {{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by the Cassandra Cain Batgirl include: ====}}

* [[Anti-Hero Substitute]]: Subverted in the original series. Cassandra's outfit and backstory scream this when contrasted with Barbara Gordon's, but she is very much [[The Cape (trope)]].

* [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]: Super body language reading. Moreover, her [[Training Fromfrom Hell]] allows her to perform such feats as throwing a Batarang, then racing ahead of the missile and catching it before it hits the target.

* [[Training Fromfrom Hell]]: First nine or so years of her life were spent doing this.

* [[What Could Have Been]]: The miniseries "Batman: Gates of Gotham" was originally conceived as a solo story about Cassandra. The final product heavily featured her, but she had to share it with her brothers.

5) About the same time as Cassandra Cain's [[Face Heel Turn]], a new "Batgirl" was seen in Gotham City in the ''Birds of Prey'' arc "Headhunt". First appearing in ''Birds of Prey'' #96 (September, 2006). Upon closer examination, this turned out to be a teenager named Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe, who had inherent superpowers, including teleportation. Barbara Gordon tries to straighten the young lady out by stressing the dangers of a poorly-trained hero fighting crime (including showing what turn out to be faked autopsy photos of Stephanie "Spoiler" Brown). Charlotte gave up the Batgirl identity, but then adopted the codename "Misfit" and Oracle was forced to start training the girl for her own and everyone else's safety.

* [[Always Second Best]]: [[Character Development|She began to shine once she assumed the Batgirl title]], but Stephanie has a long history of failing to measure up against her compatriots. In particular, she and Cassandra Cain (The Batgirl to precede her, and with whom StepahnieStephanie had one of the friendliest relationships amongst the superhero community) would frequently spar and train together, each occuranceoccurrence only demonstrating how far ahead of her Cassie actually was.

{{quote| '''Stephanie:''' When my dad was mad at me he'd lock me in the closet—what did yours do?<br />

'''Cassandra:''' Shot me.<br />

''(Both laugh hysterically) ''<br />

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Stephanie really is a product of her generation, with all the TV and movie knowledge that implies. She is ever-aware of the cliches that occur, and are expected to occur, in whackywacky situations. This leads to frequent [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshade Hangings]]s, such as quoting the [[Chekhov's Gun]] maxim verbatim, and even commenting on tropes that she herself has not yet experienced.

* [[Insistent Terminology]]: BarabaraBarbara originally refused to call Stephanie "Batgirl" for a variety of reasons, both personal and professional, and it was when she finally did that helped Stephanie accept that she had earned the name.

* [[Squee]]: Stephanie herself squee'ssquees relatively often, as she is a teenager who has managed to remain [[Plucky Girl|light-hearted and chipper]] despite the traumas in her own life. When the possiilitypossibility of a team-up with the [[Birds of Prey]] comes up she is ''ecstatic''.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: Referenced, but did not occur within her series. She is more self-assured, confident and competent than she ever was as either Spoiler or Robin, and is complimented on such by Bruce Wayne himself, but this dramatic change took place before the start of her tenure as Batgirl, and her improvements within the series are only incremental increases due to regular training and experience.

{{quote| '''Batgirl:''' "Little late but nice effort."}}

[[Category:The DCUNineties]]

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