Originally, Batman never had plans to recruit sidekicks in his fight against crime but over the years, he found young Dick Grayson who became the first Robin; The Boy Wonder. Then the niece of Kathy Kane AKA Batwoman, Betty Kane became a costumed aid to his crime-fighting as Bat-Girl but she later took the alias of Flamebird and moved on.
Another young woman who admired the ways of the Caped Crusader of Gotham City was the daughter of Police Commissioner James Gordon, Barbara Gordon. She became obsessed with the legendary crime-fighter after moving into the city. Her infatuation only increased when she discovered that her father actually works with him to serve justice.
Barbara had a photographic memory and this gifted young lady graduated high school at the age of sixteen. Continued to prepare herself, she enrolled into martial arts classes and even expressed interest to work with law enforcement but both her father and local FBI office had to turn her down because she did not meet the height requirements.
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| Batgirl | Comics |
Year One
To fight these prejudices, Babs decides to take a different path to fulfill her dreams of serving the law by becoming a vigilante like her idol. She showed up at a Masquerade Ball to stop costumed villain Killer Moth wearing a feminine version of Bat-costume, introducing herself as "Batgirl" to the audience in the presence of billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Unaware of his secret identity as Batman, she rescues him from the villain and later is visited by the Dynamic Duo. Though her idol was a harsh critic of her ways, Robin tries to befriend their young ally and try to teach her ropes of vigilantism. She then goes to Justice Society of America, hoping to meet Black Canary and become her apprentice instead.
Babs was told by JSA member Wildcat to give up but she doesn't and Doctor Fate predicts "triumph and tragedy" in her foreseeable future. Although The Dark Knight didn't approve her reckless ways, he sent her a new Batcycle and batarangs through his partner Dick Grayson before she was finally recruited into the Bat-Family.
Nightwing: Year One
After having inevitable fallout with his mentor, Dick Grayson had his final night as Robin and was fired by Batman for disobedience. He had a talk with Superman and Deadman before donning a different costume and a new identity of Nightwing before heading back to Gotham City to meet with Commissioner Gordon and eventually, Batgirl.
She wonders where does it leaves her and suggests Dick should things between them to strictly business, because of his alien girlfriend Starfire of the Teen Titans. These two then take a short round at Arkham Asylum before paying a visit to Penguin at his Iceberg Lounge. Barbara even tries to mend his relationship with Bruce as much as she could.
The Killing Joke
The Joker escapes Arkham and decides to show Commissioner Gordon how an average man can go insane by "One Bad Day". He shows up on his doorstep and when Barbara opened it, he shot her in the spine before taking a few photo graphs of her naked body. She is left paralyzed by the damage the bullet did to her body and her career as Batgirl was over.
No Man's Land
Following a series of unfortunate events and a massive earthquake, Gotham City becomes a war zone and government of United States declares separation from it. During this time, vigilante hero Huntress wore the cowl of Batgirl to inspire fear among the criminals that let loose on the city but she fails and hands over the costume to Batman.
During this time, Cassandra Cain came to Gotham after spending nine years as a homeless youth on street. She saved the life of Commissioner Gordon from her father David Cain, a lethal assassin who also trained The Dark Knight. With blessing from Oracle, she then wore the outfit to become the fourth and perhaps the best one to take over the mantle.
Batgirl (Comics) Wikipedia
Batgirl (Comics) DC Wikia
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| The Masquerade Bat |
Here is your links to buy "Batgirl" comics from DC Comics on Amazon.
Batgirl – Year One (Softcover)
Batgirl – Year One (Hardcover)
Huntress – Year One
Batman – Batgirl
Batman – The Cat and the Bat
Showcase Presents – Batgirl
Batman In The Seventies
Nightwing – Year One
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths
History of the DC Universe (Softcover)
History of the DC Universe (Hardcover)
DC Universe – The Stories of Alan Moore
Batgirl – The Greatest Stories Ever Told
Batman – The Killing Joke (Softcover)
Batman – The Killing Joke (Hardcover)
Zero Hour – Crises In Time
Justice League of America – The Nail
Batgirl – Silent Running
Ghost/Batgirl – The Resurrection Machine
Batgirl – A Knight Alone
Batgirl – Death Wish
Batgirl – Fists of Fury
Robin/Batgirl – Fresh Blood (Softcover)
Robin/Batgirl – Fresh Blood (Hardcover)
Batgirl – Kicking Assassins
Countdown to Infinite Crisis – The OMAC Project
Batgirl – Destruction’s Daughter
DC – World War III
Booster Gold – 52 Pick-Up
Batgirl – Redemption
Batgirl – Batgirl Rising
Following veteran writer Alan Moore (Rogue Trooper, Watchmen) working on the character, the role is changed again by writer Kelley Puckett and artist Damion Scott (All-New Ghost Rider – Legend, Spectacular Spider-Man – Here There Be Monsters) in 1999 with the inclusion of Cassandra Cain, who would receive her own monthly series.
Among all the character who ever assume the role of the titular heroine, Cassandra was the best who could hold her against the likes of her biological father David Cain and mother Lady Shiva. Although Stephanie Brown briefly tried to take on the role after trying her luck as the first female Robin and Spoiler beforehand but wasn't as good as Cain.
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| The Perfect Protégé |
As a result of the "Flashpoint" crossover event, The New 52 wave is launched where Barbara Gordon took the mantle once again in a brand-new monthly ongoing series of a different timeline of reality. Both Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown also serve respectively Orphan as and Spoiler for the extended Batman Family from time to time.
Batgirl has also been a popular pop-culture icon aside from being a very popular DC Comics character and appeared on several other media as well. Animated TV shows like Batman – The Animated Series (1992), The New Batman Adventures (1997) and The Batman (2004) had the heroine appeared on a nearly regular basis in a vital role.
Notable video game titles like The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu and Batman: Arkham Knight has included her in past as well. A live-action Batgirl film portraying Barbara Gordon version of the character and directed by Joss Whedon for DC Extended Universe was announced back in 2017 that have yet to see progress.
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