For those of you who know me (or who read my blog), you will know that DC’s decision to reboot Batgirl with Barbara Gordon taking up the cowl once more was a double-edged sword for me. You can go ahead and put away your torches and pitchforks because this is neither a rant nor an article filled with snide remarks over DC’s decision. It’s not that I don’t like Barbara Gordon as Batgirl (far from it, actually), after all…she was the one to originate the role for all those who came after her.
So, why is this reboot a double-edged sword for me? You might think my reasoning is silly, but I’m going to say it anyway.
My reason for my mixed feelings about this reboot is as much as I love Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, I absolutely adored her as Oracle (her role after Joker’s brutal attack on her in The Killing Joke). 
In that particular role, she proved that being in a wheelchair doesn’t mean that you can’t still be a badass. As Oracle, she may not have been swinging and jumping from rooftop to rooftop like she did when she wore the cowl, but she was far from helpless. Rather, she was more of an omnipresent force of nature.
As Oracle, she was connected to everything by way of cyberspace (and seriously…what better way is there to bamboozle someone than to upload a nasty computer virus or to turn their own technology against them?). Nothing could hide from her. She had eyes and ears everywhere which allowed her to quite literally “strike hard and fade away” (yes, even in a non-TMNT related article, my fangirl colors still show), and as such she could very easily be more dangerous than Black Canary or even Huntress. She was my favorite character in the Birds of Prey series (even in the short-lived television series, Dina Meyer was Barbara Gordon personified, and she brought her to life in the most awesome of ways), and I was very sad to see her go.
I have one more reason for having the reboot be a double-edged sword for me, and that is that I had grown rather attached to Stephanie Brown (she was the Batgirl before the New 52 reboot, for those of you who didn’t read her arc). She was funny, brave, quick-witted, had awesome ‘toys’ (seriously…check out her Batarangs as well as her Batmobile, a purple Mini Coop by day and awesome tech station on wheels by night, towards the end of her arc), as well as the perfect amount of snark, and I absolutely LOVED her Batgirl costume. Of course, since my favorite color is purple, I will admit that maybe I’m a little biased in that regard…
However, all of my misgivings aside in my going into the reboot, I have to say that I am absolutely loving what the writers are doing with it.
For those of you who haven’t picked up the New 52 reboot, I won’t give too much away, but I will say that the way the writers handled the occurrence in The Killing Joke is very well done. Instead of the writers ignoring it completely and starting the reboot completely from scratch, they kept it as part of the cannon lore (and it’s often referred to throughout the course of the reboot), and instead created a solution to the incident’s outcome. However, because the solution itself was experimental, the chance of once again returning to a wheelchair is constantly looming over Barbara’s head.
This only serves to add to the drama that ensues, and believe me there is a great deal of drama. It not only centers around Barbara’s demons from the residual trauma of The Killing Joke, but it also centers around matters of a more familial nature (again…not going to go into too much detail for those of you who haven’t read the new comic books).
But drama isn’t the only thing to be found within the pages of these rebooted comic books. There’s plenty of action to be had as well as humor.
While I went into the reading of the Batgirl reboot with trepidation, I nevertheless instantly found myself completely pulled in and chomping at the bit for new issues with the same voraciousness that I usually reserve for my TMNT comic books. The bottom line is that I’m so very glad that I went ahead and ignored my original misgivings and gave the Batgirl reboot a shot. While Stephanie Brown will always have a special place in my heart (along with Oracle and Power Girl), there can be no denying that it’s good to have Barbara Gordon taking up the mantle once more.
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About Aida Jacobs
Aida Jacobs – Girly Geek, recently dubbed ‘a rage-filled hobbit’ by her loving husband, spends her time drooling over Doctor Who and playing any RPG she can get her hands on. She is a die hard Phantom of the Opera fanatic, and when she’s not reading comics or playing games, she is hard at work trying to get her novel published.
I go into this new reboot with much trepidation and I am almost offended that they chose to nullify the role of Oracle. My young differently abled sister is just beginning to discover these characters. She instantly found a kind of affinity with Barbara Gordon because they share some of the same handicaps. Most children should be so lucky to find a superhero role model that can “super” with a disabled body. Thank you for you post, Aida. It is appreciated.
You’re very welcome, Aaron. As much as I am enjoying the Batgirl reboot, I still miss Oracle with a near desperation for all of the reasons I mentioned in my post (the ones centered around Oracle herself and not the ones centered around Stephanie Brown). I’m sorry that your sister developed an attachment and affinity for such an amazing character only to have her snatched away…I can’t even begin to understand how she must feel.
Best wishes to the both of you!
You’re very welcome, Aaron. As much as I am enjoying the Batgirl reboot, I still miss Oracle with a near desperation for all of the reasons I mentioned in my post (the ones centered around Oracle herself and not the ones centered around Stephanie Brown). I’m sorry that your sister developed an attachment and affinity for such an amazing character only to have her snatched away…I can’t even begin to understand how she must feel.
Best wishes to the both of you!
Maybe if it is still Barb Gordon under the bat-cowl she can wean her way into the new, more physically abled role of Batgirl. If you were to suggest a starting off point for a new Batgirl/Oracle reader, what would suggest? Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, like most of Moore’s work, is still far too mature for someone of her age (8ish).
I VERY much agree that ‘The Killing Joke’ is far too mature for young eyes.
Now, regarding your question…
Has your sister read any of the pre-rebooted ‘Birds of Prey’? That’s always a good place to start for more Oracle face-time. If you start there, I recommend starting with issue #1 of the ‘Birds of Prey’ Brightest Day reboot/arc since they’re more recent and easier to find in rapid succession as opposed to the pre-Darkest Day issues. You can always work your way backwards and gradually acquire older issues if your sister shows any interest (you should be able to find them in your local shops back issues), but they’re not necessary in order to be able to follow and appreciate the arc of the Brightest Day reboot
Another good place to start for some Oracle face-time would be with the pre-reboot Batgirl. I would recommend Stephanie Brown’s Batgirl (and not just because she’s my favorite non-Barbara Gordon Batgirl), because towards the middle and end of her issues, the reader gets introduced to another wheelchair-bound character by the name of Wendy Harris (codename of ‘Proxy’), who later becomes Stephanie’s new ‘Oracle’ so that Barbara can concentrate completely on the Birds of Prey team and wholly be their Oracle so she’s no longer dividing her attention. While Proxy is not nearly the badass that Oracle is (unlike Oracle, she doesn’t break out any canes or tonfas to fight with when she’s physically attacked), she is still trained by Oracle so that she can effectively help and support Batgirl in the way that she has become accustomed. The first Stephanie Brown issue is….*looks through collection* Batgirl #1 from October 2009. You should be able to find it in the back issues of your local comic book shop without too much difficulty, and if that fails, you can always ask them to order it in for you
But if you’re thinking more along the lines of getting your sister into Batgirl proper with Barbara behind the cowl, then a good place to start would be the 1st issue of the New 52 reboot for the simple fact that they’re more recent and easier to find in succession, and even if you haven’t read the older Barbara Gordon Batgirls, you can still read the reboots without feeling lost.
I hope that helps somewhat
Thank you. This will help me greatly.
You’re very welcome