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Barbara Gordon as Oracle

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Real Name: Barbara Gordon
Nicknames: Babs; Barb; The Masked Maiden; the Dark Knight Damsel
Former Aliases: Batgirl
Other Current Aliases: O

Status

Occupation: Former student; former librarian; former ; former vigilante; currently a computer hacker and coordinator of the Birds of Prey
Legal Status: Barbara Gordon is a citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
Identity: Secret
Marital Status: Single
Group Affiliation: Batman Family; Birds of Prey; reserve member of the JLA
Base of Operations: Metropolis, formerly Gotham City; formerly Washington DC

Characteristics

Height: 5'8"
Weight: 121 lbs (54.884 kg)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
Unusual Features: Barbara Gordon is paralyzed from the waist down.

Origin

Barbara Gordon was born the daughter of Roger C. Gordon and his wife, Thelma, in the suburbs of Ohio. Even as a young girl, Barbara wanted nothing more than to be a super-hero. Her best friend Marcy and she would spend endless hours designing super-hero costumes and heroic identities for themselves. At this precocious age, the seeds of Barbara's future crime-fighting career began to foment.

When Barbara was still very young, her mother and father were tragically killed in an automobile accident (due largely to her father's drink problem). Barbara adjusted as well as she could. After the accident, her uncle, James Gordon, adopted the orphaned Barbara. James Gordon and his wife (also named Barbara) lived hundreds of miles east in Gotham City, where James worked as the commissioner of police. Barbara immediately became infatuated with the gothic city's most legendary phantom of the night – the Batman.

By age thirteen, Barbara had become completely obsessed with the Batman and learned everything that she could about him. One evening, she snuck into her father's private home office to discover him engaged in a secret conversation with the Batman. Barbara had no idea that her adoptive father was actually worked with this mysterious dark knight. Her obsession with Batman only intensified.

The following morning, Barbara insisted that James enroll her in martial arts classes. While reluctant at first, he recognized that the daughter of Gotham City's police commissioner could definately benefit from some knowledge of self-defense. Barbara excelled in her training and earned her black belt within a short span of time.

As dedicated as she was towards her physical development, Barbara equally committed herself towards her academic achievements. Gifted with a photographic memory, she easily rose through the ranks of Gotham Heights High School, and graduated early at the age of sixteen.

That same year, Barbara earned herself a scholarship to Gotham State University. She became one of the University's youngest students, graduating with honors before she was even a legal adult.

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Barbara Gordon as Batgirl

still in college, Barbara (Age: 18-19) continued with her self-defense training, this time learning the art of Jujitsu under a sensei named Dragoncat. To supplement her income, she accepted a position as a research assistant at the Gotham Public Library. Her true dream however, was to one day work in the field of law enforcement. She asked her father about joining the police academy, but James laughed at her, claiming that she didn't even meet the height requirements. She also attempted to enroll at the local FBI office as a field agent, but they dismissed her, citing many of the same reasons.

A few nights later, Barbara found an opportunity that would ultimately change her life forever. The Gotham City Police Department decided to host the Million Dollar Masquerade Ball at the Bristol Country Club. Dozens of Gotham City's most affluent leading citizens, including the likes of Bruce Wayne and J. Devlin Davenport, were expected to attend. Barbara sewed a stylish, feminine version of Batman's costume based upon designs that she first conceived as a child. For the most part, she intended on crashing the party as this "Batgirl" merely to spite her father.

When she arrived however, she found that somebody else had decided to crash the party before her. A costumed criminal named Killer Moth and his cronies raided the country club, grabbing Bruce Wayne as a hostage. It was their intent to rob the charity proceeds as well as extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from Gotham's wealthiest patrons.

Barbara now found herself acting as Batgirl in deed as well as in name. She tackled Killer Moth in the hopes of rescuing Bruce Wayne from his clutches. What she didn't realize though, was that Bruce Wayne was actually Batman. He allowed Batgirl to rescue him so that he could sneak off to change into his work clothes. Returning to the scene with his sidekick, Robin, Batman discovered that Killer Moth had gotten the better of Batgirl. In order to free her from the morass of Killer Moth's silk-spinner gun, they were forced to let the criminals get away. Batman chided Batgirl harshly for her foolish antics, and warned her against pursuing such a reckless lifestyle. Hearing such criticism from a man she idolized for so long was a shock for Barbara, but it did not deter her from her chosen path.

Place of Birth: Ohio
Known Relatives: Roger C. Gordon (father, deceased); Thelma (mother, deceased); James Gordon (uncle/adoptive father); Barbara Eileen Gordon (aunt/adoptive mother); James Gordon Jr. (cousin)
First Appearance: Detective Comics #359

History

Coming soon

Alternate Media

Batman

Yvonne Craig as Batgirl

The Silver Age Batgirl was actually based upon a character first featured in the 1966 live-action Batman television series. Actress Yvonne Craig played the role of Barbara Gordon – daughter of Gotham City police commissioner, James Gordon. ABC submitted an eight-minute movie-short to studio executives featuring an encounter between Batgirl and Killer Moth. The promotional footage proved satisfying enough, that they included the character in the third season premiere episode, "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin". Although this proved to be the final season of series production, Batgirl managed to make five more appearances before cancellation. Craig's portrayal of Batgirl led DC Comics executive editor Julius Schwartz to re-envision the character for their comic line, and Barbara Gordon debuted that same year in Detective Comics #359 (cover dated January, 1967). In her first live-action adventure, Batgirl found herself the victim of the villainous Penguin who kidnapped Barbara with the intent of marrying her. It was the Penguin's hope that as the son-in-law to Gotham City's police commissioner, he would be exonerated from his past crimes. Batman and Robin attempted to rescue her, but Barbara managed to extricate herself, swinging into action as Batgirl. She even managed to save the Dynamic Duo from being dipped into a vat of boiling water.

Birds of Prey

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Barbara Gordon from Birds of Prey

Barbara Gordon was a feature character in the short lived Birds of Prey television series which aired on the WB network from October of 2002 until February of 2003. Played by actress Dina Meyer, Barbara Gordon functioned as the handicapped coordinator of a group of young female vigilantes operating in a Gotham City of the near-future. Her origin in the series closely mimicked that shown in the comic books, including an encounter with the Joker, which led to her confinement in a wheelchair. The series was peppered with flashbacks showing Meyer wearing a version of the traditional Batgirl costume, and in the series finale, she briefly regained the ability to walk and adventured as Batgirl one final time.

The Batman

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Batgirl as seen in The Batman

In September of 2005, Batgirl made her first appearance on the Kids WB animated series, The Batman. Coincidentally, she appeared in the premiere episode of season three, the same as her live-action predecessor Yvonne Craig did on the first Batman TV series. Voiced by Danielle Judovits, she was introduced in a two-part episode entitled "Batgirl Begins". The story title was derived as a wink towards the 2005 Christopher Nolan film, Batman Begins. This episode became significant as the first instance where the character of Batgirl was introduced in a film series or television program prior to that of Robin. Robin's character was not introduced until the season four premiere episode "A Matter of Family". In this series, Barbara assumed the identity of Batgirl in order to rescue her father from the clutches of her former friend, Poison Ivy. During this adventure, she crossed paths with the Batman, and managed to rescue her father without revealing her secret identity. Batgirl insinuated her way into the Dark Knight's lifestyle, despite Batman's persistent discouragement over her chosen profession. She even succeeded in determining that Batman was actually Bruce Wayne, but Wayne managed to manipulate circumstances to ensure the safety of his secret identity. For a brief period, Barbara dismissed her belief that Bruce and the Batman were one and the same. She continued to aid the Dark Knight against the likes of the Joker and Clayface, and even piloted the heavy duty Batbot armor. For all of his efforts however, Bruce could not convince Barbara to give up this risky lifestyle, and she constantly complained that Batman was keeping her "out of the loop". Before long, Barbara discovered that Batman had taken on an official partner – the young aerialist known as Robin. Barbara was infuriated, but Batman soon took her into his confidence and revealed his true identity to her. Bringing her down into the Batcave, he supplied her with a utility belt and Batgirl became one of Batman's official partners. She currently serves as a perfunctory sidekick, working alongside (sometimes reluctantly) her teammate, Robin.

Powers

Known Powers: While she was infected with the Braniac virus she had cyberpathic powers and can psychically interact with computer systems.

Known Abilities: Barbara Gordon possesses a photographic memory, and a genius-level intellect. She is an expert computer hacker, a skilled detective and a trained martial artist. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Barbara is still an above-average hand-to-hand combatant. Kung Fu master Richard Dragon helped Barbara to hone her martial prowess during a time when he too was confined to a wheelchair.

Strength Level: Barbara Gordon possesses the strength level of a woman her age, size and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise. Although confined to a wheelchair, Barbara maintains prodigious upper body strength.

Miscellaneous

Equipment: As Batgirl, her equipment where Batarangs, Smoke bombs, a grappling hook, and some other gadgets.

Transportation: As Batgirl, Barbara Gordon used to ride a specially modified motorcycle, with a built-in crime-detection lab.

Cowl Lenses: As Batgirl, Barbara could press a button on her cowl which put various lenses over her eyes. She had a clear lens, a telescopic-vision lens, a microsopic-vision lens, a thermal lens, and a multi-light tracer lens. The multi-light tracer device had eventually replaced her Batcycle's function.

Notes

• The character of Barbara Gordon was created by Gardner Fox and Julius Schwartz.

• While communicating over secure lines, Oracle often refers to herself as "O".

Trivia

• Barbara Gordon has a photographic memory.

• In Pre-Crisis continuity, Barbara Gordon was a brown belt in Judo. In her Post-Crisis origin, she has a black belt in Karate.

• In Pre-Crisis continuity, Barbara Gordon held a doctorate in history.

• Batgirl was once featured in a one-page advertisement for Hostess Twinkies Cakes. In the story, she must stop jewel thief extraordinare, Jet-Set Jesse, from robbing a supply of jewels. Batgirl distracts her by throwing her a handful of Hostess snacks before taking her to prison.

• In Batgirl #45 Souls: Barbara says that she was 18 years old when she was Batgirl.
• In Pre-Zero Hour continuity, Barbara's eyes were blue. Now she is typically depicted with green eyes.

• The origin what you see is that of Batgirl year one her now origin.

• Barbara Gordon is scheduled to receive the "All-Star" treatment in 2007 when DC Comics launches All-Star Batgirl. The series will be written by Geoff Johns with illustrations by J.G. Jones. According to Johns, "It's a mystery in the vein of Batman: Long Halloween that revolves around the 'new' Batgirl, Barbara Gordon."

Recommended Readings

• Batgirl: Year One
• Birds of Prey
• Secret Origins (Volume 2) #20

Related Articles

• Batgirl image gallery
• Barbara Gordon appearances list
• Batman
• Batman Family
• Birds of Prey
• Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance)
• Joker
• Nightwing

External Links

• Batgirl article at Wikipedia

References

• Detective Comics #359
• Batgirl: Year One
• Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #2 (Batgirl biography page)