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5[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fd62a87c_469f_49f3_9a74_274141cbacbf.png]]
6[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am who I choose to be."''\
7[[labelnote:Characters]]Top: Barbara Gordon. Left to Right: Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. Not pictured: Bette Kane.[[/labelnote]]]]
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9%%
10Batgirl is one of a number of characters acting as a DistaffCounterpart to ComicBook/{{Batman}} and/or ComicBook/{{Robin}}. The character has served as an ensemble and background character in numerous Bat-titles and has also independently starred in several self-titled series.
11
12The first Bat-Girl was Betty Kane,[[note]]later renamed to Bett''e'' Kane post-Crisis.[[/note]] introduced in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961) written by Creator/BillFinger in the story titled "Bat-Girl!" as the niece and sidekick of Kathy Kane, the Batwoman. The second and most famous Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, was introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #359 (January, 1967), in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" The third Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, was introduced in ''Batman'' #567 (July, 1999). The fourth, Stephanie Brown, was introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #647, although she didn't become Batgirl until ''Batgirl'' Vol 3 #1 (October, 2009).
13
14While these are the "official" Batgirls, others have also taken up the mantle unofficially: Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress, posed as Batgirl during ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' for a bit and Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe of ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' went by Batgirl before changing her name to Misfit.
15
16For those of you trying to keep track, that's four Batgirls that "count" (Bette, Babs, Cass and Steph) and two that don't (Huntress and Misfit). Some even put Bette with the ones that don't "count" due to her unique hyphen (although this is misconstrued since by her own words, she is a Batgirl as shown in ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' as well as DC treating her as the first Batgirl by virtue of calling Cass the fourth mantle holder [[labelnote:Note]]An example of this is in the order "Claws and Order" from ''[[ComicBook/Titans2023 Titans]]: [[ComicBook/BeastWorld Beast World Tour]]: Gotham''[[/labelnote]] compared to being the second or third.)[[note]]That said, whether or not Bette's time as Batgirl is canon is admittedly [[DependingOnTheWriter inconsistent and dependent on the continuity,]] as many works and writers opt to ignore Bette and treat Barbara as the first Batgirl instead.[[/note]]
17
18!!Series, one-shots and storylines featuring Batgirl:
19[[index]]
20* ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' issues #359-519 (1967-1982): Batgirl's own back-up feature starring Barbara Gordon.
21* ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlBatgirlPlot'': ''World's Finest (1941)'' #169 (September 1967). First Batgirl/Supergirl team-up, and Barbara's third appearance as Batgirl. Batgirl and Supergirl and meet each other for the first time, and suddenly they decide to team up to take Superman and Batman down. What -or who- has caused their change of behavior?
22* ''ComicBook/BatmanFamily'': Book featuring Batman's supporting cast. Barbara Gordon had her own feature.
23* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' issues #50-53 (1977): Bette Kane's first major supporting story in the "Titans East" trilogy.
24* ''ComicBook/TheAttackOfTheAnnihilator'': ''Detective Comics'' #508-510. Story arc guest-starring the Super Family. Barbara Gordon must stop another dangerous lunatic from razing Gotham to the ground. Good thing that a certain friend of hers happens to be visiting Gotham.
25* ''ComicBook/BatmanThrillkiller'': 1997 mini-series. Alternate universe where Batgirl and Robin fight crime in TheSixties.
26* ''ComicBook/BatgirlAdventures'': 1997 one-shot featuring the ''DC Animated Universe'' version of Barbara Gordon.
27* ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'': 1998 one-shot set in an alternate universe, starring Barbara Gordon and [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara Zor-El]].
28* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2000'': Featuring Cassandra Cain, [[LegacyCharacter the second "official" Batgirl]].
29* ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' issue #21 ("Young, Just Us Too") which features Cassandra as well as Bette Kane (as Flamebird) as members on the temporary New Young Justice. This issue is important as it re-introduces Bette Kane's history as Batgirl back into canon.
30* ''ComicBook/BatgirlYearOne'': 2003 mini-series. Barbara Gordon's origin retooled.
31* ''Batgirl (2008)'': Mini-series starring Cassandra.
32* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2009'': Featuring Stephanie Brown, formerly known as the Spoiler.
33* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'': Featuring Barbara Gordon, the second woman to bear the title. Despite her lengthy publication history, this is the first ongoing self-titled book to feature her as the title character.
34* ''ComicBook/BatgirlRebirth'', a direct sequel to the 2011 series, featuring Barbara Gordon.
35* ''ComicBook/BatgirlAndTheBirdsOfPrey'', a team book starring Barbara, Dinah Lance, and Helena Bertinelli.
36* ''ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone'': Crossover story arc. A plea for help and a mutual friend in danger lead Batgirl and Supergirl to become trapped in the Phantom Zone, where they fall into the clutches of a deadly, heartless psychopath.
37* ''ComicBook/ShadowOfTheBatgirl'': A Coming-of-Age adaption of Cassandra Cain's origin.
38* ''ComicBook/TheOracleCode'': An alternate universe where Babs gets shot and becomes Oracle before ever donning the Batgirl costume or graduating high-school.
39* ''ComicBook/Batgirls2021'': 2021 ongoing starring Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, mentored by Barbara Gordon.
40* ''ComicBook/SpiritWorld'': Features Cassandra Cain as a major supporting character.
41* ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey2023'': Features Cassandra Cain as Batgirl on the team her senior created.
42[[/index]]
43
44As a subsection of ''ComicBook/DCComicsBombshells'', a gaggle of eight teenage girls fight crime in Gotham as "The Batgirls" lead by Harper Row and Bette Kane. 'Bat' in this case is pretty literal, they bludgeon bad guys with baseball bats.
45
46----
47!!The various women to use the identity and name of Batgirl are (In Chronological Order):
48
49!!!Main Batgirls
50
51[[folder:Bette Kane / Bat-Girl / Batgirl I / Flamebird]]
52
53[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1217996_bettekanebatgirl.png]]
54[[caption-width-right:200:The OG Girlboss]]
55
56The first Batgirl (spelt as "Bat-Girl" during the Silver Age) was Bette (then spelled as "Betty") Kane, debuting in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961). She was the niece of [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kathy "Batwoman" Kane]], a DistaffCounterpart to Batman who had been introduced in 1956 as a {{Love Interest|s}} for the Dark Knight, in order to ward off perceptions of HoYay. 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 [[GirlsHaveCooties did not appreciate]] his counterpart, regarding her with a mixture of disinterest and distaste.
57
58Batwoman and Bat-Girl were [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome 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 MediaNotes/TheInterregnum. However, Bat-Girl would later get her first spotlight role since her inception as a initiate in the Titans West in the concluding storyline of the 70s run of ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''. She would have sporadic appearances in the Teen Titans comics afterwards such as being present at Donna Troy's wedding but she didn't return as Bat-Girl afterwards.
59
60
61And then [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]] happened.
62
63
64Whilst her first Post-Crisis appearance was as a cameo as Bat-Girl in ComicBook/TheKillingJoke, her history as Bat-Girl would get retconned out.
65
66While Dick Grayson had become ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, Bette Kane showed up in the ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans New Titans]]'' series as [[ContinuityNod Flamebird]], a champion tennis player who had been in the wrong place and the wrong time when Captain Calamity attacked a boat, joining some other teenage heroes as the short-lived Titans West unlike what happened before Crisis where she'd been present as Bat-Girl.
67
68She has popped up every so often for brief appearances with the Titans, but avoiding a deep look at her continuity. Whilst Bette hasn't returned to being Bat-Girl, her history on the mantle would get restored in ComicBook/YoungJustice #21.
69
70As a part of Grant Morrison's [[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Batman run]], 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 still existed.
71
72Bette Kane appeared alongside her cousin, Kate Kane, in ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'' although [[AudienceAlienatingEra she wasn't treated well]].
73
74For the record, her name doesn't seem to have a set pronunciation: the writers on ''Batwoman'' pronounce it "Betty", but her cameo in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' pronounced it "Bet".
75
76Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page]].
77[[/folder]]
78
79[[folder:Barbara Joan Gordon / Batgirl II / Oracle]]
80[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batgirl1.jpg]]
81By 1966 the ''Series/Batman1966'' live-action television show was on the air, and the producer asked Creator/DCComics 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.
82
83In story, Barbara Gordon had created a "Batgirl" costume for herself to go to a masquerade ball, showing her personality by [[{{Cosplay}} spending the time and effort to make it fully workable as a crimefighting outfit as well as a costume party winner]]. On the way to the party, Barbara saw a crime in progress by Killer Moth, and wound up helping Batman and Robin solve the case after an initial misunderstanding or two. Thrilled by the adventure, Batgirl opted to take up heroing full time.
84
85Unlike her predecessors, who were seen as a distraction or annoyance by the Dynamic Duo, and were never allowed to tackle cases by themselves, Batgirl was treated as an almost-equal by Batman, and mostly worked on solo adventures in a ''Detective Comics'' backup feature. This both reflected the effects of the Women's Liberation movement of the time and was appreciated by them. Eventually, Barbara Gordon was elected to Congress and became a part-time costumed heroine operating in Washington, D.C. She continued to guest star in other series and had a recurring feature in the short-lived ''Batman Family'' series.
86
87But by the late 1980s, interest in the character had waned, and Barbara Gordon was shot and crippled by the Joker in ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' [[StuffedInTheFridge in hope of pushing her father over the edge]]. There was a final ''Batgirl Special'' explaining that she'd officially retired from superheroing sometime before that event. However, this traumatic event energized Barbara's fanbase, including some of DC's creators.
88
89A mysterious hacker and information broker named "ComicBook/{{Oracle}}" began appearing in ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'', eventually revealed to be the now wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon, who refused to let her crippling injuries keep her down. Oracle quickly became a formidable force in Franchise/TheDCU, although her most memorable accomplishment was creating the ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' hero agency.
90
91Following the ''ComicBook/New52'' continuity reboot, [[ComicBook/Batgirl2011 Barbara is the current and only Batgirl]], with a BroadStrokes history of her career that began when she was a teenager and also had her crippled by the Joker but manage to regain control of her legs after years of muscle therapy and self-help books. She also was romantically involved with Richard "Dick" Grayson (Robin I/Nightwing) sometime before she was crippled. In her ''New 52'' run she became the protector of the city of Burnside and an occasional ally of the Bat-family. In honor of comic writer Creator/GailSimone, Barbara is given the middle name 'Gail' in some adaptations of the character (in the comics is Joan), most notably in ''Series/Titans2018''.
92
93Worth noting is that the original 1960s Barbara was depicted as a confident, grown-up woman with a job and a Ph.D, but every depiction of her Batgirl created since "The Killing Joke" has placed more emphasis on the "''girl''" aspect of her character, with a focus on proving herself and "growing into" a mature hero like Batman. Most adaptions show her as much younger: ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' has her as roughly college-aged; ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' introduces her as a high school student that later cuts down on her superheroing to go to college, "''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' gives her a few cameos as a thirteen-year-old before becoming Batgirl sometime before age 18, and [[WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls both]] [[WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls incarnations]] of ''DC Super Hero Girls'' have her as a high school student in line with the aging-down of the principal cast. The comics themselves have finally followed suit and canonized that Barbara's first run as Batgirl was as a teenager, not an adult.
94
95From 1989 to 2011 Oracle was one of the most visible disabled heroes in comics, and the most visible one not to have a superpower or superpowered cybornetic implants that [[DisabilityNegatingSuperpower compensated for their disability]].
96
97Tropes in characters page.
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Helena Bertinelli / Huntress]]
101[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/huntress_as_batgirl_super2.gif]]
102Helena Bertinelli, better known as the ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, briefly took up the Batgirl mantle during the ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' event. 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 ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey.
103
104See ComicBook/{{Huntress}} page.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Cassandra Cain / Batgirl III / Orphan / Black Bat]]
108[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batgirlcover.jpg]]
109A character introduced in ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' in 1999, Cassandra Cain became Batgirl with the assistance of Oracle and Batman, adopting the exact same Batsuit worn by Helena Bertinelli. Cassandra first appeared in ''Batman'' #567 (July, 1999).
110
111In her backstory, Cassandra was raised by her father, notorious assassin David Cain, to have body language as her "native tongue," allowing her to read people's movements and emotions from the tiniest of clues. With the addition of constant martial arts training, Cain hoped to turn Cassandra into a superhuman assassin. The training had the side effect of making Cassandra unable to understand spoken or written language. However, when Cain had Cassandra kill a human being for the first time she read the victim's dying agonies and understood on a primal level what death was, and silently vowed never to kill again, escaping from her father.
112
113Cassandra Cain was [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 the first Batgirl to get her own continuing solo title]], which ran for 74 issues (April, 2000 - April, 2006), the first major arc of which had her confront a psychic who "rewires" her brain to understand spoken language so that he can communicate with her more effectively. Unfortunately for Cassandra, this also shut off her ability to read body language, her one real advantage over most of her opponents. The second arc of the series had her relearn this skill with the help of [[DragonLady Lady Shiva]], who later was revealed to be Cassandra's mother, unknown to her at the time. Even once Cassandra was able to understand verbal language, she had difficulty learning to speak and more difficulty with reading.
114
115While the ''Batgirl'' title was a decent seller, it was not quite up to Bat-family levels and it was decided to end the series. A lot of rumors on the Internet say this decision was meant to clear the way for the new [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane Batwoman]], who DC planned to make a major push on in conjunction with the ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' series, but this has yet to receive any sort of official confirmation. The character was not in limbo long, as ExecutiveMeddling made Cassandra the [[FaceHeelTurn new villain]] of the ''Robin'' series, with nearly a one hundred eighty degree turn in her characterization, skillset and competency.
116
117Eventually, it was revealed that Cassandra's new personality was the result of being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy drugged by Deathstroke]], which was either an AuthorsSavingThrow or VoodooShark, depending on how willing a given reader was to swallow it. A new ''Batgirl'' miniseries was put out to try to justify the changes and cement her HeelFaceTurn, but it was written by the same author as the much-despised ''Robin'' plotline, and did not sell well.
118
119Despite 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 LyingCreator 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 would wear the symbol. Creator/GailSimone had said that she would appear in ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'', but unfortunately [[http://www.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 rejoice once again.[[http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/3965397198/gates-of-gotham-to-feature-return-of-cass-cain-to]]. Fans were cautiously optimistic that this means she would play an active role in the upcoming ''Batman: Incorporated'' by Creator/GrantMorrison. 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. Furthermore, like Barbara Gordon, her mother, Lady Shiva, has been deaged to be about the same age as Dick Grayson. A future version of Cassandra later appeared in Gail Simone's ''Batgirl'' tie-in to ''Future's End'', while the Pre-Flashpoint version of Cass appear (alongside Stephanie) in ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''.
120
121She was reintroduced in the ''DC Rebirth'' relaunch as a rookie member of the Bat-Family alongside Stephanie Brown as ''Spoiler''.
122
123A quick side note: Cassandra briefly took on another identity, Kasumi, in the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueElite'' title.
124
125Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page]].
126[[/folder]]
127
128[[folder:Stephanie Brown / Spoiler / Batgirl IV]]
129[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steph_batgirl_large2.jpg]]
130In October, 2009, a [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 new Batgirl series]] started with a new Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler and Robin IV. As shown in the first issue, Cassandra Cain has retired as Batgirl and Stephanie decides to use the costume instead. Barbara Gordon finds out about this and at first tries to stop her, but after seeing a demonstration of her bravery vows to guide and help her. The series is LighterAndSofter than many of the other Bat-related titles currently being published by DC, but is an embodiment of the [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]] ideal: Its [[PluckyGirl upright and cheerful protagonist]] still faces the same horrors and challenges facing any hero, but perseveres without ever losing her positive outlook.
131
132Early reports stated that Stephanie would be Spoiler post-reboot. This originated from an attempt to fit Grant Morrison's "Batman: Leviathan Strikes!" into the New 52 continuity, but this got to be too complicated. They finally said "screw it," set the story in pre-Flashpoint continuity, and kept Stephanie as Batgirl for the duration.
133
134Stephanie as Spoiler reappears in ''ComicBook/BatmanEternal'', a year-long 2014-2015 weekly event, with her first appearance in ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'' continuity being in "Batman #28".
135
136She took the alias of ''Spoiler'' in the ''DC Rebirth'' relaunch as a rookie member of the Bat-Family alongside Cassandra Cain as ''Orphan''. Cassandra appeared in two short stories as Batgirl (one set firmly in the timeline of the 2000 series judging by having Oracle mentoring her) in the May 2021-released Asian Superhero Celebration anthology one-shot.
137
138Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page]].
139[[/folder]]
140
141!!!Other Batgirls
142
143[[folder:Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe / Misfit]]
144[[quoteright:125:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misfitbatgirl.png]]
145About the same time as Cassandra Cain's FaceHeelTurn, 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.
146----
147Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page]].
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Nissa / Batgirl Beyond]]
151[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batgirl_beyond_4678.jpg]]
152There is also a Batgirl who has appeared in the ''ComicBook/BatmanBeyond'' comic, which is not part of the main DC continuity, but instead in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse. All that is known of her name is that she is called "Nissa" in her public identity. She is a student at Leslie Thompkins High School, who takes on the title of the Bat to combat crime in Crown Point, the "South Bronx of Gotham".
153----
154-> See Characters/BatmanBeyond
155[[/folder]]
156
157!!The various series starring Batgirl
158
159[[folder:Tropes in Vol. 1]]
160See ComicBook/Batgirl2000
161[[/folder]]
162
163[[folder:Tropes in Vol. 2]]
164[[/folder]]
165
166[[folder:Tropes in Vol. 3]]
167See ComicBook/Batgirl2009
168[[/folder]]
169
170[[folder:Tropes in Vol. 4]]
171See ComicBook/Batgirl2011
172[[/folder]]
173
174[[folder:Tropes in Vol. 5]]
175See ComicBook/BatgirlRebirth
176[[/folder]]
177

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