History Comicbook / Batgirl

* ''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.

[[folder:Barbara Gordon / Batgirl / Oracle]]

Following 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.

Tropes in characters page and the ComicBook/{{Oracle}} page.

----
'''FOOTNOTE:''' For 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. Still others (like... say, the [=DC=] top brass) say that Barbara Gordon is the "real" Batgirl -- end of story.

!!Tropes:
* ActionGirl / FauxActionGirl: Betty's level of competency varied wildly by the needs of the story--but usually she needed rescuing from whatever jam she and Batwoman had gotten themselves into this time.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing
* DistaffCounterpart: More to Robin than to Batman in her case.
* MagicSkirt

For tropes on the series itself see [[{{Comicbook/Batgirl2009}} here]]

[[folder:Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe / Misfit]]
[[quoteright:125:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misfitbatgirl.png]]
About 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.

!!Tropes:
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing
* CatchPhrase - "Darrrrrrrrrrk Vengeance!" (despite being a bright, bubbly girl)
* CivvieSpandex - In both her identities, her costumes look like something hastily put together over her street clothes (complete with a convenient enough Bat-emblem tee in the Batgirl case) for a Halloween outing.
* IdentityImpersonator
* IdiotHero
* KidHero
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Batgirls]]

There 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/{{DCAU}}. All that is known of her name is that she is called "Nissa" in her public identity.

!!Tropes:
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: A POC to take up the Batgirl mantle from the red-haired fair-skinned Barbara.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Like the rest of the characters on this page she's a bat themed hero.
* BadassCape: The way Nissa's cape attaches via an armored Bat symbol which doubles as pauldrons is inescapably cool.
* DistaffCounterpart: Nissa's teenage Batgirl is the female counterpart to Terry's teenage Batman.
* IdentityImpersonator: Barbara accuses her of such but Nissa doesn't feel like shes infringing on anyone's identity since no one has used Batgirl for a long time.
* KidHero: Nissa is still in high school when she begins her independent quest to become a Gotham hero.
* LegacyCharacter: It's been a ''long'' time since there was a Batgirl on Nissa's earth by the time she decided to use the moniker, as Barbara Gordon had been her only predecessor and Babs is now the white haired Gotham Police Commissioner.
* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Nissa is a high school student who dons her Batgirl costume and fights criminals after school.
[[/folder]]

----

----

----

----

----

----

[[/folder]

[[caption-width-right:350:Three of the five Batgirls.]]

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 [[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.

[[AC:Tropes:]]

2) By 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.

3) Helena 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.

4) A character introduced in ''No Man's Land'' 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).

Tropes in characters page.

5) About 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.

[[AC:Tropes:]]

6) As of 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.

Tropes in characters page.

7?) There 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/{{DCAU}}. All that is known of her name is that she is called "Nissa" in her public identity.

[[AC:Tropes:]]

Batgirl is one of a number of characters acting as a DistaffCounterpart to Franchise/{{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 four self-titled series:

* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2000'', the first series, featuring Cassandra Cain, [[LegacyCharacter the second "official" Batgirl]].
* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2009'', the second ongoing series, featuring Stephanie Brown, formerly known as the Spoiler.
* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'', the third series featuring Barbara Gordon, the original woman to bear the title. Despite her lengthy publication history, this is the first ongoing series to feature her as the title character.

* Batgirl was given her own back-up feature in ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' issues #359-519 (1967-1982), starring Barbara Gordon.
* Batgirl has also headlined two miniseries: a 2008 series starring Cassandra Cain and an origin series, ''ComicBook/BatgirlYearOne'', starring Barbara Gordon as well as the AlternateUniverse one-shot ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', starring Barbara Gordon and ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' (Kara Zor-El).
* As 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.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanThrillkiller'' is an {{Elseworld}} where Batgirl and Robin fight crime in TheSixties.
* ''ComicBook/TheOracleCode'', an {{Elseworld}} where Babs gets shot and becomes Oracle before ever donning the Batgirl costume or graduating high-school.

She took the alias of ''Spoiler'' in the ''DC Rebirth'' relaunch as a rookie member of the Bat-Family alongside Cassandra Cain as ''Orphan''.

As of September 2011, [[Comicbook/Batgirl2011 Barbara is back as Batgirl]] in a new #1.

* Batgirl has also headlined two miniseries: a 2008 series starring Cassandra Cain and an origin series, ''Batgirl: Year One,'' starring Barbara Gordon as well as the AlternateUniverse one-shot ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', starring Barbara Gordon and ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' (Kara Zor-El).

2) By 1966 the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' 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.

6) As of 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 [[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.

!!Tropes:

A mysterious hacker and information broker named "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.

Tropes in characters page.

!!Tropes:

!!!'''Tropes:'''

Batwoman 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 UsefulNotes/TheInterregnum. Although the series ''Batman Family'' attempted to bring them back in the late '70s, Batwoman was soon killed off and Bat-Girl faded back into obscurity. Years later, when Dick Grayson had become ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, "Bette" Kane showed up in the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' series as [[ContinuityNod 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.

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 [[Comicbook/{{Batwoman}} Kathy "Batwoman" Kane]], a DistaffCounterpart to Batman who'd been introduced in 1956 as a {{Love Interest|s}} for the Dark Knight 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.

* IdentityImpersonator: Barbara accuses her of such but Nissa doesn't feel like shes infringing on anyone's identity since no one has used Bargirl for a long time.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batgirl_beyond_4678.jpg

* Batgirl has also headlined two miniseries: a 2008 series starring Cassandra Cain and an origin series, ''Batgirl: Year One,'' starring Barbara Gordon- and the AlternateUniverse one-shot ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', starring ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' (Kara Zor-El) and Barbara Gordon.

* Batgirl has also headlined two miniseries -the 2008 series with Cassandra Cain and an origin series, ''Batgirl: Year One,'' starring Barbara Gordon- and the AlternateUniverse one-shot ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', starring ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' -Kara Zor-El- and Barbara Gordon.

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 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 will 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 will 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 will appear (alongside Stephanie) in ''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}''.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2000}}'', the first series, featuring Cassandra Cain, [[LegacyCharacter the second "official" Batgirl]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}}'', the second ongoing series, featuring Stephanie Brown, formerly known as the Spoiler.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}}'', the third series featuring Barbara Gordon, the original woman to bear the title. Despite her lengthy publication history, this is the first ongoing series to feature her as the title character.

As of September 2011, [[{{Comicbook/Batgirl2011}} Barbara is back as Batgirl]] in a new #1.

Cassandra 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.

While 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. This did not go over at all well with the fans, among the strongest reactions being the creation of ''Webcomic/CassToons''.

6) As of October, 2009, a [[{{Comicbook/Batgirl2009}} new]] ''[[{{Comicbook/Batgirl2009}} Batgirl]]'' [[{{Comicbook/Batgirl2009}} 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 (but the [[WordOfGod author]] says she's not out of the picture...oops, now she is because DC has "big plans for her"...) 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 [[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.

* As a subsection of ''ComicBooks/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.