History YMMV / Batgirl

** Bette's time on the New 52 ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'' title is seen as this by her fans. Let's see why: AdaptationalWimp, Flanderization, a CurbStompBattle that left her in a comatose state, an incredibly insensitive InterplayOfSexAndViolence, getting CutShort and subsequently PutOnABus. It's no wonder fans cheered for her return to her original Flamebird mantle in DC's Legion of Bloom.

* AudienceAlienatingEra: Cassandra's fans generally ''loathe'' the "Orphan" alias, which they see as distancing her from the Bat Family and the ParentalSubstitute relationship she had with Bruce and Barbara pre-Flashpoint. The fact that James Tynion IV confirmed that the name wasn't meant to be permanent but that he had been kept from changing it by his early removal from Detective Comics only made things worse.

** Whether or not Bette Kane counts as a Batgirl. This one has started occurring more recently as of 2023 due to Bette's return as Flamebird in the one-shot ''DC's Legion of Bloom'' after her AudienceAlienatingEra in ''ComicBook/Batwoman'' as Hawkfire.

* HarsherInHindsight: One of the featured blurbs on the cover of ''Detective Comics'' Issue #359 was a question wondering if Batgirl was a heroine or a villainess. While Barbara Gordon did not turn out to be evil, the second Batgirl and Barbara's successor — Cassandra Cain — would make a FaceHeelTurn and become a cold-hearted assassin in the ''ComicBook/OneYearLater'' storyline due to being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] by Deathstroke, so in a way, Batgirl was a villainess (at least, temporarily).

* FanonDiscontinuity: Generally everything that Adam Beechen wrote for Cassandra Cain is ignored by the fandom due to him making several decisions that were widely reviled by her fandom, most infamously the decision to make her [[FaceHeelTurn evil]][[note]]though, in all fairness, that's not entirely Beechen's fault, as her being evil was enforced by the [[ExecutiveMeddling editorial]] at the time as a way to get her out of the Bat-Family (not to mention DC editorial at the time [[CreatorsPest notoriously hated Cass]])[[/note]] (it didn't help that he openly admits to not being familiar with the character prior). When Creator/ScottSnyder included her in ''Gates of Gotham'', he disregarded the senseless rivalry between Dick and Cassandra in favor of a brother-sister relationship.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Generally everything that Adam Beechen wrote for Cassandra Cain is ignored by the fandom. When Creator/ScottSnyder included her in ''Gates of Gotham'', he disregarded the senseless rivalry between Dick and Cassandra in favor of a brother-sister relationship.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Generally everything that Adam Beechen wrote is ignored by the fandom. When Creator/ScottSnyder included her in ''Gates of Gotham'', he disregarded the senseless rivalry between Dick and Cassandra in favor of a brother-sister relationship.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: A very large portion of Cassandra's fandom believes her to be on the autism spectrum.

* ReplacementScrappy: Okay, ''scrappy'' is admittedly a bit too harsh in the case of Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, since both are well-liked by fans (though Steph is [[BaseBreakingCharacter divisive]]), but despite being popular in their own right, they were never able to match the widespread popularity of Barbara Gordon, who is still viewed as ''the'' Batgirl in the eyes of fans (especially amongst those who don't read the comics, as Babs is often the only Batgirl outside of the comics). Both are [[CreatorsPest also disliked by editorial and higher-ups]] (''especially'' by Creator/DanDidio), to the point that both are frequently AdaptedOut in adaptations (unlike the [[DoubleStandard various Robins]]) and would outright disappear from the comics for years when the ComicBook/New52 rebrand happened (though both would come back in ComicBook/{{Convergence}}), while Babs got the mantle back.

* DorkAge: Cassandra's fans generally ''loathe'' the "Orphan" alias, which they see as distancing her from the Bat Family and the ParentalSubstitute relationship she had with Bruce and Barbara pre-Flashpoint. The fact that James Tynion IV confirmed that the name wasn't meant to be permanent but that he had been kept from changing it by his early removal from Detective Comics only made things worse.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The revelation that Stephanie had not in fact died at the hands of Black Mask, but had been [[HesJustHiding smuggled out of the country by Leslie Thompkins]]. It was a blatant RetCon, but it salvaged Thompkin's character and reversed the problems of Steph's original death.
** The revelation that Cassandra [[FaceHeelTurn turned]] because she was being drugged by Deathstroke. It still left a lot of holes in the story, but at least it stopped treating her as the bad guy.
** While a highly controversial move to this day, there ''are'' fans who believe that it was ridiculous for a woman in a comic book universe (surrounded by magicians, aliens, and {{mad scientist}}s, most of whom have come back from the dead at least once) to remain paralyzed by a mere bullet wound, and were waiting for Barbara to put the cowl back on since 1988. They especially enjoy pointing out other superheroes who were crippled in the line of duty but who were promptly restored, such as [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]], who was shot & paralyzed by a crazy ex-stalker at one point and was promptly restored by an experimental surgery within only a few issues.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Or in this case, second and more popular installment wins. Barbara Gordon is the only Batgirl who is known to people who don't read comics. It helps that she's often the only Batgirl featured in adaptations, while Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown are typically AdaptedOut.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Or in this case, second and more popular installment wins. Barbara Gordon is the only Batgirl who is known to people who don't read comics.

** Cassandra and Stephanie have gotten a fair share of this.

** The revelation that Stephanie had not in fact died at the hands of Black Mask, but had been [[HesJustHiding smuggled out of the country by Leslie Thompkins]]. It was a blatant RetCon, but it salvaged Thompkin's character and reversed the StuffedIntoTheFridge of Steph's original death.