Barbara Gordon is a member of the Gotham City Police Department and the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon. After the death of both him and her fiancé Harvey Dent, she began working with the vigilante Catwoman to clean up Gotham's streets and blackmailed Batman into retirement. Due to the plans of Harleen Quinzel and the Scarecrow, Gordon would subsequently become a vigilante called Batgirl.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
The daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, Barbara followed him into the GCPD. By the time of the Halloween Riots, she had been promoted to Sergeant. Due to his involvement with the vigilante Batman, Barbara had fallen out with her father and become distant with him.[1] At some point, she began dating District Attorney Harvey Dent.
Batman '89[]
Halloween Riots[]
On the Halloween Celebrations, Barbara went for a meal with Harvey at the Janus restaurant. During the meal, she caught a glimpse of Batman on the rooftops, though she wasn't able to realize what she'd seen. Eventually, Harvey proposed to her, leaving her flustered. After several moments of indecision, Barbara accepted the proposal, though a nearby explosion interrupted her.
After fleeing the restaurant, Barbara waited whilst Harvey called for the National Guard. During it, a member of the rioting gang stole her purse, who Dent chased. Following them, Barbara arrived moments after confrontation, where Harvey had scared off a mugging attempt. Reassuring him that the purse wasn't worth his life, they noticed the Batmobile drive by.[2]
Investigating Batman[]
When Harvey decided to bring down Batman, Barbara agreed to help by uncovering the vigilante's identity and resources. Able to access the "Batman Locker" through an associate, she collected pictures of confiscated equipment used by the Dark Knight. During the investigations, Barbara took notice of a confiscated Batarang, particularly its heat-based targeting system. After his meeting with Bruce Wayne, Barbara reported her findings to Harvey.[2]
Able to arrange for it to be taken out of the Batman Locker, she began to investigate the weapon and its controls. The night after Batman's battle with confrontation with the National Guard, Barbara and Harvey visited one of Gotham's parks. During the visit, she demonstrated the "Super-Batarang's" systems and functions. Though Harvey struggled to use the gadget, Barbara had figured out the system and explained her findings to him. She then took him to Burnside to pick up his car and meet with the neighborhood council.
Though Barbara did not participate in the demonstrations organized by Dent and the council, she watched his speech and seemed impressed wit it. The following day, she discussed the impact of it on his career and its opportunities in Gotham. Barbara also watched his interviews with various reported and a confrontation with Harvey Bullock about his comments on the GCPD. She also broke up the argument, dragging Harvey away to deescalate it.
Fire at the Royal Autobody[]
Barbara waited outside the Royal Autobody during the meeting between Harvey, Bruce Wayne and the council. As she and Dent drove home, they realized that Bruce had mentioned one of the victims by name, despite it being kept private from the public. However, Barbara noticed a fire at the Royal Autobody and interrupted the conversation to let Harvey know. Returning to the scene, she was held outside by the residents whilst Dent entered the blaze in an attempt to rescue someone inside.[3]
Barbara remained outside during the blaze, watching as Bruce and mechanic Drake Winston pulled Harvey to safety. Like other bystanders, she was horrified by his disfigurement from leaking battery acid. Barbara also rode with the paramedics to Gotham General Hospital to accompany Harvey. During the ride, she learned that he'd inhaled the chemicals, possibly reducing his life expectancy to six months. She presumably stayed at the hospital to monitor Harvey and his condition.
Losing Harvey[]
The following day, Barbara found Bruce trying to arrange for Harvey to be moved to Switzerland. When she confronted him on his intentions, Bruce revealed his plans to undo his disfigurements. When she protested, Barbara learned that Bruce would be financing it and agreed to propose it to Harvey. Finding him awake, Barbara informed him what had happened, prompting him to snap at her. When he demands his coin and a nail file, Barbara provided the requested items, though was confused when he scarred the coin.[4] She became increasingly concerned when he began using it to decide his future, eventually calling Bruce to ask for his help.
The following day, Barbara oversaw the arrival of Selina Kyle to remove a virus that had infected the GCPD's computer systems. Preoccupied by the previous days' events, she paid little attention to the legitimacy of the references, though seemed to note Wayne Tech's mentioning. Called away by officers, Barbara learned that Harvey had disappeared from the hospital and attacked an orderly. When an detective reported a sighting of Dent in the offices, Gordon left Kyle unsupervised to help search for him.[5]
Family Matter[]
Several weeks after Harvey's disappearance, Barbara received a message from a member of the so-called Joker Gang. After purchasing a newspaper from a vendor, she returned to her apartment and found her father waiting. Going inside, Barbara was questioned whether she'd had any contact with Harvey and if she knew about the files he'd taken about the attempted theft organized during the Halloween Riots. Rationalizing that he'd not stolen them, she confronted her father over apparent allegations towards Harvey and his cooperation with Batman. However, her father defused the fight by admitting she was right and revealed he'd handed in his resignation. As he left, shed discovered a note from Harvey slipped into her newspaper, presumably by one of Harvey's henchmen.
Gunfight at Gotham Park[]
Following notes instructions, Barbara went to Gotham Park to meet Harvey. Although she'd been instructed to go alone, she informed other police officers and arranged for him to be arrested. As Harvey arrived, Barbara greeted him and reassured she'd come alone. After receiving flowers, she claimed she wanted to help him. After placing flowers he'd gotten her, Barbara reached for her gun and handcuffs and placed him under arrest. As he complied, she learned that he'd captured her father. Moments later, Barbara was attacked and knocked unconscious by Catwoman, allowing Dent to escape.[1]
The following day, her father's body was recovered from the destroyed Burnside Station. Barbara presumably went into mourning for him, during which she received her condolences from Bruce.
Messages from Catwoman[]
Following Harvey's death, Barbara received a message from an unknown sender. In it, the writer proposed an alliance with her to take on the rich and powerful of the city, and informed her of a package sent by the late-Harvey. After opening it, Barbara discovered it contained an image of an unmasked Batman, revealing his true identity to be Bruce.[6]
Batman '89: Echoes[]
Further GCPD Career[]
After receiving the package, Barbara secretly began to create a case to arrest Batman and expose him to Gotham. Barbara also began reading her father's journals to uncover further evidence, only to find an entry which revealed he'd deduced his identity. She learned her father thought he had noble intentions, despite his actions. Some time later, Barbara met with Bruce and gave him an ultimatum: give up his activities or she would publicly expose his identity. This also included sending her an update every month to ensure he did not return.
With help from her "Oracle", Barbara began to arrest many corrupt politicians connected to organized crime. Due to her successful track record, she rose through the ranks of the GCPD, gaining the promotion to Captain. Many GCPD officers took note of her rise, with many speculating about the source of her info.
Case of the Amateur Batmen[]
Two years after Bruce's retirement, Barbara began investigating a number of crimes related to copycat Batmen. In each, a copycat wearing a Batman costume confronted a gang of criminals, with one of them killing him. Each of the criminals were also rendered catatonic, apparently falling into a trance after they killed each "Batman" and acting violently when they were shown the dressed victim.
After four cases in a month, Barbara visited Wayne Manor to speak with Bruce, wondering if he had any involvement with the case. Meeting with his butler Alfred, Barbara was invited inside the nearly abandoned Wayne Manor. Inside, she informed Alfred of the case details and asked him if Bruce was following, going on to reveal her father's discoveries to him. As she left, the butler confined in Barbara that Bruce had been missing for the last month, with even him not knowing where he'd gone.[7]
Appearances[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Barbara/Batgirl design from the original Batman '89 pitch
A version of Barbara featured in Batman & Robin played by Alicia Silverstone. However, she was reimagined as Alfred's niece Barbara Wilson, as Joel Schumacher believed that Gordon would suit better as a supporting character as opposed to a major one. For at time, this version of the character was considered part of the "Burtonverse" until the announcement of the Batman '89 comic series and the return of Michael Keaton's Batman in The Flash film.
Barbara featured in Joe Quinones original pitch for the Batman '89 series with Kate Leth. According to designs shared in 2016, her likeness would have was based on actress Christina Ricci and she would have eventually become the series' Batgirl.[8]
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Barbara on Batman '89 #3's cover
Though not mentioned in the solicit, Barbara's involvement in the series was confirmed by artist Taurin Clarke, who'd contributed a variant cover for the first issue.[9] Her design resembles actress Winona Ryder, who appeared in Tim Burton's films Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and Frankenweenie. Barbara's initial characterization bears similarities with pre-Zero Hour versions of Gilda Dent and Grace Lamont from Batman: The Animated Series. She is set to take on the Batgirl identity in Batman '89: Echoes.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Batman '89 #5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Batman '89 #1
- ↑ Batman '89 #2
- ↑ Batman '89 #3
- ↑ Batman '89 #4
- ↑ Batman '89 #6
- ↑ Batman '89: Echoes #1
- ↑ Joe Quinones' interweb-log: Batman '89
- ↑ Taurin Clarke on Instagram: “Been waiting to share this one; my virgin cover for Batman ‘89… featuring the Burtonverse Robin, Barbara Gordon and Harvey Dent/Two-Face.…”