Batgirl (Disambiguation)

Batgirl is an ally of Batman and Robin who also patrol Gotham City. Throughout history, there have been several different women to hold the mantle of Batgirl.

Character History

Originally created by Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff, the first incarnation of the character, the "Bat-Girl" Bette Kane, debuted in Batman #139 (1961). Following the promotion of Julius Schwartz to editor of the Batman-related comic book titles in 1964, the Bat-Girl character was removed from publication and replaced by the "new" Batgirl Barbara Gordon in 1967. The new character was introduced in Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino's Detective Comics #359, entitled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl".

Gordon continued to appear until Batgirl Special #1, after which she retired from the role. She would subsequently be paralyzed by the Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke and adopt the role of the data broker and hacker Oracle. Helena Bertinelli would take up the role in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #83, during the midst of the No Man's Land event. However, she was quickly forced to give up the identity after breaking the Batman Family's codes.

The role was subsequently given to Cassandra Cain in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120. She would remain in the role, even after the controversial change made during DC's One Year Later event. After Batman's apparent death during Batman R.I.P., Cassandra gave up the role. Stephanie Brown would subsequently adopt it in Batgirl (Vol. 3) #1, remaining in the role until the Flashpoint event.

In the subsequent New 52, Barbara Gordon was restored as the only Batgirls, the others' history with the identity seemingly retconned out. She would continue to serve in the role until Infinite Frontier, after which she was retired. Both Cain and Brown are set to return to the Batgirl identity in the aftermath of The Joker War.

Other Versions

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In Other Media

Batgirl has often be adapted into Batman media. However, the Barbara Gordon incarnation often used, though Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown have also appeared but under different identities.