Scans_Daily

Oh, I know Batman had to be shown to have been able to get himself out of that trap. Batman can always get himself out of a trap. (Though they do take pains to highlight on her first outing that Bruce would have been in trouble if Batgirl hadn't provided him the opportunity to change into Batman.)

And yes, she's more competent than I expected. Especially given her inexperience. She's not at Batman's level, but who is? In fact, over the course of the story, she's the only one who deals with multiple opponents, twice taking on both Larva and Pupa.

I do like your explanation of the motorcycle. Actually, there's a panel which pretty much makes that canon. During the three days when the henchmoths are staking out Bruce's house, looking for cops, we see Babs sitting in a dark room working on her costume. We're explicitly told that she's been working on her equipment for those three days. She tells herself she probably won't get the chance to use it, but she wants it to be ready "JUST IN CASE." And we're shown that she loves the thrill of being Batgirl and finds her life dull without it... she tells herself it won't happen again, but deep down she knows that's not true, and she's looking for an excuse to drop the pretense.