Batgirl #7

[superfangirl1]

Barbara Gordon Sr finally visits Commissioner Gordon, having not spoken to him since she walked out a decade previously. We see a surprisingly vulnerable Jim Gordon, and learn something of why, in his wife's eyes she had to leave.






Later Batgirl fights a new villain named Grotesque again and does better the second encounter.

Comments

[jetwolf]

I have to admit that I'm a little surprised at some of the response I'm seeing here. The impression I get is that Gail Simone is trying hard to do justice to Barbara's past. Obviously the editorial edict was that in the New 52 Barbara would no longer be in wheelchair. So rather than wave a hand and pretend it never happened, Simone's attempting to give weight to the shooting and the recovery, and show that while Barbara may be physically healed, it's not that simple. It feels much more significant to me to show that this is a slow, painful and lengthy processes rather than get rushed out and done and swept under the rug in an issue.

And what would the reaction be if it were?

There is absolutely a hell of a lot more to Barbara than "The Killing Joke", but I also feel that from issue to issue, Simone's proving that too. Still, this is a spectre that's going to hover around her head until she takes the time to heal herself - something that, oddly enough, I got the impression was about to come to a head beginning with this storyline.

I confess I have nowhere near the attachment to DC characters that a lot of folks do and maybe that distance is distorting my perspective. If what Simone is doing isn't the way to handle "The Killing Joke" situation, what would be better?

Apologies in advance for the ramble!

[thespis]

See, I don't necessarily blame Gail because I think she's doing her best in what is clearly a shitty situation.

The idea of Barbara returning to the role of Batgirl is one that, to me, goes fundamentally against her characterisation and all the development she underwent as Oracle. The shooting did leave her physically and emotionally shattered, but she pushed on through the anger and the fear and depression, and eventually she realised that the bat didn't define her. That, in truth, it had never defined her. And while she would never regain the use of her legs, what she hadn't lost was the intelligence, technology savvy, strategic thinking and sheer courage and determination that had allowed her to succeed as Batgirl in the first place. And that she could overcome the obstacles life had set in her path and continue to fight for justice in her own way, if she had the courage to leave the bat behind her and reinvent herself.

And she became Oracle, building up vast networks of information and contacts and spheres of influence. And she built up a team of her own, and she became a leader in her own right and a mentor to other would-be superheroines.

Given this, the idea that Babs would ever regress to that previous identity is utterly ridiculous.

For Cass and Steph, becoming Batgirl allowed them to grow as characters, to move beyond their pasts and become stronger for it. For Babs, going from Oracle to Batgirl is necessarily a backwards step.

To reconcile this problem, they seem to have downplayed Barbara's role as Oracle, reducing it almost to a temporary tech support role. There's very little evidence of Oracle's extensive information networks in play: instead, Babs is reduced to piggybacking on her dad's phone and sneaking into his office to get information. To me, the comics read not as a story of Oracle regaining full mobility and returning to a role in the field, but as one of Batgirl gradually recovering from a serious injury and trauma to reclaim her former role.

Seen in that light the new Batgirl comes off a lot better, although the execution still lacks subtlety. Take the first issue, for instance, in which Babs freezes up in the face of a gun and is subsequently accused of murder for not stopping the gunman. Now, okay, if we ignore Oracle and focus on this as a story of Batgirl still struggling to come to terms with the psychological trauma of the shooting - I can buy that happening. But the writing and the execution were still ham-fisted: "You let him kill that man! You just watched him die! Murderer!!" "What have I done?!" Give me a break.

Likewise with this latest development. Babs struggling to readjust is one thing. Throwing absurdly contrived melodrama in her face like "Dear god! It's that nameless thug who just happened to be standing behind the Joker when I was shot!" is... it just doesn't ring true. A lot of the story developments thus far have had a very contrived feeling, which is in large part why I can't take this comic seriously.

And, like others, I could do without all the bullshit references to the "real Batgirl" and how Babs was always "meant to be Batgirl". It's such a kick in the face both to fans of Oracle and to fans of Steph and Cass.

Re: Apologies in advance for the ramble!

[kenn_el]

...Which is why an actual reboot would have been preferable to me. I have no problem with Barbara regaining mobility and becoming Batwoman. I feel that she's generally been cheated out of a LOT of potential due to the era in which she was created, and now the fact that there's an already active Batwoman, which I think is more the reason for the constant 'real Batgirl' references than anything to do with Steph, who is probably still Spoiled in the 'new' U.
MY problem with the writing is that there is a huge reliance on TKJ as a benchmark, yet there's no trace of Oracle in this Babs. She should be a planner, with some well-thought-out strategies, with a better implementation due to the fact that she is her own 'operative' now. She should have awesome tech, a cool place, and some form of income. She should be slightly paranoid, but in a good way, as Bruce is/was. And don't get me started on the roommate situation.

[thespis]

I agree. I'm not necessarily against Barbara regaining mobility and taking on a (more) active field role either as Batwoman or an identity of her own creation, provided it's done well. The problem is that they're trying to have it both ways - on the one hand, they're pushing-pushing-pushing The Killing Joke, but it seems as though the Babs they really want is the pre-TKJ Babs. There's no effort to incorporate Babs' years of experience as Oracle - she has none of the resources, techno-savvy, strategic thinking and independence she should by rights have.

[kenn_el]

And Ms. Simone did a pretty decent job on BOP, which makes her take on this doubly frustrating (to me), in that it almost implies that what made Babs 'Oracle' was the chair. I'm interested in reading the current BOP once Barbara is more incorporated into it, as that writer might not be so bogged down by baggage as this one is, and perhaps the character will be given an opportunity to be awesome.