Batgirl

Batgirl
Batgirl
	Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown on a variant cover for Batgirls #1 (February 2022) by Alex Garner.
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman #139 (April 1961)
Created by	Bill Finger (writer); Sheldon Moldoff (art)
Characters	Betty Kane ("Bat-Girl"); Barbara Gordon; Helena Bertinelli; Cassandra Cain; Stephanie Brown;
Batgirl
	Batgirl #1 (April 2000); featuring the Cassandra Cain version of the character,; art by Damion Scott
Series publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	List (vol. 1, 3–5, Batgirls); Ongoing series; (vol. 2); Limited series;
Genre	Superhero;
Publication date	List (vol. 1); April 2000 – April 2006; (vol. 2); September 2008 – February 2009; (vol. 3); October 2009 – October 2011; (vol. 4); November 2011 – July 2016; (vol. 5); September 2016 – December 2020; (Batgirls); February 2022 – present;
Number of issues	List (vol. 1): 73 + 1 Annual; (vol. 2): 6; (vol. 3): 24; (vol. 4): 53 (#1–52, 0) + 3 Annuals; (vol. 5): 50 + 2 Annuals and a DC Rebirth one-shot; (Batgirls): 8 (as of September 2022 cover date);
Main character(s)	List (vol. 1–2) Cassandra Cain; ; (vol. 3) Cassandra Cain; Stephanie Brown; ; (vol. 4, 5) Barbara Gordon; ; (Batgirls) Barbara Gordon; ; Cassandra Cain; Stephanie Brown;
Creative team
Writer(s)	List (vol. 1) Kelley Puckett; Dylan Horrocks; Andersen Gabrych; ; (vol. 2) Adam Beechen; ; (vol. 3) Bryan Q. Miller; ; (vol. 4) Gail Simone; Cameron Stewart; Brenden Fletcher; ; (vol. 5) Hope Larson; Mairghread Scott; Cecil Castellucci; ; (Batgirls) Becky Cloonan; Michael Conrad; ;
Penciller(s)	List (vol. 1) Damion Scott; Adrian Sibar; Rick Leonardi; Ale Garza; Pop Mhan; ; (vol. 2) Jim Calafiore; ; (vol. 3) Lee Garbett; Pere Perez; Dustin Nguyen; ; (vol. 4) Ardian Syaf; Ed Benes; Daniel Sampere; Fernando Pasarin; Babs Tarr; ; (vol. 5) Rafael Albuquerque; Christian Wildgoose; Paul Pelletier; ; (Batgirls) Jorge Corona; ;
Inker(s)	List (vol. 1) Robert Campanella; Andy Owens; Jesse Delperdang; ; (vol. 3) Trevor Scott; Dereck Fridolfs; ; (vol. 4) Vicente Cifuentes; Jonathan Glapion; ;
Colorist(s)	List (vol. 1) Jason Wright; ; (vol. 2) Nathan Eyring; ; (vol. 3) Guy Major; ; (vol. 4) Ulises Arreola; Kevin Senft; Maris Wicks; (vol. 5) Dave McCaig; ;

Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff as Bat-Girl, and was replaced in 1967 by Barbara Gordon, who became the iconic Batgirl.^[1]^[2] The character debuted in Detective Comics #359 (January 1967) by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino, introduced as the niece/adoptive daughter of police commissioner James Gordon.

Batgirl operates in Gotham City, allying herself with Batman and the original Robin, Dick Grayson, along with other masked vigilantes. The character appeared regularly in Detective Comics, Batman Family, and several other books produced by DC until 1988. That year, Barbara Gordon appeared in Barbara Kesel's Batgirl Special #1, in which she retires from crime-fighting. She subsequently appeared in Alan Moore's graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke where, in her civilian identity, she is shot by the Joker and left paraplegic. Although she is reimagined as the computer expert and information broker Oracle by editor Kim Yale and writer John Ostrander the following year, her paralysis sparked debate about the portrayal of women in comics, particularly violence depicted toward female characters.

In the 1999 storyline "No Man's Land", the character Helena Bertinelli, known as Huntress, briefly assumes the role of Batgirl until she is stripped of the identity by Batman for violating his stringent codes. Within the same storyline, the character Cassandra Cain is introduced. Cain is written as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva and takes the mantle of Batgirl under the guidance of Batman and Oracle. In 2000, she became the first Batgirl to star in an eponymous monthly comic book series, in addition to becoming one of the most prominent characters of Asian descent to appear in American comics. The series was canceled in 2006, at which point during the company-wide storyline "One Year Later", she is established as a villain and head of the League of Assassins. After receiving harsh feedback from readership, she is later restored to her original conception. However, the character Stephanie Brown, originally known as Spoiler and later Robin, succeeds her as Batgirl after Cassandra Cain abandons the role.

Stephanie Brown became the featured character of the Batgirl series from 2009 to 2011, prior to DC's The New 52 relaunch, which established Barbara Gordon recovering from her paralysis following a surgical procedure and starring as the title character of Batgirl once again. Barbara later returned to the Oracle role with Infinite Frontier in 2020, and currently operates as both Batgirl and Oracle, with Cassandra and Stephanie also serving as Batgirls. The Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl has been adapted into various media relating to the Batman franchise, including television, film, animation, video games, and other merchandise. Dan DiDio, co-publisher of DC Comics, expressed that Barbara is the best-known version of the character.

^ "Batgirl Reading Order: Your Guide to Batman's ally (from Barbara Gordon to Cassandra Cain)". Comic Book Treasury. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
^ Barco, Mandalit del (2022-08-06). "New studio execs slay 'Batgirl,' but she's been through tougher fights". NPR. Retrieved 2022-11-01.

[1] "Batgirl Reading Order: Your Guide to Batman's ally (from Barbara Gordon to Cassandra Cain)". Comic Book Treasury. Retrieved 2022-11-01.

[2] Barco, Mandalit del (2022-08-06). "New studio execs slay 'Batgirl,' but she's been through tougher fights". NPR. Retrieved 2022-11-01.

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