Barbara Gordon is a recurring character on Harley Quinn and is the daughter of James and Barbara Eileen Gordon. After seeing her father hit rock bottom with Batman missing and helping Harley Quinn defeat the Riddler, she becomes inspired to assume the identity of Batgirl.
At the end of Season 4, Barbara gets paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by the Joker. However, she emerges in the world of computers and hacking to continue to fight crime and resigns from the Bat Family, and takes up the identity of Oracle.
Appearance[]
Barbara has short red hair draped around the back of her head. She has light skin, a fairly muscular build, and freckles on her cheeks. She has green eyes and usually wears glasses while in her civilian persona.
As Batgirl, she wears a purple leather jacket and pants with a black stripe on the sides, a yellow bat symbol across her chest, a black cape that snaps on the shoulders, yellow snap-on gloves, and black boots. She wears a mask that covers half of her head and leaves the mouth and nose unmasked.
Purple seems to be the primary color of her civilian and vigilante wardrobes. When away from college, Barbara wears a purple hoodie, and at the premiere event of the Thomas Wayne biography in "The Horse and the Sparrow," she wears a sparkly purple dress.
Biography[]
Background[]
Barbara Joan Gordon is the daughter of Barbara Gordon Sr. and GCPD commissioner James Gordon. She also had at least one uncle on her mother's side.
She was attending Gotham University when the Injustice League took control of Gotham City after Batman's disappearance, resulting in the Riddler taking over the university. Barbara became suspicious of the mysterious disappearances at the campus and started investigating, wanting to take down the Riddler. As her parents' marriage fell apart, her father became depressed and started living with her at her dorm after he snuck in before the Riddler took over.
Season 2[]
"Riddler U"[]
- Main article: Riddler U
When Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn infiltrated the University, they pretended to be students "Izziadora Staplebuntkin" and "Heather Witherbee" to find out why the University was the only place in town with power as well as take down the Riddler, Barbara was the one showing them around the campus. Later, she witnessed "Heather" beat up the school's mascot, believing him to be the real riddle, in a fountain, causing her disguise to wash off. Harley noticed her, so she fled the scene, using parkour or acrobatics to escape.
Barbara with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy
However, Harley and Ivy track her down to her dorm and break-in, only for Barbara to ambush Harley and hold her at bay with pepper spray. Ivy then jumps in through the window and soon disarms her, tying her up with her houseplant. Harley angrily exclaims that she will rat them out to the Riddler but then claims she wants someone to take him down. She turns up music in her dorm to mask their voices and explains her worry about the mysterious disappearances around campus. Ivy questions how they can trust she isn't going to turn them in the second they untie her. Her father comes in while she's still expended in mid-air by the plant, which gets him suspicious, but she gets rid of him, claiming it's just an internet thing that he wouldn't understand, earning the trust of Harley and Ivy, who let her go. Barbara shares her theory that people are going missing at a particular fraternity. Harley then steals Barbara's wristbands to a party there and leaves without her.
While Harley and Ivy have gone to the frat party, Barbara tries to motivate her father to help take down the Riddler, but he claims the city needs the bat, motivating Barbara.
Barbara takes on the Riddler
Meanwhile, Harley Ivy and Clayface discovered that Riddler's has been forcing college students to run on human hamster wheels to power the university, and they got captured and forced to run for power. Barbara then arrives, dressed in a dark hood and face cover, ready to save them. She manages to dispatch a guard and clumsily attempts to shoot the power switch to the generator, prompting Harley to criticize her for not just shooting the Riddler. She misses but tosses her gun at the Riddler and knocks him into it, causing the generator to fail and release the human hamsters. Once released, Harley, Ivy, and Clayface fight the remaining Riddler's goons alongside Barbara. She exclaims how she feels like a superhero and asks to get Riddler to Arkham together, although Ivy and Harley say they'll do it and swiftly leave.
Later, at Barbara's dorm, she's seen stitching together the last of a costume and putting on the mantle of "Batgirl" before leaping out the window.
"Batman's Back Man"[]
- Main article: Batman's Back Man
Batgirl on social media
With Batman still missing, Batgirl has stepped up to protect Gotham and gained 1.3 million followers on social media by live-streaming her crime-fighting and sharing safety tips with her audience. After Batman finally wakes up from his coma, he watches one of Batgirl's streams and complains about her usage of the bat symbol.
Despite still being wounded, Batman attempts to dissuade Batgirl from her vigilantism. Batgirl chases a criminal on the rooftops of Gotham when Batman unexpectedly turns up. She squeals excitedly when she first sees him but assumes that his concern is her using a copyrighted logo, only to brush off his concern when he expresses that he doesn't think it is safe for her. She insists she can handle herself, only for Batman to knock out a petty goon behind her contemptuously. Batgirl's joy overflows, and she announces to all her followers that Batman is back. Batgirl's announcement prompts the city's residents to rise against the Injustice League's tyranny.
One of Two-Face's goons feels the painful wrath of Batgirl's boot
Despite still being injured, Batman gets out to fight crimes but is almost killed by Bane and Two-Face's goons. However, just in time, the Maccaroni and Batgirl arrive to save him. Batgirl helps take down the goons and bring Batman to safety. Finally admitting his limitations, Batman comes before Jim Gordon, tells him that he isn't physically able to work as he did before, and introduces him to his new partner: Batgirl. Batman gives Batgirl his blessing to take up the standard in his stead until he has healed to keep the hope that comes with the bat symbol alive. However, Gordon is not entirely pleased to work with Batgirl, although Batgirl insists they'll have the best time, and he reluctantly shakes her hand before she takes up her phone to announce to her followers.
"There's No Place to Go But Down"[]
- Main article: There's No Place to Go But Down
Batgirl is disappointed
Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon searched the sewers to catch the Ratcatcher and stop him from using them to smuggle weapons across Gotham. As Gordon stumbles along and questions what they are doing there, an irritated Batgirl asks if he's drunk, which he denies, saying he has a high tolerance. After locating the Ratcatcher, Batgirl ordered Gordon to stay put and wait for her signal while she circles to block the exits. Drinking yet more, he eventually got drunk enough to drop his flask, and when he drunkenly lurched for it, Ratcacher spotted him and sent the rats after him, disrupting the plan and allowing him to escape. An irritated Batgirl was forced to pull him out of the sewer canal and was disappointed when she noticed his flask on the ground.
After the botched capture of Ratcatcher, Batgirl is back home as Barbara Gordon and forced to listen to her father complaining about Batgirl over dinner. Barbara tries to talk to him about his drinking, but he insists that he doesn't have a drinking problem whilst squirting a heap of mayonnaise into his liquor and drinking it. Barbara begs him to consider laying off the booze for her sake, and although he begins to consider her words, they are interrupted by gunfire from Two-Face's goons. Two-Face is now set on killing Gordon and so throws a grenade into their home. As Gordon surrenders himself to Two-Face, asking only that he tell his daughter that he loves her, Batgirl arrives and incapacitates his goons, allowing them to get shot to death in the confusion, and Two-Face flees, swearing that he'll be back.
Batgirl reveals her identity to Gordon
Gordon resentfully asks why Batgirl saved him, insisting he only gets in the way while getting out his flask to take a sip. However, Batgirl snatches it away with her whip and tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself. Gordon insists even his daughter sees him as a joke, but Batgirl assures him that's not true and that he inspired her. Although he laughs it off, saying Batman was her inspiration, Batgirl claims he only inspired her costume, saying her dad inspired her while lifting her mask, revealing her identity to a stunned but proud Gordon.
Later, Barbara explains to Gordon how she became Batgirl. She becomes alarmed when he gets up to open a bottle of wine, only for him to pour it all out into the sink and ask her to lend a hand in a "montage where we skip past the hard parts of beating an alcoholic addiction and cut to the part where I'm clean". After helping Gordon clean up his act and pouring out the remainder of his alcohol, Gordon vows to take back the GCPD headquarters from Two-Face. Later, they arrive at the station where Batgirl starts formulating a plan, but Gordon tells her he's got it, and she waits outside, occasionally asking if he needs any help. At the same time, Gordon singlehandedly takes back the GCPD.
"Inner (Para) Demons"[]
- Main article: Inner (Para) Demons
Harley kisses a confused Batgirl
As Gordon gears up to take down Harley Quinn to get Gotham accepted back into the United States, Batgirl arrives at Gotham Mall on her Batcycle to warn Harley of Gordon's plans. However, before she can, Doctor Psycho insults her uncreative name, and King Shark compliments the stitchwork on her costume. She warns Harley that Gordon is coming to take her down and asserts that she's not a villain, which Harley angrily protests. Batgirl cites some of her heroic feats, but Harley refuses to listen and takes her warning about Gordon as justification to raise an army herself, which Batgirl insists was the opposite of what she was saying. Harley then hysterically exclaims how unpredictable and reckless she is, kissing a thoroughly confused Batgirl to prove her point, then sending her out with a bewildered expression.
After failing to get through to Harley, Batgirl tries to talk to her dad, pointing out his excessive number of guns and weaponry as he prepares to take on Harley. She tries to discourage him from going up against Harley, warning him of her acquiring an army. Gordon seems to understand but then immediately concludes that he needs an army as well, and although Batgirl tries to clarify, he charges off and closes the door in her face. Later, Barbara calls her father again to try to convince him to back down, but he stands firm and hangs up on her.
"Lovers' Quarrel"[]
- Main article: Lovers' Quarrel
Batgirl and Gordon covered each others' eyes when Poison Ivy's memory of sleeping with Harley during "Bachelorette" was projected onto the sky by a vengeful Doctor Psycho.
The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour[]
"Journey to Love Part 3"[]
- Main article: Journey to Love Part 3
Batgirl goes to Blüdhaven on Batman's order to stop her father from letting his obsession with bringing Harley Quinn to justice go too far. She swoops in just as her father has his gun pointed at Nightwing (after he stepped between him and Harley) as Gordon threatens to shoot him to get to Harley. Batgirl questions if Gordon will shoot her, leaving him thrown off balance by his daughter's arrival. She desperately pleads with him to put the gun down, insisting that he will lose his daughter if he continues like this. This allows Harley and Ivy to escape.
"Journey to Love Part 6"[]
- Main article: Journey to Love Part 6
Barbara worries over her father when her friend "Stephanie" calls. She asks what is going on with her dad, but Barbara insists she doesn't want to talk about it, and they instead start gushing about Harley and Ivy. After ending the call, she reflects on the fact that she doesn't like lying to her best friend about being Batgirl, but believes it is for the best, unaware that "Stephanie" has a secret identity as well. She later watches the news as Tawny Young reports on her father's failure to capture Harley and Ivy as they escape once more.
Season 3[]
"There's No Ivy In Team"[]
- Main article: There's No Ivy In Team
Nightwing and Batgirl tied up together
In the Batcave, Batgirl witnessed a confused Nightwing, who had just returned to Gotham after years away, viewing her costume that was displayed in his old alcove. Batgirl introduces herself, revealing she knows all about him, although he remains unimpressed by her, even refusing to shake her hand. As the Bat Family gets an alert that Firefly is attacking the Old Gotham Corn Factory, Batgirl heads there on her Batcycle. Well, there, they watch from a distance. Firefly and his goons start burning the corn factory, and Batman starts laying out the plan. However, they soon realize Nightwing has already left and confronts Firefly on the roof. This causes Firefly to spot the rest of the Bat Family, and a fight breaks loose. Nightwing bickers as Batgirl accuses Nightwing of blowing up the plan. When Batman spots Firefly, Nightwing and Batgirl swing toward him, causing them to collide and get all tangled up in their grappling hooks while Firefly escapes. Batgirl then notes they need to do something to work on their teamwork.
Batgirl then took the team to do an escape room to foster camaraderie, however, it turned out to be a death trap created by the Riddler where they would be killed unless they could solve the puzzle within a time limit. As Harley's Crew were there doing the same, Poison Ivy accidentally hit a switch, merging the two groups but trapping Nightwing with Ivy and Batgirl with Harley in opposite rooms on the sides. Trapped together, Batgirl and Harley bonded over their similar struggles with teamwork and attempts to foster camaraderie with this escape room, both having been pulled in by the catchy commercial. They were eventually let out as Batman solved the puzzle, and the Bat Family returned to the Batcave, where Nightwing made amends with Batgirl, asking to start over. They were then alerted to another sighting of Firefly attacking an orphanage. Batgirl offered Nightwing a ride with her, but he politely declined, hitching a ride with the Macaroni instead.
"A Thief, a Mole, an Orgy"[]
- Main article: A Thief, a Mole, an Orgy
- Jim Gordon
Barbara, you're a cool, hip, popular young woman, gather up 3000 of your closest friends for me to talk to.
- Barbara Gordon
Dad, I don't really have any- ... that many friends.
"Okay, so where are these rich assholes?"
Barbara was in her father's office as he complained about being crushed in the mayoral polls. She suggested he change things up, shifting focus from his role as commissioner to him as a person. However, Two-Face, Gordon's campaign manager, insisted that he seek campaign donations from Gotham's wealthiest and most skeevy residents. Barbara objected, giving a passionate speech about running for what he believed in. Gordon was touched and hugged her, but to Barbara's horror, quickly turned around, asking Two-Face how to get the donations.
"Joker: The Killing Vote"[]
- Main article: Joker: The Killing Vote
Barbara sat in his father's office while Two-Face reprimanded him for spending all his campaign money on adds and custom pez. Barbara insisted he didn't need any of that to win but should use the debates to tell people what he stood for, although she quickly followed that up by asking what he stood for, which Gordon struggled to answer. Later, after the Mayor of Gotham passed away during the debate against Gordon, he and Two-Face celebrated their near-victory. At the same time, Barbara warned them against celebrating early, pointing out that Gordon still hadn't figured out his plans for the city if he won.
- Barbara
Joker's preaching policies like free health care, free tuition.
- Gordon
Oh God, is my own daughter some kind of Jo-Bro?
- Barbara
They prefer to be called "Sane Clown Posse," and I am not a Jo-Bro!
— Barbara has had enough.
After the Joker announced his candidacy, Gordon questioned why the people loved him, and Barbara explained it was because he had actually good policies, unlike him. As Two-Face suggested they fight dirtier to win the people over, Barbara set her foot down, telling her father to choose between him or her, telling him unless he fired Two-Face as his campaign manager and started working on his actual policies, she could not support him. Gordon tried to insist he could choose "Two-Face then you," resulting in Barbara storming out. She was later seen at a rally supporting the Joker.
"Another Sharkley Adventure"[]
- Main article: Another Sharkley Adventure
Batgirl tries to cheer up a depressed Bruce, who recently broke up with Selina, by suggesting he not look at her Waynstigram stories and focus on work instead. She shows on the screen a shipment of hats that she believes is connected to the Mad Hatter. However, Bruce denies any connection to the villain and brushes it off.
Batgirl then sends Harley a flurry of texts to join her in stopping the Mad Hatter, but Harley rejects her.
Infiltrating the gala via an elevator, she runs into Harley. After they argue and Harley tries to escape, Batgirl fights with her. The two fight and argue until they're confronted by goons wearing white rabbit masks who knock them both out.
Later, Batgirl is tied up by a table with Harley, and the Mad Hatter is revealed to be the culprit who explains his evil plan to them. After Harley leaves convincing the Mad Hatter that they're not together, the Mad Hatter and his goons had intended to kill her, but Harley returns, frees Batgirl, and kills the Mad Hatter. Batgirl was then convinced that Harley was on the side of good, but Harley dismisses that notion.
"Batman Begins Forever"[]
- Main article: Batman Begins Forever
Bat-kids to the rescue!
After Bruce Wayne was kidnapped by Harley's Crew, who wanted to enter his mind and find out where he was keeping Frank the Plant (whom he had kidnapped), Batgirl, Nightwing and Robin threw a sleep-inducing smoke-bomb through a window of Catwoman's Apartment. After the crew passed out on the floor, the Bat-kids tied them up and took them to Wayne Manor.
"Climax at Jazzapajizza"[]
- Main article: Climax at Jazzapajizza
Harley and Ivy try to reason with Nightwing and Batgirl about Bruce's intention of reviving his dead parents, but Nightwing is obstinately against their warnings. Batgirl also mentions to them that Bruce would never do anything that would put people in danger. Moments later, Bruce arrives with plant zombies of his parents, which shocks everyone there. After seeing the horde of zombies outside, Batgirl releases the crew from their restraints against Nightwing's approval. Once zombies start to break into the manor, Nightwing and Batgirl barricade the area off.
Batgirl and Nightwing run into Robin exiting through one of the entrances to the Bat Cave. Batgirl asks if they want to know what is happening down there, and he shakes his head no.
When Harley confronts Batgirl and Nightwing about where the Batcave is, they play dumb until Harley tells them she knows that Batman is Bruce. Hence, Batgirl reveals the secret passage to the cave and drives to their location on her motorcycle.
She later confirms to Harley that the Batwing doesn't carry missiles to avoid killing people despite whomever they may be.
On the streets of Gotham, Batgirl uses his motorcycle to defeat a bunch of zombies. She later discovers that the Zombies are destroying nearly all of Gotham, save for Mama Macaronis.
Using her grappling hook, Batgirl takes out multiple zombies and then gets knocked off her motorcycle by a zombie, but is rescued by Harley, who uses the Batwing to blow a bunch of them away. When a zombie causes the Batwing to crash, Batgirl rescues Harley from inside of it. Nightwing then joins them, and Batgirl tells him Ivy is responsible for the zombie outbreak. He states that they need to take out Ivy, which she claims by any means necessary. However, Harley convinces them to be able to reason with her.
She, alongside Nightwing, watches as Harley sacrifices herself to save Bane from transforming into a zombie.
"The Horse and the Sparrow"[]
- Main article: The Horse and the Sparrow
After talking to a tow truck person, Batgirl immediately notices Harley receiving praise for her heroic actions. She approaches Harley and asks the people to praise Harley, much to her embarrassment. Batgirl offers to lend an ear to Harley's grievances over her spat with Ivy but gets into an argument with the tow truck driver, who needs Batman's signature instead of hers.
On the night of the Wayne biopic premiere, Barbara is seen sitting beside Bruce at the end of the movie.
Outside, Barbara offers to help Bruce escape from Blackgate Penitentiary, but Bruce refuses and trusts Barbara to handle things for now with the rest of the Bat Family.
Batgirl is seen standing on top of a roof with the rest of the Bat Family, excluding Batman and welcomes Harley to the Bat Family.
Season 4[]
"Gotham's Hottest Hotties"[]
- Main article: Gotham's Hottest Hotties
Batgirl appears before Harley after she receives a cold welcome from Nightwing and Robin. As Robin updates the Bat Computer, Harley asks if they're going after Captain Boomerang, but Nightwing denies it, and Robin details what they're doing. Batgirl then explains that they can't beat up criminals until they've committed a crime.
Later, Batgirl does cycling with Nightwing until Harley reveals that there's an article featuring Nightwing on Gotham's Hottest Hotties.
When the alarm goes off, Batgirl tells the group that a dead body has been found and heads out with the Bat crew, minus Robin, who had prior commitments.
At the crime scene, Harley recognizes the victim as Mally Tomberson. Batgirl asks who she is, and Harley notes that she's a huge model on Waynestagram and the heiress to the Old Gotham Corn Factory. After Harley is done with her diatribe, she asks Batgirl what they should do from there and lists what they could do to investigate. Batgirl examines the injury Molly sustained after she died. Nightwing and Batgirl then receive a signal that another dead body is found at the Hard Wayne's Gonna Fall Ice Cream Pop-Up Experience, and Nightwing leaves to investigate it. Harley asks if they should request any, causing Batgirl to sigh.
Eventually, Batgirl sends Harley an emergency text telling her to come to Gotham Hospital asap.
Batgirl appears in a news video announcement featuring Batman informing the public that while he's away, the Bat Family will keep Gotham safe. Despite Batman's reassuring message, the newscaster covering it reported it with uncertainty. Batgirl and Harley watched this news update from the hospital room of Devora Macklewaithe, whose clavicle was stolen, and she managed to survive somehow. She interviews Devora about where she was last night, and Devora explains that she live-streamed the entire thing, giving Batgirl an epiphany, which connects the killings all together. Devora then asks if they'll find her clavicle in time for the Gotham's Hottest Hotties gala. The question makes Harley realize that it was Professor Pyg who stole Devora's clavicle and murdered the other livestreaming victims. Batgirl praises Harley for figuring this out and claims they'll need to arrest him. Harley states she has a plan involving Nightwing.
Inside an abandoned building, Barbara acts as a gaffer to Harley's photoshoot of Nightwing until Pyg steals Nightwing.
Chasing after Pyg, the Bat crew are confronted by Pyg's dollotrons. The moment Harley starts beating up Pyg to protect Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin enter and witness Harley beat Pyg to death.
"B.I.T.C.H."[]
- Main article: B.I.T.C.H.
In the Batcave, Batgirl Nightwing's injured butt, she reminds Harley that the Bat Family doesn't kill.
She later confronts Harley at the park about her attending a LOD event and, after a spat with Nightwing, suggests Harley go through training, which was Alfred's assistant. Batgirl then leaves to stop Rainbow Raider from robbing the Gotham Candy Expo.
Eventually, Batgirl talks about taking something for some action, which Harley interprets as it involves her, but Batgirl corrects herself, stating she was talking about the batterangs.
Once Talia al Ghul arrives at Wayne Manor and announces she's taking over, Batgirl interjects, telling Harley "no" that she can't ask Talia to rejoin the Bat Family.
She appears at Gotham Bank after receiving a distress signal from Harley who stopped Alfred from robbing a bank. Because of Harley's heroism, Harley is reinstated into the Bat Family and receives her own outfit.
"Icons Only"[]
- Main article: Icons Only
Batgirl tries to contact Harley several times via phone call and text intending to ask her about something, but Harley refuses to answer any of them.
"The First Person to Come Back From a Business Conference Without Chlamydia"[]
Batgirl and the rest of the Bat Family save Mayor Joker from Two-Face and his goons. During this, they all realize that their weapons and gear are missing.
Back at the Batcave, they learned that Talia had confiscated their belongings as they technically belonged to Wayne Enterprises. Since it was experiencing a financial crisis, they needed to liquidate whatever they could.
After seeing what paltry money they have, Batgirl gets an epiphany from Harley about renting and decides to rent out Wayne Manor to get money. They rent it out to a Swedish couple named Jonas and Amelie. Barbara handed them a binder full of facts about the place and restaurants. She later expresses interest in Harley's proposal to teach them how to fight unarmed.
Afterward, Harley trains them how to fight unarmed and uses Barbara's belt as an example of how to use a weapon. She lashes out at Jonas when he asks if Thai restaurants are around.
Eventually, Barbara and Damian are tied up, and when Dick tries to free them, he's knocked out by Amelie.
Harley later comes to their rescue, and after they free themselves, they fight against Jonas and Amelie and win.
"Getting Ice Dick, Don't Wait Up"[]
- Main article: Getting Ice Dick, Don't Wait Up
The Bat Family stands perched on a rooftop, where Harley ambushes Nightwing with a binder they used to rent out Wayne Manor. She was also upset that they weren't wearing the friendship bracelets she had made them all. They then beat up a bunch of criminals, and during it, Harley compares the Bat Family to her Old Crew, Batgirl being Shark.
Eventually, Harley gets laser eye surgery done and tries to contact Batgirl to pick her up, but she never answers, so her roommate Alysia Yeoh picks her up instead. Harley tells Alysia that she and the other Bat Family are part of a competitive swim team, and when Harley returns to the Batcave, she learns from Nightwing that Batgirl has gone missing. To complicate the situation further, Nightwing refuses to team up with Harley to find Batgirl, leaving Harley to do it herself.
Harley questions Ivy if any of her LOD friends did it, but she refuses to answer, so Harley breaks into Barbara's room and sleeps there for eight hours after ransacking it for clues. She's awoken by Alysia, who deduces her plausible location in the mountains, and they drive up there and find her after Harley beats up a bunch of Ice-themed villains.
Inside a log cabin, Barbara explains why she was there and offers them quiche from the gun/grocery store where she had shopped.
Later, outside, Barbara sits by the campfire with Harley, who enjoys a slice of quiche and finds a bullet inside of it. Barbara comments that Harley will have good luck for the next 28 - 49 days, but they then freak out when Nightwing's dead body falls onto the campfire they were sitting around.
"Metamorphosis"[]
- Main article: Metamorphosis
Batgirl attends Nightwings funeral, and after Harley gives him a eulogy, Batgirl gives her own succinct eulogy. Once Nightwing's coffin was lowered, Toyman crashed it by destroying a food truck. This forces the team to split up for their own safety.
Eventually, Batgirl uses a computer as Lucius Fox tries to rewire a tracker receptor that belonged to Nightwing. After getting into a spat with Harley, Batgirl flips the table that Lucious Fox was using, and Nightwing's device shows that the tracker is in the Legion of Doom.
Afterward, Harley and Barbara visit the LOD, where Captain Cold approaches them and believes that Harley may have killed Nightwing as part of a long con job. They then witness Cold and a bunch of other villains break a Nightwing piñata, which shocks them.
They enter the LOD meeting room, where the tracker's signal originated. There, they find Gordon with King Shark's Children and explain to the oblivious Gordon that the tracker belongs to Nightwing and not Mama Nacaroni. Frustrated at her dad after he compares her to himself, when she realizes that she can't get any forensics on it because it was covered in shark drool, she tosses it at her father.
In a fit of rage, Barbara attempted to track down Ivy and "beat her up", but Harley stopped her and tied her up by a table. There, Barbara has a server give her shots of alcohol. Soon, Gordon unties her and invites her to Mama Nacaroni's, but Barbara corrects him, stating that it's Mama Macaroni's. Hurt by his daughter's dismissal, Goron walks away, noting that at least the shark children love him.
Soon, Harley tells Barbara that Ivy wasn't responsible for Nightwing's death, and the belligerent Barbara doesn't believe anything she has to say about Ivy. Barbara then spots Toyman and tosses a punch at him, knocking him to the ground. This triggers a fight between Toyman and several other villains at the LOD party.
After Barbara and later Harley take out all the villains, the Joker arrives and announces his return to villainy and that he killed Nightwing. The revelation causes Barbara to burst into tears and leave the LOD party.
"The Most Culturally Impactful Film Franchise of All Time"[]
- Main article: The Most Culturally Impactful Film Franchise of All Time
At the Batcave, Harley visits Batgirl as she uses the Batcomputer to collect evidence of the death of Nightwing. Harley tries to ask for help from her; however, at first, Batgirl couldn't hear her because of the headphones she was wearing. Now Harley explains that she wanted to talk about the party last night, and Batgirl found it strange since she brought her half an egg sandwich two hours ago and didn't mention it then. This leads to Batgirl believing Joker couldn't have killed Nightwing from the evidence she's collected. Ultimately, Batgirl was far too focused on investigating the death of Nightwing to care about Harley's problem, so she suggested she speak to Ivy.
Eventually, Batgirl's efforts pay off when she finds video footage of Joker entering a building around the time of Nightwing's estimated time of death.
Under the veil of shadow and using a voice changer, Batgirl crashes Doctor Psycho's podcast with Joker to expose his lie that he killed Nightwing, showing him receiving sleep apnea treatment.
"Potato-Based Cloning Incident"[]
- Main article: Potato-Based Cloning Incident
Batgirl is mentioned during a conversation between Harley and her clone. She also appears in a flashback with Flash when they took a CPR class together.
She's mentioned again when the clone agrees to fight in the Bat Family for a while and tasks her with figuring out who killed Nightwing. And again, after Psycho learns that Harley had killed Nightwing, the news would top his Joker getting owned by Batgirl.
On the rooftop of the Gotham Community Center, Harley, with cups of coffee, gives some pep talk to the morose Batgirl until her clone arrives. After the two fight and the clone dies after being flung off a roof, Batgirl learns from Harley that her clone killed Nightwing.
Having a heart-to-heart with Batgirl, Harley reveals that she intends to quit the Bat Family until the Joker appears and shoots Batgirl from behind.
"Killer's Block"[]
- Main article: Killer's Block
Harley visits Batgirl in the hospital, who is now fully paralyzed from the waist down, and delivers her another casserole to eat. However, Batgirl has limited time before the next shift change occurs to allow her to hack into the hospital system and wants Harley to leave. Giving Gordon an update on Batgirl, Harley tells him she's on her period, and Gordon laments Batgirl's condition, vowing retribution.
After kidnapping Joker, he confesses that he had to do it after his Nightwing flub.
Afterward, Batgirl is tasked with hacking into Lex's moon vehicle to stop him from pursuing him, and she does, causing him to fly into a crater. She then hacks into every alarm system in Gotham to create a mass exodus.
A few days later, Barbara meets with Ivy, Harley, and Catwoman to form the Gotham City Sirens. Their first mission is to investigate Nightwing's missing corpse.
Season 5[]
"The Big Apricot"[]
- Main article: The Big Apricot
A year before the beginning of the fifth season, Oracle acted as the Gotham City Sirens tech specialist. However, they always mentioned they were a team of three, which didn't include her and her frustrations with working with her teammates during a botched heist involving Enchantress. Barbara, now going by Oracle, quit the team, leading to the disbanding of the Gotham City Sirens.
Personality[]
In contrast with the more brooding members of the Bat-Family, Barbara is fairly excitable and amicable. She squealed in excitement when she first met Batman (of whom she called herself a "stan"). While she might be a nerd, she is quite outgoing and socially adept, knowing to live-stream her crime-fighting to inspire Gothamites while Batman was M.I.A. When her services are needed, she is highly professional, fearless, and resourceful. As Batgirl, she would find contacts that led her to Mad Hatter's conspiracy. Even before becoming Batgirl, these strengths were already present; she arranged intelligence to figure out something amiss at Riddler U, and used her WayneBox to drown out conversations that might've got her in trouble.
Batgirl is a virtuous, straight-laced member of society, best exemplified by how she actively avoids curse words (the farthest she goes is "frick"), a habit highlighted by some of the more vulgar characters like Harley. It also implies that she is a college student who doesn't drink and has few friends. Furthermore, although Barbara already had skills like parkour before becoming Batgirl, she did not start as a fighter. On her first outing as a masked vigilante — breaking into Riddler's generator room — she was nervous and struggled to be intimidating.
Barbara seems to have inherited her sense of justice and hope from her father. It is possibly a time capsule of how dedicated Gordon was to his job and principles before he fell victim to burnout and alcoholism. She says he was the one who motivated her to be a crime fighter and is gravely disappointed to see her father drink compulsively or become a corrupt mayoral candidate under Two-Face's influence. Barbara's optimism might explain why she is one of the first heroes to entertain the possibility that Harley is not truly evil actively.
After the death of Nightwing, Batgirl feels incredibly hurt and becomes depressed and a bit apathetic, she's also more aggressive and now all she wants is revenge for her partner. Also, due to being blinded by anger and revenge, she becomes more harsh with others, insulting Harley and her father for not caring about how she feels. Batgirl is frustrated, and since she doesn't know how to manage those feelings, she unburdens herself by drinking and getting into a brawl with the Legion of Doom members. However, she calms down after a cold shower and returns to her former personality.
- ❝ It felt good to do something that matters with people I care about, even if you did end blowing half of Gotham with a laser, you b. ❞
- — Barbara quits the Bat Family[src]
At the end of season 4, after being paralyzed from the waist down, Batgirl has become slightly less morally correct, although she still wants to help others. She agrees to hack a moon buggy, which is the property of Lex Luthor because Harley and Ivy asked her for help, something she would've never done in the early seasons. She also hacked the alarm system in every building. Ivy would blow up with the laser to ensure people could evacuate. Later, she goes to Gotham cemetery, and while she still wants to fight crime, now accepts the destructive tendencies of Harley, so she quits the Bat Family and agrees to form a new team with Harley, Ivy and Catwoman, choosing to do things in their own way. Also, she shows some changes in her behavior, while she retains her tendency to avoid curse words, she is now more flexible, openly calling Luthor an "asshole" after succesfully hacking his buggy and he demanded to speak to her "male superior". She also partially says some curse words (saying "b" instead of "bitch" or "f" instead of "fuck"), and is more tolerant of alcohol, drinking from a bottle of wine Harley offered her.
Abilities[]
- Expert Combatant: Barbara is a skilled combatant, capable of taking down numerous things much larger than her.
- Expert Acrobat: Barbara is an exceptional acrobat and gymnast, being able to perform incredible feats of agility and parkour, and has even been described by Harley Quinn, a master acrobat herself, as being "surprisingly agile."[1]
- Sewing: Barbara sews her own costume.[1]
- Expert Investigator: Barbara is a skilled detective like her father. When she was investigating the murder of Mally Tomberson, she correctly deduced her killer had experience performing surgeries after seeing the clean and precise cut.[2] She realized Joker didn't murder Nightwing as it didn't fit his modus operandi, and later found evidence that proved the villain had indeed been lying about having killed her teammate by analyzing Gotham's security cameras.[3]
- Expert Hacker: Barbara is skilled as a hacker. She could hack the city's security cameras in search of evidence that the Joker didn't kill Nightwing, intercept Doctor Psycho's radio program transmission, and upload a tape showing evidence to expose Joker as a liar.[3] After becoming paralyzed, she emerges into the world of hacking even more, showing off her skills as she was able to hack into Lex Luthor's vehicle on the moon just using her computer from her hospital bed in Gotham.[4]
Equipment[]
- Batcycle: As Batgirl, she uses a purple motorcycle, nicknamed the Batcycle, to get around in the city.
- Grappling hook: Batgirl uses a grappling hook to swing between buildings.
Media Appearances[]
Season 2
- "Riddler U"
- "Batman's Back Man"
- "There's No Place to Go But Down"
- "Inner (Para) Demons"
- "Lovers' Quarrel" (cameo)
The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour
- "Journey to Love" (cover only)
- "Journey to Love Part 3"
- "Journey to Love Part 6"
Season 3
- "There's No Ivy In Team"
- "A Thief, a Mole, an Orgy"
- "Joker: The Killing Vote"
- "Another Sharkley Adventure"
- "Batman Begins Forever" (cameo)
- "Climax at Jazzapajizza"
- "The Horse and the Sparrow"
The Real Sidekicks of New Gotham
Season 4
- "Gotham's Hottest Hotties"
- "B.I.T.C.H."
- "Icons Only" (cameo; pictured and through texts)
- "The First Person to Come Back From a Business Conference Without Chlamydia"
- "Getting Ice Dick, Don't Wait Up"
- "Metamorphosis"
- "The Most Culturally Impactful Film Franchise of All Time"
- "Potato-Based Cloning Incident"
- "Killer's Block"
Season 5
Trivia[]
- She is perfectly okay with destroying buildings as long as no one is inside.
- It's heavily implied Barbara is a virgin. When Harley searches Barbara's bedroom, she notes that there isn't a single sex toy or at least a vibrator. Even Alysia agreed with Quinn that "explains a lot" about why Barbara is so grumpy; she isn't getting any stress relief.
- Batgirl getting shot in the stomach by the Joker in "Potato-Based Cloning Incident" is a reference to the scene from the classic 1988 comic Batman: The Killing Joke wherein the Joker shot Barbara Gordon in the stomach, resulting in the character being rendered paralyzed from the waist down, eventually taking up the identity of Oracle in future stories.
- Her identity as Oracle is further alluded to in "Killer's Block," where she uses her hacking skills to aid Harley.
Gallery[]
- See also: All images of Oracle
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Riddler U" DC Universe (April 10, 2020).
- ↑ "Gotham's Hottest Hotties" Max (July 27, 2023).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Most Culturally Impactful Film Franchise of All Time" Max (August 24, 2023).
- ↑ "Killer's Block" Max (September 14, 2023).