The one that holds a special place for us.
Our first introduction to Batgirl was on the Batman television show starring Adam West, but we grew to love her from the comics.
For the purposes of this discussion, we are going to focus on the Batgirl persona donned by Barbara Gordon. There would be a limited amount of information if we focused on the original, Betty Kane.
Brief History
The character first appeared in Batman #139 April 1961 where Beth Kane held the mantle. She was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff. Our favorite Barbara Gordon was first introduced in 1967 in Detective Comics #359. Gardner Fox and Carmine Infanino were behind this version.
Over the years, readers had chance to see her take center stages. Outside of the most talked about one, the Killing Joke, there are ones like when they rebooted the New 52. She became a fixture in other comic series, like Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad.
Positives
Her tenacity and personality is what captured your attention and kept you there. Early on she showed how she could help Batman despite her inadequacies. Over the years, she developed physically and mentally, and became a capable leader in her own right. This version of Barbara Gordon is why she is one of the most important women in the comic medium.
Negatives
The beginning of her run was an interesting one and proved to be an adequate partner to Batman. After the Killing Joke, she was embroiled in a battle of what happened to the character. Many felt it was the right direction to go, while others eventually pigeoned holed her as a potentially helpless character. In recent years, we had a chance to see her branch out more with the re-imaging of the character.
Best Villain
She has squared off against multiple villains and has had some interesting arcs on her own. But at the end of the day, the one we always keep going back to was the Joker. He was pivotal in the career of Barbara as a person and heroine. There is no others in our mind that could take the spot away.
Overall
We have always been a fan of Barbara Gordon when she appeared on the scene. Sometimes we think she doesn’t she gets the attention she deserves and is often drowned out by the likes of Wonder Woman.
