| Code Name: | Barbara Gordon |
| Source: | DC Comics |
| Debut: | Detective Comics #359 |
| Debutmo: | January |
| Debutyr: | 1967 |
| Subcat: | Batman |
| Pub: | y |
| Sortkey: | Gordon, Barbara |
Originally created in 1967, the fictional comic book character Barbara Gordon has been adapted into various other forms of media. The character has appeared in both live action and animated television series and films, as well as in video games in her alter-egos as both Batgirl and Oracle.
Alicia Silverstone portrayed Barbara Wilson/Batgirl in the film Batman & Robin. This version is Alfred Pennyworth's niece, which screenwriter Akiva Goldsman stated was done because Alfred was more central of a character than Jim Gordon was in their story.[1] Additionally, she is Dick Grayson's love interest, is blonde, and her costume lacks yellow accents.
Barbara Gordon, credited as "Gordon's Daughter", appears in The Dark Knight, portrayed by Hannah Gunn.
Barbara Gordon as Batgirl was intended to appear in a self-titled film, portrayed by Leslie Grace, before it was cancelled due to cost-cutting measures at Warner Bros.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Barbara Gordon appears in the third season of the Batman television series (1967–1968), portrayed by Yvonne Craig. Months before her debut, she had been mentioned by her father and Batman in the second-season episodes, "Batman's Waterloo" and "The Duo Defy". Her Batgirl costume color was purple with gold accents and it also incorporated a long red wig to hide her real avocado-style, black hair.
In a promotional short,[16] librarian Barbara Gordon encounters Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson at the Gotham Public Library. As Gordon and Wayne become acquainted, Killer Moth and his henchmen (in full costume) discuss a plan of attack. One henchman suggests taking Bruce Wayne hostage, but Killer Moth shows reluctance, due to Wayne's alleged friendship with Batman. Moth directs the group to kidnap Wayne's business acquaintance instead, who also happens to be a billionaire. When Bruce and Dick realize the presence of their adversaries, they quickly leave the library to change into Batman and Robin.
Meanwhile, Gordon is locked in the library's office by Killer Moth's henchmen, however, it is revealed there is a secret chamber within the office where she changes into Batgirl. When Batman and Robin arrive to apprehend Moth and his gang, all parties are shocked at the arrival of a Batgirl. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl defeat the villains with relative ease and Batgirl vanishes without revealing her secret identity. Batgirl's costume in the episode closely resembles that later seen in the series, though the design of her mask changes. The short also featured a unique version of the Batman theme, ending with the lyric "Batgirl!" rather than the usual "Batman!" (and accompanied by an appropriately modified Batman logo).
The promotional short was able to renew the series for a third season and add Batgirl to its regular cast. Batgirl's official debut was in the episode "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin".[17] The Penguin kidnaps Commissioner Gordon's daughter Barbara, binds her to a chair and gags her, and hides her in the next-door apartment which is being redecorated. The dynamic duo make it their mission to rescue her. The Penguin plans to marry her, thinking that becoming Commissioner Gordon's son-in-law would make him immune from arrest. He ungags her and forces her to agree to this by threatening to have Gordon killed. Pretending to be locked behind a secured door, Barbara transforms into Batgirl and assists Batman and Robin in defeating the Penguin as they have been gassed and hung over a vat of acid. During the episode, Alfred Pennyworth discovers her secret identity - but he vows never to reveal it. He claims she left a few minutes ago when the fight has finished, by which time Barbara has changed back.
During the third season, Batgirl aided Batman and Robin in solving several mysteries and even saved them from near death by herself on several occasions. Unfortunately, Batgirl's addition to the cast was not enough to save the series from cancellation. Although the promotional short has been mistakenly thought of as a pilot for Batgirl's own spin-off, it is highly unlikely ABC would have agreed to give her her own series since Batman had been in danger of cancellation since the end of its first season. According to the book DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes, Batgirl's addition to the cast "was a sign of desperation. Ratings were down and there was hope that a new character might give the show a shot in the arm."[18]
Craig later reprised the Batgirl role in a 1972 television commercial supporting women's rights and equal pay.[19]
The 2003 television film included scenes recreating the filming of the 1960s TV series, with Erin Carufel portraying Batgirl.
See main article: Birds of Prey (TV series).
Barbara Gordon as Oracle appears in Birds of Prey, portrayed by Dina Meyer.[20]
In the 70 minute pilot episode, Alfred Pennyworth narrates the events which have led to the formation of the Birds of Prey. Years ago, when Batman defended the streets of Gotham City, he fathered a daughter to Catwoman which he never knew about. After the birth of her daughter Helena, Selena Kyle gave up her life as Catwoman and raised her child as a single mother. Bruce Wayne, apparently oblivious to the fact that he has a child, continues to fight crime in Gotham as Batman. Alfred tells that he "had trained many protégés over the years and one of them was Barbara Gordon, who called herself Batgirl." As Batman and Batgirl continued to fight the Joker for control of the city, the battle came to an end with Joker's loss. However, the Joker swore revenge not on Batman himself, but on those he loved. While a hit-man was sent to murder Catwoman, the Joker, in a scene adapted directly from The Killing Joke, guns down Barbara at her apartment. With Gordon paralyzed and Kyle dead, Batman abandons Gotham, never to be seen again.
Seven years later, in the present day, Barbara Gordon has now become "Oracle" and has adopted and trained Helena Kyle; the vigilante known as The Huntress. They soon adopt Dinah Redmond and the three vow to protect the city of New Gotham. During the series, Oracle is briefly reunited with Black Canary, described as her original partner in Birds of Prey (and the mother of Dinah Redmond), and in one episode dons the Batgirl costume once more to face off with Lady Shiva (while using an electronic device that allows her to temporarily walk again). In the final episode, she is able to improve her spine replacement device enough to engage in combat for several minutes though she collapses at the end of the battle. The series would last a total of thirteen episodes, leaving the mystery of Batman's whereabouts unresolved. However, a phone conversation with Alfred in Wayne Manor implies that the Dark Knight has monitored Birds of Prey activities in the city and knows of his daughter's existence.
Laeta Kalogridis planned several series highlights for the second season, including Dick Grayson's reintroduction (prompting a Barbara/Helena argument), as well as Koriand'r possibly appearing. Ollie Queen/Green Arrow would have joined Dinah, and thus the series would have progressed with a Cassandra Cain episode as well.
Dina Meyer additionally reprises her role as Barbara Gordon in the Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths".[21]
Barbara Gordon appears in the third season of the HBO Max series Titans, portrayed by Savannah Welch. This version became the Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department after her father's death at the hands of Mr. Freeze, and retired from her Batgirl persona after being paralyzed by the Joker. She also had her right leg amputated, a trait that was implemented following the casting of Welch, who is a real-life amputee.[22] [23] [24] Dick visits Gotham City after hearing about Jason Todd's death, where he and Barbara argue about Bruce's lack of empathy and obsession with crimefighting. When Bruce goes missing after killing the Joker, Barbara begins to work with Dick and the Titans to take down the new villain Red Hood, who later reveals himself as a resurrected Jason.
Additionally, Barbara utilizes Oracle, an advanced artificial intelligence computer system located in the GCPD headquarters. Once used by Batman to take down Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow, Oracle was shut down willingly to avoid government scrutiny. Dick convinces Barbara to reactivate Oracle to locate Crane, but he hacks into its systems, forcing Barbara to deactivate it permanently.
While the series was being developed for TNT, Barbara was intended to appear as the team's hacker,[25] [26] but her role was ultimately reduced.[27]
Barbara Gordon appears in the fifth and final season of Gotham, portrayed by Jeté Laurence.[28]
Barbara Gordon as Batgirl appears in The Adventures of Batman, voiced by Jane Webb.
Barbara Gordon as Batgirl appears in The New Adventures of Batman, voiced by Melendy Britt. This version works in the district attorney's office.
Barbara Gordon appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by Melissa Gilbert in , Mary Kay Bergman in , Tara Strong in The New Batman Adventures, and Gotham Girls, Stockard Channing in the first two seasons of Batman Beyond, and Angie Harmon in the last season of Batman Beyond and .
See main article: Batman: The Animated Series.
In , Barbara Gordon is introduced in the two-part episode "Heart of Steel",[29] where she assists Batman in saving her father James Gordon from the evil A.I. supercomputer HARDAC. She makes her first appearance as Batgirl in the two-part episode "Shadow of the Bat", helping Batman and Robin clear Commissioner Gordon's name after Two-Face and GCPD member Gil Mason frame him for corruption. Although Batman had been critical of her at first, he changes this thinking after witnessing her capabilities. Barbara's final appearance is in the episode "Batgirl Returns" in which she is seen having a flirting relationship with Dick Grayson at Gotham State University. In the film , Barbara Gordon appears as a central character, being kidnapped by Mr. Freeze in an attempt to save his wife Nora Fries. The bulk of the film showcases Barbara using her skills to evade Mr. Freeze while trying to escape her captor's hideout. Despite being against Mr. Freeze, Barbara admits that she feels sorry for Nora and is willing to do the transfusion but only in a hospital. Eventually, Batman and Robin locate her, and the three of them manage to destroy Mr. Freeze's hideout and escape. It is also shown in this film that Barbara is in a relationship with Dick.[30]
See main article: The New Batman Adventures.
During The New Batman Adventures, Barbara Gordon appears as Batgirl as a recurring character.[31] Batgirl is eventually allowed into the Batcave and becomes a main character and is Batman's main partner as opposed to Robin, which was different from the comics. Batgirl was made an addition to the cast with producer Bruce Timm stating, "The consumer products division and the people at the WB wanted to make sure kids would watch the show, so they strongly suggested we include Batgirl and Tim Drake (as Robin) as a way of courting young girl audiences as well as young boys...We liked the Batgirl character and I certainly didn't mind putting her in the show."[32] It is also shown in the series that her previous relationship with Dick Grayson did not last. The episode "You Scratch My Back" emphasized this, portraying her relationship with Nightwing as strenuous and the episode "Old Wounds" shows how it ended with Barbara eventually discovering Bruce and Dick's secret identities and Dick realizing that Bruce knew and never told him quits as Robin and leaves Gotham. The episode "Over the Edge" also implies this as Nightwing "can't believe it ended like this for us or Barbara". The episode "Girls' Night Out" establishes Batgirl and Supergirl (Kara Kent) as close friends. Along with all other characters in the series, Barbara's civilian and superhero identity were redesigned. Her Batgirl costume was changed to a black body suit with yellow gloves, boots, bat-symbol and utility belt to match her original comic book design seen in Detective Comics #359. In the movie , Barbara Gordon appears briefly when she calls Bruce Wayne to find out who Batwoman is. She expresses jealousy and Bruce dodges the issue by faking cellular phone problems. This is Barbara's only scene in the film and hints a crush on Bruce which she expresses with hinting that she misses Bruce.
Barbara Gordon appears in Batman Beyond. By the year 2039, she has replaced her late father as commissioner, largely separated from Bruce Wayne, and become opposed to vigilantism. She resents Wayne dragging Terry McGinnis as a new Batman, but eventually comes to respect the latter. While she never officially endorses or helps him, she no longer threatens to turn him in and continually looks the other way, acknowledging his assistance in some cases even if she never asks for it. On one occasion, she was prepared to arrest Terry when she apparently witnessed the second Batman murder the criminal bomber Mad Stan despite the fact that Terry's arrest would compromise her and Bruce's secret. However, Bruce and Terry succeeded in revealing that Spellbinder had created an illusion of Mad Stan's death; she subsequently awarded Terry with a civic service award as an apology. The precise future of her and Dick's relationship remains unknown but Barbara tells Terry to "try looking up for Nightwing sometime" about how Bruce treated partners. When the Joker returns from the dead, Terry McGinnis goes to her when Bruce Wayne refuses to talk about how this cannot be Joker. When Bruce is recovering from the Joker's toxin, she reluctantly tells Terry the details: the Joker kidnapped, tortured and brainwashed Tim Drake into a miniature version of himself. During the chaos, Batgirl faced off against Harley Quinn and watched as Harley fell to her death, unaware that she had actually survived. Tim killed the Joker and covered up the events with her father's aid a year before Tim's recovery from his trauma and Bruce forbade Tim from being Robin again as Tim soon left after this. Barbara also temporarily takes Bruce's place in advising Terry while tracking a couple of suspects as possible candidates for the Joker's true identity. She and Bruce visit Tim recovering in the hospital after the Joker's final defeat by Terry with Bruce reconciling his relationship with Tim.
Barbara Gordon is also a featured character in Gotham Girls. A joint production of Warner Bros. and Noodle Soup Productions, the series stars Batgirl protecting Gotham City from the criminal activities of Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Although not restricted to the animated continuity, the main characters were adapted from The New Batman Adventures.
An alternate timeline version of Barbara Gordon makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Justice League episode "The Savage Time". Additionally, she was intended to appear in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Double Date", but the Bat-embargo prevented this, resulting in the episode being rewritten to focus on Green Arrow and the Question.[33]
See main article: The Batman (TV series). Barbara Gordon appears in The Batman, voiced by Danielle Judovits as Batgirl and Kellie Martin as Oracle. This version is a skilled gymnast and friend of Pamela Isley who was inspired to become Batgirl after seeing Batman fight Temblor. During her initial introduction, she demands to be called "Batwoman" until Commissioner Gordon calls her by the Batgirl name.
She aids the Dark Knight with numerous cases, proving herself as a trusted ally. Batman himself, despite never asking to have a partner, becomes fond of working with her - though would not admit it. At one point, in the episode "A Dark Knight to Remember", she has figured out that Batman is secretly Bruce Wayne as the billionaire is physically fit and can afford to purchase equipment that Batman would require. But Wayne had partial amnesia during that time which made Bruce lose the memory as the Dark Knight Detective which threw Barbara off. After she and Batman saved Gotham from Maxie Zeus's siege in the episode "Thunder", the Dark Knight gave her some spare gadgets and accepted her as a partner as she was in the loop.
Batman finally let Barbara in on his own secret in the episode "Team Penguin" after getting Dick Grayson as a second partner. Deciding they needed teamwork training and to learn to trust one another more, the trio shares their secret identities (but Batgirl is reluctant to give up hers so Batman does it for her) and begins training. She and Robin develop a sibling-like relationship throughout the show, and gets annoyed when Robin refers to her as "Babs". In the two-part episode "The Joining", she participated in the battle to save Earth with Robin from the alien technological entity known as The Joining.
The episode "Artifacts" features her adult incarnation using a wheelchair (under unknown circumstances) using her Oracle identity. Oracle manages the cyber realms and has a joking yet more adult-like relationship to Nightwing. The distant future shows Batgirl, Batman and Robin are now legends similar to Robin Hood and the Merry Men, with her being known as Batwoman.
In the episode "Joker Express", Batgirl was under the Joker's control and Batman and Robin have perforce to fight her. While Robin was almost killed, Batman fought Batgirl briefly. The Dark Knight defeated her by making Barbara inhale an incapacitating gas which eventually restores her to normal after her body and mind begin to relax. In the episode "Attack of the Terrible Trio", it is revealed that Barbara has graduated from Gotham High School at an early age and enrolled in Gotham University.
In the two-part series finale, Barbara and Robin work with the Justice League to battle the Joining after they lost their powers. Afterwards, the two discuss the idea of forming their own junior Justice League.
Barbara Gordon as Batgirl appears in , voiced by Mae Whitman. Additionally, the series finale "Mitefall!" sees Bat-Mite altering reality to make Batman: The Brave and the Bold "jump the shark" so that it will be cancelled and replaced with a more serious Batman series. In the end, he succeeds, and an in-universe commercial for the (fictional) replacement series reveals that the new show will focus on Batgirl instead, with Batman as a supporting character.
Barbara Gordon as Batgirl and Oracle appears in Young Justice, voiced by Alyson Stoner. This version is initially a student at the Gotham Academy before joining the Team during the time skip between the first and second seasons. In the tie-in comics, she is shown to have a romantic interest in Dick Grayson, and appears to have a "friends with benefits" relationship.[34] In , Barbara becomes Oracle after Orphan accidentally injures and paralyzes her, and enters a relationship with Dick.[35]
Barbara Gordonas Batgirl in Super Best Friends Forever, voiced again by Tara Strong.[36]
Barbara Gordon as Oracle appears in Beware the Batman, voiced again by Tara Strong.[37] This version is a member of the Outsiders.
Batgirl appears in Teen Titans Go!, voiced again by Tara Strong.
Batgirl appears as a central protagonist in the DC Super Hero Girls franchise, voiced by Mae Whitman in the first four seasons of the web series, Ashley Madden in the fifth season, and Tara Strong in the 2019 series. This version is a tomboyish and cheerful student at Super Hero High who aspires to be Batman's sidekick.
Barbara Gordon appears in Harley Quinn, voiced by Briana Cuoco. This version is a student and tour guide at Riddler University. After seeing her father hit rock bottom and helping Harley Quinn defeat Riddler, she becomes inspired to assume the identity of Batgirl. In the episode "Batman's Back Man", she proves to be effective in fighting crime and is appointed by Batman as his temporary replacement. In the episode "There's No Place to Go But Down", Barbara reveals her identity as Batgirl to her father and helps him take down Two-Face. In the following episode, "Inner (Para) Demons", after Gordon becomes Commissioner again and is told by the President of the United States that he needs to kill Harley for Gotham to rejoin the U.S., Barbara unsuccessfully tries to dissuade him and later warns Harley that Gordon will be coming after her.
Batgirl remains a member of the growing Bat Family throughout the third and fourth seasons, slowly forming a bond with Harley who is questioning her morals. She later loses control of her mental health following Nightwing's murder, but right as she recovers, she is shot in the stomach by the Joker. Paralyzed from the waist down and bound to a wheelchair, Barbara ultimately leaves the Bat Family and joins Harley, Ivy, and Catwoman in forming the Gotham City Sirens.
Barbara Gordon appears in , voiced by Krystal Joy Brown.[38]
Throughout the Batman Arkham series, Barbara Gordon is voiced by Kimberly Brooks in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, by Kelsey Lansdowne in Arkham Origins, and by Ashley Greene in Arkham Knight.[44]
| Actor | Live-action television | Animated television | Radio | Live-action film | Animated film | Web series | Video games | Podcasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-value="Craig, Yvonne" | colspan="7" | |||||||
| data-sort-value="Webb, Jane" | colspan="6" | |||||||
| data-sort-value="Thompson, Shelley" | colspan="5" | |||||||
| data-sort-value="Gilbert, Melissa" | colspan="6" | |||||||
| data-sort-value="Silverstone, Alicia" | colspan="4" | |||||||
| data-sort-value="Strong, Tara" | ||||||||
| data-sort-value="Gunn, Hannah" | colspan="4" | |||||||
| data-sort-value="Rodriguez, Gina" | ||||||||