Batgirl
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Real Identity: Barbara Gordon
Appearances (BTAC Comics): Mentors Part 1, Mentors Part 2, Red Son Rising Part 1, Red Son Rising Part 3, Court Fight Part I, The Hunter or The Hunted, Mayor Mayhem Part One, Mayor Mayhem Part Two, Mayor Mayhem Part Three, Crack-Up Part One, Crack-Up! Part Two, Crack-Up! Part Three, and The Offer Part One
Skills: Detective, hand to hand fighting and technological
Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon and is Batgirl, one of the costumed vigilantes in Gotham City who works alongside Batman. Although Barbara Gordon's presence in the Batcave was sparse at the time, she shared Alfred Pennyworth's opinion that despite Bruce Wayne's best intentions, they thought Jason Todd's admittance to the Batcave was premature. Jason Todd's training sessions exhibited his amazing energy and skill levels but also his unfettered ferocity and anger.
Some four years later, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl responded to Clayface's rampage at a downtown theater. Robin tried to wrangle an arm with rope but was unsuccessful. Batman threw a Batarang then dodged a counterattack. They surrounded Clayface but before they could close in, he split in half and bolted in opposite directions. Batgirl and Robin pursued one while Batman went after the other. Robin ran into Annie, who pleaded for his help. Batgirl tried to warn Robin but he became angry and threw a freezing capsule at her. She began to revert back to Clayface and took a jump kick from Robin. Robin declared that was for Annie. Clayface still fought back and wrapped a tendril arm around Robin's neck while swiping at Batgirl. Deathstroke leaped down and sliced Clayface's head in half with a sword coated with a fast-acting sedative. Deathstroke promised Clayface would wake up in six hours with nothing more than a bad headache. He helped Robin up to his feet. Batgirl thanked him. Batman arrived with the other half of Clayface frozen and over his shoulder. He already deduced he was Deathstroke based on a code name associated with a mercenary matching his description.
Deathstroke quipped he would be the first to advocate using a fear-inducing title then stated tonight, he could call him "friend" then bid them farewell. Sunny stole a Farmer Brown van and timed it to drive by as Deathstroke was saying his goodbyes to Batman. Deathstroke flipped towards the van. Robin commented "awesome." Batman and Batgirl stared at him. Batgirl later engaged Roxy Rocket in an aerial battle high above Midtown. It ended after she crashed into a Soder billboard. Batgirl tied her up and left her for the police. Roxy whined rockets cost money, too. Batgirl could have cared less and checked her hair. Batgirl found Deathstroke sitting on her Batcyle with his legs up on the handlebars. She told him to take his feet off. He commented it took a unique fighter to bring down a thrill-crazed maniac at two hundred miles per hour. Batgirl corrected him it was two hundred and fifty. She joked she didn't sign autographs. Sensing a lack of trust, Deathstroke took off his mask and revealed his face to her.
Batgirl commented the mask was only part of the mystery then asked him who he was. Deathstroke replied he was a man on a mission but it was "very hush-hush." Batgirl quipped half the inmates in Arkham Asylum said that. She was ready to leave. Deathstroke commended her and Robin, a testament to Batman's training, and without them the city would have rotted a long time ago. Batgirl sensed she was listening to a sales pitch. Deathstroke insisted he just meant there was a bigger theater for a woman of her talents and she could go far under his supervision. Batgirl stated she was doing just fine. Deathstroke questioned that and asked her if she was aware someone was watching her. Red Hood was surprised and bolted from his rooftop position. That morning, Barbara Gordon briefed Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, and Alfred Pennyworth about the encounter. Wayne commented men of Deathstroke's ilk were only visible only when they needed to be. Pennyworth added and only solicitous when they wanted something. Gordon stated she definitely felt like he was after someone. Wayne advised them to keep their distance from Deathstroke until he learned more.
Deathstroke returned to his warehouse hideout and started sparring with practice dummies using his gun and sword. Sunny inquired what Batgirl was like. Deathstroke thought she was headstrong, opinionated, and smart very much like her. Sunny shot a practice dummy then countered she thought not that much. She admitted she couldn't really get a sense of her from the window of a speeding van. Deathstroke promised they would meet soon enough then complimented her Clayface idea. The next day, Barbara Gordon went to Wayne Manor and found Tim Drake in the living room doing homework. She asked where everybody was. Drake replied there were "downstairs" but he wasn't invited. Gordon confirmed she heard he was grounded. Drake asked her how much she thought an international bounty hunter got paid. Gordon teased he was too young and speculated the CIA commissary was hiring bus boys. Drake was not amused and told her she had no idea what it's like. Gordon did in fact then headed to the Batcave. Pennyworth and Wayne examined satellite footage of their stalker. Wayne noted they lost him in the shadows. Gordon was surprised he jumped to escape detection since the next building was half a block away. Pennyworth speculated he could fly. Wayne looked at him. Pennyworth quipped they did that in Metropolis. Wayne pointed out the stalker was using an extra thin cable but to pull off the feat, he had to be an athlete of extraordinary strength.
Tim Drake stewed in the Batcave and called up Barbara Gordon to vent. She was shelving books at Gotham University Campus Library. Drake couldn't believe Batman cut off all contact after all these years. Gordon questioned "years." Drake clarified it had been almost a year since he became Robin. He asked again if Batman contacted her. Gordon told him she is working in the library and the only action she was getting was stamping due dates. She picked up a Historical Society book and noticed a slip of paper sticking out. She pulled it out and saw a handwritten note that read, "It's a Trap" Drake called out to her and asked her what was going on. Jason Todd left the library undetected. Drake and Gordon noticed the paper was stuck in a book about Old Gotham in a chapter about the building of the Tri-State Dam. Batgirl and Robin heard Deathstroke spill his plans and threw out rope around his arms then yanked him backwards. Robin remarked he thought Joker was a motor mouth.
Deathstroke sliced the ropes and lamented the development but proceeded to kill them, too. Batman reached for the packs on the Firefly costume and threw a jar at Deathstroke. He sliced it and accelerant spilled all over him. He lit on fire. Deathstroke pointed out his suit was kevlar and he was only succeeded in making him look more menacing. Batman pointed out his suit would also heat up and guessed it was already 10 degrees higher. Deathstroke swung into a vat and triggered an explosion. He tried to escape and strip off his suit but Batman threw a fire extinguisher at his head and knocked him out. He then sprayed the extinguisher on him to put out the flames. For the record, Robin stated he never thought Deathstroke was great. Batgirl ran an analysis on the note in the book but reported, other than her fingerprints, the paper was clean. Pennyworth asked how she figured out the Tri-State Dam was the target. Batgirl noted she put two and two together. Robin added "they" did. Batgirl pointed out this all meant their stalker knew her secret identity. Batman finished her sentence and confirmed that meant he knew everything, even what their opponents were doing. Batman wondered what he wanted and why he was playing a cat-and-mouse game with them.
Batman and Batgirl returned to the Batcave to find Pennyworth injured and Tim Drake missing. While Batman spoke to Leslie Thompkins over the phone about an encounter with Red Hood, Batgirl consoled Pennyworth. Batman abruptly ran to the Batmobile. Pennyworth deduced he knew Red Hood was starting to make his play and he needed to be out there. Batgirl went to the Batcycle. Pennyworth warned her whatever happened, it was not going to end well. Batgirl assured him she knew that and that's why she had to be there. After Red Hood kidnapped the Joker from the Iceberg Lounge, Batman inquired about Straightman while Batgirl looked around with her flashlight. Penguin was irate about his three million dollar chandelier and vowed to hang Red Hood in its place. Batman noted Red Hood didn't say where he was taking the Joker. Penguin was annoyed and answered he wasn't looking to prolong the visit. Batgirl noticed wet streaks and alerted Batman. She recalled the last time it rained in the city was last week.
Penguin recalled he got a clammy smell off Red Hood but dismissed it as bad hygiene. Batman realized Red Hood was using the sewer system to hide the whole time and took over Killer Croc's old lair. They went out the back door. He noticed Batgirl was unconscious on the Batcycle and found a dart in her back. From a storm drain, Red Hood claimed by tomorrow morning, she would be back to being as obnoxious as ever. He darted Batman with his last shot. Some time later, Batgirl came to and located the others. She blew up a manhole cover and lowered herself down and asked what she missed. A search was conducted in the harbor. Batgirl's two drones failed to locate Joker, Straightman, or Red Hood. Batman admitted he made a terrible mistake with Jason Todd and wondered about Batgirl and Robin. Robin pointed out Todd at least knew he would never abandon him. Batgirl added Jason Todd made his choice, like they did. Robin stated they weren't going anywhere.
Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson went to Haley's Circus when it was in Gotham. Grayson was recognized as a former member of the Flying Graysons. She feigned innocence and believed it was one of the cute acrobats from the last act that recognized him and let the ringmaster know. Deadman observed them but decided not to possess him after he saw Gordon lean in to kiss Grayson on the cheek. As Batgirl, she later relieved Robin with guard duty on General Vreeland's hospital room. Batman suddenly went solo one night. Batgirl went after him using the Batmobile tracker and intervened in a skirmish against Black Mask and his men. Batman wasn't pleased with her presence and insisted he had things handled. Batgirl didn't think so. Batman pointed out there was a third hiding behind a door and he shouldn't be a problem. He turned to be Black Mask's lawyer Stanley Shangles. Shangles backed up his claim he had no idea where Jazzman was then added Jazzman contacted them, not the other way around.
Batgirl became livid Batman was keeping her away from a case involving Jazzman, the gangster who shot her father years ago. She stated she read all his files and knew him backwards and forwards. Batman told her she was too close to it and seeing him face-to-face was different. Batman was also interested in whatever information Jazzman had that could take down Black Mask once and for all. He ended the conversation abruptly and left in the Batmobile. Batgirl refused to back down. Batgirl went to question Solo, a pianist who was an old flame of Jazzman. Batgirl left a tip. She informed her she wasn't performing, just fooling around, then realized who she was talking to. Batgirl asked about Jazzman. She lost her focus and told her she didn't talk about him because it wasn't healthy and called him a long forgotten tune. Batgirl deduced he abused her. Solo replied all it took was one broken finger and it was over. Batgirl told her he hurt someone she knew really bad and didn't want to see him do it to anyone else. Solo kept playing. Batgirl was about leave but Solo told her to look for Ziggy Tats, a tattoo artist that Jazzman went to from the old days.
Jazzman was about to leave Ziggy's to close the deal with Black Mask but Batgirl blew the parlor open with an exploding batarang. Ziggy pleaded with Batgirl to stop because he was just a small business owner trying to keep his head above water and promised he would do anything. Batgirl told him to find Jazzman a shirt. Batgirl hauled him to the sidecar attached to her Batcycle. Jazzman mused he would think up a special tune for her when he killed her. Batgirl retorted his composing days were over because he was going away for what did to Commissioner Gordon after he flips on Mask. Jazzman remembered Gordon and pointed to the tattoo on his chest, revealing he wasn't finished yet. Batgirl socked him. She pushed him out of the way of Huntress' arrow just in time. Huntress ordered Batgirl to get out of the way. Jazzman had no idea who she was. Batgirl informed him she used to work with Batman in the Justice League. They were at a standoff. Batgirl threw out smoke balls and tried to escape on the Batcycle.
Huntress jumped out the way and fired an arrow that crippled the cycle. It caught fire and Batgirl was forced to take evasive action and drive onto the Gotham Stockyards. Batgirl stashed Jazzman in a boxcar using handcuffs then waited for Huntress. Huntress wasn't interested in a conversation. Batgirl stated she needed Jazzman alive to bring down Black Mask. Huntress believed he was playing everyone like a fiddle and he would leave them all in the dust once he found a way out. Huntress revealed he was going to kill Jazzman in order so she could stop hearing "Lullaby of Birdland" in the nightmares of her parents being murdered by the gang he was in. Batgirl tried to convince her killing in vengeance wouldn't bring her any peace. She fired an arrow and pinned Batgirl's cape to the boxcar wall. However, Jazzman's crew Eight-Bars and Footsie arrived on a tip from Ziggy. It quickly became apparent Footsie was an expert in Tae Kwon Do. Batgirl got loose and knocked him out the window. Huntress kicked a piano into Eight-Bars. Footsie looked up from the ground and saw Eight-Bars and the piano sailing towards him.
Batgirl complimented the move. Huntress stated she was still killing Jazzman. Batgirl continued assaulting Eight-Bars with a drop kick then an uppercut. Huntress fired her arrows at Footsie then dropped him using her crossbow. Jazzman got the drop on Huntress and knocked her in the head with the rail he was cuffed to. Batgirl threw an exploding batarang and diverted the switcher engine towards them. They thought she was a lousy throw. The train arrived. In the chaos, Batgirl tackled Huntress to safety. Huntress told her she owed her one then realized what Batgirl would ask. She agreed to leave Jazzman alive tonight like Batgirl asked. Batgirl finished off Jazzman then noticed Batman was present. She deduced he followed the distress call on her cycle. They hauled Jazzman to GCPD where Detective Bullock and Montoya interrogated him. Bullock refused to let him walk for the files on Black Mask. Batman noticed he was trying to cover up the tattoo on his neck and slammed his head on the table. They discovered a microdot embedded on his neck and realized he was carrying the files in plain sight the whole time. Bullock ordered an officer to escort Jazzman to a cell while he awaited transfer back to Stonegate Penitentiary.
Batgirl was intrigued with Emerson Mayfield's surprising surge in the polls in his campaign for mayor. As Barbara Gordon, she infiltrated the campaign as a volunteer to gather intelligence on the inside. During a rally at the Iceberg Lounge, she told Mr. Wing it was okay to let Bruce Wayne in through the private entrance because he was with her. She joked she could get him a sweat deal on sweatpants if he didn't mind Mayfield's face on his bum. Gordon admitted to her ruse but told him the campaign was secretive and all planning was done from Mayfield's home. She also warned him about Mayfield's manager, Ms. Hanbury. Almost on cue, Hanbury scolded Gordon about taking an unauthorized person backstage. Mayfield noticed Wayne and declared they could make an exception. Gordon excused herself to get Wayne some sweatpants. Later that night, she called up Wayne Manor and informed him the campaign took an interest in her because she was Commissioner Gordon's daughter.
The next night, Gordon got to meet Mayfield at his estate, now a satellite campaign office. She had been promoted to Director of Media Relations. Hanbury was asked to show Gordon her office. Hanbury told her it was good to have her and reiterated Mayfield was confident she was the person to help with creating positive online interaction with young voters. Gordon noted how she was an ice queen the night before, but was now acting like Mary Poppins. Gordon noticed a door down a hall. Hanbury grabbed her arm and told her that wing was reserved for the strategy room but her office was in the east wing. Gordon apologized and implored her to lead the way. She sensed a hint of cockney beneath her posh accent. Later that night, Gordon said her goodbyes to everyone then hid until everyone went home. She broke into the strategy room and encountered Mad Hatter. She realized why Mayfield was doing so well in the polls. She was knocked out from behind by Mayfield.
Some time later, she regained consciousness and Mayfield told Hatter their Alice returned from the Looking Glass. He apologized for the bump on the head and claimed he thought she was a reporter at first. Hatter reported there was no damage done to the cane but warned Mayfield it was hardly a blunt instrument. She asked what the device was. Mayfield and Hatter obliged her and explained. Hanbury returned to the room with tea. She overheard Mayfield talking about how his enhanced cane was a godsend for politicians. She quipped it would be good for comedians, too, and some people didn't see a difference between the two. She took off her disguise and started talking in her regular accent. She announced Hill Junior and Mayfield were in a dead heat in the polls. Barbara Gordon instantly recognized her. Hare pointed out she warned Mayfield not to hire her because she was a curtain twitcher and nothing but Barney. Mayfield asked Hatter for the American translation. Hatter summarized she said Gordon was trouble. He didn't disagree. A headband with Hatter's mind control circuitry was placed on Gordon's head. She visited her father's office and overhead him putting an APB out on Hatter.
She made her presence known and hoped that didn't mean he was working overtime since they were supposed to go over the ballot propositions. He assured her he was done for the night and complimented her new headband. She admitted she already had a drawerful but couldn't resist it. In the morning, she told Summer Gleeson, in an interview, that she was recruited by Junior to infiltrate and sabotage Mayfield's campaign. Gleeson asked Gordon if she felt used by Junior. Gordon stated she felt used in the worse way and was ashamed. She added Mayfield was a kind and generous man while Junior was out for himself and power then claimed Junior had her steal from the police department's classified files. While Mayfield made preparations to vacate his estate, he presented a suicide letter he wrote for Gordon to copy in her own handwriting. Hare asked Gordon how she felt about that. Still under mind control, she blankly stared. As a diversion, Gordon's phone was taped to the front bumper of a WGOB news van. Nightwing found it and went through the call logs then discovered Ms. Hanbury was March Hare.
Following Mayfield's orders, March Hare took the mind controlled Barbara Gordon to a roof near the WGOB news building to commit suicide to further heighten the scandal. Nightwing intervened and knocked the mind control headband off with a projectile that then bounced off Hare's face. While Nightwing was preoccupied by Mr. Wing, Gordon was electrocuted by March Hare's rabbit ears. Hare advised her she should have taken the jump. Gordon kicked her and the impact caused her to self-electrocute herself. Gordon quipped she believed her. Gordon went to Summer Gleeson and cleared everything up, including her near-murder. A major publisher approached Gordon to write a tell-all account of her ordeal. She teased Batman she promised not to tell everything. Around spring the next year, Batman hailed Barbara Gordon over comms after he spoke with Amanda Waller about Straightman. He did not believe her story that Task Force X was sent to assassinate Joker. She opened Straightman's military file but he wanted access to the classified documents. She teased he and Pennyworth were overdue for a refresher on firewall hacking. Gordon deduced Batman already read the basic intelligence on Straightman and promised to start digging until she found more.
Batman contacted Barbara Gordon for help. She was glad to have a distraction from reading about the fifth circle of hell in "Dante's Inferno" for school but she was disappointed to learn he just needed her to locate a stolen prototype battle suit through a backdoor since its tracing system was shut down. He sent her all the specs and polymorphic codes. She later hailed Batman on comms and announced she just interfaced with the stolen suit and could see what the thief was seeing. She revealed the thief was heading for Gotham's old eastside carnival, one of Joker's recent but vacated haunts. Gordon accessed the suit's remote control and shut it down. Batman confirmed the thief was Professor Strange's assistant Gretchen Gallway. Barbara Gordon later hailed Batman on comms from the Batcave and notified him of a high-priority message from someone called "The Wall." She had trouble deciphering it but he knew it was Amanda Waller. Batgirl joined the team at Camp Finger in anticipation of Joker making a play for Straightman.
Joker used a tank to blow a hole in the side of the main building. Colonel Haslett had enough and pulled her handgun. Joker signaled Deadshot who shot her right shoulder. Robin jump kicked Deadshot while Batgirl provided cover with gas balls. Batgirl, Robin, and Haslett took cover behind a giant satellite dish. Robin saw Deadshot with a bazooka but they were saved by Batman and Harley Quinn. Batgirl wondered what the latter was doing there. Harley reckoned she should join there team and provide some laughs. She realized they were gone. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl jumped Straightman and tried in vain to get him to stop from slamming Joker around. Haslett got him to stop by telling him "at ease." Days later, Barbara Gordon brought tea down to the Batcave. Bruce Wayne told her Task Force X no longer had a reason to eliminate Straightman and Amanda Waller pulled strings to ensure Professor Strange was blamed for the incident. Gordon assumed Joker was still in intensive care. Tim Drake thought it wouldn't be too much to hope he stayed that way.
Gordon asked about Finley. Wayne told her he was still undergoing therapy and the Psi-Ber Helmet was able to remove most of Joker's brainwashing and Task Force X was completely restored since they were under Joker's control for a shorter amount of time, Muscle was the last to have it erased, and Waller kept her word and released Harley Quinn's friends. Drake was eager to put some bat ears on the WayneTech prototype suit but Wayne was done with super soldier projects and was putting it in storage. During the Man-Bat rampage, Robin and Batgirl fired their grapling guns and snagged Man-Bat's legs. Batman tied him upside down from a light pole.