Real Name[]
Barbara Gordon
Known Aliases[]
Batgirl I
First DC Appearance[]
(As Batgirl I): Detective Comics #359 (January 1967) - (as Oracle): Suicide Squad vol. 1 #23 (January 1989)
First Story Appearance[]
Black and White
Weapons[]
As Batgirl I, Barbara carried the standard Bat-Family fare: Batarangs, grappling hooks, and various other gadgets. As Oracle, Barbara has access to the most advanced computers in the world, and is the number one source of information in the DCU. Knowledge is power!
Powers[]
Barbara has no powers, per se; however, she possesses an eidetic, or photographic, memory (rare for humans), which allows her to remember nearly everything she sees or hears with near-perfect detail.
Current Status[]
Active.
History[]
The niece and adoptive daughter (…er, right?) of James Gordon, Gotham's police commissioner, Barbara grew to admire Batman, and attended a fancy dress party in a costume modeled on his. On her way there, she saved millionaire Bruce Wayne from a criminal called Killer Moth, and decided as a result to become Batgirl on a regular basis, grudgingly supported by Batman, whom she later learned was Bruce Wayne's 'real' self. She also developed a close friendship with the original Robin, who would later become Nightwing.
Shortly after the second Robin, Jason Todd, was killed, her heroic career was brought to a permanent end when the Joker shot her (Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke… which, despite what he says, the barmy old coot, is very good). This horrific incident resulted in her being confined to a wheel chair. However, she would not let this daunt her, and, using her information and computing skills, she set about becoming Oracle, an on-line help and information source for various heroes. Initially working alongside the Suicide Squad, Barbara later began working more as she wanted to; recruiting various heroes, most notably the Black Canary, to combat problems as they arose. She has also worked as a coordinator for the JLA on many recent occasions.