Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon is a DC Comics superhero created by William Dozier, Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox, and Carmine Infantino. She first appeared in Detective Comics #359 (1967), debuting simultaneously in comics and the Batman television series.

The daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon, Barbara held a master's degree in library science and worked as head librarian at the Gotham City Public Library. She adopted the Batgirl identity after intervening in a crime while wearing a bat-themed costume to a masquerade ball, proving herself capable enough to earn Batman's respect.

In Alan Moore's The Killing Joke (1988), Barbara was shot and paralyzed by the Joker. Rather than retire, she reinvented herself as Oracle, a world-class hacker and information broker who coordinated superhero operations from behind a computer screen. As Oracle, she founded and led the Birds of Prey alongside Black Canary and Huntress. The Oracle identity became one of the most prominent representations of disability in mainstream comics.

DC's New 52 relaunch in 2011 restored Barbara's mobility through surgery, and she returned to active duty as Batgirl.