History ComicBook / Batgirl

For those of you trying to keep track, that's four Batgirls that "count" (Bette, Babs, Cass and Steph) and two that don't (Huntress and Misfit). Some even put Bette with the ones that don't "count" due to her unique hyphen (although this is misconstrued since by her own words, she is a Batgirl as shown in ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'')

* ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlBatgirlPlot'': ''World's Finest (1941)'' #169 (September 1967). First Batgirl/Supergirl team-up, and Barbaran's third appearance as Batgirl. Batgirl and Supergirl and meet each other for the first time, and suddenly they decide to team up to take Superman and Batman down. What -or who- has caused their change of behavior?

* ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'': Featuring Barbara Gordon, the original woman to bear the title. Despite her lengthy publication history, this is the first ongoing self-titled book to feature her as the title character.

[[folder:Bette Kane / Bat-Girl / Flamebird]]

The first Bat-Girl (note the hyphen, not used by any other Batgirl) was Bette (then spelled as "Betty") Kane, debuting in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961). She was the niece of [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kathy "Batwoman" Kane]], a DistaffCounterpart to Batman who had been introduced in 1956 as a {{Love Interest|s}} for the Dark Knight, in order to ward off perceptions of HoYay. Betty was the counterpart to Robin, gaining a (mostly one-sided) crush on Dick Grayson and his alter ego. She joined her aunt in fighting crime. Robin [[GirlsHaveCooties did not appreciate]] his counterpart, regarding her with a mixture of disinterest and distaste.

[[folder:Barbara Joan Gordon / Batgirl / Oracle]]

[[folder:Cassandra Cain / Batgirl / Orphan / Black Bat]]

[[folder:Stephanie Brown / Spoiler / Batgirl]]

* ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlBatgirlPlot'': ''World's Finest (1941)'' #169 (September 1967). First Batgirl/Supergirl team-up, and third Batgirl appearance. Batgirl and Supergirl and meet each other for the first time, and suddenly they decide to team up to take Superman and Batman down. What -or who- has caused their change of behavior?

[[folder:Bette Kane / Bat-Girl]]

[[folder:Cassandra Cain / Batgirl / Orphan]]

Whilst her first Post-Crisis appearance was as a cameo as Bat-Girl in [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke]], her history as Bat-Girl would get retconned out.

She has popped up every so often for brief appearances with the Titans, but avoiding a deep look at her continuity. Whilst Bette hasn't returned to being Bat-Girl, her history on the mantle would get restored in [[ComicBook/YoungJustice]] #21.

For those of you trying to keep track, that's four Batgirls that "count" (Bette, Babs, Cass and Steph) and two that don't (Huntress and Misfit). Some even put Bette with the ones that don't "count" due to her unique hyphen (although this is misconstrued since by her own words, she is a Batgirl as shown in ComicBook/YoungJustice #20)

[[folder:Betty Kane / Bat-Girl]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/betty_kane.png]]
The first Bat-Girl (note the hyphen, not used by any other Batgirl) was Betty Kane, debuting in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961). She was the niece of [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kathy "Batwoman" Kane]], a DistaffCounterpart to Batman who had been introduced in 1956 as a {{Love Interest|s}} for the Dark Knight, in order to ward off perceptions of HoYay. Betty was the counterpart to Robin, gaining a (mostly one-sided) crush on Dick Grayson and his alter ego. She joined her aunt in fighting crime. Robin [[GirlsHaveCooties did not appreciate]] his counterpart, regarding her with a mixture of disinterest and distaste.

Batwoman and Bat-Girl were [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome summarily dumped]] from the Bat-titles in 1964 as part of the new editor's cutting away some of the high silliness that had accumulated during UsefulNotes/TheInterregnum. Although the series ''Batman Family'' attempted to bring them back in the late '70s, Batwoman was soon killed off and Bat-Girl faded back into obscurity. Years later, when Dick Grayson had become ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, "Bette" Kane showed up in the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' series as [[ContinuityNod Flamebird]], a part-time costumed heroine with a crush on him. She has popped up every so often for brief appearances with the Titans, but avoiding a deep look at her continuity. Recently, the Interregnum-era stories have been brought back into continuity, albeit with the more outlandish ones being retconned into hallucinations that Bruce had during an exceptionally troubling phase in his life. The original Batwoman and Bat-Girl in particular have been confirmed as having been real.

Bette Kane appeared alongside her cousin, Kate Kane, in ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}''. For the record, her name doesn't seem to have a set pronunciation: the writers on ''Batwoman'' pronounce it "Betty", but her cameo in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' pronounced it "Bet".

* ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlBatgirlPlot'': World's Finest (1941)'' #169 (September 1967). First Batgirl/Supergirl team-up, and third Batgirl appearance. Batgirl and Supergirl and meet each other for the first time, and suddenly they decide to team up to take Superman and Batman down. What -or who- has caused their change of behavior?

The first Bat-Girl was Betty Kane, introduced in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961) as the niece and sidekick of Kathy Kane, the Batwoman. The second and most famous Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, was introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #359 (January, 1967), in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" The third Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, was introduced in ''Batman'' #567 (July, 1999). The fourth, Stephanie Brown, was introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #647, although she didn't become Batgirl until ''Batgirl'' Vol 3 #1 (October, 2009).

For those of you trying to keep track, that's four Batgirls that "count" (Bette, Babs, Cass and Steph) and two that don't (Huntress and Misfit). Some even put Bette with the ones that don't "count" due to her unique hyphen.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am who I choose to be."''[[labelnote:Characters]]Top: Barbara Gordon. Left to Right: Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. Not pictured: Betty Kane[[/labelnote]]]]

Worth noting is that the original 1960s Barbara was depicted as a confident, grown-up woman with a job and a Ph.D, but every depiction of her Batgirl created since "The Killing Joke" has placed more emphasis on the "''girl''" aspect of her character, with a focus on proving herself and "growing into" a mature hero like Batman. Most adaptions show her as much younger: ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' has her as roughly college-aged; ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' introduces her as a high school student that later cuts down on her superheroing to go to college, "''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' gives her a few cameos as a thirteen-year-old before becoming Batgirl sometime before age 18, and [[WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls both]] [[WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls incarnations]] of ''DC Super Hero Girls'' have her as a high school student. The comics themselves have finally followed suit and canonized that Barbara's first run as Batgirl was as a teenager, not an adult.

Worth noting is that the original 1960s Barbara was depicted as a confident, grown-up woman with a job and a Ph.D, but every depiction of her Batgirl created since "The Killing Joke" has placed more emphasis on the "''girl''" aspect of her character, with a focus on proving herself and "growing into" a mature hero like Batman. Most adaptions show her as much younger: "''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''" has her as roughly college-aged; "''WesternAnimation/TheBatman''" introduces her as a high school student that later cuts down on her superheroing to go to college; and "''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''" gives her a few cameos as a thirteen-year-old before becoming Batgirl sometime before age 18. The comics themselves have finally followed suit and canonized that Barbara's first run as Batgirl was as a teenager, not an adult.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am who I choose to be"''[[labelnote:Characters]]Top: Barbara Gordon. Left to Right: Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. Not pictured: Betty Kane[[/labelnote]]]]

There is also a Batgirl who has appeared in the ''ComicBook/BatmanBeyond'' comic, which is not part of the main DC continuity, but instead in the Franchise/{{DCAU}}. All that is known of her name is that she is called "Nissa" in her public identity. She is a student at Leslie Thompkins High School, who takes on the title of the Bat to combat crime in Crown Point, the "South Bronx of Gotham".

The first Bat-Girl (note the hyphen, not used by any other Batgirl) was Betty Kane, debuting in ''Batman'' #139 (April, 1961). She was the niece of [[Comicbook/{{Batwoman}} Kathy "Batwoman" Kane]], a DistaffCounterpart to Batman who had been introduced in 1956 as a {{Love Interest|s}} for the Dark Knight, in order to ward off perceptions of HoYay. Betty was the counterpart to Robin, gaining a (mostly one-sided) crush on Dick Grayson and his alter ego. She joined her aunt in fighting crime. Robin [[GirlsHaveCooties did not appreciate]] his counterpart, regarding her with a mixture of disinterest and distaste.

Bette Kane appeared alongside her cousin, Kate Kane, in ''Comicbook/{{Batwoman}}''. For the record, her name doesn't seem to have a set pronunciation: the writers on ''Batwoman'' pronounce it "Betty", but her cameo in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' pronounced it "Bet".

A mysterious hacker and information broker named "ComicBook/{{Oracle}}" began appearing in ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'', eventually revealed to be the now wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon, who refused to let her crippling injuries keep her down. Oracle quickly became a formidable force in Franchise/TheDCU, although her most memorable accomplishment was creating the ''Comicbook/BirdsOfPrey'' hero agency.

Following the ''Comicbook/New52'' continuity reboot, [[Comicbook/Batgirl2011 Barbara is the current and only Batgirl]], with a BroadStrokes history of her career that began when she was a teenager and also had her crippled by the Joker but manage to regain control of her legs after years of muscle therapy and self-help books. She also was romantically involved with Richard "Dick" Grayson (Robin I/Nightwing) sometime before she was crippled. In her ''New 52'' run she became the protector of the city of Burnside and an occasional ally of the Bat-family. In honor of comic writer Creator/GailSimone, Barbara is given the middle name 'Gail' in some adaptations of the character (in the comics is Joan), most notably in ''Series/Titans2018''.

Worth noting is that the original 1960s Barbara was depicted as a confident, grown-up woman with a job and a Ph.D, but every depiction of her Batgirl created since "The Killing Joke" has placed more emphasis on the "''girl''" aspect of her character, with a focus on proving herself and "growing into" a mature hero like Batman. Most adaptions show her as much younger: "''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''" has her as roughly college-aged; "''WesternAnimation/TheBatman''" introduces her as a high school student that later cuts down on her superheroing to go to college; and "''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''" gives her a few cameos as a thirteen-year-old before becoming Batgirl sometime before age 18. The comics themselves have finally followed suit and canonized that Barbara's first run as Batgirl was as a teenager, not an adult.

Helena Bertinelli, better known as the ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, briefly took up the Batgirl mantle during the ''Comicbook/BatmanNoMansLand'' event. She first appeared in this role in ''Shadow of the Bat'' #83 (March, 1999). Batman eventually forced her to stop using the costume as he felt Helena's attitude and behavior were inconsistent with his standards. She went back to being the Huntress, and later joined the Comicbook/BirdsOfPrey.

Cassandra Cain was [[Comicbook/Batgirl2000 the first Batgirl to get her own continuing solo title]], which ran for 74 issues (April, 2000 - April, 2006), the first major arc of which had her confront a psychic who "rewires" her brain to understand spoken language so that he can communicate with her more effectively. Unfortunately for Cassandra, this also shut off her ability to read body language, her one real advantage over most of her opponents. The second arc of the series had her relearn this skill with the help of [[DragonLady Lady Shiva]], who later was revealed to be Cassandra's mother, unknown to her at the time. Even once Cassandra was able to understand verbal language, she had difficulty learning to speak and more difficulty with reading.

While the ''Batgirl'' title was a decent seller, it was not quite up to Bat-family levels and it was decided to end the series. A lot of rumors on the Internet say this decision was meant to clear the way for the new [[Comicbook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane Batwoman]], who DC planned to make a major push on in conjunction with the ''Comicbook/FiftyTwo'' series, but this has yet to receive any sort of official confirmation. The character was not in limbo long, as ExecutiveMeddling made Cassandra the [[FaceHeelTurn new villain]] of the ''Robin'' series, with nearly a one hundred eighty degree turn in her characterization, skillset and competency.

Despite reestablishing her as a hero, DC decided to separate Cassandra from the Batgirl persona and had her renounce the identity in the first issue of a new ongoing series, replaced by Stephanie Brown (See below). DC then declared that 2010 was a "big year" for Cassandra, but fans have called LyingCreator since her only appearance was in ''Red Robin #17'' as a crime fighter in Hong Kong. In this comic Tim gave her back her old costume and said that he hopes she would wear the symbol. Creator/GailSimone had said that she would appear in ''Comicbook/BirdsOfPrey'', but unfortunately [[http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showpost.php?p=7631969&postcount=8 this was not able to happen]] despite her efforts, once again leaving fans gnashing their teeth. It was later revealed that Cassandra was barred from appearing in Birds of Prey due to her being used in ''Red Robin'' and the upcoming ''Batman: Gates of Gotham'' mini-series, which of course caused the fandom to cautiously rejoice once again.[[http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/3965397198/gates-of-gotham-to-feature-return-of-cass-cain-to]]. Fans were cautiously optimistic that this means she would play an active role in the upcoming ''Batman: Incorporated'' by Creator/GrantMorrison. As of issue #6, Cassandra is now an agent of Batman Inc. under the new identity of '''Blackbat'''. The miniseries "Batman: Gates of Gotham" established that she'd "always liked it" in Gotham, implying that she'd be moving back, but absolutely no sign of her has been glimpsed in the New 52. Furthermore, like Barbara Gordon, her mother, Lady Shiva, has been deaged to be about the same age as Dick Grayson. A future version of Cassandra later appeared in Gail Simone's ''Batgirl'' tie-in to ''Future's End'', while the Pre-Flashpoint version of Cass appear (alongside Stephanie) in ''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}''.

In October, 2009, a [[Comicbook/Batgirl2009 new Batgirl series]] started with a new Batgirl: Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler and Robin IV. As shown in the first issue, Cassandra Cain has retired as Batgirl and Stephanie decides to use the costume instead. Barbara Gordon finds out about this and at first tries to stop her, but after seeing a demonstration of her bravery vows to guide and help her. The series is LighterAndSofter than many of the other Bat-related titles currently being published by DC, but is an embodiment of the [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]] ideal: Its [[PluckyGirl upright and cheerful protagonist]] still faces the same horrors and challenges facing any hero, but perseveres without ever losing her positive outlook.

For those of you trying to keep track, that's four Batgirls that "count" (Bette, Babs, Cass and Steph) and two that don't (Huntress and Misfit). Some even put Bette with the ones that don't "count" due to her unique hyphen. Still others (like... say, the [=DC=] top brass) say that Barbara Gordon is the "real" Batgirl -- end of story.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am who I choose to be"''[[labelnote:Characters]]Top: Barbara Gordon. Left to Right: Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. Not pictured: Kathy Kane[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am who I choose to be"''[[labelnote:Characters]]Top: Barbara Gordon. Left to Right: Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am who I choose to be"''[[labelnote:Characters]]Top: Barbara Gordon. Left to Right: Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown.[[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batgirls_header.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Three of the four Batgirls.]]

* ''[[ComicBook/DetectiveComicsNumber508To510 The Attack of the Annihilator]]'': ''Detective Comics'' #508-510. Story arc guest-starring the Super Family. Barbara Gordon must stop another dangerous lunatic from razing Gotham to the ground. Good thing that a certain friend of hers happens to be visiting Gotham.

Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page.]]

Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page.]]

Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page.]]

Tropes in the [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} characters page.]]

Bette Kane appeared alongside her cousin, Kate Kane, in ''Comicbook/{{Batwoman}}''. For the record, her name doesn't seem to have a set pronunciation: the writers on ''Batwoman'' pronounce it "Betty," but her cameo in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' pronounced it "Bet."