In part one (scroll down), we said the first reason to heal Oracle is simply that Barbara Gordon's place in pop culture makes her a great potential gateway character for girls to read comics. Here are two more reasons.
-Barbara Gordon should be the most visible non-powered female in the DCU. Before being disabled, she did in fact serve this role. You know that quote about how people like Batman better than Superman because Batman can't fly? A lot of people feel the same way about Barbara Batgirl vs. Wonder Woman or Supergirl. This is why Batgirl has a larger place in pop culture than does Wonder Woman: readers usually identify more with non-powered characters. In recent years, Batman has become the most dominant character at DC, but he no longer has a female equivalent. It's hard not to see sexism in the concept that a non-powered male can do so much, but no non-powered females compare to him. Readers deserve a top level, well-developed, non-powered female character. Barbara Gordon's history makes her the only character who can effectively fill that role. Currently, she plays an important supporting role, but that secondary status means she gets pushed off the cover of Birds of Prey in favor of the active characters. A healed Oracle would have the intellect, fighting skills, and gravitas to equal Batman. Her image and the Oracle symbol would become standard in all the major pieces of DC art. Girls would be wearing Oracle t-shirts. And it would restore Barbara Gordon of the comics to her place in general pop culture as one of the most visible female superheroes. (Added bonus: Base the new costume on her old one, and we will also have a big name female hero who wears pants!)
-Barbara Gordon and fans deserve to see some justice. Yes, justice. As a word, it is used in DC a lot, but as an idea we rarely see it. Readers are sick of the bad guys destroying characters, cities, and planets while the world's greatest heroes sit around unable to stop it. Making the villains more powerful than the heroes glamorizes evil over hope or justice. And in the process, many of our heroes have turned into angst-ridden jerks. That's more true in Gotham than almost anywhere else. Joker shoots Barbara, kills Sarah Gordon and hundreds of other people, and what does he get? The ability to continue to break out of custody and kill more people seemingly on a weekly basis. Jim Gordon gave him a non-critical wound and Barbara knocked his teeth out, but that's it. Joker always wins, and The (Constantly Referenced) Killing Joke remains on the bestseller list. Healing Oracle would be one major step in turning that around. (And can't the Gordon family have something good happen to them for once?) Imagine a restored Barbara coming face to face with Joker again, but this time she is not helpless. This time she beats him in a fight, giving him some kind of permanent injury, then stands over him in triumph wearing her own symbol on her chest. This moment, instead of The Killing Joke, would become the defining moment for Barbara Gordon. And that would be a moment when justice and hope would start to make a comeback at DC. Add this to the return and growing role of Supergirl and it would officially end DC's 1980s war on female characters. This character and her loyal fans deserve a story of hope and triumph over evil. (And Warner Brothers/DC Entertainment? This story would also make a great movie.)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Reasons to Heal Oracle: Part 1
In the last post, we ranted on the ways Barbara could be healed. Now we consider why that story line could be important. Why it would be great to see a walking, even more kick ass Oracle who could lead the Birds of Prey in the field or remotely. An Oracle who could have independent or team adventures, traveling the world tracking information. And most importantly, an Oracle who could be an equal to Batman, and a visible member of the Justice League. Besides the fact that this would be great to read, we see a few main reasons DC should do this story. Here is the first.
-Barbara Gordon should be more of a gateway character for girls to read comics. We find it really interesting that since Killing Joke, millions of kids have watched various animated versions of Batman, and all have involved Barbara as Batgirl. It seems that equal numbers of boys and girls watch these shows, but the majority of kids who go on to read comics are the boys. The current position of Barbara Gordon may have a lot to do with that. Imagine a boy and a girl watching any of the cartoon Batman adaptations. He is imagining himself as Dick Grayson's Robin, while she is thinking the same thing about Barbara's Batgirl. Now, what happens when they are a little older and look into reading the comics? The boys never seem disappointed to find that Dick has grown up to become Nightwing (and substitute Batman). Nightwing is an independent hero, with team leader experience, but still Batman's closest ally, and lead of his own solo series (assuming this situation will resume). Like Bruce, he is both a world-class fighter and a detective. Boys can see he is a better character than he was as Robin. But what happened to Barbara, the character the girls loved? She was shot by the Joker in one of the most misogynistic stories in DC history. The shock of learning of that event is enough to send many girls running for the door, as they had little or no hints of this from a general pop culture that still seems to recognize Barbara as Batgirl. Now Barbara as Oracle has been developed into a scary-smart hacker, team leader, and master of information for the Birds and the wider DCU. But even though Oracle has become a great character (at least under Simone), often playing an important role, she remains in a behind-the-scenes supporting role.
Reading Barbara in a supporting role in front of the computer screens is quite different than a Barbara who is both a fighter and a detective. But that is not to say she should go back to being Batgirl. Many of the fans who want Barbara restored to health seem to think she would go back to that role. But the Batgirl role has now been redefined by the two later Batgirls as a sidekick role for a young hero in training. Barbara could possibly redeem the position to be something more, but the current Batgirl role has shrunk so that it would no longer fit her. Dick outgrew the Robin character, but Dick moving on the Nightwing role let him become a hero who displays the ability to mix both physical and mental talents, much like Bruce. But while Barbara as Oracle is smarter than almost anyone else, bound to that chair, she doesn't join with the other members of the Birds/Bat family in a street fight, and she has to rely on her team. The potential of Barbara Gordon's character is unnecessarily held back by an injury that other characters have recovered from. So even though in most of the history before The Killing Joke, Dick was a teenage/college sidekick while Barbara was an independent adult character, now Dick gets to be Batman while Barbara sits in front of a computer screen in the batcave. And if you are viewing this from a feminist perspective, this situation is problematic.
With the return of Birds of Prey, Gail Simone's magic pen may fix some of the more recent damage done to Barbara's character. But it is easy to see why many fans, and girls especially, prefer the more active hero Barbara from the Batgirl years and TV adaptations to the current Barbara as supporting character in the comics. A healed Oracle would be the best option to finally give Barbara Gordon a more prominent and visible role as both a genius detective and an active field commander, but in a bigger and better role than before. And that characterization could bring more girls into reading comics (and make reading Birds of Prey even better for current fans).
-Barbara Gordon should be more of a gateway character for girls to read comics. We find it really interesting that since Killing Joke, millions of kids have watched various animated versions of Batman, and all have involved Barbara as Batgirl. It seems that equal numbers of boys and girls watch these shows, but the majority of kids who go on to read comics are the boys. The current position of Barbara Gordon may have a lot to do with that. Imagine a boy and a girl watching any of the cartoon Batman adaptations. He is imagining himself as Dick Grayson's Robin, while she is thinking the same thing about Barbara's Batgirl. Now, what happens when they are a little older and look into reading the comics? The boys never seem disappointed to find that Dick has grown up to become Nightwing (and substitute Batman). Nightwing is an independent hero, with team leader experience, but still Batman's closest ally, and lead of his own solo series (assuming this situation will resume). Like Bruce, he is both a world-class fighter and a detective. Boys can see he is a better character than he was as Robin. But what happened to Barbara, the character the girls loved? She was shot by the Joker in one of the most misogynistic stories in DC history. The shock of learning of that event is enough to send many girls running for the door, as they had little or no hints of this from a general pop culture that still seems to recognize Barbara as Batgirl. Now Barbara as Oracle has been developed into a scary-smart hacker, team leader, and master of information for the Birds and the wider DCU. But even though Oracle has become a great character (at least under Simone), often playing an important role, she remains in a behind-the-scenes supporting role.
Reading Barbara in a supporting role in front of the computer screens is quite different than a Barbara who is both a fighter and a detective. But that is not to say she should go back to being Batgirl. Many of the fans who want Barbara restored to health seem to think she would go back to that role. But the Batgirl role has now been redefined by the two later Batgirls as a sidekick role for a young hero in training. Barbara could possibly redeem the position to be something more, but the current Batgirl role has shrunk so that it would no longer fit her. Dick outgrew the Robin character, but Dick moving on the Nightwing role let him become a hero who displays the ability to mix both physical and mental talents, much like Bruce. But while Barbara as Oracle is smarter than almost anyone else, bound to that chair, she doesn't join with the other members of the Birds/Bat family in a street fight, and she has to rely on her team. The potential of Barbara Gordon's character is unnecessarily held back by an injury that other characters have recovered from. So even though in most of the history before The Killing Joke, Dick was a teenage/college sidekick while Barbara was an independent adult character, now Dick gets to be Batman while Barbara sits in front of a computer screen in the batcave. And if you are viewing this from a feminist perspective, this situation is problematic.
With the return of Birds of Prey, Gail Simone's magic pen may fix some of the more recent damage done to Barbara's character. But it is easy to see why many fans, and girls especially, prefer the more active hero Barbara from the Batgirl years and TV adaptations to the current Barbara as supporting character in the comics. A healed Oracle would be the best option to finally give Barbara Gordon a more prominent and visible role as both a genius detective and an active field commander, but in a bigger and better role than before. And that characterization could bring more girls into reading comics (and make reading Birds of Prey even better for current fans).
Friday, April 23, 2010
Why? Why does this continue?
Why couldn't we just have a good Barbara as Batgirl flashback story? Brave and the Bold #33 was previewed as a team-up of Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Batgirl for a girl's night out. It looked fun and at least the cover seemed to suggest that some hero business would be in the story. Instead, it went thus: brief heroics in the opening, girl's night clubbing, then...dialogue hinting at Barbara's fate and once again, the famous scene from The Killing Joke. Then Barbara wakes up and wheels over to her computer screens.
For fans of Barbara as Batgirl or fans of Barbara Gordon at all, this story just seemed to raise the issue of how incoherent it is that she is still in a wheelchair. In the start of the issue, Zatanna contacts Wonder Woman about a girl's night, then they go to Gotham and convince Barbara to take the night off. Well, by the end of the story we see that this is a "it is going to happen anyway, but let's give Barbara a great memory of dancing" event. Then there are tearful lines between them about not knowing when or where it will happen but wishing they could prevent it.
They don't know when or where, but the reader does. And in a DCU where time travel is a frequent plot device across story lines, we are left asking why no one can ever go back and stop Barbara from being shot. After it happens, everyone knows exactly when and exactly where. So why can't anyone stop it? And why does DC do a story like this that only makes readers ask these questions? Especially when Batman is currently traveling through time...
And yes, time travel may be a over the top solution. But let's consider some others. When Batman has a spinal cord injury, he is healed and soon back to beating up bad guys and jumping across rooftops. But Barbara is instead treated as "so sad, but nothing anyone can do." And that sentiment just gets repeated over and over. Despite the use of Lazarus pits in so many story lines, despite Damien's spine replacement, despite advanced science. The tech in the DCU is supposed to be beyond that in the real world, so a breakthrough in stem cell research would certainly not be out of place here. Readers have been listing these options for years, but DC instead continues with these "nothing anyone can do" story lines. Why? With all these ways to heal her, it is incoherent that Barbara is still in that wheelchair. It insults the intelligence of the reader when the options are so obvious, yet the world's greatest detective and the smartest woman in the world somehow can't figure this out.
And in a story that a lot of female readers were interested in reading, why does DC remind us again that they love to refrigerate women characters?
For fans of Barbara as Batgirl or fans of Barbara Gordon at all, this story just seemed to raise the issue of how incoherent it is that she is still in a wheelchair. In the start of the issue, Zatanna contacts Wonder Woman about a girl's night, then they go to Gotham and convince Barbara to take the night off. Well, by the end of the story we see that this is a "it is going to happen anyway, but let's give Barbara a great memory of dancing" event. Then there are tearful lines between them about not knowing when or where it will happen but wishing they could prevent it.
They don't know when or where, but the reader does. And in a DCU where time travel is a frequent plot device across story lines, we are left asking why no one can ever go back and stop Barbara from being shot. After it happens, everyone knows exactly when and exactly where. So why can't anyone stop it? And why does DC do a story like this that only makes readers ask these questions? Especially when Batman is currently traveling through time...
And yes, time travel may be a over the top solution. But let's consider some others. When Batman has a spinal cord injury, he is healed and soon back to beating up bad guys and jumping across rooftops. But Barbara is instead treated as "so sad, but nothing anyone can do." And that sentiment just gets repeated over and over. Despite the use of Lazarus pits in so many story lines, despite Damien's spine replacement, despite advanced science. The tech in the DCU is supposed to be beyond that in the real world, so a breakthrough in stem cell research would certainly not be out of place here. Readers have been listing these options for years, but DC instead continues with these "nothing anyone can do" story lines. Why? With all these ways to heal her, it is incoherent that Barbara is still in that wheelchair. It insults the intelligence of the reader when the options are so obvious, yet the world's greatest detective and the smartest woman in the world somehow can't figure this out.
And in a story that a lot of female readers were interested in reading, why does DC remind us again that they love to refrigerate women characters?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Stop Forgiving
When you love a character, or a family of characters, they can inspire and encourage you. But all too often, writers and editors use a character in a disgusting plot twist that takes all of that away. It is an insult to existing fans who have been reading a series, and it serves as a deterrent for new readers to begin following a character.
It is also simply poor writing. When writers have a character severely injured or killed just to create an angry reaction in the title character, it is poor writing. Good writers should have enough skill to develop changes in a character's life or attitude without having to put their children, sidekick/partners, or girlfriends/spouses in the hospital or a casket. This trend has been labeled, discussed, and highly criticized. But the trend continues and the damage even to iconic characters continues. The most recent victim was the young granddaughter of Green Arrow, Lian. Her death has caused a lot of discussion over the past weeks, but there are so many other characters who have been sacrificed to the same tired plot device. From the crippling of Batgirl Barbara Gordon to the rape and murder of Sue Dibny, to the death of Lian, the trend continues.
So why do fans forgive DC so easily? Every time a character is abused or killed to create angst for the other characters, fans cry foul on blogs and message boards. But many fans continue to buy the same titles. When we continue to buy a title, aren't we sending the message that it is fine for DC to publish more of the same? DC editorial does not seem to read many fan posts, but they do read their own sales numbers. Is it time to stop forgiving and send DC a message?
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