Batgirl

Batgirl or Bat-Girl is the name of a fictional character in DC Comics. She appears predominantly in the Batman family of comic books. There have been several regular Batgirls in comics since the character was originally created. While the popular 60s television show and 1990s Batman: The Animated Series used Barbara Gordon, the movie Batman and Robin created the persona of Barbara Pennyworth, niece to Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

The first identity of Bat-Girl was Betty Kane, a librarian, and niece of Batwoman, Kathy Kane.

In the 1960s, in a decision made for the televison series, a new Batgirl was created, named Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon. She would continue to be Batgirl before she became semi-retired in the 1980s. Barbara Gordon was, and still is, a love interest for Dick Grayson, the original Robin, currently known as Nightwing. She was paralyzed in The Killing Joke, a graphic novel by Alan Moore, in which The Joker shoots Barbara through the spine and kidnaps her father. A wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon became known as Oracle, and provides invaluable information to Batman and other superheroes, and is a member of the superhero team Birds of Prey. A short-lived television series based upon Birds of Prey was broadcast in 2002 in which Barbara Gordon, both in flashback sequences and thanks to a device that allows her to walk, dons her Batgirl costume once more.

During the late 1990s No Man's Land story, a new Batgirl emerged. She was revealed to be the Huntress, Helena Bertinelli. She resumed being the Huntress, soon after, as both Batman and Barbara Gordon were quite displeased with her performance.

The fourth Batgirl is the current incarnation. She is Cassandra Cain, a formerly mute girl who never learned verbal communication. Her father, assassin David Cain, taught her how to use violence instead. She is a gifted martial artist, with abilities that can rival her new mentor, Batman.