Batgirl is the name of A superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff as Bat-Girl, she was replaced by Barbara Gordon in 1967, who later came to be identified as the iconic Batgirl. Depicted as the daughter of Gotham City police commissionerJames Gordon, she debuted in Detective Comics #359, titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" (1967) by writerGardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino. As Batgirl, the character operates primarily in Gotham City, allying herself with Batman and the original Robin, Dick Grayson, as well as other prominent heroes in the DC Universe.
Batgirl makes regular appearances in Detective Comics, Batman Family and several other books produced by DC until 1988. That year, she appears in Barbara Kesel's Batgirl Special #1, in which she retires from crime-fighting. She subsequently appears in Alan Moore's graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke where, in her civilian identity, she is shot by the Joker and left paraplegic.
Although she is recreated as the computer expert and information broker Oracle by editor Kim Yale and writer John Ostrander the following year, her paralysis sparked debate about the portrayal of women in comics, particularly violence depicted toward female characters.
In the 1999 crossover No Man's Land, the character Helena Bertinelli, known as Huntress, briefly assumes the role of Batgirl until she is stripped of the identity by Batman for violating his stringent codes.
