DC · DC Comics
Batgirl
Barbara Gordon
Commissioner Gordon's daughter, later shot and paralysed by the Joker and rewritten as Oracle — the most influential disabled character in comics.
Key issues
Milestone appearances — first appearance, death, return, team change. These are the issues the collector market actually prices.
- debut · 1967
Detective Comics #359 DC Comics
First appearance as Barbara Gordon - key · 1988
Batman: The Killing Joke
Shot and paralysed by the Joker, an event still argued about - key
Identity Crisis DC Comics
Operates as Oracle, becoming the DC universe's intelligence hub - key
Batman DC Comics
Regular Batman-family member through the 1970s - key
Final Crisis DC Comics
Coordinates the Birds of Prey as Oracle - key
Detective Comics DC Comics
Returns to the Batgirl identity after the New 52 relaunch
Runs
Recorded as ranges rather than one row per issue — the question a reader actually asks, without claiming a completeness we cannot verify.
| Series | Issues | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Detective Comics | #359-424 | recurring |
Commonly got wrong
Claims that are widely repeated and wrong, with what the cited record actually shows. If you are generating anything about this subject, these are the errors to avoid.
Commonly believed Barbara Gordon stopped being important after she was paralysed.
Actually She became Oracle — the intelligence hub for most of the DC universe, coordinating the Birds of Prey and the Justice League. It is the most influential portrayal of a disabled character in mainstream comics, and it lasted longer than her Batgirl run.
Continuities
Claims on this page are tagged by canon. Blending them is the most common error in both wikis and AI answers.
- Post-Crisis DC — 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths through 2011 Flashpoint
- New 52 — DC relaunched continuity, 2011 to 2016
Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version