Batwoman
 

I have to say... [Potential

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If Batwoman does turn out to be Babs, I will bang my head against a wall until it gorram stops being Babs.

You know who's going to be really happy about this? Our own Ray Tate. For my part, I'm siding with Rocketboy. Perfect waste of a unique character.

Shaun M.

I can see both sides; Ray's right, I think, in pointing out the absurdity of keeping Babs crippled in a setting in which others recover from injuries like that with ease. I'm not so sure it's a sign of rampant misogyny in the comics industry though.

But I also think Babs/Oracle has developed into a much more interesting character than Babs/Batgirl ever was. I'm willing to overlook the above absurdity for that reason; we got a better character as a result of DC's erratic continuity.

So in a general sense, I'd prefer to keep Oracle rather than have her return to costumed adventuring, but at least it looks like DC are going to assign a decent writer to it, so it might work.

I also think it's a bit sad that the natural consequence of Babs being able to walk again is that she returns to being a superhero; the suggestion is that the only reason she was Oracle was because she was crippled, not because she was good at it, or even because she enjoyed it.

Finally, Oracle was, as Shaun says, unique. Does Gotham (or Metropolis) need another costumed vigilante*? No. Do the heroes need a unifying organisational figure, the ultimate behind-the-scenes worker? More so than another Bat-person, I'd say. Oracle filled a niche. Batwoman's just another in an overcrowded one.

*(Although presumably, this is post-Crisis2, so there may not be as many Bat-people running around, thereby making room for a Batwoman; and if Dick becomes Batman, you've got a Batman/Batwoman romance, right there! ;) )

I completely agree with this assessment. Ray is right, as far as it goes, but sometimes it's best to overlook inconsistencies in service to better storytelling. There is no other character like Oracle in comics. Charley Xavier is in a wheelchair, but it's not the same thing. And it's not that the disability makes the woman, but at this point it is rather an integral part of her development.

Unless post-Crisis2 we get another Oracle...let's say, Bruce Wayne gets crippled in Crisis 2 and whilst Babs takes up as Batwoman to fill in the gap in the bat-family left by Nightwing getting upgraded to Batman, Brucie takes on the role of the New Oracle - working out of the Batcave? - to keep his hand in?

First of all, I highly doubt that Babs will be Batwoman. It's more likely that Babs will be killed--hence why they allegedly healed her in the first place. Can't kill a disabled person. That wouldn't be PC. Cassandra Cain, the replacement Batgirl, is far more likely to become Batwoman.

There's several flaws that I'm seeing in everybody's reasoning regarding the so-called rebirth of the multiverse, and what have you. The people who grew up with multiverse, the people who liked and respected Batgirl. The people who know Batgirl once saved the Justice League and was given honorary status. Those people are not for whom DC is angling. DC assumes wrongly that they already have them. My theory is that DC and Marvel will always lose a percentage of their audience with each Big Stupid Event and each character death. So far, I've seen nothing to prove my theory wrong. Big Stupid Events only result in a short-term gain. In the long-term they are financial albatrosses.

DC intends to keep its base which is largely enamored by the new versions of the Teen Titans and the Outsiders. Since IC will not end in a massive reboot--everything is going to be set a year later. Whoopie. That's it--it's far more likely that DC is going to replace the existing heroes with some of the heroes that their current level of fandom knows.

Donna reintroduced in ICk will become Wonder Woman, who will be killed as karmic payback for her slaying of Maxwell Lord. Dick Grayson will become Batman--who probably will end up in Arkham as rumor has it, or will more likely be killed with the body never found--in case they need him again.

I'm going to restructure my theory about Superman. He won't be killed, but he'll become darker with the deaths of Wonder Woman and Batman and more hands on. Superboy won't replace him. He'll stay with the Teen Titans, and that team will remain as is--with the minor exception of Impulse possibly becoming the Flash to replace Wally West who will die or rejoin the Speed Force--again there is the potential of his coming back. Oh, and let me point out Wonder Woman could come back if needed. She's essentially a golem.

Babs Gordon will die heroically. She will not become Batwoman. She will become this generation's Supergirl. Cassandra Cain will become Batwoman who will join the Outsiders. Birds of Prey will likely be comprised of Black Canary, Power Girl and the Huntress--though she's got a fifty-fifty chance of dying haphazardly in ICk and replaced by another generic super-hero.

You see the reason why DC killed Phantom Lady is two-fold. None of the audience they're angling for knows about the Phantom Lady: they will likely think she's a super-hero created for ICk to be killed, and I'm still questioning whether or not DC does own her. It's true they own the daughter, who was killed, but the original, given the multitude of publishers, is possibly a public-domain character. It doesn't matter is she was last published by Quality or not.

Babs Gordon's alter ego, I'm sorry to break it to you gents, was not an original character. Scotty who provided information to Spider-Woman was a disabled computer guru, and he predated Oracle. Furthermore, Oracle's job used to be done by Batman, until he apparently got lazy or too busy with all that brooding. Her facilitation of communication between heroes used to be done by J'onn J'onzz. Hackers have always been a dime a dozen. The truth is that despite the fact that the creators of Oracle wanted to heal her right then and there, and one of those creators I believe was confined to a wheelchair--if memory serves--DC instead chose to incorporate her disabling into continuity proper--which was a joke even then--and steadfastedly refused to let other comic book creators permanently heal her. Chuck Dixon, even wanted to have her healed. I still think that this is stupidity and misogyny--given Batman was healed right away, and I always will.

Ray Tate

WOOOOHOOOO! :)

Pbbt.

If DC wanted to kill Babs, Gail wouldn't waste time giving her toe-wiggling scenes. Gail is a very un-PC person, and from all accounts she came up with Babs' regaining toe power.

Prior to the Crisis, DC gave Supergirl a brand new series called The Daring Adventures of Supergirl. How about that?

I mean, what makes you think that DC is keeping Ms. Simone in the loop?

Geoff Johns could walk in one day and say:

"Oh, so. Have you picked the new Birds of Prey team?"
"No. Why the hurry?"
"Well, Babs Gordon is going to walk again and sacrifice herself in the Crisis."
"What!"
"Yeah, I thought you got the note?"
"What note!"
"It was in the lavatory in the basement under the sign saying beware of leopard."*
"But...But...wiggling toes!"
"Well, yeah, she's going to be able to walk so she can sort of struggle to the speed of light emitter. That's why we let you heal her in the first place."
"What!"
"Yeah, she's going to be cut to ribbons by particles moving at the speed of light. Because you know. It hurts when you get hit by the speed of light."
"What!"
"Yeah, so I'll need your picks. Batwoman's out. She's with the Outsiders. Huntress, might be killed. We haven't decided yet. So, pick an alternate. Power Girl would be good. Cause she's got a huge rack."
"What!"

Ray Tate

* paraphrasing Douglas Adams in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Because she's in on the Crisis plans and what comes after, and is mates with Geoff Johns regardless.