Updated: July 17, 2026

Batgirl is a popular DC Comics superheroine and prominent ally to Batman. While several characters have held the title, the most famous is Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon. First introduced in 1967, she operates as a brilliant martial artist, expert hacker, and founding member of the Birds of Prey. Key Incarnations Barbara Gordon: The mainstream Batgirl. In the famous 1988 comic The Killing Joke, she was paralyzed by the Joker and reinvented herself as the wheelchair-bound information broker Oracle, before later regaining her mobility and the Batgirl mantle in modern comic runs. Cassandra Cain: A mute martial-arts prodigy of Asian descent who became Batgirl in the late 1990s.Stephanie Brown: Briefly wore the suit during Barbara's time as Oracle. Pop Culture & Media Adaptations Batgirl has been a staple of animation, gaming, and television: Live-Action: Portrayed by Yvonne Craig in the 1960s Batman TV series. A modern live-action film starring Leslie Grace was completely filmed but permanently shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022.Animation: Voiced unforgettably by Tara Strong in Batman: The Animated Series and the Arkham video game franchise. Comics: A mainstay of DC's publishing line, often headlining her own eponymous solo series