Then they started to come out. I stuck to my guns at first and refused to read Flashpoint. Then, out of sheer boredom one day while sorting comics, I realized that the store where I volunteer had all three of the Flying Grayson Flashpoints. I was bored, had some down time, and I have always had a crush on Grayson. So I picked them up. And I was surprisingly pleased with the story. With hesitation, I signed myself up for a few titles before the 52s started coming out but still left Batgirl alone for a bit. Till finally, between the urging of friends and morbid curiosity, I broke down.
Now I'm not saying that all the 52s are great. Far from it. But I am saying that I have had to eat my words regarding the Batgirl title in almost all respects. I was pleased to see that they haven't ignored or written away her time as Oracle though they are teasing us by not being clear as to why she can walk again. They just keep referring to it as 'the miracle' (although Barbara does give us a bit of info as to how in the recent Batgirl 4). This could have been horribly corny but they have made it work by introducing the Mirror, a villain obsessed with 'correcting' miracles as he believes they shouldn't exist.
The costume redesign actually makes sense for her since she is returning to the field, so to speak, after years of absence. It makes sense to me that, after being out so long, that she would both need and want a new suit. Slightly new color scheme, different style to reflect that Barbara is, in many ways, a different woman and is embarking on a new chapter in her life. I still object to her keeping the old name of 'Batgirl'. She is very much a woman now and became so much her own woman during her time with the Birds of Prey but I can see that she might want to use it out of sentimental reasons.
One thing that these new issues have touched on is a difficult issue for women - how much we can let the men in our lives protect us. Her father, Grayson, her physical therapist, everyone wants her to slow down. They are concerned about her and don't want to see her go back in the wheelchair.
And that is understandable. But I can only imagine how difficult it would be to hear that, particularly from Nightwing. After all, when he was a kid he could be rather patrionizing in urging her to leave the viligante work to the men-folk. I don't really fault him for that, being a young teen, who grew out of it - and he was being written in a different era after all! I don't really fault him for urging her to go more slowly now either. The former was out of ignorance, the latter is out of love and concern - she has *just* gotten back on her feet after all.
But I know first-hand how annoying it is to hear. I don't get angry with my male friends and loved ones for trying to protect me. But sometimes I really don't want an escort. Sometimes I really just want to be left alone and I can take care of myself, thank you very much. My bosom does not make me incapable of defending myself and, if anything, it sometimes seems that I'm a much better judge of "stranger danger" because I grew up being taught that I needed to keep my head up. Which is not to say that women are inherently better at spotting trouble than men, it's all individual. Just that it is frustrating to have an escort forced on you simply because you are female when you are entirely capable of managing it on your own. I can only imagine how much worse it is when you are as trained as Babs is.
I wouldn't say that men are being chauvinistic, in general anyway, when they do this. After all, many times I have offered - sometimes more insistently than others - to escort friends myself. As long they respect the wishes of the woman in question. And that is something where I want to give our current DC Gotham men credit. By issue three, Barabara is making it very clear that she needs to do this on her own and on her own timeline. Nightwing, at least, is being respectful of this. And the end of issue thing has some wonderful symbolism that could mean a return to their relationship in time. We all know how happy that would make this little Bat! XD
I find myself applauding how the writers are handling her transition back into the physical aspects of herohood. She struggles with balancing the very real need not to push her body too far while so very eager to pick up with the rooftop activities that Killing Joke put a stop to - though let us never forget that Babs was never useless in her chair, nor did she spend much time away from crime fighting!
I must also note that they are not falling victim to the cliche of "oh I'm back in my costume, everything is better now - it's like nothing happened!". Throughout the first issue, she has a running dialogue with herself and, at the end, it becomes very clear that Barbara has at least one post-trauma trigger. Something that she is going to have to work through to get back to where she was.
Another interesting thing is noting where Barbara is pushing herself to grow emotionally now. She goes on a date and starts to let strangers into her life again. I do have to say that I'm NOT thrilled that this is coming about with her being out of the chair - this can reinforce a lot of negative stereotypes about those with mobility issues regarding relationships. But it is interesting nevertheless. I just wish that we got to see more of it while Babs was still Oracle.
Overall... I think I still prefer her as Oracle. Women, and our desirability, are more than simply the state of our bodies and she showed that so very nicely. That said... This Barbara Gordon deals with different issues and she is still a character that is very relatable. I'm looking forward to reading more of the coming comics and hope they keep up the good work!
And... because you know I'm a Grayson-fanatic... XD Bittersweet spoiler behind the cut!
