Gotham Knights: How Is Former Oracle Barbara Gordon Back as Batgirl?

Barbara Gordon is one of Gotham’s most iconic heroes, and in the newly announced Gotham Knights, she’ll be taking to the streets under her most famous mantle, Batgirl. Alongside her other Bat-Family super-siblings, she’ll be protecting the city from the mysterious organization known as the Court of Owls, but if you’ve played the Arkham games, you might be wondering why she is no longer in a wheelchair and using the mantle of Oracle. 

The official press release from WB Games gives a brief indication of how Babs becomes Batgirl again: “Barbara Gordon is a determined fighter and a skilled hacker. As the daughter of deceased Gotham commissioner, Jim Gordon, she had helped Batman as Oracle in the past. Now, after years of recovery and preparation, she is ready to step into her new role, wielding her melee tonfa, and harnessing her training in kickboxing, capoeira, and jiu-jitsu.”

As some of you may know, there’s precedence for Babs recovering from her paralysis and return to the Batgirl role, but fans who haven’t read the New 52 Batgirl comics might be slightly confused, so let’s break down how Barbara is back in the suit:

After being paralyzed by the Joker during the events of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s controversial never-meant-to-be-canon Batman comic, The Killing Joke, Babs took on the mantle of Oracle, providing tactical support and intel to DC’s most beloved heroes. Intelligent, dynamic, and powerful, Oracle became a mainstay in both DC’s comics and animated universes. But during 2011’s New 52 comic book reboot, DC decided that it wanted her to be Batgirl again, leaning into the trope of magically curing disabilities for narrative reasons.