I’ve been following the new Batgirl series, featuring Stephanie Brown as Batgirl. The series is pretty good since neither Stephanie, nor Barbara Gordon (Oracle) have to rely on Batman and Robin to get the job done. The boys really take a back seat in this series, although they do make an appearance at some point. The relationship between the new Batgirl, as well as the new Batman and Robin is clearly strained, so I don’t see them interacting much in the series. Stephanie is a bright, energetic college student who was “killed off” once before as a different superhero. She is hard-headed, but her heart is in the right place.
What attracts me to Batgirl is that she can fight on her own without the aid of a man. The original Bat-Girl (Betty Kane) was a pesky child who was Batwoman’s side kick, only thrown into the comics as a possible love interest for Robin. A few years after her debut, she was axed from the series, and replaced with Barbara Gordon, the Batgirl most of us are familiar with. Unlike the annoying Betty Kane, Barbara was a career woman who could fight independently. Granted she was inspired by Batman, but she is still strong enough to fight without him.
Batgirl might be at times compared to Wonder Woman, but frankly I find that a bit unfair. Wonder Woman is an Amazon with pretty amazing powers, while Batgirl has always been a regular girl (or well, you know, relatively speaking) who fights for the greater good with what she has. I’ve always admired Batgirl, and this new series is pretty good. If you have not read it yet, I urge you to pick up the first issue and get started!
-Lauren
Tags: Lauren
Girls With Comics 
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