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admonition : this article contain spoilers forBatgirl # 49 .
Barbara Gordon has formally quit asBatgirl . Barbara Gordon has always felt like Gotham ’s most joyful vigilance man , fighting law-breaking with an exuberance that ’s entirely missing from the eternal sleep of the Bat - Family . This has frequently madeBatgirlcomics quite unique , because they ’ve lacked the grim undertones that typically come from Batman and his nearest and dearest .
For all that ’s the case , though , Barbara Gordon has really ante up a heavy damage for her good nature . This was best demonstrated in " The Killing Joke , " in which the Joker lame her as part of an mad attack to break Commissioner Gordon . Barbara deny to rent that stop her , reinventing herself as the computer hacker Oracle for a time , and in the end regaining the exercise of her legs and taking to Gotham ’s skies once again . Naturally , the current " Joker War " featureda disturbing rematch between Batgirl and the Joker , with Barbara finally confronting the harm the Clown Prince of Crime had put her to . Still , she emerged from " Joker War " with a grin on her typeface once again .
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It has n’t last long . This week’sBatgirl#49 , by author Cecil Castellucci and artist Robbi Rodriguez , sees Barbara confront another traumatic situation . She learns her brother James has succumbed to dissociative identity disorderliness , and one of his personas is responsible for for a spate of Batgirl - theme execution in Gotham . It all ends in a heartrending confrontation , with James take to commit suicide rather than to admit this vestige to eclipse him . Even more horrifically , former Commissioner Gordonsees James ' death and misinterprets it , believing Batgirl to be responsible . The price for heroism has finally become too high , and Batgirl flees the scene of the offence , deciding to quit .
The Gordon family has suffered a lot over the years , andBatgirl#49 will forget longer - full term reader as heartbroken as Barbara herself . This is a scandalous twist for theBatgirlseries , made all the more disturbing by Rodriguez ’s emotional and kinetic artwork . The confrontation with James leaves the reader reel as much as it does Barbara , peculiarly when James ' murderous personality realize Batgirl ’s dead on target indistinguishability . Viewed through that electron lens , James select to kill himself in with child part to protect the sister he enjoy , but could never be reconciled to . Still , there ’s a sense in which his other ego has succeeded in his goal ; he drew Batgirl out and demolish her . Now , Barbara Gordon isBatgirlno more , and as much as she ’ll be missed on the streets of Gotham , it ’s also hard to imagine how her relationship with her Father of the Church will look at a prison term when they need each other more than ever .
Batgirl # 49by author Cecil Castellucci and artist Robbi Rodriguezis available now .
Next : Batgirl Is Officially The Bat - Family ’s Toughest Member
