Batman and Batgirl was a Bad Idea

As a preface, this whole editorial is in relation to the recently-released Batman: The Killing Joke animated film. I haven't seen the film in full, but I am familiar with the graphic novel which it is based upon. I'm aware of the characters that play into the story and their importance within the Batman mythos, and I understand fully why there are arguments for and against the topic with which I'm about to discuss. Everybody up to speed? Good; spoilers for both the film and the graphic novel will follow.

For a graphic novel that's barely 50 pages long, any attempt to adapt such a short narrative for the purpose of creating a feature-length film was a challenge enough already. Factor in the fact that this graphic novel is one of both the artistic and tonal standards for any Batman story, and renowned creators Bruce Timm and Brian Azzarello, both of whom are wholly familiar with the DC icon (the former animated for the renowned, emmy-winning series, the latter writing for the character in comic book form throughout the 21st century) had taken on a task nearly as difficult as adapting another beloved, Alan Moore-written project, Watchmen. The graphic novel, which was written in 1988, was renowned for its interesting approach to identify the origin of the Joker character, as well as explain in little ways the psychology of the character. The book won the Eisner Award for 'Best Graphic Novel' the year after it was produced. This book has a legacy as  not only providing what many fans consider the origin story of the Joker, but a change in the tide for the Batman world by paralyzing the long-time, fan-favorite character Batgirl and tormenting her father, Commissioner Gordon, with the reality that his daughter's normal life has been ripped from her.

What's funny (pun intended) is that the original graphic novel doesn't truly focus on Batman; not in the traditional manner, anyways. While there is certainly a particular perspective that fans share, the goal of writer Alan Moore was to leave the story, ending, and everything in between open to reader interpretation. For example, as I read this book, I saw this tale mirror the 1987 four-issue Batman arc written by comic legend Frank Miller: Batman: Year One. The focus of the narrative isn't necessarily supposed to chronicle the efforts of the Dark Knight like every other one of his stories, but rather shine a spotlight on the characters that traditionally support Batman's narratives. The focus of the story, the objective, is to torment Commissioner Gordon past the point of insanity, with the Joker leading the charge on the endeavor by crippling his daughter. In the eyes of the book's main character, the Joker, Batman is only meant to really watch the tale unfold as it happens. Joker's typical methodical planning and quest for anarchy have already been completed by the time Batman finds him.

But it's with this mindset that I have to control myself before I criticize Timm and Azzarello for running with an idea that held the similar tenant of which I believe the book to be based upon. The opening of the film, unlike the book, begins when Batgirl is still active, serving dutifully alongside the defender of Gotham. In the midst of a case more dangerous than in the past, Batman decides to put Batgirl on the bench instead of out on the town. Now, throughout this prologue, we're introduced to this idea that Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl, is having some frustrations with Batman beyond serving his every whim in the suit. Barbara herself is infatuated with the Dark Knight; this central theme is where my frustrations rest in the story. Considering this is coming from the creative minds of Bruce Timm, I'm not necessarily surprised that this Batgirl feels this way about Batman. In Batman: The Animated Series, the Barbara Gordon/Batgirl of that interpretation displayed hints of such an infatuation to the caped crusader as well. In the show, from what I can remember, the creators always had Batman awkwardly play off such advances and essentially leaving that kind of plot in the background. By the time Batman: Beyond was up and running, again created with the assistance of Bruce Timm, dialogue once again hinted at a possible intimate relationship between Barbara Gordon and Bruce Wayne. Now, that's the creators' choice to use the character in such a way, but I feel as though it's a detriment to the character.

See, Barbara has a certain path to follow after her demise as Batgirl. Still resilient, committed, and determined to help how she can, her intellect is put to use as Batman's careful and calculating guide, Oracle. By this point in Babs' life, she's sought out by not only Batman and his Bat-family for assistance in advancing their equipment and utilizing her impressive technological skills, but even members of the Justice League like Superman and Martian Manhunter have asked for her assistance on occasion. This girl is just as intelligent as Batman, maybe even more so, but she's got a light inside of her that Batman doesn't. Barbara is able to keep her father positive in the darker times in Gotham, she's a consul to her fellow crime-fighters, and there's even an argument to be made that Barbara is one of the only people in the world that can help to humanize Bruce Wayne in the best way. To have her reduced to an impatient student who favors Batman in such a manner, while theoretically understandable, goes against the general understanding of the character.

But I understand this perspective of the Batgirl character. This is a girl who was raised without a mother in an incredibly male-dominated, law-abiding environment. Her father was controlling (as far as my Commissioner Gordon knowledge goes), and Barbara wasn't allowed to have much identity outside of her academic prowess when it came to her relationship with her dad. Not only that, but being police commissioner (of Gotham City, no less) meant Barbara was on her own for most of the time. Figuring out who the Batman is validated her intelligence to herself and gave her the confidence to join his crusade. The crusade itself allowed her to rebel against the institutions of society, like every teenager dabbles in every now and then. And the Batman himself, who is always depicted as being the peak of the male physical form and one of the most intelligent men in the world, could very well be a distraction to any person, especially to those who knew him well. By the time Barbara became of age, it's amazing these two characters wouldn't have advanced at all.

But it's a bad move to go down what could be seen as a clearly-obvious path. This relationship has so much baggage packaged with it already: Barbara is the daughter of the Commissioner, one of the last good cops left in the police department, and Batman is a mentor as well as a consul to Barbara throughout their years of working together. Bruce Wayne saw this youthful girl with promise grow into her own, and the fact that their professional work in the field culminated in them consummating their feelings towards one another (in this particular story, anyways) paints Batman as a man who can abuse his influence on an especially impressionable woman, a woman who is for all intents and purposes under his particular protection. This is different from Catwoman, from Vicki Vale, from Talia al Ghul, because those women don't have the history that Batgirl does with Batman. It's almost the same thing as if a father had a friend who happened to be a good friend, and happened to be male, who spent a lot of time around the family, watched the father's daughter grow up from middle school to becoming an adult, and then the father found out that the daughter and his friend had sex. Sure, the daughter's a woman, she can make her own decisions, and the anger for the event isn't necessarily directed towards her, but rather to the older male friend. The male friend, one way or another, abused the fact that in that particular dynamic, he had some power over her in the relationship, and exploited the fact. That is the issue with all of this. Batman has all the power in the dynamic between him and Batgirl, and he used it all the wrong ways. The fact that he's not only resisted the advances of women before but was able to send them away forever and did not use these specific skills in this instance is just creepy, at the very least.

My interpretation of Barbara Gordon has never been based in the reality that she has incredibly powerful, romantic infatuations with Batman. I understand where one may think that such feelings could appear, but I think that the character always works better when she's the epitome of individualism and confidence. Barbara works hard to become the hero she knows she can be, despite her father's reservations over the actions of vigilantes. She becomes a solid figure in the Batman mythos that not only Batman can rely on, but that characters like Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and more seek guidance and advice from, and even a figure that Gotham City can rally behind more than Batman. Because Batgirl is personal, she's quirky, she's headstrong, she's confident, she's kind, she's daring. She's everything that 1970's DC comics wrote into one character: adventurous and fun. She's not a sexually-challenged lackey that Batman keeps behind his cape. At least, that's never how I saw her.