Board Thread:Comics/@comment-26295738-20150628215510/@comment-18172179-20150629184827

I kinda understand your point. In the end Killing Joke is a Joker story. The crippling of Barbara is a by-product of Moore's imagination. Besides, the novel wasn't going to be considered canon, until they realized that it was so good, that they had to go with it. Perhaps, under today's standards, that kind of story won't be released because of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, but at that time, it was a a great story. Since it was the first comic/graphic novel I ever read, I may be biased.

However, I don't think Barbara was done and unimportant to DC. Sure, she couldn't be Batgirl anymore, but they gave us Oracle; and I do like her character as Oracle. Don't get me wrong, it sucks that she had to be crippled to be Oracle, but that's history. I like her as Batgirl, then and now, just as much as I like her as Oracle. Killing Joke is always going to be part of Bab's history now...simply because that story is just too great to ignore.

That's the reason why the cover is so controversial. An iconic moment in a character's history, marked by pain and suffering, but without it, she wouldn't be what she is now. I simply love that idea...and the art in that cover.

One last thing...Bruce recovered from his back injury quick because Jean Paul screwed and, unlike Babs, Bruce isn't interesting enough to be sitting in a wheelchair. As Bruce is always going to be Batman, to me, Barbara is always going to be Batgirl....and Oracle. After Wonder Woman, she takes the lead on the female heroines of DC.