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Representing the Future of Disability: the Past and Present of Barbara Gordon As Batgirl

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Representing the Future of Disability: the Past and Present of Barbara Gordon As Batgirl REPRESENTING THE FUTURE OF DISABILITY: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF BARBARA GORDON AS BATGIRL Item Type Electronic Thesis; text Authors Escobar, Raquel Citation Escobar, Raquel. (2020). REPRESENTING THE FUTURE OF DISABILITY: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF BARBARA GORDON AS BATGIRL (Bachelor's thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA). Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 26/09/2021 16:08:08 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/651007 REPRESENTING THE FUTURE OF DISABILITY: THE PAST AND PRESENT OF BARBARA GORDON AS BATGIRL By RAQUEL ANN ESCOBAR ____________________ A Thesis Submitted to The Honors College In Partial Fulfillment of the Bachelors degree With Honors in Gender & Women’s Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MAY 2020 Escobar 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Figure Descriptions ............................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 7 Disability in Comics ....................................................................................................... 9 Contextualizing Barbara Gordon’s Narrative History .................................................. 12 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 18 Constructing, Studying, and Imagining Disability ....................................................... 19 Understanding Comics .................................................................................................. 25 Understanding Science Fiction ..................................................................................... 26 Disability as the Abject ..................................................................................................... 29 Era One: Barbara Gordon’s Debut (1967) – The End of Batgirl’s First Stint (1988) .. 35 Era Two: The Killing Joke (1988) – The End of Oracle (2011) ................................... 39 Era Three: Batgirl’s Return (2012) – The Present ........................................................ 50 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 56 Recuperation From Disability ........................................................................................... 59 Era One: Barbara Gordon’s Debut (1967) – The End of Batgirl’s First Stint (1988) .. 62 Era Two: The Killing Joke (1988) – The End of Oracle (2011) ................................... 63 Era Three: Batgirl’s Return (2012) – The Present ........................................................ 73 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 77 Escobar 2 Conclusion: Towards A Different Future ......................................................................... 80 Works Cited ...................................................................................................................... 87 Escobar 3 ABSTRACT In this thesis, I situate the Batman comics character, Barbara Gordon, as a point of contact between fiction and reality, examining the past and present of her narrative through feminist crip theory in order to imagine a different future for the representation of disability in Science Fiction. I divide her narrative into three eras, the first of which spans from her 1967 comic book debut to the traumatic events of The Killing Joke (1988), the second follows her career as Oracle up until her 2011 reinstatement as Batgirl in a company-wide DC Universe continuity relaunch, and the third from The Darkest Reflection (2012) to the present. In these three eras, I explore key feminist crip theoretical concepts, such as “narrative prosthesis” and the “supercrip,” crafting an overarching analysis that focuses on disability as the abjected Other, and recuperation from disability as represented through Barbara. I work to reveal what has not yet been created for the representation of disability in Barbara’s narrative, and what has not yet been accounted for in Critical Disability Studies. In doing so, I demand more from Science Fiction and feminist theory, urging both fiction and reality to carve space for disability into their futures. Escobar 4 FIGURE DESCRIPTIONS Fig. 1. Selected Panels from Moore, Alan (w). Bolland, Brian (p), (i). The Killing Joke. (March 1988). Batman, Comixology ed. DC Comics, 2012, p. 30. As reproduced on page 41 of this thesis, this figure contains three comic panels that depict Gordon reacting to photos of Barbara as he moves through the carnival ride. Each panel includes speech bubbles. In the first, the Joker sings "When you're loo-oo-oony, then you just don't give a fig..." while Gordon says, "Wait! Wait a minute. That's..." and the dwarf orders Gordon, "Down." In the second: the Joker sings, "Man's so pu-uu-uny, and the universe so big..!" while Gordon says, "...Barbara?" and the dwarf continues to order him, "Down! Down!" In the third, the Joker sings "If you hurt inside, get certified, and if life should treat you bad..." while Gordon screams "Barbaraaaaaa." Fig. 2. Selected page from Dixon, Chuck and Jordan Gorfinkel (w). Gary, Frank, Matt Haley, Stefano Raffaele, et al. (p). Dell, John, Bob McLeod, Wade Von Grawbadger, et al. (i). Birds of Prey (Nov. 2015), Comixology ed. Vol 1. DC Comics, 2015, p. 278. As reproduced on page 46 of this thesis, figure 2 contains a comic page that depicts flashbacks from Barbara's traumatic injury overlapping the present Batgirl's face. Two small speech bubbles beside her face read, "No... Not you..." Fig. 3. Selected panel from Benson, Julie and Shawna Benson (w). Antonio, Roge and Claire Roe (p), (i). Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Who is Oracle? (April 2017), Comixology ed. DC Comics, 2017, p. 14. As reproduced on page 51 of this thesis, a comics panel depicts Barbara in her wheelchair, seated before a window. It is dark and raining outside, and a black bird sits on the windowsill. Barbara's thought bubbles read: "I didn't feel sad," "(Lies)," "I didn't Escobar 5 feel sorry for myself," ((Lies)," "I had been helping others 24/7, but now others thought I needed 24/7 help," "That's what was depressing." Fig. 4. Selected panel from Benson, Julie and Shawna Benson (w). Antonio, Roge and Claire Roe (p), (i). Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Who is Oracle? (April 2017), Comixology ed. DC Comics, 2017, p. 16. As reproduced on page 51 of this thesis, this figure contains a comic panel depicting an empty wheelchair sitting in front of a window. Outside, a bird flies over a sunrise or sunset. Barbara's thought bubbles read: "It took a couple of years to adjust to my 'new normal' in a wheelchair," "Took even longer for me to adjust to the experimental surgery that put me back on my feet," and "After that, Dinah felt like I didn't need her anymore and the Birds of Prey disbanded." Fig. 5. Selected panel from Ostrander, John, and Kim Yale (w). Stelfreeze, Brian (p). Story, Karl (i). “The Batman Chronicles.” (June 1996). No. 5, Batgirl: A Celebration of 50 Years, Comixology ed. DC Comics, 2017. [173-190], p. 181. As reproduced on page 67 of this thesis, fig. 5 contains three comic panels depicting the start of Barbara's hacking career, each of which include one of her thought bubbles. The first reads, "With a grant from the Wayne Foundation, I set up shop in my bedroom. I put together as powerful a computer set-up as I could." The second reads, "One thing I knew how to do was research and, thanks to my modem, I could tap into databases worldwide. I discovered I had an affinity for computer hacking, and I started to make some money." The third reads, "I got into the INTERNET before the general public really knew what it was. And I discovered a world there." Escobar 6 Fig. 6. Selected panels from Ostrander, John, and Kim Yale (w). Stelfreeze, Brian (p). Story, Karl (i). “The Batman Chronicles.” (June 1996). No. 5, Batgirl: A Celebration of 50 Years, Comixology ed. DC Comics, 2017. [173-190], p. 188. As reproduced on page 70 of this thesis, two comic panels depict Barbara's dream sequence. Dressed as Batgirl, she stands on a hill, surrounded by white birds, and overlooking Grecian ruins. The first panel's thought bubble reads, "In my dream, I am walking. I am dressed as Batgirl once more. I know, with a dreamer's certainty, that I am in classical Greece." The second panel's thought bubble reads, "Just as instinctively, I know I am at Delphi, and the woman before me is the priestess who speaks for the gods-- the oracle" and the Oracle says, "Speak, child-- ask me your questions." Fig. 7. Selected panel from Ostrander, John, and Kim Yale (w). Stelfreeze, Brian (p). Story, Karl (i). “The Batman Chronicles.” (June 1996). No. 5, Batgirl: A Celebration of 50 Years, Comixology ed. DC Comics, 2017. [173-190], p. 192. As reproduced on page 72 of this thesis, fig. 7 contains a comic panel that I have intentionally
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