Who is the Best Female Bat Character (Heroines)

[mrrightnow]

Barbara Gordon first and Kate Kane last.... Surely i'm being trolled here. Or am i in Bizarro world again?


Also, god knows i'm a huge Steph fan, but she's not a better or more fleshed out character than Kate. I was having a blast with Miller's Batgirl, but Rucka put some serious work into Kate, elevating her as a character whether one enjoys her book or not. And that's why i voted for Kate.

That's great and all, but this is an opinion thread. And that's my opinion -- no one requires you to agree with it. To me, Batwoman is as superfluous and vapid as characters come. Heck, I even liked the Kathy Kane Batwoman better than Kate Kane's.

Also, I look at the characters OVERALL, not just evaluating them by what is happening in the comics this month. I'm not that fickle.

[Aprillis]

Steph was better as Spoiler or as a corpse than as Batgirl.

Yikes, a bit harsh here now? I personally enjoyed her better as Spoiler too (Dixon's Steph was ...sexier? (more flirtatious?) than Miller's girl-next-door shtick), but I have to admit that her Batgirl run was what finally made her a respectable bat member, rather than just one of Tim's disposable love interests. Leaving her dead would have been a waste, seeing that she had so much potential (and obviously vindicated later on, when she became Batgirl).

[shark]

... and that's your opinion. Not fact, just opinion. And, in my opinion, Steph was better as Spoiler or as a corpse than as Batgirl. And "Oracle" had become stale. Before the relaunch, writers were not doing anything interesting with her.

You do tend to cheer for DC fridging females that you don't like.

[MajorHoy]

Yikes, a bit harsh here now? I personally enjoyed her better as Spoiler too (Dixon's Steph was ...sexier? (more flirtatious?) than Miller's girl-next-door shtick), but I have to admit that her Batgirl run was what finally made her a respectable bat member, rather than just one of Tim's disposable love interests. Leaving her dead would have been a waste, seeing that she had so much potential (and obviously vindicated later on, when she became Batgirl).

I did love Steph as Batgirl . . . it was the "fun" Bat-book (next to All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold).

I wouldn't want every Bat-book to go back to that 1960's New Look / Adam West TV show influence, but having one bright ray of light is always nice.

[mrrightnow]

You do tend to cheer for DC fridging females that you don't like.

Nope, not "females". Just the one female: Batwoman.

I actually liked Steph before she "died". Not that you care. You respond to my posts just to rip on me. Time well spent indeed.

[mrrightnow]

Yikes, a bit harsh here now? I personally enjoyed her better as Spoiler too (Dixon's Steph was ...sexier? (more flirtatious?) than Miller's girl-next-door shtick), but I have to admit that her Batgirl run was what finally made her a respectable bat member, rather than just one of Tim's disposable love interests. Leaving her dead would have been a waste, seeing that she had so much potential (and obviously vindicated later on, when she became Batgirl).

I wasn't being harsh. I meant what I said, I would have preferred Steph (read: a fictional character, not a real person) have stayed dead than come back to be Batgirl. (Though I didn't want her dead in the first place.) I read that comic for ten issues and thought it was ultimately a waste of time. To me, she was just Spoiler dressing up like Batgirl. Not thrilling for me.

[shark]

Nope, not "females". Just the one female: Batwoman.

I actually liked Steph before she "died". Not that you care. You respond to my posts just to rip on me. Time well spent indeed.

You said you preferred Steph dead rather than as Batgirl. So no, not just Batwoman.

I responded to your post because of what you said, not because of who you are. Don't flatter yourself.

[Aprillis]

I wasn't being harsh. I meant what I said, I would have preferred Steph (read: a fictional character, not a real person) have stayed dead than come back to be Batgirl. (Though I didn't want her dead in the first place.) I read that comic for ten issues and thought it was ultimately a waste of time. To me, she was just Spoiler dressing up like Batgirl. Not thrilling for me.

I thought bringing back Steph to life has more pros than cons -- retconing the Leslie-as-murderer story; saving Bruce from being a jerk for not giving Steph a memorial when she 'died', and allowing Tim to finally show that he was actually affected by his longterm girlfriend's death. The cons? In your opinion, she was better as Spoiler and sucks as Batgirl, so she's better off dead. Hm. Kinda nitpicky.

But it's your opinion, so I respect that. Nothing I can do about it.

[ticklefist]

Catwoman. If she doesn't count then Steph for sure.

[maximiliani]

I really have enjoyed Batwoman. She's a great addition to the Bat-family, I think. That said, I went with nostalgia and voted for Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.

By the way, I have to agree with those who've asked why Catwoman isn't on this list. She's certainly a character I think belongs in this discussion.

Only Brubaker's Catwoman. She became so awesome during that run.

[MajorHoy]

btw - Why is Black Canary considered a Bat-character? Is it because of BoP? Even with BoP, I still think of her as a JSA character.

I'm curious: when did you start regularly reading comic books?

The reason I ask is, many (many!) years ago, Black Canary was a member of the JSA during the late Golden Age (well before I was born). When they reintroduced the JSA as being on Earth-2 in the early 1960's, that's where she was.

Towards the end of the 1960's, her husband died and she left Earth-2, joining the JLA. She was associated with that group for quite a while.

Then, in the early 1980's, they retconned the Canary in the JLA to be the daughter of the Golden Age heroine from Earth-2. And after CoIE, she was further retconned into being a founding member of the JLA (in place of Wonder Woman).

She then became involved with the JSA again in the late 1990's.

So, for most of my comic book reading life, she was more JLA than JSA. I'm guessing you may have begun reading her stories more toward the late 1990's (or perhaps reprints of Golden Age material)?

[NewMutant]

Spoiler is #1, gross. And Black Carney shouldn't even be on this poll.

[samurai_rob]

I loved Steph! Nice to see that I'm not the only one! I can't believe no one has introduced her,yet! We're almost a year into the new 52 and still no Spoiler or Speedy (Mia from GA was one of my favorite characters per-FP)! Where's the love for the lady sidekicks, DC?

[vampiric_cannibal]

Yikes, a bit harsh here now? I personally enjoyed her better as Spoiler too (Dixon's Steph was ...sexier? (more flirtatious?) than Miller's girl-next-door shtick), but I have to admit that her Batgirl run was what finally made her a respectable bat member, rather than just one of Tim's disposable love interests. Leaving her dead would have been a waste, seeing that she had so much potential (and obviously vindicated later on, when she became Batgirl).

This. I feel Spoiler was a mildly more interesting character and Batgirl was slightly contradictory in characterisation (too happy, not dark or at all cynical, a bit more... attitute. Bigger tracts of land also IIRC).

[americanwonder]

... She then became involved with the JSA again in the late 1990's.

So, for most of my comic book reading life, she was more JLA than JSA. I'm guessing you may have begun reading her stories more toward the late 1990's (or perhaps reprints of Golden Age material)?

Yeah, it's her early days in JSA that I know of (haven't read) and then JSA of the 2000s that I tend to think of. I know she's been in JL (with one horrible costume, perhaps that's one reason I tend to block it out).