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Oracle (Barbara Gordon)

 
Oracle
Barbara Gordon

Religion: not determined yet

Name: Oracle

Alter Ego: Barbara Gordon

Other Names: Batgirl; Barbara "Babs" Gordon; Babs Gordon; Oracle II

Classification: hero hero  

Publisher(s): DC

First Appearance: Detective Comics (vol. 1) #359 (Jan. 1967): "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!"

First Appearance (Additional Details): (as Oracle) Suicide Squad (vol. 1) #23 (Jan. 1989): "Weird War Tales"

Creators: Gardner F. Fox, Carmine Infantino, Sid Greene

Super? (Has Super Powers/Special Abilities/Technology): Yes

Number of Appearances: 921

   Comic Book Appearances: 801

   TV, Film Appearances: 117

   Video Game, Computer Game Appearances: 3

Teams/Affiliations: Batman family; Birds of Prey; Seven Soldiers of Victory; The Justice League; The Network; The Suicide Squad

Race: white

Gender: female

The religious affiliation of Barbara Gordon is a topic that needs further careful research. She is the daughter of Gotham City's top cop, Commissioner James Gordon, who is a Protestant. But Commissioner Gordon's religious affiliation is only rarely exhibited and not a major aspect of his character. Commissioner Gordon's religious affiliation, which might be classified as only or mostly nominal, seems to be an insufficient basis for classifying his daughter. Moreover, Barbara Gordon, first as Batgirl and later as Oracle, is such a well-established character in her own right that she deserves to be considered carefully and independently.

We have seen at least one report that Barbara Gordon has identified herself as a Buddhist in a Birds of Prey comic. But until we can gather better information on this, we are backing away from actually classifying her as a Buddhist.

What can be said for certain is that Barbara Gordon's precise religious beliefs and affiliation, whatever they are, may well inform her heroism and highly ethical standards, but they are not a significant overt part of how her character is portrayed.

Barbara Gordon's major chroniclers probably have a general idea in their minds about how they classify her religiously. But either they have not yet rendered these background details explicit in published stories, or, if they have identified these facts in print, they have done it so rarely that we have not yet seen it and readers and fans have generally not picked up on it. Many DC characters are mentioned repeatedly when the religious affiliation of characters is discussed by fans, commentators, online posters and such. Barbara Gordon is never among the characters discussed.

Oracle (Barbara Gordon) Oracle (Barbara Gordon) Oracle (Barbara Gordon) Oracle (Barbara Gordon) Oracle (Barbara Gordon)


This character is in the following 92 stories which have been indexed by this website:
Asrael / Ash (1997)
Azrael (vol. 2) #2 (Jan. 2010): "Ghost in the Light"
Batman (vol. 1) #666 (July 2007): "Batman in Bethlehem"
Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #13 (Jan. 2009): "The Network" (photo/picture/video)
Batman Annual #27 (Dec. 2009): "Darker Than Black: Part 1" (lead character)
Batman Family
Batman: Battle for the Cowl
Batman: Battle for the Cowl: The Network #1 (July 2009): "The Network"
Batman: Battle for the Cowl: The Underground #1 (June 2009) (voice only)
Batman: Family #1 (Dec. 2002): "Perception"
Batman: Gotham Adventures
Batman: Gotham Knights #32 (Oct. 2002): "24/7"
Batman: Orpheus Rising #1 (Oct. 2001)
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #67 (Oct. 1997): "Thinker and the Cheat"
Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 (Aug. 2009): "Strange Bedfellows" (6-panel cameo)
Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 (Oct. 1992): "Vanishing Angels & Sudden Death"
Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey: Batgirl / Catwoman #1 (2003) (lead character)
Birds of Prey: Catwoman / Oracle #2 (2003) (lead character)
The Brave and the Bold (vol. 1) #78 (June-July 1968): "In the Coils of Copperhead!" (lead character)
Catwoman (vol. 3) #35 (Nov. 2004): "Betrayal"
Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (May 2005)
DC One Million
Detective Comics
Gotham Girls
Gotham Underground #3 (Feb. 2008): "Book Three: Fancy Meeting You Here..."
Harley Quinn
Joker: Last Laugh
Joker: Last Laugh Secret Files
Justice League of America
Nightwing (vol. 1) #2 (Oct. 1995): "The Renewal"
Showcase '94 #12 (Dec. 1994): "A Little Knowledge" (lead character)
Showcase '96 #3 (Mar. 1996): "Birds of a Feather"
Suicide Squad (vol. 1) #23 (Jan. 1989): "Weird War Tales" (name seen in illustration (or on screen))
Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #175 (Dec. 2001): "The Witch and the Warrior, Part Two: Girl Frenzy"
World's Finest Comics (vol. 1) #184 (May 1969): "Robin's Revenge" (1-panel cameo)


Suggested links for further research about this character:
  - http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000178/
  - http://www.comicvine.com/oracle/29-5368/
  - http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=oracle2
  - http://www.dcuguide.com/chronology.php?name=oracle2
  - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_Prey_(comic_book)
  - https://www.comics.org/issue/20693/
  - http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=1022
  - https://www.comics.org/issue/45712/
  - http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=1135
  - http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=425
  - http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=449
  - http://comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=13906