Oracle Isn't Just A Name. It's An Identity That Is Inextricably Intertwined With Barbara Gordon Reclaiming

Oracle isn't just a name. It's an identity that is inextricably intertwined with Barbara Gordon reclaiming herself and her sense of agency over her body and life after becoming disabled.

The last 13 years of dedicated activism have gotten us back to a point where Oracle is acknowledged and Babs is portrayed as a competent adult woman, and I'm grateful she finally has her team back. But DC still refuses to acknowledge and uplift her as disabled, undermining the core thesis of Barbara's character in the modern era. And as long as she's not visibly disabled…she's still not Oracle.

Oracle was created because two people (Kim Yale and John Ostrander) saw a horribly misogynistic story and went "no. We can do better. We SHOULD do better." Oracle was a rebirth, a revitalization, a refusal to allow women to be relegated to the sidelines and margins of superhero comics regardless of physical ability.

To refuse to portray her as visibly disabled undermines everything that Babs as Oracle stood for, both in-universe and in real life. It betrays the identity's foundations as a reclamation of agency and heroism. It betrays her creators' intent as an avenue for disability representation and a revitalization of a character summarily discarded because the company saw no further use for her. It betrays the millions of readers who read her stories for nearly 25 years and enjoyed stories brimming with strength, independence, and heroism that depicted a disabled character at their center.

It's doubly frustrating because it's clear that DC is slowly moving Cass back into the "primary Batgirl" role, allowing us to have a semblance of Oracle back, but they seem to think of Oracle as an interchangable identity with Batgirl that Babs would have had even if TKJ had never happened. And outside of Batgirls (which ended last year), they won't even meet people halfway and make Barbara an ambulatory wheelchair user who uses forearm crutches and/or a cane when she's mobile.

Again: I'm grateful that Oracle is being acknowledged again. I'm grateful Babs is back to being a competent adult and team leader who has friends outside of Gotham. But I continue to be frustrated at the company-wide sexism keeping her from fully moving on from Batgirl and the ableism prohibiting her from being shown as visibly disabled.