10 Things Everyone Forgets About Batgirl
3. As Oracle, Barbara Gordon Became An Even Greater Hero
After Barbara was shot by the Joker, she was left paralyzed from the waist down and fell into a deep depression. But Barbara is brilliant and a fighter at heart, and she refused to let this limitation dictate her life. Realizing that the world is increasingly dependent on technology and information, Barbara saw that she already had the skills to be uniquely powerful in the cyber world: a photographic memory, a genius intellect, a graduate degree in library and information sciences, extensive knowledge of computer systems, and expert skills as a hacker.
After building an extensive and elaborate computer system and tapping into a variety of information sources - many of them classified - Barbara, using the code name Oracle, offered her services to the Suicide Squad. Amanda Waller made her an official part of the Squad’s support team, and she soon became the sole information source, first to Batman and then to the entire Bat Family. As a result, Batman paid to upgrade her systems on more than one occasion.
When the JLA expanded its rooster, Oracle was added to the team as their information guru and was soon the person that nearly every hero in the DCU had on speed dial when they needed to know the unknown or have an obscure fact uncovered. She also trained with martial arts master Richard Dragon to learn to defend herself from her wheelchair with Escrima sticks, firearms, and Batarangs.