If you're a comics fan you might be aware of this, although DC's done its best to bury the long lineage of Batgirls there have been over the years. In their rebooted New 52 continuity Barbara never retired from the game, her paralysis after the events of The Killing Joke quickly cured with an experimental procedure, letting her hit the streets in her costume a scant few months later. Which is a shame, because it retconned a whole load of cool ladies that filled the cowl in the interim. During the No Man's Land crossover a supporting Bat Family member, The Huntress, briefly took the Batgirl name; that was soon passed on to Cassandra Cain, raised amongst Ra's Al Ghul's League Of Assassins. She was mute, and a little violent, before Batman gave her a little training before giving her his blessing. Eventually she abandoned the role, and it went to Stephanie Brown, one of the most unlucky characters in comics. She began as the vigilante The Spoiler, briefly got to be Robin, only to be killed off and her time as Batman's sidekick expunged from history.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
