Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Standing Orders: Oracle, Disability, and Retconning

  • Chapter
Disability in Comic Books and Graphic Narratives

Part of the book series: Literary Disability Studies ((LIDIST))

Abstract

Barbara Gordon, the most fully realized disabled superhero in the genre, was born able-bodied. She debuted in 1967: she led a secret double life as Batgirl and as the able-bodied librarian daughter of Batman’s ally, Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon (Misiroglu 55).2 As part of the “Batman family,” Gordon/Batgirl reflected the evolution in female representation in the genre through the late 1960s and into the 1970s, when she served as a congress-woman and even ran for President (Misiroglu 55).

For Rosemarie Garland-Thomson 1

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Works cited

  • Alaniz, José. Death, Disability and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2014.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Baynton, Douglas. “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History.” In The New Disability History: American Perspectives. Ed. Paul K. Longmore and Lauri Umansky. New York University Press, 2001. 33–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedard, Tony, and Kevin VanHook, et al. Oracle: The Cure. New York: DC Comics, 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooker, Will. “Fandom and Authorship.” In The Superhero Reader. Ed. Charles Hatfield et al. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2013. 61–71.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brusky, A. E. “Making Decisions for Deaf Children Regarding Cochlear Implants: The Legal Ramifications of Recognizing Deafness as a Culture Rather Than a Disability.” Wisconsin Law Review (1995): 237–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, Sharon. “The Cold Shoulder: Saving Superheroines from Comic Book Violence.” Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture (Spring 2007). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coogan, Peter. Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. Austin: MonkeyBrain, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darius, Julian. “‘Fixing’ Barbara Gordon’s Legs: The Politics of Retconning a Disability.” Sequart.org (12 June 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Angelis, Richard. “Adding Insult to Injury.” Sequart.org (24 Sept. 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, Chuck, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, et al. Birds of Prey. New York: DC Comics, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doane, Mary Ann. “The Voice in the Cinema: The Articulation of Body and Space.” In Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology: A Film Theory Reader. Ed. Philip Rosen. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. 335–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. “Disability and Representation.” PMLA 120.2 (March 2005): 522–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • — “Feminist Disability Studies.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 30.2 (Winter 2005): 1557–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • — Staring: How We Look. Oxford University Press, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • — “Habitable Worlds: Disability, Technology and Eugenics.” Second Annual University of Oregon Disability Studies Forum Keynote Address. 30 Oct. 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrity, Shaenon. “The Gail Simone Interview.” The Comics Journal 1.286 (Nov. 2007): 68–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glover, Eric. “Giver Batgirl the Chair.” BleedingCool.com (17 July 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, Charles. Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Erica. I Fail at Life (2 July 2014). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, Henry. “Death-Defying Heroes.” In The Superhero Reader. Ed. Charles Hatfield et al. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2013. 295–304.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kapit, Neil. “New 52 Batgirl #1 Review: Wasn’t That Paralysis Just a Hassle?” Handi-Capeable. New! (7 Sept. 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khouri, Andy. “Batgirl Triumphant: The Price of Restoring DC Comics’ Disabled Heroine.” ComicsAlliance.com (6 June 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleban, Camilla, and Linda K. Kaye. “Psychosocial Impacts of Engaging in Second Life for Individuals with Physical Disabilities.” Computers in Human Behavior 45.7 (2015): 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koch, Tom. “The Difference That Difference Makes: Bioethics and the Challenge of ‘Disability.’” The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 29.6 (2004): 697–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamp, Sharon, and W. Carol Cleigh. “A Heritage of Ableist Rhetoric in American Feminism from the Eugenics Period.” In Feminist Disability Studies. Ed. Kim Q. Hall. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011. 175–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linton, Simi. Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity. New York University Press, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • — My Body Politic: A Memoir. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mairs, Nancy. Waist-high in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • McRuer, Robert. Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability. New York University Press, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, Frank. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. New York: DC Comics, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Misiroglu, Gina, ed. The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of ComicBook Icons and Hollywood Heroes. Detroit: Visible Ink, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, Terry, and Amanda Conner. “The Chaotic Code, Part 2: Crash and Burn.” Birds of Prey 1.48 (Dec. 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, Grant. Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero. London: Jonathan Cape, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, Robert F. The Body Silent. New York: Holt, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouellette, Alicia. Bioethics and Disability: Toward a Disability-Conscious Bioethics. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pantozzi, Jill. “Oracle Is Stronger Than Batgirl Will Ever Be.” Newsarama.com (6 June 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • — “Gail, Jill and Babs: A Conversation about Batgirl and Oracle.” Newsarama.com (9 June 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pernick, Martin S. “Defining the Defective: Eugenics, Aesthetics and Mass Culture in Early Twentieth-Century America.” In The Body and Physical Difference: Discourses of Disability. Ed. David T. Mitchell and Sharon L. Snyder. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997. 89–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousso, Harilyn. Don’t Call Me Inspirational: A Disabled Feminist Talks Back. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siebers, Tobin. Disability Theory. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simone, Gail, Tony Bedard, et al. Birds of Prey: Blood and Circuitry. New York: DC Comics, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simone, Gail, and Ed Benes. Birds of Prey: Sensei & Student. New York: DC Comics, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simone, Gail, and Joe Bennet. “End to End.” Birds of Prey Secret Files 1.1 (Aug. 2003): 2–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simone, Gail, Paulo Siqueira, et al. Birds of Prey: Perfect Pitch. New York: DC Comics, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfmonkey. “Is Barbara Gordon Really a Woman in Refrigerator?” Comic Vine (n.d.; ca. Oct. 2011). Web.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolk, Douglas. Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. José Alaniz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Mary Washington, USA

    Chris Foss (Professor of English) & Zach Whalen (Associate Professor of English) (Professor of English) &  (Associate Professor of English)

  2. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USA

    Jonathan W. Gray (Associate Professor) (Associate Professor)

Copyright information

© 2016 José Alaniz

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Alaniz, J. (2016). Standing Orders: Oracle, Disability, and Retconning. In: Foss, C., Gray, J.W., Whalen, Z. (eds) Disability in Comic Books and Graphic Narratives. Literary Disability Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137501110_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation