BATGIRL BIO

[BATMAN1]

Nicknames: Babs, Barb, Barbie (only to her father) Dark Knight Damsel,
Domino Dare Doll, BatBabe (If you want a broken nose)

Alias: Amy Beddoes, Cassandra

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Physical Appearance:
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 115
Eye color: Green
Hair color: Red
Typical dress: Barbara dresses for the occasion, usually
dressing in greens and pastels. Unlike most redhead, she can
wear pink and red with little to no difficulty. She is very
fashion conscience, though her favorite comfort outfit is simply
an oversized college sweatshirt and a pair of faded blue jeans.
She wears reading glasses only when she thinks no on is looking.
Ethnic Origin: Irish American
Build: Barbara has a figure that most girls would kill for.
Her athletic body is indicative of a gymnast, but is far more
developed than most. Her perfect hourglass shape is
accentuated by a generous bust and legs that seem a mile long.
Though Barbara knows some men find her attractive, she is no way
conceded and often needs self assurances in that area.
Voice: Soprano

Birthplace: Ohio

Social Status: Upper Middle Class

Education: In College

Occupation: Full time student/part time librarian/computer programmer
for the GCPD

Friends: Tim Drake, Dick Grayson

Family: Thelma Gordon (Deceased/Mother) Roger C. Gordon (Deceased)
James Gordon (Police Commissioner/Father) Barbara Kean-Gordon (Ex-
Stepmother) James Gordon, Jr. (Stepbrother)

[BATMAN1]

Personality: Barbara is an ambivert. She is perfectly happy to spend
time in her room working on her computer, or at the library going
through books. However, she is just as happy to go have fun with her
friends or spend a night fighting crime with Tim or Bruce. She is at
home in any environment and makes friends fairly easily. She appears
to be extremely self-confidant, and in many ways she is. However,
there is a part of her that wants to quit when things don’t go her way,
and it’s a constant struggle to keep herself from giving up her
obligations. Barbara is also the kind of person who never thinks about
something before she says or does it. Or, if she does, she fails to
realize the true downfall of her actions. She has gotten herself into
many, many problems over this. Barbara a terrible temper that can, at
times, cause her more trouble than anything else. She tends to target
men with these bursts of fury, specifically overbearing men who
question her abilities, intentions, or tell her that she ‘cannot’ do
something she intends to do. Though it passes, it can sometimes leave
third degree burns in its wake.

[BATMAN1]

Motivations: Fueled by a childhood dream of being a hero, Barbara
first assumed the cape and cowl to show her father that she could.
Now, she does it because she wants to keep the people of Gotham safe,
and because she believes in her heart…that it’s what she was always
meant to do.

Likes/Dislikes: Barbara’s first love is crime fighting, racing along
the rooftops, pounding some slime balls face into silly putty. Though,
her next love will always be computers. She can and will make them do
whatever she likes. The Internet is her home away from home. She is
also an avid reader with a love of ancient mythology and history of all
kinds, but most specifically Greek.

Fears/Weakness: Barbara’s biggest fear is failure. She has worked
extremely hard to obtain the respect of her co-workers and father, and
she is terrified that one mistake will cost her everything. She is
also much more emotional than her male counterparts and often lets her
feelings get in the way of her job. Which, may or may not be a true
weakness.

Skills:

Weapons/combat knowledge: Barbara’s a brown belt in Judo, successfully
competitive gymnastics and dance, photographic memory, and incredible
mind make her the hero she is…and could be. She has been dabbling in
Escrima, the ancient Philippine art of stick fighting, but hasn’t
learned anything definitive about it yet. At any point in time, you
can find the following items in her utility belt:

Batarang: A throwing weapon somewhat like the Australian Aboriginal
boomerang and the shuriken of the Japaneese martial art of Ninjitsu,
this weapon can return to the thrower and can be used to cut or knock
weapons from an opponent’s hand. (She is seriously considering
redesigning some of these in wood.)

Smoke Bombs: By far her most frequently used weapon, she can utilize
these to blind her foes and affect an escape.

Tear Gas Pellets: Concocted by Batgirl herself, these capsules are
filled with a potent, but short-term tear gas, which can choke and
blind an opponent. She was the first of the Batfamily to carry these
and still uses them to this day.

Bat-Bola: Another throwing weapon traditionally used to tie up animals
in South America, she uses this to instantaneously tie-up her foes. It
looks like four pieces of rope with black balls on the ends. This is by
far her most accurate, useful, and powerful weapon.

Swingline/Grapple: Within her utility belt, she carries a swingline
with a grappling hook capable of holding up to 300 pounds. By pressing
two releases on the side, she can shoot the grapple out to latch onto
the side of a building, roof, etc. She uses it to swing and climb.

She has also been known to carry flares, gas-masks, a first-aid kit, a
camera, a flashlight, a fingerprint kit and voice recorder. Fitted
into her cowl is a communicator/radio and a variety of different cowl
lenses that can be used for long and short distance magnification,
night vision, heat vision, etc.

[BATMAN1]

Character History: Barbara was born to Thelma and Roger C. Gordon on a
blustery September day nineteen years ago. She spent her childhood in
a small town in Ohio, where nothing very much ever happened, and where
people were content to live the dull lives they have been living for
eons.

When she was five years old, her mother and aunt were killed in a
traffic accident. Though most would consider her too young to
understand the concept of death, Barbara was a much smarter girl than
most gave her credit for, and she mourned her mother with every fiber
of her being. Her father was so deeply affected by his wife’s loss
that he turned to alcohol and left Barbara without a father or a
mother.

Strangely enough, it was that same year that she found a letter from
her mother addressed to her. Obviously, it was something her mother
had wanted her to have when she died. Barbara was young, and did not
understand everything in it…but she did understand the jist of it. Her
Uncle James was not her uncle…he was her father.

The young woman was forced to endure a life with a father who cared
little about her, and much more about the fullness of his whiskey
bottle. She and her best friend Marcy spent those years fantasizing
about becoming the superheros they so admired. Marcy had a soft spot
for the protector of Metropolis, but Barbara was hopelessly in love
with Batman and everything that he stood for. She would have given
anything to work with him…

Oddly enough, it was the tragic loss of her father, and the invitation
to join her true father in Gotham that gave her the opportunity.
Tearfully, she left her childhood friend, and accepted a homemade
‘Batgirl’ doll from Marcy that she would treasure for the rest of her
life.

Now, fourteen-year-old, Barbara Gordon joined her Uncle Jim in Gotham
City and was adopted by both he and his current wife, also named
Barbara. One night when she was checking in on her adoptive father, she
happened upon a meeting between the Dark Knight and Jim. She watched
from the shadows as they spoke and the costumed vigilante disappeared
into the night. She swore then that she would someday be his
partner…or, at the very least, fight for justice as he did.

Immediately, Barbara enrolled herself in martial arts and self defense
classes. She began training with classic ballet, gymnastics, and a
myriad of other subjects that she was certain would help her obtain her
final goal. She spent hours at the Gotham Public Library studying
criminology, forensics, pathology, and every map of Gotham she could
lay her hands on. Already vastly mature for a girl her age, with a
photographic memory and startlingly high genius IQ, it was not long at
all before she was prepared to don the cape and cowl.

She gave her father every opportunity. The sixteen-year-old wanted to
fight crime in a legal way, via the police force, FBI, anything. Jim
made it very clear that he would never allow it. He had already lost
his wife Barbara to a divorce, and he would not lose his daughter to a
criminal’s bullet.

As was typical of Barbara, the redhead decided to show her father just
how determined she was. Working diligently, she designed a Batgirl
costume from the doll her friend Marcy had given her, and arrived at
the Masquerade Ball fully ready to put her father in his place.
Unfortunately, her plans were interrupted when Killer Moth arrived to
kidnap Millionaire Bruce Wayne. Barbara, who was not known for
considering her plans carefully before jumping with both feet, attacked
the Moth and his men, saving Bruce Wayne…and deriving a name from the
media. Batgirl.

From there, things became more complicated. Batman did not trust her,
apparently did not like her, and treated her badly. She instantly lost
her crush on him, pegging him for the pig he was, and was now
determined to keep the cape and the cowl and show him just what kind of
hero she could be. Though it was difficult, she did prove herself to
him…and was even deemed worthy of knowing his name, working with him
from time to time, and training with him.

Now, Barbara is nineteen and has trained with the Bat for three years,
and worked with the new Robin (Tim Drake) for a little less than one.
She believes Tim to be one of her closest friends in the world, but she
knows better than to think anything like that where the Bat is
concerned.