New Spine

[Ajax]

Sorry Babs. Until I saw this comic, it never really crossed my mind.

[Podmark]

Yeah that's one of the annoying things that comes up when you're playing in a big universe sandbox composed of multiple writers and decades of continuity. There's always a precedence that can overwrite any given plot.

Still I'm happy they never healed Barbara.

[lugaru]

On a show I was listening to they actually said there is a rumor that Barb is coming back as a costumed hero, especially after Damian got his own new spine (that is what I was gonna talk about but he is represented in the second to last pannel). I think right now Oracle is one of the more original heroes out there, once back on her feet I would ONLY be interested if they put her right up there with Bruce... I mean she is up there with him as a detective right now, give her legs to kick butt with and she should be taking his place.

[Ajax]

Maybe she will be tied into that whole Batman Inc thing Morrison is launching.

[Talavar]

Yeah, Barbara Gordon gets a raw deal by superhero standards - I mean, even if her spine was unfixable, you'd think someone could build her a robo-exoskeleton for her legs or something.

That said, her paralyzation and becoming Oracle has made her into a far more interesting character than she ever was as Batgirl.

[GhostMachine]

They've said the reason that Barbara hasn't been fixed is because she's become a role model for the handicapped. Why they couldn't just introduce a new handicapped character and put them in a leading role is beyond me.

[Talavar]

They've said the reason that Barbara hasn't been fixed is because she's become a role model for the handicapped. Why they couldn't just introduce a new handicapped character and put them in a leading role is beyond me.

But how would this new, unfixably-handicapped character be less problematic than unfixably-handicapped Oracle?

Also, no one cares about new characters.  For reference, see almost every attempt to launch a new character by DC and Marvel since the 1970s.

[Trelau]

They've said the reason that Barbara hasn't been fixed is because she's become a role model for the handicapped. Why they couldn't just introduce a new handicapped character and put them in a leading role is beyond me.

Because then the message would be that even if she became an interesting character on her own merit and got beyond her disability, she'd still need to get "fixed" to be considered a super-hero. That's not really a message of hope, and like you said she's became a role model. She's perfect like she is.
Why is getting her new legs "fixing" her? I'd say making her handicapped is the best thing that happened to this character, and making her walk again is not "fixing" her, it's ruining her. Oracle kicks arse, leave the robotic legs and magical healing to second class characters without history or depth (aka: Damian Wayne).
I'm a little partial here, but Birds of Prey is clearly one of my favourite dc books.

[Tawodi Osdi]

I am split on the subject.  I really used to like her character, and I used to really loving reading those Batman Family anthologies that came out for a dollar when most comics still cost around 50 cents.  On the other hand, I had both an aunt and an uncle confined to wheelchairs by MD; so, I am sympathetic to the handicapped.

[lugaru]

Also I grew up when Gotham was kind of outside the DC universe... you might have gods and demons and cyborgs and aliens everywhere else but in Gotham you could always assume it was just some serial killer. I kind of liked this separation, so I'm OK with Barbs not being CyberBarbs by now.

On the other hand I think writers these days are getting really good at mixing the crazy with the street level stuff. See The Punisher when he was running around using pym particles and weapons from villains or a lot of the Morrison Batman stuff... very crazy yet pretty true to character.