You’re reading The Complete Infinite Crisis, a Comprehensive and Encyclopedic look through the universe-changing superhero event published by DC from 2005 to 2006. Shelfdust are proud to provide a complete overview of the story, and everything that happens in it. We’ve had to get some experts in though – there’s so much going on that needs to be explained!

Rosie Knight walked us through No Man’s Land recently – but as we took in the sights, we spotted a number of characters in the city! One of them was Oracle, and to explain more we’re bringing in Darci Meadows to give us a full rundown on how this mysterious Oracle is!

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Darci! I’ve just been told about a character called Oracle, who was crucial during No Man’s Land. Who is Oracle, and what’s her connection to Batman?

Darci Meadows: Oracle is a hacker and tech expert who handled logistical and cyber support for Batman through the ’90s and 2000s. However she was, in reality, Barbara Gordon, daughter of police commissioner James Gordon and the 2nd Batgirl.

Originally a character on the Adam West Batman show, she was added to the comics as someone inspired by Batman to become a crimefighter herself, eventually earning his respect & identity and working together as part of the Bat Family. After Barbara was shot and paralyzed from the waist down by the Joker she turned to her library science degree to become a computer expert, working with Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad before leaving the government; joining the hacker community; and taking the web name Oracle. Eventually she joined Batman on the Justice League as their tech expert and even ran her own superhero team with Huntress, Black Canary, and Lady Blackhawk called the Birds of Prey.

What are her abilities as Oracle? What does she bring to the table for Gotham City?

Meadows: Oracle is a master hacker and tech savant, able to hack into virtually any system. She’s also a genius able to juggle all manner of logistical focuses – while working with the JLA she was in charge of distributing the team’s resources to whatever disasters demanded their attention. Her tech skills have run the gamut from hacking into the Pentagon or LexCorp… to running WayneTech’s VR simulation Internet 3.0… to hunting down fragments of the Anti-Life equation left in the web after the Final Crisis event.

Is Oracle still active now? What became of Barbara Gordon?

Meadows: Oracle, in her classic form, doesn’t really exist anymore.  After the New 52 reboot Barbara Gordon was retconned to no longer be a wheelchair user and became Batgirl again, leaving the Oracle identity by the wayside.

There was a VILLAIN using the name to torment Barbara named Gus Yale – an obsessed Batgirl fan turned villainous information broker – but he’s since died in the pages of Birds of Prey. At the time of writing this, Barbara Gordon remains resolutely in her bat suit, and the Oracle identity has not been picked up by any other heroes…

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Thanks so much Darci! So that nets off both Huntress and Oracle – we’re starting to get a real understanding of the prime players in Gotham City now! Let’s catch up next time on some more of the big-time dealers!

 

Darci Meadows is a former comic reviewer and blogger turned freelance tabletop game designer and internet persona. For more, you can follow her work on Twitter here!