“The Killing Joke” is a classic Batman story written by one of comics’ most influential authors, the one and only Alan Moore (who has also penned “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta”, among many, many more). It defined the Batman mythos for YEARS to come, giving the Joker a more-or-less definitive origin and transforming the failing-in-popularity Batgirl into the much more popular Oracle. The original graphic novel, albeit a bit on the short side, keeps being printed and reprinted to this day, with fans still debating over its ambiguous ending. Was the Joker right? Can one really bad day truly drive a person insane? Was that person Batman, who finally snapped and killed his arch-nemesis (echoing the sentiment he had expressed earlier in the story about their struggle ending by one of them killing the other), or did he listen to Gordon and bring him in by the book? Argh, I could go on and on about this story, but I don’t need to – countless others, from regular fans all the way to comic book writer Grant Morrison have thrown their own two cents into it. No, right now, I want to focus on a little something else.
Recently (and by that I mean “this week”), an animated movie based on “The Killing Joke” was released featuring the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker and Tara Strong as Batgirl – who have been voicing these characters since the 90s. And, surprise, surprise, the actual part that is a straight adaptation of “The Killing Joke” is actually really great! The performances are great, the character designs are awesome, the sets are unbelievably creative, and the changes actually enhance the story rather than detract from it. But since “The Killing Joke” is a very short book, the filmmakers added a 30-minute prologue focusing on Batgirl, and that… Has been divisive. io9 called the movie’s portrayal of Batgirl a “frankly sexist character assassination”, and fans haven’t been much kinder – if you go to any review of the movie, even ones that don’t mention this in particular (such as this one by Chris Stuckmann), you’re undoubtedly going to see one thing being brought up over and over again. And I’m here to set the record straight.
Yes, Batgirl has sex with Batman. Get over it.
I mean, really, the outrage over this one plot point in particular is ridiculous, and the arguments against it – even more so. I mean, a “character assassination”, really? I mean, it’s not like Batgirl’s portrayed as a brainless bimbo who does nothing but pine for her man throughout the entire movie – she’s clearly capable, extremely intelligent, a better detective/tech expert than even Batman… Her character is there, it’s just that the director has decided to give her *gasp* a flaw! Throughout the movie, it’s made rather clear that it’s not really Batman that Batgirl likes – it’s the power fantasy that Batman provides. Meanwhile, Batman himself sees this in her and knows just how dangerous that mindset is, which is why he distances himself from her. Those characters are human – they make mistakes and have very real emotions which aren’t always rational. This isn’t a “character assassination” – this is precisely what the fabled “strong female character” should be like!
You guys wanna know what a real assassination of a female character looks like? Look no further than the 2004 “Catwoman” movie. Remember that? The titular Catwoman is a flirty cat burglar with a love-hate relationship with Batman who likes to play by her own rules, but will always do the right thing when it counts. The protagonist of the movie is… Well, none of those things. At all. Like, not even close. She’s a straight-up superhero with cat powers who fights against an evil corporation. Hell, they couldn’t even get Catwoman’s name right – she’s called Selina Kyle, not Patience Phillips or whatever. When your movie depicts a beloved comic book character so poorly that even the actress who brought her to life apologized (when accepting her Razzie award, no less), then you know that THAT is a character assassination. Batgirl having sex with Batman is not the problem. Not every female character has to be a perfect, pure snowflake in order to be “strong” – they can be strong while making mistakes. Please don’t halt so many years of progress when it comes to depictions of female characters just because you can’t accept that a woman can be flawed.