Sometimes, being underestimated may be made to work to one’s advantage.
The cover of Detective Comics 371 (Jan. 1968) is frequently mocked for trivializing women. Batgirl is shown fretting about a run in her tights while Batman and Robin need her help in a fight.
But then you know the old adage about judging a book by its cover. The point of Gardner Fox’s story inside is exactly the opposite.
DC’s Julius Schwartz-edited titles consistently portrayed women as smart, capable and professional, particularly when compared to titles edited by others. So it was no surprise to me, even back then, that Batgirl’s apparent silly vanity was a sham. I’d only have been surprised had it been otherwise.
In Batgirl’s Costume Cut-Ups, Barbara Gordon is troubled when, by reflexively adjusting her mask when it was knocked askew in a fight, she leaves herself vulnerable to a kick from a crook.
Worrying that her vanity — her “instinctive female reaction” — had betrayed her, Batgirl is determined to improve her performance, despite reassurance from Batman that she’s doing fine as a crimefighter.
Ultimately, during a fight with the nine members of the Sports Spoiler gang, the Dominoed Daredoll pauses to ostentatiously repair a tear in her tights.
“What a pair of gams!” exclaims one of the crooks. The Terrific Trio wades into the distracted gang, with Gil Kane’s artwork making the finish brisk, dynamic and even, at times, winsome.
After Batman and Robin somewhat condescendingly reassure her that her “vanity” came in handy this time, Batgirl spares their vanity by refraining from revealing that the “accidental” rip in her tights was her plan all along — strategic jiu jitsu.
Back at the library, Barbara thinks “I didn’t have the heart to tell Batman and Robin that I tore my tights deliberately — to give me an excuse for showing off my leg and distracting those crooks!”
Finally, Batgirl is just as “ditsy” as Lt. Columbo is “befuddled,” and for the same reason.
“Fox developed Barbara Gordon as an independent young college graduate who’d affected a studious image with granny specs and her hair rolled up,” wrote John Wells in American Comic Book Chronicles. “Returning to Gotham City as one of its chief librarians, she had grand plans to let her red hair down and shock everyone with a vivacious new look. Creating a Batgirl costume for the Policeman’s Ball, Babs anticipated her unmasking as the grand finale, but it never came to that. Instead, she stumbled onto Killer Moth attacking Bruce Wayne en route and leapt in to rescue him. Once bitten by the superhero bug, Barbara changed her plans and embarked on a new career, keeping her father and everyone else out of the loop about Batgirl’s real name.”
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