Batgirl Can Perfectly Avoid Its Batman and Jim Gordon Problems

Warner Bros.’ superhero film Batgirl can avoid any problems with Batman and Jim Gordon provided the movie handles both aging protagonists correctly. A brand new addition to the DC Extended Universe, Batgirl is set to star Leslie Grace in the role of a young Barbara Gordon and will premiere as an HBO Max original film in late 2022. Grace’s Batgirl will represent just the second iteration of an adult Barbara Gordon on the big screen, with Alicia Silverstone first donning the Batgirl costume in Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin (although she was retconned as Alfred’s niece in 1997).

However, despite HBO Max’s Batgirl representing a landmark moment for Barbara Gordon’s character, much of the talk surrounding the new Batgirl movie has been regarding her crime-fighting counterpart, Batman. This is due to Michael Keaton reprising his role from earlier movies, with Keaton considered a DC legend after playing the caped crusader in Tim Burton’s celebrated Batman 1989. In addition, Warner Bros. will carry over the DCEU’s version of Commissioner Gordon, with J.K. Simmons expanding his small part in Justice League by portraying Barbara’s father.

Yet despite the hype, HBO Max’s DC Comics premiere has a perfect chance to steer clear of Batgirl’s obvious Jim Gordon and Batman problems. The main priority here is to avoid the issue of J.K. Simmons and Michael Keaton stealing Batgirl’s thunder – as the risk of taking away Batgirl’s impact from her first outing is too high. Instead, these iconic male characters should be fittingly relegated to mentor figure status, allowing Batman and Gordon to help Batgirl shine rather than overshadowing her own feature film debut.

With audiences set to be treated to the multiverse-hopping Keaton in Batgirl, Batman will likely cast a large shadow over Barbara Gordon. The same applies to Leslie Grace’s on-screen father, as J.K. Simmons returns to the Jim Gordon character in a larger Commissioner role. To not steal attention away from the independent hero, therefore, Batman can become a sidekick to Batgirl in a telling role reversal. In this way, in the form of an older Bruce Wayne, Batman and Batgirl’s relationship could develop in a paternal style akin to Batman Beyond. Furthermore, Michael Keaton’s Batman can become the Oracle-type character in the bat cave on the computer, helping behind the scenes as Alfred did before him – ensuring Batman better fits the newly established Batgirl dynamic as a mentor. In addition, Jim Gordon this approach would also see Jim Gordon shy away from his ordinarily by-the-book approach running Gotham PD. His position does not encourage vigilantism, which jeopardizes Batgirl’s mission and takes the focus away from her purpose in Gotham City.

In this way, as the two men involved in Barbara’s life can be mentors for the budding superhero, Batgirl will be given the responsibility of handling her own matters. Both Jim Gordon and Batman can stay out of Batgirl’s way by not overprotecting her, or, refreshingly, finding different avenues to assist in the upcoming HBO Max movie. The concept of a Batgirl movie has already overcome several obstacles in the production pipeline, meaning Batgirl‘s narrative should not attempt to detract from Barbara Gordon’s time to shine.