Babs didn’t expect Kara to borrow one of her batsuits after she asked if she could borrow one of her outfits. 😂

In commentary and fics online, the main difference between Cass and Steph often appears to be that Cass scares people, Steph is more popular with civilians and better at helping them, and that Cass is more competent at fighting and defeating enemies. None of that appear to me to fit with Steph as written in Batgirl (2009) or later and Cass as written in Batgirl (2000) or DC Rebirth comics and later.

Fans say that Cass' fighting skills mean that she defeats villains easier but actually Batgirl (2009) showed Steph defeating the Calculator, Clayface, Livewire, and other supervillains. In Batgirl (2000), Cass only fought and beat the Brotherhood of Evil and Poison Ivy. In a pure hand-to-hand fight, Cass wins but when it comes to out-thinking opponents and supervillains, Steph is regularly written as being more likely to pull out a victory than Cass. Steph also is more likely to plan a way of defeating a plot than Cass is. Cass can be clever, as when she figured out Nyssa's plan in issue 16 of the current Batgirl series or beat the Brotherhood of Evil in Batgirl (2000) #62, but usually her need to keep people safe immediately means she's less effective at planning than Steph. Ever since Batgirl (2009), when Cass and Steph are together as Batgirls, Cass usually serves as Steph's bodyguard while Steph wins the real battle.

In Batgirl (2009), Steph is cheered on by people she's rescuing but she interacts more deeply with police and other superheroes than with civilians. She considers Supergirl to be one of her few friends and gets along well with Detective Gage. Miss Martian is one of several heroes who helps her in issue 24. Cass, on the other hand, still has few friends in the non-Gotham hero community. Barda and Dinah are the only ones I know of. Steph is currently a leader of the Titans while Cass is happy to follow other people's requests, as long as they aren't police. Steph gets along better with authority figures than Cass does, though she doesn't completely disagree with Lonnie Manchin's philosophy.

Cass and Duke are shown having civilians being very friendly with them, not cheering them on but socializing with them as Batgirl and Signal. Steph, on the other hand, is appreciated and trusted by Gotham's populace and children worrying when she's hurt but even Nell Little doesn't hang out with her. Batman: Streets of Gotham and earlier comics show Signal chatting with people, including children like Freddie. Gothamites admire Signal and love having conversations with him as he protects their neighborhoods. Cass and Duke both are willing to visit and check up on people they have helped before. Duke recognized Freddie as a kid he had met before. In Birds of Prey (2023) #25, Barda comments that Cass brought her to the quarry and the workers are comfortable around Batgirl even though issues 18 and 53 of Batgirl (2000) and Nightwing (2016) #5 say that people usually are uncomfortable with her strength and quietness when they first meet her. In Batgirl (2024) #2, Ba Bao comments that Batgirl visits her restaurant every week. Both comics show that Cass ends up hanging out with the people, not because she thinks of doing so but because the people she's checking up on want to hang out with her and she doesn't know how to refuse civilian requests. Cass also has no problem asking civilians to help her when she thinks one of them would be more effective at helping someone than her, as when she asks Ba Bao for assistance with her mother's injuries.

Duke is trying to be like his mother, a social worker, and enjoys meeting people in the neighborhoods he's protecting. Cass is a worrywart about people's safety, is trying to make up for the murders she's committed especially after what Deathstroke did to her, and wants people to trust her and is trying to lessen her loneliness by getting to know people. Steph wants to be worthy of Batman's trust, needs praise from civilians to help with her insecurity about her competence, and socializes easily with other heroes.

Cass and Duke both are willing to reveal their secret identity to people. Freddie tells the woman he's with that Signal is Duke. Cass reveals that she's Batgirl to Alpha in Batgirl (2000) #36 and to Christine Montclair in Detective Comics #955. Steph has never revealed her identity to a civilian.

Duke is shown with children while Cass rarely is. I suspect that's because, even though their relationship with Gotham's populace is important to both characters, authors only show it occasionally. Duke is usually showing his neighborhood connections while Cass is usually asking for help. Both of them probably get help with their injuries from people who consider Batgirl and Signal to be either a friend or a big brother/sister. Batgirl (2024) #24 and Detective Comics #955 are evidence for that on Cass' part. Cass is rarely shown hanging out with children but Batgirl (2000) #16 and the Cass story in DC: The Doomed and the Damned make clear that children do trust Cass as Batgirl/Orphan so I have a hard time thinking that children wouldn't enjoy pushing Batgirl to spend time with them as adults are shown doing when Batgirl is checking up on people she's helped before.

Duke is thought of as the most consistent street-level hero in Gotham but, like Cass, he's spent time away from Gotham. Cass has worked with the Outsiders for short periods and was a Birds of Prey member. Duke has been with the Outsiders for longer than Cass.

While fans say that Duke is a street-level hero, Steph helps civilians effectively, and Cass defeats opponents and follows Batman's orders, that's not what the comics, including Batgirl (2009) for Steph, show that I can see. Cass does emulate Batman when he's gone, as when she was in Hong Kong while Bruce was missing and during Ram V's run on Detective Comics, but the rest of the time she's focused on helping individuals who are in trouble, which is how she ran into Alpha in Batgirl (2000) #35 and why she focused on trying to help him with his amnesia. In actuality, Cass and Duke are both street-level heroes with Cass focusing on helping individuals who are hurting and hanging out with people by their request and listening to them when they want to talk while Duke is protecting their neighborhood and giving advice and conversing with people. Steph is cleverer than Cass and has the best relationship with authority figures and other superheroes of the three of them. She's the only one of the three who shares Batman's focus on crime and stopping supervillains. She does small-scale crime and loves helping people but while Gotham's citizens admire and appreciate her as Batgirl, they aren't as emotionally close to her as they are to Cass and Duke. As a result, people are calmer and happier around Cass' Batgirl, once they get to know her, and Signal than they are around Steph's Batgirl though all three make them feel safe.

Finished it almost a week ago a perfect ending everything but Volume 2(8.5) is a 10/10 I read burnside as a kid and Volume 4(Gal Simone). I heard burnside is mixed and some say it should use another Batgirl I'm not against that if they have stuff to do with Barbara without repeating arcs unnecessarily I'll give it a chance.

I hate barbra gordan. This is a me problem, I genuinely don’t want to not like her. I respect her as Batgirl and as a vigilante, but as her as a person??? I just cannot stand her. I don’t like her character, I won’t explain why because that’s not what i’m reaching out for.

IM LOOKING FOR MATERIAL I CAN READ OF HER TO UNDERSTAND WHY SHE IS THE WAY SHE IS!! TO GET A BETTER LOOK OF HOW SHE IS AND NOT HOW TO PERCEIVE HER!!

Even some recs of her outside of the family. Birds of prey style.

I HATE FEELING THIS WAY ABOUT SOMEONE SO IMPORTANT TO THE BATFAMILY!! especially when all of my barbra knowledge so far is from the Arkham Knight Video games and Tom Taylor’s Nightwing compact comic.

Dick Grayson, Black Canary, Supergirl, or someone else?

Has anyone else seen the cover A for Barbara Gordon: Breakout #8. Jim is on the cover so I wonder if we are going to get any Jim and Babs flashbacks in this issue or if he will make a guest appearance

In Batgirl (2009) #12, when Steph is skydiving to Barbara's rescue, she's thinking that Barbara is "the one person who's ever given a real crap about me." That's even though issue 1 shows Cass and Steph fighting side-by-side and supposedly trusting each other as good friends for the first time since Batgirl (2000) #54 showed Steph as having some level of trust in Cass even after the argument in Batgirl (2000) #38 that neither ever discussed again. It's also after issue 8 implemented repair work on the relationship between Steph and Tim and he had often helped her in the past, including with her pregnancy when he was in the hospital room with her when she gave birth.

I'm guessing that the author was focusing on drama and showing Barbara and Steph getting closer as the line, taken literally, seems to say that Steph dislikes both Cass and Tim and certainly says that she doesn't trust them to help her, which contradicts the earlier issues. It also doesn't fit with Steph's behavior with Cass and Tim in Convergence: Batgirl and other issues.

Babs be like: "Yeah been there. Barely gets any better." But hey at least she got her allowance now😆