around DC and among the fans is that Oracle is the better character over Batgirl because of her handicap. Rubbish. Batgirl has fought more crime and done more to aid Batman as Batgirl than she has as Oracle. Batgirl has saved Batman's life on numerous occasions. Oracle has not. Barbara in this incarnation is not a bad character, but she is not better because she no longer hunts the night in cape and cowl." In an article for Bitch magazine entitled "The Cold Shoulder: Saving Superheroines from Comic-book Violence", Shannon Cochran noted a long history of inequality regarding the treatment of female heroes. She quotes Gail Simone, who discussed the gender difference in the treatment of Batman and Batgirl regarding paralysis: "Both had their backs broken [Batman broke his in a dramatic Batcave confrontation with the villain Bane; Batgirl broke hers when she was ambushed in her home and shot in the spine by the Joker, never given a chance to fight]. Less than a year later, Batman was fine. Batgirl—now named Oracle—was in a wheelchair and remained so for many years." Artist Alex Ross and writer/producer Paul Dini made attempts to return the character to her original conception. Ross explained in an interview that he and Dini had planned to restore her mobility by placing her in a Lazarus Pit, a naturally occurring chemical pool in the DC Universe that has rejuvenating effects when a person is submerged within it. He stated that "we pitched then-Batman editor Denny O'Neil with these drawings of that costume design. The idea of using the red instead of the traditional yellow was meant to invoke the idea that coming from the Lazarus Pit, she was in a way, more compromised as a character ... Denny shot it down, because, according to him, everybody loves Barbara Gordon as Oracle and as a handicapped character. The theory was that DC didn't have enough handicapped characters, so they weren't going to do anything with Barbara as she was. And the design went into the drawer." Kate Kane, the modern Batwoman introduced during 52, wears a variation of what would have been Gordon's new Batgirl costume designed by Ross. Commentary in favor of Oracle Although critical reception of Barbara Gordon's evolution into Oracle has been mixed among critics and other observers, according to John Ostrander: "We have, over the years, on those occasions when I have worked