Let's get one thing straight.....

Recently there has been some controversy in the blogosphere regarding Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke" and its subsequent impact on the WiR (Women in Refrigerators) Syndrome. I won't go into detail on that, but I would like to take this opportunity to clear up a popular misconception about the book, which I read most recently in this post on Shelly's blog. (The bold type is mine.)

Aside from crippling a sidekick to a character, Batman, who already had Robin, The Killing Joke helped revitalize Barbara Gordon as she transformed herself into Oracle and went from sidekick/guest star to Major Player. She can literally appear in any story in continuity. She has her own book with her own team. Rather than be the helpless female, Babs fought back. True, that was after the fact, but ....

Yeah, it was "after the fact", all right. Years after the fact.

Let's clear something up right now:

Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke" did not help revitalize Barbara Gordon.

Suicide Squad did.

Moore, and apparently the Bat-editorship at the time, thought Batgirl was disposable enough to end her career permanently.

"Suicide Squad" writers John Ostrander and the late Kim Yale, on the other hand, thought Barbara Gordon was salvageable enough to re-invent her. They deserve credit for inspiring what's happened since (Birds of Prey).

Not "The Killing Joke".