Gotham Knights developers have responded to fan criticism directed at Batgirl, aka Barbara Gordon. Specifically, the team talked about how her disability will be presented.
The information comes from a recent Q&A, during which fans asked for updates on Batgirl. The description of the character on the Gotham Knights website, in fact, presented her as a heroine who was training to “recover from her wounds” so that she could “get back into action as Batgirl”.
In comic books, Barbara Gordon is shot in the back by the Joker. This forces her into a wheelchair. Of course, Gotham Knights’ Batgirl may have a different story behind her. Warner Bros. had however claimed that this Barbara had ended up in a wheelchair following “a fight”.
Fans then criticized the way the information was presented, seeing in all of this the classic cliché of the character who can overcome a disability through heroic training and sheer willpower.
Gotham Knights developers have welcomed this criticism. Creative director Patrick Redding revealed that the team has “worked with the amazing people at AbleGamers to find out what the different types of spinal wounds are and what they can heal.”
Additionally, the Gotham Knights team has changed the Batgirl description. It is explained that Barbara’s injuries are different from those in the comic books and that the girl has undergone multiple surgeries and a lot of physiotherapy and pain management.
“Her rehabilitation, still ongoing, will be experienced by the players during the adventure: for example, the heroine will be seen doing a whole series of exercises in the clock tower that forms the basis of the characters, and her clothes will have an integrated back brace.