Source: comicsalliance.com

5. Movie – Batgirl

Comic – Batgirl: Year One

Batgirl: Year One is my favorite Barbara Gordon comic book of all time.

It’s also one of my favorite Batman-adjacent comics of all time. A lot of that is due to the bone-shatteringly beautiful Marcos Martin art. And to the copious Killer Moth usage in this thing. There’s some Firefly too, and it’s rad.

But this book solidifies Barbara as a unique character, separate from Robin and Batman. Batman trained to be Batman into adulthood and all over the world. Robin was taught by the greatest fighter and detective of all time. But Babs? Batgirl taught herself, and went out into the night to go fight crime however she could. She did it without a safety net. She made her own gear and costume.

Maybe the best issue in the miniseries is Number Four, Cave Dwellers, in which Batman and Robin bring Batgirl into the fold to meet her. Seeing the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder from an outsider’s perspective is a great concept, and it’s carried over excellently.