No wheelchair?

[Dark Eagle]

Do you think anytime during the seasons that Barbara will be able to get out of the wheelchair? If so how?

[Bel]

Maybe if they have another "psychic" thing where she's batgirl again. Other than that, I can't really see how... Flashbacks are probably the only way. I doubt we'll see a Dark Angel style exo-skeleton appearing :)

[Dark Phoenix II]

I thought I read somewhere that in an upcoming ish of BoP Oracle regains the use of her lgs after helping a metahuman with healing powers. Perhaps further down the road they will...

But if they do, they'll probably just end up having her crippled again, like a certain bald, crippled psychic from another comic producer...

[gunslinger]

Wouldn't having her walk kinda kill her character though???

[Dark Phoenix II]

That's what I thought...Got to the DC site and check up on Preview Comics. I think it's BoP #48 or 49...

[HarleyQ]

Barbara out of her wheelchair? Just doesn't seem right to me. But I get that she'll probably just get crippled again - 'tis what always happens. Everything returns to normal eventually on shows like this. I hope. Hmm...

[AI Huntress]

That Barbara did with the wheel chair is cool. But to give her the ability to walk all the time is wrong. But giving her the power to wall for a few min here and there is ok. But to walk for a full ep should have a down side.

[TheOracle]

I know this a bit out of date, probably, but Xavier was healed by the Shi'ar. But yeah, crippled was he again. It worked for a couple of editions but I don't think he oculd have lasted long... Same goes for Babs. It would kill her character. It wouldn't work, unless she got her Mother Box and ended up with a mobile computer databank secretly located on her wrist.

[*SuperNova*]

I don't mean to offene..but that it is supposedly girl who is asian dress up as new batgirl in a comic book called no man's land? I forgot what's her name?! I think Baraba will get out of wheelchair in a possible way, but I am not sure about that.

[Bel]

If you've seen Slick, there is a small reference by Barbara about using implants in her spine to allow her to walk again. At the moment, they just let her control her wheelchair without using her hands! :)

[Elemental]

The way she moves her wheelchair is cool:)... I think being able to partially walk (for a couple of minutes) would be good if it happens later.

[bigguye7]

As for if barbra should walk,I think the producers will play this out for all its worth.should make for some good drama.Lets face it dina meyer is sexy and wonderful in a wheelchair or without!As for those who mentioned the x-men,prof.x is now walking on what seems a permanent basis.Check out current issues of x-men and you will see.

[TheOracle]

SuperNova... The ickle Asian girlie is Cassandra Cain, adopted Daughter of the Assassin David Cain. And the No Man's Land story ROCKED! But uhm yeah. :oP *shuts up now*

[JorelSon]

Originally posted by bigguye7
!As for those who mentioned the x-men,prof.x is now walking on what seems a permanent basis.Check out current issues of x-men and you will see.

This is not the first time he has started to walk again on a 'permanent' basis. He's been in and out of that chair a couple of times in the last 30 years.

Babs is a great hero whether she can walk or not. And I vote for staying in the chair, personally. I like that she fights crime with her brain, and not just with violence.

[TheOracle]

Brains *and* Brawn.

[Shadow Huntress]

even if she does get out of the wheel chair she will always be the brains of the operations...i think that over time if she is able to walk, the way they operate will evolve slowly, but i dont think it would be a bad thing if its produced and written properly...but yea i think her being in a wheelchair adds something to the show...they should draw out her situation as much as possible cause its a good part of the storyline...

[Huntress23]

i was going to say that Bel. Your all right baout without her wheelchair it kills her character. YOu have to problems with each character to make the storiy do good. if you don't you got a snor fest.

[Huntress23]

hey bigguye7 do you got to fairbanks local schools?

[Catwoman101]

Wait a minute.... If Barbara walks again then will that mean that Batgirl is coming back or will she still be the orcale. I kind of like the idea that she is disabled it makes her character more interesting. It shows how stronge she is and that Joker might of scared Batman away but not her. Talk about girl power!

[MistresssLacy]

I hope she doesn't. I love Barbara, but I love that she overcomes all these difficulties to be a superhero. I mean, if it's a flashback or a limited thing, I'm all for that, but on a permanent basis I like her in the chair.
(God, I love her. She rules!!)

[Batwoman]

If she gets outta the wheelchair, she'll probably have to do some ass kicking with Helena. If that happens, then who;s gonna run the lair with all the computer and research? The wheelchair is what stopped her from being Batgirl, and if they recreate that, then the Oracle will probably cease to exist.

[Cassandra Cain]

Not necessarily. Oracle has said (in the comics) something to the effect of never really loving the fighting and that the computer/crime-fighting stuff is more her speed. I think it's in the issue of Batgirl where new Batgirl fight a hologram of Babs' Batgirl. I'll try to find exactly what she says about it though. My point is, maybe she would still choose to be Oracle.

[AngelQueen]

Personally, I like having Barbara in the wheelchair. It adds a whole twist to their group. To the average person, who would think that a woman who cannot walk is helping to fight crime?

If the producers want to get her out of the wheelchair, I think that it would be just for a single episode. You know, have her temporarily healed, but then something happens and she's thrown back into the wheelchair.

Just my two cents! :D

AQ

[Lance]

Is it time to revisit a couple of questions? I'm new here, but I've followed this board since September, taking in the thoughts of others.
After three episodes of the show it seems more obvious than ever to this fan that Barbara's chair is definitely wrong. While it is in keeping with what Oracle does in the high-tech clocktower, it seems to give the impression that Barbara is much more restricted than she really is. Please note the distinction between who Barbara is and what Oracle does, and the similar notion that while Barbara is Oracle, Oracle is not Barbara.
Consider: As cruel and unenlightened as it was, is it a real surprise that Wade's mother would be put off by a large, intimidating, robot-looking power chair that sort of operates by itself? Perhaps it is my cynicism that leads me to believe she would look for any reason at all to disapprove of his romantic interests, the more obvious the better. I didn't hear anything of Wade's father's reaction, but I can imagine that he would have little trouble accepting Barbara as she appears in the wonderful 'New Gotham alley' and 'Clocktower' gallery photos that emphasize her sensuality rather than her paralysis. I'm very sure Wade would be even more impressed.
In any case, I believe it would be a miscalculation to use high-tech wizardry to allow Barbara to walk again. It was strongly suggested, though it would severely affect the entire concept of the show --- for the worse, in my opinion ---at a time when the characters and relationships are in early stages of development.
We must, of course, give countless thanks and unbounded credit to the gorgeous Dina Meyer and her considerable talent for bringing Barbara and Oracle to life. I honestly cannot imagine anyone else in the role, nor do I wish to contemplate the fates of these complex characters in less capable hands. Dina Meyer makes us care, and that is why we're here.
Those are my thoughts.
Yours?

[Ted]

First, welcome Lance! I'm glad you've decided to post, especially with such intriguing thoughts to share with us. :) It's really nice to hear from you.

I agree completely with what you've said about Barbara's menacing chair putting people off. It's very high, and I know that's not necessarily a bad thing; it allows her to be more at a level with the other actors than having her face in their stomachs. But it is big and bulky and certainly odd. Especially if an entire group of people sit down to dinner - Barbara sticks out in the crowd because she's above the rest of them, they have to look up to her. I bet she couldn't get her knees under the table, so she'd be sitting back and have to have a plate in her lap. It's sleek and nice, but a bit heavy for a date. I kinda laughed when Wade wheeled her through the park because she looked less like a girl in a wheelchair and more like a sexy actress in a luxury office chair. Not that people in wheelchairs can't be sexy, mind you, but no network will let you hide a Hollywood actress' beauty even as a handicapped character, and she was almost reclining like she was striking a pose. A mechanized, computerized chair would function well when she has to go out in the field and when she has to move around the Clocktower, but the more at-home version most people are used to would suit her well when going on a date. But as for school and walking down the street, I'd allow her to use whichever she wants - who are we to say 'You have to sit in this chair because it looks better'? Should the appearance matter more than Barbara's comfort or ease of getting around? It's kinda a double-edged idea in that she should be allowed to have the most efficient way to make up for the use of her legs and not have to worry about whether her wheelchair looks right or not. Should, of course, not being the same as will.

However, I think part of the real reason may be that for Barbara, the wheelchair is a defense mechanism/crutch. I mean, literally, of course, it's her "crutch", but when I say it I mean that she uses it to keep people out. It goes in tandem with her beeper for the Delphi system. I believe she is subconsciously keeping up her defenses to keep people from getting close and getting hurt. Every guy leaves her because he can't deal with her constant need to have this double life, but does she make it any easier for them? I'm sorry, Babs, because you're a cool character, but I have no sympathy for you when Wade gets annoyed that you rush off. Was there any reason to bring that pager with you to dinner other than to subconsciously have an 'out' of the date? Alfred could stay behind and man a microphone, and Dinah could be taught to as well, no? I understand her character's duties but I still think she is purposely letting it control her more.

There are two reasons to keep her in the chair : one, it forces Dina to put more into her acting when she can't physically perform the same way. She can't turn and walk away when she's angry, or even turn her back on someone, or shift nervously from foot to foot. It centralizes her range to her face and upper body and I think she's a remarkable actress anyway so it gives her a great opportunity to play this. The second reason is that Barbara would not be out kicking ass besides Helena - she's not had proper use of her legs in seven years, so do you expect that even with the technology to make her walk her muscles would be used to it? Children who grow up unsocialized - and I mean extreme cases here, children who are locked in closets and hidden from the world - get to be 13 and 14 and have stick-thin legs that can't support them because they haven't walked or exercised their muscles in years. Barbara, even with exercising her upper body, hasn't been working her legs and so she'd have to spend the better portion of a season (months and months) readjusting to working her legs and using them and walking.

Not to mention how many people would question how this random woman just solved the fact that people in wheelchairs can now walk, how she'd be hit up to go reproduce the technology, attend world summits on science and medicine and such... it'd open a lot of doors they couldn't just close again and drag her away from the Clocktower.

[Larry]

The idea of Oracle being allowed to get up and walk around on her two feet on the show would literally kill the whole premise of her character. She's supposed to be a tactical operations coordinator for Huntress and Dinah and she's on hand to guide them and help them in her special way. To have her act as a third mobile participant in field ops would become a case of "too many heroines spoiling the plot".

Besides, the Oracle that I know and love has been wheelchair bound for as long as her role was tragically and hideously created by the Joker in The Killing Joke and afterward, when he fired that bullet into her. Damn him for that, too.

To muddle with her at this point in the storyline would be nothing short of self-defeating and destructive to what the Oracle has accomplished in her comic book role. Though I was she could be back as Batgirl again, I've gorwn to accept and treat Barbara Gordon as a truly unique character who has made a name for herself outside of the influence of Batman.

Enough said. Time to weigh in with your own thoughts, everybody. :)

[Lance]

Oracle,

I thank you for the welcome --- and for calling my attention to the clumsy wording of my earlier post. Of course, you are correct that Barbara should be allowed to determine what kind of chair she uses and not have to worry about whether it looks 'right' or not. What I should have said --- what I meant to suggest --- is that I think the power chair is inconsistent with Barbara's personality, and I was not careful enough to separate that thought from the idea that I personally think she's hot in the smaller chair. In any event, your deeper analysis of Barbara makes sense in the context of her remark (in the pilot?) about being as romantically self-destructive as anyone, and I will keep it in mind as I watch.
Thanks again.

[Lance]

Okay, I've watched and listened, and I still believe RoboChair is out of character for Barbara --- too passive, it seems to me, for someone with fond memories of the physical action and quite capable of doing serious damage without the use of her legs. We know she isn't lazy. Yes, she makes it clear that she is 'different' and I believe she expects to be hurt, but that didn't stop her from accepting Wade's dinner invitation or meeting his parents (!) or --- according to the spoilers --- getting serious romantically. I'm convinced she wants to be seen as an attractive woman ... or did I misread the expression of relief on her face when someone indicated an interest in her despite the chair?
I agree, though, with your reference to the state of her legs after seven years of paralysis. Technology can do only so much if the muscles aren't there. The condition was handled quite differently with another comic book character, Silhouette (http://www.marvunapp.com/handbook/s/silhouette.htm), though I'm sure no one would suggest the same for Barbara. It seems clear that she must remain in a chair.
It is not my intention to put too fine a point on this, but I find the power chair jarringly inconsistent with who Barbara is and how she got there.

[Lance]

No disagreement here. In fact, I totally agree. As I said in another post on this board, Oracle is who she is because of what happened to Barbara, but she is NOT Barbara. It would be a major miscalculation to mess with that relationship and the dynamic it creates with the other characters.
You expressed my thoughts very well. The only thing I would add is that Barbara and Oracle should have larger roles in the television series.

[Cassandra Cain]

I agree. Although I think Oracle would still perform her duty were she to walk, I think making her walk on the show sounds more like a cheap ratings stunt than something that would actually add to the development of the character. I think one thing that makes Oracle such a great character is that she is such a strong willed person - and the fact that being in a wheelchair has never stopped her from doing anything.

Not to keep going back to the comics incessantly, but I would bring up one episode where Barbara had the chance to be healed in the Lazarus pit, but I think she allowed Canary to be healed instead of her. At any rate Canary was healed. I'm going to go back and look exactly what Barbara says about it, but I think it showed that Oracle is comfortable being Oracle - she's not sitting around (no pun intended) just waiting for the day when she can be Batgirl again.

[LisaM]

I also think it would be a bad move to have Oracle leave her wheelchair. Having said that, the "transponder attached to my spine" reference in an earlier episode foreshadows a scene where Oracle may be able to get out of her chair for at least a few seconds. If it happens, my guess is that it will be to save Dinah or Helena in a moment of dire trouble.

[Lance]

Yeah, I'd guess that you're on to something. 'Shiva' maybe? It's been done in the comics a couple of times and may be done again. They have to be careful not to make a habit of it or they jeopardize the concept of Oracle, and they should have Barbara deal with the emotional aftermath. That said, I'm still opposed.

[Larry]

You know, to tell you the truth, I completely forgot about this thread and it was about two weeks ago when I had first posted it here. I thought it was gone or something. :D

[Bel]

Nope, still here

The chances of her walking in Shiva seem quite high. But maybe that will injure her more or something so that she can't walk any more? Or there'll be some battle which will damage the transponder etc etc.

Her walking for part of 1 episode and then losing that ability wouldn't ruin the show