Claim: Alicia Silverstone played a character from DC Comics.

Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman . Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff as Bat-Girl , she was replaced by Barbara Gordon in 1967 , who later came to be identified as the iconic Batgirl . The character debuted in Detective Comics # 359 , titled `` The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl ! '' -LRB- January 1967 -RRB- by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino , introduced as the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon .   Batgirl operates in Gotham City , allying herself with Batman and the original Robin , Dick Grayson , along with other masked vigilantes . The character appeared regularly in Detective Comics , Batman Family , and several other books produced by DC until 1988 . That year , Barbara Gordon appeared in Barbara Kesel 's Batgirl Special # 1 , in which she retires from crime-fighting . She subsequently appeared in Alan Moore 's graphic novel Batman : The Killing Joke where , in her civilian identity , she is shot by the Joker and left paraplegic . Although she is reimagined as the computer expert and information broker Oracle by editor Kim Yale and writer John Ostrander the following year , her paralysis sparked debate about the portrayal of women in comics , particularly violence depicted toward female characters .   In the 1999 storyline `` No Man 's Land '' , the character Helena Bertinelli , known as Huntress , briefly assumes the role of Batgirl until she is stripped of the identity by Batman for violating his stringent codes . Within the same storyline , the character Cassandra Cain is introduced . Cain is written as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva and takes the mantle of Batgirl under the guidance of Batman and Oracle . In 2000 , she became the first Batgirl to star in an eponymous monthly comic book series , in addition to becoming one of the most prominent characters of Asian descent to appear in American comics . The series was canceled in 2006 , at which point during the company-wide storyline `` One Year Later '' , she is established as a villain and head of the League of Assassins . After receiving harsh feedback from readership , she is later restored to her original conception . However , the character Stephanie Brown , originally known as Spoiler and later Robin , succeeds her as Batgirl after Cassandra Cain abandons the role .   Stephanie Brown became the featured character of the Batgirl series from 2009 to 2011 . DC subsequently relaunched all their monthly publications during The New 52 reboot . In the revised continuity , Barbara Gordon recovers from her paralysis following a surgical procedure and stars in the relaunched Batgirl series as the titular character . These changes were retained as part of the 2016 DC Rebirth event . As Batgirl , Barbara Gordon has been adapted into various media relating to the Batman franchise , including television , film , animation , video games , and other merchandise . This factored into the decision to return her to the comic book role , as Dan DiDio , co-publisher of DC Comics , expressed that she is the best-known version of the character .