DC Pride's Batgirl story gives her friend Alysia Yeoh the spotlight, and her moment to shine as a trans hero gives a new twist to the name Batgirl.
Warning: Contains Spoilers for DC Pride 2022
The iconic DC Comics superhero Batgirl is being completely redefined with a trans hero. Since her debut in 1961, Batgirl has taken on many forms. Her run began with Katy Kane as an attempt to give Robin a love interest, then continued from there to give various women a chance at the cape. Some notable women to take the mantle have been Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown and even the Huntress for a brief period. The most notable alter ego though has been Barbara Gordon, daughter of police commissioner Jim Gordon. She's the most recognizable character to wear the mask and has even taken the role of mentor for Cain and Brown after being paralyzed by the Joker in The Killing Joke and becoming Oracle.
During Gordon's era as Batgirl in the latest line of comics, she's also made a few new friends including Alysia Yeoh, a trans woman who was Barbara's roommate for a brief time. She works as a bartender in Gotham and is a strong political activist. Yeoh and Gordon became very close friends over the years with Yeoh feeling comfortable enough to even come out to Gordon as trans in a sweet moment between the two. Gordon still hides her secret identity from her though, wanting to make sure she's safe. Still, the two have met from time to time with Gordon as Batgirl and become friends. Now, the latest annual edition of DC Pride shows that Yeoh may one day take the mantle with a unique new spin on the name.
In the DC Pride 2022 story "Up at Bat" by Jadzia Axelrod and Lynne Yoshii, Alysia Yeoh finds Batgirl in need of assistance. She's been injured in a fight with Killer Moth, so she's given directions to a hideout in a clock tower to help treat her wounds. Things aren't as safe as they think, though, when Yeoh discovers that the spike that injured the hero contains a tracking device, leading to an ambush by Moth. Knowing that Batgirl is unable to do anything, Alysia grabs a costume from a long display of previous Batgirl outfits and puts it on to take on the villain her way. She makes the name of Batgirl her own with a bat as her weapon decorated with the Trans Pride flag. She literally becomes "Bat-Girl."
This is a clever spin on the name because there are so many other Batgirls that share the mantle. Yeoh has found a way to make her temporary standing as the hero her own and gets to shine as the strong woman she is. Plus, it's a clever play on the name to make her immediately discernible from those heroes who came before her. Above all though, she manages to show that she's a fighter in more ways than one. Her biggest arc in the story is wondering how else she can bring her fight for equality outside of her activism. She manages to prove herself by taking on Killer Moth in her own way. Batgirl is so impressed in fact that she lets her keep the suit.
Yeoh isn't the first trans superhero to make her way to DC canon, but she's certainly a welcome addition. She has the intelligence, wit and quick thinking necessary to wear the Batgirl name with pride. Plus, with the way she decorates her weapon to fight off villains, she becomes great representation for the trans community in the comics industry. Alysia Yeoh is completely redefining what it means to be Batgirl in the world of DC Comics, and the way it's handled is great since it opens the doors for anyone to take up the mantle one day in the future.
