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Barbara Gordon Reading Order (Batgirl and Oracle)

While not the first Batgirl (that honour belongs to Betty Kane) or the last, Barbara Gordon is perhaps the most famous. Created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino, she first appeared in the pages of Detective Comics #359, published in January 1967. She was the by-product of the Adam West television show, and, following a request by Schwartz, who wanted a new female counterpart to Batman, she was introduced to the television series in September of that same year, in the season 3 premiere of Batman.

Barbara Joan Gordon is the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon and the sister of serial killer James Gordon Jr., who originally worked as head of the Gotham City Public Library. She began her superhero career as Batgirl, working closely with Batman and the first Robin. A popular character during the Silver Age thanks to her media presence, Barbara’s history is tumultuous, filled with violence, tragedy, reinvention, success, and love.

One of the most famous moments in Batman’s history, and one that changed Barbara’s life forever, took place in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, in which the Joker paralysed her from the waist down by shooting her. After a difficult period, she reinvented herself as Oracle — a character created by Kim Yale and John Ostrander in the pages of Suicide Squad — using technology and computers to help Batman and other DC superheroes fight crime.

In a controversial decision, DC Comics will use the New 52 reboot to bring Barbara back as Batgirl following a surgical procedure that has allowed her to walk again. Since then, Barbara has embraced both aspects of her superhero activities: she is an action heroine in the field, as well as an elite computer hacker and a guiding voice for other superheroes.

You can discover Barbara’s complex comic history as Batgirl and Oracle in our Definitive Barbara Gordon Reading Order.

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Green Arrow Reading Order, DC Comics’ Archer

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Green Arrow Reading Order

Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, Green Arrow made his first appearance in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His real name is Oliver Queen and, with his sidekick Speedy, he fights crime in his home city of Star City – or Seattle at some point. He doesn’t have superpowers. Like Marvel’s Hawkeye, he is an extremely skilled archer, but he’s more like Bruce Wayne than Clint Barton, because Oliver Queen is a wealthy businessman and owner of Queen Consolidated.

He is one of the rare Golden Age heroes who survived the 1940s and 1950s without a lot of alterations and entered the Silver Age without much trouble and he even joined the Justice League. That said, he was seriously retooled at the end of the 1960s by Neal Adams and Dennis O’Neil. He then lost his money and became an advocate for the underprivileged with a lot of left-wing views to express. At that time too, his teammate Black Canary became a love interest and his friendship with Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) became iconic – also, that’s when it was revealed that Speedy was addicted to heroin! Strangely enough, Green Arrow had to wait until the 1980s to be the star of his own series. And then came the Crisis on Infinite Earths that led to a retcon.

In 1987, Green Arrow came back with a series for a mature audience. No more gadgets and Star City. Oliver Queen moved to Seattle where he was faced with a lot of violence. Written and illustrated by Mike Grell, this series was not fully integrated into the DC Universe. That changed when Grell stopped writing. Green Arrow quickly found a place alongside the other heroes, and also discovered a son!

Dead for a few years, Green Arrow was revived in 2001. He then picked up his bow to again fight crime in Star City. He faced horrors, got married, and a lot more as each crisis (and relaunch of the DC Universe) changed the course of his life. Also, The CW TV Adaptation led DC Comics to introduce new elements to the story (mainly the character of John Diggle).

As his past was revisited and his relationships with his sidekicks and Black Canary were explored, Green Arrow evolved through the years (more than 80 now!).

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Robin Reading Order: Your Guide to Batman’s sidekicks (from Dick Grayson to Damian Wayne)

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Robin War - Robin Reading Guide Order

Robin. The Boy Wonder. Batman’s sidekick. Originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson, Robin is the alias for Batman’s crime-fighting partner in the DC Comic Universe.

The initial incarnation of the character first appeared in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940), just one year after Batman’s debut. As there was rarely a Batman published story without the Boy Wonder, Batman and Robin became known as the Dynamic Duo or The Caped Crusaders.

As Batman is a dark and brooding hero with a personal vendetta against crime and injustice, Robin is a more light-hearted, joyous, and spontaneous character. The two characters complement each other, and together, they created one of the most iconic comic book partnerships.

Robin began to live his own short adventures as soon as 1947, published in Star Spangled Comics (we will have to wait until 1992 for Robin to have his own title). He would also be a founding member of the superhero team Teen Titans (in 1964), and since then, Robin is almost always part of the team.

Throughout the years, several characters have held the mantle of Robin, from the most popular Dick Grayson to our favorite little brat Damian Wayne. Discover all the Robins with the following guide.

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Suicide Squad Reading Order

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The Suicide Squad as we know it today wasn’t always like that. First created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru in 1959 in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #25, the first incarnation of The Suicide Squad was a team of good guys with a scientific edge led by Rick Flag Jr. They faced monsters and nuclear bombs. It didn’t last long, and we will not talk about it more here.

The Suicide Squad, as we know it, was introduced by writer John Ostrander (with Len Wein) and artist John Byrne in the pages of the Legends miniseries in 1986, the first major DC Universe crossover after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This governmental team, controlled by the morally ambiguous Amanda Waller, is really called Task Force X and is composed of supervillains like Blockbuster, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Enchantress. Rick Flag Jr. is still the leader. The team is sent on “suicide” missions—sometimes, not everybody comes back.

After Ostrander’s run ended in 1992, Suicide Squad saw multiple revivals. In 2001, Keith Giffen and Paco Medina reintroduced the team, and in 2011, as part of DC’s New 52, written by Adam Glass, Harley Quinn was introduced as a core member for the first time. Another relaunch came with DC Rebirth in 2016 by Rob Williams and Jim Lee, cementing Harley’s prominence alongside Deadshot. The Squad continues to appear across comics and media, with frequent roster changes and thematic ties to espionage and black ops missions. Amanda Waller stayed in control through the multiple incarnations of the team and has grown to become a central figure in the DC Universe.

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Stephanie Brown Reading Order (Spoiler, Robin, Batgirl)

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Stephanie Brown Reading Order (Spoiler, Robin IV, Batgirl III)

Created in 1992 by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle as a plot device in Detective Comics #647-649, Stephanie Brown is a DC Comics superheroine considered part of the Batfamily. She is first introduced as the vigilante Spoiler, had a brief stint as Robin, and has also taken the mantle of Batgirl.

Before the New 52 reboot, Stephanie Brown had a difficult life, one that had some similarities with Jason Todd’s. Her mother was a drug addict and her father was the third-rate villain known as Cluemaster. It was in order to stop him that Stephanie Brown became the vigilante named Spoiler (as she was trying to ‘spoil’ things for her abusive father), starting out with little training, relying on her determination and natural agility. She lived in poverty and didn’t have a great track record when it comes to her love life.

Initially seen as an amateur, Spoiler’s tenacity caught the attention of Tim Drake/Robin II, with whom she developed a romantic relationship–though she didn’t know his real name for a long time. Stephanie’s relationship with Batman was a difficult one, a sort of reflection of the way some people at DC Comics seemed to perceive her–leading us to some mistreatment of her character.

During the DC New 52 era, Stephanie Brown’s story was rewritten, her past and her relationship with Batman were way less harsh and complicated than it has been before. In the subsequent reboots of the DC line of comics, she remained part of the Bat Family, sometimes questioning Batman’s methods but ultimately establishing herself as a valuable ally.

Right now, Stephanie Brown is protecting Gotham City as one of the Batgirls, alongside Cassandra Cain, while being guided by Oracle/Barbara Gordon.

The following is Stephanie Brown’s reading order to discover all her adventures.

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The Final Night Reading Order, 1996 DC crossover event

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Published in 1996, The Final Night is a DC Comics crossover event written by Karl Kesel with art by Stuart Immonen. For a change, it was not about a Super-Villain fighting the Heroes, but about an extraterrestrial entity called the Sun-Eater that envelopes and extinguishes the Sun, causing Earth to freeze and wither into ecological collapse. It’s an End of the World scenario in which heroes, villains, and everybody else had to work together to surmount the impossible.

Here is the official synopsis: In The Final Night, the heroes and citizens of Earth face the impending end of the universe. When a cosmic force of nature known as the Sun-Eater extinguishes the Sun, Earth is thrust into its final night. Deprived of the massive star’s illumination and heat, the world experiences a catastrophe of epic proportions.

But even in a situation devoid of hope, the world’s greatest champions struggle on against the inevitable. Featuring many of the heroes of the DC Universe, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman, this book graphically illustrates the true definition of a hero, as Hal Jordan, the former Green Lantern, makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.

What to Read Before The Final Night?

The Final Night is a self-contained event, but you may want to be familiar with the character of Parallax to have a better understanding of his decisions in this story. First, the famous Emerald Twilight storyline (Green Lantern Vol. 3 #48–50), collected in:

Second, the event “Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!” You can find our reading order here.

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Justice League Rebirth Reading Order (with Justice League of America, Justice League Odyssey and Justice League Dark)

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Following the ending of The New 52 era, DC Comics relaunched its entire line in 2016 under the Rebirth banner. For this occasion, the company restored the timeline to a form much closer to what it was before the famous Flashpoint storyline while still maintaining several elements of the New 52.

What does it mean for the Justice League? The most famous DC superteam still continues saving the world! No continuity changes were introduced at the beginning, but the team’s roster changed with the two Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz joining the League (taking the place of Hal Jordan).

Here is the official synopsis: Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Cyborg. Green Lantern. They’re more than just a team of superheroes. They’re the Justice League…and they’re about to enter a whole new era! The Superman these incredible heroes once knew is dead, leaving an older, wiser Man of Steel from a vanished universe to take up the fight against evil. Hal Jordan, the greatest of the Green Lanterns, has taken to the stars, entrusting his place in the League to his powerful but untested young protégés, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz. Now the Justice League must get used to these new faces and learn to work as a team once more. But they’d better do it fast. They’re about to confront the biggest threats they’ve ever faced, from godlike machines capable of converting all life on Earth into a weapon, to a humble hacker who’s ready to hit them where it hurts most…

What to Read Before The Justice League Rebirth Comics?

As a new era is launched, it’s fairly safe to simply jump right in with the one-shot DC Universe Rebirth #1 serving as an introduction. But if you want a little more context, here are the comics you may be interested to read before:

As the Justice League has been active since the 1960s, you can obviously explore the team’s past.

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Batman: War Games Reading Order

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Batman War Games Reading Order

Published in 2004-2006, the Batman: War Games Saga is a Batman crossover event that spanned every Batman Family title being published at the time. Part of the Batman Modern Age (check out our reading order), the story was written by Devin Grayson, Andersen Gabrych, A.J. Lieberman, Bill Willingham, Dylan Horrocks and Ed Brubaker, with illustrations by Ramon Bachs, Pete Woods, Brad Walker, Mike Lilly, Al Barrionuevo, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Sean Phillips, Paul Gulacy and Kinsun Loh. 

Taking place after No Man’s Land and Bruce Wayne: Murderer, Batman: War Games tried to be a sort of mix of those two stories, with stakes on a street level as it is an all-gang war, but still on a big full scale like No Man’s Land. It’s also an event happening when Tim Drake had given up on his Robin role and Stephanie Brown had taken his place — and for her fans, this story is simply her character assassination.

But what is really Batman: War Games about? Tensions escalate and war comes to Gotham City when Batman is drawn into a skirmish between rival gangs. As Gotham’s biggest gang battle ignites, Batman must call on all his available allies—Oracle, Batgirl, Nightwing, Orpheus, Onyx, and Tarantula—to preserve life and contain the chaos while trying to determine who started this outbreak of violence.

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Dick Grayson as Robin Reading Order (Pre-Crisis)

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Dick Grayson Robin Reading Order (Pre-Crisis era)

Despite the fact that Batman has a reputation as a solo vigilante, Batman’s readers know the truth is quite different. Just under a year after Batman’s first adventure, Dick Grayson, the first Robin debuted in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). Created by writer Bill Finger, artist Bob Kane and illustrator Jerry Robinson (who also came up with the character’s name inspired by Robin Hood), Dick was designed to appeal to younger readers. It was a success, as sales doubled and critics were overwhelmingly positives.

Dick Grayson was the son of John and Mary Grayson and part of the “Flying Graysons”, a family of trapeze artists working at Haly’s Circus and famous for always working without a net. As tragedy is never far away, Dick’s parents are killed following the sabotage of their trapeze by Tony Zucco, a mafia leader. Present that day at the circus was billionaire Bruce Wayne who choose to take little under his care and train him as his sidekick. Dick became his crime-fighting partner Robin. Batman and Robin became known as the Dynamic Duo, and there was rarely a Batman published story without the Boy Wonder. From 1947 through 1952, our original Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics, in stories devoted to him. Our original Robin also stars alone in Star Spangled Comics for nearly five years (1947-1952), and was a founding member of the Teen Titans team, created in July 1964.

Before becoming Batman’s sidekick, Dick Grayson was already a young talented athlete with amazing acrobatic skills. Batman trained him to become an expert tactician and field commander, as well as a martial artist, hand-to-hand combatant, and a highly skilled detective. Not to mention the use of all Batman’s gadgets.

To know more about Dick Grayson’s time as Robin, the iconic Batman’s sidekick, check out the following reading order!

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Dark Crisis Reading Order, the Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (DC Comics)

Dark Crisis Reading Order

Since the launch of the Infinite Frontier era, Joshua Williamson has been building up to his first major crossover event, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (originally named “Dark Crisis,” the event was officially retitled “Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths” after it launched).  Williamson teamed up with artist Daniel Sampere, colorist Alejandro Sánchez, and letterer Tom Napolitano for this crisis. As the official synopsis puts it:

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League are dead. The remaining heroes are left to protect the world from an onslaught of violent attacks by DC’s greatest villains! Leading the charge is a super-powered Slade Wilson … but this time there’s something dark fueling his rage.

Can the younger heroes, led by the 21st century Superman Jonathan Kent, step out of the shadows of the classic icons to form a new Justice League? And will that be enough to stop a darkness greater than anything they’ve ever faced from destroying everything? The world burns as Pariah and the Great Darkness make their play for planet Earth!

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths is an event built on older stories, as DC Comics explains it:

“In the original Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the homeworld of Pariah, along with the infinite Multiverse, was obliterated. Now, this mad sole survivor has found a way to bring his homeworld and the entire infinite Multiverse back from the dead: Earth-0 must die. An ancient destructive force called the Great Darkness, first appearing in Swamp Thing by Alan Moore and Stan Woch, is the weapon Pariah will wield as he paves a path to rebirth and vengeance.”

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths marked the end of another short era in the DC Universe, but it also introduced a new roadmap to follow for the year to come. Before diving into the event, you may want to do some reading. Here is our reading guide.

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