Batgirl and Batwoman

So growing up my first super herione crush had to be Yvonne Craig's Batgirl.  Was it the red hair? The form-fitting purple body suit? Or that fact that she not only was ass-kicking heroine, but also smart as hell?  Maybe it was the motorcycle.  Either way Batgirl always had a place in my heart.

I was in college and remember reading "The Killing Joke", maybe one of the post pivotable comics in DC's history.  The Joker decided up his game and shoots Barbara Gordon, paralyzing her from the waist down.  One can argue the "Women in Refrigerators" angle here (Barbara is reduce to nothing more than a prop to get to Gordon and Batman), but the counterpoint is as Oracle, Barbara may be more powerful than she ever was as Batgirl.

There is a story out there, I guess from Paul Dini (who I am a fan of), about reviving Batgirl with a new red-on-black outfit. But that idea was rejected in favor of keeping Babs as Oracle.  I have to admit, I support that choice.  It keeps Barbara in a place where she can do some serious damage to the criminal element and it gave us a new Batwoman.

The Batwoman

In "52" when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were away, other super heroes stepped up to take their places. One, was a figure patrolling the streets of Gotham protecting her from Intergang.

I won't get into too much detail here, but check out her Wikipedia page for more information if you like, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batwoman.  She is also playing a major role in the on-going "Batman R.I.P./Battle for the Cowl" storyline going on currently.
Like the nearly resurrected Batgirl, Batwoman wears a red on black(dark blue?) motif that is similar to both Batman Beyond and a bit like the Alex Ross Batgirl.

The Batwoman "Kate Kane"
"I think she likes you." The Quesion to Rene Montoya

Experienced Heroine
Type: Human
Life Points: 54
Drama Points: 25

Attributes
Strength 4
Dexterity 6
Constitution 4
Intelligence 4
Perception 5
Willpower 5

Qualities
Athlete (Kate has a black belt in Karate), Attractiveness +2, Contacts (Criminal) 2, Contacts (Financial) 3,
Hard to Kill, Fast Reaction Time, Nerves of Steel, Pain Resistance, Resources +6, Situational Awareness

Drawbacks
Adversary 4 (Intergang, Cult of Crime), Emotional Problems (Fear of Commitment) 1, Mental Problems (Cruelty, minor) 1, Mental Problems (Obsession, stop crime in Gotham) 1, Minority (lesbian, Jewish), Obligation (Gotham) 1, Secret (is the Batwoman, closeted), Tragic Love (Renee, it can never really work between them)

Skills
Acrobatics 6
Art 2
Computers 4
Crime 4
Doctor 2
Driving 3
Getting Medieval 5
Gun Fu 3 (mostly CO2 propelled grapples)
Influence 2
Knowledge 5
Kung Fu 7
Languages 2 (English, Spanish)
Mr. Fix-It 3
Notice 6
Occultism 1 (she knows about magic and fought a werewolf)
Science 3
Sports 5

Combat
Maneuver; Bonus; Base Damage; Notes
Punch; 13; 8; Bash
- Knock out; 11; ; Bash
- Disarm; 10; na; -
Throw Weapon (Batarangs); 10; varies; bash or slash depending on type
- Catch Weapon; 8; na; -
- Aim (batarang or grapple); 8; na; -
- Grapple Gun; 9; na; -
Kick; 12; 10; bash
- Jump Kick; 10; 15; (add dex+acro SL to damage)
- Double Jump Kick; 9; 15;
Dodge; 13; na; Defense action
Grapple; 15; na;
- Wrestling hold; 11; na; must grapple first
Feint; 11; na; add SLs to next action
Parry; 13; na; Defense action
Wall Flip; 10; na;

Batwoman is like Batman without all the angst. We don't know why she fights crime yet, but she has the tacit approval of Batman (Robin gave her a "real" Batarang).

Katherine "Kate" Kane on the other hand is the rich heiress of the Kane real estate empire. No one, for now knows her two secrets. That she is Batwoman and lesbian, save for Rene Montoya.

Some links
Another (older) blog post covering some of the same ground. http://thewastebasket.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html

Adventures in Nerdliness named Yvonne Craig as their #1 Nerd Girl of Note.