Barbara Gordon's chance encounter with Danny "the Weasel" Weaver gave Batgirl the opportunity to make peace with her past and move forward.

Everyone knows the story of Bruce Wayne’s parents getting murdered by the criminal Joe Chill, and the profound effect it had on the young boy’s life. However, Batman isn’t the only member of the Bat-Family who is shaped by such a tragedy. Barbara Gordon's Batgirl was also dragged through hell by the criminals of Gotham, but unlike the Dark Knight, she was able to see the light, and it all comes down to a chance encounter that Bruce was never lucky enough to receive.

On the trail of high society supervillain, Grotesque, in 2011's Batgirl #7 (by Gail Simone, Adrian Syaf, Alitha Martinez and Vincente Cifuentes), the titular hero recognized one of his thugs. Namely, Danny “the Weasel” Weaver. Danny was one of Joker’s goons who accompanied him on the night he put a bullet in her spine, confining her to a wheelchair for three years. And as he sat unconscious in a sewer pipe, having been discarded by his boss, his future was in her hands.

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Stunned by the sudden recognition, and still struggling with the post-traumatic emotions brought on by the incident, Batgirl lets Weaver go. With such a monumental occurrence still looming large over her head the sudden confrontation casts her fears and apprehension into stark relief. But despite tragedy being the nucleus of the Bat-Family ethos, something that typically drives their inner darkness and resistance to evil, Batgirl’s run-in with Weaver instead imparts her with a route back to the light.

Capitalizing on her recognition by tracking Danny down to get close to his boss, Batgirl earns another confrontation with her erstwhile attacker. So when he turns on Grotesque, saving her and getting mortally wounded in the process, Batgirl finds a twisted solace in the moments that come next. The opportunity to see the tragedy and redemption of her own tormenter set her free -- something that was never offered to Batman.

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When Batgirl learns that it was Weaver himself who called the emergency services that saved her life the day she was shot, she is able to turn away from the abyss. By confronting it so directly and learning that the abyss isn’t simple darkness but a complex web of lights and darks she gains a measure of understanding and closure regarding the events that put her in a wheelchair. So, through her experience with Weaver, she is able to protect that place of light inside her.

It is sometimes said that villains are victims, too. But when confronted with such absolute, senseless darkness, as in the case of Batman, it can be all too easy to lose faith in the light itself. Fortunately for Barbara Gordon, her reunion with Danny Weaver enabled her to preserve this sense of faith in a way that has sharpened her as a hero. But perhaps more importantly, her refusal to succumb to the darkness allows her to be a beacon of hope for those around her. Though the Bat-Family was born in darkness, it is flickers of light like Barbara Gordon who keep its fire burning.

Part-time writer and party-time connoisseur, Thomas Panter is an enthusiastic purveyor of cryptic wisdom and comic book knowledge. Between attempts to write the next great epic fantasy novel, he can be found running games, running game, and running classes for writers on the autism spectrum. Find him on wattpad at, @Tcpanter