by ANGELA BIGGS and MATTHEW GAULT

On March 17, 2014 DC Comics decided not to publish a controversial variant cover for the upcoming Batgirl #41. The cover — seen above — depicts the Joker leering behind Batgirl while painting a bloody grin across her mouth.

The art is a callback to the most famous intersection of the two characters — 1988’s The Killing Joke in which the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, strips her and snaps Polaroids while she bleeds semi-nude on her father’s floor.

The violent act paralyzed Barbara. She spent the ’80s, ’90s and early aughts in a wheelchair. No longer Batgirl, she survived and became Oracle.

DC Comics caved to online pressure from fans and critics who felt the cover was an inappropriate celebration of a monstrous act against a powerful woman. I asked my partner what she thought of the controversy. Her response follows.

As a woman who was raped at 16, I would have appreciated knowing Barbara Gordon and seeing her survive that terror. Who needed a superhero more than me at that moment?

Girls need superheros for all the same reasons boys do. Sometimes they just have different issues to face.

Whether we like it or not, thriving in the face of oppression, abuse, neglect, violence, rape … SURVIVAL for a woman, for every woman, is underlined and bold.

The fight has always been an inherent part of a woman’s history. Fight to be heard, to be seen, to be equal, to be safe. As a female in this world, you will face this at least once a lifetime, and much more likely… at least once a day.

A woman is trained early to thrive in the face of adversity. It’s redundant at this point — a bad joke made worse by a real and obstinate struggle.

My question is this: How else would a woman become a superhero?

It strikes me that women can take a lot of shit, apologize for a lot of history, but once attacked physically… rationalization of wrong-doing fails. That moment, that violence seems to be an ideal time for a historically subjugated, violated demographic to find heroism. For anyone to.

I imagine the list of superheroes born from pain and marginalization is miles long, regardless of gender. But this isn’t a question of Gender, it’s a question of Heroism.

The Steve Rogers-heart of gold-Everyman just doesn’t exist in our world. It isn’t relevant to our current struggles. So if we have to discuss the fact that Batgirl is a victimized woman, let’s talk about how many heroes have been cut from that same cloth. I stand with the cover, wearing my own red smile.

There doesn’t seem, to me, a more true female hero than one who can survive triumphant.