WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batgirl #47 by Cecil Castellucci, Robbi Rodriguez, Jordie Bellaire and Andworld Design, on sale now.
The Joker and Batgirl have a long, dark relationship, with the villain providing some of the lowest moments for the hero. While the Joker has targeted the entire Bat-Family as part of "Joker War," his history with Barbara Gordon makes his most recent attack all the more personal -- and terrifying.
In Batgirl #47, the Joker attacks Barbara Gordon and makes her relive her worst experience -- being shot and paralyzed by him -- and then briefly takes control of her lower body.
The Joker infamously was responsible for Barbara Gordon's paralysis during the events of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke. Barbara spent years in a wheelchair as Oracle, the superhero information broker, before she regained the use of her legs at the onset of the New 52 era. That was accomplished in part with a device constructed by Barabra and her friend Frankie that helped to keep her ambulatory. However, as a result of gaining full access to Bruce Wayne's fortune and armory, the Joker has found the same technology that allows Batgirl to walk. After confronting Batgirl in her home, the Joker uses a device that operates on the same frequency as the implant in her spine to take control of her movements. Barbara collapses, seemingly unable to move her legs.
But the situation quickly become worse for Barabra. When she proves resistant to the Joker's early attempts to break her spirit, he reveals how much power he now has over her. Using the device to essentially control Barbara's spine, Joker forces her to walk herself around her apartment, taunting her the whole way about her relationship with Jason Bard, her brother James, and how Joker doesn't believe the two of them are all that different. After forcing her to walk to the roof of her building, Joker makes it clear that Barbara can either start telling him about the technological defenses Bruce set up within his computers inside the Batcave, or else fall to her death.
Desperate to stay alive long enough to see him defeated, Barbara is forced to give up a certain amount of information to Joker, including the basic structure of the puzzle that he will need to solve in order to access the Bat-Computer. While that gives Joker a major advantage, it also stalls him long enough for Barbara to reach an errant pipe on the roof. While mocking the Joker for believing he could actually defeat Batman and his allies, Barbara is able to dig out the implant from her spine, which returns control of her body. Before she loses consciousness from blood loss, Barbara is able to throw a pipe at Joker, stabbing him in the back. Each of them collapses and seems to lose consciousness, while laughing at the other as the issue ends.
The battle between Batgirl and Joker doesn't go great for either of them, although the conflict seems to lean more towards Joker's favor. He's gained a vital clue to unlocking Batman's greatest secrets, which could spell doom for the entire DC Universe if they fell into the wrong hands. He's also effectively removed Batgirl from the board as a physical threat until she can recover for her injuries and get a replacement for the implant in her spine. For the moment, Barbara may have to help fight Joker in a supportive role, similar to how she operated during her time as Oracle. While she's still an invaluable valuable asset for Batman and his allies, it does mean one less hero on the streets trying to keep the peace. This could also be a deeply traumatic incident for Barbara, who has essentially been forced to relive the worst day in her life.
However, it's not as if Joker escaped the battle unscathed, either. The pipe thrown by Barbara clearly does some damage, as blood is shown pooling around him after he falls. While he may be able to shrug off the injury because of his mild healing factor, it could prove to be a weakness during any eventual confrontation with Batman. And with the Joker quickly amassing more and more power through Gotham, any advantage the heroes can get could be seen as a positive. Still, Barbara's survival and potential escape from the Joker's clutches also mean that she may be able to play a role later in the fight against Joker.