WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the "Batman" chapter of Infinite Frontier #0, by James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
During the Joker War event, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown rallied with the rest of the Bat-family to help save Gotham from the Joker. While the two have been active as Orphan and Spoiler for years, they took a big leap forward when they changed their costumes to feature the Bat-logo on their torsos. Without asking permission, Steph and Cass basically decided it was time for them to become Batgirls, just as Barbara Gordon returned to the mantle of Oracle.
Now, in Infinite Frontier #0, Oracle assumes her responsibilities from inside her Watchtower, she guides both Cassandra and Stephanie while they patrol Gotham. Previously, in Batman #104, Barbara made it clear she wasn't exactly ready to have multiple Batgirls in action -- but now, that's all changed.
And to call them into action, Gordon called the new squad into action with a familiar catchphrase.
As Oracle, Barbara Gordon started overseeing Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain after the Joker War. While the two operated as members of the Bat-family, Steph identified her and Cass as Batgirls. At the time, Barbara wasn't certain there should be multiple Batgirls, but Stephanie argued that there could be, given that there were already multiple Robins. Since they had bigger issues to deal with, the conversation didn't go further than that. But now, in Infinite Frontier #0, we see that Barbara has fully accepted Steph and Cassie as Gotham City's Batgirls.
While the two are out on patrol, Oracle guides them from her Watchtower while Huntress is paying her a visit. The two Batgirls are in the middle of a fight against multiple thugs, and through their communications system, Stephanie begs Barbara to say something specific.
"Come one, Oracle, you have to say it," she says. Even though Oracle doesn't seem eager to indulge her, she adds "Please. You'll make Cass so happy if you say it."
Reluctantly, Barbara agrees. "Batgirls," she orders, "On my signal... Go! "
This shows that Barbara has officially become a mentor to the two Batgirls. In the Future State story "Batgirls," we saw Cassandra and Stephanie in a dystopian Gotham now controlled by the Magistrate. With superheroes outlawed in the city, the two of them had become members of an underground resistance, separately infiltrating a detention facility where they rescued Barbara Gordon from the Magistrate. In this future, we saw the important bond between all three of the Batgirls, and now we get to see the start of it all in Infinite Frontier #0.
Better yet, the Batgirls now have their very own battle cry in "Batgirls... Go!" It seems to be inspired by Teen Titans Go!'s popular rallying cry. Indeed, in the fan-favorite animated series, the team of teenage superheroes often leaped into battle with the classic "Titans go!" battle cry.
Now, the Batgirls have coopted the line. For now, it's unclear if this was simply a one-off or if it will become something used by Barbara often -- but it's sure great to see that the Batgirls have become their very own division inside the Bat-Family.