WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the DC Ink original graphic novel The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp, Manuel Preitano, Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles, available now.
Barbara Gordon is one of the rare characters who has had two distinct superhero identities in which she has shined. She first joined the Bat-family as Batgirl and operated as one of Gotham City's protectors for years. However, after a brutal attack by the Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke, Barbara became paralyzed from the waist down. Finding herself in a wheelchair, Barbara then put her tech skills to use and continued to operate with a new codename: Oracle.
As Oracle, Barbara became a different kind of superhero and the identity became just as important to the character's history as her time as Batgirl. In the New 52 relaunch, Barbara was healed of her paralysis and she became Batgirl once again -- a role she continues to occupy to this day.
However, the DC Ink original graphic novel The Oracle Code examines the other side of that coin. In fact, the comic book takes place in a universe where Barbara was never Batgirl before her accident. Essentially, it establishes Barbara as Oracle and only Oracle.
When Barbara Gordon is first introduced in The Oracle Code, she is on a rooftop with her best friend, hacking. Both possess great skill, despite their young age, but Barbara proves to be the better hacker. Therefore, right from the start of the comic book, it's clear she is still the smart, rebellious crime-fighter she is in the main DC universe. The only difference here is that she isn't operating as Batgirl, but as a hacker. However, things take a turn when Barbara heads off towards the scene of an armed robbery. Though she intends to help, she ends up getting badly hurt.
There is no Joker here, no Hawaiian shirt or break-ins -- just an armed robber in an alley. Afterwards, Barbara is in a wheelchair and her father, Commissioner Jim Gordon, checks her into the Arkham Center for Independence rehabilitation center.
While she struggles both emotionally and physically at first, Barbara quickly becomes aware of a conspiracy inside the halls of the ACI. Little by little, her heroic drive returns as she starts to put the pieces of this mystery together. Eventually, she ends up uncovering an elaborate scheme conducted by the facility's doctors who use abandoned children to run experimental medical treatments. It's a dark twist in the book and it's something that comes to an end thanks to Barbara's skills, both as a hacker and as a hero.
As the graphic novel comes to a close, Barabara has figured out who she is and what she wants to be. She finally chooses her hacker name as Oracle and she is determined to continue to help people.
The Oracle Code is an origin story for Barbara Gordon. However, it isn't an origin of how she became Batgirl -- it's how she became a hero. Here, the character is defined not by her relation to the rest of the Bat-family. She simply stands on her own as Oracle.