author: Patrick Kubiak
The Best Superheroes Without Powers
Who is a superhero? It's not always a person with supernatural powers. Sometimes, strong will and desire to fight evil are enough, and heroes without special powers are often more interesting than unstoppable machines for fighting villains.
Table of Contents
- The Best Superheroes Without Powers
- Iron Man – Tony Stark
- Black Widow – Natasha Romanoff / Yelena Belova
- Green Arrow – Oliver Queen / Connor Hawke
- Batman – Bruce Wayne
- Catwoman – Selina Kyle / Patience Phillips
- Ant-Man – Hank Pym / Scott Lang / Eric O'Grady
- Batgirl/Oracle – Barbara Gordon
Batgirl/Oracle – Barbara Gordon
- Most popular acting performances: Batman (series, 1966-1968), Birds of Prey (series, 2002-2003)
One of the more interesting and, for some of our readers, probably somewhat forgotten items on this list. Quite wrongly, since she is a heroine who could be any of us – theoretically, and this time not in childish dreams, as in the case of the avenger from the first page. Nevertheless, Barbara Gordon did not live to see many performances in acting productions, and her role was usually a supporting one.
The character debuted on the pages of DC Comics in 1967, and sharing her surname with the recognizable Commissioner James Gordon is not accidental: Batgirl – and, ultimately, Oracle – is his daughter. The girl started her superhero career as the former, being Batman's sidekick. This was because – according to the "if not through the door, then through the window" approach – she was looking for opportunities to catch bad guys, and Gordon senior forbade her to become a policewoman. As a teenager, she made a makeshift bat-woman costume and helped Batman when he was in trouble. Her career as a villain slayer did not last. One night, Joker snuck into her apartment, stripped her, and shot her in the spine. Having inherited her father's stubbornness, Barbara decided she would not give up and would continue to fight crime in Gotham City. As Oracle, she provided Bruce Wayne with a variety of information that repeatedly saved him from trouble and gave him an advantage over his opponents.
In later comic series, Gordon – despite her disability – fell in love with Robin, and befriended Huntress and Black Canary, with whom she formed the superhero group Birds of Prey. Oracle has struggled with many traumas and demons. Her story is perhaps not the material for a spectacular action movie, but rather a drama like Todd Phillips' Joker.