Batgirl�s costume, as with any character�s costume, is representative of who she is, as a person, and as a hero. Her costume shows just how dark and mysterious Batgirl is - even more so than the Dark Knight himself. This is evident right from the choice of colours. The costume is almost completely black from head to toe, with only a few traces of yellow, unlike Batman�s light grey and black. Also, the costume is made of leather, and not Batman�s usual Spandex. This could be symbolic of a tortured soul, since leather is usually related to S & M, a torture-filled practice. It could also show just how trapped she feels since leather is a stiff, unyielding material, unlike Spandex. In terms of the yellow, it could be seen as hope. Batgirl still has a chance to come back into the world and be �normal�. There is still hope that she could learn to embrace life, and to stop hating herself. She can still become a better person.
The Hollow Batgirl Logo - Batgirl�s logo is also very important to her costume. As you may have noticed, it is a hollow bat outlined in yellow. The idea here is to show how empty Batgirl feels inside. She still has much to learn about life, and about herself. It would take a while before the bat can be �filled�.
The dark interior of the logo could represent Batgirl�s �darkness within�. Darkness itself can mean many things: sadness, emptiness, loneliness, lack of love, and death. In terms of Batgirl, each of these things are valid in one sense or another. She is indeed sad, and hates herself bitterly. As explained above, she is empty inside. She has been lonely all her life, until now. But, she probably still feels lonely since there�s hardly anyone who can connect with her. She has never felt love or loved. All she has ever known is violence - nothing more. And, lastly, her soul is practically dead. But, there is still hope, as stated earlier.
The yellow lining of the logo does indeed show what hope she has, but there is more. It could show the purity of her soul. It�s as if it�s �gold-lined�. There�s probably a side of her that very few have seen - somewhere along the lines of a �heart of gold�. Of course, considering that she did reject Cain and his ideas, running away from him after killing a man and realizing it was wrong, the idea is probably not too far-fetched.
Now, there is one more aspect of Batgirl that her costume can show, but I feel it is secondary compared to the connotations above. This aspect is how dangerous Batgirl can be. Her martial arts skills make her an almost unstoppable fighting machine. She�s fast, strong, and very agile. She�s like a shadow - you can barely see her when she�s fighting. The darkness of the costume, and the creepiness that you feel when you look at her face, all lend to giving Batgirl a dangerous, �don�t mess with me� look. Of course, as stated before, this is only a secondary aspect. Batgirl�s fighting skills are not what make her who she is - it�s Batgirl herself that does this. |
