WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from "Ghost in the Machine" in Batman: Urban Legends #2 by Cecil Castellucci, Marguerite Sauvage and Becca Carey, on sale now.
Barbara Gordon has been a personal enemy of the Joker ever since he paralyzed her so many years ago. Luckily, she rose above that trauma and became a better hero for it. Now, it would seem that Barbara has found her own Joker, so to speak. The newest rogue in her gallery, Vi Ross, is very much an antithesis to Barbara's alter ego of Oracle, being a virus in the digital world while simultaneously unleashing real diseases on the people of Gotham.
And as Batman: Urban Legends #2 proves, her attempts to force change through infecting the system that she loathes makes her the perfect antithesis to Oracle and a villain who will probably keep showing up throughout Barbara's heroic career.
Vi Ross was introduced in Batgirl #50 by Cecil Castellucci, Marguerite Sauvage and Becca Carey. She showed up in the aftermath of the Joker War, taking advantage of the city's fragile state and obvious corruption to sow discord through the city. What made her so unique was that she didn't do it in any obvious way. She committed small crimes that would have been attributed to system failures rather than deliberate sabotage. But as a result of these small attacks on the city, she managed to bring Gotham to a standstill without the need for violence or weaponry. In short, she demonstrated cunning and will necessary to be a serious threat to Batgirl.
Batgirl stopped her before, but things have changed since then. Barbara has returned to her role as Oracle and now fights Vi Ross through the digital world, all the while noting that her new enemy is evolving, becoming more deadly and efficient after every defeat. Much like a virus, Vi Ross began to adapt to her enemies over time, leading Oracle on a goose chase through the city as she tried to piece together the rogue's plans. Thankfully, Oracle managed to stop Vi Ross from robbing a bank, but it was a close call and Oracle fully expected her to show up again in the future.
That what makes Vi Ross very much Oracle's own Joker. Granted, the two villains have different motives and methods (though their color schemes are similar). Like the Joker, Vi Ross acts as the opposite of Oracle. Vi Ross wants the system to change, though what this truly means she has yet to fully elaborate on. But based on her attempts to sabotage the city, it can be ascertained that she wants it torn down completely.
This brings her in direct contrast to Oracle, who uses the digital world to preserve the good that is there while simultaneously trying to affect a positive change. The two have already made themselves known to each other through their digital personas, and even though Oracle bested Vi Ross this time, her previous words about Vi Ross adapting and coming back even deadlier still linger in the mind. This is yet another reason why this new villain may end up becoming Barbara's personal Joker: she'll just keep coming back more dangerous each time.
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