E52: Batgirl Begins

Batgirl Begins is the thirteenth episode of Batman: Shadow War's season four. It introduces Batgirl.

Plot
It opens up with a restaraunt and James Gordon is sat with his family eating dinner until the TV screen reveals notorious mass murderer Joker is on the loose. Gordon, fearing for his family's safety, readies his gun however Barbara Gordon calms her worrying father down. However, the bartender begins uncontrollably laughing and collapses in front of a purple suited man with a beer served to him and a purple hat on, then turns around to everyone to reveal he is the terrifying and grinning clown everyone fears. A bartender armed with a shotgun attempts to force Joker out however after using many mind tricks on the poor man, Joker snatches his shotgun and shoots him dead.

Joker notices Gordon and his family, then takes Barbara hostage with a knife so Gordon holds Joker at gunpoint however hesitates in pulling the trigger. The psychopath tries to taunt Gordon in shooting but the Commissioner instead surrenders in exchange for freeing his daughter. A laughing Joker drops Barbara and takes an unarmed Gordon instead, threatening to blow up the restaurant if he tries something. Unaware to Joker, Batman has arrived and overheard Joker, so he disarmed the explosives hidden and Joker then escapes with his prisoner. During their car ride, Joker triggers the explosives as he got bored, but it didn't work because Batman disarmed them. Gordon shouted at the clown for his merciless action.

Meanwhile, Barbara begs Batman to save his father and, wanting to help, follows him throughout his entire chase, investigation and even his return to the Batcave. She discovers Batman's secret and an unmasked Bruce Wayne finds her, startled by her unexpected appearance however accepts this situation and informs her of his duty. Barbara wants to join in to ensure her father's safety only for Dick Grayson to arrive, Batman states he already has enough help and both Batman and Robin go to stop Joker. Barbara though ignores Batman's orders and manages to make her own bat costume and take some gadgets as well as one of Batman's vehicles; the Bat Bike.

Batgirl witnesses both Batman and Robin take out Joker's goons then make their entrance, Batgirl goes another way in to horrifingly see Joker sitting on a throne atop of a large amount of skulls eating popcorn with a suspended and restrained Gordon watching Batman and Robin run throughout Joker's funhouse filled with traps and tricks. Batgirl states they're too slow, then goes in to take care of Joker herself in an overconfident manner, using some explosives to make her way in and confront him. Joker didn't expect a Batgirl, however laughed and taunted her, showing doubt she could save Gordon. Batgirl attempted to throw a Batarang however, due to her poor aim and lack of training, the Batarang missed Joker; Batgirl was disappointed but Joker expressed his feelings on the situation by maddenly laughing hysterically. Batman and Robin arrived after surviving a trap involved with exploding marbles, then threw a non-explosive marble at Joker, which he picked up while grinning, claiming he didn't know a Batgirl was in his "family". The Dymanic Duo were surprised and shocked by this, knowing it was Barbara, with Batman saying "we're all full of surprises".

Joker then revealed a pool of acid underneath Gordon and planned to drop him with the press of a button, only for Batgirl to stop him and threatening to break his arm, however Joker pushed her off before she could do anything damaging to him. A fight then ensued between Joker and the trio with Batman scolding Batgirl however she says she needed to save her father, the fight then continued. Gordon then managed to free himself while also closing the trap door leading to the acid smartly. Joker, who held Batgirl at gunpoint, was jumped by Gordon who knocked him out with multiple aggressive punches. Batman though arrested Joker and sent him back to Arkham Asylum while also discussing with Barbara, promising her training for managing to survive and even fight against Joker.

Deaths

 * 1) Unnamed Bartender: Infected with Joker Venom.
 * 2) Joe: Shot with a shotgun by Joker.