Some people may not realize/remember, but when Oracle first appeared in Suicide Squad #23 (cover dated January 1989) her true identity was not shown to the readers. It wasn’t until Suicide Squad #38 (February 1990) that she was revealed to be Barbara Gordon. Somewhat surprising is that Barbara Gordon’s very next appearance as Oracle was in Firestorm #98 (cover dated June 1990). Kind of a cool honor for our favorite Nuclear Man … err… Fire Elemental.
I recently sat down to discuss this issue with Stella, host of BATGIRL TO ORACLE: THE BARBARA GORDON PODCAST. We also chatted about the Batgirl #41 variant cover controversy, Chuck Dixon writing female characters, Harley Quinn and the Joker’s abusive relationship, The Flash TV series, the cultural acceptance of comics, my love of Barbara Gordon, and much more! Stella is an outstanding podcaster and a very gracious host. Be sure to check out her podcast, BATGIRL TO ORACLE: THE BARBARA GORDON PODCAST! My thanks to Stella for having me on the show!
Below you’ll find the Oracle-centric pages from Firestorm #98 written by John Ostrander (also author of Suicide Squad), with art by Tom Mandrake and Carlos Garzon!
Below is the cover to Firestorm #98; one of my favorites from this era!
Thanks again to Stella for having me on the show! I had a blast! You can follow BATGIRL TO ORACLE: THE BARBARA GORDON PODCAST at The Batman Universe Podcast Network, Facebook, and Twitter!
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Wow! I’ve had this issue since it’s release, but since I really wasn’t following anything else in comics *except* Firestorm at that point, had no idea it represented such an early Oracle appearance.
For me, this issue is more noteworthy in its promises for the future that never quite came to pass, as Shadowstorm crosses over from Ife, supposedly to threaten Firestorm in the near future. Of course, the comic ended up being cancelled to issues later, and Shadowstorm’s future appearances ended up being limited to the final issues of Captain Atom and a cameo in War of the Gods….