WB Changes Batgirl's Gotham Knights Biography Following Criticism

InfiniteCombo said:
Online activists: "Why are you complaining about diversity in [insert game in medieval Europe here]? It's a fictional game about fire breathing dragons, trolls, and people with superhuman abilities! But you'll cry about diversity??"

Also online activists: "How dare you portray this hurtful ableist narrative in your fictional game about crime-fighting superheroes with superhuman abilities!?"

While we're at it, we should go back to The Dark Knight Rises movie and change the entire second half of the movie. Because you know, the way Bruce Wayne recovers after Bane breaks his spine is... (*Checks notes*) ableist garbage.
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I agree 100% with you.
They should go back and fix the second half of The Dark Knight Rises.
 
This is why representation is bullshit the further it goes. The more representation you have, the more "accurate" the representation, the more limiting your stories and your characters will be.
Barbara Gordon, a fictional character, overcame her disability through sheer will. But that's *specifically her story*, not yours. Why does she have to represent disabled people? Why? Tell me the fuck why.
What's her obligation to you mouthbreathing social injustice muthafuckas? Is she your congresswoman? Your employer? Your patron saint? Why do the writers, the artist, the creators have give you jack shit? Will you physically and mentally suffer if you're not represented by a comic book character? Will you die? What is on the line exactly?
Wheelchair bound spinal injured people are like what? .02% of the population? Are they even the ones complaining? Because why do you need some arbitrary trait of yours, something you probably didn't even pick, something you didn't want or was born with, to be the only thing that defines you? To be the only thing that can connect you to a character for this so called "representation"? So much so you gotta strongarm the creators to change it to fit? What about, you know, intelligence? World view? Hobbies? Other flaws? Other life experiences? You can't identify with another human, a character, through those?

In an ideal world, any character a creator comes up with should be able to represent anyone, regardless of race, gender, sex, disability, whatever. How? By you, the player, the viewer, the reader, the audience, finding a common trait, some common ground, something that you share with any character you so choose, something you and them both feel strongly about. Maybe not even feel strongly about, just share, even in passing. Actually, it doesn't require an ideal world, this is how most people have consumed and enjoyed fiction through the ages--identifying with characters that are nothing like them, but finding something that bounds you to their story regardless--in the real world.

But I guess some people don't live in the real world, they live in clown world.
 
DeepEnigma said:
Arnold Schwarzenegger I Give Up GIF by Jerology
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Finally, welcome to the enlightened side(also known as the art of not caring).
 
I mean it's just a line of text, hardly a big change to the game
But the complaint itself is already really stupid.

What harmful trope of diabled people? Who bases their world view on a superhero videogames?

"Hey man haven't heard from you in a while, how have you been?"
"Had a bad year man, got into an accident and now I'm in a wheelchair"
"Oh I'm sorry to hear, guess you'll just have to train really hard for a few months to get out of it"
"What? no man it's not the sort of injury you recover from"
"Lol sure it is, you just have to train hard....I read about it in the bio of a character in a multiplayer batman game"
 
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Are AbleGamers responsible for Ubisoft automatically having narration in the main menus of their games?
 
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Did they just assume she was physically able now? Maybe she still identifies as disabled. Bigots.


What's next a woman without a penis/testicles identifying as a man? Not possible biologically. Oh wait, that doesn't count right?
Or the fact that a man wearing a cape, leotard and rubber jockstrap is fistfighting a sentient half man crocodile?
But really what a slippery slope when you start judging things that are not real through a real lens. SMH.
 
They should have had her fight bad guys from a futuristic decked out bat device wheelchair. That would be realistic.
 
They should have her galivanting about the city and fighting in a wheelchair. I'm thinking something like a Robotnik x Charles Xavier crossover.

*edit* beat me to it^
 
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Was probably some dumb discussion like the bio mentioned a wheelchair that she got rid of, but wheelchair handicapped people say that's not a realistic portrayal for a superhero because real life people cant just get up and glide off buildings.

I just checked the website now. Might be right with my guess or pretty close to it. LOL!

The initial criticism of her backstory centered on her ending up in a wheelchair after an unspecified "face-off" but returning to "active duty" as Batgirl following training.

While it's unclear what her injury in Gotham Knights entails, in the comics, Barbara is shot in the spine, and many fans pointed out that overcoming a disability through sheer training and determination is an inaccurate and harmful trope throughout media.

During the Q&A, however, creative director Patrick Redding said that the Gotham Knights team "worked with the awesome folks at AbleGamers to learn about different types of spinal injuries and the potential for someone to regain mobility."

He then noted that her biography on the official website has since been adjusted to read, "With extensive training and rehabilitation, she recovered from her wounds, and returned to active duty as Batgirl." Additionally, he clarified that the specifics of her injury in Gotham Knights would differ from the comics, and that she had undergone multiple surgeries, physical therapy, and pain management. She also wears clothing with "back bracing integrated," and some of her rehabilitation process will be depicted in Gotham Knights itself.
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They own the rights to the character and since it's all make-believe they can do whatever they want to her. She's not a big deal anyway, so any drama surrounding her should be proportionally regarded.
 
Jennings said:
They own the rights to the character and since it's all make-believe they can do whatever they want to her. She's not a big deal anyway, so any drama surrounding her should be proportionally regarded.
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Who knew comic book characters wearing batsuits would be apples to apples related to real life people.
 
Imagine being a videogame developer and all you want to do is create cool videogames but literally every aspect of the game's design is a minefield of "offense" so you have to hold every character, every trait, every skill, every backstory, every script line, every location, every in-game image along side some arbitrary checklist as to not offend someone somewhere in the world; how are games even made at this point?

Nothing but respect for videogame devs who have to deal with this "inclusivity" bullshit every single day. Holy shit wat a terrible industry this has become.
 
SJRB said:
Imagine being a videogame developer and all you want to do is create cool videogames but literally every aspect of the game's design is a minefield of "offense" so you have to hold every character, every trait, every skill, every backstory, every script line, every location, every in-game image along side some arbitrary checklist as to not offend someone somewhere in the world; how are games even made at this point?

Nothing but respect for videogame devs who have to deal with this "inclusivity" bullshit every single day. Holy shit wat a terrible industry this has become.
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I honestly wish a company would come out and just tell these kinds of people to fuck off, publicly. I'd buy every game they made from now on, no matter how gash it might be, if they did.
 
Valt7786 said:
I honestly wish a company would come out and just tell these kinds of people to fuck off, publicly. I'd buy every game they made from now on, no matter how gash it might be, if they did.
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They'd have a better chance doing that if video game makers werent so engrained being gamer chums on Twitter, Q&A sessions, and some engage in forums publicly as an employee. Its like they all act as as one part market research tabulator and one part product promoter. All giving the impression lately they'll do anything for customer satisfaction. So since they are so accommodating, a customer might as well chime in knowing they'll bend.

So if they are going to be part of the community as an active participant, they got to listen to feedback and do changes. You dont see movie makers come out with a trailer or website and then re-do anything based on feedback. The movie is what it is.
 
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Yay, more pandering to this wokism shit. Let have transgender in every video game and let the game industry destroy itself.
 
Captain Toad said:
None of the shit that happens in Batman is happening IRL.
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This stance hardly stops complaints coming from the other direction when discussing "authenticity."

BornToRisen said:
Yay, more pandering to this wokism shit. Let have transgender in every video game and let the game industry destroy itself.
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. . .what does that transgender community have to do with ANYTHING in this thread?
 
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Tangetially related, as someone with a mental illness (severe agoraphobia, anxiety, god knows what else), having heard many times myself to snap out of it as if it's fixed by wishful thinking makes me appreciate this move. I wouldn't consider NOT getting the game due to the change, but fucking hell if I don't appreciate the change to just shrugging of a mental or phsyical disability. Plus I honestly enjoy a character having to work around an ever present disability of some kind giving them a bit more depth in a slightly more unusual way.
 
InfiniteCombo said:
Online activists: "Why are you complaining about diversity in [insert game in medieval Europe here]? It's a fictional game about fire breathing dragons, trolls, and people with superhuman abilities! But you'll cry about diversity??"

Also online activists: "How dare you portray this hurtful ableist narrative in your fictional game about crime-fighting superheroes with superhuman abilities!?"

While we're at it, we should go back to The Dark Knight Rises movie and change the entire second half of the movie. Because you know, the way Bruce Wayne recovers after Bane breaks his spine is... (*Checks notes*) ableist garbage.
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OIP-C.POCUegL0eBxY9Uh9KNdEMgHaF8
 


Don't care really. The game's not out yet, so this is pure virtue signaling and marketing.

If the game's shit no one's going to say "at least the recovery from spinal injury was depicted accurately". No one who will actually play the game anyway
 
Urban said:
i always wonder where do they get this "criticism" from?
I cant imagine that 1-10 tweets cause something like that?
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It really doesn't matter, and it's a bio, a couple words changed in a bio nobody reads. This is people being triggered about stuff that maybe 5 people were concerned about or mildly triggering. The media just wants to sensationalize everything.

This was not an issue at all that anyone gave two shits about, but apparently a news outlet wants to make it into something. People then on forums like this lose their shit about folks being triggered from random nobody written article without any real sources and when you look into it like maybe 20 people gave a shit at all. It's like those "fans demand change" articles that they toss up, gets thousands of views, shares, etc. But you look up the source of the "outrage" and it's a petition with like 200 signatures. But hey the media now has riled up tens of thousands of internet rage heads

Overreactions over overreactions as they play into the hands of the media.

Just look at this shit article here, it's a comment from a Discord Q&A with zero sources of the actual discussion, the comments, anything.
 
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If think the big outrage here should be that she isn't in the wheelchair fighting crime. Representation matters.
 
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So if a character had their legs cut off and regrew them due to sheer willpower, and fans complained about the stupidity, you'd find the complaints ludicrous?

And as far as I remember, it's not sheer willpower that makes her walk again in the comics, but rather cyber-nanotechnology or something. She has implants inserted in her spine, I think.

So by having her walk again in the game due to willpower is being different to the comics.

Frankly, I don't disagree with the complaints, but maybe I am missing something.
 
Nickolaidas said:
So if a character had their legs cut off and regrew them due to sheer willpower, and fans complained about the stupidity, you'd find the complaints ludicrous?

And as far as I remember, it's not sheer willpower that makes her walk again in the comics, but rather cyber-nanotechnology or something. She has implants inserted in her spine, I think.

So by having her walk again in the game due to willpower is being different to the comics.

Frankly, I don't disagree with the complaints, but maybe I am missing something.
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Remember Batman also had his back broke, spinal injury and in a wheelchair, and he was able to get it fixed through voodoo.

Why can't ppl just let fiction be fiction and facts be facts?

I don't believe Hogwarts exists, but I don't call it racism towards Muggles if it does.
 
Kagey K said:
Remember Batman also had his back broke, spinal injury and in a wheelchair, and he was able to get it fixed through voodoo.

Why can't ppl just let fiction be fiction and facts be facts?

I don't believe Hogwarts exists, but I don't call it racism towards Muggles if it does.
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Well, voodoo is magic - which immediately makes it more competent to do biology-defying feats better than 'sheer willpower'.

What I am trying to say that this seems to be less about SJWism and more about canon/lore.
 
Chances of anyone consulting actual disabled people before doing this:

zero.

Also, if they're actually trying to be realistic about injuries and recovery in a Batman game without Batman in it… then she should be permanently in a wheelchair as Oracle.

All so very fucking stupid.
 
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I'm not exactly excited for this after watching the Nightwing and Red Hood footage. I keep expecting Batman to come in and take over. I was there day 1 for all the Arkham games, but I'm not excited at all for this game or the Suicide Squad. Hopefully they'll make a Court of Owls/Hush game someday. Give me a game where the plot is either a critically acclaimed story or an all original story. I guess it'll be great for people who love these characters.
 
You know guys. I would have complained about this to but for different reasons.

A: You acknowledge the killing joke and make Barbara Oracle.

B: You ignore it and have her as Batgirl.

You do not try and and pussyfoot around it and have booth. That's just insulting her as a character.
 
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What a load of f****** b@@@@@@ , its made up , its about time gaming companies grew some balls and ignored what the 1% complaining minority saying and bring out a game how they want, really gets on my nerves when i see a company come out and change a game cause 'it doesnt fit in with the times we currently live in", or mortal kombat covering up of all female characters , seriously think buying a ps5 was a waste of time and should have bought back ps1,ps2,ps3 to relieve gaming In my years
 
Northeastmonk said:
I'm not exactly excited for this after watching the Nightwing and Red Hood footage. I keep expecting Batman to come in and take over. I was there day 1 for all the Arkham games, but I'm not excited at all for this game or the Suicide Squad. Hopefully they'll make a Court of Owls/Hush game someday. Give me a game where the plot is either a critically acclaimed story or an all original story. I guess it'll be great for people who love these characters.
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Trying to make a game in a Batman universe without Batman is the single dumbest decision I think I've ever heard of in video gaming (and boy there's a lot of competition).

Nobody gives a shit about the other characters without Batman, because they're all just worse variations of him.

This is going to bomb harder than Dresden.
 
nbkicker said:
What a load of f****** b@@@@@@ , its made up , its about time gaming companies grew some balls and ignored what the 1% complaining minority saying and bring out a game how they want, really gets on my nerves when i see a company come out and change a game cause 'it doesnt fit in with the times we currently live in", or mortal kombat covering up of all female characters , seriously think buying a ps5 was a waste of time and should have bought back ps1,ps2,ps3 to relieve gaming In my years
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Genuine question: how does this change at all impact any enjoyment you might have had with this game? Like imagine a world in which anti-woke soldiers weren't tirelessly being vigilant, and you had played this game without knowing about one line change. If you can't imagine how ruined a game that you haven't actually played is, feel free to apply it to another "woke change" in another game.
 
This release is shaping up to be a shitshow of epic proportions. Imagine working hard for years on a project that every single gamer is going to hate. The one's they're going out of their way to cater to are going to be their harshest critics. We can only hope that this deals a major blow to the philosophy and practice of making soulless "product" games rather than art.
 
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