I've never read Batgirl - the original (which this is) was before my time comic-reading-wise, and at present I'm much more interested in Batwoman than Cassandra Cain or whoever Batgirl is. Still, Batgirl's a fairly iconic character, so I thought it worth having a figure of her in my collection for 'historical relevance'. And I adore Gail Simone's Birds of Prey, which I'm reading through in TPB format at present, and until a new set of Birds figures gets produced, this is about as close as I'll get to an Oracle figure. The Showcase Presents series is intended to render its characters in the art style of artists particularly associated with them, but unlike the other figures - Superman especially - Batgirl isn't really distinctively 'styled'. Camine Infantino's Batgirl (judging by the art sample on the packaging) had a fairly middle-of-the-road comic book style - no slight to his talent, but unlike the Leinil Yus of this world (to pick a random example), Infantino's art isn't something a layman like me can identify just by looking at it, so in turn this Batgirl figure fits in perfectly with all manner of other figures around it on the shelf. The black and yellow costume is striking, and the blue cowl and cape manages to fit in well, despite being not that far removed in tone from the black, which would usually be a bit of a visual no-no. Babs's hair is sculpted and painted very well, lush and full-bodied sitting over her shoulders, and her face is quite pretty, with simple and effective paint over a capable, finely honed sculpt. To look at, only the red 'handbag' really detracts - it's necessary for the character, but it's really a relic from earlier days, and looks goofy by modern standards. Sadly it's not removable - I'd have happily sacrificed accuracy for a sleek handbag-less Batgirl. Unfortunately, looking good is about all she can do. Her articulation is actually a bit above the DC Direct average, with swivel wrists at the glove tops joining the usual layout of ball joint neck and shoulders, peg elbows, hips and knees, but the devil is in how the joints work, or rather don't. The hair severely limits Babs's ability to move her head around, and the legs are likewise quite immobile, with the angle of the hip joints making her legs swing inwards annoyingly if they're turned too far (not that they've got a great range of turn anyway). So she's essentially limited to standing there, fairly motionless, maybe with one foot slightly in front of the other, which means any extreme poses with the arms will look inconsistent with the rest of her body, so those joints aren't much good either. DC Direct aren't in the business of making super-articulated figures, but this is one of the most static I've encountered - there was very little I could find to do with her that made her seem like I had posed her, rather than just opened up the packaging and put her on the shelf as is, and I prefer my figures to be at least a bit individual. To keep her upright she comes with a circular base, moulded in smoky grey translucent plastic, with the Showcase Presents logo stamped on it. There's only a single peg, for Batgirl's right foot, which results in her whole weight resting on her right knee - she's a solid figure, and that can be a bit of an impediment to posing if you want the legs to hold an exact position other than where the weight distribution wants them to be. No other accessories are included - presumably her batarangs are in her purse, but since DC Direct have a generic batarang mould already (used for figures like Batwoman and Thrillkiller Batgirl) it's disappointing not to see one here. All in all, she's a decent plastic statue, but nothing more. Batgirl fans or collectors of figures in general should give her a look, but more casual collectors will find more value for money in other figures first.