One moment, Barbara Gordon was a mild-mannered librarian with a police commissioner for a father and a brooding knight of the dark for an employer. The next, she was broken beyond recognition. Barbara Gordon’s trauma forever changed her by taking away something structurally crucial to her identity: the use of her legs. However, she owns this newfound disability and makes it a facet of her identity rather than letting it become her identity. Similarly, after the events of 9/11, America was able to turn the loss of the World Trade Center into a part of its identity instead of dwelling upon the very tragedy that took them away, and letting itself be consumed by it. Through the comics Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, Bruce Wayne: The Road…show more content… Sexual assault is a very prevalent form of violence in the media; news sources and television shows are obsessed with documenting and distributing representations and true stories. In a culture where sexual assault is something that is expected and must be dealt with rather than prevented, it would not be surprising if Barbara had been violated. The photos are pornographic, and her expressions of pain may not only stem from the gunshot wound that she suffered. It is unclear whether or not the Joker sexually assaults Barbara, but if he does, then this contributes to her trauma. Another contribution to her traumatic experience is the abduction of her father. In fact, when Batman comes to visit her in the hospital, she speaks not about her own pain, but in terms of her father’s capture. “H-he said he wanted to puh-prove a point...said Dad was...top of the bill…” (Moore). Her trauma is framed by experiences that were meant to traumatize others. The Joker can be seen as a terrorist who invaded the Gordon household, destroyed something near and dear to the Commissioner, and then left the family to deal with the consequences without any hint of resolution. This mirrors perfectly the way that terrorists entered the United States, destroyed the Twin Towers, and offered the U.S. no resolution or