# Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy The Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy was a March 2015 online blowup over a Joker-themed variant cover for Batgirl #41 drawn by Rafael Albuquerque, which showed Batgirl crying while the Joker smeared a red smile on her face. Fans launched the #ChangeTheCover hashtag arguing the image reduced the hero to a victim, and DC pulled the art at the artist's request within days. ## Overview The Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy was a short, intense argument in March 2015 about a Joker-themed variant cover for Batgirl #41, drawn by Brazilian artist Rafael Albuquerque as an homage to Alan Moore's 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke[1]. The cover showed Barbara Gordon with fishbowl-sized, tear-filled eyes as the Joker draped an arm around her, pointed a gun over her shoulder, and finger-painted a red smile across her cheek[2]. Critics said the image dragged the newly rebooted, upbeat Batgirl back into the assault storyline of The Killing Joke and reduced the hero to a helpless victim[3]. The fight broke along familiar comic-fan lines. On one side, readers and pros launched the hashtag #ChangeTheCover asking DC Comics to kill the art[5]. On the other, fans who saw the pushback as censorship rallied under #SaveTheCover, with actor Adam Baldwin among the boosters[1]. Within four days DC pulled the cover at Albuquerque's own request, and the argument moved on to who exactly had been harassed and whether the pullback set a precedent[2]. ## How It Spread Controversy hit Twitter on March 13, 2015, and the hashtag #ChangeTheCover started circulating shortly after[5]. Ms. Marvel writer G. Willow Wilson tweeted one of the most-shared reactions: "Batgirl is not a hero on that cover. She's a victim. She's terrified. She's being physically restrained. It looks like a snuff film."[3]. Others argued the image could be upsetting to sexual-assault survivors and clashed with the rebooted Batgirl's optimistic vibe[1]. On March 16, Albuquerque asked DC to pull the cover, and DC agreed the same day[3]. The reversal did not end the fight. A counter-hashtag, #SaveTheCover, launched almost immediately, accusing social-media critics of overreach and censorship[5]. On March 18, a post on the /r/TumblrInAction subreddit collected examples of male superheroes, including Batman, being victimized in comic art and asked why the Batgirl cover was different, drawing over 4,700 votes and around 1,000 comments in its first day[5]. Cameron Stewart, the Batgirl co-writer, tweeted that the team agreed with pulling the cover and that no one had been censored, calling the image at odds with the book's new tone[5]. Albuquerque later gave a longer interview to the Brazilian site UOL, saying the decision to pull the cover was his alone and that both the "too dark" and the "gendered" critiques were valid (translated from Portuguese)[4]. He argued the real problem was not the drawing but the comic it was going to sit on, a series aimed at 14- to 17-year-old readers[4]. Mainstream outlets including Vox, The Guardian, and Mashable covered the story within days, framing it as another flare-up over gender, victimization, and fandom identity in mainstream comics[2][1][3]. ## How to Use The Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy is cited more than reenacted. It is typically referenced in comics-media discussions as shorthand for a specific pattern: a promotional variant cover that clashes with a book's tone, a Twitter hashtag calling for it to be pulled, a counter-hashtag calling that a censorship overreach, and a publisher walking the art back within days[2]. Writers often bring it up alongside later Marvel and DC variant-cover pullbacks as an early template for the whole cycle[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy? It was a March 2015 argument over a Joker-themed variant cover for Batgirl #41 drawn by Rafael Albuquerque, which fans said reduced Batgirl to a victim in a callback to The Killing Joke[1]. ### Where did Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy come from? DC Comics revealed the cover as part of a "Joker month" of variants planned for June 2015 releases, and the backlash kicked off on Twitter on March 13, 2015[1][5]. ### What does Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy mean? It is comics-fan shorthand for a promo cover that clashes with a book's tone and gets pulled after a hashtag campaign, with a counter-campaign accusing critics of censorship[2]. ### How do you use Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy? The event is usually cited in essays and threads about variant covers, gender in mainstream comics, and hashtag-driven publisher reversals rather than reenacted as a format[2]. ### Is Batgirl Variant Cover Controversy still popular? The 2015 flare-up is treated as a reference point in comics coverage rather than an active meme, and sources from that year are the main record of it[3]. ### Who drew the Batgirl #41 variant cover? Brazilian artist Rafael Albuquerque drew it as an homage to Alan Moore's 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke[3]. ### What did the Batgirl variant cover actually show? It showed a tearful Batgirl held by the Joker, who pointed a gun over her shoulder and smeared a red smile across her cheek with his finger[2]. ### What was the #ChangeTheCover hashtag? #ChangeTheCover was the Twitter tag fans and pros used starting March 13, 2015 to push DC Comics to pull Albuquerque's variant[5]. ### What was the #SaveTheCover hashtag? #SaveTheCover was a counter-hashtag from readers who wanted the cover kept, framing the pullback as social-media censorship of artwork[5]. ### Did DC Comics pull the cover? Yes. On March 16, 2015, DC announced it would pull the variant at Albuquerque's request, three days after the backlash started[3]. ### Was Rafael Albuquerque asked to make the cover more extreme? According to Bleeding Cool's reporting, DC's promotional/marketing side sent Albuquerque back to redraw a tamer first version into the more extreme final art[4]. ### How does the cover connect to The Killing Joke? In Alan Moore's 1988 comic The Killing Joke, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon and, in many readings, sexually assaults her, and Albuquerque said his cover was a direct nod to that story[2]. ## References 1. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/17/dc-comics-pull-batgirl-joker-cover-after-protests]() 2. [https://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8252361/batgirl-dc-canceled-cover]() 3. [https://mashable.com/2015/03/18/batgirl-joker-controversial-cover-art/]() 4. [https://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/03/18/albuquerque-was-asked-to-make-batgirl-cover-more-extreme/]() 5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/batgirl-variant-cover-controversy]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/batgirl-variant-cover-controversy Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library