Battle for the Cowl: Oracle is a new limited series under the Batman line that once again returns Barbara Gordon to a prominent lead role in the Bat books. Yes, she has been a support player for years but her role has almost been exclusively peripheral since her notorious assault in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. Now that Batman is presumed dead and the various characters in the “Bat Books” are being prominently featured again, Ms. Gordon – Oracle – will be getting some long deserved tar treatment. At times, I partially rue these limited series because they are often crafted to capture the “overflow” of interest in a hot book series. Sometimes, this can result in some pretty pedestrian writing. Then, at other times, it is not uncommon for some very novel and unique work to appear. While the Oracle adventure in Battle for the Cowl is not groundbreaking, it is a solid story that help move a background character into the foreground. This makes the character more compelling and engaging as a result. And, of course, this has the added benefit of making the Batman line more interesting as well.