'Unnecessary' Batgirl sex scene slammed by fans

Batman fans have taken to social media to slam a particularly controversial sex scene between Bruce Wayne and his young protégé Batgirl, AKA Barbara Gordon.

Some context for you: the scene in question is actually from a 2016 animated movie, which itself is an adaptation of the controversial Alan Moore graphic novel The Killing Joke, a story in which Joker paralyses and sexually assaults Batgirl in an attempt to drive Jim Gordon insane. Yeah, yikes.

The animated adaptation is pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the comic. However, not content to deal with all the baggage that comes with simply retelling The Killing Joke, the movie decides to add an entirely original prologue to the events of the comic, which serves as the first half of the feature.

It's in this first half of the movie that we're told Batgirl is attracted to Batman, and the tension between the two crimefighters bubbles to the surface when a fight turns into a sex scene. Between the young Batgirl and the much, much older father figure in her life. Yikes again.

The scene in question was widely derided at the time, but it's started doing the rounds again after Twitter user @drifterwayne posted the offending clip and called it "the most unnecessary scene in Batman media".

The most unnecessary scene in Batman media. pic.twitter.com/tXDsW1ukw0

— Drifter 🦇 (@drifterwayne) October 25, 2022

"I hope you understand why he hates it," another user explained. :It’s not bc its sex, it’s bc its sex between two characters that should not have that type of chemistry. It’s a very father-daughter relationship which is was why it was so weird to see that in screen."

It's for this reason (and many others) that Batman: The Killing Joke managed to annoy audiences and critics alike. Over on Rotten Tomatoes the animated adventure has a critic score of 36%, which isn't too out of line with the audience score of 50%. For the third and final time, I say simply: yikes.