Gardner Fox in the context of "Doctor Fate"

Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff as Bat-Girl, and was replaced in 1967 by Barbara Gordon, who became the most iconic Batgirl. The character debuted in Detective Comics #359 (January 1967) by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino, introduced as the niece/adoptive daughter of police commissioner James Gordon.

Batgirl operates in Gotham City, allying herself with Batman and the original Robin, Dick Grayson, along with other masked vigilantes. The character appeared regularly in Detective Comics, Batman Family, and several other books produced by DC until 1988. That year, Barbara Gordon appeared in Barbara Kesel's Batgirl Special #1, in which she retires from crime-fighting. She subsequently appeared in Alan Moore's graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke where, in her civilian identity, she is shot by the Joker and left paraplegic. Although she is reimagined as the computer expert and information broker Oracle by editor Kim Yale and writer John Ostrander the following year, her paralysis sparked debate about the portrayal of women in comics, particularly violence depicted toward female characters.

Nabu (also known as Nabu the Wise) is a fictional deity in American comic books published by DC Comics. An adaptation of the eponymous Mesopotamian patron god, the character was adapted by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, first appearing in More Fun Comics #67 (May, 1941). Featuring various departures from Babylonian mythology, Nabu is a major supporting and recurring character in Doctor Fate titles.

Aa cosmic entity among the Lords of Order with varying origins, he is often a dissident and fierce personality among his brethren with an obsession with defeating chaos at any costs. He is the creator of the Helmet of Fate and progenitor of the sorcerous Doctor Fate line in the 20th century after tiring his human form fighting evil and aiding ancient Egyptian deities. His first agent was archaeologist Kent Nelson whom he manipulated, often supplanting his agency and will with his own. Nabu would continue being a significant presence among several incarnations of Doctor Fate such as Eric and Linda Strauss, Hector Hall, and Khalid Nassour.

The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was created by writer Gardner Fox and editor Sheldon Mayer during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940–1941), making it the first team of superheroes in comic books. Its original members were Doctor Fate, Hourman, the Spectre, Sandman, Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman.

The team was initially popular, but after superhero comics waned in the late 1940s, the JSA's adventures ceased with issue #57 of the title (March 1951). During the Silver Age of Comic Books, DC Comics reinvented several Justice Society members and brought many of them together in a new team, the Justice League of America. Other JSA members remained absent from comics for ten years until Jay Garrick appeared alongside Barry Allen, his Silver Age counterpart, in The Flash #123 (September 1961). The Justice Society was established as existing on "Earth-Two" and the Justice League on "Earth-One", different versions of Earth in different universes. This allowed for annual cross-dimensional team-ups of the teams between 1963 and 1985. New series, such as All-Star Squadron, Infinity, Inc., and a new All-Star Comics, featured the JSA, their children, and their heirs and explored the issues of aging, generational differences, and contrasts between the Golden Age and subsequent eras.

The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the team as a revival of the Justice Society of America, a similar team from DC Comics from the 1940s which had been pulled out of print due to a decline in sales. The Justice League is an all-star ensemble cast of established superhero characters from DC Comics' portfolio. Diegetically, these superheroes usually operate independently but occasionally assemble as a team to tackle especially formidable villains. This is in contrast to certain other superhero teams such as the Doom Patrol or Marvel’s X-Men whose characters were created specifically to be part of the team, with the team being central to their identity. The cast of the Justice League usually features a few highly popular characters who have their own solo books, such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, alongside several lesser-known characters who benefit from exposure.

The Justice League was created to boost the profiles and sales of these characters through cross-promotion and helped develop the DC Universe as a shared universe, as it is through teams like the Justice League that the setting's characters regularly interact with each other.

The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (cover-dated January 1940, released November 1939). Nicknamed "the Scarlet Speedster", all incarnations of the Flash possess "superspeed", which includes the ability to run, move, and think extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes, and seemingly violate certain laws of physics.

Thus far, at least five different characters –each of whom somehow gained the power of "the Speed Force"– have assumed the mantle of the Flash in DC's history: college athlete Jay Garrick (1940–1951, 1961–2011, 2017–present), forensic scientist Barry Allen (1956–1985, 2008–present), Barry's nephew Wally West (1986–2011, 2016–present), Barry's grandson Bart Allen (2006–2007), and Chinese-American Avery Ho (2017–present). Each incarnation of the Flash has been a key member of at least one of DC's premier teams: the Justice Society of America, the Justice League, and the Teen Titans.

Barbara Joan Gordon is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character was created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox, and artist Carmine Infantino. Dozier, the producer of the 1960s Batman television series, requested Schwartz to call for a new female counterpart to the superhero Batman that could be introduced into publication and the third season of the show simultaneously. The character subsequently made her first comic-book appearance as Batgirl in Detective Comics #359, titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" in January 1967, by Fox and Infantino, allowing her to be introduced into the television series, portrayed by actress Yvonne Craig, in the season 3 premiere "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin", in September that same year.

Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon, the sister of serial killer James Gordon Jr. and is initially employed as head of the Gotham City Public Library. Although the character appeared in various DC Comics publications, she was prominently featured in Batman Family which debuted in 1975, partnered with the original Robin, Dick Grayson, whom she has a history of working closely and being romantically involved with. In 1988, following the editorial retirement of the character's Batgirl persona in Batgirl Special #1, the graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke depicts the Joker shooting her through the spinal cord in her civilian identity, resulting in paraplegia. In subsequent stories, the character was reestablished as a technical advisor, computer expert and information broker known as Oracle. Becoming a valuable asset providing intelligence and computer hacking services to assist other superheroes, she makes her first appearance as Oracle in Suicide Squad #23 (1989) and later became a featured lead of the Birds of Prey series. In 2011, as part of DC Comics The New 52 relaunch, Barbara recovered from her paralysis following a surgical procedure and returned as Batgirl. Barbara has since featured in the eponymous Batgirl monthly title as well as Birds of Prey and other Batman books. Following the events of Joker War, Barbara returned to her Oracle role while recovering from an injury, and continues to operate as both Batgirl and Oracle after the 2021 Infinite Frontier event.

Carmine Infantino (/ɪnfənˈtiːnoʊ/; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are the Black Canary and the Silver Age version of the Flash with writer Robert Kanigher, Elongated Man with John Broome, the Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl with writer Gardner Fox, Deadman with writer Arnold Drake, and Christopher Chance, the second iteration of the Human Target, with Len Wein.

He was inducted into comics' Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2000.