Simone has openly admitted that she was pissed off to high hell that she inherited Barbara as a cripple since she desperately wanted to write about Batgirl. Cleawrly, she was not a fan of the Killing Joke. As such, when she got a hold of BoP, she glorified her as much as possible. But obviously, this had more to do with her own bias towards the character rather than any inherent value the character objectively held.
i do not know the author's backstory or personal bias. she expressed
barbara's frustration with being paralyzed - maybe that was simone's character. ...whatever it was, it worked. nothing too cliche or too depressing; just little stuff, like how she trained her upper body more, and even worked with therapists on gaining sensation back in her feet, etc. progress and evolution in the character, mixed with weaknesses and vulnerabilities. again, nothing too heavy, but... made for good reading.
there was a deeper analysis of her relationship with bruce and the batfamily, as a whole. not just a partnership, not just an anger (with occasional references to killing joke), but all of it. there were visits from nightwing. there were clashes with her team members. there was the constant presence of her relationship with the commish: he, a super-hero-type cop, meeting with her, a master strategist and informational outlet to heroes... then just become father and daughter. and not
just father and daughter, but a slowing older man and a lovely handicapped child.
there were details to her character that became "interesting" to me. which i said in quotes there, just in case you disagree at a future date. it wasn't just because she was in the book, but because the author took the time to flesh out and create new details ... of interest.
i dont think jean paul valley ever recevied that. he had a few moments of interest, but generally just played the same note over and over for a few years. in many of those same stories JPV co-starred in (not just knightfall era, but those after, like cataclysm and fugitive and legacy) JPV and barbara were often written as flat side-characters. no interest.
no one took JPV out of that (at least as far as i could see) but simone elevated barbara WAY out of that.
Not fight scenes in general, buuuut...Imagine the Black Widow interrogation scene played out over and over again throughout every episode of every season, and you'll have a pretty good picture of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Serenity/Firefly. A sassy female or feminine lead being over-indulgently exhibited as much as possible with a bottomless bag full of quips. Her parts were the biggest weakness of that film for a reason.
i do not want for this.