I can understand that thought process. At the same time, though, I think The Killing Joke is a poor example of "fridging," though. I could understand if Babs' existence post-TKJ was being resigned to being a victim, but, while it may have defined her physicality over the next few decades, it didn't define her, and I think the rise of Oracle kind of buffers out any semblance of "fridging." She didn't come out unscathed, but the event didn't break Babs, and some might even say, in some ways, it made her stronger.
I never really thought about the term "handicapable," but, if that word suited anyone, it was Babs. The loss of the use of her legs was an obstacle, but it's admirable that, throughout the entirety of her tenure as Oracle, she still retained the strength that she had when she was Batgirl. In that regard, I feel that TKJ created something great.
Nicely done. Can't even tell its been shopped. Good work.
But the change doesn't make it better. Joker is not just some common thug or b-list villain. He's The Joker! Metahumans fear him. Batman fears him. Batgirl being afraid of him doesn't weaken her. It just shows what a terrifying enemy he can be.
The original story basically depicted Barbara Gordon hitting rock bottom and then sequential books showed her rising in spite of being paralyzed waist down. In the long run I think it showed the strength of Barbara's character, but TKJ on its own is a non-lethal example of the "women in refrigerators" trope.
Buh-bye
I like this as well, it shows Barbara as angry and defiant and ready to fight back, rather than scared. I'm one that understands the importance of TKJ but never liked it because it certainly implies that Joker sexually assaulted Barbara with all the nude pictures that Gordon is forced to see during the carnival ride. .
And wanted to add that the idea the TKJ made Barbara a stronger character might be true but wasn't due to that story but was created by John Ostrander in Suicide Squad