Very nice post, Ravager. I tend to agree with you on all points.
First and foremost, Power Girl IS Power Girl due to her uniform and appearance. If you look at any one character in the entire run of mainstream comics, no other character has been as reliant on her physical attribute (in this case, bust size) as Power Girl. No one can deny how popular and iconic she has become over the past 20 years simply because of her uniform. Even people who know nothing about her back story (which is confusing in itself) can still easily identify Karen because of her costume - notably because of the large hole that exposes her breast size. That's her thing. It's what has sky rocketed her from just another forgettable blonde into one of the more popular modern characters in comics. There is no reason to take that away from her - it's simply who she is. You have plenty of other DC girls to revamp - but Karen is far more reliant on her appearance than most anyone else. So leave her be and give her back the old costume. The new one is hideous ... and it makes her lose appeal as a character because you can't identify that the current Karen ... is really Power Girl.
I'm with you on Batgirl and Batwoman as well. Batgirl has turned into one of my favorite comics of the relaunch. I've always liked Gail's writing and much like you, I always linked Batgirl as Barbara Gordon. It's how I grew up - even before I knew much about comics. So it's nice to see her back in action. The rusty bit makes her even more likeable/believable at times. I'm enjoying the current story arc as well. Same with Batwoman. So far her run has been impressive in the New 52 and the book has had some of the best artwork and page layouts that I can remember in recent time.
I think Ivy could be taken a few ways. It will be interesting to see how they handle her future down the road in Birds of Prey. I have a feeling she'll turn villainous again at some point, but most likely only for a short story arc or two, and then revert back to being a rather on the fence heroine. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up doing another thing similar to Gotham City Sirens at some point.
I'm not as against Harley's new appearance as you are in this one. I don't like her as much as her former self, but her little stint in Suicide Squad (going after the Joker's cut-off face) was actually one of the more interesting stories in that series, I thought. Still, she isn't the same.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Big Barda again. She's actually one of my favorite DC girls of the bunch.
The only other person I'll chime in about that isn't on your list is Caitlin Fairchild. While she was Wildstorm material, she's now DCU and I grew up reading the entire Image/Wildstorm runs back when I was in middle school. Caitlin has been one of my overall favorite girls in comics. With that being said, I somewhat like the story behind her now and feel like her and Superboy actually could have a nice little future, but I don't like the artist takes on her so far. To me, Caitlin was always a character that was incredibly hot, she just didn't realize it, and at the same time, when she "hulked up", she still remained attractive - not some muscle bound monster. Got to keep her feminine in my book. That's part of who she is.
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