By Phil Perich for Before the Bat: The Gotham Podcast
Well, still no new episodes of Gotham! I think I’ll continue my Robin series. But you might say, “You already covered the Robins!”. I covered all the MALE Robins. That’s right, there have been girl Robins. This week I’ll start with Stephanie Brown. Stephanie first appeared in Detective Comics #647 (August 1992).
Stephanie first appeared as the costumed vigilante Spoiler to foil a plot by her newly released from prison father who was known as the Cluemaster. Stephanie would keep going out at nights even after her father’s return to prison. Batman had objections to “amateurs” working in Gotham, but Stephanie had started to develop a crush on the Robin at the time, Tim Drake.
At the time, Stephanie’s advances were not returned, as Tim had a girlfriend he went to school with. Eventaully, feeling scorned and rejected, Stephanie dated a boy at her high school, but he quickly left her when he found out she was pregnant with his baby. Realizing how difficult it’d be a single teen mom, Stephanie gives up the baby for adoption.
After Tim breaks up with his girlfriend over the pressures of being a teenage vigilante, he and Stephanie start to date. Eventually a rift forms between them thanks to Batman, When Tim’s father discovers his identity as Robin, he forbids Tim to continue. With a hole in his ranks, and hoping to make Tim angry enough to return, Batman gives the job of Robin to Stephanie.
In the 2004 storyline War Games, Tim returns to the role of Robin after Stephanie is kidnapped and apparently murdered by the crime lord Black Mask. In 2008, Stephanie’s death was revealed to have been faked by Dr. Leslie Thompkins as a lessone to Batman about endangering teenage lives with a vigilante lifestyle. In 2009, Cassandra Cain, Batgirl abandons the role of Batgirl when she loses faith after the apparent death of Bruce Wayne. Once again, when opportunity knocked, Stephanie stepped up, this time taking on the role of the new Batgirl.
Working with her mentor, the former Batgirl turned Oracle Barbara Gordon, Stephanie filled the role of Batgirl admirably until DC comics rebooted their continuity in 2011 with the New 52. For 2 years there was no mention of Stephanie in the New 52 until 2013 when writer Scott Snyder revealed that Stephanie would return in the 2014 series Batman Eternal. Want to know more about Stephanie or the Batman Universe? Get ahold of me in one of the following ways:
@nightwingpdp or @beforethebatpod on Twitter
Before the Bat: the Gotham podcast on Facebook
And remember to listen to my DC Comics podcasts for the Southgate Media Group (available anywhere you get podcasts):
-Before the Bat: the Gotham podcast
-Flash/Arrow Power Hour
-World’s Finest: the DC Comics review
Until next time, be good. Remember, Sometimes Justice is a teenage blond!