Stephanie Brown-Spoiler/Robin/Batgirl Appreciation 2024

[Frontier]

I just heard there is going to be a Stephanie Brown Funko Pop. I don't know if she's ever had one or now but I'm certainly going to get it. I only have one Funko as of right now but I'll gladly get a second for Steph

That's cute .

[NOCTPHOENIX]

https://x.com/shadowoftheali/status/1791257714171007080

The editor from Batgirls addressing the stephcass teasing in Batgirls.

[Konja7]

https://x.com/shadowoftheali/status/1791257714171007080

The editor from Batgirls addressing the stephcass teasing in Batgirls.

I'm not surprised. I've never really feel shiptease between Stephanie and Cass in Batgirls comic. They were just supporting friend there.

There was shiptease in Batgirls Future State, but that had a different team.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

I'm not surprised. I've never really feel shiptease between Stephanie and Cass in Batgirls comic. They were just supporting friend there.

There was shiptease in Batgirls Future State, but that had a different team.

twitter is pretty mad at this and saying they've been baited.

[WonderNight]

twitter is pretty mad at this and saying they've been baited.

Twitters mad you say lol.

[WebLurker]

I'm not surprised. I've never really feel shiptease between Stephanie and Cass in Batgirls comic. They were just supporting friend there.

The Steph/Cass ship was always based on reading into details (and helped that Cass doesn't have an official love interest and Steph is broken up with Tim as often as not), so there's always a degree of subjectivity. Suppose coming after and tying into the Future State comics might've also gotten some readers looking for clues and/or subtext; if that story was intended to show a future where they fell in love, broke up, and decided to give their relationship another chance, having material set before showing the origins of their romance wouldn't be out of the question.

IMHO, what was written would worked pretty darn well for a slow burn best friends-to-lovers if that was what the Powers That Be wanted (if it was Cassandra and Stephen, wanna bet how many readers would be guessing that the arc where Cass rescues Steph from her father would be read as romantic without question?). My stance is that I like the idea of them becoming a couple, but I don't expect it to happen.

There was shiptease in Batgirls Future State, but that had a different team.

Was it ever confirmed that we were supposed to read them as lovers in that series? It's certainly the most blatant in terms of really reading like they were more more than friends, but the story did stop just short making it clear.

[millernumber1]

Twitters mad you say lol.

Has there ever been a more true response haha.

The Steph/Cass ship was always based on reading into details (and helped that Cass doesn't have an official love interest and Steph is broken up with Tim as often as not), so there's always a degree of subjectivity. Suppose coming after and tying into the Future State comics might've also gotten some readers looking for clues and/or subtext; if that story was intended to show a future where they fell in love, broke up, and decided to give their relationship another chance, having material set before showing the origins of their romance wouldn't be out of the question.

IMHO, what was written would worked pretty darn well for a slow burn best friends-to-lovers if that was what the Powers That Be wanted (if it was Cassandra and Stephen, wanna bet how many readers would be guessing that the arc where Cass rescues Steph from her father would be read as romantic without question?). My stance is that I like the idea of them becoming a couple, but I don't expect it to happen.

Was it ever confirmed that we were supposed to read them as lovers in that series? It's certainly the most blatant in terms of really reading like they were more more than friends, but the story did stop just short making it clear.

I think that fans should always be free to ship who they want to ship (within reason), and I think StephCass shippers can and should continue to ship their OTP. But I also think that it's fine to know what some of the creative team were thinking as well. Doesn't mean you have to agree with them - the text stands by itself - but it helps to avoid claims of "I know this was the intention".

I still maintain that my question to those who claimed that Batgirls made StephCass canon is valid - if they were intentionally writing them as very close, bonded friends, who are not romantic - what would you write differently?

I don't know if Ayala ever confirmed that Future State: Batgirls was a former romantic relationship (it's possible), but I definitely read it that way, with the Homer reference, and the way they talked about the past together.

[ohfellow]

Glad this was posted.

I didn't ship them, but I did think the series portrayed a sexual interest, even if unintended. More in the art than in the dialog, probably. I can see I was wrong, and feel that the matter is settled to my own satisfaction. YMMV.

(P.S. as for Future State, I guess nobody knows exactly, but if you asked me to bet, I'd say a past relationship was exactly what Vita Ayala intended.)

[WebLurker]

I think that fans should always be free to ship who they want to ship (within reason), and I think StephCass shippers can and should continue to ship their OTP. But I also think that it's fine to know what some of the creative team were thinking as well. Doesn't mean you have to agree with them - the text stands by itself - but it helps to avoid claims of 'I know this was the intention'."

Course. Heck, I'm a fan of it for as long as I can remember. That said, I always took it as a non-canon thing (e.g. "I think they'd be perfect for each other if DC decided to have them fall in love"), so I was never expecting the series to depict them developing feelings for each other, even if I did think some stuff in the series could've been leveraged pretty well to build a romantic subplot on if the Powers That Be had wanted to.

I still maintain that my question to those who claimed that Batgirls made StephCass canon is valid - if they were intentionally writing them as very close, bonded friends, who are not romantic - what would you write differently?

As said before, I never thought that Batgirls made Steph/Cass canon. However, as a thought experiment, I think tweaks would include dropping hints that they might feel more than friendship for each other in the first arc (esp. when Cass is trying to deprogram Steph from the mind control).

Cass feeling unhappy when Steph takes an interest in Kyle would've been a logical set up. Have her not even understand why she's feeling that way if you want a longer burn. On Steph's end, you could have her actually go out with Kyle and feel like something's just not clicking, contrasting how hanging out with Cass just feels right somehow.

The Annual and follow up storyline where Cass and Steph have a Freaky Friday episode and Cass needs to save Steph already leaned into tropes that wouldn't be out of place in a love story arc. The montage in the actual comment showing them hanging out together with narration explaining how important the friendship is between them could be rewritten to them getting an inkling that their relationship is changing in a way they don't understand yet (or could understand but be afraid to verbalize). Steph being kidnapped could trigger a moment of clarity for Cass that she has romantic feelings for her. For that matter, the letter Steph wrote her could be rejigged to her confessing that she has feelings for Cass but is too nervous say it in person. If the writers didn't want her to get the nerve to send it, it could be presented that she wrote it but chickened out in giving it, but Cass found it by chance.

It'd all depend on how long a game was being played and if the idea was to end with Cass and Steph starting a romantic relationship or laying a foundation for it to continue on in other projects. For that matter, if, hypothetically, DC ever did decide to have Steph and Cass fall in love and become a couple, I think, as written, Batgirls would accidentally work in that scenario in retrospect as depicting a timeframe where they were starting to edge beyond friendship into something deeper.

(I recall someone on the forum before claiming that the Powers That Be had admitted that there were behind-the-scenes discussions on whether or not Steph and Cass should be romantically involved in Batgirls or not. No idea if that was true or not, but, if it did really happen, that's kinda telling, IMHO.)

I don't know if Ayala ever confirmed that Future State: Batgirls was a former romantic relationship (it's possible), but I definitely read it that way, with the Homer reference, and the way they talked about the past together.

What I've seen are screencaps of a re-Tweet regarding the final panel where Steph and Cass are hugging after reconciling and confirming that they want to rebuild whatever relationship they had; Ayala just put three heart emojis that together showed all the colors on the bisexual flag, with an emoji of a blond-haired woman and a black-haired woman holding hands (never found the original, but this fan page offering theories on Cass's love life had a screencap.

It's really hard to see it as anything other than an agreement with the fan theory and I agree that it's really hard to see Future State Steph and Cass as anything other than exes who are still in love in spite of everything and rekindle their relationship after clearing the air. However, it's just vague enough and the writer never outright stated his intent that I really wonder why the lack of confirmation. (Like, was this slipped under DC's radar, for some reason?)