Waffletastic Stephanie Brown Appreciation (Spoiler/Robin/Batgirl/Spoiler again)

[catbatfan]

That is the inherent problem with all these mega crossover style stories and to some extent even team books for me. For any character other than Steph or perhaps Cass I would not be putting myself through all this just to get a couple of pages every other issue.

I'm buying it mostly for Steph, but I'm also buying it because it's a Batman weekly AND it's Batman's 75th anniversary. I just wish Steph was playing a larger role. They hyped her role up so much but so far have failed to deliver. And James Tynion, who was so gung-ho on bringing her back, is doing the worst job of writing Steph and her story. I can only assume her role will expand in the second half of the series when she's in full-blown Spoiler mode.

As for a "dark, gritty" Stephanie Brown, it's too soon to say. She's so focused on taking down Cluemaster that we won't really see her true personality until this conflict is over.

[teej]

Plus it's not like Steph's pre-Flashpoint origin was all bright and happy to begin with. She didn't debut by kicking through doors, throwing quips left and right. She was bitter and angry, intent on getting revenge on her father for the life he left for her mom and herself. Heck, if I'm remembering correctly Steph's mom was abusing pills or something along those lines. That's pretty heavy happenings for a teenage girl even by Gotham's standards. So her personality and voice reflected that in her first few appearances.

Then in her next few appearances Chuck Dixon started developing her personality to reflect how actual people deal with problems. Not dwelling on the past and moving forward. Overtime we eventually got the Steph we saw just before Flashpoint. It's really a testament to how great of a writer Dixon is.

So at this point I'm going to say Tynion's going with the good old Dixon origin. It's always darkest just before the dawn and all that jazz. Just a bit darker because this is Scott Snyder's thing and it's the nu52.

[The Lucky One]

Plus it's not like Steph's pre-Flashpoint origin was all bright and happy to begin with. She didn't debut by kicking through doors, throwing quips left and right. She was bitter and angry, intent on getting revenge on her father for the life he left for her mom and herself. Heck, if I'm remembering correctly Steph's mom was abusing pills or something along those lines. That's pretty heavy happenings for a teenage girl even by Gotham's standards. So her personality and voice reflected that in her first few appearances.

And her gymnastics coach was dealing drugs to students. And a later story revealed her ex-con babysitter tried to molest her, and soon after died of an "accidental" (possibly Cluemaster-induced) drug overdose.

You're quite correct in saying that the current version of Stephanie Brown is not going to be the BQM version revived. Mostly because he's not writing her anymore, of course, and also because that lighthearted, spunky role is going to Barbara now. If Steph had been introduced, say, 2 years ago during Barbara's grimdark adventures, with a personality similar to her solo series, she could've been a refreshing alternative. But that isn't what happened. C'est la vie. But her old role is now taken, so be prepared for a Steph who, as teej observes, is far more similar to Chuck Dixon's "chip on the shoulder" version than BQM's version. That version isn't coming back at least until Barbara has vacated that role, if ever.

[Chickfighter]

And her gymnastics coach was dealing drugs to students. And a later story revealed her ex-con babysitter tried to molest her, and soon after died of an "accidental" (possibly Cluemaster-induced) drug overdose.

You're quite correct in saying that the current version of Stephanie Brown is not going to be the BQM version revived. Mostly because he's not writing her anymore, of course, and also because that lighthearted, spunky role is going to Barbara now. If Steph had been introduced, say, 2 years ago during Barbara's grimdark adventures, with a personality similar to her solo series, she could've been a refreshing alternative. But that isn't what happened. C'est la vie. But her old role is now taken, so be prepared for a Steph who, as teej observes, is far more similar to Chuck Dixon's "chip on the shoulder" version than BQM's version. That version isn't coming back at least until Barbara has vacated that role, if ever.

It does indeed appear that the new Barbara Batgirl approach will tap much of what made the Steph Batgirl series my favorite. I find it interesting that Cameron Stewart, who drew Steph's last hurrah Batman, Inc. episode, is one of the creative forces behind the new Batgirl direction. Morrison did a nice job of capturing Miller's deft approach for that one episode with its fun and the theme of epiphany of recognized self-worth. It will be interesting to see if Batgirl's new team can make it work for Barbara.

Hopefully Steph's Spoiler can eventually have some of that as well. Hopefully she will be involved in winning the day in the Batman Eternal comic in some real way that was denied her in War Games. I certainly don't mind her being the "frequently not recognized as good enough" character who constantly has to try harder. That's the character I liked even before Steph became Batgirl. But eventually there needs to be a pay-off to the character building, small successes along the way, or it just becomes a piling on of personal baggage. I always enjoyed the sort of scenes where Steph's refusal to give up in the face of failure would impress some other character. Give me some of that and some measure of triumph at the end of a given story and I think I'll be satisfied.

[catbatfan]

I really don't think we're going to get a dreary buzzkill Stephanie. It's a shame DC made such a big creative change with the Barbara Batgirl book. It looks exactly like the kind of book I'd want to read if Steph were Batgirl. But I can't stand Barbara as Batgirl so I'll be passing on it.

I'm interested in what her status quo will be after Eternal. Cluemaster will likely go to jail or die, so what will inspire Steph to keep going as the Spoiler? Will she be friends with Harper? What will her role be in the Bat family? As for the next few issues of Eternal, what will make her decide to don the Spoiler costume? I imagine she will decide to finally confront her father and realizes she needs to come out of hiding and disguising herself.

[Enigmatic Undead]

[Vworp Vworp]

In case anyone missed this....

http://www.newsarama.com/21779-spoil...n-eternal.html

[Vanguard-01]

In case anyone missed this....

http://www.newsarama.com/21779-spoil...n-eternal.html

Ahhh!

Nice to see such a great treatise on why Steph is awesome! That article covered pretty much everything about why we love this girl!

Nice to see she's also going to be a central figure in Batman: Eternal, as well. She obviously hasn't done a whole lot yet, but it looks like she'll get there eventually.

Love that article. Makes me so glad to be a Steph fan!

[Chickfighter]

In case anyone missed this....

http://www.newsarama.com/21779-spoil...n-eternal.html

That's my favorite character there, surviving on heart, hope and humor in the face of whatever is thrown at her.

[kidstandout]

how old is she in the new 52?

[gwhh]

http://iro-the-random-one.deviantart...elly-360964995


Another cool one of them:

http://iro-the-random-one.deviantart...ress-378984689

[K. Jones]

how old is she in the new 52?

Unconfirmed. I suspect "college freshman age", though. That keeps her at "a little older than Tim", like she's always been.

[Harpsikord]

Burnside-ized Steph and Cass!

[Aprillis]

[OBrianTallent]

Is that from this weeks Eternal???