How to bring back Harper Row

[Rac7d*]

Harper appeared in today's Young Justice episodes (well, 11, I think, I haven't seen the next ones yet). Just wanted to inform

Thats how you bring her back
I guess duke thomas is next

[oasis1313]

Harper appeared in today's Young Justice episodes (well, 11, I think, I haven't seen the next ones yet). Just wanted to inform

My interest in the show is now waning. Thanks for the warning.

[Pohzee]

Ah, the proper way to do Harper Row in YJ. Far away from Gotham.

[byrd156]

Ah, the proper way to do Harper Row in YJ. Far away from Gotham.

There really wasn't much with her yet but I do like that she is away from the Bat-family seemingly.

[dropkickjake]

Did she seem out of character? Its been a whole since I've read her, so maybe I was wrong about that.

[sidekick77]

I think the fan backlash was overstated. As always a small vocal section of fandom made a lot of noise but plenty of people liked her just fine.

I don’t think it was overstated. One reason mostly: tumblr. The polarity between a comic forum and a tumblr blog is so extreme, that if both platforms aggregated negative views, surely it can’t be dismissed as a vocal minority offsetting general opinion.

To me, alienation over Harper Row was a slow burn that simply boiled over with B&R Eternal. When Harper debuted, there was a lot good buzz around this character, almost all of it positive. The assumption then was that she was a new Harold-type or Oracle-type, basically a character that filled a gap. I definitely leaned toward a Harold-type as she was unique in providing engineering support. I was surprised like many when editorial suddenly pushed her into the field as a fighter, without even the benefit of a training build-up, montage, or even flashback.

This occurred right after Damien was killed. So not only was Harper among a saturated group of field combatants, she was also being teased as a replacement Robin which did not sit well with fans. This happened again after Forever Evil. Her official blue on black costume with the chevron along the chest teased the idea of her being the next Nightwing and people were even less happy about that.

Yet despite this nutshell game, Harper still had a fanbase. It was B&R Eternal that truly did her in and this is where I come back to tumblr. Harper Row was made for tumblr. This media platform seeks representation not seen in mainstream fiction, to which Harper fulfills a non-binary and/or possibly queer-coded heroine. Yet blogs that once embraced Harper were quick to reject her when it looked like Cass and Stephanie were accessories to her, and being humanized through her.

On top of the bait and switch, the writing in Eternal that defined her attributes through others was just begging for problems: “You’re smart, Harper. Your tech makes Tim jealous, though he’ll never admit it. You’re angrier than Jason, and that makes you strong.” --I’m surprised Dick didn’t add how inferior his puns are to her quips. Bruce’s exaltation of Harper being the canvas of building a perfect partner “every time” was equally cringe.

Are we really saying the complaints on Harper were about her having skills? I mean, no one was complaining when she first appeared as a potential engineer for the team.

There's too much salt with this character. For Harper/Bluebird to come off the bench she needs to work as organically as possible with existing characters; and I think that has to take place in a non-Bat title, maybe even a DC team book. Build new interest and have her prove to readers that she's a hero who plays well with others.

[oasis1313]

I just don't think a new character can be introduced into a crowded field and be sold by the lazy act of being praised as better than beloved legacy characters with very devout fanbases. Particularly if the fans feel that she is being made to look good at their expense. If she was intended as a non-binary and/or possibly queer-coded heroine, that should have been shown at the offset instead of making it into a coy guessing game loaded with sly hinting around. The four ex and current Robins have the most dedicated fans in the world and they can't be fooled into thinking, "Wow, DC is right! You ARE angrier than Jason!" just because whoever is pushing the character says so. I would probably have casually introduced her into Gotham High School and see where she went from there--IF I was Hell-Bent on making her accepted.

[Jackalope89]

My interest in the show is now waning. Thanks for the warning.

1 episode, and it was a school episode where she meets Halo and Forager. No need to overreact.

[oasis1313]

1 episode, and it was a school episode where she meets Halo and Forager. No need to overreact.

Scalded Cat Syndrome produces instinctive flinching.

[sidekick77]

I just don't think a new character can be introduced into a crowded field and be sold by the lazy act of being praised as better than beloved legacy characters with very devout fanbases. Particularly if the fans feel that she is being made to look good at their expense. If she was intended as a non-binary and/or possibly queer-coded heroine, that should have been shown at the offset instead of making it into a coy guessing game loaded with sly hinting around. The four ex and current Robins have the most dedicated fans in the world and they can't be fooled into thinking, "Wow, DC is right! You ARE angrier than Jason!" just because whoever is pushing the character says so. I would probably have casually introduced her into Gotham High School and see where she went from there--IF I was Hell-Bent on making her accepted.

For what its worth, I do think the writers were likely framing Harper as non-binary. That aside, the reason I brought it up was not to debate it, but to show that while it was a significant quality to many tumblr users, some of these same blogs refused to accept that representation at the expense of other marginalized female characters.

[9th.]

I had no idea people hated her like that, I enjoyed the stories she was in while I was reading them. Although I guess I can understand the whole Robin War anniversary thing.

[oasis1313]

For what its worth, I do think the writers were likely framing Harper as non-binary. That aside, the reason I brought it up was not to debate it, but to show that while it was a significant quality to many tumblr users, some of these same blogs refused to accept that representation at the expense of other marginalized female characters.

I hate to show my ignorance here, but what is a non-binary?

[Arctic Cyclist]

I don’t think it was overstated. One reason mostly: tumblr. The polarity between a comic forum and a tumblr blog is so extreme, that if both platforms aggregated negative views, surely it can’t be dismissed as a vocal minority offsetting general opinion.

To me, alienation over Harper Row was a slow burn that simply boiled over with B&R Eternal. When Harper debuted, there was a lot good buzz around this character, almost all of it positive. The assumption then was that she was a new Harold-type or Oracle-type, basically a character that filled a gap. I definitely leaned toward a Harold-type as she was unique in providing engineering support. I was surprised like many when editorial suddenly pushed her into the field as a fighter, without even the benefit of a training build-up, montage, or even flashback.

This occurred right after Damien was killed. So not only was Harper among a saturated group of field combatants, she was also being teased as a replacement Robin which did not sit well with fans. This happened again after Forever Evil. Her official blue on black costume with the chevron along the chest teased the idea of her being the next Nightwing and people were even less happy about that.

Yet despite this nutshell game, Harper still had a fanbase. It was B&R Eternal that truly did her in and this is where I come back to tumblr. Harper Row was made for tumblr. This media platform seeks representation not seen in mainstream fiction, to which Harper fulfills a non-binary and/or possibly queer-coded heroine. Yet blogs that once embraced Harper were quick to reject her when it looked like Cass and Stephanie were accessories to her, and being humanized through her.

On top of the bait and switch, the writing in Eternal that defined her attributes through others was just begging for problems: “You’re smart, Harper. Your tech makes Tim jealous, though he’ll never admit it. You’re angrier than Jason, and that makes you strong.” --I’m surprised Dick didn’t add how inferior his puns are to her quips. Bruce’s exaltation of Harper being the canvas of building a perfect partner “every time” was equally cringe.

Are we really saying the complaints on Harper were about her having skills? I mean, no one was complaining when she first appeared as a potential engineer for the team.

There's too much salt with this character. For Harper/Bluebird to come off the bench she needs to work as organically as possible with existing characters; and I think that has to take place in a non-Bat title, maybe even a DC team book. Build new interest and have her prove to readers that she's a hero who plays well with others.

Accurate and well stated.

[Caivu]

I hate to show my ignorance here, but what is a non-binary?

It's a general term for gender identities that are outside the strict binary of masculine or feminine.

[Aahz]

I had no idea people hated her like that, I enjoyed the stories she was in while I was reading them. Although I guess I can understand the whole Robin War anniversary thing.

I think it would have probably been less of an issue, if the writers had made a better job with the core Batfamily members in previous events and in rebuilding their relationships between them before.
If they had first brought the existing characters in a better place, people would probably more excepting of the new ones. But pushing them at the expense of characters, who's fans were already unhappy with the current treatment of their favourites, was not a good idea.