I very seldom every read the “DC Nation” column, but last week’s was about the new Batgirl. Batgirl, like Robin, is a favorite concept of mine. I like the idea of a Robin (or a Batgirl), but I don’t always follow the adventures of whichever character might be filling those roles at a given time. I really liked Stephanie Brown as Robin a couple of years ago, though, but her time in that role was short-lived… literally. Now you’d think I’d be pleased to see Stephanie step into her new role, wouldn’t you? Normally I might be, but the reason she stopped being Robin is that she died, and her resurrection is one more example of the meaninglessness of comic book deaths.
Meh.
So how’d they bring her back? Through the pounding of Superboy’s fists or something equally as brilliant?
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Her deat was faked, with the help of Batman's female doctor friend. (I forget her name.) Bruce was pretty sure Steph was alive, hence the lack of a memorial in the Batcave.
"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it." -Groucho Marx
Check out theSecret Headquarters(my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies
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A faked death? I can live with that (if done well). But what was her purpose? Is all that you mentioned revealed in the new Batgirl#1? What's your general impression of the title so far?
Her return was revealed (IIRC) in the pages of Robin a year or so ago... I believe we discussed it on the board at that time; if it's still up, you can do a search. :)
As for the purpose, Dr. Thompkins felt that Bruce was becoming too detached from the people he worked with in his war on crime, so she convinced Stephanie to play along (or maybe it was the other way around) to hit him where it hurt — in the loss of another young ally. (Or something like that; I only Byrne-stole the issue in question where it was revealed.)
The new series is still in consideration with me. I liked issue #1 at least enough to get issue #2, but I didn't feel the storytelling was as clear in the second issue. Others may have a different feel for it, though. I'm sticking with it for now because I like Stephanie and, unclear storytelling aside, I like the way the writer is doing the characterizations so far.
Her death was faked by Leslie Thompkins. I haven't read the issues in question (nor the new Batgirl series) but from what I understand, faking her death had the dual purposes of a) teaching Batman a lesson that people get hurt when they're drawn into his world and b) getting Steph out of "the life."
The problem, it seems to me, is that that's a lesson Batman doesn't need to be taught -- or certainly shouldn't need to be taught, if he's written how I'd consider in-character. But mileages will vary on that.
But I haven't read the stories, and could be way off base about this.
What I was hoping for, back when Steph was Robin, was that Batman would allow more than one Robin at a time -- I could see a mess of them as a useful and cool thing, like Sherlock Holmes' kid gang. Not only would that open up story possibilities (wider cast, Batman's operation getting bigger) but it would give Robin more heft in the criminal community. Robins would be like cockroaches -- if a crook saw one Robin, he would fear that there were 30 more that he didn't see. And killing one wouldn't stop the Robins, it would just piss off Batman, so what's the point? Just seeing a red vest on a roof across the street would be enough to convince a crook to drop his plans -- it just wasn't his night. Meanwhile, Steph could be the main street operative, and Tim could be the Oracle-like mastermind, so everybody would get a cool job. And it might give some otherwise drifting kids some purpose and training. Plus: variant costumes! All those kids would customize like crazy, because they're kids. I could go on in this vein for some time, because I see all sorts of pluses to this approach, that far outweigh the minuses.
But that's not happening. Still, I'm pleased that Steph is alive, because she had a really stupid "death". And as to the revolving door of death, supposedly "Blackest Night" is going to address that. Apparently DC's many resurrections weren't entirely by chance, and we haven't heard from Nekron yet why he allowed it. Could be interesting.
What I was hoping for, back when Steph was Robin, was that Batman would allow more than one Robin at a time -- I could see a mess of them as a useful and cool thing, like Sherlock Holmes' kid gang.
I love this idea. I'm imagining the Robins organized along the lines of the Lieutenant Marvels. Tall Robin and Short Robin. Thin Robin and Fat Robin (or, as I like to think of him, Round Robin). Cool Robin and Nerdy Robin. Gadget Robin and Fisticuffs Robin. Goth Girl Robin. Inappropriately Short Pants Robin.
Thanks for the answers and opinions, everyone. I don't think I'll seek out that old Robin thread (or the issues themselves); I was primarily wondering whether or not her resurrection story was confined to the new series. I may still give it a look tomorrow, then decide whether or not to give it a try.
Replies
"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it." -Groucho Marx
Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies
Listen to WOXY.com, it's the future of rock-n-roll!
As for the purpose, Dr. Thompkins felt that Bruce was becoming too detached from the people he worked with in his war on crime, so she convinced Stephanie to play along (or maybe it was the other way around) to hit him where it hurt — in the loss of another young ally. (Or something like that; I only Byrne-stole the issue in question where it was revealed.)
The new series is still in consideration with me. I liked issue #1 at least enough to get issue #2, but I didn't feel the storytelling was as clear in the second issue. Others may have a different feel for it, though. I'm sticking with it for now because I like Stephanie and, unclear storytelling aside, I like the way the writer is doing the characterizations so far.
The problem, it seems to me, is that that's a lesson Batman doesn't need to be taught -- or certainly shouldn't need to be taught, if he's written how I'd consider in-character. But mileages will vary on that.
But I haven't read the stories, and could be way off base about this.
I totally read that as "Bat mileages..."
"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it." -Groucho Marx
Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies
Listen to WOXY.com, it's the future of rock-n-roll!
But that's not happening. Still, I'm pleased that Steph is alive, because she had a really stupid "death". And as to the revolving door of death, supposedly "Blackest Night" is going to address that. Apparently DC's many resurrections weren't entirely by chance, and we haven't heard from Nekron yet why he allowed it. Could be interesting.
That would work fine until some crook got the bright idea of leaving little balls of mashed potatoes laced with borax lying around Gotham...
I love this idea. I'm imagining the Robins organized along the lines of the Lieutenant Marvels. Tall Robin and Short Robin. Thin Robin and Fat Robin (or, as I like to think of him, Round Robin). Cool Robin and Nerdy Robin. Gadget Robin and Fisticuffs Robin. Goth Girl Robin. Inappropriately Short Pants Robin.
The possibilities are endless.
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