In preparation for the Robin 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular, I'm going to be posting most of Stephanie Brown's stories as Robin, once a day, until the 18th. (Steph is set to star in an 8 page story drawn by Damion Scott, per instagram.com
Today's Stephanie Brown Robin post is Robin #126, her dazzling debut as the Girl Wonder!
However, I'm going to start off by posting a short comic from Wizard Magazine #150, which gives Steph's motives for becoming Robin a lot more depth!
Written by the Robin creative team of Bill Willingham and Damion Scott (the latter of whom will be drawing Steph's story in the upcoming Special), this story starts off with an interview with the creators about the whole "Girl Wonder" thing.
I love how Scott included graffitti credits in the comic.
Scott was really energetic, and I love the bright action lines and hits here.
Steph really takes it on the chin from Penguin's umbrella here!
And Penguin with the last minute dig. Poor Steph.
The little details of Steph calling the cops on the goons is a nice one. And the image of her with her mask pulled up on the phone is adorbs.
All those little Robin doodles are so heartbreaking, if you know what's coming. But also really cute.
Bruce the creeper, watching teen girls through their bedroom windows...
And that wraps this little short up! On to the main event - but I think this really gives more context to Steph's desire to become Robin - instead of the shallower motivation given in #126, it's a desire to be able to strike the same kind of respect and fear that Batman and Robin do.
The cover again, by Damion Scott. Probably the most famous image of Steph as Robin in the world. It's such a cool design piece.
Steph is working out so much because she broke her leg in the last arc of Robin. Just for some context.
So much love! Also so much sweat!
>”She breaks into the Batcave with her homemade Robin suit all sewn up — which actually looks pretty bad.”
Speak for yourself, Bill. She makes it work.
>Bruce knew Robin was more than just a whim to her and she actively daydreamed about it
>still pulled all that shit
Oof.
Steph is determined to keep being a hero...for the duration. Man, knowing what's coming really makes this whole thing so much darker.
Ugh. I hate Scarab. But she does have a very nice design. Very techy evil Iron Man/Black Manta.
I mean, her outfit isn't nearly as good as her final Robin suit, but it's fun! And yes. Batjerk was in FULL form in War Games.
Does anyone buy this trash?
Also knowing what's gonna happen with Jack in Identity Crisis...this was such a nasty time in the Batfamily, for no good reason, really. Even if I love that we got Steph Robin out of it.
Scott's Spoiler action scenes are really top notch!
Depends. I've bought a hard copy and the digital trade of War Games.
But oops. And here's where the Wizard short is helpful - Steph is (I think) understandably jealous, but since she was already thinking about being Robin, it's not just her being jealous.
>I mean, her outfit isn't nearly as good as her final Robin suit, but it's fun!
It’s cute! I’m also partial to the ponytail. The spikes make for a pretty iconic silhouette, but I only really adored them in Solo when Scott got to full stylized.
"Ratfink skunk" is pretty classic. Though this is a pretty cliched soap opera situation - if Steph had just kept watching, she would have seen the truth.
The pony is cute and probably more practical, but I just love the flaming shock of hair.
And don't worry, Solo is coming!
And Bernard speaks for the teen boy audience. But Tim shows that he's a good guy.
A rare appearance of Crystal, and once again, sporting a completely different look. Sigh.
Not quite sure whether the Batcave really has lethal protocols. But the Bruce/Alfred banter is fun.
You tell him, Steph!
I gotta say, this "murder Robin" plot is pretty dark. Not super happy about that, honestly, but it does establish just how nasty Scarab is (and how stupid Fabian Nicieza was for having Steph work with her later).
The edge, it cuts.
Robin's War Journal. Oh, Steph.
I'd also point out that Steph never sees Bruce unmasked at any point, as far as I can tell.
And Alfred is kind of mean to poor Steph, doing her cartwheels over there. :(
Alfred, despite his disapproval, does have a sense of what Steph deserves - not to be a pawn in Batman's game with Tim.
The official in-universe debut of the costume! And also payphones!
Willingham has said he REALLY wanted to tell the story of Batman training Steph.
Tim. Why do you do these dumb things?
>actually broke into the ‘Cave without Bruce letting her for keikaku purposes
Nice. Especially considering what happened to her bike last time she tried to get in without an invite.
Definitely seemed like she never knew and her suddenly being aware of his identity was just one of many things her resurrection retconned. Unless she was shown to be in the know in some other pre-War Games arc I’m not remembering.
And they're off!
Thanks for reading! Support your local Comixology ;)
And see you tomorrow. Next time: Detective Comics!
And, of course, see you on the 18th next week, with the Super Spectacular Special!
No Spoilermobile. No Spoilerbike. :)
I think that Leslie just told her who Bruce was over the year she was in Africa. Not to big of a leap in logic. Plus, Bruce finally takes off his cowl in Robin 174.
>I think that Leslie just told her who Bruce was over the year she was in Africa. Not to big of a leap in logic.
That adds up. Sometimes I get so caught up with all the things that make zero sense in that storyline that picking out the actual logical pieces becomes challenging.
Thanks again! Looking forward to ‘Tec.
Of course! Hope to see you tomorrow! I'll probably shoot for earlier, since I don't have work on the weekends. Maybe even in the morning close to lunchtime!
Big hair.
Right on!
I really like this look for Steph.
It doesn't make much sense in universe because... well.. her hair but still. I love it
According to Jason, being Robin gives you magic! Steph seems to have used hers to defy all natural laws of hair physics.
Tis comics. Hair magic is just part of the fun!
Hair physics are for NON ROBINS.
Cool
When I first started actively getting into comics as a preteen this is one of the first images I saw and I've always been attached to steph as a result.I was into the JL and TT cartoons and wanted to see how comics were like. Really was interested in the idea of these characters changing and aging an developing. Its why I really liked the DCU in the early 2000s.
It's a neat little story. Hopefully people will remember it!
It's such an iconic image. I do wish DC would figure out a way to keep the sense of growing and developing. But too many creators keep creating too many characters.
Jack wasn't a particularly great character but he was a key piece in making Tim different. Felt like the batch of 2000s writers that came in for this era had an unreasonable hatred for him, namely because his existence was the one thing keeping the Robins from all being orphans.
Steph robin is a cute concept that really was done a disservice with how it was handled. We know it was just to give her something nice before killing her off, but it comes off as so different from the initial early 2000s stories where steph starts joining in more Batfamily adventures. she's considered a rookie, but not incompetent or untrainable. Then abruptly (when editorial wanted to streamline things) everyone starts saying she's hopeless, isn't cut out for this etc. this arc hammers that home instead of actually letting her shine a bit.
Would post some pics from Gotham Knights but won't in respect of stoytime.
This storytime made me tear-eyed. I loved this era and these comics so much. I love Steph and Tim - the best Robins.
Jack isn't great, but I'm really not a fan of just killing him. (I don't particularly love killing Tim's mom either, but that's more because Obeah Man is so racist).
Good points! Poor Steph lost so much ground for War Games, even though I'm convinced Robin lifted her profile enough that is it was she got Batgirl.
And if you wanna post pics, feel free - the storytime is over. Just 1.5 issues today.
Steph and Tim forever!
At last there’s been an official table of contents posted for the special. Steph (credited as ROBIN IV, which is very nice) will be starring in “Fitting In,” with Scott on art and Amy Wolfram writing. I’m even more excited knowing that second part; loved her writing for Terra in TT ‘03, and always thought she’d do well with the Batfam’s resident complicated disaster blonde too.
And there's going to be a Nicola Scott Stephanie Brown Robin pin-up!
Missed that on my first glance over. Even better! Nice that Jason’s getting one as well, though I’m shocked that Damian’s 0 for 2 on getting his own piece. Uncharacteristic for DC, but they certainly didn’t skimp on giving him page time to make up for it.
All in all, it's looking like a great collection!
God I wish Steph got to stay Robin for longer.
Well, that's why I'm doing these storytimes! So people can get hyped for the new content next Wednesday!
Steph time as Robin is probably one of the most overrated things in comics. It is amazing how desperate her fans cling to what was a few issues of an awful story as some defining moment for her.
A vocal minority blowing it out of proportion because it had a lot of wasted potential is hardly grounds to call it overrated. The majority of people probably still wouldn’t even consider her a Robin, let alone a good one.
Not as overrated as Jarro.
The majority of people are wrong, sadly. At least in terms of her being a real Robin.