Hi there, I have a question about Steph if you don' mind, do you think Bruce actually took Steph seriously as Robin? If not, how would it be if he had? Any thoughts on her skills? I always see people saying that Steph is nothing special, just a background character, but, to me, with the little training she had comparing with the others in the batfam, I think she did really good actually, and I will die a bitter old bat for never seeing her taping on her full potential as a hero

I think that how seriously Bruce took Steph as Robin varied wildly from issue to issue, because the writers couldn’t decide. Some writers portrayed Bruce being Robin as a ploy to get Tim back, while others treated her seriously, and had her and Bruce have a genuinely strong relationship before everything went wrong.

Bruce sees things in Steph: parallels to Jason, which he typically reacts badly to, but he also sees her for her stubbornness and kindness, for the way she is, in many ways, exactly what he’s fighting for. Their relationship is fraught, but it also has deep and wonderful moments that speak to the potential there. (For more of my thoughts on Steph as Robin, and her relationship with Bruce, check out this post.) 

If you want to see how I think Steph’s run might have gone, I’ve written two fics where Steph remains as Robin: Allegro Vivace and The Hardest Part is Over, with the later being an alternate take on my trans!Steph universe. 

Steph’s skills are, it’s true, different from a lot of other members of the Bat Family. She’s not a world-class acrobat, the world’s greatest martial artist, the world’s greatest detective, the queen of hackers, doesn’t have superpowers, and doesn’t have the luxury of having extreme ninja/assassin training. 

But. 

Steph is incredibly creative when it comes to her fighting, and improvising her way through situations. 

(Batgirl #5)

Steph doesn’t really have a signature weapon, unlike most of the others. Instead, she uses whatever she can get her hands on, and uses it well. Sure, sometimes she’s outmatched, but she’s smart, quick on her feet, and is not going to give up for anything. No matter how much she’s been hurt, she gets back up. Concussion? Just been shot? Let’s break out of the ambulance and go off on a superhero adventure. 

To say that Steph isn’t anything special completely misses the point. She could have been ordinary. 

She’s outclassed, outmatched. She doesn’t have billion dollar budgets or special training, and she’s not a one-in-a-million genius. She’s an ordinary girl, an abuse victim, a sexual abuse survivor, a teenage mom. By all rights, she should be the civilian girlfriend, or even just a supporting character. 

But she took her fate into her own hands. She sewed herself a costume, and went and painted clues to her father’s games onto the side of buildings. She hits Robin with a brick because she thinks that he’s a bad guy. She sees Cassandra Cain, with all of her trauma and her walls, and decides that they’re going to be best friends. She hears how everyone is telling her to stay home, to put away the cape, and she never gives up. 

Stephanie Brown is extraordinary. Just as Bruce is spectacular because he’s a human man who fights alongside gods and aliens and kings, Stephanie Brown is spectacular because she is an ordinary girl who has looked around at this group of top-notch fighters, detectives, and martial artists, and decided “yep. I’m going to do what they do.”