ctrosejr

May 24, 2012 9:57 am @Ken: They have not addressed or mentioned Steph in the new Batgirl series. They only make mention of the fact that Barbra was Batgirl, then was not Batgirl because of her injury, and is now Batgirl again. No mention of there ever being any other Batgirl -- Cass or Steph. To me, this leaves the door open for Steph and/or Cass to have been Batgirl, just on a compressed timeline.

May 24, 2012 9:46 am Robin... go...wait in the batmobile.

May 23, 2012 12:39 pm The easiest thing for DC to do would be to re-introduce Stephanie in Batman, Inc., Vol. 2 as Spoiler and act as if she's always been Spoiler (i.e., retcon her time as Batgirl). Morrison would not have to address the costume change; he would be able to move forward and tell the story he wants to tell. Another option would be to bring her back in Teen Titans as Spoiler, likely de-aged so that she's the age of Tim. Under this scenario, it's a reboot. She's never been Batgirl, but it's okay because we get to see her develop and grow with Tim. My preferred option: As a part of DC's Wave 3 books this fall, Bryan Q. Miller launches a title called "Spoiler", wherein he explains why Steph is putting back on the Spoiler costume after her time as Batgirl, much like Kyle Higgins did with Nightwing after being Batman. In this scenario, Steph is still likely de-aged to be the same age as Tim, but she would retain all of her previous adventures as Spoiler and Batgirl.

May 23, 2012 10:27 am Great article, again! I love Steph Brown. She's definitely in my top 5 of all characters. Here's hoping she makes her triumphant return in Batman, Inc.!

May 21, 2012 12:24 pm Such language from the Andy Rooney of comics! Jim, we expect better. For shame! (Just kidding. I just wanted to say the "Andy Rooney of comics".)

May 17, 2012 12:21 pm Interesting... I recently read Infinity Gauntlet with no prior Thanos knowledge. I still enjoyed it, but it certainly does feel like I walked in to the movie 20 minutes late. Interesting side note -- two weeks ago, VF/NM copies of Thanos Quest 1 & 2 could be had for around $10 combined. Now, good luck finding a copies for less than $30. I have seen some asking north of $50. I am kicking myself for not pulling the trigger two weeks ago.

May 16, 2012 10:05 pm Thought the art was more than serviceable. LOVED the wedding gown. Loved the progression of the story and the introduction of new characters. Aphrodite is hot! The banter was good, though I had to re-read it in a few spots to get the voice right in my head. And, this book sufficiently creeped me out. It was a close call between this and Saga, but Wonder Woman got my pick of the week.

May 16, 2012 11:00 am Under The Red Hood animated film was really what made me into a fan of Jason Todd. By the time I got back into comics (around the time of Batman & Robin #1), Jason Todd was already back from the dead, so I didn't really know his whole backstory. After I saw the movie, I wanted to know how it had occurred in the comics. It took a lot of work to track down all of the trades necessary to piece together what actually happened to him and fill in all of the missing pieces. (Jeff, if you had written this article 18 months ago, you would have saved me a lot of time and money. Oh well.) Honestly, the movie's depiction of Jason's backstory is much simpler and cleaner. Consequently, his characterization in the movie makes more sense. I wish they would have stuck with it in the books as well.

May 16, 2012 10:51 am Jeff, great article! Personally, I like Jason Todd, despite the fact that writers have sometimes failed to have a good grip on his character. Every family needs a black sheep, even the Bat-Family. Jason fits that role and is a good foil for Bruce, Dick and Tim. He is the quintessential cautionary tale to all who would wear a cape and mask. In Jason's entire muddled, mixed-up history, I think the only thing that really bugs me is when Morrison gave him red hair. While it may makes thematic sense (Jason has to pretend to be something that he's not in order to fit into the role of Robin, red heads are stereotypically hot-headed), it doesn't fit in with post-Crisis continuity. It leaves the reader wondering, "Which Jason is this?" I much preferred when they gave him a stripe of white hair to show that he had been through the Lazarus pit, which still accomplished the thematic "Jason = Different" thing Morrison was going for. I haven't read any of the new "Red Hood and the Outlaws", despite being a Jason Todd fan. My sense is that this incarnation of Jason Todd doesn't really mesh with his history and continuity. He is definitely on Team Bat, given his new outfit, but we don't know how or why he reconciled his views about killing with Bruce's. Without that, I think the evolution of the character would feel hollow., which is why I have stayed away from the book. (If I am wrong on any of this speculation, please straighten me out.)

May 7, 2012 5:08 pm I had not considered the by-laws angle. That's great. It could be a rotating position, or possibly one with a set term limit. (I am sure the show runners have an explanation; they're just not sharing.) Since the events of last season occurred within a single calendar year, it is quite possible that Batman's term was simply up. Love this minutia. Love the internal logic to the show! Again, this is what makes this show so great. It rewards viewers for paying close attention to details. For example, within any given episode, there will be a change, or an event that occurs, that is usually not integral to the plot of a particular episode, which seemingly hangs out there unexplained, allowing the audience to speculate as to its meaning within the larger context of the show. Most of the time, the writers have circled back and explained these plot points, but while they go unexplained, it allows the viewers to think about all the possibilities of what might happen. The membership drive episode is a good example -- the characters raised all of these issues about various candidates (and sitting members), but the answer to the question of "who will be on the League" was not given until a couple of episodes later.