The Renegade Robins Club joins Stephanie Brown once more as she discovers her boyfriend’s secret identity thanks to the help of a certain Dark Knight! (You know, Tim, maybe you should’ve stepped it up last time and revealed it yourself!)
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Here’s our schedule: 2021-12-15T06:00:00Z → 2021-12-31T06:00:00Z
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Spoiler Alert!
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We’re skipping Robin #89-91 due to their Steph shortage.
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We begin with the aftermath of the Batman storyline Officer Down, which was recently read by the Birds of Prey book club!
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We get a crossover into the Green Arrow storyline Quiver.
This Month's Issues
I. Secrets Revealed (Dec. 15-22)
II. A Leap of Faith (Dec. 23-31)
Discussion Question: Batman finally seems willing to make Spoiler a proper part of the Bat-Family. Do you think that she’s ready? (And should Batman actually stick with this decision rather than going back on it at some point and causing some major problems for everyone involved?)
Poll Question:
Was Batman right to reveal Tim’s identity to Stephanie?
Thanks for stopping by! See you in two weeks, @RenegadeRobinsClub! The Joker will be crashing the party, and he insists on having the Last Laugh!
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Steph also meets Cass for the first time in Robin #88, in addition to her first teamup with Batgirl in #20
I really like the effects of this storyline, even though I’m annoyed of course with Batman’s mistake in doing so without telling Tim first.
I think Steph is definitely ready, though of course different writers disagree, and write her as incompetent. But Dixon wrote her as a good, competent vigilante, and so I think she was definitely ready. I think Batman should DEFINITELY have stuck with that decision, but unfortunately, Bruce Wayne: Murderer would happen in a few months, and destroy all of the connections he had to his family for a long time, and he wouldn’t really get it back until after War Games, possibly not even until after his “death” in RIP.
My own questions: Do people like artist Pete Woods’s style in these issues, or prefer his current style seen in things like Justice League by Priest?
There’s a LOT going on in Tim’s life, and so reading these issues for Steph (which is what I do) can be a bit confusing. I’m sure Steph felt the same way!
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I’m always tempted to skip over Tim’s scenes. I’ve never liked him all that much. 
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heh, I love Tim, but not nearly as much as I love Steph! 
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Red Robin and Spoiler together are in my top 10 romances in comics
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Awww, yeah! They are so sweet!
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It’s hard to say at this stage – it’s interesting in that in previous times we’ve seen Batman formally invite a young hero into the fold, it’s been after a while of personal training before going out on the field, like Post-Crisis Jason and Tim. With Steph, she’s already out in the field and he’s training her on the field. And we see her fumble with stuff that the rest of the Bat-Family handles with ease, like the grapple gun.
As for the issues themselves – the Robin issues were okay enough, but the highlights here are the issues of Green Arrow and Batgirl.
With Green Arrow, it’s funny because I remember how verbose these Kevin Smith issues were – I mean, it’s Kevin Smith – but I didn’t remember just how referential they were. I swear there was an editorial note on every other panel! It was fun seeing Steph being the one bouncing off of Batman while examining Oliver – really shows off the potential for her and Bruce having a good dynamic together.
It’s funny – after that scene I kinda speed reading to finish up the issue and got confused when I thought Stephanie showed up again, turns out Mia Dearden is also a young blonde with a long ponytail. 
Now I’m wondering if the two have ever met…
I also really liked Batgirl #20, if not just for the start of Stephanie’s bond with Cassandra. While I’ve liked Steph well enough in the pages of Robin, I do think she kind of came across as two-dimensional at times, because in the pages of Robin, when she’s not yearning over Robin, she’s dealing with her arch-nemesis Captain Daddy Issues – I mean – the Cluemaster. I think giving Steph a best friend, someone completely different from her but becoming close, was one of the best things that’s happened to Stephanie, and helped her grow into her own character in her own right, outside of being Robin’s girlfriend, and it’s a bond that still works even today. 
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I really think that when they are getting along well enough, the Steph and Bruce dynamic is a really good one. It’s why I am so sad about the way her Robin run went.
I’m not 100% sure, but they might have met in Wonder Woman #600.
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