Stephanie Brown (comics)

Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown as the Spoiler. Cover of Batman: Eternal #24 (September 2014); art by Jason Fabok.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	As Stephanie Brown: Detective Comics #647 (August 1992) As Spoiler: Detective Comics #648 (September 1992) As Robin: Robin #126 (July 2004) As Batgirl: Batgirl #1 (August 2009)
Created by	Chuck Dixon (writer) Tom Lyle (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Stephanie Brown
Team affiliations	Batman Family Batman Inc.
Partnerships	Tim Drake
Supporting character of	Batman
Notable aliases	Spoiler, Robin, Batgirl
Abilities	Highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant Highly skilled acrobat Expert tracker

Stephanie Brown is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #647 (August 1992) and was created by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle.

The daughter of the criminal Cluemaster, the character originated as the amateur crime-fighter named Spoiler. Later, she briefly became the fourth Robin and the third Batgirl. From 2009 to 2011, she was the star of her own ongoing Batgirl comic book series. In 2014, following a company-wide relaunch of all DC Comics titles as the New 52 in 2011, the character returned to the Spoiler identity in Batman Eternal, completely resetting her to the beginning of her crime fighting career. She is the only character to have been both Robin and Batgirl in mainstream continuity.

Stephanie Brown was introduced in a three-issue story arc in Detective Comics #647-649 in which writer Chuck Dixon reinvented a villain called the Cluemaster. Dixon created the Cluemaster's daughter, Stephanie, as simply a plot device for this story, seeking to "spoil" her father's plans. Even so, the character was well received by fans. The following year, Dixon launched the first ongoing Robin series and featured the Spoiler as a foil and love interest for Tim Drake. The character was at the center of a high-profile teen pregnancy storyline in 1998, which caused Wizard Magazine to name Robin the best ongoing comic book of the year. Stephanie remained an integral part of the Robin supporting cast for over a decade, until her death in the 2004 crossover storyline Batman: War Games.