Application
Character Information
General
Canon Source: DC Comics
Canon Format: American Comic Books
Character's Name: Stephanie Brown
Character's Age: 19
What form will your character's NV take?
A modern sliding phone, as seen in comics.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Stephanie started out her life as a vigilante with nothing more than a lot of attitude and a few years on the gymnastics team in school. She learned to fight from the Robin at the time, Tim Drake. Later she managed to befriend such big names as Dinah Lance (Black Canary), Barbara Gordon (Oracle), and Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), all three of whom took the time to teach her some skills.
From Dinah Stephanie likely learned modern fighting styles used in boxing and street fighting, the same skills Dinah learned from her teacher Wildcat.
From Cassandra Stephanie likely picked up the older fighting styles used in various Asian countries.
From Barbara Gordon Stephanie learned how to train relentlessly and think (smartly) on her feet.
Through these teachers Stephanie fights using a mix of styles all her own, favoring gymnastics and keeping on the move. She uses her size and figure to her advantage to keep her opponents firing at thin air.
Outside of the ring, Stephanie picks up interesting tidbits of information from all around her and knows how to play piano and cook waffles. Although she never bothered to put the pieces together to uncover Batman’s secret identity on her own, once Stephanie entered college she was a virtual wormhole of information, picking something up from everyone she met. Because of this she knows a few interesting bits of trivia from most college majors as well as things she has picked up on the job.
It is assumed although not often addressed that Stephanie also possesses a better-than-average knowledge of first aid and basic medicine, battle tactics, government and economy, detective/police work, some basic computer hacking skills, and various other areas that might benefit a Gotham vigilante.
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them?
At the end of her series, Stephanie is so emotional and optimistic that she is actually brought to tears. In honor of the (in my opinion) inspirational ending and keeping with her mood at the time of her arrival in Siren's Port, Stephanie will have the ability to affect people near her physically with her mood at the time. She literally inspires people with her emotions. This ability is only under her control as much as her own emotions are, which is to say not to any great extent. This power is essentially reverse empathy.
Weapons:
Stephanie’s utility belt includes standard Bat-fare: Batarangs, smoke bombs, exploding batarangs, grapnel gun, zip wire, etc. etc. etc. Her weapon of choice is a collapsible Bo staff, attached at her hip.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History: This is very comprehensive, although it can be written out by myself upon request.
Point in Canon: The end of Batgirl #24 - the end of her series, before the universe shifts and the New 52 begins.
Character Personality:
To put it simply, Stephanie Brown and the second Batgirl series are about two things: personal growth and second chances.
From the beginning of her creation Stephanie was meant as a plot device to be impulsive, unpredictable, and headstrong. Every major event in her life started as an ill-advised impulse, be it donning a costume and taking to the rooftops to fight crime or leaving Gotham for a year and allowing everyone she knew to believe she was dead. It isn’t until recent canon that Stephanie learns to curb some of her impulses and take responsibility for the ones that she doesn’t curb.
From the beginning of her time as Batgirl until the end of her series, the audience can watch as Stephanie’s ‘internal monologue’ problem becomes less and less external. Although she still has trouble holding her tongue, Stephanie no longer has a problem with talking to herself or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Although her fighting style is mostly impulsive, it can be seen near the end of the series that she plans her actions more and more. She still has the tendency to go in to a fight with no real plan, but her plan develops over the course of the fight until she succeeds.
The biggest development in Stephanie’s character from the beginning of her creation until the end is that she is no longer easy to manipulate. Several times throughout her history Stephanie has been manipulated or tricked into doing things that she regretted almost instantly.
Upon Batman’s return to life, Stephanie is at first strung along by his plan for her. By the end of the day, not only has she solved his puzzle, but she is furious that he has once again tried to manipulate her. In a fight later on she takes her future into her own hands and informs him that he has no right to take away from her an identity that she has created for herself and developed without him (i.e. Batgirl). While it is somewhat discrediting that Batman approves of her outburst and allows her to keep the Batgirl identity, this was a big moment for Stephanie in which she stops letting other people determine her fate.
One thing that hasn’t changed from Stephanie’s beginning to her end is her stubborn streak. Once her pride and determination made her easy to manipulate as long as she could be convinced that her desires where the same as whomsoever was trying to manipulate her.
In the present, Stephanie fights tooth and nail for her own future and for who she wants to be rather than who she thinks other people want her to be. Her stubbornness over the course of her life transforms from a desperate dependence on others to a strong independence that carries her into the future with a sense of strength and optimism.
In the very last issue of her title series, Stephanie makes an interesting transition. In the past she is shown to be highly motivated by romance and, as she puts it, ‘cute boys’. Throughout the Batgirl series a very prominent (and obviously attractive) romantic interest makes an appearance and Stephanie appears to be trying to pursue him. In the last issue, however, she tells him that he should go out with her mentor Barbara Gordon. For the first time that we have seen, Stephanie considers the situation and decides to do something nice for Barbara, who has helped her grow and develop almost immeasurably throughout her life.
In the end of her series, Stephanie has changed from a child dependent on the help and guidance of others into a guide in her own right. She also goes through a great deal of effort to help Barbara’s replacement, Wendy, through a very hard time in her life. It is clear that Stephanie relates to Wendy’s troubled past and family life and because of that she wants to help.
Despite this improvement in Stephanie's decision making process, she is still known to be a bit of a flirt and highly socially awkward. This doesn't seem to stop her from making friends so much as it stops people from taking her seriously. This can be and is used to her advantage as Batgirl, but is mostly damaging to her self-esteem at times as Stephanie Brown. The friends she holds in closest regard are those who share her difficulty in social interactions and don't have many friends as a consequence (see: Cassandra Cain, Kara Zor-El, and perhaps even Damian Wayne).
Stephanie no longer fights purely for the excitement or to show off. Another notable development shown in the Batgirl series is that she has learned to fight for the people around her simply because it’s the right thing to do. Although it took three agonizing years, Stephanie’s moral compass now points strong and virtuous.
From the beginning of the Batgirl series she has something to prove and selfish motivations similar to those seen in her earlier appearances as a side character in Tim Drake's Robin series. By the time the final plot line of Batgirl makes itself known she realizes that she doesn’t have to prove herself to anyone. This is especially poignant in the job of a vigilante in Gotham, where there is very little thanks, help, or appreciation. Realizing this makes Stephanie’s job much easier to bear and her sense of self and purpose much stronger.
At her core, Stephanie is a very caring girl. Although she is willing to hide or bend the truth to get what she wants, in the end she wants to be honest with the people she cares about. She is okay with keeping her nighttime activities a secret when her mother tries to stop her, but once her relationship with her mother grows into something more positive she feels bad about her dishonesty.
Stephanie seems the happiest at the end of the Batgirl series, when her mother has uncovered her secret and given her approval. Although she has come to terms with the previous years in which everyone who knew her tried to convince her to stop work as a vigilante, the approval of the ones she loves still means a lot to Stephanie. She simply won’t let the lack thereof hold her back anymore.
A prominent aspect of Stephanie's personality is her love of fun, which hasn't changed much since the beginning of her time as a vigilante. It takes on a new perspective for her in current times but it is still a motivator in a lot of the things she does. As her original superhero name (The Spoiler - because she spoils things, get it?) suggests, she has a love of puns, media references and the rhetoric that often comes along with comic book vigilantism. She doesn't take for granted the exciting things that other vigilantes do a hundred times a night, but rather takes joy in them and life as a whole.
She has never been afraid to speak her mind even in the heat of battle. This can cause strife in her personal life, but she is able to overcome it in most circumstances by taking a step back, analyzing the core of the problem, and letting her anger or misconceptions or prejudices go. In battle the back and forth dialogue does nothing to distract her anymore. Rather, it appears to be a benefit in distracting and sometimes confusing or enraging her opponents.
Stephanie has the tendency to take the seriousness out of a situation with her dry, down-to-earth humor that reminds us that it's probably a school night and she probably has a pile of homework she hasn't even started on yet. One of the more lovable traits of Stephanie's as a character is how easy she is for readers to relate to despite the more outrageous aspects of her life.
Her ability to let things go and remain optimistic despite a lifetime of trauma and mistakes is and has been the one thing that keeps Stephanie alive against all odds. It may have been a need for revenge and a strong hatred that drove her to don the costume of Spoiler and take up arms against her own father, but it was the hope that she could do something better with her life that kept Stephanie from becoming like her father in the first place. She has a very clear vision of the ideal world, and although at times it has made her depressed more recently we have been shown that it drives her onward. Stephanie Brown is, more than anything, able to let go of past mistakes and work towards a better future.
Stephanie is also the type to pry and ask questions where she isn't wanted. It is a quality that makes her a good vigilante as well as a trouble magnet. Her curiosity caused desperate trouble in her relationship with Tim to the extent that they nearly broke up once she uncovered his secret identity. Her curiosity can get her in trouble just as easily as it can earn her friendships and valuable information. Stephanie can rarely resist prying into other people's lives, and once she does she sees the value in them. Her compassionate nature allows her to wriggle her way into even the hardest of hearts.
The trait that allows Stephanie to fit in with the odd-ball group that comprises the Bat Family is her willingness to accept things she doesn’t understand. This is most obvious in the cases of Cassandra Cain and the revival of Bruce Wayne.
Although Cassandra didn’t talk at all or understand Stephanie’s culture at first, through patience and her desire to be helpful Stephanie was able to not only befriend the quiet assassin but also teach her to read and speak more often. Stephanie isn’t the type to discard someone or make fun of someone because they’re different - in fact, she seems more likely to embrace them because of it. The same attitude applies to unusual situations. When Bruce Wayne returns from the dead (“or the past or whatever”), Stephanie doesn’t waste her time with questions the answers to which she wouldn’t understand. Instead, she takes the incident for what it is and moves on. Unfortunately, this attitude also lends to a lack of any aptitude in technology. Stephanie is much more likely to take someone else’s programming and accept that it works that try to figure it out for herself. Anything strange or different she takes in stride and uses however she can.
Her biggest weakness, if it can be called such, is Stephanie's love of children. Perhaps stemming from her abusive childhood and the baby she gave up at the age of 16, Stephanie is shown to be particularly sensitive to the plight of children, especially those being abused without their knowledge or understanding. This is seen most recently in her interactions with Damian Wayne.
Damian is very much a child without a childhood, and for that Stephanie sympathizes with him and wishes to help him understand what he's missed. This link between the two of them even goes so far as to at least partially dissolve the grudge between the two caused by Stephanie being a replacement for Damian's idol (Cassandra Cane) and Damian being a bratty 11-year-old. As easy as it is to become frustrated with a child who has the sort of attitude Damian has, she cannot help but feel for him and the lack of 'fun' in his life.
All told, Stephanie Brown is the result of three years of character development that took her from a side character meant solely to cause trouble as needed to a strong young adult with a sense of individuality and purpose. She is a caring, strong-willed vigilante with a miserable past that allows her to relate to people in a way that nobody bothered trying to relate to her. She has no illusions of saving the world - but she could certainly make it a better place.
Character Plans:
My main plan for Stephanie is to take the character development that the writers left her with at the end of her series and see it through into her adulthood. I would like for her to develop civilian relationships that don’t revolve around her old obsession with boys or manipulating people for information. I would also like to develop some vigilante relationships that go beyond teamwork and explore her developing tendency to help other people get through their own personal troubles like Barbara did for her.
Stephanie’s plans on the other hand are more along the lines of ‘enjoy the break from college, make some friends, save the day, blah blah blah.’
Appearance/PB:
Here.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
{ The video shows a young blonde eyeing the screen suspiciously. }
Okay. So I crash landed on a military baseball field, got a professional escort the heck out of Dodge, was handed the keys to a shiny new apartment and ushered into crazy town. As many questions as this raises, I think my first one's gotta be where the heck did Toto get to, and how come I wasn't given a dance number with the Lollipop Guild?
No, really, I think I saw someone flying on my way here. Like, without a plane flying. I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job keeping my cool here, and I deserve a lollipop and an audience with the fairy queen.
{ Sighs. Let's run through the list again, this time with feeling. }
So, I’ve got the future-tech-went-crazy, things that go bump in the night, Bad Inc. and Bad Corp., apparently some time travel and more than a few alternate dimensions, superpowers, tv characters, and somewhere between cloning and large-scale memory loss. { Looks down at the nine splayed fingers, entwines them to stretch her fingers and then her arms over her head. Then back at the screen. } Anything else I’m missing? Maybe a hidden camera or too much pizza before bed last night? { She doesn't look too hopeful. }
Third Person Sample
If becoming Batgirl was her big promotion, it looked like Siren's Port was her transfer to corporate. Stephanie had only been in the city for a few hours and already it looked to be in even worse condition than Gotham itself. Batman could give her the run-down of both companies more or less in control of the place, but it was up to her to get a feel for the new territory. Thus far it felt grimy. People liked to say that Gotham was diseased. Those people would probably tell her that Siren's Port was terminal.
In the Darkness, only the best and the worst of people came out. Earlier in the night there had been a few people just trying to get home, but now it was well after bedtime for the city's innocent and anyone caught on the street was likely to end up dead. Monsters human and creature alike roamed the shadows like it was going out of style and it seemed like every last one of them was out for blood.
As though the night wasn't bad enough, there were more than enough hints at something crueler and even more sinister taking place during the day. She found used up weapons in gunned-up alleyways, abandoned labs that held hints of things she didn't even want to think about, and more than a few shacks that looked like they'd been ransacked by something definitively human.
All in all the place was screwed, whether the companies managed to get everyone out or not. Stephanie couldn't begin to understand the technology or the magic behind the Core, so she wouldn't bother to involve herself with either company unless Batman ordered her to. If someone found a way out, she would make sure that everyone got out, not just the lucky affiliated. It was the 'everyone' that Stephanie was more concerned about. What was the point in escaping if everyone in the city wound up killing each other?
On her patrol tonight Batgirl was more grim and focused than usual, but the same energy that put a hop in her step was stirring a fire in her heart. Tonight she would see the dark side of the city - literally and figuratively - and tomorrow she would begin setting it to rights. If it meant sacrificing her secret, her identity, or both, she would make sure that there were living, breathing people to escape the pull of the Core.
General
Canon Source: DC Comics
Canon Format: American Comic Books
Character's Name: Stephanie Brown
Character's Age: 19
What form will your character's NV take?
A modern sliding phone, as seen in comics.
Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities:
Stephanie started out her life as a vigilante with nothing more than a lot of attitude and a few years on the gymnastics team in school. She learned to fight from the Robin at the time, Tim Drake. Later she managed to befriend such big names as Dinah Lance (Black Canary), Barbara Gordon (Oracle), and Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), all three of whom took the time to teach her some skills.
From Dinah Stephanie likely learned modern fighting styles used in boxing and street fighting, the same skills Dinah learned from her teacher Wildcat.
From Cassandra Stephanie likely picked up the older fighting styles used in various Asian countries.
From Barbara Gordon Stephanie learned how to train relentlessly and think (smartly) on her feet.
Through these teachers Stephanie fights using a mix of styles all her own, favoring gymnastics and keeping on the move. She uses her size and figure to her advantage to keep her opponents firing at thin air.
Outside of the ring, Stephanie picks up interesting tidbits of information from all around her and knows how to play piano and cook waffles. Although she never bothered to put the pieces together to uncover Batman’s secret identity on her own, once Stephanie entered college she was a virtual wormhole of information, picking something up from everyone she met. Because of this she knows a few interesting bits of trivia from most college majors as well as things she has picked up on the job.
It is assumed although not often addressed that Stephanie also possesses a better-than-average knowledge of first aid and basic medicine, battle tactics, government and economy, detective/police work, some basic computer hacking skills, and various other areas that might benefit a Gotham vigilante.
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them?
At the end of her series, Stephanie is so emotional and optimistic that she is actually brought to tears. In honor of the (in my opinion) inspirational ending and keeping with her mood at the time of her arrival in Siren's Port, Stephanie will have the ability to affect people near her physically with her mood at the time. She literally inspires people with her emotions. This ability is only under her control as much as her own emotions are, which is to say not to any great extent. This power is essentially reverse empathy.
Weapons:
Stephanie’s utility belt includes standard Bat-fare: Batarangs, smoke bombs, exploding batarangs, grapnel gun, zip wire, etc. etc. etc. Her weapon of choice is a collapsible Bo staff, attached at her hip.
History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History: This is very comprehensive, although it can be written out by myself upon request.
Point in Canon: The end of Batgirl #24 - the end of her series, before the universe shifts and the New 52 begins.
Character Personality:
To put it simply, Stephanie Brown and the second Batgirl series are about two things: personal growth and second chances.
From the beginning of her creation Stephanie was meant as a plot device to be impulsive, unpredictable, and headstrong. Every major event in her life started as an ill-advised impulse, be it donning a costume and taking to the rooftops to fight crime or leaving Gotham for a year and allowing everyone she knew to believe she was dead. It isn’t until recent canon that Stephanie learns to curb some of her impulses and take responsibility for the ones that she doesn’t curb.
From the beginning of her time as Batgirl until the end of her series, the audience can watch as Stephanie’s ‘internal monologue’ problem becomes less and less external. Although she still has trouble holding her tongue, Stephanie no longer has a problem with talking to herself or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Although her fighting style is mostly impulsive, it can be seen near the end of the series that she plans her actions more and more. She still has the tendency to go in to a fight with no real plan, but her plan develops over the course of the fight until she succeeds.
The biggest development in Stephanie’s character from the beginning of her creation until the end is that she is no longer easy to manipulate. Several times throughout her history Stephanie has been manipulated or tricked into doing things that she regretted almost instantly.
Upon Batman’s return to life, Stephanie is at first strung along by his plan for her. By the end of the day, not only has she solved his puzzle, but she is furious that he has once again tried to manipulate her. In a fight later on she takes her future into her own hands and informs him that he has no right to take away from her an identity that she has created for herself and developed without him (i.e. Batgirl). While it is somewhat discrediting that Batman approves of her outburst and allows her to keep the Batgirl identity, this was a big moment for Stephanie in which she stops letting other people determine her fate.
One thing that hasn’t changed from Stephanie’s beginning to her end is her stubborn streak. Once her pride and determination made her easy to manipulate as long as she could be convinced that her desires where the same as whomsoever was trying to manipulate her.
In the present, Stephanie fights tooth and nail for her own future and for who she wants to be rather than who she thinks other people want her to be. Her stubbornness over the course of her life transforms from a desperate dependence on others to a strong independence that carries her into the future with a sense of strength and optimism.
In the very last issue of her title series, Stephanie makes an interesting transition. In the past she is shown to be highly motivated by romance and, as she puts it, ‘cute boys’. Throughout the Batgirl series a very prominent (and obviously attractive) romantic interest makes an appearance and Stephanie appears to be trying to pursue him. In the last issue, however, she tells him that he should go out with her mentor Barbara Gordon. For the first time that we have seen, Stephanie considers the situation and decides to do something nice for Barbara, who has helped her grow and develop almost immeasurably throughout her life.
In the end of her series, Stephanie has changed from a child dependent on the help and guidance of others into a guide in her own right. She also goes through a great deal of effort to help Barbara’s replacement, Wendy, through a very hard time in her life. It is clear that Stephanie relates to Wendy’s troubled past and family life and because of that she wants to help.
Despite this improvement in Stephanie's decision making process, she is still known to be a bit of a flirt and highly socially awkward. This doesn't seem to stop her from making friends so much as it stops people from taking her seriously. This can be and is used to her advantage as Batgirl, but is mostly damaging to her self-esteem at times as Stephanie Brown. The friends she holds in closest regard are those who share her difficulty in social interactions and don't have many friends as a consequence (see: Cassandra Cain, Kara Zor-El, and perhaps even Damian Wayne).
Stephanie no longer fights purely for the excitement or to show off. Another notable development shown in the Batgirl series is that she has learned to fight for the people around her simply because it’s the right thing to do. Although it took three agonizing years, Stephanie’s moral compass now points strong and virtuous.
From the beginning of the Batgirl series she has something to prove and selfish motivations similar to those seen in her earlier appearances as a side character in Tim Drake's Robin series. By the time the final plot line of Batgirl makes itself known she realizes that she doesn’t have to prove herself to anyone. This is especially poignant in the job of a vigilante in Gotham, where there is very little thanks, help, or appreciation. Realizing this makes Stephanie’s job much easier to bear and her sense of self and purpose much stronger.
At her core, Stephanie is a very caring girl. Although she is willing to hide or bend the truth to get what she wants, in the end she wants to be honest with the people she cares about. She is okay with keeping her nighttime activities a secret when her mother tries to stop her, but once her relationship with her mother grows into something more positive she feels bad about her dishonesty.
Stephanie seems the happiest at the end of the Batgirl series, when her mother has uncovered her secret and given her approval. Although she has come to terms with the previous years in which everyone who knew her tried to convince her to stop work as a vigilante, the approval of the ones she loves still means a lot to Stephanie. She simply won’t let the lack thereof hold her back anymore.
A prominent aspect of Stephanie's personality is her love of fun, which hasn't changed much since the beginning of her time as a vigilante. It takes on a new perspective for her in current times but it is still a motivator in a lot of the things she does. As her original superhero name (The Spoiler - because she spoils things, get it?) suggests, she has a love of puns, media references and the rhetoric that often comes along with comic book vigilantism. She doesn't take for granted the exciting things that other vigilantes do a hundred times a night, but rather takes joy in them and life as a whole.
She has never been afraid to speak her mind even in the heat of battle. This can cause strife in her personal life, but she is able to overcome it in most circumstances by taking a step back, analyzing the core of the problem, and letting her anger or misconceptions or prejudices go. In battle the back and forth dialogue does nothing to distract her anymore. Rather, it appears to be a benefit in distracting and sometimes confusing or enraging her opponents.
Stephanie has the tendency to take the seriousness out of a situation with her dry, down-to-earth humor that reminds us that it's probably a school night and she probably has a pile of homework she hasn't even started on yet. One of the more lovable traits of Stephanie's as a character is how easy she is for readers to relate to despite the more outrageous aspects of her life.
Her ability to let things go and remain optimistic despite a lifetime of trauma and mistakes is and has been the one thing that keeps Stephanie alive against all odds. It may have been a need for revenge and a strong hatred that drove her to don the costume of Spoiler and take up arms against her own father, but it was the hope that she could do something better with her life that kept Stephanie from becoming like her father in the first place. She has a very clear vision of the ideal world, and although at times it has made her depressed more recently we have been shown that it drives her onward. Stephanie Brown is, more than anything, able to let go of past mistakes and work towards a better future.
Stephanie is also the type to pry and ask questions where she isn't wanted. It is a quality that makes her a good vigilante as well as a trouble magnet. Her curiosity caused desperate trouble in her relationship with Tim to the extent that they nearly broke up once she uncovered his secret identity. Her curiosity can get her in trouble just as easily as it can earn her friendships and valuable information. Stephanie can rarely resist prying into other people's lives, and once she does she sees the value in them. Her compassionate nature allows her to wriggle her way into even the hardest of hearts.
The trait that allows Stephanie to fit in with the odd-ball group that comprises the Bat Family is her willingness to accept things she doesn’t understand. This is most obvious in the cases of Cassandra Cain and the revival of Bruce Wayne.
Although Cassandra didn’t talk at all or understand Stephanie’s culture at first, through patience and her desire to be helpful Stephanie was able to not only befriend the quiet assassin but also teach her to read and speak more often. Stephanie isn’t the type to discard someone or make fun of someone because they’re different - in fact, she seems more likely to embrace them because of it. The same attitude applies to unusual situations. When Bruce Wayne returns from the dead (“or the past or whatever”), Stephanie doesn’t waste her time with questions the answers to which she wouldn’t understand. Instead, she takes the incident for what it is and moves on. Unfortunately, this attitude also lends to a lack of any aptitude in technology. Stephanie is much more likely to take someone else’s programming and accept that it works that try to figure it out for herself. Anything strange or different she takes in stride and uses however she can.
Her biggest weakness, if it can be called such, is Stephanie's love of children. Perhaps stemming from her abusive childhood and the baby she gave up at the age of 16, Stephanie is shown to be particularly sensitive to the plight of children, especially those being abused without their knowledge or understanding. This is seen most recently in her interactions with Damian Wayne.
Damian is very much a child without a childhood, and for that Stephanie sympathizes with him and wishes to help him understand what he's missed. This link between the two of them even goes so far as to at least partially dissolve the grudge between the two caused by Stephanie being a replacement for Damian's idol (Cassandra Cane) and Damian being a bratty 11-year-old. As easy as it is to become frustrated with a child who has the sort of attitude Damian has, she cannot help but feel for him and the lack of 'fun' in his life.
All told, Stephanie Brown is the result of three years of character development that took her from a side character meant solely to cause trouble as needed to a strong young adult with a sense of individuality and purpose. She is a caring, strong-willed vigilante with a miserable past that allows her to relate to people in a way that nobody bothered trying to relate to her. She has no illusions of saving the world - but she could certainly make it a better place.
Character Plans:
My main plan for Stephanie is to take the character development that the writers left her with at the end of her series and see it through into her adulthood. I would like for her to develop civilian relationships that don’t revolve around her old obsession with boys or manipulating people for information. I would also like to develop some vigilante relationships that go beyond teamwork and explore her developing tendency to help other people get through their own personal troubles like Barbara did for her.
Stephanie’s plans on the other hand are more along the lines of ‘enjoy the break from college, make some friends, save the day, blah blah blah.’
Appearance/PB:
Here.
Writing Samples
First Person Sample
{ The video shows a young blonde eyeing the screen suspiciously. }
Okay. So I crash landed on a military baseball field, got a professional escort the heck out of Dodge, was handed the keys to a shiny new apartment and ushered into crazy town. As many questions as this raises, I think my first one's gotta be where the heck did Toto get to, and how come I wasn't given a dance number with the Lollipop Guild?
No, really, I think I saw someone flying on my way here. Like, without a plane flying. I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job keeping my cool here, and I deserve a lollipop and an audience with the fairy queen.
{ Sighs. Let's run through the list again, this time with feeling. }
So, I’ve got the future-tech-went-crazy, things that go bump in the night, Bad Inc. and Bad Corp., apparently some time travel and more than a few alternate dimensions, superpowers, tv characters, and somewhere between cloning and large-scale memory loss. { Looks down at the nine splayed fingers, entwines them to stretch her fingers and then her arms over her head. Then back at the screen. } Anything else I’m missing? Maybe a hidden camera or too much pizza before bed last night? { She doesn't look too hopeful. }
Third Person Sample
If becoming Batgirl was her big promotion, it looked like Siren's Port was her transfer to corporate. Stephanie had only been in the city for a few hours and already it looked to be in even worse condition than Gotham itself. Batman could give her the run-down of both companies more or less in control of the place, but it was up to her to get a feel for the new territory. Thus far it felt grimy. People liked to say that Gotham was diseased. Those people would probably tell her that Siren's Port was terminal.
In the Darkness, only the best and the worst of people came out. Earlier in the night there had been a few people just trying to get home, but now it was well after bedtime for the city's innocent and anyone caught on the street was likely to end up dead. Monsters human and creature alike roamed the shadows like it was going out of style and it seemed like every last one of them was out for blood.
As though the night wasn't bad enough, there were more than enough hints at something crueler and even more sinister taking place during the day. She found used up weapons in gunned-up alleyways, abandoned labs that held hints of things she didn't even want to think about, and more than a few shacks that looked like they'd been ransacked by something definitively human.
All in all the place was screwed, whether the companies managed to get everyone out or not. Stephanie couldn't begin to understand the technology or the magic behind the Core, so she wouldn't bother to involve herself with either company unless Batman ordered her to. If someone found a way out, she would make sure that everyone got out, not just the lucky affiliated. It was the 'everyone' that Stephanie was more concerned about. What was the point in escaping if everyone in the city wound up killing each other?
On her patrol tonight Batgirl was more grim and focused than usual, but the same energy that put a hop in her step was stirring a fire in her heart. Tonight she would see the dark side of the city - literally and figuratively - and tomorrow she would begin setting it to rights. If it meant sacrificing her secret, her identity, or both, she would make sure that there were living, breathing people to escape the pull of the Core.