Stephanie Brown To Return To Gotham City Next Year [NYCC 2013]

Few absent characters in comics have caused the kind of internet outcry that Stephanie Brown has. A favorite of many readers from her time as Spoiler through her turns as Robin and eventually Batgirl, her unexplained disappearance when DC Comics launched the New 52 was the cause of much debate, with some eventually assuming that she’d never return.

But Scott Snyder thought she would. And on DC Comics' Batman panel at New York Comic Con today, the “showrunner” for the upcoming weekly Batman: Eternal series revealed to a delighted crowd that Stephanie Brown will be returning to Gotham City in the pages of Batman: Eternal next year.

Snyder broke the news in the middle of the panel when moderator, and DC VP of Marketing, John Cunningham took a question from an audience member who wanted to know when and if Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain would be back in the DC Universe. Snyder didn’t make her, and everyone else in attendance, wait for the book's launch next spring to discover that Stephanie will appear in Batman: Eternals #3, due out next spring. Snyder also shared that it wasBatman: Eternalco-writer James Tynion IV who came up with the idea of reintroducing the character in the series.

With Barbara Gordon reclaiming the Batgirl title since the New 52 launched, it’s uncertain what Stephanie Brown’s role will be upon her return. But the internet has about six months to speculate, and maybe design some New 52-style Spoiler costumes, though I'm not sure how you get a high collar to stand out underneath a full mask and hoodie.