Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd
| Gen Relationship | |
|---|---|
| Relationship: | Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd |
| Alternative name(s): | Even Robins, Dead Robins, Founders of the Dead Robins Club, Misfit Robins |
| Fandom: | Batman |
| Type: | Friendship |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | |
| Archives: | |
| See also: | EvenRobins.net Jason Todd/Stephanie Brown  had a lot of fun with this commission by @our-happygirl500-fan art by writeittypeit, commissioned by our-happygirl500-fan (2019) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Stephanie Brown & Jason Todd refers to the friendship between Stephanie Brown (Spoiler, Robin IV, Batgirl) and Jason Todd (Robin II and Red Hood).
In some cases, fans are not as keen to promote a friendship per se between these two characters, so much as using using their indirect association as a vehicle for exploring their roles in the Batman mythos, specifically with regard to classism.
Overview
Jason Todd was Batman's adopted son and second Robin sidekick. Stephanie Brown very briefly served as Batman's interim Robin.
There has been fan interest in the parallels between these two Robins, dating back to (at the latest) 2004, when Stephanie Brown briefly became Robin, and other characters repeatedly compared her to the late Jason Todd, implying they were similarly doomed to failure. Fans noted further parallels in their backgrounds: poverty, neglect, taking care of their mothers who suffer from drug addictions, their fathers preoccupied with criminal activity and incarceration, and the ambition to prove themselves.
These comparisons and misgivings very soon turned out to be foreshadowing, as Stephanie was also tortured to death in a gruesome spectacle as part of the 2004 War Games storyline. Since the two characters were both fridged, they've come to be known as the Dead Robins, the term used as early as the beginning of 2005. As the fourth and second Robins, they are also known as the Even Robins (which may also be inclusive of the DC Animated Universe version of the second Robin, Tim Drake, largely adapted from the comics version of Jason Todd).
The treatment of Stephanie Brown led to the Girl Wonder fan campaign, one of the complaints being that Stephanie was not given the honor of a memorial case that Jason Todd received. Additionally, some have felt that the treatment of both Stephanie and Jason indicates a consistent trend of blatant classism, specifically barring underprivileged children from the unrealistic power fantasies afforded to wealthier yet otherwise equally flawed characters in the Batman mythos.
The very first direct interaction between the two characters in canon was some brief work-related bickering in Batman and Robin Eternal #4 (2015), part of the experimental New 52 reboot timeline. As the Batfamily team became increasingly popular, Stephanie and Jason began appearing together and interacting more frequently in canon throughout 2022, including the 2022 Robins miniseries and Dark Knights of Steel: Tales from the Three Kingdoms. Batman: Wayne Family Adventures and Task Force Z confirmed the two have developed a friendship.
Since Damian Wayne has also temporarily died, the Dead Robins designation is sometimes used to include him as well, sometimes in the context of a full-fledged Dead Robins Club.
Fan works
Meta
- "A lot like Robin if you close your eyes": Displacement of meaning in the Post-Modern Age by Mary Borsellino
- https://fuckyeahbatgirls.tumblr.com/post/189247354322/our-happygirl500-fan-so-you-know-how-jason-and
- https://m-steraquasgf-restinpeace.tumblr.com/post/144478636692/gracie-jaysteph
- posts tagged "even robins" by our-happygirl500-fan
Fan art
temperarchive.is by mohja (2012)
req: steph and jason being friends (ft disappointed tim) by uncharted-constellations (2020)
DC (fandom): Damian/Jason/Steph are bad robins
Me, an intellectual: No ❤️ by srslyarts (2020)
- was any of it real? was i ever really robin? by dinottosaurs (2023)
Fan fiction
Newly appointed Robin, Stephanie Brown investigates some old history. (Written before Robin #125.)
- "The first time Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown meet, they end up surprising each other."
- "This was not how Jason Todd expected to meet Stephanie Brown."
- "Steph hates the cautionary tale of Jason Todd."
Childhood friends AU.Stephanie is Jason's best friend. She's about to discover that she's Robin's, too.
Then again, every story about Jason seemed to paint a different picture: broken man, or misguided hero, or dangerous zealot who'd had one too many chances, depending on who was doing the telling. If there was one common thread, it was that Jason was a cautionary tale.
Canon rewrite of Batman: Under the Hood.Jason returns to Gotham to find another dead Robin. He steals away with the body and resurrects her, but there begs the question: what will they do?
Destroy Gotham. That's what they'll do.