bryverros

[bryverros]

just wanna ask cuz not caught up at all but like did new 52 fuck up every single character or what?? like is it really that horrible all i see is ppl shitting on it

However bad you're thinking, it was worse. Erasing Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown from continuity altogether and regressing Barbara Gordon to being Batgirl again was bad enough, but how about turning the Amazons into slavers and rapists? How about Starfire the emotionless murder-happy sex robot? Wonder Woman dating Superman? Completely undoing the history of characters like Wally West? Introducing fan favorite character Artemis from the Young Justice cartoon and then murdering her in the same issue just to be shocking and edgy? The deliberate appealing exclusively to sweaty shitlord teenaged boys? The poorly thought out slapdash continuity that made no sense? Fucking LOBO?!

The New 52 was bad beyond parody.

[bryverros]

tumblrs ui design is so ass like its so incredibly easy to just misclick and unfollow a beloved long time mutual or follow some cunt instead of blocking them or send someone a random post on accident . and theyre still just like "yeep the only possible improvement our ui could ever use is Make Everything Circles i think. and maybe add a few more buttons nobody uses"

[bryverros]

NO!!!! Characters accepting their sexuality will kill the patient.... She needs deep repression narratives to live

[bryverros]

a heem heem………………………………sshasagjkrhf………… ouhg……..

[bryverros]

I'm not sure if I can put this into words in the way I want, but here goes: As an asexual person myself, the way DC chooses to portray Connor Hawke's asexuality bothers me. It feels like it's always women just... throwing themselves at him, kissing him without his consent, etc. Not only does that feel like a really cheap and dismissive use of all these random female characters (because all women are vixens, amirite?), it also feels like it implies that Connor's issues with this behavior are because he's asexual, not... you know, because being kissed without your consent -- regardless of your sexuality -- is just gross, wrong, and upsetting! Like, he's perfectly justified in pushing these women away. But that shouldn't be used to show that he's ace! Anyone would be justified in pushing away someone who does that! But it's just a lazy, shorthand way of "demonstrating" his sexuality, instead of approaching it with thought and care. It makes it really obvious that writers just don't know how to do that. Additionally, the way they constantly compare Connor's asexuality to Ollie's womanizing feels like a weird value-judgment where one shouldn't exist. I get that Connor being compared -- and comparing himself to -- Ollie is a legitimate thing. It's natural, given they're father and son, and given Connor stepping into the Green Arrow role when he did. People are going to draw those comparisons, and they should, because it's part of both characters' (especially Connor's) perception of themselves. But when you set the comparison up as "oh Ollie sleeps around and Connor is asexual" it makes it seem as if you're saying that Connor is a better person because of his asexuality. Being asexual isn't some state of purity, and it's not the opposite of promiscuity. Sex isn't dirty, and Ollie isn't bad because he experiences sexual attraction. Ollie's problem is that he acts on that attraction recklessly at times, without regard for whom he might be hurting with his actions. Connor doesn't have to be ace in order to make the choice not to do that. He could have just as easily been some flavor of allosexual and just chosen to take more care with his relationships. Instead, though, it often feels as if the writers are framing it as if Connor isn't making a choice to be more thoughtful and deliberate than Ollie, but that he's naturally that way because he's asexual and doesn't experience sexual attraction the way that Ollie does. And while Connor's asexuality is no doubt part of why he is the way he is, it's not all he is. Implying that being asexual is the reason for Connor being Connor is taking away his agency and minimizing the choices he's made in his life. He chose to learn how to control his anger. He chooses to be vegetarian (or vegan -- comics are inconsistent about it). He chooses to continue to follow Buddhist principles. He chooses to follow a different path than Ollie, to approach life in a different way than his father -- not just in terms of how much sex he has or wants to have.

[bryverros]

Green Arrow (2023) #13 Connor Hawke Pride Month variant cover by A.L. Kaplan

[bryverros]

kon-el + text posts (inspired by @ribombeee's collection)

[bryverros]

if i was a robot id make sure i have an inbuilt red LED mode that turns on when im evil and then id use it as a threat whenever im minorly inconvenienced.

[bryverros]

Punkflower and Stephcass swap by @mik3stuff !!

First is just Hobie and Miles edited onto the Batgirls artstyle but second is Spider Variant Stephanie and Cass-Spiderpunk Stephanie iktr!!!!!

[bryverros]

Let’s talk about the significance of how Stephanie Browns first ever appearance is tied directly to a TV broadcast about Batman, and how it perfectly explains why she's such a remarkable character.

Detective Comics #647

The full sentence the TV broadcaster says is “It’s not up to some masked vigilante to protect our citizens …. No matter how good his intentions…No matter how noble his cause”.

This scene asks us to compare the characters of Batman, who the statement is textually about, and Stephanie, who is viewing it and (presumably), being inspired by it. The panel itself seems to encourage use to try to apply these lines to Steph instead of Batman, framing the latter proclamation directly above her head, almost like a text box telling us this information about her. If we apply these lines to her, we can see an idea emerge.

There is this figure, who is not only not necessary, but unacceptable on the face of it, “…No matter how good [her] intentions...” / “…No matter how noble [her] cause…”

The first time we see Stephanie brown, she is being showcased alongside a condemnation, which is followed by her disregarding the message of this broadcast, and appearing for the very first time as Spoiler.

Dismissal and Stephanie ignoring this condemnation continues on to be one of the central facets of Stephanie’s character. In the same introduction arc we already see the dismissal/disregard dynamic established.

Batman and/or Robin tell her to Fuck Off, she chooses not to:

Detective #649

This pattern continues on for some time. She is dismissed by Batman

Robin #16, Robin #26, Robin #50 (1993)

And by Tim Drake/Robin:

Robin #25, Robin #35, and Robin #26 (1993)

And by her own mother:

Robin #71 (1993)

When she finally becomes an official part of the team in 2001, there is a break in this pattern. But, as always, Stephanie is eventually pushed out again:

Gotham Knights #37 (2000)

But, as always, Steph says “fuck that”, and refuses to stop.

Even in the face of dear friends agreeing she should give it up.

Batgirl #38 (2000)

And when Steph is brought in as Robin, she is again dismissed, in this case “Fired” soon after. She doesn’t quit of course, leading to the disastrous events of War Games.

Robin #128 (1993)

And when she comes back from being “dead” she is dismissed again, by Robin.

Robin #182 (1993)

This isn’t every time someone tells her to quit being Spoiler, but instead a showcase of how prevalent the Dismissal/Disregarding dynamic is for her character.

I am working on two other posts, one which will explain in depth Why the way she was “fired” as Spoiler has everything to do with Bruce Wayne’s own hangups and emotionally manipulative quirks and very little to do with her own skill level. The other will analyze why she feels the compulsion to be keep being Spoiler even after having Every reason to quit and being told to do so hundreds of times.

However, for the purposes of this post, all that matters is that this Dismissal/Disregarding dynamic exists and is a huge and reoccurring part of Stephanie’s character.

Whether or not you think she “deserved” how often she was rejected, and whether or not you think her disregarding the rejection was “good” or not doesn’t come into play here.

For now, let’s focus on the implications this dynamic has for her character in a meta sense, as a character who is used and discarded.

A character who is for all intents and purposes, the narrative punching bag. She endures character dismissal and belittling, three separate backstory instances of sexual harassment as a child and teenager, teenage pregnancy, abuse, taking care of a parent struggling with addiction, brutal and (debatably) sexualized torture, character assassination, death, retconned death, and further character assassination until 2009, where she finally gets her own solo comic, and a modicum of respect. The thing that separates the horrible shit Stephanie goes through and the bad things that happen to other characters is only rarely are Stephanie’s struggles treated as significant on their own, and almost always her narrative is used for drama or to prop up Robin Tim Drake’s plot. Very rarely does she get treated with the care and attention her character merits.

But let’s go back to that news broadcast, all the way back in Detective #647. How does she take it, when we are told, when Stephanie is told, first thing, straight out of the gate, plain and simple: No matter how good your intentions, no matter how noble your cause, you is not enough, or you’re too much, or your just not right?

It is met by a triumphantly tragic: “And?”

Stephanie hears from the VERY start the same refrain she will hear for years and years: she is not good enough, she needs to go home, she needs to quit and she does the exact thing she will continue to do every following time she is told this: she puts on the damn Spoiler outfit and she still tries anyway. Again and again.

The next time we see Stephanie Brown after this, the second time we ever see her character, she has donned the Spoiler costume, and she’s got to work. “And?” She seems to say. “As if!” She seems to shout. What a perfectly awe inspiring thing, and what a perfect summary of what makes Stephanie Brown so damn cool.

For better or worse, you cannot keep her down. I love Stephanie Brown so much.

And if you want to read a comic which understands this, which treats the terrific character of Stephanie Brown with respect and love, and which for the first time maybe ever lets her stubborn refusal to give up go her way? Read Batgirl (2009)!!

Batgirl #3 (2008) & Bruce Wayne: The Road Home - Batgirl (2010)

[bryverros]

I'm creating a folder that's just Ollie making fun of Bruce/Batman, that's it. I've got enough content to justify starting it

[bryverros]

one thing that irks me that ik many people will think is irrational is the "kory/kori" split...... like imo she was introduced as "koriand'r (with an i)" and "kory (with a y)" so that's how u should spell it, & there was no good reason for any of the writers to change it in the first place. but ik names aren't as important to a lot of ppl as they are to me so like wtv

[bryverros]

[bryverros]

the way stereotypes about women of colour r so widespread & normalized u can use as much primitive/animalistic language as u want about kory + sexualize her to the ends of the earth and nobody cares. it's like her being an alien gives them a free pass to unleash their racial biases on her w no repercussions.

[bryverros]

I've been trying not to call people mean names when I get into arguments so now my default when I get a lil frustrated is to say "babe" which as u might understand is not particularly conducive to customer service

[bryverros]

Ollie and Mia + nicknames for each other

insp.

[bryverros]

Love finding a writer who goes "not only am I shipping it, I am fixated enough to explore the way their relationship would blow up."