Spoiler warning for DC Pride: Tim Drake Special #1
The spotlight may be on Tim Drake lately—with both his new Pride Special and announced ongoing solo series—but Tim's best friend, Superboy, has found a new friend in Batgirl. Stephanie Brown—Tim's ex-girlfriend and another of his best friends—has been talking to Superboy out of concern for the shared Robin. This new connection between Batgirl and Superboy is far more civil than one of their first encounters, showing fans that Superboy has outgrown his brash origins.
Though Stephanie Brown and Conner Kent's Superboy both debuted in the 90s, and despite being mutual friends of Tim Drake's Robin, the two have rarely met on the page. Superboy, the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, was usually adventuring with a rotating cast of friends and allies, while Stephanie—then know as Spoiler, the daughter of a C-list Batman villain—was usually relegated to Gotham. After years being either dead or erased from DC history, Stephanie and Superboy have since been reintroduced to canon, where Stephanie currently appears as one of the titular Batgirls, and where Conner will soon begin a new adventure in his recently announced Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow mini-series.
In one of their rare prior meetings, during a short period when Tim had retired from Robin and Stephanie had taken up the mantle, Superboy and Stephanie Brown nearly came to blows. In Teen Titans #13 by Geoff Johns, Tom Grummett, Lary Stucker, and Jeromy Cox, Superboy flies to Gotham to search for Tim Drake and finds Stephanie in her Robin uniform. When she insists she is, in fact, the new Robin, Conner replies: "No. You're a girl in Robin's costume."
Superboy and Batgirl appear again in DC Pride: Tim Drake Special #1, where their off-panel conversations are alluded to more than once in stories by Meghan Fitzmartin and Belén Ortega. In "Sum of Our Parts," Superboy tells Tim that Stephanie called him to discuss Tim's "weird" behavior. In the special's new story, "The Elephant in the Room," those discussions are alluded to again, with Tim saying to Superboy: "Right. I forgot you guys talk now."
Despite having a lot in common—both the descendants of super-villains, both dear friends to Tim Drake's Robin—Superboy and Batgirl have previously been too stubborn or proud to really connect when they did meet, making this new connection a sign of growth for both characters—but especially Superboy. When he previously met Stephanie during her time as Robin, he was antagonistic and rude, calling her "little miss dress-up" and not affording her the respect he does Tim. Now, however, it appears as though both Conner and Stephanie—now grown into her role as Batgirl—are fast friends, talking often about Tim. Superboy has gotten over his original mistrust and dislike of Stephanie, proving his maturity in this new era of DC. Superboy's new friendship with Batgirl proves he's grown as a character and is ready to take on more responsibility across the DC Universe. He's no longer the brash—and slightly misogynistic—kid he once was. Hopefully the two will meet again soon, as Stephanie appears in Batgirls and Superboy appears in Young Justice: Dark Crisis and his new mini, Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow.
Check out DC Pride: Tim Drake Special #1 available now from DC Comics!