#batfam reading recs

[robjn93]

˗ˏˋ stephanie brown accessible entry point

this is a list of comics to understand the basics of her character! ive seen a lot of people who didnt know where to start to read so ive compiled this list to make it as easy as possible for new readers to get into stephanie brown

who is stephanie brown?

daughter of the criminal and abusive father cluemaster (arthur brown), she became the spoiler to ‘spoil’ her father’s robbery and overall to protect herself and her mother from him. eventually she digs the vigilante life. she becomes robin briefly and is currently one of the batgirls!

as SPOILER:

⟢ secret origins: 80-page giant

this comic /technically/ is set in the future and is steph ‘telling the story of her childhood’ but honestly i find it pretty suitable even with no context and a must read in my eyes to understand her motives and character

⟢ detective comics 647 - 649

her first appearance… with the iconic brick in the face 😭 this comic is not set in a precise timeline, just post-robin 1991 and pre-knightfall so you can read it with no context as well!

⟢ showcase ‘95 #5 (second story)

PLEASE READ THIS i never see it in reading lists and its sooo important to me. it shows steph’s strained relationship with her mother when her dad is not in the picture and briefly some of her school life!

i’d say read robin (1993) afterwards because it consistently features steph, as much as it is ‘tim’s solo run’, but here THE most important stories (they were very hard to pick)

⟢ robin (1993) #3 - 5

her first appearance in the monthly! and lordd the timsteph here makes me sick. tim being saved by steph 🫶 also more on her and her mom as crystal is starting recovery from drug addiction

⟢ robin (1993) issue 15 - 16

not gonna lie, a huge part of me wants me to suggest it because you get to see arthur get his ass kicked by steph (sweet revenge) but theres also steph being saved by tim for a change and more on steph’s relationship with her dad

⟢ robin (1993) #35

this story for me conveys properly the impact that steph’s upbringing had on her sense of justice and morality being fundamentally different from batman and robin’s, something tim and bruce just can’t understand

⟢ robin (1993) #40 - 41

warning / implied SA (ariana ☹️) the story is a two-parter, steph’s side in issue 40 uses diary entries to explain how she feels about the whole vigilante ordeal. issue 41 is more timsteph oriented but it shows tim finally acknowledging his feelings for steph

⟢ huntress/spoiler: blunt trauma

this story happens during cataclysm but its not necessary to read the whole thing + dean’s first appearance 😒 he is the scumbag bastard ‘father of steph’s child’ + helena and steph linkup!!

⟢ robin (1993) #54 and 56-57

BAD CASE OF THE STEPHS MENTIONED + steph and crystal bonding and tim and steph getting together!!! + robin 57 as guilty pleasure :3 their first official date

⟢ robin (1993) #58-65

warning: dixon tackling teen pregnancy. we all know how that goes. remember dean? well steph got pregnant! and that guy bailed on her. dean when i get you. this arc breaks me everytime, steph you deserve the world ☹️

⟢ lewis era robin (1993) aka robin #100 - 120 HEAVY ON ROBIN 111

warning for SA / glimpses on steph’s childhood + dealing with the fact that her father is dead etc etc that will just make you think we should all just kill ourselves yk!!!!

as ROBIN:

⟢ robin (1993) #126 - 128

warning: debatable writing. robin steph! but take everything with like 5 pinches of different salts 😭 its bad y’all but it is essential. dan didio when i get your ass. dan didio when i get youuu

⟢ steph is dead! arc aka batman 634, detective comics 800 and 809, batgirl 62

i fucking hate war games so im not putting y'all through that. here instead: tim being so overcome by grief he can barely react to steph's passing, bruce remembering steph and cass hallucinating her as she is about to die

after that please just imagine that steph came back cause about every issue after her death was the worst ooc writing ever so, again, not putting you guys through that (its tough for stephanie brown fans)

as BATGIRL:

⟢ batgirl (2009)

i wanna say im conflicted about its writing but its about the best thing steph had post-revival. they constantly insult her spoiler legacy so not a fan of that!! but it is essential and i mostly like the rest so whatever :3 steph’s uni arc!

after that honestly nothing happened for her character, so heres on hoping she gets more stuff

[ashrayus]

absolutely lost it over this fic by @neuro-psyche so. have this comic o(- (

go read it rn if u also love some Good identity reveal fic!!!!

[birdies-blog1]

“You know us, we can out stubborn anyone, even Batman.”

~ Young Tim Drake to his older self

Your legacy’s not yours to see, nor is your eulogy

Soft_cactus

[erinwantstowrite]

i get a lot of asks about what fic recs i have and i am in fact compiling a list (i discovered most of them from alighterwood) but right now my favorite fic that i have been following is The Buzzard by FlightL3ss_Bird1029 on ao3 and it needs its own post specifically because i am that in love with it

it's an au where Tim doesn't become Robin and instead, Steph takes up the mantle. It has a prologue called Fledge that had me hooked from the beginning.

Fledge's description:

"When Jason Todd died, Tim took it upon himself to find a way to save Batman from his dark spiral of violence. Maybe if things had gone differently Tim would have offered himself up to take the Robin mantle and work alongside his hero. Unfortunately, Tim was too busy running his parents' company after the untimely death of his mother. But he knew how to be useful, and other opportunities presented themselves for him to do just that. He felt a little bad about helping to kidnap Damian, but decidedly less bad about helping Steph become a hero. He just hoped that his use wouldn't run out before getting to help his Robin."

The Buzzard's description:

"After a difficult year (for many reasons) Tim goes back to Gotham to help Jason Todd reconnect with his family. Whether Jason wanted that or not, well, Tim had time to wear him down. Between the tutelage of Deathstroke and Lady Shiva, he was well equipped to handle himself as Jason's equal and hit Gotham's vigilante scene as the Buzzard. His parents were dead and the lonely cavity in his chest kept growing every day, but it didn't matter. Tim's mission could and would succeed despite his personal feelings and failures. He was fine and he had a job to do."

Everyone is so well written in this and I think about it constantly. The Buzzard currently has 10 chapters, 103,528 words. I don't usually rec fics until they've finished but this one is always on my mind, so I had to

[aloonaram]

A list of my fav Dick Grayson with eldest daughter syndrome fics

As an eldest daughter there’s something so refreshing about Dick working through his familial trauma as well as all his other problems so here are some of my fav fics I’ve compiled over the past like week LMAO

1. https://archiveofourown.org/works/43704451/chapters/109898020

- such such such a good fic, i loved the exploration of dick’s trauma at spyral

2. https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DickGraysonsuffers/works/40771257

- absolutely loved this one shot,,, dick is always doing his best to play mediator because he’s known bruce the longest and understands his motives the most but playing mediator and understanding both sides is an exhausting task so i love the fact the author explored that here

3. https://archiveofourown.org/works/44614405

- another really good oneshot. This one is less eldest daughter syndrome and moreso exploring dick’s trauma after the catalina incident but if clark showed up right after. i think what i enjoyed most abt this fic was the vulnerability and numbness after the incident,,, def resonated with it to a degree and i liked dick and jason’s interactions, they felt realistic.

4. https://archiveofourown.org/works/41451366

- omg omg this author. This author. Phenomenal. I heavily encourage yall to read more of their stuff if you like this oneshot because all of their stuff is good. But this fic specifically was just so so so so good. I felt dick’s emotions and stress in this one,,,when you force yourself to carry the weight of your entire family’s emotional wellbeing—including your own—onto yourself, it weighs on you. So much so that its not unrealistic to go nonverbal. I just resonated a lot with this story and found that dick’s stress was extremely well written. Def one of my favs

5. https://archiveofourown.org/works/36497065/chapters/99737508#workskin

- this one. This is the favorite. It’s kind of lengthy but it’s so so so worth it. The spiraling (pun unintended) of dick’s mental wellbeing is written beautifully. Not to mention the core of the entire fic is dick wanting to get himself help, something that i think is incredibly important when writing abt mental health. Outside influences can only do so much and i found it really beautiful when dick finally found it in himself to stay just that much longer to check on damian. Also speaking of, the dick and damian parent/child relationship in this is just so so so good it hurts. fell in love with their dynamic in this one, especially with dick’s obsession with not letting damian carry all the weight of dick’s stress on his shoulders. That is peak eldest daughter syndrome and it was written phenomenally. Pls read this

EDIT** ADDED SOME NEW ONES

6. https://archiveofourown.org/works/36329323/chapters/90570550?view_adult=true

- this author is SO GOOD. Pretty sure ive already put another one of their fics on this list but this one is def my favorite of theirs. Just so so good

[snakeredbirdbatkatana]

I have reread this fic at least ten times and everytime it gets better

Like I don't know why the emotional support part gets me but full on cackling to the point I woke up my dog.

This writer is so good when it comes to writing a paranoid Tim and their other works are fucking fantastic.

SERISOULY THEIR WRITING IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!

[ghost-bxrd]

I saw that prompt about Dick and Jason bonding...

Dick wants to be a better brother for Tim than he was for Jason, so he turns to reddit in desperation to get tips on how to bond with younger siblings ((and maybe try to cope with the trauma of losing Jason in a way that isn’t running headlong into danger)).

Unbeknownst to him, his chat buddy is a bored Jason sitting ducks on the other side of the world, waiting for Talia to find him a new trainer.

[vinelark]

in return for the fic recs i got last month, here are a few fics i read recently that i want to absolutely yell about from the rooftops:

Iron, Fire, Mirror-Glass by PurpleSoot: an early batman days AU where, while slowly healing from a spine-shattering injury, bruce finds an old book about the fae. in a fit of desperation he attempts a Summoning to try to heal his spine. enter: robin.

this story is fantastic—the kind of longfic with a plot so good and satisfying that finishing it leaves you on a reading high for at least a week. one of the best early days bruce fics i’ve ever read, with honorable mentions to excellent alfred and clark and jim and selina characterizations—but robin (dick) really takes the cake here. the balance of chilling, otherworldly, not-quite-human vs. playful, earnest, Still Just a Child…chef’s kiss. the way robin’s character arc drags bruce kicking and screaming through his own emotional growth is so well-paced and well-wrought that i already want to reread just so i can experience it again. this is one of those god-tier longfics that i can’t believe i got to read for free on the internet.

mid-reading testimonial:

The Lone Ranger Never Had to Deal with Bruce Wayne by @theskeptileptic: a tim-joins-the-family-early fic in which tim decides to do everyone (his parents) a solid by faking his own death and running away to canada, except his weirdo neighbor bruce wayne keeps butting in and messing up his plans.

this is one of the rare stories where tim doesn’t know batman’s identity yet, and even rarer stories where that somehow makes the whole thing even more compelling. this fic has two of my favorite things: small, lonely, moderately unhinged tim drake pov, and really good pangs—pangs that are expertly teased out through flashbacks that add context to the present action at exactly the right moments. also, a very fun cameo near the end. i had a blast reading this one, physically clutched my chest more than once, and am already looking forward to rereading.

mid-reading testimonial (feat. @cairoscene):

equivalent exchange by scribblemetimbers (wip): an au set during tim’s robin days in which tim discovers 1) crossroads demons are a thing and 2) people can make deals with them. deals that include bringing people back from the dead, so long as you’re willing to pay the price with your own life.

this fic is so…🤌‼️ it feels like everything i want in a fic so far, down to two incredibly specific concepts i love (bruce, in his grief, saying something harsh to robin!tim with disastrous consequences later + tim making a big secret sacrifice gambit) which are both done so so well, within a larger plot that is also done so so well. the way this fic cuts in and out of scenes at the exact right moments for max tension feels like a masterclass in causing me to tear my hair out (in the best way), and instead of assorted pangs reading it is just one big Pang. it currently leaves off on an agonizing cliffhanger but, again, in the best way. highly recommend. (thank you again @owlbats for the rec!)

exchange between me and my friend after i sent the link, which about sums it up:

and to cut this angst with some humor:

IRIS Log #1548 by @deadchannelradio: a night on patrol as recorded by the bats’ audio logs, centering around red hood getting flung into a ditch and everyone, eventually, getting home safe.

one of the top ten funniest things i’ve ever read—spiritually up there with send to all (and if you’ve seen my fic rec tag you’ll know what a compliment that is). this makes use of the audio log format SO well. the dialogue shines, the jokes land with excellent timing, and it moves at such a clip that it’s pretty much impossible to stop reading once you’ve started. every character shines in this, and i’ve randomly choked on laughter remembering the phrase ‘good god he got thrown like a corn hole beanbag’ like twenty times in the past few weeks.

mid-reading testimonial:

[closeyoureyesdaisuke]

Let’s start it off strong:

Hallucination Jason… or at least they think he is?? Basically, fics where Jason pretends to be a hallucination because a) he’s a wacky little guy or b) ANGST ANGST ANGST AGHHHH

what you’re longing for (you claim to abhor) by Ghxst_Bird (52k, 12 chapters)

“the not-actual-hallucination Jason Todd tries the less hands on approach to getting revenge. It ends up backfiring spectacularly.

aka. the non traditional way to (reluctantly) reintegrate into the family after being dead, coming back to life, and becoming a crime lord, Jason "Red Hood" Todd edition”

Great fic!! Really enjoyed it, lots of suspense and secret identity fun. On the longer side for these types of fic and still very enjoyable

miss me? by envysparkler (6k)

“Jason’s plan to observe his family’s reactions to his resurrection…does not go as intended.”

Pretty much the epitome of this type of fic. Definitely worth the read, Jason is terrible at pretending to not be concerned about his family’s mental health 😭

i’m not crazy, i’m just seeing things by envysparkler (2.9k)

“Dick knows it’s going to be a bad day when he comes home to his little brother standing in his apartment.”

Another one by the same author- this time from Dick’s POV! I really enjoyed the switch as I don’t see it too often.

his worthless savior by destiny919 (2.4k)

“It makes the victims fixate on whoever they most want to save them from the nightmarish hallucinations still caused by this toxin, the GCPD report - corroborated by Batman - had said.”

Jason and Tim!! I mean he’s.. sort of apart of a hallucination? In which: Red Hood vs. The Adoption Instinct

BONUS:

birdsong by ScarlettSwordMoon (22.7k)

After getting a face full of Scarecrow’s newest toxin, Dick isn’t haunted by his typical nightmares. No. This one has little green pixie boots. AKA Batman: Ego but make it Robin.

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP. This one isn’t Jason-Centric at all, but oh my god it is so good + features hallucination Robins so I just had to include it. Amazing analysis of the mantle of Robin. One of the best Dick-centric one shots out there, 100%. Go read it right now I promise it’s worth it!!

[casscainmainly]

hii, do you read fanfics? and if yes, do you have any fic recs for cass, either as a solo character or focused on her relationships with the rest of the batfam?

Hi!!! I'm not the most well-versed in fanfics, but I have read some great Cass ones. These are mostly going to be solo Cass focused, since I haven't found that many great ones with the Batfam.

Volving by @shobogan

This short fic kills me everytime. Set after the end of Batgirl (2000), it's honestly the conclusion I wish we'd gotten. The dialogue for Cass is on point, and I'm quite picky about Cass dialogue! I also recommend shobogan's equally amazing Equinox, which is a Brenda/Cass story.

Hot Girl Shit (The Feminine Urge To Die Young) by @havendance

An astonishingly clever fic that places Claire Clover (Gotham Girl) into the events of early Batgirl (2000). No knowledge of Claire is strictly needed though, the author makes it really easy to follow along. The parallels are unmatched, the feels are tremendous, it's just a great fic everyone should read. Also recommend havendance's Cassandra Cain vs. The World!, where Cass has to fight Kon's seven evil exes (it's as hilarious as it sounds).

Nourish by Ptelea

This fic is as sweet as its theme - Cass gets a moment with each of the Batfam, bonding over fruit. The writing is beautiful, and the Jason section in particular is stellar. The fluffiest fic on this list by far!

what's past is prologue by Icestorm238

Cass only appears in the sixth story in this series, but the entire thing is worth reading. A Dick-goes-back-in-time-to-save-Jason fic, the character twists and turns are so good, and there's an excellent Steph-centric story here too! Even if you don't care for the other characters, Cass is incredibly well-written in her section, a rarity for whole Batfam fics.

When Pinioned Birds Take Flight by @iowriteswords

This series (Robin and Other Flightless Birds) is well known, but this story is the most Cass-focused, and doesn't necessarily require knowledge of the prior fics. Though this is an AU, Cass is anchored in canon, and her relationship to Babs in particular gets a lot of development in the last part of the fic.

Not as Cass-centric as any of these, but bad signal by prismatical is an excellent story with some great Cass moments. The fic is definitely more focused on Dick, Jay, and Tim, but Cass isn't just a prop here and is actively involved, so I'd still check it out!

I wish I had more recs, I know there's some great Cass stuff out there I haven't found yet. Thanks for the ask, hopefully other people can chime in with their own recommendations!

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Just reading my bedtime stories, as you do, when I came across this one that I have to share because it’s absolutely perfect and I love it so much.

[robjn93]

hi! ^_^

i was wondering if you could help me get into dc comics! i’ve always leaned more towards the movies/shows, video games, and fanon content.

if you have any reading guides at your disposal, i’d really appreciate them! even just naming a few starter comics would be cool.

i hope you don’t mind me asking this of you! i discovered your acc on tiktok and your edits made me wanna get more into the comics when i was formerly disinterested. your characterization takes are also pretty spot on!! :D

thank yew

IM GONNA CRY AND PUKE THANK YOU OMG getting into dc is not difficult but its also pretty challenging depending on which era you wanna read and which family you wanna get into. unfortunately im mainly a batfam-head so i have mostly suggestions about batfamily characters, i hope you wont mind :3

batman: year one is a must in my eyes but i dont see batman: ego advertised nearly as much and it pains me, its a very interesting read on the duality of bruce wayne and batman and an excellent analysis on purpose and motivations

after that, if you wish to continue reading batman related things, i suggest reading about the robins!

batman: year three (batman #436 to #439) serves as a retelling of dick and bruce’s first encounter and its the most used retelling, since it also introduces tim drake but i digress

year ones are your friends! robin: year one and robin/batgirl: year one are stories you should check out but, for the love of christ, keep AWAY from nightwing: year one. i dont know what they were thinking there. if you liked reading these, dick grayson could be the guy for you but, warning i guess, he has lots to read about so make sure to find a good reading guide for him.

after dick quits and becomes nightwing, jason todd is next and luckily the easiest read since he didnt do much except for dying (rip). he is super straight forward, batman: #408 to #425 and detective comics: #568 to #582. a good read for jason and bruce is also batman: the cult!

alas jaybin must die and so here comes a death in the family, batman: #426 to #429. im not a red hood fan personally but batman: under the red hood is kinda a must read. if you liked jason todd, i’m really sorry you’ll never see good writing again

after a death in family, you can read a lonely place of dying when that freak tim drake appears, batman: #440 to #442 alternating with new titans #60 and #61. TOOOOO GOOD. sorry.

tim drake is kinda complicated because the 90s were annoying but you can read detective comics: #618 to #621 and then after batman: #455 to #457 for the important things and him becoming robin most of all. after that the three robin miniseries, robin (1991), robin: the joker’s wild and robin: cry of the huntress are next and finally theres a big one, robin (1993)

if you like tim drake i plan on making a proper reading guide #soon so stay tuned i guess LOL. you cant have tim without stephanie brown, which kinda appears shortly after tim’s initiation as robin. detective comics: #647 to #649 are her origin story, showcase ‘95 #5 is a really underrated stephanie story and then you can just read robin (1993) since she is in there a lot.

i have a stephanie brown reading list ready to be reposted so trust it will be soon! finally damian wayne :3 read batman: son of the demon since its a way better origin for damian over the racist ‘talia is abusive and a r@pist’ morrison retcon.

damian is a really difficult character to get into cause unfortunately most of his stories are racist dogshit but the good stuff is GOOD. robin: son of batman will change your life 5ever. another fun read is robin (2021). to get hooked on daminika.

on the topic of batman’s supporting cast lets go with the batgirls. acknowledged as batgirls, we have barbara gordon tho she is largely more interesting as oracle! i wish you no harm so please don’t read the killing joke, it’s such a lame story and downright misogynistic towards babs.

just let it know that (sigh.) the joker left barbara gordon in a wheelchair. batman: chronicles #5 is genuinely one of the best stories ever, will make you weep and choke and die. after that, birds of prey (1999)’s yuriful antics will charm you.

the current batgirl, cassandra cain, is currently having an ongoing serie! her origin story is in batman: #567 and detective comics: #734. warning: she appears right in the middle of an event called batman: no man’s land so i suggest looking up batman: no man’s land reading guides if its too confusing for context. im really sorry. after that PLEASE read batgirl (2000). too good.

stephanie cheated and managed to be both robin and batgirl so you should read batgirl (2009) which is fairly context-less? or better, they explain most of the context in-comic so it should be fine.

these are the main batfam characters but, throughout reading, you might meet some new and maybe lesser known characters like azrael, huntress, anarky etc. etc.

a read that kinda exists outside all this is also gotham: academy which is quite new reader friendly and genuinely very fun.

hope you have fun :)

[atoltia]

im not even in this fandom idk jack shit about dc and yet im painting them this is your fault @garpen (affectionate)

[birdies-blog1]

“…suddenly Dick remembered that Damian was just a kid, not even a teenager. He may have seen and done gruesome things, and he may fight criminals daily, but this? This was…”

Your legacy’s not yours to see, nor is your eulogy

Soft_cactus

[awzominator]

POV: Your goose is cooked

ANYWAYYYYY @melonpalooza is writing another INCREDIBLE fic that has a choke hold on me! It’s so fun and entertaining I love it so much!! Go give it a read and all the love!!!

[brucewaynehater101]

do you have fanfic recs abt gun batman??

(i’m asking for totally real not fake friend)

Off the top of my head, no, but I did look into. Under the tag "Villain Tim Drake" there are a total of 35 fics (not filtered out for any tags). That's such a small number :(

Under Tim Drake & Tim Drake, there's a total of 65 fics. Under the tag "Titans of tomorrow" with Tim, there are 23 fics.

The last tag yielded the most results, and I recommend that one for finding stuff.

Some fics:

"Tomorrow is Yesterday" by Ashynarr. Tim is confronted by a villainous version of himself (not Gun Batman), and this older one talks about the lessons they learned from Gun Batman, Bruce's Batman, and Ra's.

"Permutations" by angel_gidget. Five Batmans and one Robin get transported from their realities and told to fight to save their respective worlds.

"your legacy's not yours to see, nor is your eulogy" by soft_catus. Be ware of tags, but Tim gets hit by a new strain of fear toxin. He ends up seeing Gun Batman

A fic that's about a younger Tim confronting canon Tim and hating how he turned out is "(it) runs in the family" by violettavonviolet