New York Comic Con Spoiler Alert - Batman: Eternal to Bring Back Stephanie Brown

Earlier today at the DC Universe panel at New York Comic Con, Batman and Batman: Eternal writer Scott Snyder told a fan asking about Stephanie Brown's return that they should ask again at the Batman panel this afternoon. They did, and this time around, Snyder had an answer: The character, who will likely appear in her identity as Spoiler, will return in Batman: Eternal #3. "We know that they're characters that you guys have been really vocal about," Snyder said. "Your guys' love of Stephanie Brown have been so inspiring to us. We're really proud to announce that she'll be coming back in Batman: Eternal, in a big way. [DC Co-Publisher] Dan DiDio is in the audience to yell at us for telling you that." Batman: Eternal is the new, weekly series set to roll out in January 2014. Brown, a long-running supporting character and love interest in Tim Drake's Robin and Red Robin titles, gained new popularity just before the New 52 relaunch when she starred in a critically-acclaimed run as Batgirl. After the relaunch, however, DC seemed determined to make sure the character never existed to begin with, even going so far as to remove her from the background of a joke panel in Batman: Li'l Gotham #1. "No one was trying to shelve her," Snyder said. "It was more about finding the right time to reintroduce her." That's the argument DC has been making--about Brown and a number of other long-standing characters who no longer seem to exist in the New 52--for two years now. Whether fans will start to believe it once Spoiler is back on the scene is the key question.