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Quote1 Sometimes all it takes is a few words to change your life. For me it took seven. Seven words, spoken in the dark. Quote2
Harper Row src

Harper Row, also known as Bluebird, is one of Batman's allies. She is gifted at electrical engineering.

Early Life

Motherless, Harper and her brother Cullen were forced to live with their abusive, alcoholic father. When their father was absent, Harper would fix the things her father broke, including Cullen and herself. Doing this, Harper soon developed a talent for fixing things.

During the Zero Year, when the Riddler shut off the power throughout Gotham, Harper and Cullen were stranded in their apartment, so their father left to drink. Noting her father's poor parenting, Harper rigged Cullen's nightlight to a battery so that he didn't have to sleep in the dark.

Eventually, Harper applied for emancipation. On achieving it, she moved out, taking her brother Cullen with her. She applied for a job as a city electrical engineer, and got the job, doing maintenance on the city's electrical grid.

Harper and Cullen moved into the Narrows and broke contact with their father. While there, local bullies began targeting Cullen, seemingly because of his sexual orientation.

The Wayne Gala

After rewiring her landlady's apartment, Harper was paid with a ticket to the Wayne Gala where Bruce Wayne was to announce his revitalization project that would result in her home being demolished. She was initially hesitant to go, feeling she wouldn't fit in. Cullen convinced her to go, citing his desire for her to court Wayne's adopted son Tim Drake. She denied interest in him, so Cullen revealed that it was his own crush that motivated him.

After Wayne's presentation, Harper began stealing desserts, putting them in her bag. As she did, she was spotted by Alfred, who did not stop her, but instead said she was making a serious error by not taking the brownies.

As Alfred escorted Harper out at her request, the butler asked if she had won her ticket from the ticket lottery. She answered that she didn't win it herself but was given the ticket by her landlady in lieu three hundred dollars she was owed.

Harper was then asked what she thought of Bruce Wayne's revitalization project. She answered with apathy, stating that she, "can't get [her] hopes up whenever some rich guy who probably never set foot in the Narrows says he's going to fix it up".

On her return home, she discovered that the apartment had been broken into, and Cullen had been assaulted, with a slur shaved into his hair. Harper comforted him, then gave herself a matching haircut.

Encounters With The Bat

A few days later, the same gang of bullies attacked them both on their way home. Harper initially tried to defend them with a modified taser, but failed as more bullies showed up. They were then saved by Batman, who stopped and threatened the bullies. Both Harper and Cullen were starstruck and began to seek ways to honor or repay Batman for his aid.

Afterward, Harper pursued videos of Batman online, discovering that he had been sabotaging security cameras to obscure footage of himself. Through access from her job, she discovered Batman's private enhancements to Gotham's electric grid, then used them to track him, as well as working to improve them— to Batman's benefit.

Later, Harper investigated a problem she detected, and found Batman capturing Tiger Shark. Batman subsequently visited her at work and told her to not to get herself involved in his activities again.

After Batman was captured and tortured by the Court of Owls and escaped into the frozen Gotham river, Harper found him and fished him out. Batman briefly flatlined, but Harper revived him with a homemade defibrillator, saving his life.

Batman Eternal

Harper first appeared as Bluebird and helped Red Robin investigate a case of a nanobot plague affecting children in the Narrows. As an expert with technology, she even manages to hack into Red Robin's systems, even communicating with him, secretly also helping him.

Later, after Vicki Vale had an encounter with Falcone thugs, Harper runs with them back to her apartment, where they lock themselves in. At the same time, Red Robin comes flying through the wall, being attacked by nanobots. Red Robin manages to put the attacking nanobots to sleep as well of take care of the previously mentioned thugs, however Harper's brother Cullen begins glowing as the nanobots take over.

Harper would later start assuming the identity of 'Taser Girl', arming herself with a taser, and wearing a body suit to patrol the area. However, she later developed her own suit of armour, which she used for the first time against The Mad Hatter and his nanobot controlled people. It was developed with a anti-nanobot field, and also had an EMP in the armour. She later also developed a gun which fire electric rounds which shocked the enemy. It can also be seen that Harper had a combination of a tether and a hook in her boot that allowed her to hang upside down from the ceiling and use it to be a tactical point to fire her gun.

DC Rebirth

After defeating Mother, Harper retired from vigilante work to focus on getting a college education (mostly to get her existing electrical engineering skills accredited),[1] though she did keep her Bluebird uniform.[2]. In addition to attending Gotham University, Harper volunteers at Leslie Thompkins's clinic and spends downtime with other members of the Bat family.


Abilities

Equipment

  • Bluebird Armour
    • Ascension boots: Harper designed and wears specially boots with grappling hooks on the sole permitting her to ascend/descend as well as hang to perform hands free tasks.

Weapons

  • Tasers
  • Bluebird Rifle: Fires electric rounds at enemies


  • She was inspired by a young cosplayer.
  • Harper is bisexual.[3]
  • Harper has a crush on Batwoman.[4]

Related

Footnotes


Batman Allies
Batman Family member
DC Bullet 2024

This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Batman, and a member of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Batman Family members" category.


Perry White 0008
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