#Bruce’s crusade against crime is long lasting | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rapturously · 3 years ago

Text

all the light we cannot see.

format. | one-shot.

pairings. | battinson!bruce wayne x fem!reader.

warnings. | graphic violence, reader is attacked, attempted robbery, stalking, inexperienced!battinson, sexual tension, mutual pining, vaginal fingering, oral sex (f!receiving).

word count. | 7.9K. I went wild.

author’s notes. | I’ve been working on this since the release of the film, wanted to make it as good as I could despite my hectic schedule. Major Batman brainrot, if this is well-received, I will do a part 2. Expect Dano!Riddler content sometime soon.

a song to listen to while reading.

❝ That hollow shell he’s been living inside of, his fortress of carefully-constructed barriers, it all begins to crack. It’s rather terrifying, the idea of letting someone in, but he’s done for now, isn’t he? The way you look at him is invigorating, it’s electrifying — it makes him feel less like the Batman and more like a man. ❞

Within the pitch and gloom of a dreary Gotham City, a shadowed spectre lurks atop skyscrapers, lurks within every shred of darkness that falls across dimly-lit streets. Criminals know to fear that darkness, and that paranoia seems to cling to them — he senses it. A harbinger of violent justice, the knight of the nocturnal, the Batman. He’s a predator on the prowl, a vicious protector, a vigilante filled with an unbridled desire for vengeance.

Beware of the Batman — it’s spray-painted onto the brick walls of seedy alleyways and onto the drywall of rundown apartments where the scum and villainy of Gotham hide. Terror is struck into the hearts of all who decide to stay out past dark.

The city is rotting, decaying at a rate that seems far too steady for his liking. Each time he stops criminals, each time he’s pushed to the limit, he’d like to believe that the rot is being cut out — and it isn’t. It’s replaced by something else, something far more heinous than a few common thieves roaming backwater streets. Crime rates are soaring, breaking new records each and every day, and even the light in the sky can’t keep them all at bay.

Each night is just as turbulent and tempestuous as the last — he arrives home with an untold amount of bruises and shallow wounds that he shoddily nurses while he sits at his computer and lurks, relives it all over and over again. It all begins to blur together, night after night of endless fighting, only for a sliver of payoff.

Alfred is the mediator, the voice of reason, making attempt after attempt at nudging Bruce out of the shadows and into a healthier life, a life with socialization and human contact. He’s learned to push him just enough, but Bruce doesn’t listen. He’s consumed by some impermeable fog — consumed by the endless night, swarmed by his desire for justice.

He’s alone — he’s isolated.

He’s become nocturnal, like the creatures that only prowl at night, sinking their teeth into hapless prey — a rageful predator. Bruce is surrounded by darkness, allowing himself to become shaped by it, molded by it. He doesn’t need contact, it doesn’t sustain him in the way that his violent crusade for retribution does.

Bruce doesn’t heed Alfred’s advice this night — he entrenches himself in purging crime, striking fear into anyone who might cross his path of reckoning. It’s a very long and winding path, forged by blood and by the deliverance of reprisal.

Sheets of rain blow sideways, pounding against the many buildings that line Gotham’s inner city, some structures abandoned or dilapidated. Thunder shatters the skies with ominous rumbles, accompanying the signal in the sky — the warning. Lightning pierces across the black, cloudy skies, chasing after thunder with a steady pace.

It’s getting late, and you’re disheartened to find the chaotic state outside of the Gotham City Hall — the weather is horrible, dismal and torrential, but you have to get home. Your studio apartment is a few streets over, and on a normal day, the walk isn’t terrible.

Instinct and a gut feeling tells you to get a taxi, but you reluctantly go against such sensations.

Gotham is active at night, unusually so, a sprawling, scummy hive of unpleasant people and untold depravity. The sound of cars passing by on slick pavement is your ambiance, accompanied by the onslaught of constant rain, which slows down only slightly. Using your coat, you keep yourself covered from the downpour, but it’s ineffective as you make for home.

Vengeance follows from the rooftops above, his watchful eyes raking over you, unknowing and oblivious as you round the street corner. Your vulnerability makes you stick out, especially to his trained gaze — and if you’re vulnerable to him, you most certainly are to any danger lingering in the darkness.

This isn’t the first time that he’s followed you, either.

You’re a new face, a youthful aspirant, a fascination amongst a sea of corruption and exhaustion in Gotham’s political playing field. He knows little about you, only that you’re a rabbit unknowingly waiting to be swallowed whole by the wolfish jaws of vicious politicians and seedy personnel.

He wants to know more — he’s picked you apart at the seams, and with each walk home, Bruce likes to think that he’s learned something new. Every facet about you seems to invite him in involuntarily, as if he’s being drawn to something enticing.

To everyone else, you’re a target — you’re prey, something to be devoured. You’re somewhat timid but resilient, you’re charitable, and you’re blissfully oblivious of the plague that haunts Gotham City. To Bruce, you are the light that warms, the light that comforts, the spark that he follows. It’s a cocktail that he’s vastly unfamiliar with.

Admittedly, he’s gotten too curious, an insatiable itch to watch you make your way home. Intuition tells him to remain vigilant, ensure that you’re safe, but it goes against his better judgment. It makes him seem demented, lurking after you like this, but it’s in the name of safety — the underlying urge to protect you.

The deluge has soaked through your flimsy coat and you’re damp to the bone, your pace hasty. The cloaked castigator quietly slinks along the rooftops, an unreadable glower following after you with each step.

Even from a distance, your form quivers from the bitter bite of rain, cold droplets rolling off of your skin, sticking into your clothing with each sheet of icy deluge. Streetlights flicker overhead, coupled with the slats of faded moonlight that peek through a dreary, black overcast sky.

He doesn’t mind the rain — it’s an advantage, it masks any sound he might make, never slows him down. There’s a certain clarity he gains from this, from the tempestuous weather. As the thunderstorm rages on without any sign of stopping, water droplets roll from the leathery surface of his cowl, dripping like a waterfall from his cloak.

Each step is made with certainty — you round another street corner.

Underneath the tattered, shoddy cover of a building, you seek a temporary refuge from the rain, tugging your phone from the pocket of your skirt. Your digits move quickly across the glowing screen of your phone before you shove the device back into your pocket with some difficulty.

The Batman catches them before you do — a group of leering thugs, lingering across the street, far back enough for you not to take enough notice. There’s four of them, men without morals, expressions glistening with salacious intent. There’s an unrestrained fury that rips through his chest, the hunger for vengeance strikes again, blistering this time.

As you continue your trek, you decide to take a shortcut against your better judgment, slipping into a little alleyway masked by shadows, reeking of garbage and everything musty.

They begin to wander behind you, keeping their distance until you foolishly duck into the paved alleyway. He follows, a knight cast in black, shrouded by stealth as he leaps from rooftop to rooftop, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

You hear something rustle at the mouth of the alleyway, followed by footsteps. Startled by the noise, you suddenly swivel around, spotting the silhouettes of four strangers. The distance between you and them is beginning to grow slim — your heart hammers so fast that it nearly slams into your throat.

“Goin’ somewhere, sweetheart?” One of them croons, clucking his lips together in a series of mocking sounds.

“That’s the bitch from City Hall,” Another voice cuts in, malicious intent interwoven into his voice. None of them are friendly — their shadows are cast onto you by the momentary glimpse of moonlight, making your stomach lurch. “No cops out here, baby.”

Your legs feel heavy, as if anchored down by cinder blocks, and time seems to fall still. Fear grips you in a way that it never has before, and the reality of your unfortunate situation becomes all the more apparent. You consider running, kicking off your heels and dashing for the other end, but it seems futile.

The unmistakable terror in your face is delicious to these goons — they’re too close for comfort, only a few feet away, but the gap is closed as soon as a scream wrenches free from your mouth.

As a hand clasps around your face, you’re knocked to the ground, wind stolen from your lungs, head colliding with the soaked, uneven pavement. You feel dizzy, stomach rolling within your gut, bile rising within the back of your throat. An assailant is on your left side, covering your mouth to muffle your screams.

“Shut the fuck up,” He barks, attempting to rip your bag from your arms, “Shut the fuck up!” It’s desperate this time as he trains his eyes toward the rooftops — your attacker is searching for something.

“Grab the bag and go! What are we waitin’ for?” The third man snaps, and you scream again, violently thrashing against your assailant, attempting to bite at his hand. The fall stings, but the slap is what hurts the most, palm connecting with your cheek as you double over.

There’s another scream — and it isn’t yours.

A hulking shape drops into the alleyway, fists clenched, eyes kept trained upon the group of thugs. A dark knight, a dangerous vigilante that eclipses any sliver of light left in that narrow space. He’s the night — he’s an all-consuming abyss. You barely see him, but you see the whites of his eyes, the flesh exposed by the cut of his shroud, jaw tense with rage.

He moves like a battering ram, slamming his fist into the face of the man closest to him, using his body as collateral to toss him into the second attacker, who doesn’t stay grounded for very long.

Bruce is vicious, unyieldingly so — he doesn’t pull his punches, never executes an ounce of mercy. Each clash of fist to flesh is brutal, accompanied by the visceral sound of bones breaking, bodies being battered by his fury. He grounds the second attacker with a knee to the jaw, rendering him on the verge of unconsciousness.

His cape snaps behind him, fluid like moving liquid, dancing to his movements as he dismantles your assailants with ease. They aren’t practiced — they’re opportunistic, sporadic and incompetent without any planning. They land a few good hits, but none of them are enough to phase the Batman. They’re all weak, they’re nothing.

You’re filthy and disheveled, bleeding from the back of your head and from your lip, cheekbone beginning to flourish with the first inklings of a dark bruise. Crawling away from the violence, you almost feel too weak to stand, helplessly reaching for the base of your skull, the source of a constant throbbing.

From the corner of your eye, you watch this stranger beat down the attacker that struck you, slamming his fist into his face repeatedly until he’s out cold, bloody and nearly unrecognizable. Flesh meets the cold ground repeatedly, again and again.

It’s a terrifying display of strength, of prowess, but you don’t feel afraid — you’re uncertain, instead. Gotham’s caped crusader is very real, once a rumor, now standing before you, surrounded by the defeated bodies of your assailants. They’re still breathing, but they’re beyond broken.

A coppery, pungent smell begins to intermingle with the wet asphalt and foul garbage, both the blood of thugs and your blood. Bruce knows that you need a hospital, more than likely, but he can’t bring himself to take you there.

He meets your doe-eyed, bewildered stare, the fearlessness that burns within your gaze. You seem appreciative without vocalizing it, but you’re weak — you’re likely concussed, and he catches the scent of blood on you as he steps closer.

Words coagulate within your throat and his, and whatever he intended to say seems to die then and there. He wanted to comfort you, ask if you were alright, but he didn’t — he was as silent as a tomb, coming to hunch in over you.

In the shadow of the Batman, you’re offered another respite from the rain. You reach for him, this impenetrable scion of darkness, trembling hands grasping haplessly at his chest. He keeps your upper half suspended from the ground, listening to the erratic pattern of your breathing.

He’s there to keep you safe, intense stare boring into yours, and you shiver in response. Your vision is steadily becoming blurry, ears ringing, head pounding — you don’t say anything, only letting out some pitiful whimper as you succumb to unconsciousness.

Strong arms are there to catch you, sweeping you up without hesitation. You’re limp, skin cold to the touch, lips a shade paler. He shields you as best as he can from the rain, retrieving your bag from a shallow puddle before departing into the bleak night, the shadow of an eclipse.

Impulsivity — that was the only term needed to explain why he’d brought you home instead of a hospital. He wrapped you up in his cloak, gently placing you into the passenger seat before heading back. Alfred was aware of the situation, of him bringing you back to a place so sacred and secret to him.

Brought into the darkness of Gotham’s vengeful guardian, Bruce let Alfred handle stitching you up. The wound on the back of your skull was shallower than he thought, but the bruises and scrapes you endured almost seemed as countless as his own, only you didn’t bear the scars as he did.

You would bear them after tonight.

“Why?” Alfred inquired, shifting his weight toward that of the mahogany cane, his gaze momentarily flickering toward you, asleep on the chaise lounge.

Silence hung between both men — even Bruce was unsure of his decision to bring you here. Was it pity? Curiosity? Loneliness? That underlying desire to shield you from the untold horrors that lurked within the darkness? He didn’t know. Truthfully, he didn’t care to discover the answer for himself, either.

“I don’t know.”

Bruce’s admission was barely above a whisper, husky and hushed as if he were sharing a secret. He remained inside of the suit, stuck within the guise of vengeance. He didn’t know if he wanted you to see him as Bruce Wayne, as the orphaned son whose family legacy was smeared all over Gotham City.

Maybe he wanted you to see him as the man who saved your life, the man who would protect you.

Alfred’s theory was different and far more straightforward — Bruce was undeniably lonely.

His loneliness bled through, clear as day, yet he continuously pushed it down for the sake of the city, for the sake of everyone else. Attachment was fear — the fear of losing what was closest to him. That was why he closed himself off, trapped himself beneath a mask, isolated himself, all to avoid a very simplistic yet harrowing premise.

It was Bruce’s greatest fear, a trepidation that gripped him tightly. The more he watched you, the more he began to wonder what it would feel like to open up to someone else — to bare his heart, to feel that pang of vulnerability. It was daunting, like some monster lurking in the darkness, waiting to strike.

He decided it would be better this way — better to keep himself at bay, keep Bruce Wayne away, stay behind the mask for your sake and for his.

Roused from your slumbering state, you were greeted with an environment most unfamiliar to you. It reminded you of some gothic castle, complete with pointed arches and rib vaults, ornate decor that seemed to look and feel completely ancient. None of this felt real — it was more akin to some dream you’ve had, but the dull pounding in your head brought you back into the present.

You were wrapped in something heavy, something dark and slick — it didn’t feel like a blanket, it lacked the softness of one. An orange glow crackled from a roaring hearth, a fireplace that seemed to be ripped straight from a storybook, lined in beautiful masonry. Considering the chill of the rain, the fire was appreciated, and whatever you happened to be draped inside of.

Soaked to your very bones, your clothing hasn’t dried very much, uncomfortably clinging to your flesh, feeling heavy with water. A constant chill licks across every inch of your body, goosebumps collecting at the base of your spine, causing you to shiver in the midst of the open flame, fingers curling into the material you’re swaddled in.

Peeling the cloak aside, your eyes have fully adjusted, no longer groggy or fringed with a blur as they were before. It’s still dark outside, the thunderstorm having calmed to a mere monsoon of rain instead. Inside of this hallowed citadel, there isn’t a sound — an eerie silence is what follows, save for the lull of the weather outside.

That’s when you see him — the shadow.

Off to the left of the fireplace, your savior lingers there, his eyes hauntingly bright beside the raging flame. You gasp, startled by his lack of reaction, lack of announcing himself. A shiver grips your body in its entirety, causing you to shudder as you stay poised atop the velveteen lounge.

“Thank you,” Your voice emerges as a tremulous squeak, but you gain your composure as quickly as allowed. “Thank you for saving my life.” You remember every detail — you aren’t likely to forget about the man who saved your life, the ghost of Gotham.

He’s quiet, unnervingly so, but you let that uneasiness subside as much as possible. You don’t feel fear around him — you feel safe, you feel harbored within his shadow. A strange sense of fascination washes over you, a curiosity to know more about him.

“How’s your head?” His gravelly, husky voice is what surprises you the most. Those hawkish eyes fall to your visage, subtly drinking you in from afar.

You fumble around to gently feel the back of your skull, digits gingerly sweeping across the patch of gauze that sat atop a series of very meticulous stitches. He must’ve patched you up, you realize, which you feel eternally grateful for. The ache is present, but it’s alarmingly dull.

“Just aches,” There is a brief pause in your words, breath hitching momentarily. “Where are we?” You’re curious to know the location — it reminds you of some vampiric stronghold, an ancient castle with untold secrets. Despite the regality of it all, you still feel safe.

He doesn’t answer right away, standing as still as a statue, as if he were one of the gargoyles perched outside upon the terrace. The militaristic suit he wears reminds you of some practiced soldier, shrouded by the darkness — there are some little tears within the kevlar material that rests underneath the sheen of body armor.

Instead, Bruce cranes his head over his shoulder, peering out into the endless abyss that is Gotham’s dusk. Rain continues to fall, glistening against the marble surfaces outside. “Somewhere safe.” The grit and coarseness of his voice is wonderfully alluring, effectively drawing you in.

You shiver, tugging the black cape tighter around your frame, gradually feeling warmth return to your aching bones. As you peer toward the Batman, you feel a pang of heat creep across your visage when you realize that he’s staring too.

“Is this yours?” You murmur, motioning toward the sweeping shroud of darkness that surrounds you, engulfing your body in its penumbra.

Bruce nods, but doesn’t ask for it back. You’re the one trembling from the cold, not him. Instead, he steps closer, maintaining a comfortable distance as he comes to sit at the opposite end of the chaise lounge, stealing several glances in the process. You’re exceptionally beautiful, which makes him feel all the more mesmerized.

Maybe it’s your lack of fear or suspicion, your timidity, or the way you curl in on yourself — Bruce doesn’t know what to say in your presence. Fortunately for him, you are wary by the strange silences, so you cut through it as swiftly as possible.

“Do you bring everyone that you save to this place?” Your inquiry is hushed, a lull of a whisper, soft voice trembling with some quiver at the bottom of your throat. Again, you survey your surroundings with intrigue — the architecture reminds you of French cathedrals.

There is a twinge of humor that flickers across the lower half of his face, accompanied by a gentle scoff. He answers you with a little more haste this time. “No.” Bruce hesitates, lips parting slightly. “Just you.”

The Batman offers no elaboration as to why that is — maybe it’s better left unspoken. You don’t question him, but you do shuffle closer, still leaving a good gap of distance between the both of you. He’s hailed as this myth, something to be feared, something dangerous. Now, you see more of a man.

His breath hitches ever so subtly when you maneuver yourself a little closer. Whatever you can see of his countenance strikes you as handsome, and you begin to wonder how he looks underneath his dark garb. Charcoal is smeared around his eyes, which are brilliantly green, the whites of his oculars remain bloodshot. His stubbled jaw is both strong and angular, pallor as pale and translucent as a ghost, a stark contrast between his skin and the black of the suit.

“You’re not what they say you are,” In a moment of silence, you speak again, canting your head to one side. “The press, the police.” He’s demonized in the media as some menace that needs to be put down — you never thought that way, especially now.

“You’re a good man.”

For the briefest moment, Bruce tenses underneath your soft gaze and the tender affection laced within your words. It’s something he clings to — something he’s desperate for, deep down. His jaw tightens and he averts his stare, avoiding eye contact. He wants to reach out, but he knows he can’t, he knows that he can’t afford to get attached to you.

But he brought you here, didn’t he? This was his fault.

“You don’t know the things I’ve done.” Finally, Bruce speaks — he comes off as callous, warding you away from his encroaching shadows, away from his darkness. You are the glimmer of light that falls across him, pierces the gloom, desiring to break through.

Your breath hitches within your throat, shivering hard enough to coax you into the sanctuary of his cape. The icy chill of the rain hasn’t worn off entirely, but you angle yourself toward the crackling fireplace. “You save lives,” You whisper, “You protect people.”

Bruce longed to be as innocent and as pious as you — maybe he was, a long time ago, but he’s not anymore. He’s living along the edge of duality, one side eclipsed by the shadow of revenge, by the Batman, the other a reclusive orphan with nothing left to his legacy aside from what he does each and every night.

“And I destroy them.” He uttered, which happened to catch you off-guard. There is a tiny inkling of intimidation that settles into your doe-eyed gaze, maybe trace amounts of fear.

You’re right to be afraid. Everyone should be — they are afraid.

Between the crackling of the hearth and the tenuous silence, you direct your gaze toward your lap, fingers idly tracing over the frayed edges of his cloak. There is something about him that seems guarded, actively keeping you at-bay, but it only furthers your desire for knowledge, for understanding.

“Are you afraid?” His voice cuts through like a knife, deliciously rugged and almost hushed, as if he’s trying not to startle you.

The hitch in your breath is far from subtle, but you don’t offer him an answer, not immediately. Instead, you reach out — reach for him as you had back in the alleyway. Your soft, dainty palm falls across his armored bicep, and he immediately tenses underneath you.

Bruce’s mouth goes dry, startled by such a foreign sensation. How long has it been since he’s been touched like that, with a semblance of care? There’s a feeling of desperation laced with longing, something that he’s bottled for a very long time.

He doesn’t recoil, even after you let your palm settle atop the kevlar and plates of body armor. Again, you allow yourself to move closer, close enough to nearly seal the gap that lingered before. You swore that you heard a little stutter in his breathing, but what you do hear for certain is his quivering exhale.

In such close proximity, Bruce lets himself drink you in, and he’s blatantly shameless instead of conservative, like before. You’re beautiful, both inside and out — so beautiful that he feels completely undeserving. It’s daunting to be with someone like this, to feel the tension and the intimacy, to feel cared for.

“I’m not afraid.” You whisper, letting your hand drag from the solid muscle of his bicep to the exposed flesh of his jaw, outlined by the sharp, black leather of his cowl. He’s warm, opposite of your current temperature, which is slightly above icy.

He can’t help himself — the tender embrace makes him shiver, and Bruce closes his eyes, sinking into the silken surface of your palm. It’s the loneliness and the many years devoid of physical contact that make him this way, make him ravenous.

You can’t help but realize the humanity underneath.

Inside of the vengeful shade of Gotham, inside of that shroud of darkness, there is still a man — a man at the very heart of it all, selfless and protective. He feels much more real to you now, he feels mortal.

But he’s lonely — there is an unmistakable yearning that burns bright within his hooded gaze, but it’s coupled with a twinge of dejection. This long, solitary life that he’s led can only last for so long before it begins to weigh on him, and as you caress his cheek, the weight feels like it could crush him.

“Your hands are cold.” Bruce murmurs, sighing as you trace your fingertips along the angular slope of his jaw. His monotonous, husky remark brings the hint of a sheepish smile to your visage, and you find yourself getting closer and closer, until you’re nestled against him.

With a soft ‘sorry’, warmth blossoms within your cheeks. You nearly pull away, but he stops you, gloved hand lightly curling around your wrist. The frantic gallop of your heart hammers within your ears, and you long to feel his skin without the obstruction of gloves.

There is a pang of yearning that openly bleeds from his incendiary stare, and he carefully guides your hand back to where it sat before, poised along his jaw. Bruce doesn’t say anything — truthfully, he’s too enamored to speak, and what he wants to say only sounds embarrassing.

He’s getting closer, and so are you — merely breaths apart. Bruce is dazzled, simply put, and he’s slowly crossing the point of no return when it comes to you. He knows that he shouldn’t cross that line, but it’s too late. His hawkish, dazzled stare falls to your lips, swollen and mottled with dried blood, which still look as soft as ever despite the injury.

You aren’t sure what prompted you to initiate the kiss, but you’re rather smitten, noticeably hesitant. Truthfully, you’re unsure if this is what he wanted, but the sensation of his mouth gingerly tangling with yours cancels out that uncertainty.

Bruce’s lips are thin, deceptively soft as they move in tandem with yours, and he’s gentle. You taste of copper, bitter and metallic, yet so does he — he tastes like blood, like a smoky rainfall, like darkness. A low, husky groan resonates within the back of his throat, absolutely enthralled by the kiss itself, and by you.

This time, he takes more initiative, wanting nothing more than to have you close like this, take the sting of his isolation away from him. Bruce is breaking his own rule of attachment, but he can’t bring himself to care at the moment.

The kiss is blistering, unyieldingly tender, yet it rips through your entire being, tearing you into shreds. You’ve never felt so safe before, so held — you’re melting into him, melting into the shadows with him, letting one of your hands perch against his broad shoulder.

He can’t ignore the desire that’s beginning to bubble within him, bound to reach a boiling point if the both of you continue. Bruce needs to be sure that this is what you want, and so his lips still against yours, breathing a touch ragged and heavy as he gains his composure.

“We can stop.” His voice surrounds you, rough and gritty, armored physique pressed into yours. “If you don’t want this.” Bruce understands the potential for you to change your mind, to politely turn him down — he’s expectant, awaiting your answer.

As your palm settles over the jagged sigil placed atop his chest, you steady yourself, meeting his gaze fully this time. Goosebumps form at the base of your spine, prompting you to shiver from exhilaration. “No,” With a hushed whisper, you tilt closer. “I want this.” You hesitate, teeth skimming across your lower lip. “Does that sound crazy?”

Bruce finds some humor in that — and maybe it is crazy, being with someone you’ve just met, and his impulsivity plays a rather large role in this scenario. He can’t fault you for wanting this, and in all actuality, he wants it just as terribly, if not more.

Maybe it’s just being alive.

That hollow shell he’s been living inside of, his fortress of carefully-constructed barriers, it all begins to crack. It’s rather terrifying, the idea of letting someone in, but he’s done for now, isn’t he? The way you look at him is invigorating, it’s electrifying — it makes him feel less like the Batman and more like a man.

“No.” He murmurs, and you can feel the sincerity from that single utterance alone.

In another meeting of lips, there is a flurry of passion this time, less subdued than the kiss before. One of his bulky arms rests at your side, the two of you nearly chest to chest, flush atop the velveteen cushions. Whatever chill you had before is now replaced with warmth, from both the fire and from him.

You can’t remember the last time you’ve been kissed like this — for a man as unyieldingly strong and dark as he is, the Batman’s tender approach takes you by surprise. He almost seems shy, as if this is a new realm he hasn’t traversed yet himself, but you make no comment on his potential inexperience.

Beside the light of the dying fire, swallowed by the eerie calm of his shadow, you let yourself be consumed by his vengeful void. You kiss him again, listening to his sharp inhale as you cling to him, feeling the firm planes of his body armor.

Bruce pries the leather away from his hands, shedding both gloves and gauntlets, knuckles wrapped in tattered gauze that’s stained with old blood. The yearning he feels is almost overwhelming — he wants to touch you, but asking seems disorienting, daunting even.

As your fingers curl around one of his hands, he nearly gasps, tensing at the icy embrace of your digits, the silken texture of your skin. Tracing your thumb atop his knuckles, you see the traces of grime and fading bruises, specks of his blood, the calloused expanse of his palm — hands that have done far too much.

“Look at me.”

The sensual intensity of his sonorous voice commands your attention instantaneously — your eyes snap to find his, those brilliant green oculars. He inspects you with a trace amount of affection, his hand coming to slip underneath your chin, effectively making you shudder.

He kisses the corner of your mouth — it’s sweet.

Eager to feel all of you, Bruce hesitates, his gravelly lull seemingly perturbed as he murmurs another ‘look at me’, gaze raking across your countenance and toward the rest of your body. He’s somewhat sluggish to ask for what he wants, and he hopes that you’re keen enough to pick up on his physical implications.

Your breath hitches, ears prickling as his voice wraps around you each and every time. “It’s okay.” Reassuring as ever, you nudge his hand. For a man as vicious and mysterious as he is, the vigilant enigma, he’s rather nervous — if it is nervousness, at least. You can’t tell what he’s feeling, he’s indiscernible.

Quick to act this time around, his roughened, powerful hand falls toward the hem of your blouse, skirting across your skin as he feels you shiver underneath him. You simply jerk past the row of pearlescent buttons, letting it loosely sag around your shoulders.

Bruce doesn’t stop himself this time, pressing his mouth against your neck, leaving a trail of searing kisses in his wake. Freeing yourself from the confines of his cloak, a soft moan slips past your parted lips, reaching for his arm.

He’s weak — your skin is like satin underneath his lips.

The brow of his leathery cowl bumps against your flesh as he slowly maneuvers his way down the length of your body, kissing the pain away, both yours and his, kissing away his loneliness. His mouth falls across the tops of your breasts, taut digits coming to cup your chest, hooking underneath the hem of your brassiere.

Slotted between your legs, your skirt rides high, hitching toward your hips as you accommodate his bulky frame. You’re cold to the touch, but wherever Bruce touches, warmth blooms there instead of the icy sting. His confidence is slowly growing, but he’s focused on you, drowning himself in your very being.

The more you watch him, the more your mind runs rampant — who is he underneath? You wonder what exactly he looks like, the fluctuations in his countenance, the taut, strong muscle of his body as he closes in on you.

He’s perfect, you think, perfect and terrifying in the best of ways.

Continuing the string of kisses along your body, he meticulously lingers on the faint bruises you received from your fall. His soft lips mold themselves to your ribcage and stomach, drifting wherever they please. His hand curls into your skirt, but you quickly wriggle out of the garment, kicking it off toward the floor.

Each kiss sends shivers down your spine, his hand settling along one of your thighs as he continues his descent. You have an inkling of his intentions, and it’s enough to make you squirm, your hand falling toward his shoulder.

Bruce hasn’t done this for some time — the pressure to please you is certainly there, but the overwhelming sensation of not feeling alone is present, too. The doe-like look in your mesmerized stare is enough to make his skin grow hot, lips parting as he kisses your hipbone.

As his digits curl into the elastic band of your panties, those striking eyes look to you for approval, a stare that will be burned into your mind for days to come. There is a reverence present that you’ve never experienced before, a certain level of care that you desperately crave.

“Please,” You whisper, listening to the heavy lull of the rain outside as it begins to pick up again. The little hitch in your voice is more than noticeable, a pang of anticipation hitting your gut. “Please.” Nearly rendered breathless this time, you shiver when he presses his mouth to the inside of your thigh.

The shadows come for you — his shadows, his darkness. It’s enticing, and it sucks you in as if he retains some gravitational pull. You gasp when you feel his teeth nip at tender flesh, leaving behind a trail of marks that he revels in.

Smoothing his palm along your leg, his deft, roughened digits swipe across your cunt, prying you apart with careful deliberation. His lips move to press firm, heated kisses to your opposite thigh, nipping wherever he pleases, pushing his fingers into your wet slit.

You don’t know where to grasp except for his shoulders — it’s an unstable grip and you wish to tug on the hair underneath his stitched cowl. The linen bandages that stay twined around his knuckles and palm graze your leg, and instinctively, you place your hand atop his.

The Batman shudders, his breath hitches in the faintest of ways, as if he’s been exposed to something foreign. Bruce feels as if he could combust from the weight of your stare alone, coupled with the affectionate way in which your dainty fingers tense around his hand.

Through fleeting, heated glances, he drags his digits along the length of your cunt, dwelling within the slick heat as he moves in deliberate motions. As soon as he grazes your clit, your hips spasm, a wanton moan tearing past your parted lips as you keen into his embrace.

“I want to see you.” You murmured, dazed and drunk upon your own desire. It wasn’t a demand, but a gentle plea — one that Bruce couldn’t give into, even to you. The pad of your thumb grazed over his knuckles, stomach churning as he continued to stroke at your cunt.

Pressing his mouth to your inner thigh again, he made eye contact with you for the briefest moment — you were painfully beautiful. He made you whimper when he nudged at your clit again, warm breath and days-old stubble drifting across your flesh.

“Use your imagination.” Husky and rugged, mysterious and alluring like the night, he kept you hooked, kept you wondering. The answer sufficed — it was enough to let your mind go in a thousand different directions, but he grounded you as he eased two fingers into your cunt, breathing heavily.

Rolling into his hand, the both of you groaned in tandem, his being far more subdued than yours. Swallowed by your tight heat, Bruce steadily fell into some sort of pattern, moving his digits forward and back, just enough to make you squirm.

The euphoria he gains from this is blinding — it spurs him on, fingers dutifully touching you everywhere, no matter how clumsy and swift it seems. You haven’t experienced something like this before, not to this magnitude, and it almost doesn’t feel real — Bruce unknowingly shares such sentiments.

Sprawled atop his cloak, you nudge your legs apart just a little more, a strangled whimper escaping you as his fingers diligently work away at your cunt. Lulled into submission by his husky breathing and the deluge outside, you melt into him — you want to fade away.

You quiver when his mouth meets the cleft between your thighs, tongue sweeping open heat across your slit, aching and wanton. The first motions of his lips are hesitant, testing the waters and searching for your reaction, which is more than enthusiastic.

The sensation of his mouth intermingled with the deliberate motion of his digits made you choke on whatever noise began to rise from the back of your throat. Words died upon your tongue, any shred of pleasurable sound being ripped apart by your winded gasp.

Bruce shuddered, inexperienced yet willing, lapping at your clit with an enthusiasm you hadn’t felt before yourself. Your taste was intoxicating, making him scramble for more, his own mind becoming murky with lust. Desperation trickled through the cracks, and he couldn’t bring himself to care. Everything about you drew him in, magnetized and enamored — it was a mutual feeling.

He needed you, too.

The leather of his cowl grazed against your pelvis, and for a moment, those viridian hues snapped forward, locking in a stare as you gripped his hand so very tightly. The arch of your back brought your hips into closer quarters with his face, evoking a low groan from him, enough to make you quiver.

He was an abyss between your legs — the dying hearth left him shrouded in shadows, save for the pearlescent pallor of his jaw, the bloodshot whites of his eyes. With another breathy moan, you keened into his embrace, feeling his hand squeeze at your hipbone. His tongue raked embers across your aching cunt, making your head spin.

Incendiary was a mere understatement — you were set ablaze, submitting to each thrust of his fingers and roll of his tongue, melting around him. He was attentive yet sloppy, a touch unrestrained and perhaps desperate, but you didn’t care. You were happy to melt, happy to let his shadows bleed into you.

The sensation of his lips pursing around your clit jerked you right into the heat of the moment, breathy sighs and shrewd moans escaping you. They entangled themselves with Bruce’s sonorous grunts and the low echo of his groans, vocalizations of pleasure.

“I need you,” You sputtered, choking upon whatever sound intended to rip through your windpipe. “You’re perfect.” Again, your declarations of desire and praise fell upon attentive ears, as Bruce continued to eat you out with vigor. He lightly sucked at your clit, enough to make you jolt forward a time or two.

Far from perfect, he knew this — hearing you say it aloud through a strangled moan was enough to almost make him believe that he was perfect. Bruce was nearly drunk on your own pleasure, uncomfortably hard underneath the codpiece of his suit. He couldn’t fathom what brought him here, but he wanted to come back.

For a man with his immeasurable wealth and notoriety, Bruce was inexperienced, lacking any shred of sexual tact. The suit was more than helpful, a barrier to shroud him from his ineptitude as Bruce Wayne. There was a confidence present now that he lacked otherwise.

A shrewd string of incoherent whimpers left your mouth, intermingled by the pleasant pitch of your moans. His breath was ragged and hot against your core, alternating between eager laps of his tongue and the pursing of his lips around your clitoris. It was an electrifying lust, burning inside of you like a fever, leaving you breathless.

The kevlar and roughened plates of his suit scrape across your delicate flesh, leaving behind reddened marks. Such blemishes are accompanied by the gentle love bites left behind on your thighs. You hope that they don’t fade — you want the visceral reminder of what’s happened to you, of him happening to you.

That sensitive clutch of nerves between your legs jolts and ripples with ecstasy, sending white-hot pleasure throughout your body. His head is still buried there, eating your cunt as if it’s the last thing he’ll ever do, sucking around your clit with a noticeable vigor. You want to explode then and there, but something else pushes you over the edge.

It’s the breathy, subtle sigh of ‘fuck’ that the Batman gives that sends you spiraling out of orbit, and you can hear him nearly moan. In fact, you swore you heard him moan, watching as he shifts his bulky frame whilst trapped between your thighs, and he makes momentary eye contact with you.

You cum then and there, doe-eyed and hearing static as the tension unfurls from within your gut.

Even through your orgasm, his fingers are slowly plunging themselves inside of you, curling within your wet heat, purging sinful noises from your mouth. The intensity within his stare is enough to make you shudder, a mystique that is alluring all on its own. It isn’t until you’re shaking that he removes his digits, absentmindedly wetting his lower lip.

Bruce can’t escape you — you’re everywhere.

You are on his tongue, the taste of you becoming something that he wants to commit to memory. You are on his skin like a thick haze, a hazy fog that he cannot wade through. Your scent — whatever concoction of perfume you wear will be burned into his brain for weeks, for months to come. The sight of you quivering beneath him, lips agape and eyes bright, he wants to have you again and again.

He wants you always.

He leaves one last kiss against your thigh, lingering for a second longer than he should’ve. Whether you notice the hesitation or not, he isn’t sure.

Moonlight glistens through the haze of rain, thin slats falling across his shadowed frame as he sits backward. His silence is somewhat unsettling, but you assume it’s the exhilaration — you feel it too, hanging heavy within your head like a thick shroud.

You’re tired, but you want to force yourself to stay awake, legs twitching as you sluggishly come down from your high. A dull ache radiates from the source of your stitches, and you know that he’s keen enough to pick up on your exhaustion.

“You should rest.”

His gravelly lull attracts your attention, and you meet his stare with an awestruck expression. The tension hasn’t fully subsided, enough to make your heart skip a beat as he moves off of the lounge, watching his deliberate steps toward the rainy terrace.

“What about you?” Your voice is quiet, strung with enough concern to make him stop in his tracks.

The Batman turns, a stoic, solemn air about him. A sliver of him wishes he could stay, keep watch until the first inklings of dawn — but you’re safe here. Gotham is still a hellish landscape that requires him, requires vengeance. Bruce knows that he can’t stop now, he can’t quit until morning. The night is far from over.

“You shouldn’t worry about me.”

His utterance leaves behind a trace of darkness — the subtleties of what might happen to any villain who crosses his path. Every shred of intimidation that you felt toward him before comes crawling back. It’s enough to make you shiver, covered by the throw blanket that’s draped across the back of the lounge, and you miss the slick material of his cape.

Without another word, vengeance blends into the shadows, melding into the abyss of a bleak cityscape.

When you wake, you’re home — the ornate gothic architecture has disappeared, exchanged for the tidy, well-kept quarters of your studio apartment. It’s somewhat disheartening to see, but you should’ve known better. Your belongings sit neatly at the foot of your bed, and you’re still wrapped in the very same blanket he left you in.

Dawn begins to touch the horizon of Gotham City, and your mind immediately finds him. You wonder what happened to him after he left, if he was safe, what sorts of foul individuals he encountered.

From the dew-covered, dingy windows of your apartment, you can see the light still in the sky — you know that it won’t be there for much longer. Sluggishly, you sit up from your bed, bones aching with a dull throbbing that is still persistent.

Part of you longs to see him again — it’s wishful thinking, the thoughts of a smitten schoolgirl that make you cringe. There are other people who need him, need his protection, his selflessness. Everyone at City Hall, everyone at the GPD warns of him, as if he’s some blight, a plague on the city.

The city is rotting, decaying at a rate that seems far too steady for your liking — Gotham needs him.

You need him.

You twist the knobs on top of your bedroom window, ensuring that it’s unlocked. Maybe you’ll cross paths with the shadowed crusader again, maybe you won’t. Whatever the future holds, you know that he’s out there, that he’s real, he’s a hero — and maybe, just maybe, he thinks of you, too.

#the batman #batman 2022 #the batman x reader #batman x reader #bruce wayne x reader #batman x you #batman x fem!reader #bruce wayne x you #robert pattinson #the batman fanfic #batman fanfiction #batman smut

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twistedtummies2 · 2 years ago

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Good & Evil - Fallen Heroes

Welcome to Good & Evil: A Study of Heroes & Villains. I’m discussing different forms of heroic and villainous characters, different types of protagonists and antagonists, and providing examples of them each from various sources. Last time I discussed Redeemed and Redeemable Villains: bad guys who become good. Today, it seems fitting I go the opposite direction, as we discuss the mirror image of such characters: Fallen Heroes. “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Trite, but often sadly true. Fallen Heroes are exactly what they sound like: they are good characters who turn bad. Now, Fallen Heroes are not necessarily the same as Tragic Heroes, although the two are not mutually exclusive, either. Tragic Heroes are heroes who fail or are bombarded by the horrors of life itself; the titular character of the Greek play “Oedipus Rex” never actually becomes a villain, he simply suffers because of the cruel ironies of destiny. Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” is much the same: while he’s certainly come down in the world due to various things, it’s hard to say he becomes the villain so much as he simply suffers and falters because of a mixture of changing times and his own poor decisions. These characters certainly are tragic, but they are not characters who proverbially “fall from grace.” Those are the types of characters we’re discussing here.

We might as well start off this explanation with the character everybody (including me) quotes when it comes to this archetype: Two-Face from DC Comics. In the mainstream comics, as well as most screen and video game adaptations, Two-Face’s origin has always been tragic, and it’s fairly simple to explain. Once upon a time, this deranged gruesome was the well-meaning District Attorney of Gotham City, Harvey Dent. Dent was a champion of the people, beloved not only for his good looks, but his staunch and stalwart crusade against organized crime in Gotham. Unfortunately, all that changed when an encounter with such criminals led to Harvey’s face (and sometimes his whole body) ending up horribly mutilated, with one side of his skull horrifically scarred. In some versions, the experience itself was enough to make Harvey crack; in others, he was already struggling with inner demons and this was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Regardless, the end result is the same: Harvey becomes the demented Two-Face, a villainous gangster obsessed with duality and with his own warped sense of justice. Virtually every twist on Two-Face worth their salt keeps this basic setup, and for good reason: not only does it make him a more personal threat for the Dark Knight, as in many continuities Bruce and Harvey were once good friends, but it also brings a sense of sad pathos to Two-Face, as we recognize he once used to be a good man, and that goodness is still buried somewhere deep inside of him. At times that inner goodness finds a way to shine through…but nine times out of ten, almost inevitably, Harvey’s evil alter-ego finds a way to rear his ugly head again.

Another famous example is Darth Vader, from the Star Wars saga. Ignoring how well one believes Anakin Skywalker’s actual evolution from Jedi to Sith Lord plays out, the point remains that his story is a tragic and classic example. Anakin starts off as a young boy with an unusually precocious and perceptive personality, and those who rear him up believe he is destined for good and glorious things. Unfortunately, a mangled mixture of various negative influences causes Anakin’s supposed destiny to go awry: he loses people close to him, forms attachments with people who prove to be evil counsel to him, and becomes much too prideful and envious for his own good. His yearning for power and his desire for respect mesh dangerously with his longing to help those he cares for most, and as a result, he becomes twisted to the dark side, and becomes one of the galaxy’s most formidable threats. Even if you don’t know the whole story of how Anakin became Darth Vader, the simple fact he was - the idea of a respected Jedi Knight, admired and loved by his comrades, becoming one of the most evil and corrupt beings in the universe - is a powerful and poignant concept, and a big part of what makes Vader such an iconic character.

Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda is another excellent example of this idea. He is not so different from Vader, as it is a mixture of pride, envy, and broken relationships that leads him on his descent into darkness. Once upon a time, Tai Lung was seen as the hero of the Valley of Peace: he was Shifu’s finest student, as well as his adoptive son, and everybody - including Tai Lung - presumed that he would one day be made into the legendary Dragon Warrior. Unfortunately, the Grandmaster claims to see darkness in Tai Lung’s heart, and denies the snow leopard what he believes is basically his birthright. The proud warrior goes berserk, and proceeds to attack the very people he was sworn to protect, vowing vengeance upon those he believes have betrayed him and made a mockery of all his hard work. While Tai Lung’s rage is understandable, and his fall from grace is tragic, there is no denying he has become quite the monster.

Not all Fallen Heroes become monsters of their own volition, however. Take, for example, Rinzler: the secondary antagonist of Tron: Legacy. “Legacy” is the sequel to the cult-classic 1980s movie “Tron,” which focused on the adventures of a warrior named Tron and his allies facing the empirical MCP and his own villainous underlings in a computerized innerworld. In “Legacy,” a new villain has taken over the computer world - CLU - and Rinzler is his primary henchman. Rinzler is a mute and faceless being of darkness; a literal killing machine with no purpose but to obey CLU and derez anybody he is ordered to terminate. He is a terrifying and seemingly inhuman creature, one of the scariest parts of the film…and he is later revealed to be the heroic Tron, himself, from the previous movie. It turns out that CLU brainwashed Tron to prevent him from causing trouble, thus transforming him into the murderous monster that now serves CLU. Tron is not at fault for his fall from grace, but there can be no erasing the evil he has done at his new employer’s behest.

While all Fallen Heroes are heroes who go bad, believe it or not, not all of them are necessarily villains. One of the oldest and best examples of this is Shakespeare’s titular protagonist in “Othello.” The villain of the play is the deceitful and treacherous Iago, who organizes Othello’s fall and tragedy. At the start of the story, Othello is a highly-respected soldier, and his life is seemingly perfect. His best friend is his second-in-command, his comrades admire him, he has few enemies that concern him…it seems as close to ideal as most people can get their lives to be. Unfortunately, Iago preys upon the one weakness that Othello seems to have: Othello is a very emotional fellow, and due to his singular nature as a Moor in the city, somewhat insecure. By the end of the story, Iago’s machinations have led to Othello going absolutely insane. The once noble hero murders his own wife and causes despair for his best friend before finally committing suicide, unable to live with his shame and grief. In my previous entry, I mentioned how Redeemed Villains will sometimes have what is dubbed a “Heel-Face Turn,” flipping rather suddenly from villain to hero towards the end of the tale. Othello, in a way, is that kind of character in reverse: through most of the play, we sympathize with Othello and see him as a good man being persecuted by an evil man. When Othello commits his climactic depravities, however, we recognize - as everyone does - that the goodness in him has soured, and no amount of regret can change what he has become. These forms of the Fallen Hero straddle a fine line between the hapless Tragic Hero and those who truly turn to the dark side, making them all the more fascinating.

Fallen Heroes, much like Sympathetic Villains and Anti-Villains, are characters who act essentially as cautionary tales for the audience. They are not simply characters we understand and feel sorry for, but characters who we recognize either are or were highly admirable and wonderful people. They represented, as all Heroes do, the best qualities we could hope to achieve and live up to as human beings. Unfortunately, like human beings, even Heroes have their problems, and when the stresses prove too great, it becomes clear that even the best people can turn to the proverbial dark side if they lack the self-control and self-awareness to prevent that from happening. Fallen Heroes remind us that just as there is good in everybody, there is also evil. If a good person either becomes too sure of their own strength, or shows too much vulnerability at the wrong time, or even a bit of both, they can become even more dangerous than the very evils they sought to fight against. History has shown us, just as fiction has, that this is more common than we would like to believe. There is a cynicism inherent in the idea of the Fallen Hero, and it is perhaps best exemplified in the following quote: “You can’t trust anyone. ESPECIALLY your heroes.”

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superhero--imagines · 4 years ago

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Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here!

A/N: I think The next post will be the last one for this series!

“Did you...have fun tonight?” The way Dick haltingly asks causes laughter to bubble out of your mouth

“I can say that was nothing like any family dinner I’ve ever seen-“

And if that isn’t the truth, for one - even though you’ve heard of all of Bruce Wayne’s adopted children, you didn’t think there would be so many.

Dick’s the oldest, well officially anyway. Barbara Gordon, as in Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, was at dinner too. Apparently she and Dick had a brief stint where they dated. You’re guessing it was before Dick realized he likes boys - or maybe he likes both? You’ve never expressly asked him about using sexuality.

He’s got three little brothers, the youngest and the second oldest seem to have the highest predisposition towards violence, mostly to each other. And then the second youngest, Tim, he seems to be barely held together, mostly through caffeine and anxiety.

Cassandra from class was there too, as well as Stephanie, which was nice to see. They ducked out halfway through, which should have been your queue to duck out too.

Unfortunately you didn’t, which resulted in a rather poorly placed tomato soup stain at the edge of your dress’s hem.

“I like your brothers though” you say with a smile. You did like his brothers. The youngest, Damian, stared at you for seven very long minutes, before saying-

“How do you feel about animals?” When you told him you loved them he seemed pleased. Also, as a college student, you vibe with Tim. Though you do think someone should cut him off and have him switch to herbal tea. Jason seems cool enough, he just looked at you for a second before giving Dick a wolffish grin.

“Alfred was nice too, and it was fun seeing your- uh...Bruce again” You almost called Bruce his Dad. Bruce is nice, but he’s still a bigot. It was nice meeting Alfred, who showed you many pictures of a nine year old Dick Grayson, most of which were him doing acrobatics around the house. Honestly you thought it was adorable, but you put an end to it since Dick was blushing so fiercely that you thought he might combust.

It really was a lot of fun.

You shiver, the cold night air brushing against your bare arms. You’re standing in front of your building, saying your final goodbyes until you scamper off to your apartment, getting ready for another week of classes.

“Here, take my jacket-“ He’s already tugging it off. Before you can protest, it’s settled over your shoulders. The effect is almost instant, tendrils of warmth seeping into your shoulders and upper body.

It smells like him, you think.

Like- like his expensive cologne, with notes of amber and moss- but also like soap, like clean laundry, and something else, something sweet.

“Cotton Candy” You murmur to yourself. He probably eats it by the gallon sized bag , you think with a giggle.

“T-thank you-“ your eyes trail from the sleeve of his suit jacket to Dick, who’s got a pink tint fanning across his face, blue eyes flicking from the ground to your eyes.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight, and being so kind and considerate and lovely” and then Dick does something completely unexpected, he leans in closer and presses a kiss to your forehead. Your heart leaps in your chest, his sickly sweet Cotten candy scent floods your senses.

You would just have to tilt you head up slightly to catch his lips in yours. He smells so sweet, it almost makes you dizzy. It’s like being drunk, you think.

You want to smell him more.

“Thank you for being so accepting.” His words are like a bucket of cold water being dumped over your head. You feel like you’ve sobered right up.

“Of course, we’re friends aren’t we?” You offer Dick a smile, but you know it’s probably strained. You were so caught up in the moment, you forget he’s already in love with someone.

All of his feelings, all of his kisses, they’re reserved for Nightwing.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow” You call out, before walking into your building, feeling Dick’s lingering

So you like Dick.

F*ck.

You’re on the balcony of your apartment, nursing a glass of hot tea in the late night- or would it be early hours of the morning? You can make out the sky beginning to lighten into a lighter blue. Great so you stayed up all night thinking about your feelings.

Your body is going to love you for this.

How did this even happen? Were you just so focused on not getting a crush on either of his sisters that you didn’t see this coming. Ugh why dick of all people? Yeah, sure he’s got those sparkly eyes, and that permanent rosy blush, not to mention that lopsided grin-

Okay so you know why you’re falling in love with him. But there’s no point in nursing these blooming feelings not when-

“Hey do you have any sugar?” The masked crusader asks from beside you. That dazzling smile that makes people everywhere swoon aimed at you.

No point in nursing feelings for Dick, when the object of his affections is standing next to you, drinking earl grey out of your pink “Namaste in bed” mug.

“Or not- no big deal, I love my hot leaf juice with or without sugar.” He adds hastily, taking a loud sip as if to show you how much he’s enjoying your hospitality. You must have let your annoyance get to your face. You sigh, it’s not his fault that Dick loves him.

You’re the outsider here.

“So what are you doing out so late?” You ask, just wanting to make some small talk. But Nightwing lights up like you just offered him a million dollars. He’s so friendly it’s almost annoying, not unlike another certain dark haired golden boy you know.

“I’m always up, fighting crime, patrolling the streets-“ you never realized but being a vigilante is kind of a lot of work huh? You wonder if Nightwing has a day job, he looks so young though- maybe he’s still in school.

“The real questions is why are you still up?” His question is punctuated with a slurp of his tea.

“Just thinking I guess” you shrug, taking a sip of your own tea. You’re not about to tell Nightwing you realized you have feelings for his boyfriend.

“Thinking about the person you love?” It feels like you were just struck by an arrow. Nightwing’s mouth stretches. “No way, I was right?” You can almost picture the sparkle in his eyes behind his domino mask. You wonder what color eyes Nightwing has.

Probably a boring brown.

“Well who’s the lucky individual?” Noting your hesitance, Dick starts to get a little nervous. It hurts a little to think you don’t return his feelings. But there’s something about the shy look on your face, the way your eyes avert to your cup of tea, that’s just hopelessly adorable. What he wouldn’t give to have you look at him that way.

And then, a terrifying thought occurs to Dick.

“Don’t tell me you’re in love with Bruce Wayne?” He’s got absolutely no chance if you’re into older men. No unless you’re willing to wait ten years or so.

Then the most amazing thing happens- your mouth opens and laughter spills out. He’s heard you laugh, but never like this. So loud, and almost desperate.

And then, you do something else he’s never seen before. Somewhere along the way those loud laughs transformed into equally loud sobs. Your mouth pinched tight as tears spill from the corners of your eyes.

A hand curls over your eyes in an attempt to cover your face. This is mortifying, you’re basically crying in front of your romantic rival, completely vulnerable.

You’re about to mutter out an excuse, how you’re not usually like this, that you must be close to your period or something. When you feel a pair of arms wrap around your shoulder, your face pressed against Nightwing’s chest.

“It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay” he murmurs reassuringly, his glove covered hand rubbing soothing circles into your back. And even though you were on the edge of recompsure, you’re thrust back into despair. Your sobs leaving you almost breathless as Nightwing continues to hold you.

“Tell me what’s wrong, so I can help” Dick whispers. Whatever it is, it must be serious. He’s never seen you cry, not when you were a hostage in that bank robbery, or held at gun point at that restaurant, not even when Damian was basically integrating you all night.

“I love someone, who’s never going to love me back” you manage between sobs, and Nightwing only shushes you. His hand traveling to your hair. Cradling your head against his chest.

He smells so good, like amber and moss, and something sickeningly sweet- like cotton candy.

He smells like Dick.

And that seems to soothe you a bit, along with Nightwing’s gentle warmth.

“Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine, I promise”

“Man, and I thought things were going really well between you guys” Stephanie says, her hand threading through her golden curls, head tilting back so it rests against the back of his couch.

“Yeah, me too” Dick admits with a sigh, he’s sitting with his knees propped up on the floor, his back against the wall.

Cassandra doesn’t say anything, her eyes are trained on the coffee table, their masks collectively strewn across it.

“So what are you going to do?” Stephanie asks, and Dick sighs again.

“What can I do honestly, they love someone else” he shrugs, he plays it off like it’s not a big deal. But the thought of your with someone else... it makes his stomach hurt.

“Just because she loves someone else right now...doesn’t mean she will forever” Those are the first words Cass has uttered all night, and Dick and Stephanie are both looking at her with wide eyes.

Stephanie’s already hyping him up, saying there’s no way their Dick’s going to lose to some no-face-extra, like your love is some sort of competition to be won.

And Cassandra’s only encouraging her, with energetic nods and the occasional ‘exactly’

But all Dick can think about is the way you felt in his arms, and how small you seemed as sobs wracked through your entire body. How deep your sadness felt, like he might be sucked in any moment too, tears falling from beneath his domino mask.

He hates whoever it is that made you feel that way. If it was him- if you loved him instead, he’d make sure you were never sad, he’d give you everything he was and everything he had if it meant you might smile for him.

He doesn’t want to change your mind, your feelings don’t work like that. All he knows is that he loves you- and what you need right now, is a friend. Someone who-

“Just wants to see them happy” Dick mumbles.

Taglist: @adenspolaroids @libraryoffandomsuniverse @jeneeangella @chyume @masked-mushroom

#batman imagine #dc comics imagine #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson imagines #dick Grayson #dick grayson headcanon #bruce wayne imagine #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #damian wayne imagine #dc comics #bruce wayne x reader #batman imagines #superhero--imagines

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moonlitceleste · 4 years ago

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Elevator Love (Ch. 2)

Chapter 1

So I know it’s been a while since I posted the first chapter, but I decided to give you guys a second as a Valentine’s Day surprise!

I’m really sorry for not updating earlier; besides hating the first chapter so much that I didn’t want to continue, I’ve been really busy with school and extracurriculars, the other WIPs and hobbies I have, and recently my mental health has made a steady plummet haha.

I simultaneously have a vague idea and also absolutely no idea where this fic will go, so we’ll see! Updates will probably be few and far between because besides all the factors mentioned earlier, I’m a really, really, slow writer

Also, I wrote the last chunk of this chapter 1AM last night, so sorry if it’s not coherent askjdhsj

Ages are as follows (it’s been so long since I wrote the first chapter that I forgot what I initially planned them to be so...)

Alfred: ∞ Bruce: 37 Babs: 30 Dick: 27 Cass: 22 Jason: 22 Duke: 20 Tim: 20 Marinette: 19 Damian: 13

Warning: some profanity/cursing ahead!

The heavy metal door to Bruce’s office knocked against the wall with a bang as Jason kicked it open with the toes of his worn black boots.

“What,” he grunted, not even waiting for the older to speak first.

Sure, maybe his unprovoked attitude was a little much, but Jason couldn’t help his annoyance.

Just hours before, he was preparing to settle into his favorite plush beanbag and read (well, reread) The Count of Monte Cristo. After a long week of crime-fighting, nothing sounded better than relaxing next to a crackling fire and getting lost in the pages of his favorite book.

But of course, as soon as he decided to unwind, his phone rang with the obnoxious tune of “Jingle Bells, Batman smells!”

Babs had installed the ringtone as a Christmas prank, reinforced with some advanced encryption she had come up with.

Jason could change it if he wanted to—he wasn’t stupid—but Babs was a tech whiz, and it would take more effort than he wanted to spend. Besides, he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him struggle.

After the jingle abruptly breached his bubble of tranquility, Jason grudgingly picked up his phone.

He was immediately met with Bruce’s gruff voice and barely had time to process the words that filtered through before the triple beep that signified the end of the call sounded.

What the fuck?

Jason groaned in frustration and ran a hand through his black locks, ruffling the hair at the back of his head.

First Bruce called him without warning, demanded he meet him in his office, and proceeded to hang up without leaving him room to talk?

Fucking rude.

Why could he have just texted the very short request he had to Jason instead? That way he could just ignore it and pretend he didn’t see it.

It’s not like he had to oblige—he wasn’t a fucking lapdog, thank you very much—but if he didn’t, Bruce would come up with some inane punishment, like making him babysit Damian.

He didn’t hate the kid or anything, but Jason would rather not have to deal with a hormonal boy in the midst of puberty.

So he set down his book, threw on his leather jacket, and crusaded through the shitty Gotham streets on his motorcycle.

Wayne Enterprises was just as pristine as it was his last visit, with glossy gray-black floors and glass that stretched from ceiling to floor, so clean it sparkled.

Jason passed through easily enough, though not without being spared a few glances that varied from shock to suspicion.

The double-takes weren’t unexpected, what with his being the son of their boss and all, and the suspicious glances from those who didn’t recognize him weren’t exactly unwarranted.

He knew his leather-jacket, combat-boot wearing self looked laughably out-of-place compared to everyone else.

Jason ignored the looks, a habit that had quickly become second nature the moment he went from street kid to ‘street kid with a roof over his head.’

The elevator was thankfully vacant, and as the doors started to close, he shot a quick thanks to the universe that no one else had decided to get on.

Perhaps this was a mistake, because less than a second later he heard a high-pitched voice shout “Wait!”

Jason sighed disappointedly and pressed the button that would open the doors.

He might not have been in the mood for company, but he wasn’t an asshole.

...Okay, whatever. He wasn’t a total asshole.

The girl ran into the elevator after a short while, cheeks flushed from running.

As she stuttered out a thanks, Jason subtly observed her.

She looked a little young to be working at Wayne Enterprises, and her outfit looked much more “picnic date” than it did the formal attire most wore.

There were only a few around her age that worked at WE, none of which whose significant other would have an access card to the building (other than Tim, that is, but there was no way the Replacement had a girlfriend.)

Maybe she was a daughter of one of the employees, then.

The elevator space soon filled up with boxes, and they were forced to do an awkward shuffle to compensate.

A minute later, the girl was unceremoniously shoved into him.

The sweet smell of vanilla and strawberries—subtle yet perceptible—hit his nose, and Jason glanced down.

He could really only see the top of the girl’s head due to their proximity, but her body language screamed discomfort.

So he backed himself up into the elevator wall as much as he possibly could, whispering a sorry and cursing his tall build all the while.

She was admittedly cute, but he’d be damned if he was the prick who pressed himself up against girls without their enthusiastic consent.

The ride was spent with bated breath, and one elevator stop later, Jason found himself walking to Bruce’s office and kicking in the door.

There was a brief silence as it swung back and forth from the momentum; the older simply sighed tiredly and gestured to the chair across from him.

“Have a seat.”

Jason glanced at the black office chair, then at the door as if he were about to suddenly bolt, and then back at the chair. He seemed to think the better of making a hasty escape and grudgingly walked forward, though not without rolling his eyes.

So fucking dramatic.

“What,” he repeated once he had sat himself down.

Bruce just stared at him, hands in a steeple position. It was no doubt an intimidation move; he had seen Batman use the same on Arkham villains.

Jason met his gaze unflinchingly. If he wanted a staring contest, that’s what he’d get.

“Tim has a…friend coming over.”

The silence was broken with slow words, spoken in an almost careful manner.

“Okay. Why’d you have to call me here to tell me that?”

Blunt and to-the-point as always.

“I’m an adult, Bruce. I don’t need a lecture about being on my best behavior. Damian might, though,” he added as an afterthought.

Bruce sighed again and wow was he was doing a lot of sighing today. He really was melodramatic.

“I wasn’t going to lecture you, Jason. I just wanted you to know so you could be prepared.”

“Oh.”

The silence was palpable as an air of awkwardness settled around the two, and Jason sat there fighting the urge to shift in his seat before speaking.

“So is that it?”

“Yes.”

He stood abruptly at the dismissal, pushing in his chair as if he couldn’t wait to get out of there. Well, he did want to get out of there.

With one hand he smoothly opened the heavy door, prepared to leave, but he stopped in his tracks when Bruce spoke once more.

“Jason?”

“What?” he asked, with considerably less annoyance than the first two times.

“...I’m proud of you, lad.”

Jason tried to suppress his shock at the statement, but he wouldn’t be surprised if his facial expression betrayed him.

Despite the somewhat-steady in their family dynamics the past few years, they were still an emotionally constipated bunch.

Jason couldn’t remember the last time someone said those words to him; they meant more to him than he’d reveal.

But because he was a part of the emotionally constipated Wayne family, he settled for an offhand “Yeah, yeah,” before closing the door and walking out.

There was a ghost of a smile on his lips, and the warmth in his heart was one he hadn’t felt in a while, but he could deal with all those emotions later—for now, he had a book to get to.

PERMANENT TAGLIST @avengerthewarrior *@bluesimani @enternalempires @flower-girll @freesportspalacesalad @glastwime859 @h1sss @heart-charming @jalaluvsu @kitsunebell @maskedpainter @moongoddesskiana @nathleigh @too0bsessedformyowngood

ELEVATOR LOVE TAGLIST *@bluesimani @buginetye @bumblebeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee @ichigorose @iloontjeboontje @laurcad123 @moonlightstar64 @roguishredaxion

#celestewrites #maribat #jasonette #timari #platonic timari #elevator love #cel's fics

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wits-writing · 4 years ago

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What’s so Funny About Vengeance, the Night, and Batman? – Two Superhero Parodies in Conversation

Back in 2016, the first trailers for Director Chris McKay’s The Lego Batman Movie hit. A spinoff of the take on the iconic hero, voiced by Will Arnett, from 2014’s The Lego Movie. Those trailers spelled out a plot covering how Batman’s life of crimefighting is turned upside down when Robin unexpectedly enters the picture. It was a funny trailer, promising another insightful comedy from the crew behind The Lego Movie. A promise it handily delivered on when it came out in February 2017 with an animated feature steeped wall-to-wall jokes for the sake of mocking Bruce Wayne’s angst filled crusade that can only come from understanding what’s made the character withstand the test of time.

But there was a thought I and others had from seeing that trailer up to watching the actual movie:

“This seems… familiar.”

Holy Musical B@man! is a 2012 fan-made stage production parody of DC Comics’ biggest cash cow. It was produced as the fifth musical from YouTube-based cult phenomenon Starkid Productions, from a book by Matt and Nick Lang, music by Nick Gage and Scott Lamp with lyrics by Gage. The story of the musical details how Robin’s unexpected entrance ends up turning Batman’s (Joe Walker) life of crimefighting upside down. Among Starkids’ fandom derived projects in their early existence, as they’ve mainly moved on to well-received original material in recent years, Holy Musical B@man! is my personal favorite. I go back to it frequently, appreciating it as a fan of both superheroes and musicals. (Especially since good material that touches on both of those isn’t exactly easy to come by. Right, Spider-Man?)

While I glibly summarized the similarities between them by oversimplifying their plots, there’s a lot in the details, both major and minor, that separates how they explore themes like solitude, friendship, love, and what superhero stories mean. It’s something I’ve wanted to dig into for a while and I found a lot in both of them I hadn’t considered before by putting them in conversation. I definitely recommend watching both of them, because of how in-depth this piece goes including discussing their endings. However, nothing I can say will replace the experience of watching them and if I had included everything I could’ve commented on in both of them, this already massive piece would easily be twice as long minimum.

Up front, I want to say this isn’t about comparing The Lego Batman Movie and Holy Musical B@man in terms of quality. Not only are they shaped for vastly different mediums with different needs/expectations, animation versus stagecraft, but they also had different resources at their disposal. Even if both are in some ways riffing on the aesthetic of the 1990s Batman movies and the Adam West TV show, Lego Batman does it with the ability to make gorgeously animated frames packed to the brim with detail while Holy Musical often leans into its low-fi aesthetic of characters miming props and sets to add extra humor. They’re also for different audiences, Lego Batman clearly for all-ages while Holy Musical has the characters cursing for emphasis on a regular basis. On top of those factors, after picking through each of these for everything worth commenting on that I could find, I can’t say which I wholly prefer thanks in part to these fundamental differences.

This piece is more about digging through the details to explore the commonalities, differences, and what makes them effective mocking love letters to one of the biggest superheroes in existence.

(Also, since I’m going to be using the word “Batman” a lot, I’ll be calling Lego Batman just “Batman” and referring to the version from Holy Musical as “B@man”, with the exception of quoted dialogue.)

[Full Piece Under the Cut]

Setting the Tone

The beginning is, in fact, a very good place to start when discussing how these parodies frame their versions of the caped crusader. Each one uses a song about lavishing their respective Batmen with praise about how they are the best superheroes ever and play over sequences of the title hero kicking wholesale ass. A key distinction comes in who’s singing each song. Holy Musical B@man’s self-titled opening number is sung from the perspective of an omniscient narrator recounting B@man’s origin and later a chorus made up of the Gotham citizenry. Meanwhile, “Who’s the (Bat) Man” from Lego Batman is a brag-tacular song written by Batman about himself, even playing diegetically for all his villains to hear as he beats them up.

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Holy Musical opens on a quick recap of Batman’s origin:

“One shot, Two shots in the night and they’re gone And he’s all left alone He’s just one boy Two dead at his feet and their blood stains the street And there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can do!”

We then get a Bat-dance break as the music goes from slow and moody to energetic to reflect Batman turning that tragedy into the driving force behind his one-man war on crime. Assured by the narrator that he’s “the baddest man that there’s ever been!” and “Now there’s nothing, no there’s nothing he can’t do!” flipping the last lyric of the first verse. For the rest of the opening scene the lyrics matter less than what’s happening to establish both this fan-parody’s version of Batman and how the people of Gotham (“he’ll never refuse ‘em”) view him.

Lego Batman skips the origin recap, and in general talks around the death of the Waynes to keep the light tone going since it’s still a kids movie about a popular toy even if there are deeper themes at play. Instead, it continues a trend The Lego Movie began for this version of the character writing music about how he’s an edgy, dark, awesome, cool guy. While that movie kept it to Batman angry-whiteboy-rapping about “Darkness! NO PARENTS!”, this one expands to more elaborate boasts in the song “Who’s the (Bat) Man” by Patrick Stump:

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“In the darkest night I make the bad guys fall There’s a million heroes But I’m the best of them all!”

Batman singing this song about himself, as opposed to having it sung by others aims the crosshairs of parody squarely on the hero’s ego. His abilities make fighting his villains effortless, like this opening battle is more an opportunity to perform the song than a life-or-death struggle. Even Joker’s aware of that as he shouts, “Stop him before he starts singing!” This Batman doesn’t see himself as missing out on anything in life, even if he still feels that deep down. Being Batman is the coolest thing in the world that anyone would envy. He’s Batman, therefore everyone should envy him.

The songs aren’t only part of the equation for how these two works’ opening scenes establish their leading hero. While both songs are about Batman being cool, they’re separated by the accompanying scenes. Lego Batman keep the opening within the Joker’s perspective until Batman shows up and the action kicks in. Once it does, we’re shown a Batman at the top of his solo-hero game. Meanwhile, Holy Musical’s opening is about B@man building his reputation and by the end of the song he has all the citizens of Gotham singing his praises with the titular lyrics. Both are about being in awe of the title hero, one framed by Joker’s frustration at Batman’s ease in foiling his schemes yet again and the other about the people of Gotham growing to love their city’s hero (probably against their better judgement.)

That’s woven into the fabric of what kind of schemes Batman is foiling in each of these. Joker’s plan to bomb Gotham with the help of every supervillain in Batman’s Rogues Gallery is hilariously high stakes and the type of plan most Batman stories, even parodies, would save for the climax. Neatly exemplified by how that’s almost the exact structure of Holy Musical’s final showdown. Starting with these stakes works as an extension of this Batman’s nature as a living children’s toy and therefore the embodiment of a child’s idea of what makes Batman cool, his ability to wipe the floor with anyone that gets in his way “because he’s Batman.” It also emphasizes Joker as the only member of the Rogues Gallery that matters to Lego Batman’s story, every other Bat-villain is either a purely visual cameo or only gets a couple lines maximum.

The crime’s being stopped by B@man are more in the “Year One” gangster/organized crime category rather than anything spectacle heavy. Though said crimes are comically exaggerated:

Gangster 1: Take these here drugs, put ‘em into them there guns, and then hand ‘em out to those gamblin’ prostitutes! Gangster 2: Should we really be doing these illegal activities? In a children’s hospital for orphans?

These fit into that model of crime the Dark Knight fights in his early days and add tiny humanizing moments between the crooks (“Oh, Matches! You make me laugh like nobody else!”) in turn making the arrival of B@man and the violence he deals out a stronger punchline. Further emphasized by the hero calling out the exact physical damage he does with each hit before warning them to never do crime again saying, “Support your families like the rest of us! Be born billionaires!” Later in the song his techniques get more extreme and violence more indiscriminate, as he uses his Bat-plane to patrol and gun down whoever he sees as a criminal, including a storeowner accidentally taking a single dollar from his own register. (“God’s not up here! Only Batman!”)

A commonality between these two openings is how Commissioner Jim Gordon gets portrayed. Both are hapless goofs at their core, playing more on the portrayal of the character in the 60s TV show and 90s Burton/Schumacher movies than the serious-minded character present in comics, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and other adaptations. Lauren Lopez’s portrayal in Holy Musical gets overwhelmed by everything thrown at him, eventually giving up and getting out of B@man’s way (“I’m not gonna tell Batman what to do! He’s Batman!”) Hector Elizondo’s Gordon in Lego Batman clearly reached the “stay out of Batman’s way” point a long time ago, happy to have “the guy who flips on the Bat-signal” be his sole defining trait. While the characterizations are close, their roles do end up differing. Lopez’s Gordon sticks around to have a few more comedic scenes as the play goes on, where Elizondo’s exist to set up a contrast with his daughter Barbara and her way of approaching Batman when she becomes Police Commissioner.

These opening sequences both end in similar manners as well; the citizens of Gotham lavishing praise on their respective Batmen and a confrontation between Batman and the Joker. Praise from the citizenry in Holy Musical comes on the heels of a letter from B@man read out on the news about how much they and the city of Gotham suck. They praise B@man for his angsty nature as a “dark hero” and how they “wouldn’t want him any other way!”, establishing the motif of Gotham’s citizens in Holy Musical as stand-ins for the Batman fandom. Lego Batman uses the praise of the Gotham citizens after Batman’s victory in the opening scene as a lead in to contrast their certainty that Batman must have an exciting private life with the reality we’re shown. Which makes sense since Lego-Batman’s relationship to the people of Gotham is never presented as something at stake.

Greater contrast comes in how the confrontations with the Joker are handled, Lego Batman has an argument between the hero and villain that’s intentionally coded as relationship drama, Batman saying “There is no ‘us’” when Joker declares himself Batman’s greatest enemy. The confrontation in Holy Musical gets purposefully underplayed as an offstage encounter narrated to the audience as a Vicki Vale news report. This takes Joker off the board for the rest of the play in contrast to the Batman/Joker relationship drama that forms one of Lego Batman’s key pillars. While they take different forms, the respective citizenry praise and villain confrontation parts of these openings lead directly into the number one common thematic element between these Bat-parodies: Batman’s loneliness.

One is the Darkest, Saddest, Loneliest Number

Batman as an isolated hero forms one of the core tenants of the most popular understanding of the character. Each of these parodies picks at that beyond the broody posturing. There’s no dedicated segment in this piece about how these works’ versions of the title character function bleeds into every other aspect of them, but each starts from the idea of Batman as a man-child with trouble communicating his emotions. Time’s taken to give the audience a view of where their attitudes have left them early in the story.

Both heroes show their loneliness through interactions with their respective Alfreds. Holy Musical has the stalwart butler, played by Chris Allen, try to comfort B@man by asking if he has any friends he enjoys being around. When B@man cites Lucius Fox as a friend he calls him right away, only to discover Lucius Fox is Alfred’s true identity and Alfred Pennyworth was an elaborate ruse he came up with to protect Bruce on his father’s wishes. Ironically, finding out his closest friend was living a double life causes Bruce to push Alfred away (the play keeps referring to him as Alfred after this, so that’s what I’m going to do as well.) After he’s fired he immediately comes back in a new disguise as “O’Malley the Irish Butler” (same outfit he wore before but with a Party City Leprechaun hat.) That’s unfortunately the start of a running gag in Holy Musical that ends up at the worst joke in the play, when Alfred disguises himself as “Quon Li the Chinese Butler” doing an incredibly cringeworthy “substituting L’s for R’s” bit with his voice. It’s been my least favorite bit in the play since I first saw it in 2012 and legitimately makes me hesitate at times to recommend it. Even if it’s relatively small bit and the rest holds ups.

That disclaimer out of the way, that conversation between B@man and Alfred leads into the title hero reflecting on his sadness through the musical’s I Want Song, “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight.” The song’s split into two halves, the first Alfred reflecting on whether he played a part in Bruce’s current condition and the second B@man longing for a connection. The song does a good job balancing between the sincerity over the hero’s sadness and getting good laughs out of it:

“Think of the children Next time you gun down the mama and papa Their only mama and papa Because they probably don’t have another mama and papa!”

The “I Want” portion of the song coming in the end with the repetition of the lryics “I want to be somebody’s buddy.”

Rather than another song number, Lego Batman covers Batman’s sadness through a pair of montages and visual humor. The first comes after the opening battle, where we see Batman taking off all his costume except for the mask hanging out alone in Wayne Manor, showing how little separation he puts between identities. Compared to Holy Musical where the equivalent scene is the first we see of Bruce without the mask on, which may come down to practicality since anyone who’s worn a mask like that knows they get hot and sweaty fast. Batman is constantly made to appear small among the giant empty rooms of his estate as he eats dinner, jams on his guitar, and watches romantic movies alone.

Ralph Fienne’s Alfred coming in at the end of this sequence witnessing Batman looking at a photo of himself as a boy with his parents for the last time. Alfred outlines Batman’s fear of being part of a family again only to be met with Batman denying he has any feelings ever. Pennyworth’s role as a surrogate father gets put into greater focus here than in Holy Musical, as we get glimpses of Alfred reading a book titled “How to Deal with Your Out-of-Control Child.” Also shown in smaller scenes of Alfred dealing with Batman’s insistent terminology for his crime fighting equipment, like calling his cowl an “armored face disguise.”

Batman’s denial of his pain contrasts how B@man wallows in it. Though he’s forced to confront it a little as the Joker’s plan ends up leaving him with no crimefighting to fall back on to ignore his issues. This montage gets set to the song “One” by Harry Nilsson and details Batman, unable to express his true feelings, eventually letting them out in the form of tempter tantrums. There’s also some humor through juxtaposition as Batman walks solemnly through the streets of Gotham City, rendered black and white, as the citizens chant “No more crime!” in celebration, while flipping over cars and firing guns into the air.

A disruption to their loneliness eventually comes in the form of a sensational character find.

Robin – The Son/BFF Wonder

Between both Bat-parodies, the two Robins’ characterizations are as close as anyone’s between them. Each is nominally Dick Grayson but are ultimately more representative of the idea of Robin as the original superhero sidekick and his influence on Batman’s life. The play and movie also both make the obvious jokes about Dick’s name and the classic Robin costume’s lack of pants at different points. Dick’s origin also gets sidestepped in each version to skip ahead to the part where he starts being an influence in Batman’s life.

Robin’s introduction to the comics in Detective Comics #38 in 1940, marking the start of Batman’s literal “Year Two” as a character, predating the introduction of Joker, Catwoman, and Alfred, among others. Making him Batman’s longest lasting ally in the character’s history. His presence and acrobatics shift the tone by adding a dash of swashbuckling to Batman’s adventures, inspired by the character’s namesake Robin Hood, though both parodies take a page out of Batman Forever and associate the name with the bird for the sake of a joke. Robin is as core to Batman as his origin, but more self-serious adaptations (i.e., the mainstream cinematic ones that were happening around the times both Holy Musical and Lego Batman came out) tend to avoid the character’s inclusion. These two works being parody, therefore anything but self-serious, give themselves permission to examine why Robin matters and how different characters react to his presence. Rejection of Robin as a character and concept comes out in some form in each of these works, from Batman himself in Lego Batman and the Gotham citizens in Holy Musical.

The chain of events that lead to Dick becoming Robin in Lego Batman are a string of consequences for Batman’s self-absorption. A scene of Bruce barely listening as Dick asks for advice on getting adopted escalating to absentmindedly signing the adoption paperwork. Batman doesn’t realize he has a son until after his sadness montage. Alfred forces Batman to start interacting with Dick against his will. The broody loner wanting nothing to do with the cheery kid, played to “golly gee gosh” perfection by Michael Cera, until he sees the utility of him. Batman doesn’t even have the idea to give Robin a costume or codename because he clearly views the sidekick’s presence as a temporary measure for breaking into Superman’s fortress, made clear by how he lists “expendable” as a quality Dick needs if he wants to go on a mission.

This makes Robin the catalyst for Batman’s shifting perspective throughout Lego Batman. When Robin succeeds in his first mission, the Dark Knight is hesitant to truly compliment him and chalks up his ward’s feats to “unbelievable obeying.” Other moments have Robin’s presence poke holes in Batman’s tough guy demeanor, like the first time Batman and Robin ride in the Bat-mobile together, Robin asks where the seatbelts are and Batman growls “Life doesn’t give you seatbelts!”, only for Batman to make a sudden stop causing Robin to hit his head on the windshield and Batman genuinely apologizes. They share more genuine moments together as the film goes, like Batman suggesting they beatbox together to keeps their spirits up after they’ve been imprisoned for breaking into Arkham Asylum. Robin’s representative of Batman gradually letting people in throughout these moments.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, B@man needs zero extra prompting to let Robin into his life. Nick Lang’s Robin (henceforth called “Rob!n” to keep with this arbitrary naming scheme I’ve concocted) does get brought into his life by Alfred thanks to a personal ad (“‘Dog for sale’? No… ‘Orphan for sale’! Even better!”) but it’s a short path to B@man deciding to let Dick fight alongside him. The briefest hesitance on the hero’s part, “To be Batman… is to be alone”, is quelled by Rob!n saying “We could be alone… together.” Their first scene together quickly establishing the absurd sincerity exemplified by this incarnation of the Dynamic Duo. An energy carried directly into the Act 1 closing number, “The Dynamic Duet”, a joyful ode between the heroes about how they’re “Long lost brothers who found each other” sung as they beat up supervillains (and the occasional random civilian.)

That song also ties into the contrast between the Batman/Robin dynamic and the B@man/Rob!n one. While Holy Musical is portraying a brotherly/BFF bond between the two heroes, Lego Batman leans into the surrogate son angle. While both are mainly about their stories’ Batman being able to connect with others, the son angle of Lego Batman adds an additional layer of “Batman needs to take responsibility for himself and others” and a parallel to Alfred as Batman’s own surrogate father. It also adds to the queer-coding of Batman in Lego Batman as Batman’s excuse to Robin for why he can go on missions is that Bruce and he are sharing custody, Robin even calling Batman’s dual identities “dads” before he knows the truth.

In the absence of the accepting personal responsibility through fatherhood element, the conflict Rob!n brings out in Holy Musical forms between B@man and the citizens of Gotham. “Citizens as stand-ins for fandom” is at it’s clearest here as the Act 2 opener is called “Robin Sucks!” featuring the citizens singing about how… well, you read the title. Their objections to Rob!n’s existence has nothing to do with what the young hero has done or failed to do, but come from arguments purely about the aesthetic of Rob!n fighting alongside B@man. Most blatantly shown by one of the citizens wearing a Heath Ledger Joker t-shirt saying Rob!n’s presence “ruins the gritty realism of a man who fights crime dressed as a bat.” It works as the Act 2 opener by establishing that B@man and the citizens conflicting opinions on his sidekick end up driving that half of the story, exemplified in B@man’s complete confusion about why people hate Rob!n (“Robin ruined Batman? But that’s not true… Robin make Batman happy.”)

Both Robins play into the internal conflict their respective mentors are going through, but what would a superhero story, even a parody, be without some colorful characters to provide that sweet external conflict.

Going Rogue

Both works have the threat comes from an army of villains assembled under a ringleader, Zach Galifianakis’s Joker in Lego Batman and Jeff Blim as Sweet Tooth in Holy Musical. Both lead the full ensemble of Batman’s classic (and not so classic) Rogues at different points. As mentioned before Joker starts Lego Batman with “assemble the Rogues, blow up Gotham” as his plan, while Sweet Tooth with his candy prop comedy becoming the ringleader of Gotham’s villains is a key turning point in Act 1 of the play. Part of this comes down to how their connections to their respective heroes and environments are framed, Sweet Tooth as a new player on the scene and Joker as Batman’s romantic foil.

Lego Batman demonstrates Batman and Joker are on “finishing each other’s sentences” levels of intimate that Batman refuses to acknowledge. Shown best in how Joker’s plan only works because he can predict exactly how Batman will act once he starts playing hard to get. When he surrenders the entire Rogues Gallery (without telling them) and himself to police custody, he describes it as him being “off the market.” He knows Batman won’t settle for things ending on these terms and tricks the hero into stealing Superman’s Phantom Zone projector so he can recruit a new, better team of villains for a take two of his masterplan from the start. Going through all this trouble to get Batman to say those three magic words; “I love hate you.” Joker as the significant other wanting his partner to finally reciprocate his feelings and commit works both as a play on how the Batman/Joker relationship often gets approached and an extension of the central theme. Batman is so closed off to interpersonal connections he can’t even properly hate his villains.

Sweet Tooth, while clearly being a riff Heath Ledger and Caesar Romero’s Jokers fused with a dash of Willy Wonka, doesn’t have that kind of connection with B@man. Though there are hints that B@man and his recently deceased Joker may have had one on that level. He laments “[Joker]’s in heaven with mom and dad. Making them laugh, I know it!” when recalling how the Clown Prince of Crime was the one person he enjoyed being around. This makes Joker’s death one of the key triggers to B@man reflecting on his solitude at the start of the play.

What Sweet Tooth provides the story is a threat to B@man’s new bond with Rob!n. Disrupting that connection forms the delicious center of the Candy King of Crime’s plan in Act 2. He holds Rob!n and Gotham’s people hostage and asks the citizens to decide via Facebook poll if the sidekick lives or dies (in reference to the infamous phone hotline vote from the comic book story A Death in the Family where readers could decide the Jason Todd Robin’s fate.)

With the rest of the villains under the leadership of the respective works’ main antagonists, there’s commentary on their perceived quality as threats. When Holy Musical has Superman talking to Green Lantern about how much B@man’s popularity frustrates him, he comes down especially hard on the Caped Crusader’s villains. Talking about how they all coast by on simple gimmicks with especially harsh attention given to Two Face’s being “the number two.” Saying they’re only famous because B@man screws up and they get to do more damage. Which he compares to his own relationship with his villains:

Superman: You ever heard of Mr. Mxyzptlk? Green Lantern: No. Superman: No, that’s right! That’s because I do my job!

Lego Batman has commentary on the other villains come from Joker, recognizing that even all together they can never beat Batman, because that’s how a Batman story goes. The other villains get portrayed as generally buffoonish, struggling to even build a couch together and described by Joker as “losers dressed in cosplay.” Tricking Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone provides him the opportunity to gather villains from outside Batman’s mythos and outside DC Comics in general. Recruiting the likes of Sauron, King Kong, Daleks, Agent Smith from The Matrix, and the Wicked Witch of the West, among others. When I first saw and reviewed The Lego Batman Movie, this bugged me because it felt like a missed opportunity to feature lesser-known villains from other DC heroes’ Rogues Galleries. Now, considering the whole movie as meta-commentary on the status of this Batman as a children’s toy, it makes perfect sense that Joker would need to go outside of comics to break the rules of a typical Batman story and have a shot at winning.

The Rogues of Holy Musical get slightly more of a chance to shine, if only because their song “Rogues are We” is one of the catchier tracks from the play. They’re all still more cameo than character when all’s said and done, but Sweet Tooth entering the picture is about him recognizing their potential to operate as a unit, takeover Gotham, and kill B@man. The candy-pun flinging villain wants all of them together, no matter their perceived quality.

Sweet Tooth: “We need every villain in Gotham. Cool themes, lame themes, themes that don’t match their powers, even the villains that take their names from public domain stories.” (Two Face’s “broke ass” still being the exception.)

Both Joker and Sweet Tooth provide extensions of the shared theme of Batman dealing with the new connections in his life, especially with regards to Robin. However, Robin isn’t the only other ally (or potential ally) these Dark Knights have on their side.

Super Friends(?)

The internal crisis of these Caped Crusaders come as much from how they react to other heroic figures as it does from supervillainous machinations. In both cases how Batman views and is viewed by fellow heroes gets centered on a specific figure, Superman in Holy Musical and Commissioner Barbara Gordon (later Batgirl) in Lego Batman. Each serves a vastly different purpose in the larger picture of their stories and relationship to their respective Batmen. Superman reflecting B@man’s loneliness and Barbara symbolizing a new path forward for Batman’s hero work.

Superman’s role in Holy Musical runs more parallel to Lego Batman’s Joker than Barbara. Brian Holden’s performance as the Man of Tomorrow plays into a projected confidence covering anxiety that nobody likes him. Besting the Bat-plane in a race during B@man’s Key to the City ceremony establishes a one upmanship between the two heroes, like Joker’s description of his relationship with Batman at the end of Lego Batman’s opening battle. Though instead of that romantically coded relationship from Lego Batman, this relationship is more connected to childish jealousy. (But if you do want to read the former into Holy Musical B@man, neither hero has an onstage relationship with any woman and part of their eventual fight consist of spanking each other.)

B@man and Superman’s first real interaction is arguing over who’s the cooler hero until it degrades into yelling “Fuck you!” at each other. B@man storming off in the aftermath of that gets topped off by Superman suggesting he should get the Key to the City instead, citing his strength and longer tenure as a hero (“The first hero, by the way”) as justifications. This only results in the Gotham citizens turning on him for suggesting their city’s hero is anything less than the best, which serves both as a Sam Raimi Spider-Man reference (“You mess with one of us! You mess with all of us!”) and another example of the citizens as stand-ins for fandom. Superman’s veil of cocksureness comes off quickly after that and stays off for the rest of the play. Starting with his conversation with Green Lantern where a civilian comes across them, but barely acts like Superman’s there.

One of the play’s running gags is Superman calling B@man’s number and leaving messages, showing a desperation to reach out and connect with his fellow hero despite initial smugness. Even before the first phone call scene, we see Superman joining B@man to sing “I want to be somebody’s buddy” during “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight” hinting at what’s to come. The note it consistently comes back to is that Superman’s jealousy stems from Batman’s popularity over him. This is a complete flip of what Lego Batman does with the glimpse at a Batman/Superman dynamic we see when Batman goes to the Superman’s fortress to steal the Phantom Zone projector. The rivalry dynamic there exists solely in Batman’s head, Lego-Superman quickly saying “I would crush you” when Batman suggests the idea of them fighting. Superman’s status among the other DC heroes is also night and day between these works. Where Lego-Superman’s only scene in the movie shows him hosting the Justice League Anniversary Party and explaining he “forgot” to invite Batman, Superman in Holy Musical consistently lies about having friends over (“All night long I’m busy partying with my friends at the Fortress… of Solitude.”)

Superman’s relationship to B@man in Holy Musical develops into larger antagonism thanks to lack of communication with B@man brushing off Supes’ invitations to hang out and fight bad guys (“Where were you for the Solomon Grundy thing? Ended up smaller than I thought, just a couple of cool guys. Me and… Solomon Grundy.”) His own loneliness gets put into stronger focus when he sees the news of Rob!n’s debut as a crimefighter, which makes him reflect on how he misses having Krypto the Super-Dog around. (The explanation for why he doesn’t have his dog anymore is one of my favorite jokes in the play and I won’t ruin it here.)

Where Superman’s a reflection of B@man’s loneliness, Rosario Dawson as Barbara in Lego Batman is a confrontation of Batman’s go it alone attitude. Her job in the story is to be the one poking holes in the foundation of Batman as an idea, starting with her speech at Jim Gordon’s retirement banquet and her instatement as commissioner. She has a by-the-book outlook on crimefighting with the omnicompetence to back it up, thanks to her training at “Harvard for Police.” Babs sees Batman’s current way of operating as ineffectual and wants him to be an official agent of the law. An idea that dumps a bucket of cold water on Batman’s crush he developed immediately upon seeing her, though that never fully goes away.

Her main point is that Batman “karate chopping poor people” hasn’t made Gotham better in his 80 years of operating. A contrast to Holy Musical’s Jim Gordon announcing that B@man has brought Gotham’s crime rates to an all-time low (“Still the highest in the world, but we’re working on it.”) She wants to see a Batman willing to work with other people. A hope dashed constantly dealing with his childish stubbornness as he tries to foil Joker’s schemes on his own, culminating in her arresting Batman and Robin for breaking into Arkham to send Joker to the Phantom Zone.

Barbara’s role as the one bringing grown-up attitudes and reality into Batman’s world does leave her in the role of comedic straight woman. Humor in her scenes comes from how she reacts to everyone else’s absurdity rather than anything she does to be funny. This works for the role she plays in Lego Batman, since she’s not there to have an arc the way Superman does in Holy Musical. She’s another catalyst for Batman’s to start letting people in as another character he grows to care about. Which starts after she lets the Dynamic Duo out of prison to fight Joker’s new army of Phantom Zone villains on the condition that he plays it by her rules. Leading to a stronger bond between Batman, Robin, Alfred, and her as they start working together.

The two Batmen’s relationships to other heroes, their villains, Robin, and their own solitude each culminate in their own way as their stories reach their conclusions.

Dark Knights & Dawning Realizations

As everything comes down to the final showdowns in these Bat-parodies, the two Caped Crusaders each confront their failures to be there for others and allow themselves to be vulnerable to someone they’ve been antagonizing throughout the story. Each climax has all of Gotham threatened by a bomb and the main villains’ plans coming to fruition only to come undone.

Holy Musical has Sweet Tooth’s kidnapping of Rob!n and forcing Gotham to choose themselves or the sidekick they hate sends B@man into his most exaggerated state in the entire play. It’s the classic superhero movie climax conundrum, duty as a hero versus personal attachment. Alfred, having revealed himself as the “other butlers”, even lampshades how these stories usually go only for that possibility to get shot down by Bruce:

Alfred: A true hero, Master Wayne, finds a way to choose both. B@man: You’re right, Alfred. I know what I have to do… Fuck Gotham, I’m saving Robin!

B@man’s selfishness effectively makes him the real villain of Holy Musical’s second act. Lego Batman has shades of that aspect as well, where Batman gets sent to the Phantom Zone by Joker for his repeated refusal to acknowledge their relationship. Where the AI running the interdimensional prison, Phyllis voiced by Ellie Kemper, confronts him with the way he’s treated Robin, Alfred, Barbara, and even Joker:

Phyllis: You’re not a traditional bad guy, but you’re not exactly a good guy either. You even abandoned your friends. Batman: No! I was trying to protect them! Phyllis: By pushing them away? Batman: Well… yeah. Phyllis: Are they really the ones you’re protecting?

Batman watches what’s happening back in Gotham and sees Robin emulate his grim and gritty tendencies to save the day in his absence makes him desperately scream, “Don’t do what I would do!” It’s the universe rubbing what a jerk he’s been in his face. He’s forced to take a look at himself and make a change. B@man’s not made to do that kind of self-reflection until after he’s defeated Sweet Tooth but failed to stop the villain’s bomb. He’s ready to give up on Gotham forever and leave with Rob!n, until his sidekick pulls up Sweet Tooth’s poll and it shows the unanimous result in favor of saving the Boy Wonder. Despite everything they said at the start of Act 2, the people want to help their hero in return for all the times he helped them. All of them calling back to the Raimi Spider-Man reference from Act 1, “You mess with one of us. You mess with all of us.”

Both heroes’ chance at redemption and self-improvement comes from opening themselves up to the people they pushed out and dismissed earlier in their stories. Batman takes on the role he reduced the Commissioner down to at the beginning of the movie and flips on signals for Barbara, Alfred, and Robin to show how he’s truly prepared to work as a team, not just with his friends and family but with the villains of Gotham the Joker pushed aside as well. Teamwork makes the dream work and they’re all able to work together to get Joker’s army back into the Phantom Zone but like in Holy Musical they fail to stop the bomb threatening Gotham. Which he can only prevent from destroying the city by confessing his true feeling to Joker

Batman: If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have learned how connected I am with all of these people and you. So, if you help me save Gotham, you’ll help me save us. Joker: You just said “us?” Batman: Yeah, Batman and the Joker. So, what do you say? Joker: You had me at “shut up!”

The equivalent moment from Holy Musical comes from B@man needing to put aside his pride and encourage a disheartened Superman to save Gotham for him. This happens in the aftermath of a fight the two heroes had where Superman tried to stop B@man before he faced Sweet Tooth, B@man winning out through use of kryptonite. That fight doesn’t fit into any direct parallel with Lego Batman, but it is important context for how Superman’s feeling about B@man before Superman finally gets his long-awaited phone call from the Dark Knight. Also, the song accompanying the fight, “To Be a Man”, is one of the funniest scenes in the play. What this speech from B@man does is bring the idea of Holy Musical B@man as a commentary on fandom full circle:

B@man: I forgot what it means to be a superhero. But we’re really not that different, you and me, at our heart. I mean really all superheroes are pretty much the same… Something bad happened to us once when we were young, so we dedicated our whole lives to doing a little bit of good. That’s why we got into this crazy superhero business. Not to be the most popular, or even the most powerful. Because if that were the case, hell, you’d have the rest of us put out of a job!

This speech extends into an exchange between the heroes about how superheroes are cool, not despite anything superficially silly but because of it. Bringing it back to the “Robin Sucks!” theme that started Act 2, saying “Some people think Robin is stupid. But those people are pretentious douchebags. Because, literally, the only difference between Robin and me is our costumes.” The speech culminates in what I genuinely think is one of the best Batman lines ever written, as B@man’s final plea to Superman is “Where’s that man who’s faster than a gun?” calling back to the trauma that created Batman across all versions and what he can see in someone like Superman. So, B@man sacrificing his pride and fully trusting in another hero saves Gotham, the way Batman letting Joker know what their relationship means to him did in Lego Batman.

Each of these parodies ends by delivering a Batman willing to open himself up to a new team of heroes fighting at his side, the newly minted Bat-Family in Lego Batman and the league for justice known as the Super Friends in Holy Musical. Putting them side by side like this shows how creators don’t need the resources of a Hollywood studio to make something exactly as meaningful and how the best parodies come from love of the material no matter who’s behind them.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

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the-vicar · 3 years ago

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The Batman 2022 (spoiler free review)

The Batman well this version of Batman is the most complete yet.

Batman is about two years into his crime fighting career. Being just two years into his caped crusade he’s not a novice but you can tell he’s new. The police are uncertain of him. Most seeing him as a criminal. Detective Gordon is one of the few that sees him as a help to the city.

The Plot

The film has the same vibe and feel of the Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey Seven. Which is a perfect fit for the world of Batman. There is a serial killer exacting revenge against those in power in Gotham. The killer is systematically killing people while exposing Gotham’s sordid past. Batman must find out who and the movie takes us on a meandering journey full of suspense and intrigue.

The Players

Robert Patterson is an excellent Batman. He cares little for being Bruce Wayne. Paul Dano’s portrayal of the Riddler is chilling. He proves that even when you are small in stature and unassuming you can be dangerous and deadly. Colin Farrell as the Penguin is eye opening. Matter of fact you can’t even recognize him underneath the masterfully applied makeup. Jeffrey Wright as Lt. Gordon is well placed. Andy Serkis is a believable Alfred Pennyworth. Zoe Kravitz is a wonderful Selina Klye.

The Place

I have to be honest when I saw this was filmed in England I was like man that ain’t going to work. But I have to admit that I was wrong. The feel and grittiness of Gotham fits what we see in the comic books. Gotham is a character by itself. It’s crime ridden, dirty, dark and bleak.

The Props

The Bat-mobile!!! THE BAT-MOBILE makes a scene stealing entrance. His gadgets are crude but realistic. His cape!!!! The use of his cape was dope!!!! There is tech used that I will not spoil here but I can see it actually retconning the comic book.

The Point

Matt Reeves has given us a the Batman comic book fans has wanted from jump. He has given us the most realistic Batman to date. There’s a scene and I will not spoil it. I’ll just say man isn’t meant to fly. If you seen it you will know what I mean. If you haven’t thank me later. Batman is and has always been a detective. Matt Reeves gives us exactly this. Batman is a solid 4.5 in my opinion. Why not a 5? It’s too long. Almost 3 hours in length. It’s necessary to be this long. But for me at around the last 20 minutes I was shifting in my seat but I was invested and I needed to see how it would end.

#spoiler free #movie review #the Batman 2022

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leonicscorpio · 4 years ago

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Why I’m Cautiously Optimistic for Batman: Urban Legends

So this is a spoiler review of Batman: Urban Legends and the story between Jason Todd and Bruce Wayne that was introduced to us yesterday.

For those who don’t know, I like Jason Todd and The Red Hood. A lot. However being a Red Hood fan has been frustrating to say the least. He’s one of the most inconsistently written characters in the DCU. Prior to the New 52 and Rebirth. Red Hood was pretty much a straight-up villain. However under Scott Lobdell (for better or for worse) we got Red Hood and the Outlaws. Which transformed Jason from villain to Anti-Hero with varying shades of tropes from Sociopathic Hero at worst to Knight in Sour Armor at best.

I am in no way trying to say that Jason is a bad character. I’d say he truly is my favorite DC Comics character. However a large portion of it comes from Lobdell’s portrayal of a bitter anti-hero trained by the deadliest assassins in the world coming off of a failed revenge attempt against his former parental guardian. To learning to mellow out a bit and still be a hero, but keep his deadly tactics.

It’s hypocritical to say that I dislike the fact that Jason kills people. Quite graphically and brutally mind you. Call it disturbing but that’s what a lot of people like about him. However what has caused a large rift between the DC Fans and Jason Todd is the fact that a lot of the time his foot is halfway in the anti-hero door, halfway trying to warm up to Bruce and the Batman. The problem with the later being Lobdell’s obsession with making Jason teeter between wanting to be on Bruce’s good side, reverting back to what he does best, which is kill, harm, and maim, and Bruce proceeding to hunt him down and beat Jason to within an inch of his life.

It’s just as infuriating for us the readers as it is for the character. What I think fans would appreciate is if Jason were to just leave Batman, stay with the Outlaws, and be his own team. Helping Bruce out occasionally but letting Jason do his own thing. Or to have Bruce fully accept Jason as he is. Which, while is something that sounds nice, but thematically makes little to no sense considering the fact that Jason has done horrific things. Including but not limited to..

- Having been confirmed to have killed EIGHTY THREE PEOPLE (83). And this was at the beginning of OUTLAWS. That number has most certainly gone up.

- Tortured a drug dealer to death by injecting them with bleach.

- In Under the Red Hood, he decapitated the middle ranking members of the highest crime bosses in Gotham. (And from the shocked looks on their faces, it seems as though Jason started the decapitation process when they were alive)

- Regularly attempted to harm/if not kill Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne in some earlier comics.

- Tormented Mia Darden (Speedy) in Seeing Red about her past about being a sex worker and being homeless in her youth in a way to try to get her to join him. When she refuses Jason proceeds to blow up her school. Yikes.

- In Last Crusade he killed a mook by Crushing their head in with a car door. Oh and he did that AS ROBIN.

I’m fully aware a lot of those deeds were erased by the Rebirth/New 52. However it’s clear to see why Bruce, while probably does still care and support Jason. He absolutely cannot let Jason run around unchecked in his eyes. That’s why I think it’s unlikely given the events of how Under the Red Hood transpired, Jason in his current state would ever truly and fully be welcomed back into the Bat Family.

Okay LeonicScorpio, this is great and all, but this is supposed to be a post about Batman Urban Legends, you tell me. Well, my dear reader, I shall now get to it. I was setting up the fact that Jason, while he is heroic and has done heroic things, he also is someone who once reveled in violence, causing pain and suffering, and still has a core philosophy in believing killing people based on certain crimes is allowable. (SPOILERS FOR BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS BELOW)

Chip Zdarsky has done a fantastic job in introducing Jason in this side story. A new drug is sweeping across Gotham. Jason encounters a situation far too similar to his own upbringing. An overdosed mother and a sad crying boy confused. Jason takes the boy named Tyler and promises to protect him.

While I’m on the fence about Eddy Barrows’s take on Jason style wise. You cannot understate the symbolism of his art in this shot. Jason Todd, the same one who came back from the dead and decapitated men when they were alive and reveled in causing pain, comforting a child when they were afraid in a genuine way is something a lot of the fanon has wanted for a long time. However Barrow’s art style gives a sense of uneasiness to the heroic-ness of Jason. Almost as if Jason is unsure of himself. It’s twisted in that it’s both dark but heroic.

Things come to a head when Jason realizes Tyler’s father is probably a drug pusher in Gotham. And when he does finally catch up to the boy’s father. He does take a non-violent approach to trying to get Tyler’s father to turn around (Rubber bullets to the leg. Jason is trying.) However upon trying to reason with Tyler’s father Jason learns that his father was giving the drug to his mother and his son as a means of keeping them controlled. And that Tyler’s father doesn’t give a damn about his family.

Now what do we know about Jason? He kills those who gives drugs to children and parents of children. So what comes next is very on-brand of Jason. Hell I wasn’t even shocked by Jason’s reaction to this at all.

What happens after is what I’ve wanted to write for the longest time. Jason realizes that he’s just killed Tyler’s father. Even if his father didn’t care and was outright abusive towards him. He still killed his father. And Jason stops and drops to his knees because he realizes what he’s done. When I read that my reaction was literally the Jeff Goldblum “You did it, you crazy son of a bitch you did it.” I love Jason but I’ve wanted a story where Jason has to face the consequences of his philosophy and actions. Jason does want to be good and make a difference. But by killing Jason has dug himself into a hole he cant easily bury himself out of.

So long story short Batman Urban Legends should have all of your attentions.

#Batman urban legends spoilers #Batman urban legends #Jason Todd #Bruce Wayne #Jason Todd is great but he's also a monster but that's what we love about him #The blue eyed monster him #Jason is a murderer but hey #Red Hood #Batman

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sparrowsabre7 · 4 years ago

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Ok this was in my drafts from ages ago and I forgot to post so it’s here now:

So with Arkham Knight completed I wanted to discuss the story and some of the things I liked about the plot.

For my money Arkham City is the most entertaining of the series plot-wise. It is wide in scope, incorporating a large group of Batman’s rogues, with a lead villain who has a commanding presence. It is the quintessential Batman plot, full of twists, focusing on his dynamic with the Joker and is a big ‘ol actionfest.

Arkham Knight’s plot on the other hand is quite pedestrian by comparison looking at the villain plot: Scarecrow wants to take down Batman and cause chaos in Gotham and a mysterious new villain appears to help. From this standpoint, Arkham Knight is nothing special. However, as a character study of Batman, it goes much deeper than any of the previous games, and deeper even than any of the films. Most of those dealt with “Why does Bruce Wayne become Batman?” whereas Knight asks the question “What does it mean to BE Batman?”

In this respect “Be the Batman” is more than just a marketing tagline. We really delve into what makes Batman and Bruce Wayne tick and their relationships with the world, their allies, and enemies.

We’re going to delve into big spoiler territory now so be ye warned.

Batman in this game is in an interesting place. Crime is supposedly lower than ever when Scarecrow’s plan starts falling into place, yet he’s hitting criminals harder than ever, working tirelessly in his war on crime. His modifications to the Batmobile make this immediately apparent, adding numerous heavy weapons and armour. One of the unlockable Arkham stories indicates that adding more weaponry has been something Batman has fought for years, according to Lucius, but he had a change of heart some point between City and Knight. We learn soon enough that Batman is on borrowed time. His blood is still infected with Joker’s own and is actually beginning to turn him. This is his last assault on crime, one final push if a cure cannot be found. As a result, he is pushing his allies further away than ever. This alienation was seen in a small way in the epilogue DLC “Harley Quinn’s Revenge”, keeping Robin at arm’s length and mostly avoiding contact with his allies entirely.

This is one of the key themes of the whole game and, personally, if I were to choose one word to sum up Arkham Knight it would be “family”. “Asylum”, “City”, and “Origins” were all solo efforts on Batman’s part, with some input in his ear from Oracle and Alfred, and a brief appearance by Robin. This is the first game to really have the Bat-family on board proper and this really informs a lot of the game and Batman’s motivations.

He pushes them away because he knows he’s dying. He pushes them away because he wants them to get used to the idea of him being gone. Most importantly, he pushes them away because he believes this will keep them safe. This is underlined when Scarecrow’s fear toxin kicks in. Thanks to the hallucinations provided by it, we are shown two of Batman’s greatest failures in his eyes, along with his raison d’etre: the crippling of Barbara Gordon, the torture and murder of Jason Todd, and the death of his parents. The former two are clearly never far from the dark knight’s thoughts and show why he genuinely does fear for his allies safety. This ends up, in the obvious ironic twist, putting them in greater danger. By keeping them at arm’s length and withholding his plans, the Batman is a less effective force. He doesn’t consider that they are safest together, working as a team. His allies come to his rescue a couple of times during the course of the game, Nightwing saving him from Penguin’s thugs, Catwoman saving him from an unwinnable fight against The Riddler, Oracle aiding him during the defence of the GCPD and Robin not saving him per se, but defusing some of the Johnny Charisma’s bombs while Batman is unable to move.

Another key subplot is Batman vs Joker. Even after his death, through his blood and the fear toxin, Joker is resurrected as a hallucination, a dark Jiminy Cricket pestering and needling the caped crusader at every turn. This is the ultimate Joker, no less potent for not being “real”. He represents everything Batman hates and fears, because he is not only The Joker, but the darkest parts of Batman’s mind, all the what ifs, the maybe should’ves, all of this tumbles out of Joker’s mouth, taunting the dark knight with his own insecurities. It shows Batman’s human side a lot more than any previous game, shows he can be afraid, he does have doubts, can fail, can falter. This is something which clearly plays across his mind throughout the game and leads him to the ultimate conclusion of the game which I will touch on in a bit.

The Joker has always been key to the Batman mythos. He was that in Batman #1 so nearly as long as the Batman has been in existence. Having him manifest as a facet of Batman’s subconscious is both a neat narrative trick (and way to skirt the “Joker is dead” thing without cheapening the end of “City”) and a useful dynamic in explaining who Batman is. Much of his existence has been spent battling The Joker and it’s clear that there is a side of Batman in “Knight” that almost misses him in a sense. His presence also plays up the yin-yang of their relationship and eventually culminates quite literally in a battle in Batman’s psyche.

Near the game’s ending Scarecrow unmasks Batman and injects him with a heavy dose of fear toxin. This causes Joker’s personality to be brought to the fore but at the same time empowers Batman’s own power of fear, showing the clown prince of crime his own greatest nightmare: being forgotten. This is ultimately delivered personally by Batman, bursting from the shadows of his own mind and subduing the Joker side, locking him away forever, enforcing this with the time tested phrase “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman.” This is said, as another blogger pointed out, as much to himself as to The Joker. This is a declaration that he is Batman, he is no longer Bruce Wayne. To paraphrase “Batman Begins”, as Bruce Wayne he can fail, be killed, and simply die, which is when we come to the ending.

Upon the final villains being rounded up he initiates the Knightfall protocol and removes his mask. This is a clear symbolic gesture as he is leaving Batman behind on the rooftop with the Batsignal and reverting to Bruce Wayne. He flies back to Wayne Manor and it explodes, destroying the whole building. It’s not made explicit but it’s fairly evident that Bruce has faked his death, very publicly killing Bruce Wayne, now that he has been revealed as the alter ego of Batman. Gordon’s narration states that “this is how the Batman died” but it’s really how Bruce Wayne died.

The final scene shows Thomas, Martha and young Bruce Wayne stand-ins walking down an alley past a theatre, visually recreating Batman’s origin. There’s a gunman, there are broken pearls, this is the birth of Batman as we remember. This time however, Batman already exists. A shadow appears on the rooftop behind the criminals, towering high before spreading shadowy wings and fiery demon eyes alighting as it swoops towards them and cuts to black. It’s clear this is more than a symbolic statement as the criminals react to this “Knightmare” and are clearly terrified. Ultimately it’s up to interpretation, but I think, either it is The Batman in his purest form, shed of the Bruce Wayne identity, free to be more than human (with the use of Scarecrow’s fear toxin apparently), or it simply a psychological manifestation. After Scarecrow’s gas flooded Gotham’s streets, perhaps the residual effects left a lingering memory of Batman that was burned into their consciousness.

Either way it’s a true and final realisation of Bruce Wayne’s goal for the Batman. To become something eternal, supernatural even, that will watch over an protect

#batman #arkham knight #games #arkham trilogy

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multiverseforger · 4 years ago

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Robin the Boy WonderEdit

Characters from an illustration by N. C. Wyeth for "Robin Hood" (1917) by Paul Creswick. The look inspired Jerry Robinson's design for Robin.[6]:83

Dick Grayson as Robin in his first appearance, on the cover of Detective Comics #38 (April 1940), along with Batman. Art by Bob Kane.

The character was first introduced in Detective Comics #38 (1940) by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Robin's debut was an effort to get younger readers to enjoy Batman. The name "Robin, The Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume are inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood. The costume was designed by Jerry Robinson who drew it from memory based on Robin Hood illustrations by N. C. Wyeth.[6]:83

In his first appearance, Dick Grayson is a circus acrobat, and, with his parents, one of the "Flying Graysons". Robin was born on the first day of spring, son of John Grayson and Mary Grayson, a young aerialist couple. While preparing for a performance, Dick overhears two gangsters attempting to extort protection money from the circus owner. The owner refuses, so the gangsters sabotage the trapeze wires with acid. During the next performance, the trapeze from which Dick's parents are swinging snaps, sending them to their deaths. Before he can go to the police, Batman appears to him and warns him that the two gangsters work for Tony Zucco, a very powerful crime boss, and that revealing his knowledge could lead to his death. When Batman recounts the murder of his own parents, Dick asks to become his aide. After extensive training, Dick becomes Robin. They start by disrupting Zucco's gambling and extortion rackets. They then successfully bait the riled Zucco into visiting a construction site, where they capture him.

Robin's origin has a thematic connection to Batman's in that both see their parents killed by criminals, creating an urge to battle the criminal element. Bruce sees a chance to direct the anger and rage that Dick feels in a way that he himself cannot, thus creating a father/son bond and understanding between the two. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, DC Comics portrayed Batman and Robin as a team, deeming them the "Dynamic Duo", rarely publishing a Batman story without his sidekick; stories entirely devoted to Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1947 through 1952.

The character history of the Earth-Two Robin accordingly adopts all of the earliest stories featuring the character from the 1940s and 1950s, while the adventures of the mainstream Robin (who lived on "Earth-One") begin later in time and with certain elements of his origin retold. Both were depicted as separate, though parallel, individuals living in their respective universes, with the "older" Earth-Two character eventually reaching death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Teen TitansEdit

1964's The Brave and the Bold #54 introduces a junior version of the Justice League of America. This team is led by the modern-day Robin, residing on Earth-One, and was joined by two other teenage sidekicks, Aqualad (sidekick of Aquaman) and Kid Flash (sidekick of the Flash), to stop the menace of Mr. Twister.

Later, the three sidekicks join forces with Speedy and Wonder Girl in order to free their mentors in the JLA from mind-controlled thrall. They decide to become a real team: the Teen Titans. By virtue of the tactical skills gleaned from Batman, Robin is swiftly recognized as leader before the Titans disband some years later.

In 1969, still in the Pre-Crisis continuity, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams return Batman to his darker roots. One part of this effort is writing Robin out of the series by sending Dick Grayson to Hudson University and into a separate strip in the back of Detective Comics. The by-now Teen Wonder appears only sporadically in Batman stories of the 1970s as well as in a short-lived revival of The Teen Titans.

In 1980, Grayson once again takes up the role of leader of the Teen Titans, now featured in the monthly series The New Teen Titans, which became one of DC Comics's most beloved series of the era. During his leadership of the Titans, however, he had a falling out with Batman, leading to an estrangement that would last for many years.

NightwingEdit

In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the maturing Dick Grayson grows weary of his role as Batman's young sidekick. He renames himself Nightwing, recalling his adventure in the Kryptonian city of Kandor, where he and Batman meet the local hero of the same name. In post-Crisis continuity he is fired by Batman after being shot by the Joker and becomes Nightwing. He maintains this identity during his role in the Teen Titans, and occasionally returns to assist Batman and his successors as Robin in the form of Jason Todd and Tim Drake, Tim in particular becoming a younger brother figure to him.

When Bruce's back is broken by Bane during the Knightfall story arc, Bruce selects Jean-Paul Valley as his replacement as Batman as he does not want to burden Dick with the role and fears that Dick may go after Bane in revenge. However, when Valley proves to be too unstable to be Batman, Bruce undergoes a rigorous recovery and training program with the aid of Doctor Shondra Kinsolving and Lady Shiva to restore him to full health, defeating Valley with Dick and Tim's aid. However, feeling that he needs to re-evaluate Batman and his mission after Valley's defeat, Bruce leaves Gotham once again, after appointing Dick as his successor during the "Prodigal" story arc. While acting as Batman, Dick is left with a clearer idea of the psychological stresses Bruce must endure in the role, as well as facing some of Bruce's newer enemies — such as Killer Croc, the Ventriloquist and the Ratcatcher — while settling his own long-standing issues with Two-Face.

Miniseries and afterwardEdit

In Nightwing: Alfred's Return #1 (1995), Dick Grayson travels to England to find Alfred Pennyworth who had resigned from Bruce Wayne's service following the events of the KnightSaga. Before returning to Gotham City together, they prevent an attempted coup d'état against the British government that involves destroying the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel.

Later on, with the Nightwing miniseries (September to December 1995, written by Dennis O'Neil with Greg Land as artist), Dick briefly considers retiring from being Nightwing forever before family papers uncovered by Alfred reveal a possible link between the murder of the Flying Graysons and the Crown Prince of Kravia. Journeying to Kravia, Nightwing helps to topple the murderous Kravian leader and prevent an ethnic cleansing, while learning his parents' true connection to the Prince; they witnessed the original Prince being killed and replaced with an impostor who became as bad as his predecessor (although Zucco killed the Graysons before the conspirators could do anything about it). In the aftermath, Dick returns to his role as Nightwing, recognizing that, for all his problems with Bruce, Bruce never made him become Robin or join his crusade, accepting that he imitated Bruce's example because Bruce was worthy of imitation.

In 1996, following the success of the miniseries, DC Comics launched a monthly solo series featuring Nightwing (written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel), in which he patrols Gotham City's neighboring municipality of Blüdhaven, relocating there to investigate a series of murders and remaining as he recognized that the city needed protection. He remains the city's guardian for some time, facing foes such as Blockbuster and new villains such as Torque, and even becomes a police officer so that he can make an impact on the city's criminal activity in both parts of his life. Later, Grayson divides his duties between Bludhaven and Gotham after a devastating earthquake and the subsequent decision to declare Gotham a No Man's Land, Grayson occasionally assisting his mentor and other members of Bat-Family in maintaining and restoring order in Gotham until it is fully rebuilt. When the Justice League vanished into the past fighting ancient sorceress Gamemnae, Nightwing was selected as the leader of the reserve League created by an emergency program Batman had established in the event of his League being defeated, Batman describing Nightwing as the only person he could have picked to lead the new team.

Eventually, the original League are restored, and Nightwing departs along with some of his League-although others remain as some of the original team take a leave of absence-although Batman notes that his leadership of the League proves that he is ready for more responsibilities. However, the death of Blockbuster prompts Nightwing to leave Bludhaven due to his crisis of conscience; Blockbuster was killed by vigilante Tarantula and Nightwing did not stop it even when he had the chance to do so. While Nightwing returns to Gotham to heal after assisting Batman in dealing with a series of gang wars, Blüdhaven is destroyed by the Secret Society of Super-Villains when they drop Chemo on it.

During the battle of Metropolis, Grayson suffers a near-fatal injury from Alexander Luthor, Jr. when he shields Wayne from Luthor's attack.[7] Originally, the editors at DC intended to have Grayson killed in Infinite Crisis as Newsarama revealed from the DC Panel at WizardWorld Philadelphia:[8]

It was again explained that Nightwing was originally intended to die in Infinite Crisis, and that you can see the arc that was supposed to end with his death in the series. After long discussions, the death edict was finally reversed, but the decision was made that, if they were going to be keeping him, he would have to be changed. The next arc of the ongoing series will further explain the changes, it was said.

After spending some time away with Bruce and Tim to heal and rebuild after their harsh times prior to the Crisis, Dick relocates to New York, but has trouble finding work as both Dick Grayson and Nightwing. During the Batman R.I.P. storyline, Nightwing is ambushed by the International Club of Villains. He is later seen being held in Arkham Asylum, where one of the surgeons, in reality also the civilian identity of ICoV member Le Bossu, arranged for Nightwing to be admitted under the name of Pierrot Lunaire (another ICoV member) and be kept both heavily drugged and regularly beaten by staff to subdue him. Scheduled for an experimental lobotomy by Le Bossu himself, he manages to free himself and come to Batman's aid for the finale of the story arc.

Batman: RebornEdit

Following the events of Batman's apparent death during the Final Crisis, Nightwing has closed down shop in New York so as to return to Gotham, where after the events of "Battle for the Cowl", he assumes the identity of Batman, with Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's biological son, as the new Robin.[9]

The new team of Batman and Robin is the focus of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's Batman and Robin series.[10] Their dynamic reverses the classic dynamic of Bruce and Dick, by having a lighter and friendlier Batman paired with a more intense and dark Robin. Over time, Dick's experience as the Dark Knight would harden his personality as his mentor.

During this period, Dick Grayson as Batman also features as a member of the Justice League in a short-lived run by writer James Robinson. After an intense confrontation with the Club of Villains and the mysterious Doctor Simon Hurt (who has established fake evidence that he is actually Bruce's father Thomas Wayne), Hurt is defeated when Bruce returns to the present. However, Bruce leaves Dick to continue to act as Batman in Gotham with Damian as his partner while he sets up the new 'Batman Incorporated' program, Bruce publicly identifying himself as Batman's financial backer to justify a global Batman-themed operation where he funds multiple other vigilantes.

The New 52 (2011–2016)Edit

See also: The New 52

Dick Grayson is re-established as Nightwing following DC's Flashpoint crossover event, after which the publisher relaunched all of its titles and made alterations to its continuity as part of an initiative called The New 52. In the new status quo, Bruce Wayne is once again the only Batman, and Dick, like the other members of the adoptive family, is a few years younger. Dick, despite being 19 is drawn a bit shorter than in his pre-relaunch frame. This is likely due to adding believability to his acrobat past.[11] According to various interviews it is stated that Dick was adopted at 16, as opposed to 12. This is due to the DCNU's timeline existing for five years.[12] Dick Grayson is shown in flashbacks as Robin with a revamped version of the Robin costume in Nightwing (vol. 3) #0 (November 2012) and Batman and Robin Annual (vol. 2) #2 (March 2014).

Dick Grayson in his New 52 Robin costume from Batman and Robin Annual, vol. 2 #2 (March 2014). Art by Doug Mahnke and Patrick Gleason

In his civilian identity he is attacked by an assassin named Saiko who insists that he is the fiercest killer in Gotham.[13] The series Batman Incorporated relaunches with a second volume, continuing its story while taking into account the New 52's continuity changes; Dick is now depicted as Nightwing, and not as Batman, but the change is not addressed in the comic itself. In Nightwing, Dick inherits the deed to the circus from a dying C. C. Haly and begins a relationship with his childhood friend acrobat Raya Vestri. Saiko tortures Haly for information on Nightwing's secret identity, and the old man dies in Dick's arms after telling him the circus holds a terrible secret.[14] Investigating leads, he tracks down a supervillain named Feedback, who used to be a childhood friend, but does not learn anything.[15] Following Haly's clues, he finds a mysterious Book of Names in the circus that has his name on the last page.[16] Later the circus announces they will be doing a memorial show on the anniversary of the night Dick's parents were murdered, and Saiko attacks by detonating a massive explosion.[17]

It is then revealed that the circus has been training assassins for years, and Saiko was a childhood friend using Raya as an accomplice. Grayson had been selected to become a new Talon for the Court of Owls, but when Batman adopted him, Saiko took his place. The killer plummets to his death and Raya turns herself in. Returning to the Batcave, Bruce reveals to Dick that the current Talon is his great-grandfather William Cobb.[18] During the Night of the Owls event Dick faces Cobb, who was revived while protecting Mayor Hady.[19] Following the event, Dick decided to keep Haly's Circus in Gotham and plans to invest in turning an abandoned amusement park into their new location without Bruce's money.[20] He works with Sonia Branch, the daughter of Tony Zucco, the crime boss who murdered Dick's parents, into getting a loan for this plan by investing his entire trust fund despite being a high-risk due to Saiko's recent attack. The problems arise because of the guilt Sonia feels towards her father's actions [21] and many members of the circus are afraid for their lives because of the previous disasters and accuse Dick Grayson of being a flake, making it hard for those who choose to stay.[22]

The "Death of the Family" crossover event across the Batman-related comic books led to a major shift in Nightwing's status quo. During the storyline, one of Dick's friends Jimmy Clark, who worked as a circus clown, was murdered by the Joker because Joker felt like Jimmy was a knockoff of him. Nightwing later discovers Joker broke Raya out of prison, infected her with his Joker venom and has forced her to fight him while wearing a makeshift Nightwing costume. The toxin eventually killed Raya, though Nightwing tried in vain with an anti-toxin to save her. Nightwing then discovered that Joker left a message on Raya's abdomen that he was targeting Haly's Circus next.[23] However upon arriving there, Joker unveils his plan to burn the circus to the ground and then infects Nightwing with his gas that not only causes him to experience hallucinations of Jimmy and Raya, but he is soon attacked by the other members of Haly's Circus that were also affected by the toxin allowing Joker to capture him.[24]

In the aftermath, Haly's Circus is gone, with Dick broke as a result for having lost his investment. While the other circus members survived since Joker used a different Joker venom on them, they blame Dick and decide to leave after Raya and Jimmy's funeral, though deep down they know it is not his fault. Dick becomes bitter from his loss. After he used excessive force to bring down some criminals that tried to plunder valuables from the remains of the circus, Damian, having been monitoring him, is able to talk some sense into Nightwing, which helps him recover.[25]

Nightwing is later deeply affected by the death of Damian following his murder at the hands of Damian's clone, the Heretic, in Batman Incorporated. With Damian's death and potential resurrection becoming an obsession of Batman's, Dick is shunned by Bruce when he tries to tell him to move on, in Batman and Nightwing (a retitled Batman & Robin #23).

Later, the Nightwing series changes its setting to Chicago, Illinois. Sonia Branch reveals to Dick an e-mail that indicates that her father Zucco is still alive. After giving the address to Red Robin to try and track down who sent it, Robin uncovers that Zucco is residing in Chicago. Nightwing moves to Chicago in order to find and arrest Zucco, who is now living under the assumed identity of Billy Lester, an assistant to the mayor. Soon after arriving in Chicago, Dick meets his new roommates, a photojournalist named Michael and a computer specialist named Joey. After leaving the apartment to meet with Johnny Spade, a borderline criminal who steals and sells information, their meeting is interrupted by the police. A short chase results in the accidental destruction of a newly rebuilt subway. Meanwhile, a criminal hacker called the Prankster tortures, maims and kills criminal con men who are untouchable by the police.

The Chicago story is later abruptly ended by Nightwing's role in a larger company-wide crossover event. After the Crime Syndicate invade Earth Prime at the conclusion of the "Trinity War" Justice League storyline and defeat the Justice League, the DC crossover story Forever Evil depicts Nightwing's capture by the Crime Syndicate, who expose his secret identity to the world. Following their escape from the Syndicate, Batman and Catwoman decide to rescue him. He then is invited by Owlman to help defeat the Crime Syndicate, which he accepts. Nightwing is severely beaten by Ultraman and is attached to a device from a parallel world known as the Murder Machine, which is controlled by his heart rate and is reportedly impossible to escape from alive. When Batman and Lex Luthor arrive to free him, Lex stops his heart in order to fool the system so he can disarm it. However, Batman, enraged over what Lex has done, attacks him. Luthor explains it is not too late to save Grayson.[26] In an uncharacteristically heroic moment, Luthor injects Grayson's heart with adrenaline, which successfully revives Grayson. Cyborg enters, having defeated Grid, and Grayson joins Batman, Cyborg and Catwoman in freeing the Justice League from the Firestorm Matrix. After the defeat of the Syndicate, Grayson is seen with Batman in the Batcave. Batman tells him that he has to send him on the most dangerous mission he could possibly undertake.

GraysonEdit

The Nightwing title concluded in April 2014 at issue #30, and was replaced with a new title, Grayson, which depicts Dick having given up his life as Nightwing at age 22 and going undercover as an agent of the Spyral organization where the former Batwoman Kathy Kane works.[27] Written by Tim Seeley and former CIA counter-terrorism officer Tom King, the career change for Dick Grayson comes from the urging of Batman himself, who convinces him to remain dead to the world. Seeley stated that the series will be "leaning into" Grayson's sex symbol status. The character's look also is redesigned with no mask, but a blue-and-black outfit calling back to his pre-New 52 Nightwing counterpart with an addition of a "G" on his chest, said to be reminiscent of the Robin "R".[28][29]

In the "Agent of Spyral" storyline, Dick (known as Agent 37) is enlisted by Mister Minos, the director of Spyral, after having been chosen by Helena Bertinelli to serve as a new candidate. However, Dick serves as a mole under Batman due to their agenda of unmasking heroes by collecting the Paragon organs, organs in which contains the DNA of the Justice League and bestows meta-bioweapons the ability to use their powers. He assists Spyral's agenda to know more about Minos and his endgame, resulting in Spyral attaining most of the scattered organs. In a later story arc, Minos betrays Spyral and attempts to leak its secrets. To his surprise he finds the new Agent Zero, who reveals that she, along with the upper echelon of Spyral, had used Minos to attract Dick into Spyral and kills Minos as he has outlived his life full of humor.[30][31]

During Batman and Robin Eternal, Grayson finds himself working with various other members of the Bat-Family-during the time when Bruce Wayne is amnesiac after his resurrection against the ruthless villain known only as "Mother", who, it is revealed, briefly met with Batman early in Grayson's career as Robin, believing that he shared her views on using trauma to make people stronger. Mother intends to trigger a global collapse with the reasoning that the survivors will rebuild a stronger world after being broken by tragedy and without the hindrance of parents to force their ideals on them, but Grayson and the rest of the Family are able to defeat her, Dick affirming that Batman helps the Robins become their own people who can avoid the mistakes he made in dealing with his own trauma rather than Mother's belief that she and Batman each teach people to use their trauma to define themselves. At the conclusion of the storyline, Dick meets with the restored Batman, assuring Bruce that, unlike Mother, he never forced his ideals on them, but simply gave them all an example that they chose to emulate while avoiding following it so exactly that they became like him.

When the Court of Owls plant a bomb inside Damian Wayne, they are able to blackmail Dick into officially joining their organization, although all sides are aware that Grayson intends to try and use his new position against them.[32] The Grayson series ended at issue #20, where in the final issue, it was revealed that all knowledge of Dick's identity was erased from most of the world with one of Spyral's satellites, allowing Dick to resume his superhero activities as Nightwing once again.[3]

DC RebirthEdit

Starting with the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016, Dick returned to being Nightwing with his black and blue costume, his Spyral contacts having wiped all global evidence of his dual identity and the bomb removed from Damian. He uses his new skills and expertise in espionage moving forward.[33] Nightwing is prominently featured in two Rebirth books: the fourth volume of Nightwing, his own solo book, and Titans, where Dick teams up with the other original Teen Titans after Wally West returns to the universe; through Wally, Dick remembers events of his life prior to Flashpoint and The New 52.[34] After the Titans are forcibly disbanded by the Justice League, Dick creates a new Titans team after the rupture of the Source Wall consisting of Donna Troy, Raven, Steel (Natasha Irons), Beast Boy, and Miss Martian.[35]

In his solo book, Dick is paired with a vigilante named Raptor and the two plan to bring down the Court of Owls from the inside. Barbara criticizes Dick's willingness to trust him and does not agree with his methods. Though Raptor seemed willing to play by Dick's rules of not killing, he tricks Dick into agreeing to a plan that results in the deaths of all of the Parliament of Owls in Sydney. After knocking Dick out, Raptor goes to Gotham and kidnaps Bruce during a conference. Nightwing confronts him alone in the ruins of a circus in Paris. Raptor reveals that he grew up in the circus as a child and fell in love with Dick's mother, Mary, as they stole from the rich and powerful in Paris. Raptor watched over Dick in the shadows as he grew up, and developed a hatred for Bruce Wayne as he represented everything he and Mary were against and felt it was dishonoring her memory to have Dick raised by him. Dick defeats Raptor and rescues Bruce in time.[36]

After joining forces with the pre-Flashpoint Superman to defeat the latest attack of Doctor Destiny, Dick contemplates checking out Bludhaven, based on Superman's reference to how the pre-Flashpoint Grayson acted as the city's guardian for a time,[37] and ultimately decides to go there.[38] While there he meets a supervillain rehabilitation group called the Run-Offs, all of which were villains he and Batman defeated in the past. He finds that most of them are being framed for crimes around the area and works with them to find the true culprits.[39] After solving the case and clearing their names, Dick begins dating their leader Shawn Tsang, known as the former criminal the Defacer.[40] Shawn is kidnapped by Professor Pyg after Dick discovers she might be pregnant with his child, and he teams up with Damian to track Pyg down and rescue her.[41] After Shawn is revealed not to be pregnant, she ultimately breaks up with Dick, who focuses his efforts on taking down criminals such as Blockbuster, the returning Raptor, the Judge, and Wyrm.[42]

During one of his nightly patrols with Batman, Nightwing is shot by KGBeast and nearly killed.[43] As a result, he suffered from severe memory loss and attempted to build a new life in Bludhaven. He changed his name to Ric, gave up being Nightwing, and became a taxi driver that frequently went to bars. With Bludhaven suffering from an increase in crime from the vigilante's absence, a detective named Sapienza comes across Dick's abandoned hideout in the subway and decides to become the new Nightwing.[44] Sapienza recruits a team of his friends in law enforcement to help him, and together they make a team of Nightwings using Dick Grayson's old uniforms. In addition to Sapienza, the team consists of Malcolm Hutch, the deputy chief in the Bludhaven fire department, Zak Edwards, vice of the 10th precinct, and Colleen Edwards, detective of the 14th precinct.[45]

During Year of the Villain, Ric is captured by William Cobb, his grandfather who is a Talon. A brain surgeon that Bruce hired to take care of Dick after he was shot named Dr. Haas was secretly a member of the Court, who was using a mystical memory crystal to alter Dick's memories and eventually shape him into becoming a Talon himself. William Cobb forces Ric to wear goggles and puts Dick under his spell. As a Talon, Grayson fights off other Nightwing heroes. A Nightwing hero name Connor Red shoots at Grayson's mask, making his eye visible. Connor Red pleads for mercy saying he has a family, and as the sun comes up Dick Grayson suddenly breaks out of his grandfather's control. Dick Grayson starts to remember his adventures as Nightwing. Ric defeats Talon, and saves his girlfriend Bea.[46] Afterwards, he journeys to Switzerland to learn more answers about his past from Dr. Haas, who attempts to use the crystal to alter his memories once more. However, an explosion seemingly sends her down a river to her death while Ric is able to retrieve the memory crystal she used on him. During the "Joker War" storyline, the Joker steals the memory crystal and uses it to brainwash Grayson into believing he is the Joker's adopted son, "Dicky Boy" and turns him against the Bat Family in his latest war against Batman. After Barbara gets the crystal back, Bea uses it to allow him to fully regain his memories as Dick Grayson.[47

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Joker Epilogue Explained

https://ift.tt/3cJN90s

This Zack Snyder’s Justice League article contains spoilers.

Despite the heroes’ best efforts throughout the four-hour epic, Zack Snyder’s Justice League still ends in scorched earth, with Darkseid’s forces decimating whatever’s left of the planet’s surface, turning it into a wasteland. Even after defeating Steppenwolf and preventing the disaster of Unity, it’s still not enough to stop what’s been coming to Snyder’s version of the DCEU since Bruce had his first “Knightmare” in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Or so it seems in an almost 10-minute-long epilogue, which includes a cameo from Jared Leto’s Joker especially shot for the Snyder Cut.

Joker’s inclusion in the movie might seem jarring to some, considering he has no bearing on the actual story being told for most of the film’s runtime. In fact, you could pretty much skip the epilogue completely and not lose much of the experience if you’re only watching for the main plot. That said, the tense conversation between Batman and Joker — as they look upon what Darkseid’s wrought on their planet — does raise some interesting questions as to what might be next for these archnemeses were Snyder to get yet another shot at the DCEU.

Ironically, Snyder actually shot the brand-new footage for Leto specifically because he thought he’d never get another chance to work with these characters. The director “couldn’t leave this universe without having a Joker/Batman scene,” according to producer Deborah Snyder in an interview with CBR. But shooting the scene in the middle of a pandemic was tricky: it involved sending a truck full of costumes to Leto’s house, who would then try them on for the director during Zoom calls to see what worked. According to Deborah, “there was a lot of Zooming and photos and things like that, but so much thought went into creating the character.”

This might explain why the “Joker Christ” look — a version of the villain wearing a crown of thorns featured in a Vanity Fair article — didn’t actually appear in the movie. It was likely one of the costume ideas that were nixed before filming. Something similar happened with Leto’s now-infamous “We live in a society” line in one of the trailers for the Snyder Cut, which the director says was ad-libbed by Leto himself while filming the epilogue. As you now know, that line is nowhere to be found in the scene, either.

So, what did make it into the epilogue? How did Snyder use his final chance to have these versions of Batman and Joker meet in a DCEU movie?

The Batman/Joker History

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For one thing, Snyder touches on some very familiar elements of their dynamic. Like with past iterations of this relationship, Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight and Leto’s Joker are truly inseparable. Even when faced with the end of the world, when all bets are off and the rules no longer apply, the hero and the villain still decide to team up instead of settling the score once and for all. Joker is especially cognizant of their connection, mentioning how Batman created him and how his beloved Bat now needs him to undo what Darkseid did, even though it’s unclear just what the clown can do against such insurmountable, cosmic odds.

Bruce’s threat that he’ll eventually kill Joker is a particularly weak one when he’s also welcomed the Clown Prince of Crime onto his team, and equipped him with a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle no less. Their tense back and forth in this scene is just another section of their eternal dance, even as the Joker dares Batman to kill him. But if Bats were to give in to the temptation and end the clown’s life, who would be there to give him a reach–

Harley Quinn is Dead

We learn a few other things from their brief conversation (and one has to wonder why they’ve decided to do this in the open where they can be spotted by Darkseid’s parademons or Evil Superman): Harley Quinn has died in this possible future, but not before expressing her true hatred for Mr. J. Whether it was always the plan for Harley to break away from her insane beau in time for Birds of Prey or Snyder was trying to connect the dots after the fact is unclear. But her death is clearly a particularly sore spot for Joker, who for a second seems to want to break his own proposed truce and take a shot at the Batman.

“You’re good,” Joker finally says when he regains his cool, realizing the Dark Knight wants the clown to give him a reason to put him down for good. Self-defense ain’t the same as murder in the Snyderverse, right?

The Death of Robin

Robin’s death is finally addressed with one of the coldest lines in the entire epilogue: “I’m happy to discuss in any way you like, why you sent a Boy Wonder to do a man’s job?” the Joker asks Batman. This is in reference to a couple of things. The vandalized Robin suit displayed in the Batcave is a stark reminder of what is likely Bruce’s biggest failure in this universe, but we’ve never actually learned how the Boy Wonder died despite the references to the meteoric death sprinkled across Snyder’s earlier DCEU work. We know the clown did it but not how (perhaps for the best) or the events that led up to Robin’s death.

Movies

Zack Snyder’s Justice League Ending Explained: The Sequels and DCEU We Never Saw

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

Zack Snyder Wanted to Make a Batman vs. Joker Movie After Justice League

By Mike Cecchini

But that single line of dialogue delivered by the Joker suggests that some version of the 1988 comic book storyline “Death in the Family” has happened in this universe. In those comics, Robin (the second one, Jason Todd) goes off on his own to find his biological mother against Batman’s wishes, and instead comes face to face with the Joker, who murders him in extremely gruesome fashion. It’s a death that haunts Bruce as much as the deaths of his parents, which Leto’s Joker also references, along with Batman’s real name.

Batman Must Die

Most importantly, the epilogue seems to exist so that the Joker can plant a seed in Batman’s head: only his own self-sacrifice will be enough to stop Darkseid once and for all. This is a storyline that Snyder had planned to explore further in future Justice League sequels, a proposed trilogy that would have culminated with the Dark Knight’s death and the rise of a new Caped Crusader.

It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see this trilogy now that Snyder and the DCEU are parting ways, but the epilogue leaves the road clear for a sequel nonetheless, with Joker alluding to a time-travel plot that would involve Batman’s new crew going back in time to undo Lois Lane’s death and Superman’s villainous turn.

The DC Comics Inspirations

This is hardly the first time the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime have joined forces to fight a greater evil. Most recently, they’ve teamed up in the DC comics by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, particularly in Dark Nights: Metal and Last Knight on Earth, post-apocalyptic stories set in nightmarish wastelands that the director might have at least skimmed while writing this epilogue. In both of these stories, Joker is a key part of Batman’s ultimate victory. In Last Knight on Earth, Joker even finally become’s his “best friend”‘s sidekick.

But in terms of what inspired the grungier look of Justice League‘s Joker, it seems that the filmmaker and Leto went back to the Grant Morrison era of the character for inspiration. Just as Morrison and Tony Daniel’s “reborn” Joker was a clear influence on Leto’s get-up in Suicide Squad, the jarring butcher (?) costume worn by the clown in the epilogue might have been inspired by a similar look introduced in Morrison’s Batman and Robin series (above). Either way, it’s a very odd fashion choice when you’re about to go fight a New God, but then again, Joker isn’t exactly your average dresser.

With this Batman and Joker scene, Snyder reaffirms his love for these characters. Regardless of whether you find his take on their relationship worthy or not, it’s impossible to deny Snyder’s attention to detail when crafting his final DCEU scene, one full of references to Batman and the Joker’s past as well as their potential future. In his own divisive way, Snyder writes a love letter to these characters and goes out with a smile.

The post Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Joker Epilogue Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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your-worst-knightmare · 5 years ago

Text

I’ll Love You (As Misfortune Loves Orphans)

The Gotham wind howled at the rooftops. Away from the constant noise of traffic, it almost sounded like the cry of a mourning woman. Gotham was mourning, but for what? the loss of her innocence, or perhaps what her children had done to her. The wind was harsh on those autumn nights, and was cold and unforgiving. Gotham’s children knew that chill better than they had known full stomachs and warm bones. It was cold, it certainly was at the heights of those lonely rooftops, and yet– yet all Jason felt was heat.

It built inside of him like a a roaring furnace, fuelling him. Not to fight a crusade for Gotham. Jason lived and breathed Gotham, and he knew that her saviour was not one man fighting symptoms of a virus that had long since taken root. He wasn’t that man. God, no.

He was not as frivolous as that. He was the protector of those not able to protect themselves from the symptoms of Gotham’s disease. He was rage. It warmed him, burned him as he grappled from building to building. He was immune to Gotham’s icy howls, if only for tonight.

Tonight, he was taking down one of Gotham’s drug trafficking rings. Well, taking out. He wasn’t going to kill anyone– he had obliged to the Bat’s rules to play nice– but he had not consented to no explosions. That would thoroughly set back their progress and give the Red Hood some time to convince them to play by his rules.

Jason dropped to the ground silently, slipping pat perimeter guards. There weren’t as many as usual tonight, so he had less to worry about if things went south. The few guards that had noticed him were quieted with the butt of his gun to their heads. He made his way around the compound, planting explosives as he went. After planting the last one, he decided to make himself known to give the guards some chance of coming out of that compound alive. If they didn’t, well, collateral damage.

“Awful weather we’re having, am I right?” he called, swinging into the guards’ line of sight. The noticed him immediately, shouting at each other to call for backup. He let them chase him, let them get too close before he vaulted away again. It was almost a game, and hey, if he was saving these poor dolts while doing it, why couldn’t it be? His job was done, and he figured that toying with some goons once in a while wasn’t a crime. “I noticed you’ve got some heating in this place. How much does it cost at this end of the city?”

His response came in the form of a bullet grazing his shoulder. Jason growled. Fine. He’ll be serious and leave. They had more than enough time by now. “I hope you fools like the present I left ‘ya.” He pointed his grapple at the nearest rooftop and sailed away, gunfire peppering his departure.

Then, three things happened at once. Or rather, in such close proximity to each other that it seemed like it. One: Jason activated the detonator. Two: A bullet ripped through his abdomen– a lucky shot. Three: He fell. The ground raced to meet him, and he met it, with a sickening thud.

Now a different fire ran through him, alongside the rage that previously burned. This was blinding and invited dark spots to dance in his vision. It was consuming, and there was nothing other than its presence. It was agony, and it was deafening as it screamed at him. Jason cursed under his breath. The goons had gotten lucky. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be following him. He grunted, pushing himself against the alley wall. That brought a whole new array of colours into is vision. He bit out more curses through the pain.

Once situated as comfortably as possible in his situation against the alley wall, he sucked in some air. He needed to assess his injuries and work from there. That’s what B always said to do. The most pressing matter was his side. His hands were sticky with blood from pressing the wound, but it didn’t help much. The liquid still spilled onto the floor of the alleyway, creating a growing puddle. That definitely was not good. His vision still was hazy, but he suspected it was from blood loss rather than a concussion. He tried moving his legs, only to let out a fresh string of curses. Ow, that was not happening. Yeah, not a good idea. His best guess was that his left leg was most likely broken.

He needed to get medical help. His bike– which was parked several blocks away– was out of the question. No way could he use a grappling hook with so much blood loss. He really wished he’d finished installing that comm unit in his helmet– he could maybe call someone for help. But that wasn’t an option. He was stuck in an alleyway, with a broken leg, alone and bleeding out. Just great.

His eyes flitted up to the sky. It was clear and cloudless, not that you would be able to make out any stars in Gotham’s polluted air. But the moon. The moon was bright against that dark drapery of night, and its slivery glow cast onto Jason’s injured body. It didn’t help his headache. He tried angling his face away from it only to hiss in pain.

Jason groaned. Well, he couldn’t just sit here and go quietly. He steeled himself and gripped the wall in an attempt to stand up. It was dizzying and hurt like hell, but he grit his teeth and stood. Good, he thought. Now, one step at a time. One, two. One, two. One– he fell to the ground with a crashing thud.

Well, isn’t this a fun day, he grumbled. He regrettably (because ow) crawled back to the wall. He needed to get someone’s attention. Hell, he was desperate at this point. Superman would even do. Was he off-planet? It was worth a try. He tried speaking but was cut off by a bout of coughing. That did not make his side any happier. He opened the front of his helmet the let himself breathe. Sucking in all the breath his lungs could hold, he yelled. “Superman!”

Jason waited. Nothing. Wonderful. He pressed his head against the cold concrete of the alley wall, trying to clear his head. If only he weren’t so tired. Two minutes, he promised himself. Two minutes to rest before he tried again.

He closed his eyes. Of course, he knew that if he drifted off completely, he may not wake up. If that were to happen, Jason wondered who would be tasked with writing his second obituary. He’d better be getting a new headstone for what it’s worth as well.

His train of thought came crashing to a stop when he heard a familiar low rumble. An engine, he realized. Aw hell. Those goons might’ve finally tracked him down. He cracked an eyelid open to catch a glimpse of the new visitor. He didn’t see anyone. Wait, no– he craned his neck, finally sighting the vehicle.

The Batmobile. He never thought he’d be so happy to smell its nasty fumes. B must have used the rockets on the back. Speaking of which, where was the Dark Knight?

He opened his other eye to find Batman. Jason let out a breathy chuckle. “Hey, B-man.” God, talking hurt. Batman grunted.

“Let’s get you in the car, Jay-lad.”

With hissing and cursing thought would have cost him fifty bucks in Alfred’s swear jar, the two made it to the car. “‘M gonna bleed all over your seats, B,” Jason warned, if not a little weakly. Batman ignored him. He braced himself as the car pulled onto the main streets, rocketing towards the Cave.

_______________

Jason must have passed out at some point because he woke up in the damp air of the Cave. The cot he lay on was all too familiar from his Robin days, but he was secretly a little grateful that he didn’t have to take care of himself. Thankfully, his side had been cleaned and bandaged and his leg set while he was out. He figured that Bruce must have slipped some sedatives into the IV that stood beside him. That would explain why his head felt so light, and his eyes felt so heavy. He gave into its lulling numbness and slept.

Bruce was with him the next time he awoke. He looked like he’d been sitting there a long time, which was silly. Bruce clearly had better things to do. “How are you feeling, Jay?”

He shrugged or tried to, rather. Either way, Bruce got the message. “How’d you find me?” he croaked.

“I saw the explosion. Heard you a few minutes later.”

“How’d you know it was me?”Bruce stopped.

“Jason, I’d know your voice anywhere,” he said, carding his fingers through Jason’s hair.

Jason couldn’t find the incentive to berate him for the action. Silence filled the cave once again as Jason thought. Was the Cave always this gaping? “Why’d you come?” he finally asked. His voice was as quiet as the dark crevices of the Cave.

“What are you talking about?” Bruce countered, looking bewildered. “Why wouldn’t I come? You’re my son, Jay.”

“But the whole thing after… after I came back… and with Tim…” He studied the wrinkled fabric of the blanket that covered him, trying to hold back the tears that threatened his vision. “I tried to kill all of you, Bruce. How could… how could you want me back?” His final words came tumbling out.

“Oh, Jason…” Bruce murmured, enveloping the boy in his arms. They might have had their differences, but when all was said and done, at the end of the day, Jason was his son. “ You know, there’s this quote Dick likes to say,” he started. He cleared his throat dramatically and continued in his best impression of what had to be Stitch. “ ‘Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.’”

Jason groaned into Bruce’s shirt. “You’re the worst.”

Bruce chuckled, hugging Jason’s head closer. “I mean it, Jay. No matter what happens, I’m not going to stop loving or worrying over you.”

“It’s not me you should be worried about B,” Jason said, suddenly mischievous. “I think I might call Disney to sue you for copyright violations.”

“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” Bruce feigned a look of betrayal.”Because I can and will buy Disney if that’s the case.”

Jason flopped back onto the cot, a grin shining through the tears that still lingered. “Nah. On grounds of loving you and all that.”

“Get some rest, Jay,” Bruce said, patting his son’s shoulder. “You don’t have to, but I’d appreciate if you stayed here for a while, at least until you heal up.”

The boy considered it. Then he remembered: Alfred’s cooking his whole stay? Hell yes. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

Bruce smiled. Misfortune might love his children, but he loved them more.

#bruce wayne is a good dad #batman #ficlet #jason todd #red hood #batfam #hurt/comfort #dc comics #superman #dick grayson #lemony snicket #quote fic #quote #minor angst #oneshot #fanfic

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bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

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I know the usual go-to boy names for Dick having a son tend to be some variation of Tommy, John or Jake, after either Dick’s father, Bruce’s or Jake from that future timeline he had a son in after Ma’ri.

I’m however reeeeeally attached to the idea of Dick naming a son after his paternal grandfather, whatever name you go with for him. For me, its Daniel, though I have NO idea where that came from and I could have sworn it was canon but apparently its something I made up which is weird because usually I have a reason for names I make up and I can’t for the life of me figure out why I would have deliberately picked Daniel specifically, if I didn’t already think for sure that was his name? But whatever, that’s just a weird me thing that’s been bugging me forever.

ANYWAY.

Yeah, I could see Dick naming a child after his grandfather, Cobb’s son that he gave to Haly’s Circus to be raised....the direct ancestor of Dick’s who in his perception was the true patriarch of Dick’s first family....the Grayson trapeze artist lineage.

I actually have a lot of headcanons about Cobb’s son as part of the completely gratuitous expansive backstory I have for Dick’s first family and their history in the circus over the past century, that hopefully will make it into some fic or another one of these days, lol....but in a nutshell, I’ve always been drawn to the fact that Cobb handed his son over to Haly’s ancestor while describing him as the Gray Son, someone destined to live between the opposite extremes of Gotham’s starkly differentiated classes or whatever he was babbling on about, I fell asleep, shut up, Cobb, nobody cares....

But point being, he didn’t actually ever claim that the baby’s last name was Grayson. So I like to headcanon that everybody in the circus as that boy grew up there just called him Gray Son or the Gray Son, and he embraced that and willfully made it his last name....and that this directly ties into him becoming a trapeze artist and the bright colors that became the Grayson family legacy.

Because imagine an unclaimed orphan boy being raised in a circus a hundred years ago with nothing but mysterious rumors about where he came from, who his parents were, and maybe some quietly muttered rumors here and there about some mysterious destiny he had that tied into the title Gray Son.

Imagine being a boy who likely spent most of his childhood invisible....an eagerly helpful pair of hands trying to make himself useful, trying to make himself seen, as eyes continually skittered away from him because the tidbits about his past and origins made people nervous and wary.

Imagine that boy, who had no parents inducting him into a legacy of acrobatics himself, who had to willfully and with purpose decide himself to learn how to fly, maybe even largely to teach himself how to fly....practicing in secret and with every acrobat or passing troupe willing to teach him little tricks of the trade...

And then imagine when that boy becomes a man and finally makes his debut as a talented trapeze artist himself, takes center stage, all eyes on him....because he ensures that. He works to draw all eyes to him, to keep all eyes on him....

To never be lost in shades of black and white or fade away into some lackluster gray.

Because this man rejects any destiny he’s supposed to have, any destiny that required he grow up alone and unloved. If no one wanted to claim him as theirs before now, then no one gets to lay any sort of claim to him ever.

And he broadcasts that to the world, via his stage, in every way imaginable...

With even his clothes, his costumes always being brilliant colors, the brightest hues of red, yellow and green...eye catching, eye searing, forever popping against the background, whatever that may be....

The complete antithesis of everything gray.

Because that may be the only name he has any tie to, the only piece of his mysterious past he has to carry with him, like it or not...

But he will not be defined by it. He defies the very idea.

And he makes sure everyone knows that as he soars above crowds, drawing all eyes to him, the highest point in everyone’s vision, making them look up, forcing them to see him, to acknowledge him, a master of the sky no matter that he and his descendants’ ‘true destiny’ was to be as servants hidden away in secret labyrinths beneath the earth....

And always, always, always the brightest thing in sight.

Never to be lost and muted in shades of gray.

I think this headcanon of Dick’s grandfather, who I view as the one Dick would truly see as the true originator of the Grayson family line, not Cobb himself, never Cobb...

I think someone like this, Dick would view himself as having a lot in common with.

Because after all, wasn’t that as much Dick’s motivation when he became Robin?

Not just to fight crime by Batman’s side....but to be seen while doing it. To stand out, even as Batman sticks to the shadows. To never be dismissed or banished and locked away in some juvie center or orphanage like the people who looked down on him and his circus family tried to do. Never to be erased or forgotten or overlooked.

Soaring above Gotham in colors that drew attention, demanded attention. Recognition. Acknowledgment.

Forever declaring:

I am still here. My family is still here. Our legacy still matters....no matter how many people tried how many times to stamp it out or make it otherwise.

They said Dick wasn’t allowed to leave Gotham, that the circus was no place for him, inferring that how he’d been raised, how he’d been HAPPY was wrong and somehow more objectionable than the way Gotham treated him. They tried to clip his wings and force him to remain on the ground, take away what made him special, what made him not the Gray Son, but a Flying Grayson.

And Robin was Dick’s way of saying: “Well here I am! Still flying, still free, still making everyone crane their necks and look UP to see me, unable to miss me cuz I’m the brightest speck of light in Gotham’s night sky.”

Its always been significant to me that Dick so often insists that he’s Batman’s PARTNER as Robin, rather than sidekick. And yeah, that’s easy to look at and think oh that’s so cute, in the sense of kids trying to put themselves on the same level as an adult counterpart....

But I think it takes on an entirely different connotation when you consider that Bruce and Dick’s approaches to vigilantism, the specific mantles and methodologies they created for THEMSELVES....were deliberately distinct and never aiming to be interchangeable or cut from the same cloth.

Dick always considered himself Bruce’s partner, because he didn’t see himself as being Robin to assist Bruce with Batman’s mission....because Dick had his own mission. Batman and Robin were each their distinct ways of honoring their parents and fighting on in their name....its just those took different forms for them. Bruce ultimately saw his mission as honoring his parents by fighting to ensure what happened to them didn’t happen to any other family so long as he stood a chance of preventing it. Dick, on the other hand, I think ultimately saw HIS mission as honoring his parents by fighting to keep their memory alive, their spirit, in a city that seemed to have no place for that. By bringing light and laughter to the shadows of Gotham, and hope for the future.

With Robin more naturally suited to stopping to lend a helping hand to the Gothammite they just rescued while Batman fought off the last of their attackers. The younger hero practically carrying his own spotlight with him as he shone it on everyone they helped, as a promise that nobody was going to be forgotten or overlooked or left to slip through the cracks on his watch, even as Batman used the shadows to overwhelm and intimidate and drive off the dangers threatening those they saved.

Two distinctly different, but extremely complementary pursuits, personal missions. Neither mission actually in service to the other, but both enabling both at the same time.

And bringing it back around to Dick’s grandfather, the baby Cobb handed off to be raised in the circus and pave the way for future generations of Gray Sons to be mined as future Talons whenever the Court decided they needed them......

Think of the poignancy inherent in the fact that his entire EXISTENCE was intended to be nothing more than a bloodline of talented athletes for the Court to use.....and he basically said well fuck THAT nonsense, and without even knowing what his supposed ‘destiny’ and that of his descendants’ was supposed to be.....he took his existence and accidentally sculpted it into the very antithesis of everything they meant the Gray Son to be. Because all he needed to know is nobody but him was going to get to define him, decide what his future was, and his past was only as relevant as he decided to let it be.

(Remind you of anyone?)

And then think of how completely and firmly OPPOSITE the Court’s intentions for Dick were....to his personal crusade as Robin.

And the dramatic irony in how Dick has so often been instrumental to thwarting the Court’s plans and bringing them down....by doing nothing more than adhering to the same path he’s walked ever since his first days as Robin.

The path he chose to honor and keep with him what he could of his family....his parents before him....and theirs before them.

I maintain that Cobb never actually had a prayer of getting his great-grandson to follow in his footsteps.....

Because Dick had already set out to emulate his grandfather’s path instead, before he was even ten.

*Shrugs* Anyway, just random headcanons I have about Dick’s family, but yeah, I really like the idea of Dick naming one of his kids after his paternal grandfather at some point, because I think for Dick that would be an extremely auspicious and symbolic name....a tie to the family history Dick welcomes and claims as his own.....and an homage to the ancestor who first willfully forged a path for himself that turned out to be the complete opposite of what the Gray Son’s destiny supposedly was always meant to be....and exactly what Dick, his descendant, needed to fight off his ‘fate’ when it came calling for him, and to stay in the spotlight of his parents and grandparents no matter how much his great-grandfather tried to drag him into the dark.

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