#battle for the cowl

[theartistonthemoon]

The biggest reason Cass is the only natural option as heir to The Batman comes from the fact that every other character’s growth relies on them at some point either removing themselves somewhat or completely leaving the Bat symbol behind. Cassandra is the outlier whose found a reason to live on as that same symbol.

We can argue day and night who the best vigilante, detective, fighter, hero, strategist, or whatever is but none of that changes who can survive being the symbol without losing themselves in the process of following Batman’s footsteps.

[shyjusticewarrior]

"Nothing Jason says can be taken for truth."

"I believe you."

[somewherefornow]

DICK GRAYSON/NIGHTWING in BATTLE FOR THE COWL (2009)

[gffa]

Just so you're aware, when everyone thinks Batman is dead they absolutely do know that Nightwing is the head of the Bats in Gotham.

[yj-polycule]

Listen. Listen.

Battle for the Cowl is such a poorly written story with so many out of character moments from literally everyone in that story, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING is funnier to me than the progression of Jason Todd asking Tim to be his Robin, Tim smacking Jason in the head with a crowbar that materialized out of nowhere, and then Jason stabbing Tim in the chest with a Batarang, all while the both of them are wearing Batman suits.

[malfiora]

my read of Battle for the Cowl is two siblings fighting over a toy that neither wants but they just don't want the other to have it

[glitter-stained]

Battle For the Cowl AU where Jason doesn't hear Bruce's will but does find out about his death which triggers a psychotic episode*, in which Jason steals the cowl, convinced it's Bruce's body and Bruce is simply sick, and takes care of it like a very sick patient and keeps telling Bruce to wake up.

Dick arrives convinced Jason is planning something nefarious with the cowl, and is blindsided to find a Jason who hasn't slept or showered in days, has lost ten kgs and keeps feeding an empty cowl cold medicine while telling it to hold on and it's gonna get better and sometimes he's calling him old man sometimes it's Batman sometimes it's Bruce sometimes it's dad and sometimes it's mom. He cannot stop shaking.

*psychotic episodes can happen in the context of bpd without necessitating further diagnostic classification; acute psychotic breaks can also happen during high stress situations, depressive episodes, high fever, extreme hunger, neurological conditions, some infections, etc, etc. Here it's due to the stress grief and bpd/cptsd.

[notmoreflippingelves]

Actually going insane over the implications of Jason asking Dick to be the Robin to his Batman in Battle for the Cowl.

Like I initially took it at the purely surface-level of Jason wanting a partner in the general sense. Which made sense, it's a huge responsibility and a lonely one so an assistant/sidekick/partner seems a no-brainer if you can get one.

But then I really thought about it, because Jason is not asking Dick to be his partner in the general sense; he's not even asking Dick to be his Nightwing. He's asking Dick to be his Robin.

And they both know exactly what Jason means: "Be the light to my darkness. Be the smile to my scowl. Be the hope to my fear. "

He's saying "Be 'Robin'; be the embodiment of Love and Justice and Goodness. Be the exceptional person that you have always been. Be the slightly-less exceptional person that I was when I wore your colors. Be the person that I was in the process of becoming and might have been (or might still be), if only Joker hadn't clipped my wings."

He's saying "I am prepared to become vengeance, become the Night. And I will go further than Bruce ever dared to, because it is what is needed. I will be the necessary evil. But you don't have to be. If Batman is Gotham's curse, Robin has always been its blessing. I will be the brutal punishment to our world, and I am asking you to be its incandescent gift."

He's saying, "Be for me, what we were for Him. Be my anchor, my comfort, my hope. Remind me what it's all for, why it's all worth it. And remind yourself as well."

He's saying "Be 'Robin' again--for both of our sakes."

[everwalldigan]

It is actually HILARIOUS to me how different Dick and Jason’s coping mechanisms are😭 like I’m reading battle for the cowl and the sheer polarising reactions to Bruce’s death are giving me whiplash.

Dick, just lost his second father figure, youngest brother almost got killed by his crazed brother, his third brother going out dressed like 80s Batman, Gotham city falling apart at the seams, literally burning to the ground: this is fine

Jason: IM GONNA FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU

[littlefankingdom]

I was reading Battle for the Cowl again, and I caught something: Alfred is the one who gave Damian the Robin's mantle, not Dick.

(Alfred giving Damian the Robin's suit, telling him he must prove he deserves it, and the next time Damian is shown in the story, he is in the Robin's color)

Everyone and their mothers in this fandom, especially Tim's fans, blame Dick for that, but it was Alfred! This is already the second time I caught a batfam's member being blamed for something Alfred did. You cannot keep getting away with this, old man!

[couldeatthatgirlforlunch]

Jason Todd is so relatable to me, this is literally what I tell my friends and family when they try to convince me to have a more positive attitude because "things will get better"

Also love this moment where they draw him like a blob while he's dressed as Batman

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

[shyjusticewarrior]

Ngl if Tim asked me nicely to behave then broke me out of prison I'd listen. RIP Jason but I'm different.

[lizardpersonyknow]

Credit to theactorbat on tiktok

[gffa]

There's something so fascinating about how earlier Jason thought to himself that Bruce only took Dick on as Robin to save himself from madness, now here he is, in a really bad place, asking Dick to be his Robin this time. The original, the one he thinks saved Bruce from madness. Jason is dressing it up as winning this fight and being the victor here, but you wouldn't have to take that huge of a leap to see it as some part of Jason wanting to be drawn back into the light, because he thinks Dick Grayson can do that for him, too.

[empire-of-the-words]

I might be entirely making something up, but I think Damian and Tim should mirror each other when Damian first shows up and in Battle for the Cowl

Damian is going through an awful culture shock. Everything is completely different from what he's used to, and he doesn't even understand their basline rule (the don't kill rule). He desperately misses his mother, no one likes him and he has no place in Gotham. He just wants things to make sense again

Meanwhile, Tim wants to return to the status-quo. The only real thing that’s changed in the last 4 years is the addition of Cass. Even Jason’s return, he didn’t come home so everything stayed relatively the same. Now there's a new kid, who's not integrating nearly as seamlessly as Cass. He's upsetting all the dynamics, and everyone's focused on what to do with the stabby ten year old. And then Bruce dies and it's even worse, because nothing makes sense. He just wants to go back to when things made sense

On top of all this, both of them are insecure and jealous of the other. Damian has no clue how he fits into the family, meanwhile, Tim is his father’s partner, and he desperately wants the security and affection Tim has. Whereas Tim has just been replaced as the baby of the family, something he didn't even realized he liked until it was gone, and frankly he's jealous of the attention Damian’s getting. He might not even be consciously aware of it, but he only just got adopted, and now he feels like he's getting replaced.

And then Damian becomes Robin.

This is wonderful for Damian. It gives him a place in the family, and a role he can fill. Not to mention, he can fight, which connects him back to the LoA, helping the homesickness.

This makes Tim spiral. The status-quo is completely gone. There's a different Batman, Bruce is gone, and he's not Robin. He's been replaced. No wonder he grabs so tight at the chance to have Bruce back

Damian and Tim have stopped mirroring, and started becoming opposites. Damian is finding his place in a new world, while Tim is trying to bring back an old one

(And on that note DC writers really need to let Tim grow up and make his own identity)

Damian and Tim should not get along, not because they’re different, but because they see too much of their own paths, or potential paths, and they despise it. They are the same, they are what could have been, and they can’t ignore it because they are tied together as brothers

[fancyfade]

You missed by Fade31415

First panel is by Tony Daniel and from battle for the cowl, the rest is my art.

There is nothing that can convince me this wouldn't have happened if Damian held onto consciousness a little bit longer, he loves antagonizing people.

The image appears as if it's posted twice because I had no clue which would be more convenient for reading, one row by one row, or all at once. probably depends if you're on desktop or mobile