#doesn’t everyone love stories about Dick Barbara and Jim?

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, finished the Black Mirror.

I’ve got to say, ‘Tec was killing it during Reborn as far as art and colour goes. Between the J.H. Williams III Batwoman run and Francesco Francavilla particularly on The Black Mirror, no other Bat title came near this.

I’m buying this, I’m putting it on my Booktopia order with my textbooks later this week, and I’m in serious SHOCK that a title printed in 2013 is still in stock and easy for me to buy from a retailer, after all the issues I’ve had trying to buy other titles I want. What gives?

[singtheskyandfightlikehell]

BatFamily Headcanons: Stuffed Animals

In an attempt to productively combat my recent writer’s block, I’m practicing writing the batfam characters through short character study fics (which I will post once I make enough) and comparative headcanons. I might end up making short fics out of these, as well, since some of them got a bit long anyways

Today I decided to explore how many stuffed animals each member of the batfam (plus an adjacent character or two) has, what they think of them, how they got them, etc. I’ve got eleven characters on this list (and I’m still missing some, sorry)

Bruce:

Bruce put aside stuffed animals when he was eleven, deciding it was time to become serious. However, since acquiring children, he has been gifted a number of stuffed animals, ranging from a small and realistic brown bat to a child-sized bear wearing his cape and cowl. None of the children know this, but he keeps them all in a prominent position in his walk-in closet. Sometimes, when he has a particularly nasty fight with one of his kids, or he discovers something (like an injury) that they were hiding from him, he’ll tell the stuffed animals all the things he struggles to tell his children in the hopes that, one day, he’ll figure out how to express himself when it actually counts.

Alfred:

Alfred has no stuffed animals of his own, but he keeps the old, worn teddy bear that was once Thomas’ and later Bruce’s, alongside the somewhat lopsided bunny that Martha attempted to sew for Bruce when he was two. They sit side by side in a spotless glass cabinet filled with other memories that various members of the family have at one point or another attempted to cast aside.

Dick:

Dick has a pair of stuffed elephants, Eleonore and Zitka, and a teddy bear of his own, all from the circus. Most of the time they sit on the shelf under one of his nightstands, but when he has a particularly bad day, he’ll hold them all tightly until he falls asleep. If he’s crying, he finds it slows the tears to press kisses to the tops of their heads, or just smoosh his whole face into them. Sometimes, if he’s having a particularly good day – especially if no one else is sharing in his good mood – he’ll tell them about whatever made him happy. The rarest occasions are a bittersweet combination of both, the moments when he dwells on his happiest memories of his parents. When this happens, he is more likely to address them than his family, talking to them like old friends who were “there” for the things he’s recalling. It reminds him of the parties he would host as a small child, attended by his stuffed animals and his parents and sometimes other people from the giant family that was Haly’s, and for just that moment he’ll feel suspended somewhere between grief and content.

Barbara:

Barbara had lots of stuffed animals growing up, but as she got older, she gave most of them away. The only one she kept was a little otter that her father gave her for her first birthday. She doesn’t remember this, of course, but they have an old home video of that day which she’s seen a few times, and she know it’s one of her dad’s favorites to watch when he’s feeling nostalgic. She does remember the way she used to drag the otter with her everywhere she went when she was about four, and it’s so worn now that all of its original fluffiness has disappeared. She sets it up near her main computer and uses it in place of a rubber duck.

Jim:

When Babs decided she was too old for her stuffed animals, Jim was instructed to give them away at one of the Gotham children’s toy drives he helps run as commissioner. Only about half of them ever make it out of the house, because he keeps looking at them and remembering little moments that involve each of them. He has two boxes full of them that he swears he’s going to bring to the next drive, but he’s been swearing that for over ten years now.

Jason:

When Jason first arrived at the manor, he swore up and down that stuffed animals were dumb kids toys that he was way too old for. The first time Dick showed up at the manor after Jason was there, he brought a plush dog he’d picked up on the way there, unsure what to get his surprise new brother but not putting an excess of thought into it either. After all, he wasn’t about to ask Bruce what Jason might like. Jason made a show of scorn and tossing the toy in the trash, but when Dick was gone he dug it back out. When he was sleeping, he clutched the dog protectively against his chest like it might be snatched away at any time. When he wasn’t sleeping, he kept it hidden in a box wedged under a floorboard beneath the bed, alongside his other contraband. It was there when he died and it’s still there now. Every time he’s in the manor, he thinks about sneaking into his old room to retrieve it, alongside some of his other old belongings, but he never does. His reasoning alternates between not caring, being too old for toys, not wanting to set foot in his old room, and not wanting to get caught caring after all these years.

He does however have an obnoxiously long bright red snake that Roy won at some sort of archery carnival game while they were supposed to be tracking a suspect. He’d griped at Roy for wasting time with frivolous games, a complaint that was very on brand for their relationship. He’s pretty sure Roy saw through him, though, and understood the real reason he was so antsy to leave the carnival, given his soft apology later that night. He also recently acquired a floppy stingray, a gift from Lian for his latest birthday. She told him that she’d gotten to pet a stingray at the aquarium where she’d bought it, and it reminded her of him. Specifically, she’d said he was, “Kinda dangerous and maybe a little scary, but actually really soft to anyone who’s nice enough”. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that description, but the gift had a place of pride, resting atop an old model of his helmet that Roy had “defaced” with a sweet message that always made Jason smile.

Cass:

Cass grew up without stuffed animals, and was honestly a little confused at first about why she might want one. The first one she ever got was a tiny key-chain cat that was given to her by a little girl she saved. She was unsure what to make of the object itself, but she treasured it as a symbol, proof that she was doing good in the world. It was Steph who convinced her to look for more, to look for stuffed animals in her “style”. Eventually, she got two of the most different ones she could find: an iridescent octopus packed tightly with beans and made of a coarse fabric, and a large fluffy goose that squished like a cloud and was made of the softest fabric imaginable. She likes tossing the octopus lightly in the air to feel the weight of it, and faceplanting into the giant goose. She also has a big bear holding a plush heart that Steph got her for their first Valentine’s.

Tim:

Tim’s relationship with stuffed animals is a bit more complicated. He had five growing up: a dog, a bear, a lion, a rabbit, and a lamb. They had names, stories, personalities, and they were his friends (his only friends, at the time). When he was seven, he woke up one day to find them gone. His mother scolded him for his tears, explaining that he was too old for baby toys, and that his attachment to them would only hinder his path forward. For years, he felt ashamed whenever he thought of his grief towards them, because he knew they were just toys, he knew he was being a baby about it, and yet…

It wasn’t until he was fifteen years old and stumbled across an article about autistic people and the projection of feelings onto objects that he understood why he had been willing to sneak out at night to search through pawn store after pawn store and – once – the landfill in the hopes of seeing his beloved toys again. As a teen in the Wayne household, he knew he could get as many stuffed animals as he liked, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so after what had happened before. He got one giant, floppy moose, barely half a foot shorter than himself, that he clings to like an octopus when he manages to lay down, whether he succeeds in falling asleep or not. Additionally, on a night after Jason made amends with the family, Tim returned to his room to find a fifteen inch plush latte with a cute little face on the mug portion and a sticky note on top that simply read: Sorry for trying to kill you a bunch. My bad :) He keeps it on top of his dresser, and while he doesn’t really hug it, he did discover it was the perfect object for chucking at his siblings’ heads whenever the situation calls for it.

Steph:

Steph loves stuffed animals. While she never got any of the fancy brand name ones, or the luxuriously soft ones, or the hyper-realistic ones, her mom had a tradition of buying her one for every birthday, Christmas, and Easter. She soon had quite a collection, and – like Tim – she gave them all names and personalities. She played out complex scenarios with them and the few dolls she had, designing an intricate world of wild concepts and plots. She also used her stuffed animals to conquer her fears, like thunderstorms and darkness, by pretending they were all more scared than she was, so she had to be brave for all of them. Steph still has her whole collection, as well as quite a few “nicer” (though equally loved) ones that she has acquired from various Waynes. At this point, pretty much everyone in the Wayne family has given her a stuffed animal at some time or other. For a couple of years now, she has taken to posing with her massive collection and making fake family Christmas cards to send out to everyone she knows, where she will update them on the well-being of any plushie they’ve given her.

Duke:

Duke also has a great love of stuffed animals, although he doesn’t match Steph for quantity. He only had a few beloved animals growing up, all of which he’s held onto (a panda, a penguin, a turtle, a frog, a leopard, and a pikachu). Since being fostered by Bruce, Duke has taken to searching out and buying only the rarest stuffed animals he can find: an anteater, a platypus, a manatee, a sloth, and an axolotl have made the cut so far. Bruce knows about this and has taken to keeping an eye out for anything interesting whenever he’s out. After accidentally mentioning it at a gala one time, it has since become his favorite topic, as getting drawn into an intense discussion with Bruce Wayne about where to acquire strange plushies for his son elicits one of two reactions from his guests: delighted awws or hilariously awkward attempts to steer the conversation back to high society definitions of business and pleasure. At Duke’s request, a large shelf was built around the top of his room, so that all of his stuffed animals can sit comfortably and be clearly seen.

Damian:

Damian was much like Jason when he arrived at the manor in more ways than one, but his determination to prove himself above stuffed animals was certainly on that list. He sneered at his siblings’ attempts to treat him like the child he swore he wasn’t. And honestly, even after he began to lower his walls just a little, he still wasn’t particularly fond of stuffed animals. Sure, he privately thought they were cute, and sure he might (might) find himself holding one at night if it happened to have been left in his bed by an annoying sibling, but in general he preferred live animals to fake ones. Real animals had personalities and feelings, fake ones did not, it was as simple as that, no matter what Stephanie claimed. But as time went on, Damian found himself acquiring a small army of stuffed animals against his will. Some of his siblings (Jason, Tim, sometimes Duke) gave them to him because they found it funny to watch him growl about how he was not an infant in need of deceitful comforts. Some of his siblings (Dick, Cass, sometimes Duke… sometimes his father as well) would give them to him because they knew he liked animals so they assumed he’d like imitations of animals as well. Steph would just give them to everybody, every now and then. But regardless of motive, Damian soon found his room overflowing with stuffed animals that were moderately cute but ultimately pointless.

It wasn’t until a patrol a few years after he’d taken on the mantle of Robin that he discovered a solution. Tim had hidden a tiny stuffed bear in the medical supply compartment of his utility belt, a felt bandage wrapped around its little head. He hadn’t been wounded, but the young girl he’d rescued had been bleeding from a wound that looked worryingly dirty. The bear had fallen out of the pouch, right into her lap, and she’d stared at it with wide eyes, surprise halting the flow of her tears. She’d held onto it the whole time he disinfected her arm and bandaged it, and afterwards he had insisted she keep it. For the first time that night, she’d smiled. After that, Damian began taking a few of his many stuffed animals out on patrol with him, ready to hand out to any and all injured, lost, or otherwise traumatized children once he’d rescued them from their troubles. Eventually he began running out of toys he’d been gifted, even though he kept getting new ones, so at some point he begins to regularly sneak out for the sole purpose of acquiring stuffed animals to hand out. He never tells his siblings, but he suspects they’ve found out anyway, when the presents they give him drastically decrease in size.

[batfam-rewrites]

Batfam During Quarantine: Thanksgiving

Dick: Hey, the Gordon’s are here! What’s up Babs!

Barbara: Nothing much! *kisses Dick on the cheek*

Damian: Father, are the Kent’s coming this year?

Bruce: Unfortunately not this year.

Damian: Damn it.

Jason: Yes! That means we can watch My Cousin Vinny early this year!

Duke: I’m sorry, what?

Dick: Okay so Duke, you know how every family has their own traditions for Thanksgiving?

Duke: Yeah!

Dick: Well this started back when I was 16 and was Robin. Babs and I weren’t that interested in football so we decided to go into the media room and watch My Cousin Vinny. Since then it’s become a tradition to go into the media room and watch the movie. In previous years, we had set up the living room for the football game, the dining room would play a mix of tv Thanksgiving episodes, and the media room would play hockey or basketball. Then after Damian went to bed, we’d watch My Cousin Vinny.

Duke: Not going to lie, I lost track half way through, I think basketball was mentioned, but I’m just going to watch the game.

Dick: Probably the safest choice.

Tim: *whines* Damian, stop hogging all the cheesey mash potatoes!

Damian: I will slit your throat, Drake!

Duke: *look of horror fills his face*

Dick: Like I said, safe choice.

Tim: You’re not so scary anymore, so STOP THREATENING ME!

Duke: It’s only mashed potatoes though...

Dick: Let me stop you right there. These are cheesey mash potatoes, not only that but these are Alfred’s cheesey mash potatoes, which is like the greatest on the planet! You’ll want to grab extra before it disappears. You’ll also want to grab extra cornbread. 

Bruce: Boys, what’s going on? 

Damian: Tim’s complaining.

Tim: Damian’s hogging all the cheesey mash potatoes!

Bruce: Tim, you’re 17, stop whining. Damian, I swear if there isn’t any left when I come for seconds I will throw you out on the street!

Damian: Okay, father.

Everyone sits down at the table and gets ready to say what their thankful for.

Bruce: *mutes the tv* Okay, I’ll get this started. I am very thankful *looks and smiles at Selina* that Selina and I finally got to tie the knot this year. It has been a long winding road that lead to this, but I’m glad I can finally say that you are my lovely wife.

Selina: *wipes a tear from her eyes* Damn hon, you stole mine! I guess I’m thankful for this wonderful feast that Alfred, Tim, and Cass prepared for us.

Alfred: I am thankful that I was able to bond with my daughter Julia. I know I haven’t been there for you in the past when I should have been, and I know it is too late now, but I have enjoyed the last year and a half we were able to spend together and I hope to learn more about you as quarantine continues. 

Julia: I’m thankful for getting closure. I spent most of my life resenting you, only now to realize that you were only honoring you own father’s promise he made with you. I’m so sorry for hating you for so long. *hugs Alfred*

Kate: I’m grateful for this year. Sure it has gone to shit in the worst way possible, but I finally got to catch up on some shows!

Dick: Smart, toit. I’m truly thankful for this pandemic, because I feel it has brought us closer together as a family.

Barbara: Well I am super thankful for this BIG ASS ROCK ON MY FINGER! I love you Dick! I always have and always will! I can not wait to spend the rest of my life with you. *Barbara and Dick share a quick kiss*

Jim: I am grateful to have such a loving and supportive family. Eileen, you’re my rock, and Barbara, you are the best thing that happened to us. I can’t imagine life without you girls.

Eileen: I am grateful for all the extra time we’ve had at home to clean out the apartment.

Tim: Alright, I’m next. I am thankful for coffee because it’s coffee.

Dick: Nope. You were thankful for coffee last year.

Tim: I am thankful for Red Bull, because it gave me wings.

Dick: *buries his face into his hands*

Stephanie: I am thankful to be out of my own house. I hate my parents. 

Helena: I’m thankful for being accepted into this family. I never said this but it means a lot to me. Thanks B.

Jason: Skip me, I ain’t doing this shit! I hate you all.

Dick: *gets up and heads towards Jason to give him a hug* Oh come on Jason, you know you love us!

Jason: *gets up and runs* Stay away Dick! No one likes your hugs!

Dick: *chasing Jason* Let me love you Jay! I’m trying to be a loving brother!

Jason: Stay away! I will stab you!

Harper: I’m celebrating today for this shit! You guys are so damn weird!

Cullen: I am thankful for my sister, who always has my back.

Jason: *runs back into the room and knocks over a vase*

Bruce: Jason, Dick, stop running around the damn house and clean up your mess!

Dick and Jason: Got it Bruce!

Cassandra: I am thankful for the fact that I am able to spend this year in a new and better family! I am also thankful for the fact that I can now speak multiple sentences! I love you all for helping me out!

Duke: I’m glad some middle aged rich white dude has an adoption addiction and took me in. Not dropping names, but we know who that man is. 

Damian: I’m happy I’m finally old enough to watch My Cousin Vinny and go Black Friday shopping.

Bruce: Only my older kids are going, you’re staying here Damian. Nice try though.

Damian: Damn it.

They all ate their feast while the tv played in the background, but no one gave it much attention. They all talked about stories they have or things they’ve done. When they finished eating, most of them began to play hide and seek in the mansion while the others watched the football game. And when that ended, that’s when Jim and Eileen left for the night, leaving them all to watch the movie.

Two hours later

Duke: What the fuck is wrong with you people! I mean the movie was great, but why do you watch this on Thanksgiving?

Dick: When I were 16, Babs was 17...

Duke: Yeah, I remember, but why this movie?

Barbara and Dick: Idunknow.

Damian: That was an awesome damn movie!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Without getting too sappy, I want to say I’m very thankful for all of you who like/reblogged my post or have followed my tumblr! It really means a lot to me. I know this doesn’t go with my last post, but I figured I’d do this now because it would be weird to upload this in possibly February (not quite up to date with it but that will hopefully change soon). I posted this last minute so there might be a few errors or some things I might change when I reblog this with the added Black Friday shopping story that I’ll upload tonight. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay safe if you’re going Black Friday shopping!

[notquiteaghost]

i do not have the energy to do it myself but god i want someone to rewrite the dick grayson becomes a cop storyline to be like. good.

and by 'rewrite' i do mean 'the only similarity needed is 'dick becomes a cop to root out a specific instance of corruption' every other element can get fucked', cuz like...

dick realises Something Is Going Down but when he asks jim for advice on handling it jim just stares into the middle distance and laughs hollowly because arrest?? cops??? get cops fired???? in this country???!?

so dick is like. okay. how do i build an absolutely airtight case. how do i get inadmissable evidence when all evidence is handled by. the criminals.

oh shit fuck i have to go undercover don't i

(and also find lawyers and a judge and shit) (but for the sake of a workable story we'll say gotham has people in the justice system happy to persecute cops) (and obviously they are well acquainted with the bats)

so then. Dick Joins The Police.

he does NOT use his real name because Richard Grayson Eldest Son Of Bruce Wayne has maybe said some things, in some public forums, about cops. and how they were useless when his parents were killed and useless when his brother was killed and actively harmful in almost every other situation.

he tells bruce what he’s doing & he tells barbara cuz he'll have less time for patrol and who better to help you covertly get people to confess their crimes on record than oracle

and also if he doesn’t have someone to vent to about the process of becoming a cop and all the many many problems it has he will quit and then commit arson, and barbara has many years experience being a sympathetic ear to this kind of venting

but he maybe forgets to tell anyone else

which means tim drops by dick's place one morning to ask for his opinion on smth and dick is fully in a cop uniform and tim just jumps straight to 'i have fallen into another universe' because a) that Does happen and b) tim drake can be a little dissociative, as a treat

and it also means that jason is just walking one evening minding his business not even on his way to do a crime and then he sees dick grayson, who once looked a cop dead in the eye and told him he didn’t even know what sex is to give a sex worker time to scram, wearing a badge and telling off some kid, and he reflexively punches him in the face

the resolution of both of these is almost exactly the same. jason/tim yelling "a cop! a COP!", various statistics, "what would commissioner gordan say!!!" and "a fucking COP??!?" until they let dick get a word in edgeways and he says "i am undercover do you have that little faith in me" and they deflate and go "oh. okay. ...need a hand?"

dick IS purposefully keeping it from damian tho because damian does not approve of undercover work. damian would just break into the officers' homes and start breaking their bones until they confess. getting damian to understand what is and isn’t admissable in a court of law is very much a work in progress

and then. the process of dick gaining the relevant officers' trust and confidence, and then getting in on whatever they’re doing, whilst also trying to minimise the damage done in just a general sense. these two goals are very much at odds with each other, but dick cannot be in a situation where he could help someone and not do it

he does a lot of yelling. the ‘the only good cop’ groupchat (now dick, barbara, tim, jason, steph, cass, and alfred) (not duke. dick loves his brother and will not remind him of endemic racist violence if he doesn’t absolutely have to) points out he is possibly not the best choice, to go undercover as a cop; he asks if anyone else would like to volunteer; everyone remembers ‘being unable to sit idle when you could help’ is kinda a key part of being a vigilante; someone links a cat video

also there are explicitly no good cops. there are cops who think theyre good cops but they’re actively ignoring the really bad cops and that isnt the moral highground they think it is. one of them catches on to what dick is doing maybe and asks to help and dick is just like "if you really want to help then quit"

the end of the story is dick getting the evidence he needs and Literally Immediately quitting

and then the cops get charged! and sentenced! and fired! and imprisoned!

(prisons are bad but if anyone deserves to be in them it's cops. what goes around comes around.)

and dick goes on a vacation, because that had a genuine effect on his blood pressure. and maybe comes back from vacation like, y’know what fuck it full police abolition let's go. what’s the point in being adopted by one of the richest men in gotham if you can’t use that money to abolish the goddamn police. jim gordon deserves to retire.

and the moral of the story is dick grayson says fuck the cops

[ellana-ravenwood]

The Batfamily TV show I wish existed but that will most likely never be (wecanhopethough) :

I’ve been fantasazing a LOT lately about a Batfam centric tv show. Not a story just about Bruce and then the kids are somewhere in the background, or just about one of the kid, or one character of the “extended family”. Nope. A TV show, that would focus on everyone. And here’s a few of my thoughts haha :

We’ve seen enough of times Bruce’s parents murder so no need to have a scene of that again. Even people who never read a Batman comics or watch a movie/animated show, sort-of know how he ended up being Batman ya know ? It kinda became a trope, a classic scene, to see little eight year old Bruce screaming above his parents’ bodies, in an empty alley...We really don’t need to see yet another one of those. We all know the story. And for those who are not up to date, there will be hints of what happened dropped all through the show. Because it’s still about Batman.

The Robins and all though, often people don’t even know there’s more than one Robin ? Or at least don’t know how many there are really...So here how I would love for the show to start/be : 

The first few episodes would only be about ONE kid, and ONE “extended family member” (Like Babs, ya know ?). My absolute biggest dream would be to have the ENTIRE Batfam represented (or most, there’s some members from alternate timelines/world that I’m not sure would appear...or maybe just as a cameo ?), and each of them would have their moments, and be just as important as the other. My perfect Batfam TV show would portray how they are all linked, how they’re a family (albeit not always a very functional one) So. Here we are. Longer episodes than normal shows,more mini-series sort of things than the traditional 40 minutes episodes. I think an hour would be a good timeframe, at least for the “origin story” episode...so, yeah, longer-than-usual episodes about all the origins of the kids and all.

First episode start with Dick coming in young Bruce Wayne’s life. We quickly understand that Bruce just came back after years away from Gotham (and that it was to train to become Batman). He’s been back for less than a year, and already started to be a night vigilante...And here he comes. Little Richard Grayson. A boy in which Bruce sees himself a lot (because of the way he lost his parents). And so Bruce makes the crazy decision to adopt the kid (yeah yeah I know “ward”), and it literally changes the way he lives. And boom, Dick’s origin story. Maybe a little shenanigans across the Manor. Dick’s difficulty to adapt to living with Bruce now, and not having his parents. Showing how he can get so angry at times ! And how he isn’t just that jolly little boy who jokes around and hugs everyone he sees ? Basically, an episode that could show every faces of Dick Grayson. Because he deserves to have a show where an entire episode is JUST FOR HIM, and how he is.

Second episode would be Barbara Gordon’s introduction. Pretty straight forward. Who she is, daughter of who, how she came to become Batgirl. Her close relationship with the Batman and his sidekick(s). Showing all the dimension of Babs, her intelligence and such. She isn’t just “a badass girl” (she’d only be a girl at the beginning), but an extremely intelligent one who’s able to turn situations around that look desperate, thanks to her analytic brain etc etc. She’s essential in a lot of Batman stories.

Third episode would be Jason’s arrival. Completely different from Dick’s. the episode would focus on the few years he has with Bruce, and where he comes from. How Jason hasn’t always been “the rebel of the family” (and how actually Dick has that role more than any of his brothers really...in this episode, probably there will be a quick mention of how the “previous Robin” is sort of a taboo subject because he left Gotham to go with the Teen Titans and Bruce is still not over it...). How he’s actually really sweet, and so SO happy to be Robin, and finally have someone that cares ? Which will explain why he became Red Hood later on...The episode would end on his death.

Fourth episode would start with Bruce being depressed, still not over Jason’s death. It would show how he became even more violent, which he has fights about with Dick...At the same time, Dick came back to Gotham as Nightwing after Jason’s death to still be there as a support for Bruce. Dick is always there when his friends or family members need his help...Doesn’t mean they don’t fight though. Bruce is even tougher to get through to than he used to. Jason’s death really hardened him further, the guilt not helping, of course. And then...Here enters little Timothy Drake. “Hey, I know you’re Batman !” he tells him, smiling widely...A few of his (baby) teeth are missing, that’s how young he is. The episode would be about how Bruce refuses to take Tim in as first (even more so since Tim’s parents are still alive by then), and would show their relationship evolves, all the way up to Bruce officially adopting Timbo.

Fifth episode : Hey is that Stephanie Brown we see ? Yup it iiiiiis !! Her story. Her background. What’s up with her. This episode is all about her. How she’s an important part of Bruce’s life, however isn’t one of his adoptive kid (it would be weird anyway...it would mean she ends up dating her own brother...). I always viewed Steph’ as an important member of the “Batfam”, but not as one of Bruce’s kid ? Like, she’s most definitely cared for and loved, but she doesn’t permanently live at Wayne Manor, and isn’t officially his ward or adopted kid etc etc...Doesn’t mean she isn’t included and not sort-of-family ! But, ya know what I mean, extremely close friends can be family too (remember : this is only MY opinion and how I view the characters after I read comics with them, you can totally disagree...in that case do it nicely, please).

Sixth Episode would be Cassandra’s. Bruce is fighting against her father, and that’s when he finds that young girl that appears mute, and that just killed a few men in front of him. He learns of her story, how her father tried to turn her into a weapon since she was born, via some audio recordings he found in one of his hideout. And he feels utterly disarmed. What is he supposed to do ? He can’t let such a dangerous person out, at the same time, she looks so young...And it’s not quite her fault, according to the recordings...He can’t just leave her there, but he’s also sure that locking her up would do more harm than anything else. So he takes her in. Ensues the beginning of Cass’ evolution (the rest will be in other episodes).

Seventh episode would be the one where Bruce discovers that Jason is still alive, and that he HATES HIM. Fighty fights fight...Oh shit it’s my son. Flashback of how Jason got resurrected and his short time with the Al’Ghuls, and a little speech about why he hates Bruce so much. Very “Under the Red Hood”, I guess. Ends with a heartbroken Bruce, and an even angrier Jason (because he saw Tim and Cass and can’t believe Bruce still enrolls kids to be his little “child soldier”...of course, it’s more complicated than that).

Eighth episode, Damian’s dramatic entrance. “I thought you’d be taller”. He tries to fight every single one of his siblings (that he most definitely not consider as such yet) (and yes I’m including Cass because I want her to be part of it all...), and it’s obvious they let him win. Sure, the kid trained since he was born...But they’re all pretty old now, and trained by the Batman too. Damian couldn't overpower them that easily (yeah it’s a canon thing I’m not a fan of...). In any case, Damian’s first few days in the family are tough af...

Then after all those origin stories, a lot would happen before Duke’s episode finally comes (because he appears quite late in the Batfam). So an explanation about how he came to get in, what happened to his parents, etc etc. An episode about Duke ! He might come in only like, in a later season (again he comes really late into everything, although he appears before). But when he comes in, Damian is less of a brat now, and considers everyone his family etc etc.

I know there’s a lot more people that are friendly with the Batfam (like Luke Fox and all) HOWEVER, I wanna talk about the “core” Batfam, Bruce and the kids and all. Family. Now of course, Kate Kane would appear. Maybe have her own part of an episode about how at first she decides to become Batwoman of her own volition and isn’t even affiliated with Bruce. Her story at her military school. Why she decided to get into this business etc etc...Probably things about Jim Gordon too. Oh, and the villains ! But really, only full episodes about the ones that are really...family. Like, Kate is Bruce’s cousin and all, but...they always kinda had their own things going on. Now as I said, she’ll appear, but you know what I mean. Basically, allies and friends will most definitely appear, but they won’t all have a full episodes about them ? Maybe a story revolving around them, and therefor we learn the essentials. Also, lil introductions to all the pets the Batfam has (of course we’d have Batcow, Titus, Ace and other Alfred the Cat hehe). 

The narrator would be Alfred Pennyworth, because he’s the one constant in every story. He’s always there (or almost). First episode would start with Bruce as a little boy, after his parents’ death, training around the house, and then as the episodes unfold, more and more members appear, training with him (opening credits).

We’d just have episodes about their domestic life AND their detective life. A perfect mix of both World. And after all those introduction episodes, that would be all interesting because we all know those peeps have some wild backgrounds, then the audience would know everyone ! Now, it’s a lot of characters, so, once they’re all introduced, they don’t need to always appear. There would be episodes of all of them together, and sometimes of just two of them bonding over whatever ? Like, Dick and Jason. Tim and Damian. Etc etc.

And every episodes would talk about all the different facets of their personalities, and not only focus on stereotypes (like it’s often the case :/). Like, NONE OF THEM are one-dimensional characters. So, let’s show that Bruce is a caring man but also a total jerk sometimes, that Dick is the “carefree” one but also the “angry Robin” more than Jason is, that Jason isn’t just a killing machine and a rebel, but also very sweet. That Tim isn't just that coffee addict boy who never sleeps, but a selfless man who’s in it because he thinks he does the right thing. That Damian isn’t just a brat who hates everyone, but tries really hard to better himself and is actually extremely scared of becoming like the Al Ghuls and turning bad etc etc...Show their complex personalities, and not just boring and lazy cliches. 

Are you starting to see why this show would be impossible to exist, wether live action or animated ? Haha yeah, it’d be like, 300 seasons long hahahaha. Because there’s so much material ! ...But I’m pretty sure so many of us fans would watch every single episodes.

PS : This is an “adaption” I imagined, so of course not every subtlety about everyone are in the short synopsis of their episodes I gave, and there would be much more than that. And some aspect of the stories are switched a little. And it’s only snippets, small portions. My idea would be much more worked on. I just wanted to share the little things I thought about ^^. '

[lowin]

Ok but where’s the Brooklyn nine-nine au where Jason finally gets himself legally resurrected, and the first thing he does is apply for the job of Gordon’s secretary, and of course it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that Dick’s been working at the GCPD since coming back to Gotham around a year ago.

To the surprise of everyone but Jason and Barbara, Jim accepts, and don’t get him wrong, Dick loves his Little Wing, but the idea of having to deal with Jason’s shenanigans while at work, and with his newfound place as Gordon’s untouchable secretary, well, lets say the idea to go back to Bludhaven doesn’t sound so bad anymore.

Still, Dick tries to make the most of it, and for Jason’s first day at work he brings a picture of the family framed for Jason to put as his desk, along with an invitation to have lunch together. Jason grimaces as he accepts the picture, taking it with the tip of his thumb and index finger as if it was the grossest thing ever and places it face down on the farthest place of the desk, and of course turns the invitation down because he already has plans for lucnh for the rest of the month, or so he tells Dick before looking over his shoulder and waves to a couple of really good looking traffic cops drinking coffee by the machine, both of them waving back at Jason with blinding smiles.

Of course it doesn’t take long until Richie’s little brother becomes popular, telling all kinds of embarasing stories about his brother, half of them he’d witnessed, while the other half were told to him by Alfred, who’d tell Jason all of his siblings’ darkest secret if Jason so much as asked nicely over a cup of tea. He also jokes with Gordon, and to everyone’s shock, gets Gordon to joke back just a couple of months later.

Dick is not at all shocked when he sees Jason spending most of the day sitting next to the kids they bring in, talking quietly to them, giving them food he stole from the kitchen, or even money, most likely what he stole from Bruce even knowing Bruce wouldn’t mind Jason asking for a million bucks, especially now that he seemed so focused on having a civilian life.

So maybe Jason ignores Dick’s chattering at breaks in favour of posting twitts talking trash about the GCPD, shading Batman or posting conspiracy theories about Brucie Wayne. Maybe Jason only talks to him when he needs something, with Dick never being his first option. Maybe Jason is rude and doesn’t mind calling the corrupted cops on their shit, not caring in the least about what kind of links they may have with this mob boss or that one, because none of them would stand a chance if the Red Hood ever decided to come back. Dick is just happy to be able to see his brother every day.

Or so he thought, when just six months later, Damian starts to come as a project of his class when he’s supposed to be assistant for a job he may want to have in the future, and while everyone thought he’d be glued to Dick’s side, the little demon walks into the place with a carton box in hand and places it on Jason’s desk. Jason doesn’t even look up from his phone as Damian gets a chair and sits next to him, pulling out his own phone and for the rest of the day Dick’s phone is full of notifications of both Jason and Damian posting about conspiracy theories.

[duketectivecomics]

Hey I was wondering if you know the official order of bruce gaining all the kids including harper, Barbara, and stephanie? I know its Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian but where does the other 3 and duke and cass fall in? Tia!!

So I’m gonna assume that you mean the order in which they get adopted, since finding First Appearances is one of the easier things to google for any character. (Getting First Appearance issues afterall is part of the reason some comics retain their value, so it’s usually well documented when a character first shows up. Side note: DCUguide is an excellent resource if you’re looking to comb through appearances for characters, although I’d also recommend asking for reading lists from other fans, since usually those have been curated down to essential storylines only)

I tried to provide actual issue #s where I could, but a lot of the time in comics, it’s usually something that’s dropped or hinted around or casually mentioned rather than outright boldly stated.

Also some of these characters span DECADES and their histories change depending on continuity. So I tried to account for that where I could.

But also canon is fake and everyone in fandom cherry-picks anyways so yknow. Keep THAT in mind too.

Before we dive into this, I wanna have a quick convo on what Legal Guardianship vs Adoption is.

While guardianship includes some of the same responsibilities as adoption, it also comes with a few key differences, such as allowing any living parents (also possibly any living relatives) to contest the guardianship. Adoption would make the child fully and solely the potential parent’s responsibility, and would nullify any legal ‘say’ that the biological parents may have. Also of note, is that  guardianship does not allow the child in question a claim to inheritance unless the guardian specifically wills it to them, as there is again, a bit more of distance that is placed between the child and guardian, as more of a mentorship is expected to take hold. One way to look at it is that adoption is permanent (& usually a longer drawn out process bc of that), while guardianship can be more legally flexible.

With that out of the way, let’s start~

Dick: pre-flashpoint/52, it’s stated often that Dick was actually Bruce’s ward, that Bruce has legal guardianship over Dick. I know this is a nitpick and doesn’t matter bc it’s usually retconned/ignored in favor of Dick being adopted. But I think it’s a fascinating point of potential contention nonetheless. especially given the historical reason, that it was absolutely unheard of at the time for a single man to adopt a child, but no one would bat at eye if he was taking Dick in out of a sense of altruism & duty. Contract this with decades later, when he DOES appear to adopt Jason outright, which puts some friction in place between Dick & Bruce. and well, you’ve got a whole story & conflict to explore right there.

Barbara: Usually dons the Batgirl cowl after Dick becomes Robin (the only exception to that was The Batman (2004) cartoon and it was absolutely galaxy brain of them honestly) She has her own Dad though (idk if y’all know him? Jim Gordon? Yknow? The Commissioner?) so she doesn’t get adopted. She’s considered a core batfam member mostly in the sense that she’s been there so long and esp as she makes herself absolutely essential when she becomes Oracle. She has never, and will likely never be adopted by Bruce (bc again. W h e n is that gonna come up? When Jim dies? L m f a o)

Jason: pre-crisis it’s assumed from the go I guess? I could only find slight confirmation and ended up finding more info that there was a custody battle and that Bruce would won Jason back officially in Detective Comics #548. post-crisis, Jason’s history is redone, though & I remember his adoption being touched on, but could not for the life of me find a particular issue. N52/Rebirth it’s simply assumed from the go as far as I’m aware.

Tim: Batman #654. This was after his father died, though he’d been Robin at this point for at least a decade. For n52/Rebirth as far as I can tell he’s also been outright adopted by Bruce (though I think he’s parents were still alive but in Witness Protection? Idk. I haven’t read at all for Tim’s history there so take that with a heavy grain of salt)

Steph: another one who is not adopted (Crystal Brown is very much alive and taking care of Steph (barring the time Leslie Thompkins squirreled her away after faking Stephs death BUT)) She does show up pretty soon on Tim’s tail when he starts as Robin. Again, she’s considered a staple of the family because of how long she’s been involved with them. I like to think of her like Kimmy in Full House. She’s a Good Friend who’s Constantly Showing Up and is one of the family through mutual agreement on everyone’s part.

Cass: Batgirl (2008) #6, though like Tim, Cass had been Batgirl for nearly a decade at that point in continuity. She’s shown and stated many times that she considers Bruce a father/father figure and likewise that Babs, who had been mentoring her, was the closest she has to a mother. In n52/Rebirth, I have yet to see or hear about official adoption for her, but again. We usually ignore canon on that part anyways. I mean they made her into Orphan so uhhhh. Not super great yknow?

Damian: since he is biologically Bruce’s, it’s never really addressed as far as I’m aware (I have yet to read Damian’s appearances Altho he’s next on my Robin list). I personally think it’d be interesting to explore the fact that he was likely born outside of the country and what that means for Bruce gaining legal custody & whether or not Talia would contest that? I’m sure there’s probably SOME thinkpieces about it out there, but I’ll search for them on my own time eventually

And now we’re getting to *drum roll* Harper and Duke!

Harper: her appearances are mostly kept to the n52 runs, though with Tynion returning to Detective, it’s likely she’s coming back into Rebirth soon. She’s a unique case where, due to her abusive home life, she emancipated herself and took her brother, Cullen, with her. Neither she nor her brother were adopted by Bruce, and as far as I’m aware/understand, they’re fine with it that way. I know Stephanie was living with them at some point (it’s dropped in Batman & Robin: Eternal at least?), so I certainly think it would have been nice if DC also brought them into the fold like Steph. Just a couple of kids who are Really Good Friends with the family and continue to insert themselves in batfam business lmao

Duke: I actually addressed this fairly recently here! Duke’s guardianship (bc like Dick, Duke is not outright adopted by Bruce, likely to afford Duke’s parents the opportunity to regain custody should they recover from Joker’s toxin) its a little more up in the air at this point in Batman & The Outsiders. Since Bruce is very clearly taking both him and Cass away on globetrotting adventures. It would make things EASIER ofc if he is under Bruce’s guardianship. But given that it’s not really addressed, it’s led most of fandom to simply assume it instead. And really? Considering that DC themselves probably doesn’t realize that they’ve written themselves into this corner, it probably won’t be fully addressed or recognized anyways.

So to answer your first question actually: Babs, Steph, and Harper? Not adopted, likely never will be, but they ARE interspersed fairly regularly in the line-up. Everyone else? Varying degrees of being under Bruce’s guardianship if not outright adopted.

We’re all happy that they’re here, though!!! And we love and appreciate them ALL.

[welcome-to-latveria]

Hello, how's it going? I was hoping you could explain or compress the storyline of DCeased comics because they seem so genuinely interesting (( I saw your characterisation post it was awesome, you're awesome!!!)) and I don't know where to find the comics in my locality or even on internet ((it just says they are not available in my region :/ )) hope you have a good day, I love your blog!!!

Right lads part 2!!!

(SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT)

DCeased: A Good Day To Die is a one-shot that follows Mister Miracle, Big Barda and Mr Terrific's attempts to cure the virus. After visiting Constantine and him telling them that he won't help they resort to time travel and recruit Booster Gold (& Blue Beetle) cos Booster has a time machine. Some stuff happens and Barda & Mister Miracle die/are infected when they hold a group of dead off so the others can get to the time machine. Constantine also shows up to be heroic and saves them from some time traveller who is in charge of time or something called Waverider but just as Booster goes to use the machine to go back in time he is wiped from existence because the future he was born in doesn't exist anymore:

(Tom Taylor rly has a thing for making these 2 suffer cos he wrote a very similar scene in Injustice but w/ Teddy dying)

After this Teddy is also killed and Constantine binds Waverider to himself so the guy can't leave and then he's inevitably killed. Just before John is killed too, Zatanna and Dr Fate arrive to save him and it ends there.

DCeased: The Unkillables is next and is definitely the best and most emotional series which is quite a feat considering it only has 3 issues. The story follows the people left on Earth when the ships and heroes left which is basically Jason, Cass, Jim Gordon, Rose Wilson & Deathstroke plus a handful of other villains (including Cass' mum, Lady Shiva).

The story starts w/ Deathstroke being infected but then him discovering he's immune to the virus due to his healing factor. He sees what's happening to everyone else though so goes and finds his daughter Rose. Meanwhile Jason arrives in the Batcave and finds the bodies of Dick, Tim and Bruce. He also finds Ace the dog who's still alive. Jason buries the bodies and makes some wooden headstones for them (which you would have seen in my post about Talia & Steph). He then gets in the Batmobile which tells him that there are still 2 members of the batfam alive in Gotham.

Whilst that's happening Slade finds his daughter Rose and the 2 are picked up by Mirror Master and brought to an island under the control of Vandal Savage who has also gathered other villains so that they can just wait out the end times and 'inherit' what's left. Back in Gotham, Jason finds Jim Gordon and Cass. Jason has to tell Jim that Barbara is dead and Jim questions why he was being monitored which leads to this nice moment:

Jim wants to check Barbara is dead and they go and find her dead body and also the Joker's dead body. Jason is annoyed that he didn't get to kill the Joker and then decides to strap Joker's dead body onto the front of the Batmobile. A few days later they discover an orphanage in Blüdhaven which has children trapped inside and decide to help them.

In the next issue they hear a broadcast Lois sent out over the radio back in the original DCeased series telling everyone that they are leaving Earth and also that there is a sanctuary in Gotham. Jim turns it off and the 3 of them decide they and the children wouldn't make it alive to Ivy's jungle in Gotham so they stay put and don't tell the children that Earth's heroes have left. Later they're visited by Shiva who tells Cass they have a safe place (Vandal Savage's island). Cass says she'll only go if the kids can come but Shiva refuses and tells her there isn't enough room. They fight because Shiva wants to knock Cass unconscious and forcibly take her to Savage's island to save her but they're interrupted by Jason, Jim and the kids. Shiva goes back to the island without Cass even though Cass offers for her to stay with them.

Back on the island Deathstroke and Creeper have been strapped down to medical tables and cut up by Savage who hopes to find out why they're both immune to the virus. As if that isn't enough, Wonder Woman (now infected as in DCeased) turns up and kills Savage. Captain Cold holds is able to distract her whilst Mirror Master takes the other villains and escapes to the orphanage. Mirror Master goes back for Captain Cold but he's already infected and then also infects Mirror Master.

When the villains arrive in the orphanage Deathstroke and Jim come to an agreement that they will start training the kids to fight. They also have to kill a bunch of social workers and kids who were infected and locked away in the orphanage before any of them got there including one kid Jason recognises as Billy Batson. 

Over the next 3 months the kids and the villains all train together and start getting on:

Like a page or so after this, infected Mirror Master appears and kills Deadshot and infects Bane. Bane goes and lets in a bunch of dead and then Solomon Grundy rips Bane's head off and then holds off the rest of the dead.

With the orphanage compromised they decide to get the kids on the school buses and head for Ivy's jungle. On the way there all the villains sacrifice themselves to the dead to help the kids get away including Shiva and Deathstroke:

Infected Wonder Woman also turns up again and nearly kills everyone after she kills Deathstroke but they're all saved by the narrator of the series who is revealed to be one of the kids - Mary Marvel, Shazam. They manage to get into Ivy's jungle which is protected magically by Dr Fate, Zatanna & Constantine who are also there. At the end they build a statue of all the villains who saved them:

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of February 19th, 2020

Best of this Week: DCeased: Unkillables #1 - Tom Taylor, Karl Mostert, Trevor Scott, Neil Edwards, John Livesay, Rex Lokus and Saida Temofonte

Ahhh shit, here we go again. DCeased was awesome.

In much the same way that the original Marvel Zombies filled my heart with dread, DCeased absolutely blew my mind with the short six issues that it took place in. It was equal parts violent and heartbreaking as the heroes of Earth had to figure out a way to either stop the Anti-Life virus or die trying. We had a good spin off with the single issue, A Good Day to Die and now we have Unkillables, another spin off focusing on some of the more violent heroes and villains while the events of the main series unfold elsewhere.

The book begins on the first day of the Anti-Life virus being released as Deathstroke finds himself on a job in Kentucky. Throughout the original story, I did kinda wonder what people like him or the other assassins were up to, given that we saw a select number of other dead supervillains throughout like Giganta and Clayface. As Tom Taylor and Karl Mostert unfold the story we see that Slade Wilson was killing some infected Neo-Nazis before an attempt to renegotiate his price ends with him infected too.

Mostert and Taylor set this opening up in a very comedic way with the white supremacits running from something in the local church as Deathstroke looks on, puzzled as to why they’re running before taking a few out before heading inside. Mostert, Rex Lokus and I think Trevor Scott then give us an awesome single page of Slade facing down a horde of zombies with only his gun and a bloody sword. He looks like a badass and, in the following panels, proves it by killing them with ease.

Mostert doesn’t shy away from Slade’s brutal violence and shows how fluidly he can kill with dynamic poses as he shoots and slices multiple enemies at once. This accentuated by the excellently colored spurts of blood from the zombies and the gory detail of blood on the walls. There’s even a really good panel of one of the zombies being cut in half with Scott inking the silhouette as their blood and insides drip down. Even better is when Slade gets infected and violently rips his mask off before coming back to his senses while choking a guy.

Tom Taylor introduces a unique aspect here as Deathstroke returns to normal on the second day of the virus being introduced. As we learn later, it’s due to Slade’s unique super soldier DNA that allows him to fight off the infection, effectively being immune to a point. I can definitely see this being a double edged sword for him as the infection seems to last for a day before being purged from his system. This makes him unique amongst both the heroes and villains of Earth as maybe a potential savior.

I’d also like to praise Saida Temofonte for her amazing lettering as well. She does an amazing job, not only with word balloons, but with captions that have a bloody background and the typefaces she uses for sound effects. For the most part, they fit the gruesomeness of the story with intense and bloody BANGs to eerie RRRRRRs, signaling the incoming zombies. Deathstroke’s scream as he claws his own face is intense, scratchy and blood curling until we get an AMAZING title page with names filling the empty space.

As things progress, we cut to Jason Todd in the Batcave. The silence is eerie as we get one small “spsh” sound as Jason steps through the blood trail of Bruce, Tim and Dick. Unfortunately, this seems to take place shortly after the events of DCeased #2 when an infected Dick and Tim attack and infect Batman, leaving Alfred to kill them all. Jason, like most readers, is shocked because he thought Bruce would have found a way to survive and then he’s met by Ace the Bathound. After letting Ace see that he’s not infected, Jason proceeds to make graves for his brothers and father before speeding off in the Batmobile to find the rest of his family with Ace.

These scenes are powerful as Jason, normally the black sheep of the family, has to deal with the fact that he’s one of few left. Why wasn’t Bruce prepared? Why was he the one left and not Dick or Tim? Damian’s still alive in Metropolis, but effectively, Jason is all alone. Mostert and I believe Neil Edwards show Jason’s love for his family as he carves out wooden headstones and buries them in the cave. Without a word of dialogue, this speaks volumes about Jason’s love for his family.

Elsewhere in Gotham, Ravager, Rose Wilson with a missing eye, unlike her main continuity counterpart, is curled up in her apartment in fear. The zombies are pounding on her door when Slade radios in and tells her it’s time to escape. Rose has the ability to see into the future in short bursts and sees that everytime she goes for the door, Zombies come through and kill her. Deathstroke, however, has a plan. As a side note, it’s great to see Rose in gear similar to what she wore in Geoff Johns’ “Teen Titans” while also complementing Deathstroke’s current armor.

Unfortunately for Deathstroke, as he keeps his eyes to the sky, he sees the terror that is an infected Man-Bat flying at him with a terrifying SCReeeee as he crashes through the window and smashes the plane on the roof Rose runs to her dad and, believing him to be infected, plunges her sword through his chest and he screams “Ow.” This scene is pure comedy made even better by the dramatic rain and fire in the background. Soon after, Mirror Master, Evan McCulloch, shows up offering them help.

I don’t know what the reason is for using the Scottish version of the character, but it doesn’t really matter as the representation of the Mirror Dimension is still cool as hell. While wearing special glasses that block signals, they walk through the dimension and Mostert draws an epic depiction of it with all of the violence, gore and death through the many mirrors while the characters look miniscule compared to the vastness of it all. The Mirror Dimension has always been terrifying and McCulloch could do a lot to solve the problem, but it makes sense that he doesn’t. Cause it’s terrifying.

After many pages, we arrive at the rest of the stars (fodder) of the series in Vandal Savage, Solomon Grundy, The Creeper, Cheetah, Lady Shiva, Bane, Deadshot and Captain Cold. I do have a bit of a continuity issue as Cold was shown to have been one of the Infected during the events of “A Good Place to Die,” but alternatively this series could explain how he got there or, much like that story, it’s off base with what’s happening in the main pages. But some of these additions are pretty interesting to say the very least.

Savage is near immortal, but has been shown to have been killed before. There’s a high chance that using Deathstroke, he’ll find a way to cure and rule over the people of the Earth after the heroes leave. Grundy is already dead, so can he get infected? The Creeper is much like Deathstroke in that he can heal from anything, so it makes sense that he’s managed to survive. Cheetah is strong and fast, but I don’t rate her chances high and the rest, while immensely skilled, are still just human. This is a ragtag group, but they’re not averse to getting the job done by any means.

The rest of the issue focuses on Jason Todd and his fight to rescue the remaining members of the Batfamily. Mostert, Lokus and John Livesay give readers an awesome assault on the Gotham PD with Cassandra Cain as Black Bat, James Gordon and Harvey Bullock fighting back against the zombies. Cass awesomely kicks and knees zombies in the background while Harvey and Jim shoot them. I LOVED Cass as Batgirl/Black Bat and it was awesome to see the return of the iconic costume and a character that I like so much.

Of course, Temofonte thrills with the lettering here again. She sells the panic in both Jim and Bullock as they fight off the horde as well as the frankness of Bullock as he has to break it to Jim that Blck Bat is the only one coming. The static-y bubbles that she uses on Bullock when he gets infected is also amazing and saddening, but gets even worse when Cass has to “CRCK” his neck to kill him. Soon after, Jason plows through the GCPD in the Batmobile with a “CRNNNCH” that shrinks around the vehicle.

Jason rescues Cass and Jim after shooting the remaining zombies in the head and plans to get the hell out of dodge. Jim, still holding out on the idea of hope, tells Jason that Barbara is still out there somewhere, but Jason, knowing that it’s no longer the time to keep secrets, reveals his and Cass’ identities and shows Jim that Barb is dead. He then takes the haggard detective to her last known location and Mostert and Lokus sell the utter despair of the scene.

Infected versions of Barb, Stephanie Brown, Batwoman and Catwoman were killed by Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn in Issue #3 of DCeased (if I remember right). This scene of James finding his daughter is depressingly grey and his facial expressions show us just how painful this is for him. He’s lost just about everything and cries in his grief. Jason, however, finds the dead body of the Joker and ties him to the front of the Batmobile before they all make their escape to Bludhaven.

This first issue of a three part miniseries already has me as excited as the original story did. I love each of the characters being used, the callbacks to past history and the way that everyone is being written. Each of these violent characters sees that there’s no need to hold back anymore as the regular rules are tossed out of the window. Everyone now has different amounts of pain and grief to deal with while others have different hopes of power or a cure. Ultimately, I don’t think things will end ultra well given the events of the main series, but I have no doubts that this will stand on its own.

Tom Taylor continues to be excellent when writing the despair and tragedies of DCeased and lifting up lesser characters, like The Creeper. His scripting and dialogue are a joy to read and I really feel like he’s got a grasp on everyone. Karl Mostert brings their all to this book with awesome panels and scenes that make readers want to wince, but look again to see the utter brutality of what they’re witnessing. His art is stellar. The various inkers definitely bring it to life alongside Lokus’ vibrant colors and Temofonte’s amazing letters.

I’m already gleefully anticipating the next issue and it more than justifies the $5.99 price, high recommend!

Also, y'know, support me on Patreon: patreon.com/TyTalksComics

[bookdragonlibrary]

Second Friday YJ appreciation

1-3 ; 4-6 ; 7-9 ; 10-13 ; 14-16 ; 17 ; 18 ; 19 ; 20 ; 21 ; 22 ; 23 ; 24-26

—————————— Private security 

- Will has the dad belly! Lian is cuter and cuter! <3 (But it’s just me or she seems less Asian than in season 2? Where’s Jade?)

- Lucas Carr! :D (For those who don’t remember him, he appeared in the first YJ comic book and in season 2 when he teachs Gar at Mount Justice.)

-  Why Dr Jace stays at Luthor Grande Hotel, in Metropolis! 

- Bowhunter Security! With orignal Roy/Arsenal, clone Roy Will/Red Arrow and clone Jim Harper/Guardian (So if he’s Guardian again, what about Mal? He’s still a hero? Which one?) I love the dynamic of the Harper family and Roy calls Will bro!! He has finally dealt with his trauma (he seems to) and considers Will like he’s older brother! :3 

- Dick in a security costum! Just like in Titans with the policer costume. He has a new outfit every Friday! 

- “An old soul in an young body” Another clue for the Motherbox theory! So the first Halo is still alive inside or gone for good?

- Zatanna! TT.TT

- American genetically modified beef! xD

- Am I the only one who sees Jeff x Dr Jace miles away?

- “To the SUV!” My new war cry! 

- Now Brick has red skin, it means he activated his metagene. How did he get out of jail by the way?

- I love how they show the Prince’s not understanding. He asks questions instead of jugement and “it’s a machine. I don’t understand.” instead of “You’re dumb” or something.  

- I’m kind of afraid of Wolf sleeping. Don’t tell me he’s getting old and will die soon :( 

- All Halo knows from her post life is violence, torture and hatred. No wonder she doesn’t want to remember... 

- Don’t forget the clipboard! xD Will is more loyal to it than to his hat! 

- OMG! Giovanni aged so much in just 7-8 years! He’s what? Between only 40-50! Side effect of Dr Fate’s control?

-  “Wall” My heart, why? TT.TT So heartbreaking than Dick is too afraid to be part of a team because he lost Jason and Wally and Barbara gets injured.

- “I’m older than Jim.” So Jim was made after Will. interesting!

- Harper’s family business! Need more episodes with those 3!

- I really loves the humour in this episode! xD 

—————————— Away Mission

- Forager! Orion! Wait, what a bastard! :o 

- Gregor tries to protect his little twin brother and has compassion for the Quracis refugies. I love him! 

- Bear! Wait there’s a thing between him and Dreamer?! The notebook with the photos! The nostalgia!

- So the New Gods use metaslaves? O.o 

- Traci, Jaime and Bart! :D And Jaime finally talks! Now Scarab’s turn! “There’s no sound in space. The physics on the show is so messed up!” It’s Jaime or Scarab who speaks? Or Jaime took the comment habit of his bug friend? I definitely see Scarab saying something like that! xD So Traci watches the shw for the story or for Gar? “Hello Megan!” Their ringtone for the missions is the generic of this show! So cute! 

- Cassie and Tim have a conversation without yelling at each other. That’s an healthy relationship. So I hope they won’t break up :( “Awkward...” Sorry Virgil, you seem pretty alone :(  

- Jaime, why do you massage your side? Bart didn’t hit you that hard, did he? And he calls him amigo, sorry Bluepulse shippers... (Well, at least it isn’t hermano, so maybe Bart’s just pinning, whatever that means.) I was expected Scarab to yells “Incompatible!” to the boom tube... “Who watch the show for the physics? Who uses a boom tube for the physics?” I love the dynamic of this trio! And Traci is so adorable! Bart’s haircut changes every frame or what?

- “I hacked the Justice League’s computer!” That’s my boy! xD And G designation is for Grayson right?

- M’gann and Cassie are two mad girlfriends, poor guys (Jaime, Bart and Virgil) they didn’t do anything wrong :/ “Superoblivious!” xD 

- “Excuse me?” xD The Yj comic reference with Lucas Carr! Brion who wants to impress Halo.

- Even in bug form, M’gann is still white! :) It’s me or Blue just growls?

- Guys, stop stressing Brion, you gonna make him fail :( What did I say? —‘ “My trees” So Lucas Carr is a neightboor or something? “Excuse me?!” New color for Halo: Yellow is for attacking. I want to see what the green does!

- I love how M’gann put down her little brother like the older sister she is. So she used to hide behind a green form and her little brother behind a beast? You can see M’gann growth throught the comparison with her brother. “I have been dealing with the red and green oppression.” Wait, so there are red martians too? And is for Darkseid he made the bugs made at the New Gods? So they have less allies against him?

- Every metateens we saw so far doesn’t look human anymore. I don’t know if thee Light are doing that on purpose so we could not recognize them anymore or it’s because the forced evolution is too much for their body :(

- Is Halo healing herself like a reflexe or does Sphere help the processus to begin? Violet? That’s so cute! Wait, another supermartian parallel!

- Bart still has the same energy! (I hope this is not an act this time...) I love the Team dynamic: Virgil helping Cassie and thir hand five, Bart trying to stop the bugs from attacking Jaime, Cassie rescuing Jaime, Jaime helping Traci :3 The weapon has to be similar to Genesis tech to hurt Blue however...

- Baby martians look... cute? I think when he kills the green martian, it was on the mental plane and not a memory since he has that beast form. The nostalgia! Everyone is back in season 1 and with their season 1 version of themselves, except Artemis and... why do you have to bring Wally in every single damn episode?? Conner is M’gann shield! 

- And two more metateens dead TT.TT Wait, failsafe? Poor Forager! He just wants justice and kindness :( I love how Cassie and Jaime jump on his side and M’gann adds two arms to adapt to his appearance. I’m sure M’gann’brother made the green bug mad telepathically, because Mantis already knew Forager brought the Earthlings and Bear on New Genesis when he first stopped the bugs’ attack.

- I need more of the trio Traci/Jaime/Bart to see their friendship, Traci’s story. And more Cassie and Virgil screentime because we barely saw them in season 2 and in this episode :( 

- Why Blue seems so angry all the time? He had like one positive line in this episode. Is he still dealing with his trauma in season 2? Is he angry at himself? I don’t know if it’s anger, frustration or self-hatred :( I just want him to be happy after the nightmare in season 2 :( But I think it would be more human if he still has to deal with himself after being mindcontrolled for months... 

—————————— Rescue Op

- Black Spider and Terra. The goggles have to much screen time to not have an importance after. Who was Jackie? “All the bosses will be proud” So Shadows + Light + Darkseid?

- So Barbara is indeed in a wheelchair :( I love how she still can push Dick down :) And barbdick are a new couple :) We need another ship name, a more YJ like one :)

- The Outsiders trio is so cool! So Forager don’t use pronouns so much. So he’s a he, she or them? Wow, Halo knows a lot about New Genesis. Another clue for the Motherbox theory. M’gann is so done to explain she’s not a earthling: “I’m not from Earth” “I’m from Mars!” “Brion is the alien to Forager” this is so true. Thanks for putting this! I love how Brion is so enthousiastic to meet aliens :) He looks like a kid! So bioship is in a car camouflage. Maybe that’s why Halo hurt herself so bad :( Mars town xD “That’s what we were thinking too. We? Uh Me” (and Oracle xD) So is Tara controled, brainwashed, has her memories rewritten? Or is she willingly working for the Shadows?

- Why I think Forager x bioship will become a... ship? xD Like Will x clipboard xD

- Dick, if you don’t want them to go to the Shadows, why did you show Brion their localisation? --’

- Halo’s enthousiasm is so cute! Forager’s too! 

- Why it feels like Sensei is manipulating Brion with words just to make him mad? I’m sure he’s lying.

- Can we talk about Brion’s extreme reaction to Halo’s death? Parallel to Spitfire maybe? And can we please stop killing Halo? I know she will ressurect but it’s still painful :( 

- Why the ninja fighting style reminds me of Robin? Like an older Damian?

- It’s indeed Sphere who starts the healing processus. “Is Halo a new god?” Another clue for the theory?

- When Ra’s mention “the Detective”, Dick growls. Is he mad at Batman? Or at the comment? Ra’s isn’t with the Light and at the head of the Shadows anymore. So who? Sportmaster? Cheshire or Deathstroke would be good clues! Ra’s should be mad at Jade with how he said “Get out!”

- Talia with Damian? So who is... Jason?? An amnesic Jason. Ok. I’m fine. I just need to... WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???? (I don’t like the deisgn of Talia which is too close from the animated movies: no bra is definitely not a good idea to fight and she looks too white for an Arabic person :/ Damian is ok I guess?) Do Ra’s want to “return” Jason when he will have his memories back or to use him against the batfamily? Jason should have been trained by Sensei for Dick to not recognize his fighting style.

- Brion really looks like Conner’s mentee with his clothes xD The parallel with the first trio (Robin, KF and Aqualad) Why are you breaking my heart like this? Except they did save Superboy when we don’t have intel of where Tara is :( Dick is still so sensitive when we talk about Wally :( And he looks so much like Batman now: same speech. Same situation, same result: another team is born! Poor Violet :( And the guy with the spiderweb tatoo could work with the Shadows? Or am I confusing with RWBY? xD 

3 episodes = 3 trio. I love it! :D I know we will have more scenes with the Outisders but I also need the other trios: more screetime with the Harperfamily (the bowfamily?) and the Team!  

I guess we will see the Batman Incorporation next week? Since we didn’t see them at all in 6 episodes. And more second season team would be great too, they only have one episode so far :( 

[renaroo]

hi! did bruce ever come to accept that cass DID kill a man or is this something he's still in denial of?

Oh boy, so this is a favorite subject of mine and especially now that we have two continuities to provide comparison for, I’m going to wig out a bit and go for a full deep dive here. My apologies, one and all.

Discussions of murder, child abuse, and suicide under the cut.

New Earth | Pre-Flashpoint Continuity

The simple answer to this is that Bruce learned the truth but rejected the truth and for as far as we were ever given evidence for in all of Batgirl (2000-2006) and all comics after that – minus the OOC “Evil Cass” Saga that everyone agrees to ignore – he basically rejects it without fail. 

Now, one would say that Bruce Wayne objecting to hard evidence on anything is out of character and they’d be right. And, in fact, for Bruce’s subplot throughout Batgirl (2000-2006) that dichotomy actually proved to be one of the leading problems. 

Even when David Cain gives Bruce video evidence of the murder Cass committed as an eight year old child, he is heartbroken but also refuses to accept it no matter how much the evidence stacks up.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #4]

But, of course, the more he analyzes the tape, the more he looks for signs of tampering or editing, the less he finds, and the more angry he gets at himself for not being able to somehow change the reality of what is happening.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #4]

This isn’t a new thing for Bruce’s characterization in this era. Earlier that same year in the premiere issue of Batman: Gotham Knights (2000-2006), his “blind spots” were actually the main crux of the issue, as all the evidence pointed toward the son of the two victims being the one who committed the heinous murder, and he spent valuable time and effort, as well as everyone else’s time and effort, trying to find any evidence at all that would prove the truth wrong. To the point that Dick was trying pretty desperately to take the case from Bruce so it wouldn’t bother him so much. 

But even with that case, as as much as it affected Bruce, he ultimately conceded to the evidence. 

Cassandra, though, is personal. And throughout her Batgirl run, Bruce again and again makes comparisons between the two of them. Bruce almost uncharacteristically opens himself up to Cass soon after beginning to work with her. She had be “vetted” by Barbara, easily Bruce’s most trusted ally at the time, had proved herself by saving Bruce’s best friend Jim Gordon, and provided assistance at their darkest hour during the No Man’s Land crisis. But more than any of that, Cassandra was the first person in Bruce’s life who seemed to carry his blind allegiance to the “No Kill” rule that he had. 

And just when Bruce was most confronted with the facts, when he had heard from Cain himself that Cass had blood on her hands, Cassandra proved herself in an act that even Bruce himself would have had difficulty doing as selflessly and heroically as Cass did. She races into gunfire, not dodging a single shot in order to keep a criminal behind her from being taken out by friendly fire. 

And in the process, has a quiet moment that once again shows just how incredibly similar she and Bruce are in their attitudes and mannerisms.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #6]

And when Bruce asks her about it later, she gives him an answer that seems to help him draw the wool over his eyes all the more, because she couldn’t be so instinctively protective of life like he is if she had ever taken life herself.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #6]

If Cassandra, who embodies his philosophies and beliefs so much could kill, then that meant that Bruce could kill, and this was at a dark time in Bruce’s life where that very question was something that could have been the end of him, even the suspicion of murder – such as in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive – would tear down everything he believed at its foundation.

But of course, all of this was still a willful delusion on Bruce’s part. Cassandra had killed. Cassandra’s guilt and death wish was because of her past. And just because Bruce came up with any excuse possible to ignore these facts didn’t mean that it wasn’t plain to see for everyone else. 

And thus the main conflict for Bruce in Batgirl (2000-2006) wasn’t really portrayed as him discovering the truth about Cass’ past – he had the evidence for it since the third issue – it was about how his inability to accept it, because of his inability to forgive that fault, fed into Cassandra’s death wish as much as her personal guilt. 

Bruce couldn’t accept the reality of Cass having been used and manipulated to do something so heinously wrong when she was a child, because he couldn’t accept the flaw of his own morality that (at this time in his life) he would not be able to find it in himself to forgive someone he loved and admired so much as a part of his family. His very staunch black-and-white worldview was shaped in a way that it made it simpler for him to put criminals away and to see willing killers as deserving of punishment without nuance was at odds with the girl he had adopted as his own who very much was born as evidence of the world’s shades of gray.

But Bruce wasn’t Cass’ only parental figure. In fact, Barbara Gordon was a far bigger influence at this time and Babs was someone with a far more nuanced outlook. And also someone who believed not only that Cass had been haunted by this crime, but was someone who wanted Cass to learn how to forgive herself for something that wasn’t ultimately her fault. Barbara knew that Cass needed to see from her mentors that she could be forgiven before she could really forgive herself, and as long as Bruce wasn’t budging, she was going to continue on her path of self destruction. This frightened and angered Barbara because she couldn’t force Bruce to believe and forgive, even as the time of the death-by-Shiva was approaching. 

Without getting too much into it, I’ll just say that this sentiment is very similar to the helplessness one feels with being familiar with the signs of someone becoming increasingly suicidal, but incapable of pressing others in the loved ones’ life to open their eyes and see the danger for themselves – to accept that there is a problem so that they can then begin to help heal and fix and forgive for it.

This comes to a head in Batgirl (2000-2006) #23 when Barbara tries one last time to wake Bruce up to the reality of it while Cass prepares for her final fight.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #23]

Honestly, #23 is probably one of the most underrated issues of the entire series and… while the subject material is dark it’s vital to really understanding what the first third of the run was even about. 

There’s an element of Bruce’s denial that is a bit self serving. He doesn’t want to see what’s wrong with Cass’ behavior or her suicidal behavior – her death wish – because it requires him to defend a fundamental flaw of his own philosophies and beliefs. It requires him to really confront how he’s capable of forgiving criminals who have more identifiable motives and, often, mental illness, but is much stricter and less forgiving of the people he loves most and has the highest expectations of. Usually people whose mental illness and trauma aren’t as easily identified. 

It confronts the mindset of valuing any belief system over the circumstances of reality. And Bruce, until he goes through this himself and forgives himself in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive can’t begin to accept what it would mean for Cassandra. 

But, for reasons that many can fannishly extrapolate on, Barbara can. and it’s fortunate that she can because Cass surviving, Cass being reborn after what is for all intents and purposes a failed suicide attempt, it was Barbara who let her know that her life was still valuable, that her sins and burdens were not beyond forgiveness or made her undeserving of love. That no fault would make Barbara love her less.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #25]

Cass’ victory in this moment is actually also Barbara’s love as a parent winning as well. Because sometimes putting aside long held beliefs and traversing into new territory to adapt to the grayness of reality is the only real way to be moral in life.

And it’s because Babs showed Cass the way that Cass is able to finally accept herself and see outside herself enough to recognize that same tendency, that same crushing death wish in her opponent as well and ultimately give Shiva the gift of living past a death wish as well.

[Batgirl (2000-2006) #25]

This is just an amazing powerful moment and for obvious reasons can effect many people very differently. This tone, this strangely optimistic story about conquering the shadow of death after it haunts you for all of your life, was one of the most important comics I personally had ever read. And because of that it means a lot to me. I like that there were so many layers to Cass’ feelings, to the reactions of the people around her, and how sometimes those people around her failed her without ever even realizing it. 

And in a way, Bruce did fail Cass in this respect. And it’s because of that that I think a lot of people don’t come away from Batgirl feeling it lines up well with any Batman they know. In a sense, yeah, it feels pretty damning for him to have never accepted the danger Cass was putting herself in, to never fully accept it as something he could change or even that he could contribute to. 

But that’s a sad reality. And in 2003? It would have been all too easy for a parent to write off suicidal teenagers as something that was completely outside of their control, and as much as that angers me today in hindsight, I can’t say that such mistakes would ever singularly make someone a completely terrible person. 

We never get evidence that Bruce accepted the truth later in the series or beyond. And I do think that’s a dangling plot thread that works against the overall “score” of Cass’ Batgirl series as there were quite a few plots that were left aside unceremoniously. But I can also argue that it was something that was left behind because they didn’t think it held any narrative purpose after presenting the “wrong” way someone handles other people’s suicidal feelings. Batgirl is Cass’ story, and Bruce being able to accept the truth for himself once Cass moved past it could have been part of her story, too, but it was still mostly a Bruce story. And it was never brought up in his own series again.

Not to say that Bruce didn’t…. evolve on those thoughts over the years anyway. Just. Not in regards to Cass. Just in regards to Damian and David and…. Selina in hindsight. Comics are weird, and this drop off of this narrative point also marked a lot of change up in Editorial and Writing for the Bat Books that would take us down a path to War Games so saying that we weren’t going to be getting much nuance on the subject is putting it lightly.

Prime Earth | DC Rebirth Continuity

Cass is a really different character based purely on her origins alone in this because a fundamental change was made that... kind of took a lot of power out of Cass’ original death wish by some’s measure, and moved us beyond years of idealizing a teenager’s depression and mental illness in others. It will really depend on what side of the fence you land on for how you feel about either.

Cassandra’s murder was not a nameless mobster here but instead one of her best friend’s mothers, Miranda Row. She also has a mission before she joins the Batfamily of her own volition, one specifically handed to her by Bruce who knows she was Miranda Row’s murderer from the start. 

Bruce’s acceptance of Cass’ past sin is actually the main crux of their relationship in this version and isn’t at all independent of the very real fact that Cass hasn’t been given a mother figure in all of this, there is no Barbara who will play opposite to Bruce’s approaches to Cass’ struggles and past. Therefore the narrative doesn’t have the freedom to explore how different approaches to raising a child with these conditions, especially an adopted child, and so Bruce has to be good and accepting of Cass or else the narrative is just needlessly mistreating someone without giving them any relief or help. To avoid that, both Bruce and Cass have a lot of those layers removed and the story is streamlined. 

Bruce isn’t only accepting of Cass’ past, he is actively encouraging her to move past it and maybe even give up vigilantism and violence as a way to reclaim herself.

....

While simultaneously reminding her that Miranda Row will never come back? But at least Harper forgave her? 

.... Batman and Robin Eternal was a mess.

[Batman and Robin Eternal (2015-2016) #26]

You can sort of see the editors and writers desperate to sidestep subjects they don’t want to deal with but also wanting complexities and so... never... really threading that needle.

But since Bruce never really ignores or avoids her past and her faults, that need for Cass to internalize her guilt and to exile herself from the basic joys of life doesn’t really exist either. If he accepts her openly and acknowledges her past, Cass knows that her idol will love her despite her flaws without a blanketed, irrefutable moment like we got between Cass and Barbara in Batgirl (2000-2006) #25.

Un...less we randomly have it anyway?

So. Starting with the relaunch of Detective Comics in Rebirth, we have the mandatory team-gathering issue where Bruce gives his analysis of all the recruits one by one and it includes a moment about Cass over the backdrop of her saving children from a human trafficking ring -- this is notable only because that seems to be the only thing Tynion ever has Cass doing on her own, busting up these rings, but it’s also never commented on and we’re never told how she tracks these down and whether it’s something she dedicates herself to as it has something to do with her past under Mother and that child trafficking. Tynion likes to... not get too far into the subjects he brings up. Which is again a bit at odds with how the old Cass went.

And in this overview Bruce is giving Kate about Cass he.... remarks that she’s the most dangerous fighter he knows which. Seems to go back on his previous reactions to her where it was all about how he believed in her and saw past her one sin and knew how good she was, enough so he trusted her to run interference while he... self-amnesiaed himself for the majority of BaRE. 

[Detective Comics (2016-present) #934]

This also leads to some questionable choices on how they present Cass’ internal struggles. Because she’s been forgiven, she isn’t isolating herself willingly or unwillingly anymore, and she’s already confronted the murder she committed and received resounding forgiveness from Harper (and notably no one writing cares about Cullen’s feelings on the matter hmmm) who regularly pals around with her now like nothing happened. 

So it’s confusing when the only arc which has centered around Cass so far tells us that she’s... drowning in guilt and that she’s desperate to figure out why Batman believes in her. Even though... we know as readers that he.... doesn’t necessarily believe in her all that much. 

[Detective Comics (2016-present) #950]

I should note that none of this is really resolved by the end of this particular arc. she just. Learns that she doesn’t have to fight alone because she has the family behind her and she gives her declaration to Shiva that “I am not less, I am MORE.” so. What I’m saying here is there’s some confusion and a lack of cohesion in what they want to do with Cass here.

They’re not comfortable with tackling a teenage girl’s suicidal tendencies and, really, that’s more than understandable. I wouldn’t want any writer to tackle a subject that important without having a full vision and lots of comfort in doing so. Even the original take with Cass, which benefited from having different circumstances and an editorial team that allowed for Cass to have two mentors to balance things out with, was far from perfect and Bruce’s part in the relationship is a key example of that. 

In New Earth, Bruce never had to fully confront how he was wrong in his approach with Cass, or the fact that it almost cost his adopted daughter her life. Somewhat ironically, Batgirl (2000-2006) was often limited by its failure to sum up the points of its more complicated perspective and storytelling into exact words. The lessons could be missed. 

But in Prime Earth, we have the broad outlines of a relationship dynamic that doesn’t really match up with the text it keeps providing us with, or how they strive for that perilous tone that was known in Cass’ original series, without wanting to dive into the greater themes and struggles. This is a limitation of wanting to hit those notes without focusing hardly any published page time on Cass and her story. These things will only become more and more noticeable as time goes on and we’re continuously sold this idea of growth and relationships without Tynion’s team actually dedicating the time to them. 

So, that’s my summation of the whole thing! Sorry for going a little extra on it lol I appreciated the question a lot.

[anythingstephenking]

Out of Order with Under The Dome

It seems like a lifetime ago that I cracked the spine on Carrie and started this silly journey to read King chronologically. King Khongraphical kinda sounds like a lost Kardashian sister.

In reality, I read Carrie exactly 5 years ago. Somehow reading 54 King books in 5 years simultaneously makes me feel like a failure and a winner all at once. Impressive? Sure (?) Still pretty lame that I have ~20 books left to read. For sure.

Things that have got in my way:

-Bachman

-Short Story collections

-Nightmares about clowns

-Global pandemics

But I did read all 50-some-odd books as intended; in exact order of publishing date. I finished each and every one of them, even when I was sick of nazis, child abuse, school shootings or cocaine aliens.

Until now. Boo!

Anywho, technically next on my list is Just After Sunset, a collection of short stories, but I just. can’t. finish. it.

Throughout the pandemic I have driven from Tennessee to Minnesota twice to see my family. There’s only so much Taylor Swift one can listen to in the car, and 28 hour round trips called for a King intervention. So I picked up the Under The Dome audiobook and went back to Maine. I promise (to myself) I will finish up JAS before I get to my next read (and one of my true favorites), 11/22/63.

Ok, Under The Dome. Let’s do it y’all!

I read this book in high school and my lingering memory from then is one of frustration over the source of the dome being aliens. Turns out high school me (who also thought Holden Caulfield was the epitome of cool) was not a reliable narrator, because this book is certified rad.

It really has everything that folks love about King - Maine, lots of fun characters, a little love story, some cool kiddos, drugs, a hero, a villain. The only thing it’s really missing is a spooky house, but I guess the dome can count.

The premise is simple, if complex town-shaped invisible domes that can’t be penetrated can be considered simple. Our hero, Dale Barbara, is leaving on “Dome Day” but doesn’t make it out in time cause some hottie blonde in a pickup truck doesn’t stop for him on the road. Thems the breaks, Barbie. He is also, per King-hero usual, haunted by demons. But this time around, our hero is a short order cook, not an author. Steve’s really stretching here. Our villain is James “Big Jim” Rennie, a sleazy used car salesman (lol) and also a drug kingpin? He’s operating the country’s largest meth cookhouse, somehow in Maine, because that definitely makes sense? Why not.

What transpires is a pretty fun and epic ride through the initial dome discovery (planes crashing, chipmunks cut in half), subsequent WTF reactions of everyone in Chester’s Mill, an immense power struggle between the goodies and the baddies, meth, explosions, and at the end of the day, a whole lot of people deadzo.

So yeah, the dome is placed by alien children playing some fucked up game of RISK in their alien bedrooms ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ At the end of the day it’s not super important, as with all stories such as this one, the real bad guys are the humans, not the alien kiddos. If you’ve ever watched The Walking Dead, you get it.

Julia Shumway serves as our female lead, and King doesn’t really give her much to work with, but she does get to be a writer, so good for her! To Julia’s credit, she is the one that uses her female powers of empathy to appeal to said alien children and get them to take down the dome. Too bad like everyone else is dead by then. A+ for effort!

All jokes aside, this was a great story start to finish, and was a wonderful jump back into the King pond after almost a year away. There’s a lot to chew on with this one, a a true quintessential King. Kuintessential King Kardashian anyone?

I’m not much for audiobooks, but I felt for the guy reading this one. How do you come up with enough inflections and voices for all these characters? God bless him. I am genuinely curious how long it took him to record the 34 hours of audio and how much he got paid.

King had the idea for a novel about how humans would handle being cut off from society back in the 70s, and revisited the idea in an unpublished work called The Cannibals in the 80s, about folks trapped in an apartment building that, I’d guess, decide to start eating each other. Eventually the idea evolved into Under The Dome. In an interview, King said he was inspired by the Bush-Cheney dynamics of a post 9/11 America, with the guy who was really in charge (Georgie Bushie, played by Andy Sanders in the novel) as an incompetent buffoon. It’s worth noting that Andy Sanders eventually ends up hooked on meth and conspires to help explode the town and kill most everyone. Then you’ve got Dick Cheney (aka Big Jim Rennie) pulling all the strings, picking all the fights, taking all the power, murdering, and generally being a bad guy. So in case you’re wondering if King was a fan of the Bush years, I’d go ahead and say, uh, no, no he was not.

9/10

First Line: From two thousand feet, where Claudette Sanders was taking a flying lesson, the town of Chester’s Mill gleamed in the morning light like something freshly made and just set down.

Last Line: Pity was not love, Barbie reflected… but if you were a child, giving clothes to someone who was naked had to be a step in the right direction.

Adaptations:

Oh CBS. Please stop buying the rights to King adaptations. I will say I was not singing the praises of how they handled The Stand. But that’s a rant for another day.

This show ran for THREE seasons. I watched the premiere when it aired (they really went for the drama with the whole cut-a-cow-in-half thing, I’ll give them that) and revisited the finale for fun after I finished the book. I may have found the time to rewatch all of LOST but I am definitely not taking the time to watch three full seasons of Under the Dome. First of all, Barbie is a murderer? And he killed Julia Shumway’s husband?? WTF is that all about? Barbie is our hero. Fuck off CBS.

But we do get Dean Norris, aka Uncle Hank, in some superb casting as Big Jim Renny.

THEY’RE MINERALS MARIE!

I guess there was some alien mind control, some magical amethysts, and a lot of liberties taken from the source material on the show. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than an ambiguous ending on a cancelled show. Did the writers leave hopeful that someone would be so impressed by this that they’d pick the show back up for a 4th season?

Meanwhile, catty Stephen throwing shade on Twitter is always my favorite.

[lightninginapuddle]

So I started Gotham this week.

First and foremost, I’m not that familiar with the Batman universe. I know of the main characters but not enough to give me a critical eye on what is canon in Gotham. So as a casual viewer I can only judge what I see on the screen without being clouded by anything else.

I’ve been told season 1 isn’t as good or at least as representative of the show’s identity as the rest of the seasons but so far I’m really enjoying myself. It’s a mix of monster of the week cop show and a crime show where the mob is central to the plot because there lies the answer of ‘who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne, parents of little Bruce?’ (even though that question seems to disappear more and more as the season goes on so it makes me wonder if the writers knew what direction they wanted for this season, guess we’ll see how they wrapped this up, we’ll probably find out but it’s not a clear path from point A to point B so far). Overall I’m a bit confused with the direction of the show but enjoying the ride nonetheless.

I kind of have a problem with the pacing sometimes what with them juggling with I guess two ‘formats’ and multiple characters and storylines but other than that I don’t see most episodes passing by, which is a good thing. The monster of the week are very creepy and I recognize some of them which is pretty fun.

I’m really liking the characters. Oswald aka the Penguin gives me the creeps in the best ways possible and he is so good at getting away with the shit he’s been pulling since the very beginning. I keep going from feeling bad for him to thinking he’s the most evil of the bunch, and there are quite a lot of evil characters in the show which says a lot. The actor’s really good and I can’t wait to see how his story will progress throughout the show. So far I’d say his journey is the most interesting to me.

I’m really liking Bullock even if he seems to disappear a bit more as we move along in the season. He’s outwardly corrupted and kind of a dick which I didn’t expect when I saw his face at first but he intrigues me more than Jim Gordon himself (I guess I’m less surprised and therefore less interested by the type of character he is ‘fighter with a good heart’ type of thing I’ve seen a million times, even if he is quite a badass and I like how he doesn’t take shit from anyone).

I don’t care for Barbara. So far, her character is kinda bland where she seems to be doing nothing all day except wait for Jim and be noisey. If she went away I wouldn’t give two ish. I hope the writers give her something more to do because she isn’t the most interesting character. Fish Mooney on the other hand, stands out compared to Don Maroni and Don Falcone, maybe because it feels like we get more of her POV. Plus she’s a pretty badass woman who you can tell doesn’t joke around. I’m intrigued to see where this gang not-war is going to go. Probably a gang yes-war lmao. I wouldn’t be surprised if all three died by the end of the season since everyone’s dying on this show.

For the other characters that stood out to me... I kind of feel bad for Ed who seems to be dismissed all the time when he’s trying to make other people guess. I take it he’s the Riddler? He’s somewhat underdeveloped at the moment but he seems a little creepy with how fascinated he is with dead bodies. Bruce’s storyline feels like a slow sloooow burn and I’m not sure if I care that much yet about him. I guess I’m not entirely sure how he fits into this whole crime/monster of the week they’re going for except for the fact that he’s connected to his parents’ murder. It’s not a problem to see him but it just feels a little odd, a little disjointed from the rest. I do really love his relationship with Alfred though (I love the actor for him and the character screams ‘I can woop your ass’) and I’m intrigued in the part Selina will play in solving the big question of the season and how her friendship with Bruce will blossom (if it does).

I’m almost halfway through season 1, might be back with some more thoughts once I’m starting season 2.

[cloakedsparrow]

DC Ficlet: Batdad Rules.

Bruce knows he asks a lot of his children. He knows how very strict he is with them. Some say his rules are too rigid, that he’s too dominant, too controlling. Most of the people who say these things don’t have children and they certainly don’t have children who are secretly vigilantes. If they did, they would understand.

Bruce is strict because he needs to keep his children safe. The sort of distractions, lapses in concentration or unexpected moments of defiance that could mean a bad grade or damaged car for most kids their age could mean a serious injury or death for them. He doesn’t demand they follow his command just to satisfy some need to feel in control. He can’t take the risk that he calls out an order during a critical moment and the time they take to question it leads to their deaths or the deaths of innocents that they’ll have to carry around the weight of for the rest of their lives.

He’s been worse since Jason. He knows that. Sometimes he makes a sharp remark to Tim or Cassandra and immediately afterwards wishes he could soften it. He doesn’t know how to without risking too much. They seem to understand, for the most part.

He hopes they do, anyway.

His rules are in place for good reason.

But sometimes, he lets them slip. Not often, but on occasion. This generally happens because one of his children are either too hurt or too excited that he can’t bring himself to remind them about a particular rule at the moment. Its especially hard to be bothered with certain rules when his children are breaking them together.

Bruce loves seeing his children getting along together. In those moments, everything he’s lost and everything he’s given up feels completely worth it in a way that’s similar but somehow altogether different to when he puts a Rogue behind bars.

For instance, there is a rule about loud music in the Batcave. The Batcave is for training, for focusing on cases or working on their gear and armor. These are tasks that take concentration. They can’t afford to slip up because they were distracted.

So one day, when Bruce heard loud music coming from the cave, he was irritated. His kids knew better. He’d taught them better. But when he went down there to scold the offending party, he found himself stopping short at the sight before him.

The sparring area had been turned into a makeshift dance floor. The stools that normally sat by the workbenches were placed around with napkins and trays of appetizers like waiters at a fancy party. The ‘hors d'oeuvres’ looked familiar; Bruce had been served them by a smiling Dick on several Father’s Days when he was a small boy. They consisted of crackers and mini bagel chips, covered with either almond butter and honey, cheese and apple slices, or hummus and sprinkled with either cinnamon or paprika to make them look ‘fancy’.

The memories alone would have brought a small smile to Bruce’s face, but the inhabitants of the room were already doing just that.

Dick was wearing one of Bruce’s suit jackets over his jeans and t-shirt. Cassandra was wearing a long, flowing skirt and opera-length gloves over her Wonder Woman tank. They were gliding across the floor in tune to the music as Dick clearly taught Cassandra how to dance.

She was picking it up almost as quickly as she learned new fighting techniques. In fact, her main problem seemed to be that she kept moving as though she were sparring with an opponent instead of dancing with a partner. Dick was wonderful, of course, smiling and encouraging his sister every step of the way.

When the current song ended, they stepped away and Dick offered a bow while Cassandra gave a perfect curtsy. Then Dick offered and arm and Cassandra allowed him to lead her toward one of the appetizer trays. She slipped off a glove in fluid, graceful movements before picking up an appetizer and shoving the entire thing in her mouth. Then he stuffed another in too.

Dick laughed warmly. “Hold up there, Cass. You’re supposed to take little bites. Like this.” He selected an appetizer and demonstrated.

Cassandra looked confused. “But they’re bite sized.”

“I know, right?” Dick looked happy and proud as he explained to his little sister that it was all about appearances. “Its supposed to be sophisticated. I think the rich people just like feeling like they’re classier than everyone else.”

“We’re rich.” Cassandra said it like a fact but looked as if she was asking a question.

Dick seemed to understand perfectly. “Not like the people you’ll meet at this gala. We weren’t born rich, so as far they’re concerned, we’re not as good as them. Personally, I look at it as a challenge. Every time I do something right, its proving that a circus brat can be just as classy as they think they are.”

Cassandra seemed to consider this and then she delicately took another hors d'oeuvre from the tray and took a small bite. She offered Dick a small, sweet smile as she chewed with far more care than she ever did.

It made her brother laugh. “That’s the spirit! We’ll show them we can be just as good as their purebred rich kids.”

They moved back to the dance floor for the next song and Bruce decided to leave them be. They weren’t breaking a rule so much as they were training for a different sort of battle. Besides, they were having fun and he didn’t want to spoil it.

Another strict rule was the ‘no guns in the manor’ rule. The cave was another story; sometimes a case required them to inspect or become familiar with a certain weapon. Sometimes the local criminals were using a new type of gun and his kids had to learn how to dismantle it or take it out of commission. Sometimes Dick had to come straight from the precinct or Jason had to stop by during or straight after a patrol and it wasn’t reasonable or responsible to demand they leave their guns outside.

But there was no reason why any of his children needed to bring a gun into the manor. It wasn’t just that Bruce personally hated guns. Guns were clumsy and dangerous. Their primary purpose was to kill or cause harm and they could misfire all too easily. No good could come from having them lying around.

That meant that when Bruce walked past the formal dining room one day and spotted Jason though the doorway, with newspaper laid across the table as he cleaned his guns on it, he was angry. He had already turned with full intent to storm in and lay into his second eldest when he realized Jason was speaking calmly, in Spanish, to someone else in the room. Unsure of what was going on and who else was in his house, Bruce decided to sneak around to the other door and take a peek before letting his presence known.

With Jason, he couldn't be sure what the danger was.

However, when he finally peeked through the crack in the door on the other side of the room, he saw that the person Jason was talking to was Tim. His youngest was speed reading through some documents on his laptop. They could have been for a case, Wayne Enterprises or a homework assignment. Tim put so much focus into everything he did that it was hard to tell the difference.

Relaxing slightly, Bruce realized that his sons were not actually speaking Spanish, but Portuguese. While they both fluent in the former, only Jason was fluent in the latter. Or that had been the case. Apparently, Tim had decided to learn Portuguese and Jason was helping him with it. From what Bruce could hear, his youngest was doing well, but was having some trouble conjugating.

Jason would occasionally stop to correct his brother and explain why a verb was conjugated a certain way under certain circumstances but not others. He never sounded irritated or tried to make Tim feel foolish. In fact, he spoke with a gentleness Bruce had all but forgotten the young man possessed.

The lesson aside, his sons seemed to be having a casual conversation about cats, of all things. Tim thought they were more suited pets for a vigilante and Jason conceded his points, but commented that dogs could alert you to intruders and that they could contribute to an exercise regime. Tim pointed out that you could walk, play with and train cats just as you could a dog. Jason laughed at that but then actually took the time to explain that he was laughing at the mental image of someone entering a cat into the agility program at the Gotham Kennel Club. It made Tim laugh too.

The conversation moved on to theories on why cats weren’t allowed in the manor. Tim believed it was because of the extra work they would cause Alfred, shedding and the like. Jason was convinced that Bruce didn’t like them around because they reminded him of Catwoman and that was a touchy subject. Bruce slipped away just as Tim paused in his work to show Jason a video of a cat he’d seen online.

Bruce would never be a fan of guns and would never be pleased to find any in his home, but it was so nice to see Jason and Tim getting along. After the way Jason reacted to Bruce having a new son and Robin... Bruce wasn’t sure they’d ever be able to be left alone in a room together. To see them willingly spending their free time together, talking and laughing, was worth looking the other way for once.

Then there was the ‘no animals on the grounds’ rule and the ‘no pets’ rule. Bruce had been required to make the distinction back when he only had Dick and the boy’s endless bounds of energy and quick wit to contend with. Dick had technically found a way around the ‘no pets’ rule when he was eleven by giving the macaw he’d somehow acquired to Barbara and agreeing to take care of it for her until she finished high school. Possibly college if she lived in a dormitory that didn’t allow pets. The bird now resided in a sanctuary in California.

Jim Gordon still laughed whenever he was reminded of the incident. Bruce had to admit (out of his children’s ear shot) that it had been pretty funny and very clever.

While Bruce could financially afford any pets his kids wanted and certainly had the room to house them, he couldn’t help but think of them as a distraction or liability. Normally, a pet helped a child learn responsibility, but his children already had that in spades. They didn’t need to be responsible for yet another thing on top of the duty that weighed them all down. Their schedules were already a nightmare and they hardly had free time as it was, it probably wouldn’t be fair to the pet anyway.

At least, that’s what Bruce reminded himself every time he caught Tim petting or feeding a stray cat while out on patrol. The boy never asked to take them home, but Bruce knew his son wanted to. Cassandra didn’t weigh in on the subject (not that it was openly discussed) but Bruce knew his daughter would quickly come to enjoy having a pet, especially one with reflexes to rival her own.

At first, he didn’t realize the rule had been broken. He was so surprised and pleased to come home late from a business trip and find all of his children fast asleep in the living room together. They were all in their pajamas, except Jason, who had clearly borrowed a pair of Bruce’s sweatpants and a t-shirt. The level of curl visible in each of their hair mean that they’d hastily showered and then crashed without putting any effort into taming the curls into something manageable.

Dick was stretched across the sofa on his stomach with one of his legs dangling over the side and then returning to be help up by an ankle hooked over a cushion. Cassandra was curled up on the other side of the sofa, with her legs just starting to tangle with her brother’s and one of her arms flung over the edge. It wasn’t dangling toward the floor though, instead it was draped over Tim’s knees. The boy was lying on the floor with his knees up and his shoulders and head supported by Jason’s side. The young man was sitting on the floor with his back against the sofa and his head resting on Dick’s thigh.

None of them appeared to be in the most comfortable sleeping position, That, along with the hair and pajamas told Bruce clearly that they’d come back from patrol and been too tired to care. That they’d been together was also clear and that’s what caused Bruce to smile.

The smiled lightened but didn’t fade completely when he notice the bundle of fur and bandages on Tim’s stomach.

“Its a cat, Master Bruce.” Alfred spoke softly as he handed Bruce a cup of tea.

“What did I miss?” Clearly, there a story here. He’d expected to find his youngest in their rooms and his oldest at their own apartments when he came home. Not that this wasn’t welcomed but Bruce never like not knowing something.

“Killer Croc broke out of Arkham. Your children located him in the sewers and apprehended him. There were no casualties or significant damage to the city and as you can see, your children are mainly unharmed.”

Bruce’s eye brows shot up. Killer Croc was not an easy fight, especially in his element. Looking closer, he could see a bruise starting to form on Dick’s jaw and the telltale signs of bandages under Tim’s right sleeve. He wanted to check them out himself but he trusted Alfred. If he said they were alright, then they were.

He would still be asking about their injuries and the fight that had caused them later. For now, he would ask about the most out of place element of the scene.

“And the cat?”

“Was the only casualty of the event. Some bricks landed on her tail and held her underwater. Mistress Cassandra freed her and discovered the extent of her injuries. Master Dick took her to a vet. Her tail was amputated, one of her legs needed stitches and it was discovered that she has conjunctivitis.”

Alfred eyed the creature as if he cold see the germs spreading from her. “Master Tim has requested that he be allowed to care for her until the risk of infection to her wounds has passed and the conjunctivitis has cleared. At that point, it is my understanding that Master Jason will be taking her home.”

Bruce frowned. “I thought Jason preferred dogs.”

Alfred responded with a look Bruce received with increasing regularity as he adopted more children. It was a look that mean the had completely missed something that should have been clear. It was a look that meant he needed to take stock of his children beyond their secret identities.

He suddenly thought of the macaw. It made him smile. “He’s keeping her for Tim.”

Alfred’s answering smile was filled with pride. “I believe so.”

Normally, Bruce would refuse the cat’s presence and instead pay for her to stay in an animal hospital or kennel until it was healed. But looking at his children, he couldn’t send away the reminder that they’d been there for each other. That they were a team as both the Bat Family and the Wayne family.

“Then it can stay. Just until its healed.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Bruce may have a lot of rules in place for his children. He may demand a lot from them. He may not be great at telling them how proud he is of them. But he has his little ways of showing them how much they mean to him. He thinks they see that. He hopes they do.

If they ever have any doubts, at least they have each other. He gave them that too.

[victoriousscarf]

For the impression meme : Dick Grayson; Damian Wayne

(I tried to insert this picture later in the post but honestly it makes such a good header for me babbling about Dick so I’m leaving it where it is even tho this was an ACCIDENT) 

Dick Grayson:

First impressionLike, I know I watched the old animated Bats show and watched the movies etc so probably the first real time I went “Dick Grayson is a character” was the Val Kilmer movie which like, kill me. 

But honestly the first time reading comics I remember sitting up and going oh this is a character, this is a person and I’m SO INTERESTED was reading Hush (again, good/terrible comic to read early) which means Jim Lee’s beautiful art (I may disagree with 90% of anything that man says or does and would like him to retire from DC as editor but man I can admit he draws so PRETTY) 

Yeah like that panel. And his snark about maybe this time the Joker won’t break out from Arkham for at least a month this time. 

And I was like yeah okay. This is good. Let me go add Nightwing comics to my massive library request list (All the librarians knew my name pretty fast okay)

Impression now

My FAVORITE. Like no I’m serious, he’s right up there with Luke Skywalker as all time favorite characters. And also this is why I’m so damned picky with him as a character because at his core, I think he’s an inherently optimistic character, not because he’s naive or stupid or sheltered, because he’s not. But despite the terrible things that have happened to him, and in fact despite his own nature (his temper, his distrust, his workaholic tendencies) and despite the terrible things that have happened to him over and over and over again, he still makes the conscious CHOICE to believe in goodness, in kindness and compassion, in the world being a better place. (And honestly he’s a lot like Luke “I am a Jedi like my Father Before me” Skywalker in this way). He’s still flawed, as I said he has such a temper, and is about as distrustful of people as Bruce is. But he can BUILD trust with people (unlike Bruce for like the majority of people) and everyone loves him for it. The superhero community trusts him in ways they don’t trust Bruce Wayne (which is fair considering how often Bruce like causes destruction simply due to his own massive trust issues, like the Tower of Babylon and Brother Eye). And yeah okay he’s my favorite, but there’s also this view of Dick in fandom and even the more recent writers that strips a lot of this complexity and shrewdness and leadership from him. And so like in current pre-Rebirth (I’ve been waiting for rebirth to settle a lot more than venturing in there) my impression is not great. And i dread what’s coming both there and in larger media. Favorite momentAh damn like where would I even start.

Like it’s sad that in some ways my favorite moment dealing with him ever actually doesn’t even feature him in it, and it’s Bruce talked with Earth 2 Superman and Supes saying that their world was so corrupt, so dark, so tainted compared to his and he couldn’t understand why this world survived when his own had been destroyed when it was much gooder and Bruce looks at him and you can tell he’s wondering that too and then he goes okay but what about Dick Grayson and Supes sorta goes eh? and Bruce is like if everything is so much worse here, is Dick Grayson tainted and corrupted compared to yours? And Earth 2 Superman says no, no he’s still good, and Bats goes great and fights him. You get the implication that if that hadn’t been the answer, Bruce might have been as willing to give up on this world as that Supes but no, Dick still was the same shining bright light, still such goodness in a dark world and that made the whole world worth fighting for. LIKE KILL ME. Kill me. 

And honestly I still love Dick being so good that even when all the other teen titans were down and Slade Wilson charges into his apartment even out of costume and with no warning Dick manages to jump out his window and escape where the element of surprise pretty much took down the rest of the team. That’s a classic. 

Idea for a story

I’m a sucker for aus, especially aus where the DCU is more or less the same expect Bruce didn’t raise Dick. There was one scan I found where an alternate Dick was raised by Zucco and honestly that haunts me to this day. Or a novel length exposition of the time he was a vampire hunter and Batman was a vampire who killed his parents and it ends with them being together in the night… forever. LIKE THESE ARE CANON AUS give me more of that weirdness. (A lot of Batman elseworld stories that are canon sorta downplay Dick and what I’m saying is don’t. Upplay him like crazy and how he effects Bruce at ever turn, in every world, how all the Robins exist with him through time)Unpopular opinionI hate him and Barbara. I mean, with caveats but I can’t ship it. Partly because I really got into comics around the time of Infinite Crisis, so when Barbara was blaming him for being sexually assaulted, (And there’s a lot of baggage in there because the author at the time was refusing to acknowledge it was rape so like there’s no way to deal with the aftermath of that if you’re not even saying it happened) he cheated on her (what) and I’m pretty sure they were engaged just in time for shit to totally blow up. And then we fast forwarded to one year later and like this stuff didn’t really come up or get worked through? But yeah it was just a period where i found them really messed up and unhappy with how it was written and all the new 52 stuff makes me want to scream and possibly tear my hair out.

Like okay the one time I really liked them was like in the 70s during Batman Family where like she has a phd and was at a congressional hearing and Dick came along as her assistant? Like, that was fun and cute and I really liked their dynamic. Modern comics? Not so much. Favorite relationship…. Yeah Dick and Bruce man. I’m reading this not as a romantic relationship but in GENERAL of any relationships ever nothing has driven my love for DC quite like Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson and their clusterfuck of emotions about each other, the fact that no matter how or in what manner, they are fucked up in love with each other and it is incredibly destructive to both of them. They can’t like settle down and just care, because of who they are they’re constantly butting into and hurting each other and yet at the end of the day they are still the most important to each other. Favorite headcanonDick is demi sexual fight me. 

Damian Wayne

First impression

Okay I read Batman and Son like when it first came out in trade, having NO CLUE who Damian was gonna be, or how his arc was gonna play out so like my first memory is him kicking Tim through the fucking cases and going WHAT IS THIS. Like, I was pretty peeved when he showed up. I was like ugh, of course Bruce having a biological son had to happen sometime and yeah Talia, because Son of the Demon but uuuugh. That was to change. Impression nowHe is precious and must be protected, 11/10Favorite momentI mean, there’s a lot. But one panel that always sorta stood out to me was the time that Hush got plastic surgery to look like Bruce Wayne and confronted Dick and Damian like that. And there’s just this panel of Damian, barely coming up halfway Dick’s chest, putting himself between Dick and Hush like hell yes I will take you on, how dare you. And how protective of Dick it was, even though Dick was Batman and he was Robin, that didn’t even matter. 

So yeah that one panel stands out because it encompasses so much but I also love every time he loves an animal more than most humans. Idea for a storyIdk, I really like future Batman Damian again, as Morrison introduced him a couple times, including in Multiversity. I’d really be interested in the downright apocalyptic future he becomes Batman in and how the batfam backs him up, and how he creates his own because as much as his father, he cannot really work totally alone.  

Alternatively he and Billy Baston go on a series of misadventures and it’s as terrible as that sounds like it should be but also GREAT

Unpopular opinion… It’s really funny I can instantly pin down things I disagree with fandom on with Dick Grayson but so rarely with other characters. Idk? I love him? 

I guess a thing I’ve seen a lot is people not really exploring how he will change as he gets older and just sorta transpose how he is currently on his future self and obviously he’s going to grow up a lot and change and I don’t see that coming up a lot whereas I’m like super excited to see him grow up/explore him grown up in fics. Favorite relationship*Sigh* Well obviously Dick and Damian. I mean, again, this doesn’t even have to run romantically, I just loved their dynamic under Morrison. I loved the switch of Batman and Robin where Dick, who was the brightest Robin became the dark knight, with a little nugget of rage as his Robin. I still love that comics cares about them together but I feel like a lot of their later interactions misses the edge Morrison gave them. Favorite headcanon

Him and Connor Hawke hang out a lot and go to vegetarian restaurants and bookstores together and have very philosophical conversations about religion and art and literature and faith and how they view being heroes (and Damian coping with his past vs Connor growing up in a monastery) and what their fathers mean to them. 

Damian is very protective of Connor is what I’m saying, he’s the only intelligent conversation he gets sometimes. (Sometimes, way down the road, Jason joins them for bookstore excursions, looking for first editions to send Alfred and Damian is sorta pissy but he’s grown, he can handle this) 

[darkphoenyx]

but why barbara? she gets everything. why not make her a side character at least because she gets all the attention.

simply enough? because she’s barbara gordon. No other way to put it. She’s been around for 50 years, been a feminist icon and she is the visual representation of the when you hear batgirl as a pop culture icon. She got the history, she’s been around longer than most batfamily members, like dating back to Dick Grayson Robin early days, she’s got a completely fucked up story that will forever tie her to the Joker so she’s bait for a Joker narrative driven arc for a movie. I mean she’s Jim Gordon’s kid which allows for a character to have a connection to that world and she’s got inbuilt familiarity because she’s Jim Gordon’s kid and everyone loves Jim. 

Barbara is pop culture icon, there’s literally no other way to put. She’s also very easy to adapt. She’s Jim’s kid, she super smart and she’s kickass? She has a set up that allows for a non complicated origin story. You could even literally jump straight into her story and still understand. 

Like I completely understand the point of wanting someone else to get a movie. But unsurprisingly they literally went for Babs because she’s the most recognizable and iconic Batgirl, there’s no other way to put it. I advocate for Cass so hard but that’s just not what they’re doing. I wouldn’t even put money on Stephanie to feature at all.

Cass is my baby and I want her to at least appear because and like they can co-exist you know? Just because Barbara is Batgirl, doesn’t mean Cass can’t play a role. 

like make no mistake, I enjoy the concept of Barbara getting her own movie.

And anon, take it a day at a time? Joss ain’t everyone’s first choice.

But PTSD representation? I’m gonna hold onto that.

Lindsay mother fuckin Morgan being Barbara rumors? I am definitely holding onto that. Like praying to the gods of comics for that one.

I don’t have it in me to rip into it already because I’m tired. I just recovered from the Killing Joke. Barbara Gordon is my hero but she’s also a lightning rod for controversy. I’m just gonna take it a day at time.

But talk to me about Barbara’s lackluster title in Rebirth cause I am ready to go on about that. No prisoners on that one.