#if it had been bruce in clark's place this story would've been over in 2 panels

[nyhti]

Awww, that’s so cute <33 Bruce teaching him martial arts.

Action Comics #318

[breckstonevailskier]

How to improve Jancy and Jopper in Stranger Things Season 3

 I know that this is gonna sound strange, but after reading some posts  around Reddit and Tumblr about how Jonathan's and Nancy's storylines  really deserved better in season 3, I had an interesting thought: what if the Jonathan/Nancy and Joyce/Hopper storylines were combined into one single storyline?This  not only would've tightened the narrative, but it also would've fixed  several problems a few people have complained about in season 3. One, it  would've fixed Hopper's characterization as Jonathan and Nancy would be  quicker to call him on his behavior a lot more willingly than Joyce,  with Jonathan likening the parallels between Hopper's new attitude and  what he, Will and Joyce went through with Lonnie. This would've made  Hopper realize in introspection how out of line he was getting mad at  Joyce for blowing off their date to go see Mr. Clarke, and that he  should be a better role model towards Eleven and Mike. Two, it would've  given Jonathan more screentime with his mother, something that was also  lacking in season 3. And three, it would've given Nancy a much more  compelling thread for her character arc.Here's how I'd combine the two arcs: Episode 3: “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard” After  Nancy and Jonathan find Mrs. Driscoll eating her fertilizer in her  basement, they call the ambulance. Once the ambulance arrives and Mrs.  Driscoll is taken to the hospital, accompanied by Callahan, Nancy and  Jonathan decide that if they're going to run something by Tom about this  story, they're gonna need some help from an expert: Hopper. Hopper just  makes perfect sense to be a mentor to Nancy, because he's a former big  city cop, and he's a dogged investigator who knows how to connect the  dots as repeatedly shown throughout seasons 1 and 2. And he'd know a  thing or two about how you don't run a story without credible sources to  back up your claims, because police detectives and journalists have a  lot in common, the only difference being one has a badge and the other  doesn't. So Jonathan and Nancy seek out Hopper, and drive up  to the old Hawkins lab at the same time that Hopper and Joyce show up.   After pooling all of their information together, they split up to  search the place. Nancy goes with Hopper, and Jonathan goes with Joyce.   I'd do it this way because Nancy has shown proficient use with firearms  against the Demodogs of seasons 1 and 2 and even volunteered to be  Hopper's backup during the showdown here last October. This also gives  Jonathan and Joyce the opportunity to have a mother-son character  moment.  There's a lot of emotional weight coming back here for them,  since this was the place where Bob died, Bob was practically the dad  that Jonathan and Will wished they had instead of Lonnie, and Joyce is  considering moving out of Hawkins (this fixes the fact that we never saw  Joyce talk onscreen with her sons about moving). The character  moment is cut short when Hopper and Nancy are ambushed by Grigori.  Grigori puts up a good fight with them both, but it's not as one sided  since he has to take on two people at once. Hopper is less beaten, as  Nancy manages to get hold of a gun and scares Grigori off before he can  land the last blow on Hopper. Grigori gets away, despite Jonathan and  Joyce attempting to give chase in the Byers' car. Episode 4: “The Sauna Test” For  Jonathan and Nancy, it's a big deal as they realize now that the  Russians are present in Hawkins, maybe trying to get into the Upside  Down or worse, finding Eleven. Before they can do anything about their  new leads, they're fired by the flayed Tom. But Jonathan and Nancy are  convinced that Tom is in on it too, but for the wrong reasons. They  think that he's firing them because he's in league with the Russians,  unaware of what Billy and Heather had done to Tom the night before. Nonetheless, they aren't giving up on finding the truth. They  go to City Hall to convene with Joyce and Hopper again, who are there  to talk to Larry Kline since Hopper remembers seeing Grigori coming out  of Larry's office. Once again, I'd place Nancy alongside Hopper as he  interrogates Larry. When Larry threatens to put in a call to Tom at the Post,  Nancy laughs, “You really think that’s gonna do anything? Seeing as  I’ve been fired already.” But Larry turns his ire on Nancy, and decides to insult her obsessive pursuit of justice for Barb. Nancy snaps and breaks Larry's nose. They both pin Larry to his office  table, and interrogate him to get him to reveal what the Russians are  doing at Starcourt. Joyce and Hopper take Larry back to his house to get the  property records of the lots the Russians are buying up. While this  happens, Nancy and Jonathan go to Starcourt Mall to talk to Steve, as  while Jonathan hasn't quite 100% forgiven Steve for breaking his camera,  they know about his friendship with Dustin, that he works at Scoops  Ahoy and he may have noticed something unusual. To their surprise, Steve  believes every word of what they say, and tells them about the activity  he witnessed last night with Robin and Dustin.  Jonathan and Nancy  reconvene with Joyce and Hopper, and they pool their information. Jonathan is the one who goes to  the hospital to check on Mrs. Driscoll, and witnesses her being  activated by the Mind Flayer. Episode 5: “The Flayed” Meanwhile,  Nancy and Joyce go with Hopper to check out the properties from Larry's  list, and discover Alexei. Since Robin is out of contact, the four  decide that they need to have someone to take Alexei to Murray Bauman so  he can translate. Nancy and Jonathan are the most acquainted with  Murray, since he helped them get the truth out about Barb last year, and  it was in his house that they made love for the first time, so they  insist on going together. Hopper offers to go with them, since he's  concerned for the possibility that Grigori will be after them, after  some back and forth between the three of them. Joyce elects to remain in  Hawkins to look after Will. So Nancy, Jonathan and Hopper  make their way out to Murray's, while Joyce remains behind in Hawkins  and talks with Will, Mike, Lucas, Eleven and Max. Through them, she  learns about what's happened to Billy, and remembering what happened  with Will last year, suspects that the Mind Flayer is back and is  creating an army. With Hopper unavailable, Joyce gets in touch with  Callahan and they go back to the hospital to check on Mrs. Driscoll.  Unfortunately, she's not there when the two enter her room. Joyce and  Callahan are then attacked by the flayed Tom and Bruce, and Joyce  succeeds at killing both of them, though Callahan is badly wounded and has to be hospitalized. Episode 6: “E Pluribus Unum” Nancy,  Jonathan and Hopper get Alexei to Murray's place. Along the way,  there's some character growth for the three as Jonathan talks with Nancy  about Joyce wanting to move, while Hopper tries to give Nancy some  words of advice on how being a journalist is no different from being a  cop. The scene at Murray's is slightly different. Murray can't help but  tease Nancy and Jonathan about last year, much to their embarrassment  and to a bemused face from Hopper. Nonetheless, they  interrogate Alexei  and get him to reveal that the  Russians are attempting to access the  Upside Down and that they are  opening a portal beneath Starcourt.  Jonathan and Nancy remember what Steve told them, and worrying for their  respective brothers' safety, Jonathan insists that they return to  Hawkins immediately. Episode 7: “The Bite”

Meanwhile,  back in Hawkins, to find the Mind Flayer, Eleven uses her powers in an attempt to psychically communicate with Billy, learning of his troubled childhood and finding the Flayer at the mill. Billy senses Eleven's presence, giving the Mind Flayer access to her location, and reveals that the Mind Flayer's plan is to kill her in revenge for her closing the gate. The Flayed converge on the mill, dissolving into an organic mass and merging with the Mind Flayer. Joyce determines that the Mind Flayer is coming for  Eleven and for Will.  Will senses the Mind Flayer approaching and it  attacks them before they  flee, wounding Eleven. They rush Eleven to a  safe place where they can hide her and treat her wounds. Dustin contacts them over walkie-talkie to try and explain the situation with  Steve before he loses battery power. Through some process of  elimination, they figure out where Dustin is and make their way to the  mall. (Basically, Joyce switches places with Jonathan and Nancy)

Hopper's group, made of himself, Jonathan, Nancy,  Murray and Alexei, make their way to the fairgrounds in Hawkins in an  effort to search for Nancy’s and Jonathan’s brothers as well as Joyce,  but they are spotted by Kline, who alerts the Russians. Grigori almost  manages to get the drop on Alexei, but Nancy shoots and wounds him in  his shoulder just before he can fire. The bullet is not enough to kill  Grigori, but enough that his shot misfires and Alexei survives. The  group catch up to Larry, where they learn that the agents are looking   for the children at the mall, and Nancy and Jonathan get the joint  satisfaction of beating the shit out of Larry. At the mall, Eleven's  group arrives in  time to stop the Russians from shooting Dustin's  group.

Episode 8: “The Battle of Starcourt”

The  final battle then goes down mostly the same. Nancy and Jonathan's car  fu with Billy still happens. But there are a few areas where I'd make  some more changes. Namely,  while the others distract the Mind Flayer by  attacking it with  fireworks, Nancy and Jonathan get to beat the shit  out of Heather, to get back at her for flaying her dad (their former  boss), while Steve, Robin, Eleven and Max fight with Billy.   Eleven is  able to awaken Billy's mind from his memories, weakening the Flayer's  control enough that Steve is able to bash Billy's skull in with his nail  bat, allowing Max to deliver the finishing blow and giving them both  the satisfaction of payback for the season 2 finale where Billy almost  beat Steve to death. (And while I'm at it, have Max feel no sadness over  Billy's death, but instead relief that he's dead)As for closing  the gate to defeat the Mind Flayer, I change this part of the battle  just a bit. Namely, Alexei is by Joyce's side while Hopper is fighting  Grigori in the gate room. Nancy and Jonathan come to their aid after  defeating Heather. Hopper fights with Grigori in the gate room as the  others prepare to shut down the gate. Hopper throws Grigori into the  machine, causing it to go haywire and block his  exit. There  are a couple possible endings: 1) Nancy, Jonathan and Alexei somehow manage to  rescue him, and Alexei has to switch  places with Hopper. Joyce shuts down the gate, Alexei choosing to  sacrifice his own life in the process of taking down the project that  he'd worked on. Or 2) Hopper still sacrifices himself, and Alexei defects to Dr. Owens when he arrives with the cavalry.   In either ending, Murray buys out the Hawkins Post and rehires Nancy. In  ending 1, he also rehires Jonathan as the paper's photographer, while  Nancy divides her time between writing stories and being Hopper's  reserve deputy. In ending 2, the Byers still move away.