#if you think getting into comics makes you a better dc fan you’re wrong

[frownyalfred]

hello. I’m going to say it because apparently a lot of DC creators on TikTok won’t.

You’re a valid fan even if you don’t read the comics. 100%.

And you don’t owe anyone an explanation on what you choose and don’t choose to read from canon/fanon.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Are We Returning To 2000s Era Shonen Anime/Manga (A Discussion)

So this is going to be way more of a thinkpiece than I usually do for this blog, but recent trends in the space and niche that I devote a lot of time to, Anime/Manga, have been showing themselves that got me thinking. This is not meant to be a serious sociology case study taken as fact, it's going to be more a theory based on observations of the community that I, like many others, devote a lot of time into than a full on claim, but I do want to ask, is the anime and manga community is experiencing a resurgence in 2000s era shonen manga?

Background

Now let me get this out of the way, there is bias in these observations as I am a western anime fan, but also a North American anime fan. Meaning my gateway and gauges of pop culture are mostly determined by the history of my area of the world’s relationship with anime. From the OVAs of 80s hyper violent and hyper sexual sci fi that you had to purchase from the backs of video rental stores, to the Toonami era of 90s and early 00s programming block the centred around action anime and cartoons, the 4kids era of mass market japanese animated kids shows that were really just giant commercials with some of the earliest memetics in western sphere, and the explosion of shonen battle series in the western sphere in the mid to late 2000s marked by the rise of the colloquially named “Big 3” of shonen jump. I understand that continents like South America or Europe may have undergone a different exposure to the Japanese medium, but as I am going in with some bias in this observation, I would like to make it clear on where the formula is coming from. I also would like to lay down a certain clarification before making this, when discussing the topic of nostalgia I think a lot of people have forgotten what it actually means. If we go by the Cambridge dictionary definition, Nostalgia is “a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past.” This is often invoked when talking about pop culture because people from say 20 years ago don’t seem to enjoy or relate to the interests of today. The belief is that nostalgia is generational ergo if you grew up in the 80s you’re likely wishing to recapture the feelings of childhood that you associate with those trends from 20 years ago. In fact, most revaluation in media has often been catalyzed by a difference of those who grew up in an era rebuffing the opinions of those who didn’t. 

There is the well known “20 Year Rule” regarding pop culture nostalgia. That every decade it longs for what was popular 20 years ago. Probably no better example than “That 70s show” being popular in the late 90s, the return of many beloved 80s-90s franchises like “Ghostbusters” returning in the 2010s as well as series like “Stranger Things” that wrapped itself up in 80s aesthetics. DC's New 52 relaunch that seemed to bring back trends from 90s era comics.

Now it goes without saying that the 20 year rule isn’t a “real” rule, rather an observation that certain trends make a return to popularity because the ones who grew up with a certain media will be the ones who add to the discourse when they come of age and will be the ones having a chance to create consumable art for the masses and that may just be revivals of once popular IP. This isn’t necessarily wrong in regards to nostalgia, but I do believe that one doesn’t need to have been born in a certain era to be nostalgic for something when we discuss pop culture. Pop culture is really just trends and preferences that become en vogue and people can acquire a taste at any given time. Sometimes it can be due to those who grew up with something now having the chance to create and drawing upon their own childhoods, sometimes it's just due to not being exposed, other times it can be a certain feeling of disillusionment of the now, and seeking something that peaks your interest, and even sometimes it can be major corporations or networks looking for things with existing audiences to draw upon that actually expand the audience. In fact one of the most prominent Netflix adaptations of the 2020s has been live Action Avatar the Last Airbender and One Piece, both shows that got their start on American televisions in 2004 and 2005. One of the biggest animated shows right now is Invincible, based on a comic book from 2003

So I want to stress this is not necessarily about how if you grew up with the original Mobile Suit Gundam show you are being replaced by the kids who were watching GetBackers. And or if you are a fan of shows that came out in the 2000s you yourself were born in the 2000s.

But what was the landscape of the English speaking anime community like back in the 2000s? Well let me paint a portrait for you.

What was the 2000s like for anime fans?

The term I used, “shonen boom period”, is somewhat mythologized in the western anime sphere. There was a glut of high profile shonen anime running around the same time that most people identified with this time period and was arguably when we saw the most influx of people getting into the hobby. One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach served as big series known for their massively large casts, MCs with a level of attitude, some of the most hype centric power supernatural/extraordinary power systems, and certain brand of “Japanese-y” humor. We can’t deny that it wasn’t just these series however, as series like Fullmetal Alchemist became many people’s introduction to more narratively intricate series interspersed with a somewhat gothic action style. The gothic and somewhat edgy Death Note became many fans' first ever “battle series that’s not a battle series” that also incorporated many biblical and gothic horror elements into its presentation. And things like Code Geass also incorporated this combination of hyper stylized cat and mouse with ornate and gothic aesthetics and fighting robots. 

Series like Ouran Highschool Host Club and and Haruhi Suzumiya were basically gateways to the more hyper extraordinary slice of life series that didn’t shy away from fanservice and loud comedy. With ecchi like Rosario + Vampire taking it to an even greater extreme. For people willing to go even deeper, series like Fairy Tail began to pop up and share a distinct similar flavor to series like One Piece and Naruto which arguably started the popular conception of it coming from the same magazine as the latter. That’s not also discounting the amount of holdovers from the 90s like Dragon Ball z, Trigun, and Yu Yu Hakusho, which also had an edge towards fantastical combat and comedic oriented series.

All of this is to generally illustrate the media diet of what an average anime fan was expected to have some level of access to. As this was far before the eras of Funimation or Hulu having online services. Not a homogenized spread by any means, and im certain plenty of readers could name more underground or smaller series like Mushishi or Elphen Lied, but generally the popular mainstream you could tell that there was a consistent theme of long form media with a very loud, very flashy, and very action oriented type of series. Which I think is fair to say had skewed some people’s perception. And while I cannot claim with utter certainty that Japan was the same in this regard, you can look at magazines like Shonen Jump and notice a somewhat synchronistic trend. With series like Hitman Reborn, Gintama, D. Gray Man, Eyeshield 21, Bobobobo, etc.making a clear marcation of what was commercially successful at the time. Even series not inside the magazine but had smaller nicher, Tokyo-pop-esque series like Rave Master, Flame of Recca, Air Gear, History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi, Soul Eater, etc all had a similarity to the shonen jump magazine. To the point it was not uncommon to see so many jump characters in a collage and one from shonen sunday or shonen magazine in there as if this was all coming from the same place.

Changing Landscape

Now with the advantages of the modern internet, we have the ability to actually keep up with the jump magazine in real time as opposed to the common practice of relying on scanlation site and fansubs that were often devoted to the most popular works. But with simultaneous publication and services like Crunchyroll, being able to access a wider variety of shows and series that we may or may not have access to. I believe that the 2010s in the english speaking fanbase was the decade we saw a somewhat expansionism of what people perceived as anime. Anime could be One Piece and Naruto, but it could also be Erased, it could be the Promised Neverland, Attack on Titan, K-On, Haikuu, and Durarara. With the representatives of the 90s no longer being holdovers in syndication like dragon ball but rather full on revivals of the likes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Hunter x Hunter. 

All of these could be "shonen" but also other genres like Seinin, Josei, and Shojo all had their own varying layers of what they could be in their demographic

The mood of what was popular was also changing, not just in the fact that more flavors of anime and manga were becoming mainstream, but new works from shonen jump showed a rise in almost subversive series like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer that seemed to consciously deviate or place new spins from traditional tropes of the 2000s characters, and we saw works that were derivative of previous serious like Black Clover drawing upon Naruto the same way it was known that Naruto had drawn upon Dragon Ball before them. Series like The Promised Neverland and Doctor Stone offered up more dramatic series that still infused a certain energy of the shonen genre. 

And of course the series like Attack Titan whose much more darker and gorey storytelling seemed to have become one of if not the biggest hit of the generation with a well regarded adaptation, but something that had felt so removed from what were once contemporaries like the then ending Bleach or Naruto. We can also note that the late 2010s saw the rise of series like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen that began a trend of popular urban fantasy stories. Where fantastical concepts were now in contemporary Japan and the stories that focused on concepts like self identity and the harshness of maturing were juxtaposed to the real world inhabited by monsters. 

It seemed many tropes of the previous decade were still alive in the rise of Isekai anime. Which was particularly the only popular outlet for fantasy stories with an action orientation. But these almost felt disconnected from the wider world of manga as things like heavy harem action series had actually decreased in mags like shonen jump. There was also new tropes being established in this subgenre that became unique popularizations of tropes all on their own, such as the overpowered protagonist whose power everyone believes is weak. But many of these were based on light novels, a form of media that only in the last few years western readers are having official access to and not simply scans found on the internet.

We in North America truly have gone from anime being a niche that was primarily accessible through dedicated TV blocks like Toonami, to a full blown cultural relevance shift.

We also need to talk about this era in its perception of the past also shifted. The 90s and the early 00s often blend together as classics of the anime community. Somewhat encased in amber. However, there is no denying that “feels like a 2000s series” had become a bit of a shorthand for very goofy, Very horny, very action heavy series. Series like Fire Force and and Undead Unluck had their show what more problematic elements be equated to the problematic trends of the past that people just accepted as “a part of the medium.” But lets keep in mind, this is not really describing a time, more a trend. Superficial elements that invoke similar feelings of the past. 

Speaking of anime fans…

Fan Culture

So while I wanted to paint a picture of creatively the landscape has changed, there’s no denying that in the age of internet accessibility, the anime fan community has also changed. It is much much easier now to get in contact with people who are anime fans now than it was to rely on word of mouth like it was back in the day. I can still distinctly remember my anime club which wasn’t even really a club devoted to anime but rather other geek stuff like D&D and TCGs. Our hobbies just happened to have similar overlap.

Now though, anime fan culture is much more relevant and thriving. Going from just posting weekly reviews, to long retrospectives, comedy videos, abridged series, clickbait articles, fan theories, and podcasts. However, I think a defining feature of fans of the 2000s era of anime that were at their most prominent was hype culture. 

Due to many of the biggest anime series at the time being released weekly and focusing on action, many many many discussion boards and videos were often about staying in this cycle of wanting to see what happens next and the action made people very excited to see just how characters were going to win fights or even if they’d have fights at all. 

I want to make it clear that this type of activity doesn’t belong to a certain era, but you can see it shaped by the 2000s era. Especially when discussing “what is the next big 3.” As if it were a true position and title, rather than a moment in time where there were just three very distinct shonen series in the fanbase.This doesn’t necessarily have a “negative” effect on the discussion of anime/manga but you can see that certain genres lend themselves to hyping fans up more and more. 

Someone isn’t reading the most recent chapter of a romance like Blue Box with the same level of anticipation of who will face who like it was One Piece. But there have certainly been series that try.

The Present

Now we reach the 2020s and this decade is still young, so it is hard to say what the future will hold for certainty, but we can look at the last four years and notice some significant waves being made recently in Shonen Jump alone. I already spoke of Undead Unluck, a series that almost wears it would now be considered retro inspirations on its sleeve. With an opening chapter that establishes an MC that seems motivated by a sexual joke, A power system follows a verbal naming gimmick, and a loose enough world that allows for characters of varying aesthetics and to be incorporated into groups. With groups of these powerful characters splitting up to face each other and use their ridiculous power to the extreme. Even in the series' own meta arc about creating manga, the in-universe analogy for Undead Unluck’s manga is commented on as feeling retro. There is no doubt the biggest viral hit of the decade so far has gone to Kagurabachi, a manga about sword fighting and magical crime lords that seems almost indulgent in its stylistic slicing and or dicing of baddies. Its memetic success was primarily due to a somewhat sincere and somewhat ironic belief that it would be the “next big thing” as it promised to be a stylized action series. Another surprise viral success has been the manga Nue’s Exorcist which sees another supernatural swordfighter boy harness the powers of his sexy spirit lady while getting into harem shenanigans that echo a particular form of ecchi of anime’s past that had actually been somewhat absent in the past decade in jump. Both of these series have a somewhat noticeable similarities to Bleach, a long running shonen action series that has seen its own revival in the last few years of writing this with the long awaited adaptation of the final arc of the bleach anime. 

While the other members of the “big 3” never truly went away and became almost inter-generational, Bleach truly did feel like a “come back” as it was absent for so long. And unlike Hunter x Hunter and Jojo which were never really popular in the west and even their older anime are more regarded as anime deep lore. Bleach was one of the most popular series in the west at the time to never receive a conclusion animated. 

Speaking of anime of the 2000s Trigun Stampede was a reimagining of the original late 90s show. This errs a bit similar to Hunter x Hunter’s style of revival, but also seems uniquely its own in actually trying to find a balance between the original series but adding in things cut from its original late 90s early 2000s counterpart. 

And now we must examine other shonen magazines. Series like Gachiakuta created by a former assistant of Okubo, the creator of Soul Eater, carries with it much of the similar energies of that series. Its also noticeable as being a truly dark fantasy series. Not an urban fantasy, but rather a completely new world that had a very grunge and dirty world building. And then there is Daemons of the Shadow Realm, a series by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa. This series is also set in modern day japan with supernatural elements, however Arakawa’s style of writing is practically unchanged from her time on FMA. With an emphasis on action, intricate mysteries, and character building comedy with her trademark over exaggerated blocky style. There is of course Hiro Mashima who has started another new series, Dead Rock, and his style has also not changed that much. Then there is just flat out sequels to 2000s series like Gamaran Shura.

This to me shows that we are  seeing a bit of a combination of people who are now entering the workforce inspired by creators of the past, but also that creators of the past still exist 20 years later and are still making content that hasn’t really undergone significant change. 

Of course, we can’t also forget the implementation of the Manga Plus/J plus service which has opened up a very interesting ground for creators to have some of the most creatively out there series than what you may have expected from the shonen jump brand. I genuinely don’t think series like Make the Exorcist Fall in Love or Fire Punch would’ve ever been acceptable in the pages of a weekly shonen series. However one series in particular does feel like it could've and boy its been quite the success. Kaiju no 8.

Kaiju no 8 almost feels as though it is the AoT of a new generation with the amount of anticipation this one series has as well as the similarities between the series superficial elements. However, I'd say the key distinction between the two has been the tone. AoT took a dark and practically dour tone on its titan infested world. With an MC declaring war on all of his enemies. The pain was realistic, with human bodies being brittle and vulnerable. And the belief that just because you were a good person you weren't going to make it out alive. Kaiju no 8 instead opts for a more action oriented tone. Down playing the bleak realism for more "Hell yeah!" moments. With super science weapons that feel more akin to a tokusatsu show and fights and battles between humans an kanji the feel like the Dragon Ball style wrestling matches of old.

And of course, that’s not to say Jump hasn’t continued with series that feel more modern like the realistic and mellow romance of Blue Box or the dramatic coming of age story of Akane-Banashi. 

But the presence of these series has caused somewhat of a friction with the popular conception of the magazine. Its safe to say that while “shonen” tends to think of action male oriented series, it can really just mean works aimed more at adolescents. But I think many tend to associate this familiar feeling of “what is shonen” with their popular introduction of the magazine. With a saturation of action and brash comedy series. This is further complicated by the fact many action series in jump are actually ending over the last decade. With new ones not popping up to replace them as frequently and series like One Piece and MHA and Black Clover basically stretching out across an entire decade or longer. In fact, I don’t think it's unreasonable to believe that the hype for something like Kagurabachi was in part a belief that it signaled a return of a type of familiar series and genre that had been missing. Or at the very least, looked to fill an inevitable gap the magazine was obviously going to be facing. Followed by the other commercial success of Nue’s Exorcist, we are likely to see these series last for a long time. At the time of this writing, Tokyo Revenger’s author Ken Wakui has released Astro Royale, a series that feels very similar to his previous work yet infused with this almost GetBackers flavor.

So that leaves us with the question at the start, are we seeing a rise in 2000s nostalgia in anime and manga?

Conclusion

So I'm sorry if I disappoint, but the best I can say is, I’m not certain. I do believe that from my observation I think it is reasonable to say that we are seeing a rise in creators in the shonen space being ones inspired by series from 20 years ago. However, I think we are also seeing creators who are from that time period also returning to write how they have always written. 

On the consumer side, I think we can see that fans of anime and manga have changed in the sense their tastes can now be shaped by a much larger catalog of series at their disposal. But in the case of shonen, I think we are simply seeing those who likely got their start in anime at around the 2000s resonating with newer series drawing upon those series, but also with younger fans now likely to grow up with the tail end of what was popular in the 2010s now being influenced by the 2020s. I also believe that one of the defining features of the anime community in the last decade is hype culture. And currently we are seeing a rise in series that actually feel more catered to hype, be it a revival of a series they liked or predicting what will be the next success. 

All and all, this piece was trying to tunnel on the shonen demographic in general, which is more likely than not going to have similar traits relative to itself. I do see us as a community endorsing trends of the past and there’s an excitement for these things to “come back” even if they may or may not have left. If you liked this please drop a like or reblog because I may do more of these think pieces in the future.

[atomicpatrolcreation]

My thoughts on Green Lantern: Beware my Power

This idea came to me while my best friend forced me to watch the animated movie Green Lantern: Beware My Power. If you're wondering whether it was a horror for me to sit through that movie, the answer is yes. However, my best friend, Gabby, insisted we watch it together because, according to her, we’d both be happy since it featured John Stewart (her favorite Green Lantern) and Hal (my favorite).

Well, I ended up disliking it a lot, for many reasons. The only things I actually enjoyed were the art, the animation, and the appearances of Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow.

As for the things I didn’t like—there are too many to list here, so I’ll save that for another post. But the main and most important thing is: What the hell were they thinking when they butchered the respect, admiration, and brotherhood between John and Hal?!

One of the best things about the Green Lantern comics is that all the Lanterns are friends/co-workers who act like one big family (most of the time).

Heck, even Guy, in his worst moments (and trust me, he’s had plenty), has always managed to be amicable with other Green Lanterns.

John Stewart has always admired and respected Hal Jordan, and that will never change.

In the comics, if someone badmouths Hal around John, you can bet they’ll end up getting a smack to keep Hal’s name out of their mouth.

My guy doesn’t tolerate anyone—not even freaking Batman—talking down or attacking Hal. And you think he himself would badmouth someone he’s outright called the GREATEST GREEN LANTERN OF ALL TIME?

Sorry, but if you think that would happen, let me tell you: you’re so, so wrong.

John may be a lot of things (and yes, the guy has had his fair share of messy retcons—though not as bad as Guy’s), but one thing he has always been is loyal to his loved ones, and Hal is one of them (just in case anyone wasn’t clear on that).

Honestly, I just want DC to stop making stupid decisions like this movie or the frustrating (albeit well-written) Bruce Timm animated universe. Green Lantern fans don’t need our favorites constantly being compared or put in competitions to determine who’s the best (And frankly, that’s a dumb argument because any fan who’s read a comic in their life knows or should know that Kyle is the best Lantern across the entire emotional spectrum).

Speaking of Kyle, can someone tell me why the hell they gave John almost all of Kyle’s backstory in this movie?

It was completely unnecessary to give KYLE’S STORY to John, especially when John’s story could have delved into the challenges of being an American man who served years in the military (specifically infantry), gets discharged, and decides to focus on architecture.

And let’s not even get started on how they could’ve focused on John being a rookie who trains under Kilowog and Guy, eventually meeting Hal in person, spending time together, and forming a friendship where Hal (sometimes) gives advice and trains with him. This could’ve led to parallels between John/Hal and Hal/Sinestro.

Or, better yet, they could’ve explored the dynamics between John, Guy, and Hal (because those three are so incredibly different in so many ways, it’s wild that they even get along) and how the Guardians (and the rest of the GL Corps) treat them so differently.

Hal was the first human Lantern, the one who had to prove his worth because everyone thought humans (and Earth) were inferior and unfit to serve as Lanterns. The intense bias, alien xenophobia, and pressure he endured are issues that never get addressed in comics, movies, or animated series, and it’s insane.

How did Hal feel when Guy showed up?

Did he realize Guy was a bit of a jerk but still treated better than he was when he first joined?

Did Hal care, or did he just ignore it?

Was he relieved that Guy was a complete idiot, knowing it meant he wouldn’t be overshadowed?

For a moment, did Hal think about his family and how he was projecting those feelings onto the Corps?

And when John joined?

Did Hal notice the difference between them?

Sometimes I wonder about these things, and Beware My Power opened a can of worms I thought had been sealed shut after reading Geoff Johns’ run back in 2011.

And don’t think I enjoy seeing fans compare or fight over these characters. I actually hate it (as I mentioned earlier), and I love how they support, care for, and respect each other.

But sometimes, I really just want them to explore those years before Kyle showed up, before they had the beautiful bond they have now.

Because honestly, Hal has abandonment issues that could easily be explored and expanded upon. These issues explain certain behaviors of his that you can also see reflected in his relationship with the Green Lantern Corps.

P.S. To me, Hal, John, and Guy are like brothers, which is why I picture Hal having “firstborn syndrome” when he stopped being the only human Lantern, projecting his feelings onto them for a brief period.

[ariainstars]

Joker 2 - Folie à deux

What if he was one of us...?

First, I would like to say right out that I found Folie à deux excellent, even better than the first Joker film. Joaquin Phoenix is amazing, and Lady Gaga kept herself back a little this time (in House of Gucci she was too central in my opinion, since she wasn’t the protagonist).

The music may perhaps irritate those who don’t like musicals, but the songs are all good, and moreover the story is so awful at times that the songs are necessary to make it bearable. If Joker was already a disturbing social study, Folie à deux is partially set in a prison and the rest I leave to the imagination of those who have not yet seen it.

I wouldn’t define it as a real musical because none of the pieces are original and the only ones singing are the two protagonists; however it follows the logic of the musical, which is, that the protagonists sing and dance to express their emotions. In the first film we could already see that for Arthur, accustomed to the world of the stage, music is on the one hand a chance to express himself and on the other a means to escape reality.

~~~ SPOILER ALERT ~~~

I have heard and read a lot of criticism about this film. In my opinion the problem is that many fans simply have not yet understood that these films are inspired by the films and comics of the DC universe but are not really part of it. Anyone who thinks that Arthur Fleck is truly Batman’s Joker is, IMHO, naïve to say the least.

Todd Philip’s Joker does not belong to the DC universe, where supernatural things can happen; instead it poses the question, „What if the Joker was one of us?” (Instead of the villain we all know, who embraces anarchy and kills simply because he can?)

His answer is a disquieting portrayal of dysfunctional a society, where decency is so rare that the alleged villain becomes one of the few who still has a grasp on it; where followers embrace anarchy because they hate the world they live in; where a man can struggle all his life and be downtrodden anyway; where you can only live well if you’re rich, by either being a rich kid (Lee, Bruce) or have become rich abusing other people (Wayne, Murray).

In my opinion, Joker was so successful because many fans didn’t understand it: instead of getting the disturbing social criticism of the film they saw it either as a prequel that explains how the Joker became such, or at least the story of a „underdog“ who creates another personality that is not human but has a fascination all of its own and doesn’t let scruples get into his way.

Folie à deux goes in the opposite direction: Arthur is initially simply himself, then out of a misguided love he decides to embrace the image of the Joker again. But this doesn’t give him anything he wants (aside from the brief illusion of a romance with Lee), instead he sparks riots everywhere he goes just by his presence. Arthur finally decides to publicly declare that the Joker doesn’t really exist, that he is his invention. His fans feel betrayed, primarily Lee (Harley Quinn) who had encouraged him and made him believe she loved him. Lee had fallen in love with the Joker, she doesn’t have the slightest interest in Arthur.

To fully understand Folie à deux, you must be aware of the fact that here, Lee (Harley Quinn) is actually the villain, and that like in his first film, what Arthur wants most is to be finally seen. The irony is that Arthur is actually our moral compass throughout both films, the only person who still has a clue of what is right or wrong. Lee manages to cloud his judgement, but fortunately, only for a while. Not being really insane or violent, Arthur is horrified when he realizes that his presence is a bad influence on other people and therefore sheds the Joker persona, paying for all the consequences.

His lawyer Maryanne wanted to exonerate Arthur with the argument of his dissociative personality, caused primarily by the abuse he suffered as a child; but Maryanne was wrong thinking that it was the Joker who controlled Arthur, it is Arthur who can make the Joker appear and disappear at his choice. Lee knows what Arthur wants (attention), while Maryanne, who is portrayed as her opposite and as a motherly figure, knows what he needs (to be treated fairly for a change). That Arthur chooses Lee, who allegedly needs him, singing “For Once in My Life”, emphasizes the kind of person he is: Arthur is not truly evil, he wants to love, to give himself to somebody. Maryanne, for all her good intentions, could only give something to him but he had nothing to give back to her. This is also why Arthur kisses Maryanna goodbye.

The Joker from the DC universe killed who was or believed to be superior to him. In this second film Arthur does not kill anyone, and even in the first he killed „only“ to take revenge, not for the pure pleasure of doing it. We see that Arthur did not kill his neighbour and the psychologist he was talking to at the end of the first film, because they are both alive and appear in court. He also let his colleague Gary go by telling him „You didn’t do anything wrong, go away“, and in court Gary testifies against him but also tells him that he was the only one of their colleagues who didn’t mock him for his dwarfism.

I do not believe that the guy who stabs Arthur in the end is the „real Joker”. The Joker does not exist. The Joker is merely a sick fantasy who in this version of Gotham City some underdogs choose to embrace because they believe it gives them power but who truly only gives them the power to hurt who is weaker than them.

I understand it’s irritating to see such a familiar character in such a different context and interpretation, but that’s no reason to say the film isn’t good. The director admitted that he was annoyed about the reason for the success of the first film and that this second film, among other things, is intended to hold up a mirror to the audience in which they can see what their misinterpretations lead to. Arthur wanted to take revenge, to rebel, but he had not had the intention of inviting the world around him into anarchy. In these films Batman’s Joker doesn’t really exist, he’s just a sick fantasy.

Today’s cinema likes to humanize characters and their context instead of using the simple black / white scheme: to portray a character as a product of the world in which he lives, not just as a hateful person who chooses to do harm because he enjoys doing it. Arthur Fleck is a murderer, but also a victim; and despite everything, he still has a heart (he falls in love with Lee, wants to help her, and also feels affection for Maryanne) and moral principles (in the end he unmasks himself before causing further damage when he realizes that his presence incites people to violence).

Some argue that Folie à deux was unsuccessful because the first film catered mostly to the fantasy of incels; this might be true or not. If it is, the second film slaps into their faces making it clear that Arthur is, indeed an incel; and that going down the path of madness again is only an ulterior delusion that leads to much suffering for little joy.

It is not clear at the end whether Arthur is really dead; However, the fact that the prosecuting attorney was a certain Harvey Dent (Two-Face in the DC universe) seems to have left at least one possibility for a new film in this universe. Anyone who wants to see these films expecting a „cool“ character at the centre since in the world of black / white stories the male protagonists, be they heroes or villains, must first and foremost be this, will, as a matter of course, not like the realism of the story. To me, the films’ attention on its character’s humanness is what makes it great.

[britcision]

You’re all good, tbh I was feeling a little bad cuz I definitely went off harder than necessary 😅 sorry about that, it’s just a major pet peeve of mine

And the problem is even specific situations also get retold seven ways to Sunday. Like the night Bruce Wayne’s parents died, which is occasionally linked to Jack Napier for some reason

And the advice is the same either way

If you wanna share the thing you care about: absolutely yes, please do that, tell us all the things you love about it and tell us which specific thing it is so people can actually find it

Cuz the thing is “we can tell you only consumed a very specific media and are defensive of it when discussing other versions” is exactly how I’d describe what most of the DC fans are doing in this case

When you come at people aggressive and defensive, is it really that surprising when they push back?

I got half my favourite ridiculous DC facts from people going on long rants about this run they loved so much, or how a character/event was done in a specific adaptation

I’ve never seen anyone complain about that - although I’m sure someone somewhere probably has

When you approach it as sharing joy instead of spreading gospel or as some kind of required reading, we can all keep having fun

But I also see so many people apologising for how they write DC characters because they haven’t consumed every possible run, and think about how many great stories are never getting written because people think there’s this barrier of “you must have consumed x canon media” that DC’s professional writers have never seen in their lives

The real answer is gonna be down the middle, especially if you happen to know which comic/show someone else’s interpretation is based on

Then you can have “oh did you enjoy Under The Red Hood? This is my favourite Outlaws comic, it’s a different take but I think you’ll like it”

We can build each other up instead of looking down on people who haven’t been Partaking Of The Text, and even if someone has only seen one thing and is basing their stuff off that, that’s not a bad thing or a problem; it’s just their thing, and they’re more likely to look at more if you can make it seem interesting instead of required reading, or worst of all a scavenger hunt to guess what version you mean

It’s just… not a mystery why this happens on either side, it’s a self fulfilling prophecy which is really disappointing, because I’d like to actually see these other versions of stories, but people keep complaining about other folks not knowing their version without saying where we could find it

Communication is about 70% nonverbal, from tone, posture, and facial expression, which we don’t have online - so you’ve got to be real clear in your words what you’d like as the outcome, and preferably make it as easy as possible for people to see your thing and agree with you, on all sides

It’s an art, not a science, and it takes practice

The trick is actually practicing and if you notice you keep getting a lot of opposition where you think you’re being misunderstood, it might be time to try some different wording, or getting your point across somewhere else

Just “read some comics” doesn’t tell anyone anything actually helpful; you don’t know if they already did, just some very different runs than yours

And people might still read it and decide they like their version better; if they’re not telling you that you have to like theirs best, we can always agree to disagree and find the things we both like to talk about instead

And just… think about the framing for a minute

That people should be open to learning and discussing different versions

Because what if that isn’t what they’re here for? What if they just want to talk about their version? Make their own little sandcastles in their own sandbox? Are they somehow doing fandom wrong?

Or are you both just interested in different things, and probably not particularly interesting to each other? Cuz there’s nothing wrong with that, you can just keep doing the things you’re both interested in and ignore each other entirely

Like if you prefer Danny-and-the-Supers, you can go and complain about all the Danny-and-Batpham, or you can toss out some more Danny-and-Clark-are-secret-twins prompts; one of these will bring you much more of the content you actually want to see

It’s weird that “hey, maybe read or watch some DC content” seems oddly controversial in DPxDC fandom

Presumably you enjoy the characters since you keep using them, you’ll probably like one of the comics tv shows or movies(especially the animated movies)

we don’t HAVE to treat the entirety of DC canon like it’s Phantom Planet

[batfamcraze]

My thoughts on DC vs Vampires #6

I really liked this issue because SHIT HIT THE FAN!!! THERE’S SO MUCH DRAMA!!!

BUT I have issues because the plot and characterization is all over the place so lets talk about it lol 

(Spoilers under cut duh)

I’m glad that Joker isn’t on the vampire team and vampire leader because he’s dead. The writers were flirting with the idea that Joker could be a big vampire but I’m glad that he's not involved at all. As it should (If only DC would kill him in a canon comic maybe I'd be happier lol).

This is definitely foreshadowing:

I think it’s possible that someone will kill Dick since he’s the Vampire King, but it won't be Bruce that's for sure.

If Bruce survives and shows up in the next issue, I will actually be mad because nah look at this he’s definitely dead:

The feels 😭

Dick is looking very sexy rn yup

God Alfred’s face, he's literally in shock and poor Dami 💔

Hopefully nobody takes this the wrong way, but Dick claiming that he’s better than all of the Batfam is not a stretch since he definitely has the most experience imo. So Dick saying this to Cass should not be taken personally, nobody can take Cass’ amazing fighting skills but Dick has won against others who had huge fighting advantages against him. And Vampire Dick winning the fight makes sense because the vampires have powers, and the plot is in their favour at the moment so it makes sense for the heroes to lose rn and maybe win in the final issue. 

If you’re offended by his statement you could interpret this scene differently: Dick said it to hurt Cass so he can win the fight by mocking her. BUT I don't think that he would need to do that because he's a newly-turned powerful Vampire, he would’ve won the fight regardless because you know, he has powers now. So this interpretation doesn’t make sense.

I understand if people are still offended by this, because Cass still gets treated poorly by DC in canon continuity.

Dick calling Bruce “Father” rubs me the wrong way because it implies that he doesn’t see Bruce as a father-figure, and that bothered me. I hope he said that to hurt Tim and that the real Dick inside doesn't believe that statement.

Jason goes back to try to save Damian 💔

Oof this page is a mess lol

Dick: “You can't win, Jason. I was better than you everytime that we ever faced off, and now I’m godlike.”

Fair lol

Jason: “I was holding back.”

I think this line is supposed to redeem Jason to show that he IS an extremely skilled vigilante because of writers doing him dirty for years. They are trying to re-establish his competence (See Task Force Z #6). Jason NEVER said “I was holding back because I’m better than you” he says SIMPLY “I was holding back” which means that Jason holds back in fights when he’s fighting against his family members and that they underestimate him (Example 1: RHATO Rebirth #25, Bruce almost beats Jason to death and Jason doesn’t even fight back in the end, he lets Bruce hurt him). People are reading this too seriously and think that Jason is shitting on Dick here but I don't see that. So Dick Stans don't take out your pitchforks and torches just yet!

This issue is also co-written by Rosenberg, who is currently writing Jason in Task Force Z so I’m pretty sure this is what they’re going for.

Dick: “It’s not too late to join me, Jason. I’m suddenly in need of a new Lieutenant.” (Rip Hal lol)

Jason: “All these years spent living in your damn shadow, and you think I want to spend eternity under you? You don't get me at all, man. [...] Everyone said you were the best to ever do it. [...] But I always knew someday you’d screw up worse than anyone.”

Ok NOW Dick Stans can get angry lol (Myself included). This is really not it. I really hate this new relationship dynamic they're writing between Dick and Jay rn because he’s never had this animosity towards Dick before. Discowing Dick and Robin Jay used to be really close, when Jason was Robin he was compared to Dick by Bruce a few times but Alfred told him to stop. 

From Batman (1940) #410: Alfred asking Bruce to stop talking about Dick too much.

When Jason came back as Red Hood and became an anti hero, they established a decent brotherly/coworker relationship and kept their distance (Leaving out Jason’s Evil era because most of it isn’t canon anymore). Jason “hating” Dick is a fanon interpretation that is slowly weaselling itself in the comics and I am NOT a fan. 

Dick: “Sounds like you have a lot of issues to work through. [...] Luckily you’ll have centuries to do it. [...] Did you really think she was going to stay tied up forever?”

OHHH SHIT

Dick getting cornered by Jason was definitely a setup to turn him into a vampire 100%.

Omg my heart 💔 Jay tried to kill Dick but lost because of their trap, and asks Oliver to kill him. This scene is really good, I liked it a lot. 

Even though I wanted to see him be evil and join the vampires, it makes sense for Jason’s character to sacrifice himself. I’m emotional.

Umm Dick... this was you 5 seconds ago:

You killed Tim with NO hesitation 🤨

I didn't know that you’re such a picky bitch Dick SKSKSSKSKSKSKSKKSKS

NOOOO poor Dami 😭 

I’m already impatient for next month because I wanna see what happens to him, he needs to be okay and back with his family!!! 😠 

So that was all of my thoughts on DC vs Vampires #6, it had its rocky moments for sure but I'm not taking this seriously because its a non-canon story. Dick finally has a huge part in a story that isn't canon, and isn’t dead for once (the others haven't been spared lol). We will just have to see how it ends because I hope it gets better ♥️ 

[trulyinspiringmovies]

V For Vendetta

“V For Vendetta” is thought-provoking while also delivering nail-biting action from a charismatic mystery man.

V is a masked anarchist terrorist who wants to start a revolution against the fascist Norsefire party of Britain. One night, he saves Evey Hammond from getting raped by Norsefire’s secret police. He asks if he can show her something and she agrees. He takes her to see the demolition of the Old Bailey and reveals that it was his own doing. Evey soon learns that she has gotten involved in something much bigger than she could’ve ever imagined.

I never shy away from the fact that I’m a DC fanboy and that extends to the DC Vertigo comics. “V For Vendetta”, “Watchmen”, and “Batman: The Killing Joke” are the main reason why I give Alan Moore such high praise. Now, I know he’s not a fan of the movie adaptations of his works. To be completely honest, I hated the movie version of “Batman: The Killing Joke”. “V For Vendetta” and “Watchmen” have had significant portions changed for their movie adaptations. This has also changed the messaging for those two carefully crafted masterpieces. I’d argue that the changes still make for an enjoyable story and might even be better for it. For “Watchmen”, Zack Snyder changed the ending of the book from a random alien invasion to pinning a nuke on Dr. Manhattan. I thought it tied everything together a lot better than the books. In “V For Vendetta”, the themes of fascism and the complacency of the people were more ambiguous as to who was to blame. In the movie, there are clear good guys and bad guys. The movie also changes the reason for the rise of totalitarianism. Instead of nuclear fallout, it’s instead because of a virus that’s later revealed to be manufactured by the Norsefire party to get rich. This further cements the clear good guys from the bad guys. Still, I think this change makes for a whole new message that still works. Instead of exploring the ambiguity of governmental oppression, the movie focuses on the liberation from that oppression. I know a lot of people also complain about the overabundance of action in this movie, but I thought it was used sparingly. The times they did use action, it was top-notch. For a movie with a knife-wielding man in a Guy Fawkes mask, you’re going to have action scenes. There’s really no way around it. You also need to sell your movie, so it’s a bit of a give-and-take. It also leaves a guy like me who enjoys the philosophical aspects, while also enjoying dope knife fights, a lot to love about the film. Just like Rorschach from “Watchmen”, V is not supposed to be a good guy. But, they’re just so cool that you’re glued to every word they say. I think that’s what great characters do. They make you root for them, even when you know they’re wrong. Definitely check this movie out if you haven’t already.

��★★★★

Rewatched on November 5th, 2022

[egg-emperor]

I’m sorry you’re having to go through canon derailment off your favorite character. I’ve gone through similar and it’s not fun. One of my favorite DC comic villains has been taken over by a writer that I hate. Everyone who isn’t a die hard fan of the character thinks it’s a brilliant take. At least with comics, people can pick and choose their favorite stories and leave the rest. It especially sucks that you can’t do the same, because the game is considered canon.

thank you so much. the understanding and respect towards how I've been feeling about something I'm so passionate about being done so dirty is really appreciated. it's been a long stressful week and I was exhausted by dealing with trolls and rude people on top of my disappointment but this helps me get through it and feel better 💜

sorry to hear that similar has happened to a character you enjoy too, it really sucks. it's frustrating when people that simply don't care to understand them like the diehard fans do will approve without question and make them feel alienated or act like they're wrong. that's exactly how I've been feeling so immensely lately.

and yeah it's hit harder than any other times I've felt he was out of character in other media because the games are my absolute favorite as the source media and he was always perfect in them to me, I loved everything about how he was characterized in every game. it's sad that it's very suddenly been changed.

I'm just hoping the Japanese lines are real and accurately translated because then I at least have that to hold on to for hope that this disservice to his character isn't permanent, as it seems he's much more in character there. it would be worse if I had to pretend the entire portrayal in all languages doesn't exist like I've never had to before.

[scandalsavagefanfic]

Hello! I am a huge fan of ur writing. I've loved everything I've read of yours. I've read alot of what you've posted, except for a couple of the tags that are squicky for me (so I'm very thankful you tag very thoroughly). No judgement for the squick, it's just not for me. & when I'm having a bad day, I usually just go thru ur ao3 and find something to reread. I think about Therapy's Bruce & Jason every damn day. While I obvs appreciate ur darker more "problematic" content (I really vibe with some of the themes you write about bc of my own trauma, & so it's very cathartic to read about in a fictional setting), I am truly a sucker for ur more happy content. The Happily Ever After verse also lives in my head rent free. Idk more wholesome stuff just seems more special when you write it. Anyways. I would die for you. But the point of this ask is cause I'm curious as to why you don't like Urban Legends? I'm sorry if you already talked about it here or on twitter and I missed it. I was just wondering because I really enjoy your take on things and would love to hear why you dislike it. I've been enjoying it so far personally, but I am always open to DC comics criticism.

Aw thank you so much! I'm so flattered by everything you just said. You're so sweet ❤❤❤❤❤

I haven't talked about Urban Legends here or twitter (I haven't been very active in either place lately. Just a lot going on and no energy 😔) but I'm happy to do it here.

Before I start though, I just want to add a standard disclaimer and make it clear that if you like it, there's nothing wrong with that and you don't have to let me ruin it for you lol. Like what you like.

That said, since you asked...

I said this when I was talking about it on discord, that there is a difference between hope and expectation. I always hope that a new story centered on Jason (or anyone really, but things have been especially egregious for Jay for 15 years) will be good or at least treat the character with a minimal level of respect (to be honest, the bar is super fucking low). But my expectations always temper my hope, to keep it from getting unrealistic. Because my expectations are based on experience.

The long history of Jason Todd, since even before his resurrection, has been one of retroactively trying to make him "a bad seed" in order to absolve Bruce of any responsibility in his death.

I don't even expect DC or their writers to start honoring the fact that Jason was not an angry, reckless Robin (and less of the later than Dick or Tim and definitely Damian). There plenty of ways that retcon can be folded into his history and be compelling and sympathetic. And if they're going to stick with that retcon, I'm only asking that they do it in one of those compelling and sympathetic ways because Jason was 15 when he died, heroically, in one of the most selfless acts in comics, to save a woman who literally handed him over to be brutally murdered. He was 12 when Bruce plucked him off the streets, he'd been homeless and fending for himself for at least two years. I personally think that Jason's story hits harder for him and Bruce if their original, canon relationship, of Jason as starry-eyed and eager to learn and absolutely devoted to Bruce and Bruce to Jason, is preserved. But Jason's origins does leave room for a meaningful interpretation of him as angry and frustrated at the lack of meaningful results of Bruce's methods.

And that's really where my irritation at stories like Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer and Batman The Adventure Continues has it's roots.

Every time one of these stories comes out, I think (or hope, rather) that this will be the one that remembers and respects the origins of the Jason and the Red Hood, that takes into account the changed sensibilities of comics readers in the 30 years since Jason's death and the subtle, 20 year, retroactive campaign to make him the "bad Robin". The "born bad" trope is played out and literally no one likes the message it implies. That some kids are just bad eggs and there's nothing parents or the adults around them can do. Especially when it's played as the kid's fault. If Jason's time as Robin is going to be characterized by anger, then it should be rooted in anger at the social injustices he witnessed as he grew up in an impoverished, crime-ridden, area and the horrors he faced raising himself when every day was a battle for survival. There are topical, meaningful, stories to tell with that backdrop.

But those are never the stories we get.

⚠⚠ Spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer ⚠⚠

I'm particularly disappointed in Urban Legends because for the first issue, it looked like that was the kind of story we were going to get. I was put off by the first flashback of Jason being mesmerized by Bruce's guns, and I got that feeling in my gut that it was a bad sign. Jason depicted as impatient and overconfident and the scene with the guns is heavy-handed foreshadowing that got my spidey-sense tingling. I had a inkling then (in the first three pages) of how this story was going to play out, but it was early and I could still see many narrative paths that could lead to a satisfying story. My concerns were soothed somewhat and the little flame of my hope fanned, with the flashback of Alfred scolding Bruce, with Barbara's concern for Jason. A bit of worry returned with the way Jason ruthlessly pursued an addict who didn't appear to be a dealer and with the ending of the issue. The stuff with the addict sat wrong with me but the ending was tempered some by how despicable Tyler's dad was written. The scene was clearly set so that the reader could sympathize with Jason's decision and the scene with the addict could be brushed aside as a side-effect of comics over-the-top need for constant action, so I still held hope.

Issue 2 made me uncomfortable and it's where my hope starts to take a backseat to my expectations. I can dismiss Jason's self-deprecating internal monologue as unreliable narration, except that the flashback reinforces his thought process to explicitly show that it's not unreliable narration, and should be taken at face value. Jason faces physical abuse at the hands of his mother's drug dealer and when the flashback continues later, Jason kills the drug dealer. To be clear, this is a pre-Bruce Jason. His mom is still alive. He's like... 10. He kills this guy for shoving his head into a wall and implying Jason's mother paid for her drugs with sex. This is a scene that serves a single purpose. To show that Jason has always been prone to violence.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there is the small chance the drug dealer might not be dead. But the story obviously wants the reader to think he is, and it hasn't done anything to change that yet.

Starlin already did this story with The Diplomat’s Son in 1988 and he did it infinitely better. AND that’s still technically canon. So now I’m supposed to believe that Jason lost his cool bad enough to kill two douche bags before his sweet 16? Like it’s totally normal for abused kids raised in poverty, who’ve led hard and heartbreaking lives to just... haul off and kill people? That’s bullshit, and when taken with the Jason in the third issue, who is little more than an idiot thug, this story is really doubling down on some fucked up stereotypes.

Which brings us to the most recent issue. I went into this installment with very low expectations. I thought this story was going to be about Jason, through this experience with Tyler, a young boy with a similar background to Jason's, coming to the realization that Bruce's way is the best way and that Bruce did his best by Jason.

That would be annoying (in no small part because it takes increasingly absurd levels of plot armor to keep Bruce's no kill rule relevant, let alone irrefutably right). But I can probably live with that, if only because maybe if Jason officially falls back into line with the Bats crusade, maybe I'll get stories that treat him with respect, stories that don't relegate him to comic relief, dumb brute, or a background body with no lines in a story about the Joker burning Gotham (like Jason would just fucking stand there quietly for that).

And that may still be where the story is going, Jason realizing Bruce is right.

But holy shit do I not have the right words to describe how fucking insulting and gross issue three is.

From start to finish--including the flashback--Jason is written as cruel and fucking stupid. Like straight up dumb.

The entire issue is Bruce explaining the fucking basics to Jason like it's his first day. And Jason flies off the fucking handle and terrorizes a doctor he knows isn't a part of making the Cheerdrops, beats the shit out of some random addicts, and finally, when he can't accomplish anything on his own because he's a dumb brute he calls Barbara for help and rushes in with no information where he's promptly incapacitated and must now wait to be rescued by Batman.

This panel is the least of the issues sins but I can’t screenshot the entire story but it’s representative of the tone for the whole issue (and retroactively tainted the prior two issues).

This is beyond insulting. The only conclusions Jason comes to in this issue are the ones Bruce leads him to by talking to him like he can’t make the simplest connections. And like... in this story Jason can’t make the simplest connections.

This (and the Jason throughout the entirety of this issue) is a far cry from the Jason we fell in love with in Under the Red Hood, who was competent and strategic and intelligent enough to seize control of Gotham’s underworld from Black Mask (who’s no fucking slouch, he’s the first and only person to unify organized crime in Gotham) AND elude and manipulate Bruce until the time and place of his choosing.

This is a far cry from even the Red Hood and the Outlaws Jason who is competent enough to fight the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul (among very dangerous and skilled others) and smart enough to create antidotes for mind control nanotech viruses.

As he should be, by the way. Jason Todd is one of the best, most comprehensively trained fighters in DC’s stable of non powered vigilantes. He’s not irrational or hot headed. He’s pragmatic, tactically minded, and patient. He’s a detective. Right now. Has been since he was 12. Bruce doesn’t have to make him one because he already is. 

Jason is not a stupid thug who uses his fists because his brain doesn’t work. And I can’t tell you how so very exhausted I am by this narrative. 

This is actually the most egregious example of Jason’s skills and intelligence being not just undermined but dismissed entirely. Even Morrison’s Jason had some degree of competency. 

The one, single redeeming factor of this story is the art. It’s beautiful. And Marcus To is a godsend he seems to be one of only a couple of artists who remember that Jason was a child when he was Robin and I’m literally only buying this book because of him. 

Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t want that to come out so... um... passionately lol. I’m just very very tired. My intention with this isn’t to ruin it for you, if you like it, that’s fine. 

But this issue shot this story to the top of my "Vehemently Despise” list. 1) Batman: Urban Legends (Cheer), 2) Battle for the Cowl/Morrison’s Batman and Robin, 3) Batman The Adventure Continues.

I hope the next issues somehow salvage this dumpster fire. But I’m not expecting it.

(Damnit. That sounded harsh again. To reiterate, I’m not trying to judge anyone who enjoys it, I just personally hate it and you asked me why lol 😅)

[crazyw3irdo]

I see you’re also a Riddler fan. I gotta ask, how do you feel about his portrayal in the upcoming pattinson batman movie?

anon my beloved thank you so much for giving me this opportunity because i have ranted about this to multiple people irl but i don’t think i’ve fully lost it on this blog yet. long angry rant under the cut.

TLDR: i hate it

first of all, i can’t talk about what they’ve done to my beloved puzzle doofus without addressing the larger problem that dc movies have as a whole: the “dark and edgy” factor. i’ve done a bit of a rant on this in my tags recently here but that was really just a side point to what i was talking about at that moment. basically, fans want characters to be happy. movie makers continue to not understand that. i’d thought the dceu was moving more towards the actual fun stuff lately- shazam, birds of prey, and the suicide squad were all amazing- but as much as i love robert pattinson and think he’ll do a great job it’s not. it’s not looking good. i don’t want another grimdark movie. i want fun.

when i first heard that ed was gonna be the main villain i was just. very concerned. like. i would love to see him in a movie. i would love my good riddle boy getting to be funny and over the top but i just wasn’t sure if they were going in that direction and just… it’s clear that’s not it. and it’s not even in a direction i could understand?? like i knew in my core they wouldn’t let him be camp, but to jump so far into. whatever the hell that outfit is was just entirely unexpected.

i know comics can change canon characterization around from comic to comic and that combined with various fanon interpretations that how everyone looks at specific characters can be different, so i’d like to quickly take a moment to express my ideal form of the riddler that might just include a lot of projecting:

he’s a guy who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. he’s a guy who wishes he had someone on his level. he just wants attention. he does like batman, he respects him, he thinks that since batman can solve his riddles that maybe he isn’t as lonely as he thinks, but batman still locks him in arkham and as smart as he is he doesn’t understand why. he’s like a child acting out because it’s the only way he knows how to get attention. he’s a gifted kid with burnout. he struggles so much socially that he tries to reject society by focusing on riddles and intelligence but still wants that social attention. he’s a campy theatre kid that loves showing off. he’s a smug little bastard trying his best. he pouts when he doesn’t get what he wants. he’s autistic. he’s gay but nobody wants him. he and oswald are divorced.

i know i likely won’t ever get my ideal riddler, but really just what hurts me the most is there are so many ways to make him edgy and just out of character enough that would still work so much better than whatever this is. make him a snobbish asshole in a clean pressed suit sneering at those below him, make him a rejected loner who wants to prove the world wrong through any means necessary, make him a jigsaw-like character with deadly escape rooms, hell make him an r/iamverysmart “you say you want to improve society and yet you still live in it? checkmate. i am very intelligent.” and it’d still be better than whatever the fuck this is.

and good god the costume. the fucking costume. edward has fucking standards. what the absolute fuck were they thinking? i get if you don’t want him looking like the jim carrey version or the early comics where he had that amazingly terrible skintight bright green spandex, i don’t expect him to wear that, but in almost every other version of the riddler he wears a suit. that’s his thing.

look at the arkham & telltale games versions. look at how good these are. he’s not even wearing a suit in arkham knight, but it still works

yeah they’re not live action, but you know what riddler looked fucking amazing in live action?

i have very mixed feelings about the gotham tv show, especially for someone who never watched it, but just look at his fucking suits. it’s amazing. they’re iconic. they’re beautiful.

what the fuck is this. who is this and what did they do to my little riddle lad. i hate this. it’d be better if he was in secondhand party city onceler cosplay.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

This Is Still Marvel, Right?

Summary- 2.5k Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes x Wade Wilson x You. Deadpool the character from the comics is sitting across from the table from you, real right in front of your eyes. Not only is time travel a thing, but dimension travel is as well, and he is here for a very serious reason. Warnings- swears. Written for @what-is-your-backupplan-today​ CATFA 10th Anniversary Challenge. Prompts are highlighted. 

Masterlist

“You came from where?” Sam questioned with a tilt of his head, arms folded across his chest as he raised a quizzical brow at the man in all red. 

“And why the clown suit?” Bucky right next to him asked, trying to make sense of what was going on. 

“I’m from the X-Men verse, you know… bald dude in the wheelchair, Wolvie with butter knife hands, we have our own pigeon boy. Not as sweet as your wings though.” Wade said with a sigh. “And we had a Peter, but the winds… god the winds were too strong. I will never forget you Sugar Bear.” He sobbed in his hand a moment, sniffling a moment. 

You were thoroughly in shock, your jaw was dropped to the floor as Wade mother fucking Wilson sat in the interrogation chair, one leg crossed over the other, his ankle jiggling as he leaned forward on his elbows, planting his chin in his palms as he made an cooing sound at the two men. “Aww, they are so cute when they are confused, aren't they cute? The cutest little puppies.” He went to boop Bucky's nose, but Bucky reared his head back away from his hand and a whir of his hand closed around Wade's wrist, which caused the masked mercenary to gasp out excitedly. 

“THE WINTER SOLDIER ARM, VIBRANIUM UPGRADE. I keep telling Cable he needs this hook up, his isn't nearly as cool as yours. Mister Bucky Barnes Sir, can you sign my suit? I’m a super fan.” the white eyes of his mask widened and you finally managed to close your mouth watching all this.

Whatever this was, you were actually wondering if you weren't in some drugged hallucination right now. Mission gone wrong? You had eaten that turkey sandwich out of the compound fridge, maybe it was drugged and this was someone's payback for stealing their food.

“Come on man.” Sam snapped out, still trying to get a straight answer out of him. Bucky let go of his hand which Wade muttered to himself. 

“I'm never washing this hand, not ever.” He cradled it to his chest. “Just wait till I tell Chrome Dome who shook my hand.” 

“ANSWERS!” Bucky yelled out and Wade gasped at the outburst. Bucky reached over to grasp the mask and yanked it off, grimacing as Wade's appearance showed. Both Sam and Bucky recovered quite quickly, you were still freaking out in the corner and Wade gave a suggestive wink to the two of them. 

“Names Wilson, Wade Wilson. No relation to this saucy stud though.” He eyed Sam up and down with a purr, who scoffed at the sudden attention. “Don't worry, I know that one is crushing on you hard. The chemistry. I won't make a move on you. Winter Soldier though is fair game, eh?” He made a chef’s kiss motion after pointing at you. “So are you two… do you… fondue?” Wade asked, Sam and You looked at each other and made disbelieving faces at one another. “Oh we're not admitting feelings? My bad. I jumped ahead in the comics. So much sexual tension.” Making a donut shape with one hand and a pointer with the other, meshing them together, you could feel your throat close up and Sam’s eyes widen. Bucky was struggling to keep his calm at this point, Sam too. Wade made a motion to stand and get up. 

“Do we have any eats here?” He puts his hand on the handle to open the door and a knife flung through the air, landing right next to his face. Wade paused and turned around. “Here I thought this was still Marvel and not Dc. Tony would have offered me a snack by now.” He grumbled while sitting back down. “A falafel, blueberries, I know he likes to snack, I've seen the movies.” 

You finally got over your shock and went to sit across from him. “Mr.Wilson…” 

He put up a hand. “Pool please, Deadpool. Or Wade. Or you can call me Captain Deadpool. Too much?” He glanced up at Sam and Bucky. “Yea too much, just call me Wade.” 

“Wade.” you started again, trying to figure out how to approach this. “We’re confused, because you are a comic book character.” You pulled up your phone and pulled up a screen clip of his movie. 

Wade gasped and grabbed at your phone, studying it. “Look at that handsome son of a bitch. I'm so glad they picked Ryan Reynolds for the part, he looks just like me.” He held the phone up next to his face. “He’s so good looking, it's the Canadian genes.” Then handed it back, you tucked it away and he leaned forward to toss what looked like a beat up comic book on the table.

“What’s this?” You question, pointing at it.

“A comic book. You guys are just comic book characters and I'm here to fix your story. What? You seriously didn't know you are comic book characters in another universe?” 

“Our story?” You pulled the comic towards you and sure enough plastered on the front was Sam in his Falcon Suit, Bucky with his own gear and you were soaring in the air above slightly out of focus. 

“Yes, your story. Listen Cable, you all know Cable right? He's like a moodier you Buckaroo…” The name caused Bucky to growl a bit, but Wade continued without noticing. “... hooked me up with this cool device. Not like those stones you all have, this is some actual batman kind of future fuckery that I got rigged to not just travel back in time. But other dimensions. Whoo... “ He made wiggly fingers. “It's like magic right? Cool.” 

You were flipping through the pages as fast as possible, skimming the storyline. Amazingly all of it was there, the mission report Nick Fury brought Sam this morning, you and Bucky sparring and how he pinned you against the mat, the heart to heart about how you two missed Steve. 

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose while Bucky looked over your shoulder at the comic book. “I'm getting a headache, or I'm losing it. Did I get hit in the head?” Sam rambled a bit and you got to the end of the comic, seeing that the mission Fury had given you three was completed, successfully. 

“Says there we did just fine.” Bucky said and you closed it before pushing it towards the center of the table. 

“It's not all just fine.” Wade threw up his hands in exasperation and you shook your head so confused. 

“Explain it to us Wade.” You grasped the comic again, flipping through it, scanning the pages as quick as you can. 

“Go to page 53.” He tapped his finger against the steel table and you did, the panel showing you and Sam standing on a roof top about to enter a building from above and Bucky was shown in another panel scaling a building. 

“I don't see it…” you shook your head confused as to what he was talking about and Wade pointed at the bottom, that was just barely in view. A hot dog cart. 

“You are here, from another dimension of life… because of a hot dog cart?” 

Wade nodded firmly. “If we don't protect that hot dog cart, bad things will happen.” His voice lowered, turning shifty. “Spooky stuff… anal stuff.” He shuddered and sat back, staring at the hot dog cart in the bottom of the picture. “If we don't protect that hot dog cart, it causes issues you couldn't even fathom. Another life just poof… what did y’all call it? Spanked out of existence?”

You just automatically corrected him. “Snapped.”

“Spanked sounds better, maybe consider changing it to spanked?” 

Sam cleared his throat. “You traveled through dimensions to get here so we could save a hot dog cart? I'm just- trying to keep it all straight. This isn't entirely the weirdest thing I have heard, but it's close.” 

Bucky scoffed. “I say this guy needs some help, maybe his brain got scrambled like mine.” 

“Nah, I didn't get the mind trip you did. I was tortured by a guy named Francis.” Wade snorted gleefully. “Called himself Ajax, like the dish soap!” Slapping his knee, he busted out laughing heavily, starting to cry. 

You rubbed at your face and looked over your shoulder. “I think we should trust him guys. What if what he says is true? We’ve dealt with crazy shit before.” 

“You can't be serious Y/N.” Bucky shook his head and Sam looked doubtful. Wade giggled as he wiped a tear from his eye, pointing a finger at you. 

“I like you, you're the smart one here I can tell.” 

You all turned to Sam who hadn't said anything yet. He sighed and rubbed at his face a bit, before finally saying under his breath. “I'm never going to hear the end of this… Lets take him.” 

Wade did a fist pump in victory, leaping up to grab his mask back from Bucky. “X-Force Ass-” You were quick to cover his mouth, leaving the “-emble” garbled. 

“He's going to get us killed, Wilson.” 

“I said to call me Deadpool or Captain Deadpool.” 

“I WAS TALKING TO HIM!” Bucky jerked his thumb at Sam, gritting his teeth while he yanked open the door and left the room. Deadpool followed after him, the next thing you heard was Bucky hollar. “I'm going to kick your ass Prick.” 

“Will you? You're making me all excited. Like a fairy making a little girl's wishes come true, I feel like I could fly.” 

Then you and Sam heard something loud crack and Wade’s cooing grew fainter. “Nice boots, Tinkerbell!” 

You snatched the comic book and stuffed it in your back pocket. “Uh we probably better go stop Bucky. It's pointless for him to try to kill Wade and will just tire himself out.” 

Sam opened the door, holding it open for you. “Should we really take that away from him?” 

“True and it sounds like Wade is having himself a fan moment anyways and doesn't care.” You stepped out to see Bucky and Wade tangled together wrestling.

Just as the comic stated, You and Sam were able to go in from the top. You could see Bucky below you using rigging to scale the building. Down further below you could see a red dot pushing a hot dog cart down the street well out of harm. Speaking into the comm’s, your wings folded to pull you into a spiral, spinning towards the roof. “Wade’s got the cart moved, and were clear to enter.” 

There was a grunt in the comms and Bucky's voice crackled through. “Well damn, I'm glad the hot dog cart is safe… for reasons spanning an entire dimension that we still don't know.” 

“Who are we to question it, Bucky? I mean, we’ve seen some pretty strange shit.” You stated as Sam landed next to you, shooting at the door and ducking inside together. “Maybe this is just another one to add to the pile.” 

Silence descended on the group as you each made to fulfill the mission. Once the building was clear and the three of you were working on exiting, Wade was waiting on the roof, sitting on the edge eating a hot dog and had three more lined up next to him. “I brought you all lunch, you guys do that sort of thing right? Good Mission? yes I bet. Buckaroo has the happy murder gleam in his eyes.” He took another bite of his hot dog and chewed while studying Bucky closely. 

“Don't do that.” Bucky shuddered a bit and Wade proceeded to pop the last bite into his mouth and chewed slowly while rolling the bottom half of his mask down. 

“Do what Buckaroo?” 

“Stare at me or call me Buckaroo.” 

“While eating a hot dog? Only way to properly eat one. I know you love it James. Well my mission here is done.” He pushed off the ledge to give you a hug and handed you a manilla envelope. “This is for you, it explains everything. Toodleloo Kiddies, it was fun knowing you. Oh and if you see Hugh Jackman on the street, tell him his coffee sucks and bitch slap the prick.” He jumped back on the ledge and looked over the edge. “Oh this is gonna kill my knees but this is a true superhero moment. Wait for it…” He gave you all a salute and stepped over, plummeting down. Sam and Bucky rushed the edge, looking over. 

You knew better, a superhero landing wouldn't kill him. 

“NAILED IT!” you three barely heard, then in a flash of sparks, Deadpool was gone. 

“I thought for sure he was going to pancake down there.” Bucky said with a hint of sadness and Sam shook his head. 

“We gotta get out of here before we're caught and get this back to Fury.” Sam held up a chip that held the actual intel of the mission. 

You silently agreed and together the three of you made your way off the building and back home. 

Afterwards once you were back in the tower and changing out of your suit, you glanced at the manilla envelope Wade left you. 

Sitting down on the bench, you opened it and peeked in. What looked like another comic book was in there as well as a letter. Pulling out the letter, you scanned it. 

~To the Super Duper Trio, 

Thank you for believing me. It was crucial. We're not the only comic book verse out there living our lives. Sometimes they cross intersect in ways that I can't explain, go find the wizard, he can tell you more about it. Also ask him to your next party, because he can do the COOLEST TRICKS. But if you take out the comic book enclosed you will see on page 23 there is a hot dog cart as well as a familiar looking dork named Jake Jensen. Alias- Capt Jensen. 

Perhaps your Captain is alive in some way, the DC universe having changed him to a loveable, cat hating, Petunias loving, super smart idiot.

Tell Birdman thanks for the vote of confidence, caw caw mother fucker.

Tell Buckaroo he forgot to sign my suit, I will be back. He is my favorite after all. 

And what I wanna tell you is take care of those idiots so they dont kill each other. 

With Love, 

Captain Deadpool

Ps- Yes Cap’s as awkward with women in DC as he was in Marvel. 

Pss- Welcome to X-Force! I will be in touch. 

You pulled out the comic book and glanced at the cover seeing six people staring down, the title of the comic- The Losers. Flipping to the page, you found a photograph tucked in between the pages, showing another version of the page. One where the street looked demolished and a man lying crumbled by a cart. Also a familiar hot dog cart leaned on its side, demolished. 

Setting the picture aside, now you glanced over this panel to see the same man making a show of pulling out a crossbow, the bubble above his head with the words “That’s right, bitches, I got a crossbow!” 

The scene didn't really surprise you that much, more like the character now alive in the comic looked just like Steve. 

A thinner version, he had facial hair, and the entire get up was never anything Steve would have willingly worn. 

But it looked just like Steve Rogers and for the second time that day your jaw dropped. 

Maybe Wade Wilson was right, after all… 

Nothing was off limits and stranger things have happened.

[spock-smokes-weed]

Another annoying thing about Fanon Tim is that he never has friends before YJ and is completely antisocial. While Canon Tim "is it new school? cool, cool, cool. I'm going to make friends with every second person I meet. annoying jocks? a couple of minutes and we are the best bros forever."

LITERALLY!!!!

Honestly I don’t think any of these people who write for fanon Tim know a thing about his character. And that’s fine, but it’s super annoying and frustrating when you have read the comics. Not to mention how it’s actively destroying Tim’s reputation in the fanbase.

Even when it comes to his YJ friends they only ever focus on Kon and Bart; sometimes Cassie if you’re lucky. When there was a whole nother group of people who Tim was friends with and cared about. Greta, Cissie, Lagoon Boy, and even the friends he made in the titans are just never talked about. Not to mention the people he’s close with in the batfamily are erased in place of making Jason his hype man (which is just so fucking weird????). Like Dick, Steph, and Cass are all super important people to Tim and it makes me so insane seeing them get tossed aside or written badly to make their uwu sad boy look better.

Like Tim’s history is constantly getting shuffled around and twisted and it’s just so strange. Like things that happened when he first became Robin will be paired with things towards the end of his time as Robin and I’m just ??? what’s going on??? Like one time I read a fic that was about Jason’s attack on titans tower, and it mentioned that both of Tim’s parents were alive, when at this point both would have been dead. It seems like they just hear about a few things that happened to Tim and just fucking run with it.

Tim is also constantly being portrayed as a wide eyed fanboy who always listens to Batman and others heroes, and while that was a part of Tim’s characterization when he was first Robin, he drops it over time the more he’s involved with the hero stuff. Like Tim regularly lies to Batman all through YJ, is constantly shown to not always trust Bruce’s judgment, and even thought Bruce was guilt of murder for a time because of how Bruce was behaving. And when he does have a wide eyed admiration for another hero it dissolves into just regular coworker respect pretty quickly (like when he met Ted Kord). So seeing him constantly act like a squealing fan boy who thinks his heroes can do no wrong is mad cringe. 

I have this big conundrum when it comes to the fanon batman fandom, because I’m fully aware that comics are an expensive and difficult hobby, and I started from reading fanfic because I couldn’t afford anything, but at the same time it’s just so frustrating to see panels and comic arcs get take out of context and twisted to prop up a OOC version of a character. And with Tim being a character that not many people know about, fanon is actively ruining his reputation and that just makes me every more frustrated.

I think the place where I come from is that because I used to read a lot of fanon fics, not knowing they weren’t even close to canon, when I finally did get to reading the comics I got really mad because how things are in canon is just objectively so much better. There is so many great stories and character in the comics and seeing it brushed aside for these just fucking terrible and watered down clones makes me wanna chew glass. And there’s huge attitude among fanon that fanfic and fanon is far superior than the source material. Which is just???? There is a near century’s worth of comics for batman and ur telling me fanfiction is better that all of it??? Please for the love of g-d touch some grass.

All I can really do is call out bad fanon when I see it, and recommend good comics and plotlines to start with. I have a Batman recs list pinned on my blog that I updated every so often. If anyone is new and wants to read comics, if you’re willing to spend a little chunk of change then the DC Infinite app is a great resource (if ur in the us 😔). They have everything DC has ever published and it’s all organized. They even high light a lot of really good storylines. If you don’t want to do that then just hunt down a character recs list and pirate the fuck out of whatever is on there. Piracy is a victimless crime and it makes u cool and sexy. 

Just…. please… read a fucking comic book before I walk into the ocean

[about-faces]

The director Joel Schumacher has passed away, and everyone's reactions have boiled down to two topics: 1.) "He was the guy who made the bad Batman films," and 2.) "Hey, he did lots of great films besides the bad Batman films!"

Thing is... I get it. I remember being a teenage comic fan in the 90's. Not just any comics: especially Batman! But ESPECIALLY Bart especially Two-Face. I remember how "Joel Schumacher" was a name that could invoke white-hot rage in myself and everyone in the fandom. He was our modern equivalent of Dr. Fredrick Wertham, the boogyman who had (far as we were concerned) single-handedly destroyed the mainstream credibility of superheroes.

Look at that picture, and try to imagine that this was the face so loathed and mocked by Batman fanboys in the 90′s.

Never mind that Schumacher didn't WRITE the Batman films. The main credit for that goes to Akiva Goldsman, who has gone on to win an Oscar and continues to find A-list success despite ruining other geek properties like Jonah Hex and Dark Tower. Never mind that Schumacher was at the mercy of producers who wanted the movies to be nothing more than merchandise machines and toy commercials. No, Schumacher was the only name associated with the films, and he was cast at the villain.

The fact that he was openly gay played no small part in making him an easy target.

One year after the disastrous release of the infamous Batman & Robin, the beloved fan-favorite cartoon Batman: The Animated Series (then rebranded as The New Batman Adventures on the WB network) produced an episode that featured a pointed jab at Schumacher. The episode was titled "Legends of the Dark Knight," a reworking of a classic 70's Batman tale where a group of kids share their own ideas of what the mysterious Batman is really like.

Halfway through the episode, the kids are overheard by another kid, who shares his own ideas about Batman. The kid, whose name is Joel, has long dirty-blond hair, and works in front of a store which bear the sign "Shoemaker," despite clearly being a department store. He waxes dreamily about the reasons he loves Batman: "All those muscles, the tight rubber armor and that flashy car. I heard it can drive up walls!"

This last line--a reference to a silly bit in Batman Forever--he says as he flamboyantly tosses a pink fur stole around his neck. To drive home the joke, one of the kids dismisses, "Yeah, sure, Joel."

At the time, it seemed like a cathartic joke for us REAL Batman fans. Now, it's clearly just cheap and gross. Instead of any actual criticism about the films, Joel Schumacher was just seen--even if just subconsciously--as the fruit who ruined Batman.

Over time, the hatred for Schumacher lessened. Starting with Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man, on through to Batman Begins, Iron Man, and onward, superhero movies became huge mainstream successes, with greater fidelity to the source material than most adaptations we saw up to the time that Schumacher "killed" the superhero movie. There was no point in hating him anymore, if there ever was (again, Goldsman more deserves that ire, if you're gonna be angry about anyone. Why does he still get work?! WHY IS HE NOW WRITING FOR STAR TREK?!?!).

But even still, especially among Millennial and Gen-X fans, Schumacher is still--at best--considered a low point for fandom. Even though the same generations have come to appreciate and love some of his other films, such as The Lost Boys, Phone Booth, and the chillingly-prescient Falling Down, there's still this need for people to dismiss the Batman films as embarrassments that are best forgotten in favor of Schumacher's better films. And if they're to be remembered at all, it's to trash them all over again in a tone suggesting that the films are objectively, irredeemably bad.

Except they're not. Oh sure, if you go in looking for a grim and gritty capital-M "Mature" take on Batman, of course you'll hate them, just like you probably also hate the Adam West Batman show. Remember, that show also used to be hated by decades of Batman fans because of how it didn't take the comics seriously.

... except it did. The show was VERY faithful to the Batman comics of the 50's, which often out-weirded and out-sillied its TV counterpart. If anything, the show made some of those stories even more entertaining with camp value and jokes that added different levels of enjoyment to the adults watching. Comic fans resented how Batman became a pop culture joke, and increasingly fought against anything that was colorful and campy (which makes me wonder if this might also be related to latent homophobia). Whether or not they admitted/realized it, the Batman fans of the 70's and 80's carried a chip on their shoulder about a show that DARED to make Batman FUN.

And really... how is that any different than Schumacher's two films?

You don't have to agree, but I think Schumacher's films are fun. I think Batman Forever is highly entertaining, that Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey are bringing their hammy A-games as much respected actors like Burgess Meredith and Caesar Romero brought to their roles. Same goes for Arnold and especially Uma in Batman and Robin. They KNOW what movies they're in, and they're all having a blast.

(How many of us remember the exact line Eddie says at this moment? I bet you probably do too, which should tell you something about how memorable this movie is)

Now, BF and particularly B&A are by no means GOOD movies, but you can't tell me that you couldn't have a blast putting the latter on at a party and riffing it with friends. It's not a pretentious, ponderous, self-serious slog like, say, the shit Zack Snyder cranked out (apologies to the one or two cool Snyder fans here, I just find his films interminable). Even besides the many things I could say to defend Schumacher's Batman films (that's a whole other essay), you can't say they were boring. They were entertaining, even if on a level of making fun of the film, and that is NOT as easy as it looks.

Let me put it to you this way: Batman Forever has, objectively, one of the worst takes on Two-Face I've ever seen. He's one-note, he's kind of a rehash of Nicholson's Joker, he gets completely overshadowed by the Riddler, he gets killed by Batman in a way that completely betrays the whole “DON’T KILL HARVEY” arc with Robin, and worst of all, he CHEATS on the coin toss. That alone would be enough for me to condemn this depiction in any other Two-Face story.

And yet, even I--the most passionate, opinionated, and picky Two-Face fan you will EVER know--still have a soft spot for Tommy Lee Jones' take on ol' Harv. He’s just too fun, too flamboyant, too damn extra not to love. If only all bad takes on Two-Face could be this fun!

But that’s the thing: it’s not because the script was good. Oh god no. I've read the script, and if it were put on the page like a comic, I would have hated it just like any other bad Two-Face comic. I have to imagine that, as director, Joel Schumacher deserves the bulk of the credit for pushing the restrained and laconic Tommy Lee Jones into that oversized performance, and making it a delight to watch despite everything it does wrong.

I'm rare for my generation to have learned how to stop worrying and love Schumacher's Batman. But the younger generation, the up-and-coming Gen-Zs getting into Batman, don't share the same grudges we did. There's a genuine, shame-free enjoyment of those films among The Kids, many of whom are LGBTQA+, who love the jokes, the silliness, the camp, the Freeze puns, the swag of Uma Thurman, and the homoerotic subtext between Two-Face and the Riddler. Maybe it's just a reaction to so much GRIM, SERIOUS shit that DC and their fanboys are trying desperately to push even today.

But comics--especially Batman--have a long history of colorful, stupid, fun shit. Schumacher's films carried on in that tradition, and they should be appreciated on their own merits by those of us who aren't limited by narrow ideas of what Batman "should" be, and who still remember how to have fun.

Schumacher's Batman films should no longer be seen as embarrassments. They didn't ruin superheroes. They didn't ruin Batman. They didn't even ruin Two-Face. Nor should they be disregarded in favor of Falling Down, like losers in a respectability competition. They're fun. They're entertaining. And they didn't pretend to be anything else.

And if you still think they're bad... I mean, objectively, you're not wrong! But be mindful of the reasons WHY you think they're bad, because on another subjective level, you may not be right either. And it's certainly not worth holding a geek-grudge over after twenty-five years.

[bigskydreaming]

You're asked to choose one and only one or DC's future stops existing immediately. your choices:

1. Jason Todd the anti-hero who seldom works with only a couple of the bats he doesn't hate, for example Dick and Cass VS. Jason Todd who came back with healed body but broken spirit, folded back into the Gotham gang and learns to be part of the society again.

2. Tim Drake who makes all of his mistakes as canon but realizes he's been wrong and apologizes to people VS. Tim Drake back in his first iteration, a cute little brother character who is a reader insert and a fun teenager.

3. JayKyle VS DickKyle.

4. Jason Todd with a sword VS. Damian Wayne with a sword.

5. Chris Kent VS. Jon kent.

Okay but which DC future? Its omniversal future? Its hypertime future? Its multiversal future? Its Elseworlds future? Its dark multiverse future? Mwahahaha your threat is useless because the sheer wtf of DC's continuities, timelines and conflicting declarations of what to even call their multiomnihyperverse makes it impossible to target simply A future! DC's overly unnecessarily complicated nature renders it functionally immortal and impossible to ever truly destroy, take that Darkseid.

I mean. But anyway. Whatevs:

1) I honestly do prefer the idea of Jason someday fully reuniting/reintigrating into the Batfam as a whole, because fuck it, the found family I'm here for is the one where they actually act like a family....I just think it takes actual work to get to that point and I get irey when people are like we're here! We found it! And its like meanwhile, abusive dynamics still abound. Mmm. No thank you. But even though I've been on a huge Jason and Dick and Cass kick for like, forever, I do still aim for him having a dynamic of his own with the rest of the family.

Like the thing is, I hate playing the favorites card in families, and I think the emphasis on so and so being Bruce's favorite child or so and so being this kid's favorite sibling, etc, like it really does feel like to the detriment of the whole family, because once you start validating the idea of favorites, ESPECIALLY in a found family that is CONTINUOUSLY growing....I think you're kinda shooting yourself in the foot because you're kinda creating a situation where either no future new additions to the family can EVER be Bruce or one of the kids' 'favorite' or else you're innately positing that said fave status is conditional and even a current fave of Bruce or a sibling can be bumped down the ladder by the addition of a later arrival....

Which is LITERALLY the entire essence of the eternal conflict between Dick and Damian and Tim fans. Its not even that Damian is Dick's favorite, allegedly, its that prior to Damian's very EXISTENCE, fans felt comfortable declaring Tim unilaterally to be Dick's 'favorite'.....and then all it took was the addition of a single family member who had specific NEEDS in regards to Dick's attention and focus, largely because of his age and needing a legal guardian while Tim was old enough to literally jet set around the world on his own.....and like, everything went up in flames in large corners of fandom.

So I'm just like, death to the fave family member myth, its just incredibly counter productive to the idea of found family as a whole especially when it usually only exists to prop up a preferred character as better than others via the proof of see, these other characters say he's their fave or whatever...but also like, its not even necessary?

Because the thing is, you can have Jason reintegrated into the whole family overall, and still prioritize your personal narrative FOCUS on characters you like more than others, like say Dick and Cass.....because of course its natural for even people in the same family to have entirely different DYNAMICS with different family members....and these dynamics don't have to come with a ranking system in order to prioritize which ones you just focus on more in a story. Because its not necessarily that Dick has to be Jason's fave brother, y'know, just for Jason to prefer spending time with Dick simply because he's more comfortable with him due to knowing him longer or being more secure in the idea that Dick doesn't judge him based on their greater shared history.

This doesn't mean that Jason doesn't care for his other siblings, that he can't have strong dynamics with them as well, its just about finding a reason for why these two specifically might be in a story without the others that doesn't demand putting a definitive ranking on which one Jason considers his FAVE. Just like Damian doesn't have to be Dick's FAVE just for them to have the super close canon relationship they have, even relative to the other siblings, because there's everything needed in canon already to establish that the mere fact of Dick essentially RAISING Damian for a year, and being the first one in the family to really take a chance on Damian, like, this lends itself naturally to them maybe more naturally gravitating towards each other than other siblings due to comfort level and familiarity, etc, but it doesn't have to be like....oh but yeah, I just like Damian more than you, Tim, y'know?

So my answer on this one is a total cop out of both, both is good. Jason totally reintegrated back into the family, but with dynamics that still lend themselves fairly easily towards story lineups where its just him running missions with Dick or Duke or any other one or two specific family members even if for no other reason than they gel together best in the field, y'know?

2) Hmm. I honestly really do love and miss 90s Tim Drake and just....don't see him in a lot of what I read these days. I'm like no, why did he have to go, he was doing so well! BUT I'm also on a big accountability kick, and like, I'm so steeped in fics where Dick GROVELS for forgiveness for every little slight he's ever done real or imagined, with every character but Tim in particular, so its like.....I'm not gonna lie, I really have a preference these days for seeing stuff where its literally anyone actually owning up to shit they've done to Dick and apologizing or groveling or making it to HIM, like, completely unconditionally. In the same manner we usually see Dick apologizing, glossing over any reasons he might have had for doing what he did or feeling the way he did, and saying oh it doesn't matter, putting the entirety of his focus on what HE did and why it was wrong no matter what and he's sorry.....that's what I would kill to see from more fics, just in reverse.

Because so often even in the all too rare fics where we DO see other characters apologizing to Dick for shit, its watered down with Dick volunteering that oh he messed up too, it was a two way street, and its like no! This is Pettiness Hours! I want the unconditional apologies! Give me the groveling! From anyone, I don't care at this point, lol, just show me characters actually PUTTING IN THE WORK to make it up to Dick for harm they've caused him, even if completely unintentionally or via neglecting his feelings or considering the repercussions their actions or words would have on him. Aaaaaaand, frankly, Tim's a good place to start there, because of how one sided all the takes on their conflicts have been for so many years. I mean, if people need a place to start, Batman and Robin Eternal gets enough praise it can't be pretended that people in fandom don't know that story exists, so how about some stories where Tim says he's fucking sorry for punching Dick in issue #4 or #5 of that one, and it was uncalled for and he was clearly just looking for an excuse to unleash some more of his resentment and upset for the Spyral/Forever Evil stuff, and family deciding that its totally okay to punch Dick whenever they're mad at him and need to work off some aggression so they can then finally forgive him (for now) is a trend that needs to die in a fire post-haste? I mean just as an example.

But the thing that kills me about fanfic trends is like....the sameness of so much of it. There's SO much room for variety and diverse takes, and like....I don't actually hate Tim! I'm just cranky because of the imbalanced nature of most content out there for literal years at this point. Push the pendulum BACK in the other direction, create some balance by showing the flip side of things.....and that leaves a lot more room for me and others of like minds to then be more amenable to - and even interested in - other stories that don't scratch this particular itch, but don't need to, because other stories are doing the scratching by then, y'know?

And THEN like, at that point, I would be ALL FOR more stories that are just callbacks to classic 90s Tim who I adore, with his skateboarding and his EARNESTNESS and his go-get-em spirit and also the gumption. All the gumption. I like that Tim. I do miss that Tim. But like, for the moment, like, I want accountable Tim because I am tiiiiiiiired of groveling Dick and tbh at this point its not enough for me to just see people move past putting Dick in that position and just have mutually respective and doting brothers Dick and Tim having adventures together......nah, first I want some reciprocation. Ngl. Gimme the apologies for actual mistakes actually made.

3) DickKyle. Easy question, c'mon, you gotta know that. LOL. ;)

But yeah, I've been shipping these two off their like, two shared pages from way back in the Obsidian Age story years before Jason even returned, let alone was in Countdown together with Kyle, so like, its no contest. I don't mind JayKyle, I certainly prefer it to JayRoy tbh, but there's not a ton of appeal in it for me, particularly in how its usually depicted, because like....the entire basis of JayKyle is that they DO have stories together and spent a whole year worth of weekly issues traveling the multiverse together in Countdown.....but there's like, practically no trace of their actual dynamics from that series or any specifics of literally any issue from that entire comic in most fics I’ve read, so its like.....idk, it tends to come across as more generic, not in the sense that it cant still be interesting, but more in the sense that it feels like just someone paired with Jason just because history between them EXISTS without any interest in exploring what that history actually IS....and at that point, its like, well there's no reason TO prioritize that ship over DickKyle for me personally, when like, I have a shit ton of headcanon reasons for why those two in a pairing specifically. *Shrugs* My logic. Its not for everyone, but it works for me.

4) Jason with a sword or Damian with a sword? I don't understand the question. Both. Both is good. All the characters should have swords. Swords are awesome.

5) Chris Kent vs Jon Kent - oof. I adore Jon, I really do. I love his dynamic with Damian, I love a lot of their specific stories, the parallels between them as friends and Bruce and Clark as friends....its all very bien. But I gotta give this one to Chris, because I'm always gonna have a soft spot for him because I'm a sucker for all abused kid heroes, and I just miss that funky little dude so much. There's so many stories we didn't get with him and were just ripe for the picking, but nooooo, DC's like lol you can't have nice things, here we just rebooted the entire multiverse and now Clark and Lois never adopted the son of Clark's worst Kryptonian rival and raised him with tender love and care awww does that make you sad, were you invested in him, WELL TOO BAD, HE'S GONE NOW AND BASICALLY NEVER EXISTED, NOW GIVE US YOUR MONEY ANYWAY MWAHAHAHAHAH.

Yeah. I'm still not over that. Probably will never be tbh, so I with great grudge-bearing do affirm that I'm gonna go with Chris on this one and like, he is a Priority for me and I'm still very keen on the idea of him and Duke being besties for random reasons that might not make sense to anyone but me, but eh, whatever.

[newtonsheffield]

I’m tipsy and hand half way through Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Is Gregory a Marvel or DCU fan? Does Greg and Lucy ever disagree on their fav superheroes? Share with us your thoughts!

You must be a mind reader because I’m just about to start the Snyder cut!! Y’all May have noticed I’m a huge Wonder Woman fan (if you haven’t guess what I’m a huge Wonder Woman fan)! And as someone who drank Sangria from their friend’s purse last night, get it girl!

Gregory’s favourite Superhero is Wonder Woman though he feels l, like the rest of us DC fans, that the DCU could definitely be handled better 😬

Lucy Abernathy really never thought she’d be asked to have such a strong opinion on Superhero movies. She’s seen most of the MCU like the rest of the world but never really thought a lot beyond them until she met Gregory Bridgerton. Gregory, who spends his lunch breaks with his nose in a comic book and excitedly comes in one a week calling out New Comic Day La la la Lucy! With such a broad grin in his face that Lucy can’t stop from calling back What are we reading at lunch today? While he gives her a synopsis of the comic. And Lucy finds it a little too endearing of she’s being honest with herself.

They’re sitting watching Avenger’s Infinity War one night about two months into their relationship when Lucy who had been watching from the corner of her eye as she read a book says She’s my favourite nodding to Scarlet Witch who’s currently taking down about 30 of Thanos’ minions in one fell swoop. Gregory stares at her for about 15 seconds before Lucy looks up questioning and says Sorry, is that wrong? Gregory shakes his head and says It’s just nice that you watch these with me, and have an opinion I guess. None of my other girlfriends really let me do this. Lucy makes it her mission to show an interest in every movie he shows her from then on.

When Lucy wants to annoy Gregory she tells him that she thinks Joss Whedon would have done a better job of Batman VS Superman. He huffs I know you’re just trying to rile me up but god it is working! Lucy laughs brightly, kissing the crease between his eyebrows.

[dancedance-resolution]

here's my design for goty 2022 (in an au where copyright isn't an issue)

FACTS

name: nia mahdi

age: 11

ethnicity: persian

religion: muslim

family: nia is an only child. she was born in charlottesville, va, after parents immigrated there from iran.

notes: nia is autistic and trans <3

DOLL

face mold: nia would get a new face mold that is designed based on ethnically persian features

skin tone: 25 ("tan skin with warm neutral undertones")

eye color: dark brown

freckles: yes

hair cut: wavy, very long (kanani length)

hair color: dark brown

meet outfit: a trans pride flag colored scrunchy for her hair, a light blue zip-up sweatshirt that says "i am proud to be autistic" on the back, this t-shirt (a light blue t-shirt with fan art of dreamer with a trans pride flag cape) beneath that sweatshirt, these shorts (pastel plaid knee-length shorts), lindsey's striped leggings beneath those shorts, and sperry shoes

meet accessories: bright purple ear defenders, an AAC tablet, a doll-sized version of the 2021 dc pride comic book, this pink kryptonite chewelry

BOOK 1

(these books would have three authors - me, an author who is muslim and a second generation immigrant, and an author who is a trans woman of color. the reason for three authors is so that we can tell nia's story authentically - i'm autistic and have autism gender like nia, the second author is muslim and an immigrant like nia, and the third author is specifically a trans woman of color like nia.)

in chapter 1 we'll briefly go over this background information:

nia came out to her parents as trans on the car ride home from the last day of first grade. she chose the name "nia" because she wanted to name herself after nia nal, a character on her favorite show (supergirl) because nia nal is trans like she is, nia nal is an alien (and nia mahdi oftentimes feels like an alien around other humans), and nia nal is a really cool superhero! (unspoken: nia nal is nia mahdi's special interest.)

it took nia mahdi's parents a little bit of time to wrap their heads around her truth, but soon, they fully accepted nia for who she is.

that summer, her parents informed nia's school of her correct name, pronouns, and gender. and nia started growing out her hair, and she's never cut it since! nia loves her long hair.

when nia started second grade, nia's classmates sometimes accidentally called her by the wrong name and pronouns, but they always apologized and corrected themselves when nia pointed out their mistake. a few kids were confused, but once nia explained that she knows she's a girl just as well as you know you're a boy/girl, they all understood and accepted her :)

now onto the real content of the first book, which takes place from september to december:

nia's just started sixth grade at a new middle school. it's really loud, big, and hard. but she has a friend, ender. ender doesn't speak english well (he moved to america from turkey just last year), but that's okay because nia has trouble speaking sometimes too.

one day, nia's parents take her to a doctor, and she has to answer a lot of questions and take a lot of tests.

a few weeks later, nia's parents sit her down and tell her that she has been diagnosed with autism.

nia researches autism and feels very relieved and validated. (unspoken: autism becomes one of nia's special interests.)

at school, nia gets some cool accomodations: she's allowed to wear ear defenders at lunch and in the hallways, she can keep a tablet in her backpack to use for AAC when necessary, and she can use the school's sensory break room when necessary.

one time, nia gets very upset after receiving a "bad grade" on a reading test. a few of the questions asked her to identify characters' emotions, motivations, etc., and nia wants to explain to her teacher that her autism makes "emotional reading between the lines" hard for her. but she's so upset that her mouth isn't working properly, so she uses her AAC to talk to the teacher.

after that, one of nia's classmates makes a rude comment about her AAC. speaking through her AAC, nia explains to him why she uses her AAC. she stands up for herself.

in her free time, nia keeps researching autism and disability justice advocacy. she begins to think that her friend ender might be autistic too - he has a lot of autistic traits, and she's never felt alien around him in the way she does around most people.

she tells ender about her theory. ender says he's not sure whether or not he thinks he's autistic. but he does know that the hallways are far too loud, and he would like to be able to wear ear defenders like nia. so nia lends ender her spare pair of ear defenders.

the next day at lunch, ender gives nia back her ear defenders and reveals that he got in trouble for wearing in the hallway. the teacher thought he was wearing headphones and listening to music (which isn't allowed), and ender couldn't remember the english words to explain to her that they were just to shield him from the noise.

nia wants to help ender be able to wear defenders. she schedules a meeting with the guidance counselor. together, she and ender explain to the guidance counselor that ender just wants to wear ear defenders in the loud hallways. the counselor says that ender can't do that since he doesn't have an official accommodations letter.

nia leaves the office very upset. she knows from her research that autism diagnoses are very expensive and hard to get. she wants to find a way to get ender this accommodation without an official letter.

so nia makes a plan: she and ender write a long essay explaining why ender should be allowed to wear ear defenders.

they present the essay to the counselor, and she's convinced by their arguement. ender is now allowed to wear ear defenders in the hallway :)

to celebrate their victory, nia buys ender bright purple ear defenders (the same type she has) so that they can match :)

and that's the end of book 1

BOOK 2

book 2 takes place from january to march

nia goes on puberty blockers. nia's glad that she won't have to go through male puberty, but she also feels weird about it. nia is very excited to start wearing a hijab, and her mom says that she can start wearing a hijab when she goes through puberty and transitions from being a girl to being a woman. so, if nia isn't going through puberty now, when will she get to start wearing a hijab?

nia talks to ender about her problem. ender suggests that she should talk to her mom about it.

nia talks to her mom about her concerns. nia's mom explains that the shift from girl to woman involves more than just her body changing: it involves growth, strength of spirit, and learning about oneself. nia's mom will be able to tell when she's ready to start wearing the hijab, even if nia isn't going through puberty. nia feels a lot better now.

the next day at lunch, nia tells ender the good news. he is very happy for her. he then tells nia that he's scared of puberty too. he asks nia how she knew she was a girl, and nia explains how it was this strong internal feeling. ender reveals that he feels like he's not a boy or a girl. he's afraid that that means he's weird or broken. nia explains that he's not weird or broken - some people are non-binary, which means that they're not fully a boy or fully a girl. ender really likes that word. nia also tells ender that some non-binary like to use the gender-neutral pronouns "they/them" and asks ender if he would like her to start using those pronouns for him. ender says that he's not sure. he likes he/him pronouns, he thinks, at least for now. nia smiles and tells him that she's proud of him.

the spring dance is in march. nia and her mom go shopping for an oufit. at first, nia drifts towards the pretty dresses. she loves how they look and feels great in them, but she wants to try on suits too. she feels a little bit insecure when she realizes that she loves how she looks in the suit too. (plus, this navy suit will go better with her purple ear defenders than the colorful dresses will.) she's scared that her classmates will think she's not a "real girl" if she comes to the dance in a suit, but then she remembers her conversation with ender - when ender asked her how she knew she's a girl, her answer was that it was just something she knew. her gender isn't defined by her clothing preferences - she's just as much of a real girl in this suit as in those dresses. so nia buys the suit, and she feels very happy and confident.

at the dance, she finds that ender is wearing a skirt (and a tuxedo shirt and blazer). she runs up to him, and they both happy stim. they have a lot of fun dancing and snacking on cheez its together.

BOOK 3

book 3 takes place from april to june

the main plot of book 3 is going to be nia's grandmother visiting from iran for three months. nia learns a lot of new information about her family culture.

in june, to celebrate the end of the school year, nia's school has a multi-cultural night.

ender signs up to bring in some traditional turkish food and share some of the poetry his dad has written in turkish. he encourages nia to sign up for multi-cultural night too!

so nia signs up.

together, nia and her grandmother cook a ton of traditional iranian food to share at the celebration. she and her grandmother also work together to sew a special kaftan for nia.

the night of the celebration, nia dresses up in her kaftan and grabs the containers of food. as she's getting ready to leave, her father asks her to stop so he can take a picture of her. her mother says, "wait! i have one other thing for the picture!" (but spoken in faarsi). she emerges with a hijab for nia. she helps nia put on the hijab and tells nia that she's seen how nia's grown into a woman this past school year (aka, over the course of these 3 books). nia is so happy that she cries.

at the multi-cultural night, everyone loves the food and nia's kaftan and hijab. when ender sees nia's hijab, he starts happy stimming, and nia starts happy stimming too.

that's all my plans for goty 2022!