#selina's big score

[catastrophicalcat]

Catwoman's Love Interests, Ranked

No. 1. Batman. Predictable? Perhaps. Correct choice? Absolutely. They work purrfectly together. I may roll around to write a similar post for Bruce, but from Selina's perspective, he is an equal to her, values her independence, and helps her believe in herself.

(From the double date in Batman (2016) # 37, where Lois is wearing Selina's outfit)

No. 2-10. Selina herself. She is independent! But seriously, one of the things I loved the most from her 90s run was how not romance-focused she was! It was a lot of fun and refreshing to see female main character just not give a fuuuuck about romance.

(Look at her, just slapping this creep away as a squirrel laughs at him! From Catwoman (1993) #30).

No. 11. Christopher Castillo "Blondie". From Selina's adventures in Rome, the Blond was enamoured, charming, and helpful. Also, it wasn't clear if the attraction was truly reciprocal, or if Selina just got a fun vacation boy toy.

(Catwoman, When in Rome #6)

No. 12 Dean Hadley. I am not sure he really qualifies as a love interest, since I don't think that Selina was into him, but at least he died heroically trying to protect her.

(Can't compete with Batman, dies tragically, from Catwoman (2018) # 34)

No. 13 to 20. Selina on her own some more! Can't get enough of this girl on her own! Love the storyline where she unknowingly has a crush on a serial killer in a dog mask. You know what she did when she found out the truth about her crush? That's right, clawed the shit out of him!

(Catwoman (1993) #53. I think this storyline counts as her loving herself than being into this guy - she barely had any qualms about dumping him once she found out; none of that "but maybe I can fix him" for this cat!)

No. 21. The Riddler. Shocking choice, I know! But I'm thinking here of the Lonely City version - Batman is dead, time has passed, he made amends, they found each other. Doesn't work in other continuities, was fun here.

(Catwoman: Lonely City #3. The reveal that Eddie was a coke addict makes SO.MUCH.SENSE).

No. 22. James Thien. I guess he was fine. I didn't like it because her interest into him was really jarring - this was during the post-wedding break-up period when Selina was generally falling apart. But James was neither fish nor fowl. There wasn't enough development for her to be genuinely interested in him, and her interest was portrayed more like genuine interest than a random hook-up.

(Literally, I think that this is all the development there is! And then I don't remember what happened to him. Maybe he also died? That kind of seems to happen to her love interests a lot. Catwoman (2018) #12)

Nos. 22-90. Selina on her own some more! And Eiko. And others. Never enough of Selina being on her own! I also think that Eiko goes somewhere here probably, if not in my earlier "Selina on her own spot" - I just haven't read the New 52 run so I dunno. Other possible contenders in this range:

Onyx (but I don't think they had enough development)

The Trickster (Reddit tells me he's a Catwoman love interest but I don't remember it so it must have been neither good nor bad)

Spark (also new 52, so I dunno).

OK, this is where we get to bottom of the barrel, where unfortunately most other folks are. BTW, what's up with Selina having so many relationships with older mentor figures?

No. 91. Frank Baz. Some mafioso with whom Selina was hanging out in Italy. Ranked so low since he seems like a bad guy, there was a big age difference with her being really young, and he didn't do that much.

No. 91. Slam Bradley Sr. I think that Brubaker did a decent job making the romance between Selina and Slam Sr. work. I like how the run addressed how messy this relationship was, and how Slam was kind of preying on Selina's vulnerable emotional state. (Slam shouldn't have won that argument, but at least it was raised!) But unfortunately this is ranked so low since Slam becomes kind of a chump later on in the run and Selina's relationship with his son makes this very creepy.

(From Catwoman (2001) #17. Their relationship was actually pretty good in the beginning, but quickly got icky...)

No. 92. Wildcat/Ted Grant. I really like the backstory of Selina learning boxing from Wildcat. It's a sweet little bit setting up her eventual super-heroics, plus, Wildcat is awesome! He's a grumpy old man who is respected by everyone, even Batman (whom he also trained). Which is why I hated when Wildcat/Catwoman wrote her to have a crush on him. Gross! Did I mention that he's old?

(Catwoman/Wildcat #3. The art in this book is really 90s)

No. 92. Slam Bradley Jr. I totally get that hot people in costumes would have one night stands on rooftops after adrenaline rush situations. And the poor guy died right after sleeping with Selina! Nonetheless, ranked so low because it's sooo weird since she slept with his dad - which I think he knew - plus I'm pretty sure that their relationship started really antagonistic. Principles before hoes, bro! Also, not his fault but I don't like how he messed up Helena's paternity story some more.

(Catwoman (2001) #61. No idea why Selina tells the dad the story about how she banged his son?)

No. 93. Cat cult person who kidnapped Selina, dressed her up as princess Leia, and tried to marry her. Forgot this dude's name. Considering the stuff he did, he was a pretty nice dude. But - the stuff he did is pretty despicable!

(Catwoman #31. I really hated this storyline, so I feel like he should be lower, but I also really hated Stark and Valmont, so where can it go? Also not sure that kidnapping and forced marriage qualifies as a "love interest"; may rethink including him altogether but I also wanted to emphasize how much I don't like Stark or Valmont).

No. 94. Stark. Criminal who took Selina under his wing when she was still an underage sex worker, and slept with her. He's also a murderer. Pretty gross person overall, really creepy relationship.

(Selina's Big Score)

No. 95. Valmont. I really hate Valmont, OK? I wrote a whole giant post already about how much I hate him!

[ufonaut]

I’m not talking about right or wrong... I’m talking about basic human dignity.

Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score (2002) #1

(Darwyn Cooke)

[martyrbat]

catwoman: selina's big score

HI HI HI FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELLO......

[batbaffle]

this book is gooooooood dude

[graythursday]

she is so dear to me

[wintersettled]

Here's a list of recs if you'd like to read somecomics about different batfam characters:

BRUCE WAYNE - Batman: Year One (1987) - Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) & Dark Victory (2000) - Batman: Knightfall Saga (1993) - Batman: No Man's Land Saga (1999)

SELINA KYLE - Catwoman (1989) - Catwoman (1993) - Catwoman: When in Rome - Catwoman: Selina's Big Score

DICK GRAYSON - Robin & Batman (2022) - Robin: Year One - The New Teen Titans (1980) - Nightwing (2016) #35-43 - Batman: Black Mirror

JASON TODD - Batman: The Cult - Batman: A Death in the Family (i dont actually care for this but i feel obligated to include it so here...) - Batman: Under the Red Hood

- Robin Lives!

TIM DRAKE - Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying - Robin (1993) - Young Justice (1998)

CASSANDRA CAIN - Batgirl (2000) - Batgirl (2008) - Batgirl (2024) - Birds of Prey (2023) (which also includes barbara!)

BARBARA GORDON - Batgirl: Year One - Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey - Birds of Prey (1999) (especially Gail Simones run!!) Barbara also appears frequently in the batgirl runs

DAMIAN WAYNE - Batman and Robin (2011) - Robin: Son of Batman - Robin (2021)

- The Boy Wonder - Batman & Robin (2023) (currently ongoing! imo this would be a good place to start reading since its happening right now so you can see it happen along with everyone else!)

DUKE THOMAS - Batman: Zero Year - We Are Robin - Batman & The Signal

HELENA BERTINELLI - Huntress: Year One - The Huntress (1989) - Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood - Helena is also a character in birds of prey from issues #57-127

STEPHANIE BROWN - Detective Comics #647-649 - Showcase '95 #5 - Robin (1993) #126-147 (steph has a ton of appearances in Robin 1993 so it would be good to read that for more or to look through her appearances on locg if you just want to read about her! these chapters are her as Robin.) - Batgirl (2009)

I haven't read a super large amount for every single one of them so disclaimer that some of the ones I mention here might not be their best! These are what I could think of but there are plenty more, especially as standalone issues, so if anyone sees this please mention more!! also, there are lots of comics that are questionable but this list was very much on the fly off the top of my head so i was kind of sat here with my head in my hands like 'god i need to give more than one jason todd comic dont i....' and this was all i could come up with that wasnt like.... a random detective comics issue idk

I'd also like to say these feature a lot of minis just for ease but there are a ton of really good guides available for these character -- imo a lot of Jason's best stuff is as Robin within tec and batman

[soleminisanction]

Why did TD:R fail? Was it a flop? I could tolerate the art style but I’d feel bad if it was just for that.

There's no way for anybody on the outside to know for sure. You'd have to ask someone at DC, and they might not be able to tell you depending on the current NDA situation over there.

From the outside, I can tell you it sure felt like the art on the first arc is what tanked the series. I didn't have a problem with it either because I like stylized art (barring a few exceptions -- the coloring on Batgirls triggers my migraines), and because I gave it a shot I saw what they were going for. It was the art style that best suited the Clayface-gone-wrong tech the villains were using, and for establishing the quirky, offbeat and (some would say) off-putting setting and characters of the Gotham Marina.

But when the series was running, all you ever heard were two discussion points over and over again: the art is ugly, and how dare there be gay boys romance in my superhero comic, with people acting like Bernard was getting sooooo much more page time than, say... Lois Lane. Iris and Linda West. Selina Kyle. The romance between Dick and Babs over in Nightwing. The romance between Harley and Ivy in everything they're in. You get me.

(As if that relationship wasn't the thing that got the book greenlit in the first place, given that it scored DC a shitton of free mainstream press the year before.)

And the thing is, people are always going to bitch about the writing on an ongoing book. Always. Gestures vaguely at current comics discourse. It's a big-ass fandom, somebody's always unhappy with what they're doing, they always, always blame the writers, and that goes double for anything written by a young woman like Meghan Fitzmartin. Double double if that young women happened to shake up the status quo in a majorly progressive way, like say, making an established character canonically queer.

So if it had just been that the book probably could've gone on at least as long as Batgirls did. And when they switched artists, people who were invested in the Tim/Ber relationship and in Tim's ongoing story started paying attention again and actually talking about the story. But by then it was too late, the book had already been canceled and was wrapping up, and it was genuinely a shame.

The book is fine. It's not a masterpiece, but it's fun and perfectly workmanlike and it loves Tim without shitting on other characters -- even when he does get a "issue where he fights the other Robins" (I assume this was an editorial mandate because both Jason and Damian had similar issues in their solos around the same time and that feels like way too much of a coincidence) it's a) not actually them and b) mostly about praising them for how good they are and how the copies are inferior.

The above statement, admittedly, does not apply to the marketing around the book, which I can only imagine didn't help matters because it was very cringe.

So yeah, that's the long and short of it by my estimations. TD:R took a big artistic swing in its first arc that failed to connect with its audience and then was just never given the chance to recover. It's sad.

[cooketimm]

Darwyn Cooke — Selina's Big Score Cast of Characters 

[dyslexicandakeyboard]

Batcat as father-daughter is so sexist and infantilizing. Selina was an orphan who had to resolve crime to survive. Andshe had to learn to survive before learning to care. She had to learn to let people in slowly, and let them go fast. She had to learn to put herself first, and take what life has to offer, be it merial things or experiences because no one would just give it to her. And yet they see Selina as inherently shallow and childish because she's not as "duty sacrifice blind loyalty" as their fav. But is Talia's weird codependent relationship with her father, and her wanting Bruce as a better less oppressive version of said father, very mature?

Sorry for my broken english, it's not my home language)

Don't worry about your english.

All of what you said is absolutely true.

Yes! Making BatCat a father daughter relationship infantlizes and demeans Selina by putting her, a competent and very much adult woman, beneath Bruce in terms of experience. Because if Bruce is Selina father/father figure, Selina being Catwoman would be heavily tied to Bruce.

Skimming through their blog, their a full-blown Selina anti who's weirdly sympathetic for Talia with very little knowledge on the Bat Mythos as a whole. I don't mind people that dislike BatCat, Selina, or Bruce as long as they properly tag and understand that most of what they are saying is an over-exaggeration or false.

Many people dilute Selina as just a "hot thief" while pedestalizing other female characters, notable Talia and Helena, while ignoring that Selina is by all means a blueprint for "complicated, morally grey, independent female character" which loads of these characters are. Selina has a long ass history, much longer than some of the characters mentioned above, with many incredible stories that showcase her as a independent morally grey villain or anti hero (Selina's Big Score, Catwoman 2002, Batman: Heat, even fucking Batman: Year One), which people love to erase.

Honestly, people think their being slick when their hate on Selina for being: comfortable in her sexuality, having trauma relating to the fact she's an orphan/raised herself, being a villain that took time to redeem herself, or independent.

In other words, appreciate Selina Kyle.

[bookandcantina]

Catwoman: Lonely City by Cliff Chiang (covers 1-4 shown)

Ten years after Batman has died, Selina Kyle is released from prison to a new Gotham. No more capes & cowls, no supervillains, and a lot less freedom under Mayor Harvey Dent. When Kyle discovers Batman left her one final secret in the cave, she gets a crew and plans one final heist before the city falls to chaos (just like the good ol' days)

bonus: book three variant cover

I love this cover and this Ivy look so much I had to share.

(spoiler-free thoughts below...)

5/5 - Simply incredible work. A top-tier Catwoman story, up there with Selina's Big Score and the Genevieve Valentine run. The world is well thought out, the emotions of the story are well-balanced, and I especially appreciated seeing the post-criminal lives of Croc, Riddler, and Ivy. I hope Cliff Chiang gets more writing opportunities in any world, and more art opportunities in the DC world because I truly think he can do some amazing things here.

[graylinguine]

selina’s big score selina kyle icons 🪦🐈‍⬛💰

like if you save

[ufonaut]

Slam, I’m a thief. If we’re going to be friends, you have to accept that. Tonight I earned every cent of that money, with the blood of four of my friends. I need you to respect that. I need you to understand that I don’t want to talk about tonight, ever again.

Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score (2002) #1

(Darwyn Cooke)

[martyrbat]

catwoman: selina's big score

[ID: a blue tinted pin-up of Selina Kyle in her black Catwoman costume. She's on the ledge of a building as the backdrop behind her is lined with skyscrapers and a blue sky. She's on her tip toes as she looks in a compact mirror and is pulling her cowl away from her head with a small grimace. END ID]

[kamenstranger]

Batman: Caped Crusader Review.

Well, I didn't expect to be reviewing another cartoon so soon but I forgot this was still happening and here we are. So much like X-men '97 I will be getting into spoilers, even some finale stuff. But it's nothing you probably wouldn't already know. Like is saying something along the lines of "Harvey becomes Two-Face" or "Selina becomes Catwoman" really a spoiler? Still, if you want to go in completely clean then I'll give short spoiler-free summary: It's fine. It's good, even very good. It has enough going on without being overly reliant on nostalgia, though a lot concepts and ideas that never made it into TAS are used; which is obvious in some episodes like 2 and 8 which honest to god feel like lost episodes (sans the obnoxious references in 8.) But even a number of other episodes feel like they could've fit right in.

Likewise, the animation is simply lovely and feels like an appropriate continuation of the DCAU while also working as a throw back to TAS with its use of shadows and art deco design. They even have a film grain effect that looks shockingly good; uplifting the show's late 30s early 40s aesthetic by adding some literal grit. I've seen numerous productions go overboard with adding grain in post, but Caped Crusader keeps it very subtle and is probably the best you're going to do with a modern production. Frederik Wiedmann's score also complements the atmosphere, adding that quintessential gothic noir vibe. The entire soundtrack is on youtube and is well worth listening in isolation.

If I had one compliant... it's that Batman is the weakest and most underwritten part of the show. Regardless, the show has enough quality elements to make it worth a watch.

However, if you're interested in leaning more about my thoughts, hit the jump.

Let's start with some background information. Contrary to how it seems, this isn't nor was it ever intended to be a prequel to TAS-- at least that's what they say. It was originally a sequel to The New Batman Adventures before transmogrifying into another 30s-ish setting and using abandoned episode concepts from TAS along with completely original works. A number of episodes at the very least feel like they were written with a prequel mindset, and the final shot of the series was absolutely conceptualized as lead-in to TAS and is begging for the Walker Theme to kick in. But despite how much this could work as a prequel with just a few tweaks, I think making it disconnected was the right call. For one thing, with Conroy gone I don't think you could ever make something that leads into that very specific version of Batman, it wouldn't feel right. Secondly, it allows the series to stand on it's own and not rely on TAS as a crutch; even if comparisons are inevitable with the period setting and Bruce Timm's designs. Additionally the tone of the series is right in line with The Animated Series, only slightly darker and never going overboard just to be considered "adult." Characters say damn, people die, sometimes there's blood, the occasional gruesome character design, some stories are super pulpy and even have a slower pace than what they would've done on network TV for Y7+. But otherwise this would've fit fine on Toonami back in the day and the option to go darker is there should the story demand it. I will admit I'm a bit of an easy mark for this, particularly the heavy pulp elements that remind of The Shadow and The Spider.

On that note, Cape Crusader is a bit more basic in terms of setting and scope. I'm using "basic" loosely because there are still some eccentricities like Gentleman Ghost showing up, but outside the one supernatural aspect-- and an umbrella cannon-- there's nothing too crazy. No Freeze guns, mutant plant ladies, robots, Lazarus pits, mind controlling cards, airships etc. Clayface might be the one other outlier, but even that's just a guy who can change his appearance, not a big clay monster who can form a mace hand. I'm perfectly fine with all of this. We've already had a vintage Batman series that did all that anyway, so why not do something a little different and keep it simple? In maintaining that simplicity, most of CC is episodic with a larger narrative sprinkled throughout: Ruport Thorne is slowly taking over Gotham and begins trying to leverage Harvey Dent who is running for Mayor. That's it, that's the main plot. The more nitty-gritty parts largely center on relatively self contained adventures around the trio of Lawyer Barbara Gordon, GCPD detective Renee Montoya, and Therapist Harleen Quinzel.

It's a decent compromise between how involved modern shows have become sprawling season long stories while still maintaining the appeal of a self contained case in any given episode.

Of the three, Barbara (Krystal Joy Brown) has the most active role throughout the entire run and is arguably the main character of the show. She's compassionate about people, her clients, criminals and their circumstances. She has a strong balance between someone who is optimistic yet not naive, although still young enough to not have the harsher experiences as her father. This allows a contrast between her and Gordon's world weary, almost Black and White POV. In fact, her willingness to hear people out and consider alternatives leads to her establishing a form of contact with Batman before her father.

Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla) is about on par with Barbara in playing an active role in the series, albeit almost always work related for obvious reasons. She's a consummate professional, brilliant detective and the only trustworthy cop outside Gordon. That last part is particularly note worthy since it actually gives Gordon a reliable subordinate and not just Bullock. She has solid chemistry with Barbara and there's a lot of untapped potential with her and Harley. And hey, nice to get little bit of the two dating and smooching. Speaking of, Harley (Jamie Chung) is surprisingly prominent in the first half and I love how they handle her. She's legit intelligent and even knows there's something up with the public perception of Bruce. She's quirky without rehashing the whole bubbly blonde routine, she's delightfully flirty with Renee and she's also fucking demented. Oh yes, Harley is already cracked, but in a curious way where she's not exactly insane but clearly has a dark side she indulges. Honestly? Really neat to see a version of a character not influenced by Joker. She's still a Harlequin, of course, but much more traditional and I love that we don't waste time going through an origin. She just uses her therapist profession as a means to hash out her idea of justice against clients she can't reach, often mind breaking rich jackasses who refuse to better themselves. Harley assigns them personalities and forces repetitive tasks or absurd tortures. In a cute little meta nod she's responsible for creating the persona of King Tut, a character originally created for the '66 show, just as she was a creation for TAS.

I also have to mention Chung's voice acting, which the VA in the show is great all around, of course. But villain roles always get to stick out, and this is a prime example. The shift between that very intelligent caring quirky woman to… what I can only call an analytical seductive manipulator and abuser, well it's just wonderful. We've had so much of bubbly Quinn and silly crass Quinn that this version is so refreshing and one of the most pleasant surprises out of the show.

There are other characters outside the trio, but I simply don't have much to say about Gordan, Flass, or Bullock. The VA is impeccable, as previously mentioned; I love Eric Morgan's Gordon, Gary Anthony Williams' Flass and John DiMaggio's Bullock. Perfect casting. But character wise they simply serve a role and I don't have much to say about them. Gordon is, well, Gordon trying his best among a corrupt department full of people like Flass and Bullock. Flass himself is brilliantly sly and Bullock is a slob who does all the dirty work. I will say that even if I don't have much to go into with them, I do appreciate how much Flass and Bullock are featured and how effectively they're utilized.

The only major reoccurring character left to go in-depth on, outside Batman, is Harvey Dent; ironically voiced by Brave and the Bold Batman, Diedrich Bader. Harvey is… odd in this series. He's a dick headed "tough on crime" sleazy DA who is self interested in becoming Mayor, no matter who he has to steamroll to get there. On one hand it is an interesting angle; a man of once upstanding morals slowing eroding them to gain political favor with the ultimate goal of proper reform-- assuming he even has any left by the end of it. There is an inkling of a great idea in the political process of Gotham grinding you down, bringing out your worst, makes you compromise too much. The system changes you, not the other way around.

The issue is the tragedy of a good if flawed man giving into his worse impulses doesn't entirely work due to the simple fact we hardly see a good side to Harvey. No signs of a different better person underneath or who he used to be before DA. The show only gives Harvey one very minor scene of empathy and moral upstanding before his disfigurement, so he kinda goes from jaded cynical asshat to homicidal asshat. To give the show credit, that is in part the intent. We don't like Harvey all that much but still feel bad when we see how sad and broken he is, all because he finally did something good and he's punished for it. The episode dealing with the aftermath of the acid attack is really solid at showcasing his slip into insanity and drawing forth pathos. In a bubble it works beautifully; A man who was already breaking, even if they didn't know, now thinks everyone is out to get him. Almost every invasive thought is acted upon. They also don't make Two-Face the default or more common of the personas, it's a lot of back and forth. Harvey is relatively calm one moment but suddenly becomes violent the next. Hell, he even has moments of clarity and great remorse not only for his actions as Two-Face but as DA. The episode is handled very well and Bader is selling the hell out of it. I just wish there was more before that change, a little more to like about Harvey Dent. Bruce was friends with this guy and from an audience perspective it's kinda hard to see why, Harvey is a shit head, an absolute knob. I dunno, Batman is kind of dick in this so maybe there's something to be said there? But even so, his dynamic with Barbara is FAR more engaging and nuanced than with Bruce because Barbara has more impactful scenes and is the direct opposite of the same coin. I kinda wonder if the stuff with Bruce was something shoved in at the last minute because they felt they had to. Which I guess that finally bring me to Batman, who you may have noticed I've talked very little about in this Batman show up until now.

Batman is a boring wet white rice motherfucker with barely a character arc and almost no connections to the main cast.

Oh sure, every episode has Batman doing things that move the plot along, provides some very minor characterization or some plain 'ol detective work which is fun to see. But even when he does investigating, finds a clue, confronts a villain etc. it feels lacking because his interactions with the rest of the cast are severely limited and sporadic.

Batman himself is integral to the show, but he's more like an anchor for the rest of the cast who have far more captivating screen time and better defined relationships. Babs is friends with Harley and Renee, Harley and Renee are dating, Renee works for Gordon, Barbara is of course Gordon's daughter, Harley has a brief stint as a consultant for the GCPD, and Harvey works opposite Barbara. These people flow into each others stories, converse, have opposing or similar ideologies to make stories around. Batman lock picks and punches things. I mean, Christ, he doesn't have a friendship with Gordon because this is long before that, he treats Alfred like a valuable tool rather than family and he has more empathy for Nocturna in a one off episode than Harvey over the entire season. I'm serious when I say I think the friendship was tacked on, because there's a line in ep 6 about Dent's biggest donors pulling out of his campaign, implying Bruce never gave any money. Maybe they could've made an entire subplot about the Batman aspect taking so much priority that he ignored Dent's troubles until it was too late. Have Batman learn a lesson about balancing the personas and how Bruce Wayne can be equally useful in aiding Gotham-- and the consequences of forgetting that. Maybe even intersperse flashbacks to a younger Bruce and more optimistic and likeable Dent to show why and how they became friends. This could've been done in a two-parter just like how Robin was handled in TAS.

For the instances the show does put a spotlight on just Batman it's simply going through the motions. The best we get is Bruce Wayne attending therapy sessions with Quinn, which is a great concept ultimately wasted on flashbacks of Bruce's childhood I've seen a dozen times over and maybe should've been used to explore his relationship with Dent.

Another reason why this Batman is so bland is because there are almost no sympathetic villains, which you've probably gathered by now. Harvey in the last episode and Nocturna in ep. 8 are the only two that fit the criteria (And frankly Barbara does more to help Harvey.) But everyone else? No tragic backstory, no victim of circumstance, no injustice, and no chance to showcase Batman's greatest attribute. On paper I understand what they were going for; this is an early Batman attempting (and sometimes failing) to be emotionally walled off. He's in the background, he needs to learn to open up and temper his anger. Midway into the season have something drastic happen to shake his resolve (endangering Alfred, of course)

By the end of the series he begins casually referring to him as Alfred rather than "Pennyworth" and he's established connections with Barbara, Jim and Renee. I don't dislike this slow burn, I enjoy seeing Batman's humanity slowly seep through. The series has a lot of great little moments where we see that happening, like Batman chastising Barbara for being reckless right after she saved his ass and a friend of hers is assumed dead. She's going through a lot and Batman clearly doesn't know how to processes the situation, he doesn't know how to be comforting.

There's also a great scene in the finale that I'm pretty sure was a giant middle finger to a certain director. The problem is the entire season is doing things like that. Sure we get growth for the character, but that's grueling for a 10 episode season. Maybe it's just me, but I'd kinda like to be more invested in the title character before the season finale. But as is so often the case with streaming we're limited to just 10 episodes per season. It's... so tiresome spending an entire run getting Batman to a state where we can actually tie him in with the rest of the ensemble cast and show some goddamn empathy. I realize rushing through this could result in the opposite problem, but this once again leads to me pointing out, as always, the stories writers want to tell are too big for these gimped 6-10 episode season the modern streaming has pushed on all of us. You know the first season of The Animated Series was a whopping 65 episodes? I probably wouldn't be talking about this problem if we even had a quarter of that.

I do want to stress this is no fault of the performance, which I know is going to be on everyone's mind. This is a problem with writing, the limited episode count, and possibly Zaslav not seeing enough blood in his stool before dumping this production onto Amazon. Conroy alone wouldn't have been enough to elevate the more shallow aspects of Batman's character, it just wouldn't. The writing for Batman specifically is very by the numbers at best. If this was material that fell flat because of Conroy's absence that would be one thing, but it's just bland characterization from the get go and no amount of nostalgia, art style, or iconic voice work will cover that up. It's kind of funny because the show is enjoyable by in large, but the title character is the weakest part. I wouldn't be surprised if a great deal of the mixed reception was because of that. "Batman is the worst part of a Batman show" is a perfectly valid and damning criticism.

That said, I do want to praise Hamish Linklater, the poor guy's got his work cut out for him, being in the Shadow of the Bat, as it were, and he does a fine job. I can tell it's not Conroy, obviously, and sometimes it sounds like a mix of Brave and the Bold with New Frontier Batman where I'm not sure if he's trying to do an impression or not. But midway through the series it starts to get really close, there are even moments that remind me of Conroy's performance in TAS' Two-Face two parter, glimpses where Linklater almost has the softer tones down pat. And his Bruce is damn near spot on. I hope he stays on as a voice for Batman and gets more opportunities as the character, he could potentially become to Conroy's Batman what Matthew Lillard is to Casey Kasem's Shaggy; It's not the same, but goddamn do they do a fine job capturing the tone and vibe while being a fine performer in their own right.

But they have GOT to give him better material because this Batman is sorely lacking in the things I love most about the character.

Speaking of, I don't want to spend too long discussing the second season (Which it is getting) but I have concerns there. The big one for me is foreshadowing that Alfred is keeping a secret about the night the Waynes were shot. I HATE when they over complicate the murder and try to make it something more like a targeted hit, or the court of owls or some other stupid shit. That's the one major thing I hate in The Batman movie is them muddying the waters with a perfectly good victim of circumstance story-- although it's kinda worse there because they wouldn't even fully commit. But I digress. I do not want the shit with the Waynes more complicated than it needs to be. If Alfred suggested a shortcut and he feels responsible for their deaths, sure, whatever. That's simple enough to add some character drama without going overboard. But it's probably gonna be the big overarching story next season with secret twists and- blegh. Honestly, I think I'd rather just have stand alone episodes without a running narrative thread; just have the characters and their dynamics developing and that be it. The show is clearly better when it's just that. But alas, modern streaming.

But with all that said, I still liked the season well enough. As I said at the beginning, the series is good to very good. I love the atmosphere, I enjoy most of the character and the cast, the self contained stories are solid and there's plenty of potential. But next season I need Batman and the villains to be more interesting, let Linklater give a sympathetic performance for fucks sake. If Season 2 is just more of the same, I'll clock out.

Still, I guess anything is better than say Harley assaulting Nightwing... Or the Killing Joke. You know what, there's a blurb of recommendation for Caped Crusader: "No weirdo awkwardly shoved their fetishes into the story." So check it out.

[graythursday]

this just means a lot to me okay

[hardcore-lonewolf]

I made this time-line for Eva Nelson with Gwen Tennyson's face claim!

Quest/Teen Titans/Origins (S0): Eva Nelson (10-11) is taken under the claws of her godmother Selina Kyle since her parents and family members lived in Bellwood. She starts as Mouse, Robin's main romantic interest and the very first female sidekick in history with pure magic energy. Eva was graduating from Evermore College as honorable valedictorian and has the highest scores due to her skilled talents. She meets her godfather Bruce Wayne and her crush Dick Grayson through Gotham City's Red Carpet Gala with her godmother, who's a famous entrepreneur of expensive jewelry and fashion trends. Eva goes platinum and gold with music, dancing, acting, videos, movies, and more. She was the Lucky Girl of Gotham City and she begins her journey in Tokyo, Japan...as Mouse...with trouble right down her path. Will she become the White Kitten Thief or will this "kitty" lose her claws?

Retaliation/Next Generation/Infinity (S1): Eva Nelson (12-13) is currently in Friedkin University for her doctorate degrees and has the best elite awards. She founded the Team with Robin I, Aqualad II, Kid Flash I, Superboy I, Miss Martian, Wonder Girl I (OFC: Ophelia Trevor), and Artemis I. Eva lost her paternal grandfather Kent Nelson and her maternal grandmother Inza Cramer to her two major enemies as Catgirl, who then awakens her hybrid form and fuse her pure mana with her inner phoenix out of mixed emotions when all of her loved ones got hurt at the Tower of Fate. The Forever Knights and Genomorphs join alongside Zephyr Incorporated after the head manager of the company turns out to be Dubbilex. The battle between henchmen and sidekicks has begun, a powerful watch is upgraded and its wielder is her best friend Lumus (OMC: Matt Ferris). The Young Justice League have fully merged with the Teen Titans, and the fight against Onslaught and Incursion is on. Who will win this epic battle?

Legacy/Invasion/Aftermath (S2): Eva Nelson (17-18) earns all of her degrees and start her mana training during the whole five-year gap at Legerdomain, Zoraster, Soulland, Anodyne, and Earth. She resurrects all the loved ones of her close friends at the Forge of Creation, saved Kid Flash I within her Anodite form, and ended a ginormous alien invasion by fusing with Solstice...the life-force phoenix within her soul to scare them off and absorb all of the zero-point energy from all 21 Magnetic Field Disruptors in order to save Planet Earth against the quantum forces of evil. Eva becomes Black Cat during that time with Nightwing (Robin I) as her boyfriend, she currently has three adopted god-sisters and was their big sister figure. It's the war between the Team against the Light, Hive, Reach, and Naga for the safety of Planet Earth...and one shocking plot twist is...uncovered. What secrets are hidden in this saga?

Darkside/Outsiders/Enlightenment (S3): Eva Nelson (20-21) was pregnant and expecting a magical pair of baby twins with Nightwing during the two-year gap, they've been engaged and to be married at a private ceremony. They secretly tied the knot without any villains knowing their location at Anodyne, though they have to save meta-humans and protect mutants from more villains on Earth. Eva were being aligned with the Genomorphs and Forever Knights, but are defending them against the Lucabras and Flame Keepers who were trying to make her a living sacrifice to their inner circle by doing a blood ritual in order to summon Dagon. The birth of the next generation has arrived and this one will be the most extraordinary one...yet. Can the Team protect her and her family from Dagon?

Phantoms/Ultimate Team/Targets (S4): Eva Nelson (23-24) saves Steel Scion (Superboy I) and Rocket I from the Zod War. She brought Changeling (Beast Boy I), White Raven, Cyborg I, Starfire, Lumus (OMC), Zatanna, Aquaman II (Aqualad II), Wonder Woman II (Wonder Girl I/OFC), Breach (OMC), Tigress (Artemis I), Nightwing, Miss Martian, and Flash III (Kid Flash I) with her to save the Son of Steel and revive Rocket I. It's the Team against General Zod's family, the final battle that destroys the House of Zod with the El Family's remaining members, and the Lucky Girl faces off against her grandmother's greatest enemy with Tashmetum by using the Mask of Destiny to become Mistress Destiny. It's about to be a swarm of nanochips and the Team is prepared to take down the Decoy Queen of the Hive...once and for all. Will they dethrone this monarch and end the general?

Armageddon/Missing Years/Enhanced (S5): Eva Nelson (29-30) is back and is ready to take down some bad guys with her loved ones. The Lucky Girl joined forces with the rest of the Team to defeat Darkseid after he destroys the Map of Infinity to cause the dimensional paradox, she revives it and restores everlasting peace by balancing an internal vortex of portals to revert everything back in place. Eva becomes the main entrepreneur and head president of Zephyr Incorporated, wedded spouse of Dick Grayson, mother of two children, and future member of the new Justice League of America. Time must be restored and every paradox must stay...infinite. Will the Team be able to fix the time-lines?

She's voiced by the late Meagan Smith at Origins and in her childhood memories. Her permanent voice will be Hayley Williams of Paramore for Retaliation to Phantoms, and it fits her well. Her future voice will come from Erica Lindbeck, who voiced Felicia Hardy aka "Black Cat" from "Spider-Man".