#the most important thing you need to know is that the batarang incident was not attempted murder and i am very passionate about this.

[brucie-baby]

genuinely can't get over the way the end of under the red hood parallels death in the family, with the only difference being that the parts they play in their own destruction are so much more explicit.

ditf has jason being deeply wounded and then dying in an explosion that consequently signs the unfulfilled death warrants of bruce and the joker.

this exact thing happens in utrh, but this time bruce is the one that wounds jason, and it's jason that plants the bomb that literally kills him, bruce and the joker.

it's all just about two people who are so very different from who they used to be, who cannot move past who they used to be. it's about two partners who have learned new tricks but cannot rid themselves of their reflexes. it's about a father and a son who try to reach for the other only to find their hands forming fists. they know each other too well. they do not know each other at all.

[bestangelofall]

One of the things I want most is for Bruce to be fully aware how his behavior and choices affect Jason so: soul bond them and bring up the past. The nature and degree of Jason’s suffering must be felt!

Thank you so much for the ask!!! I thought about this the whole time I was working today and I had to make little pauses to make some notes.

I'll put the rest under the cut because this got long 🫣

I ADORE the idea tbh, so I was thinking about how a soulbond could happen, and my favorite scenario is it happening at the ending of UTRH.

We have the Batarang incident™ and Jason is in dire need of help. Then the purple thing that first resurrected him acts again. I know that canonically that's because of Superboy Prime, but for worldbuilding purposes, I'll go with "it's a mystery and no one know wtf happened". Anyway... the—magic—either doesn't let him die, or he briefly does die and it brought back, but this time because of a soulbond with Bruce.

Why? I don't know. Magic fuckery. Something something his feelings for Bruce (hatred, love, yearning, whatever they may be) and Bruce's feelings for Jason (regret, love, disappointment, yearning, GUILT, whatever they may be) are so strong that the universe basically goes all "after all, why shouldn't I bond these two fuckers together?"

Anyway. None of them knows what happened (though Jason finds it weird to be alive, but hey, that might be just the suicidal thoughts talking, maybe the cut wasn't that bad. Maybe he gaslights himself into believing that, even if it changes barely anything about the outcome of that night).

Bruce, for his part, starts to have feelings and ~vibes~ that seem foreign to him. Even if he's deeply familiar with grief and guilt, and self-destruction, it all seems just... extreme. The profound sense of loss he feels is greater than ever before—and he doesn't understand why. He already lost his parents, he already lost Jason once, so it shouldn't feel as raw and suffocating like it does.

Oh, and the betrayal? It follows him everywhere and almost constantly. It feeds his paranoia. It all coalesces into self-destructive behavior, and he makes it everyone's problem, in a similar fashion to after Jason's death.

To put it mildly, he's not well.

No matter, he just bottles it all up as per usual, even if he suspects there is something just wrong with it all.

Both of them live their lives as usual. And here I'll mix pre-reboot/N52/Rebirth things because that's what I usually do.

Now, I thought about different ways to have the reveal.

I thought about it being in Ethiopia 2.0 (Jason feeling Bruce's grief for Damian, not understanding why he feels like he just lost someone so important to him, when, in all honesty, it shouldn't feel like that. Jason also feeling Bruce's determination and certainty bleed through onto him, and oh, when he understands what is happening, that those are Bruce's emotions, and how Bruce *feels* about taking him to Ethiopia without a care if it gets him what he wants... yeah.)

But then I thought... we don't really know how reconciliation happened in Rebirth. It's all very vague. So maybe the bond had some influence on their minds, in Jason's choice of living by Bruce's rules. The reveal could be something softer, with no one great event that forces them to realize what happened.

Realization comes to Bruce in bits and pieces. It's after he goes to confront Jason and berate him for doing something reckless (much like something that Bruce himself would have done), or after Jason drops by the Cave to bring Intel for a case they're begrudgingly working together and sees that there's a ~family event~ going on at the manor (inspired by the portrait, or by 149, for example). It's all small things that start to add up. How Bruce will feel worse after those things, a bit more suicidal, a bit more tired, even if he's learned to deal with those feelings (even as to start thinking, with time, that they are entirely his).

He consults Zatanna and gets the veredict...

His first reaction upon learning about what's going on is to bottle up things even more, because this bond is a weakness, something that could be used against him. By Jason.

Something something they both end up in a high emotions scenario (maybe the plot that leads to Rhato25 happen in a similar fashion), and Bruce uses the bond to "show Jason how much he's loved". Jason takes it all: the regret and guilt Bruce feels about him, the lasting grief.

It doesn't change anything. It just makes Jason be irrevocably sure that Bruce will never see that he's there, alive. He will only ever be something that Bruce regrets.

Sorry if this didn't go in the direction you expected but it got angstier than I intended 😭 and it has the tone of "not even a soulbond would fix their problems".

:/

Alternatively: Bruce learns about the bond after Gotham War lmao and he has a taste of his own medicine.

[alyssadeliv]

The Forgotten One

First      Previous

Chapter 9

For the first time after so long, Marianne finally felt home. Even as she bled on top of a dark building, she did not care. As long as she kept on holding him everything would be alright. She could feel his tear on her neck, and she could imagine he felt hers on his. It was strange, she dreamed of this moment more times she could count, but not one of her imaginary scenes did she feel this immense happiness in her soul. It was as if she was finally whole. He held her with such force she was sure she would suffocate, but she kept quiet, just enjoying the warmth of his body on hers. It was only after she started feeling dizzy that she detached him from her. 

He was different, more mature. The years only served to enhance his beauty. It didn't matter that he was wearing a mask, she would recognize him everywhere, but she still longed to be able to see his green eyes again. No one said a word, using their body language to determine what to do next. It was Damian that decided to take the lead.

He stood up and helped his sister on her feet. He kept supporting her, knowing that the wound he inflicted on her must be taking some toll on her body after their intense fight. She was barely standing on her own, having lost too much blood. His Robin costume was coated in red, and that left a bad taste on his mouth. With her secure at his side, he turned to his Father. There was so much he needed to tell him, years of feelings he trapped inside of him could finally be let loose. But first, he had to make sure he still trusted him. 

“I promise to explain once we get to the cave… but she needs help.” He pleaded. He wasn’t sure if it was the tone of his voice or the fact that his family just caught him in his most vulnerable moment, but they agreed. 

Damian carried her to the Batmobile, Todd, and Grayson trailing after him. Batman led the team in silence. Meticulously thinking about the connection of his youngest son with the passed-out assassin. She wore League attire, but it was a strange symbol on her clothes that made him wary. He remembered seeing that symbol in the clothes of a dead Gabriel Agreste early this week, and there was no doubt that they had some kind of connection.

He wanted to interrogate her as soon as possible, but he would wait until Damian gave his explanation as to why he acted in such a way that night. They obviously knew each other, so they must have met when his son was still in the care of his mother. That information did little to calm his worried mind.

It was a unanimous decision that petrol was canceled that night. So they all entered the Batmobile and made their way to the Cave. They didn’t have to worry about their identities, as the girl was falling in and out of consciousness during their short ride. 

Dick kept a close eye on the girl in Damian’s arms. Her face was nested carefully in his brother's neck, keeping him from being able to identify her face. Her blood coated the interior of the car, and only the fact that the Batarang still impaled at her side was helping to stop the bleeding from totally draining the girl kept him somewhat calm.

Jason was the only one that wasn’t in the car, having opted to use his bike, he went ahead and notified Alfred that they would need his assistance, with the injured girl.

By now Damian knew that all his family was notified of this incident, and would most likely be waiting for them to return. He could only hope that his father would hear him first. He wasn’t worried about his sister, he knew she would be alright. After years of training with her, he knew she bled easily, but was stronger and healed faster than most. 

When they arrived at the Cave, Damian immediately laid her in one of the gurneys. But before he allowed Alfred to assess her wound he removed the weapon. He heard the shouts of indignation coming from Grayson but ignored him.

He knew what they must be thinking, that his weapon was the only thing keeping her from bleeding out, but what they didn’t know was that Marianne’s body reacted faster when she was in danger of dying. So it came to no surprise to him when her wound started to heal itself. What started him was the glow that came with it. That was new.

“She will be fine. Just need a couple of hours to recharge her energy” Damian clarified.

"She's Meta…” Dick whispered, eying Bruce carefully. It was no secret that the man did not normally trust meta-humans very easily. His expression was hard, and everyone could tell his patience had come to an end.

“Explain.” He demanded.

“I do not know how to start…” From his body language, they could see he was nervous. He ran his fingers through his hair, something he never did.

“From the start would be great!” Jason tried to lighten the mood. He hadn’t moved from his sitting position on the round table. Barbara and Tim were sitting with him, both anxious to understand the situation. He wanted to go see this mysterious girl, but for the sake of his family, he stayed put, for now.

“Father… You might want to sit for this…” 

Bruce nodded. And they all sat. Damian sat in front of his father, with Grayson and Todd at his sides, while Gordon and Drake sat by Todd’s side. No one dared to sit close to Bruce, fearing his reaction.

“Do you remember how I was conceived?” Damian started, not meeting his father’s eyes, and ignoring the snickering coming from his brothers. He knew this was a sore subject, but he needed to approach the subject somehow.

“It was of extreme importance that Mother produced a male heir for Grandfather. But what you do not know is that I was not the firstborn” This causes everyone to widen their eyes in horror. 

Bruce pales but otherwise keeps quiet.

“I explained before how I was raised in an artificial womb through my development stages. And there is a reason for that... Before me, Mother was pregnant, the traditional way, but a female was born. She was born” He points to the direction of the girl resting behind the curtains of the medical bay. 

“How… When…” Bruce is at a loss of words. When Talia appeared two years ago with his secret child in tow he felt only despair first. He had lost so much of his son’s childhood. It took him so long to accept that he had what it took to care for his blood child the same way he cared for his wards.

“She was born six years before me…” Damian explains. “Mother never told me anything about that, only that she did it to appease her father.”

“Wait, wait, wait! So you're telling me that the scary kid we just rescued is B’s long-lost daughter? Why are we only hearing of this now?” Jason as always wasn't able to keep quiet anymore. 

Damian lowers his head and covers his eyes with his now gloveless hands. Sensing his distress Jason allows him to recompose himself. 

“She was dead… Or I thought she had died. In the same attack that made Mother bring me to live here.” They could see that it was hard for him to talk about that day “Except she did not die!” He exclaimed in anger, rising from his seat. 

“There’s where you're wrong.” The melodious voice attracts their attention. She stands just a couple of steps apart from where they are sitting. But no one heard her coming. She wears green, but the cape that once covered her hair is lowered, and they could clearly see her long black hair left loose. She had blue eyes and was rapidly analyzing every single one of them until her eyes landed on Bruce. Her father. Damian could see the insecurity in her, so he calmed himself, and went to her. “I did die that day. It was only thanks to Tikki that I am alive now” And with that, she knew her brother would understand. After years of living with her, she taught him a little about the Order.

“Father…” Damian tries.

Bruce stands up. And goes in their direction. He stops just a couple of steps from his children. His children. 

“This is Marianne, your daughter.”

So there we are! Another chapter. Do you love it? Hate it? Please tell me I love to read your opinions!

I feel like I must warn you all that I only planned to have one more chapter on this story, but after some consideration, it came to me the idea of making a Part Two of this story. Would that be something you all be interested in? Let me know!

Next

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[nincompoopydoo]

PAIRING, BAGELS, REPEAT

— PALM TO PALM IS HOLY PALMER’S KISS ; PART 3 / ?

PAIRING: Bruce Wayne x reader

WORD COUNT: 1846

SUMMARY: You’re back to teaching at Gotham High and you end up overlooking rehearsals for the GHS drama club’s upcoming annual play: Romeo and Juliet that no one ever attends. In the spirit of keeping your students’ hopes up, you decide to take it upon yourself to draft out a plan to drive more people to come to the play. The key is the man you’re in love with.

WARNINGS: Vague description of a nightmare, death and an annoying teenager.

A/N: This is really going slowly like a true slow burn. I hope yall like this one. Enjoy!

MASTERLIST ; MASTERPOST

In the light of your unemployment as a teacher, Gotham High miraculously offered your old job back after Mrs Wilson, one of the senior English Literature teachers, died of a heart attack unannounced. In all seriousness, apologies were made, admitting they had a mistake with firing you because well, you were clearly a passionate teacher. To your surprise, you were told your students even missed you. Hence, you accepted a job from GHS once again because you would do anything to avoid the smell of burgers and the sounds of hungry crying children. After the whole burglary incident, the Big Belly Burger at midtown was forever doomed as customers gradually decreased over time. It was Gotham after all, people should be used to these kinds of things by now. Including witnessing Batman saving you, the whole experience felt like a fever dream. As excited you were and weirdly unbothered by the whole near-death experience, you realized that if you were to talk about it, no one would genuinely believe you anyway. He was a myth to most citizens of Gotham, but you’re an exception because you’re well acquainted with the knowledge that Bruce definitely knows Batman.

And oh boy, do they talk.

It’s your secret to keep and so is the Batarang you stole. You’re also dying to tell Bruce.

So, you find yourself back in the hallways, crowded with sweaty teenagers, but you would choose this over anything else in a heartbeat. Apart from returning to teaching uninterested students about the works of Shakespeare and Harper Lee and forcing reading lists onto them, you are also replacing Mrs Wilson as the GHS Drama Club’s advisor. Stage performance may be personally foreign to you but plays were practically your forte. That was how you ended up spending your Tuesday afternoons, preparing the members for the club’s annual play. This time, they decided to perform the classic: Romeo and Juliet.

As an English teacher, you were frankly sick of the play, forbidden love was a tad overrated to you. Yet the kids were genuinely trying their best. Shaniqua and Oscar were currently rehearsing their lines as the two infamous star-crossed lovers; You watched them with pride. The two were quiet in your classes but they truly shone on the stage of the school theatre.

“And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss—teach, what does this whole scene even mean?” Shaniqua exclaims and you chuckle, “This scene is simply a metaphor where Romeo is a pilgrim wanting to erase his sins and Juliet is a saint. So, he is basically trying to convince her to kiss him so that he can truly be free of sin,” your explanation echoes through the room, and you notice Oscar turning red when you mention the word ‘kiss’. It was clear as day that the poor boy really liked the girl he’s currently hand in hand with but you don’t want him to feel nervous and uncomfortable about the thought of kissing her. “Now Oscar, you can kiss her on the cheek and that’s fine. Shaniqua, say it with more emotion, okay? Everyone got it?” The response you received was a sputter of hums and nods. Before you could continue, Josh, who plays Lord Capulet and is sitting lazily on the handmade throne, speaks up much to your dismay, “Why is it so important that we put so much effort into this. It’s not like anyone is going to come.” The kids around him began agreeing with his statement, and it was honestly completely expected of him but it was the truth. No one attends the drama club’s annual play. As you're trying to calm everyone down, your phone buzzes on the table in front of you. It’s a text from Bruce, asking if you could come over tonight, phrasing it like he’s a schoolboy sneaking from his parents to meet with a girl late at night. Then, like an epiphany you have an idea although there’s an eighty percent chance it wouldn’t go through. Nevertheless, you turn to the rest of the students with a hint of a smile on your lips. “I might have just the idea to solve that.”

-

A brief span seemed like an eternity when sleep doesn’t come easy to you. Tonight was a different case; thoughts were completely clear and concise. In much need of sleep, you steal the chance to savour in this clarity and serenity for as long as you could. To feel his warmth, arm gently resting on your abdomen and the occasional whiff of his deodorant from his ebony shirt you’re dressed in. If this was what bliss feels like, you never want it to go away. Your eyes grow heavy, flickering into darkness due to exhaustion from a long day of rehearsals. At once, you’re struck with the reminder of the idea you had this afternoon. It is more of a favour, involving none other than Bruce. There’s a tinge of guilt whenever favours are involved because you never liked asking for help. You were furiously independent and responsible, relying on others was out of the question. Yet, Bruce has always seemed to find a way to weave himself in your mistakes and problems, constantly there to help out. You have to remind yourself this isn’t about you. It’s for the kids. Special guest, Bruce Wayne, playboy and billionaire. Sounds awesome.

As your consciousness begins ebbing away, you feel Bruce shift from beside you, grasp tightening upon your waist. Before your dazed mind could even fully process that he was in the midst of a nightmare, his eyes are wide open, heart-pounding and it seizes him up instantly. With deep breaths, he closed his eyes once more, unable to shake the feeling of dread that rattles in him. Then, a sudden cold touch to his arm—he jumps and snaps his head to look over his shoulder.

It’s you, still laid in bed with a prominent frown upon your brows. Your hand squeezes his forearm and all he feels is instant relief. His heart still pounds, not in fear but with affection. “Are you okay?” you drawled as you watch his lingering hand, fingers weaved between the strands of hair. The silver ones glint under the low light, contrasting the deep brown ones. You notice how his hair had grown along with his five o’clock shadow becomes more evident by the days. His face away from you, finally nodding in response to your question. “Yeah, just... a bad dream. His voice is subdued as he shifts under the sheets, head leaning against the headboard. Despite your weakened state, you bring yourself to sit up, twisting your body to face him properly. "You wanna talk about it?” you say, patting his shoulder lightly in a comforting manner. You watch him rub his eyes, exhale tightly and shake his head. “No. Anything but that.”

His response comes out almost harsh but Bruce doesn’t mean for it to be perceived in that way. His dream was the usual, the normal ones he’s used to by now but in times of stress overwork, they have started to become more intense and violent. This time it involved you, for the first time, and he watched you vividly get shot in the forehead—trails of his memory as Batman when he encountered you at the burger restaurant with the muzzle of a gun inches away from you. It haunts him to think that if the circumstances were different if you hadn’t texted him those dreaded four words, you might be dead.

He certainly is not telling you about the dream. Never in a million years.

Bruce turns to you and you’re still staring at him, worry carved deep in your furrowed brows. Change of topic was merely necessary at this point. “So, how has school been? The kids still mean to you?” Classic Bruce, always sweeping his problems under the antique Persian rug. You don’t blame him because you wouldn’t know better.

It was your turn to sigh at the mention of school but since tonight’s pillow talk is heading towards your job as an English teacher at GHS, you might as well use the opportunity to pitch in your plan. “Still mean, but the drama club kids are really great,” You thumb the edge of the blanket, unable to hide your growing smile. “Speaking of which, the annual play is next Friday and they have been rehearsing all week but,” you paused as you watched his right brow gradually lift. “No one comes for it. Like, no one and I hate to see all their efforts just thrown out the window like that—”

“So, you want me to go for it.”

You blinked, wondering if your explanations were too obvious of its underlying intent or Bruce could just read you like an open book. You won’t be surprised if it’s the latter.

“If it’s no biggie. You don’t have to because I know you’re very busy but I don’t want the special guest to end up being the Big Belly Burger mascot.” Your smile widens and Bruce chuckles. Hell, it’s probably past midnight and you’re still able to find ways to be terribly funny. Literally terrible. After a beat of silence, he clears his throat. “I’ll clear my schedule.” It didn’t need much anticipation or thought because despite everything going on in his life, he knows he’ll do just about anything for you. You’re practically beaming at him and he finally sees it’s all worth it in the end. “Thank you, Bruce.” Your voice is sweet, and it makes his heart swell ever so slightly.

He sometimes wishes the two of you weren’t trapped in this loophole of unsaid confessions and hidden strong emotions for the other.

It almost comes naturally when he leans to you and presses a swift kiss to your forehead. Instead, it’s contradicting everything the two of you consider normal. He isn’t thinking straight and now your smile has disappeared, mouth agape and eyes very wide. Your brain stops.

Uh, what the hell just happened?

It hits him like a punch to the gut and the growing awkward silence is deafening. Yet, he doesn’t apologise because if he does, it doesn’t mean anything when in reality, it means so much more than just an accidental gesture. You don’t mention anything because you don’t objectify his actions. Kissing Bruce was fine when there are no strings attached but a peck to the forehead is way too affectionate for the man.

Before the both of you begin to overthink the events of a few moments ago, Bruce’s rational conscience kicks in and he clears his throat. “Get some sleep. You had a long day today.” He pats you on the shoulder awkwardly and you hum, shifting your head to lay back on the pillow. “Yesterday.” you correct him as it’s well past midnight. He chuckles, now laying flat on his back as he stares at the ceiling. Silently, the two of you agree to forget whatever happened a minute ago and to just...sleep it off.

TAGLIST:

@raineeace

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy

“How dare you manhandle me!”

Episode: 31 Robin: No Writer: Elliot S Maggin Director: Frank Paur Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: October 14, 1992 Grade: B

At the time of writing this, I have already watched the first episode featuring the Riddler as a villain. And y’know what? This is a much better Riddler episode! At least, it would be if that’s who the villain was. Elliot S Maggin, the writer of this one, originally wrote this story (or at least a similar one) for Detective Comics #450. I don’t think that too-too many scripts were reused from comic stories, but so far the ones I know about are this one and The Laughing Fish. These have been really good choices, but they could have gone further with this one by making the villain Ed Nygma instead of Wormwood. I think that would have been a justifiable change because this guy bleeds Riddler’s personality traits all over the place. I’m including his elaborate plots combined with riddles to confuse, trick, and lure people to their doom, a humungous ego, and a need to display it by humiliating you. Truly these death traps that he comes up with cannot be worth the money, and he could come up with much easier ways to get what he needs. But no. To get something valuable from the man at the beginning, he coaxes him into standing in quicksand. According to Commissioner Gordon, this is a pretty typical thing of him to do, which tells us that the stuff about his ego and true, and overall there is a fun factor for him. Just listen to the way he talks to his first victim or the way he commands Batman to leave his cape and cowl in the light so that he can see his face. This makes it so much better when he is made to look like a complete idiot at the end.

So yes, we have the beginning segment where a man gets stuck in quicksand and gets something stolen. Hearing about the incident, Commissioner Gordon lets Batman in on an associate of Wormwood named Josek. Batman goes to a fancy dinner with Josek is giving a speech, swings in, and drags the guy out, smashing him through a cake and sliding him across a table. Josek is rightfully furious, and he lets out the quote seen at the beginning of the post. The delivery is absolutely hysterical, partially because of how right he is to be angry. Batman was kinda being a bit of a jerk by humiliating him in front of the entire crowd like that, even if he’s not the best human being in the world. 

Do a kickflip! 

Batman interrogates him, getting all the info that he can, and then he gives a word of advice to Josek, telling him to take a vacation. Batman leaves, and we hear Josek grumbling about the encounter. This grumbling is incredibly important to the twist of the episode. We shift scenes to Josek calling in Wormwood and requesting that he get Batman’s cape and cowl for him, humbling the dark knight. We, the audience, think that this is a way of getting even with Batman for the prior embarrassment, but (hopefully you’ve seen the episode, because spoilers) the Josek featured here is actually Batman in disguise. The grumbling at the end of the interrogation scene makes us believe that this Josek guy is really pissed off, and that flows into the moment where “Josek” asks for the cape and cowl, causing us to not think anything of it. It’s a pretty brilliant way to fool us, buuuut… I really have a problem with this type of thing. You’re telling me that Batman was able to get a costume so accurately modeled after Josek? And that Batman is able to talk exactly like him? It’s such a preposterous idea that we don’t even have a chance at seeing the twist coming. Part of the fun of a twist ending is that it should seem more obvious in hindsight. Like we had a chance of cracking the code earlier. But if we are to take this show seriously like so many episodes would have us believe, I feel like this type of twist doesn’t fair all that well. Even though I don’t agree with it on principle, though, it does provide some oh so sweet satisfaction when Wormwood realizes what is going on. The guy is so smug and confident for the entire show, and then it all ends so quickly.

Wormwood sets up the trap for Batman involving a train that looks like it’s about to hit a bound woman. I’m not so sure that I like the woman being a hologram, I would think that someone like Wormwood would have no problem with threatening an innocent life. Maybe I’m reading his character wrong, though. Or maybe it was a case of the Fox Network not allowing such distress for an innocent character. Batman propping open one of the windows with a batarang was a really cool moment, and the quick animation of him throwing it coupled with the sound effect made it feel like he unlocked a cheat code. I don’t even think that Wormwood noticed that he blocked open the window, and this was the only way that Batman were to have any hope of saving the “woman” without giving up his cape and cowl. Batman seemed a little too quick to risk her life, though, especially since he knew the cape and cowl would be going right back to him anyway, but he does have a secret identity and everything to worry about.

The next death trap is the one with the giant lightbulb that gets hot enough to at least melt wax (and eventually Batman). I got Clock King vibes at this part, but this time Batman’s ingenuity was not enough to get him out of trouble. When batman smashes the bulb, and the gas comes out, I couldn’t help but think, “Doesn’t Batman have a gas mask on him most of the time?” Y’know, I bet he even had it on him during this scene, but because of his plan to capture Wormwood while disguised as Josek, I think that he pretended to give up here. He probably could have gotten out of this situation if he really wanted to. This is the type of thing that you don’t think about until a second watch. Another one of these things is the way that Batman seems to decode all of Wormwood’s riddles so quickly, leaving Gordon flabbergasted. Batman totally already knows the answers, he, as Josek, probably helped Wormwood come up with them. It’s so funny that he would not only use this knowledge against the villain of the episode, but also to tease Gordon a little bit, further adding on to the legend that his Batman, and his apparent super-mind.

So yes, at the end of the episode, when Wormwood finally brings the cape and cowl, it is revealed that Josek is Batman. After this, we get a fight between Batman and Wormwood where they each try to get a key that is important to the plot. This scene I thought went on a little bit long, and wasn’t particularly exciting, but we did get a pretty good scream out of Wormwood as he smashes through the window with one of those weights. There’s also the moment where Batman puts his hand on Wormwood’s head, as if to say, “Gimme” and Wormwood just hands it over, knowing that he can’t take any more of Batman. Some of Batman’s most badass moments are the moments where he uses the least amount of effort, simply because he knows that he doesn’t have to.

Char’s grade: B

Next time: Robin’s Reckoning (Part 1) Full episode list here!