#there are so many fantastic storylines in the batman comics

[super-lupus]

Bring back Christian Bale to play Thomas Wayne Flashpoint Batman I'm not fucking kidding

[fractualized]

I just had the idea of a comic where batman is investigating the joker cause he was quiet for a while and batsy is ~suspicious~ and when he finds him it looks like uho! The joker is dead! But how could it be? Ensue a very serious investigation by batman with an add of tragic obsessive homoerotic undertones!

Meanwhile joker wakes up in hell (bcs ofc he does, hell is fucking canon in the dcu) and suprise! He actually wasn't killed in any epic way, just fucking, idk slipped on a banana peel and died. So joker is like "Nah fuck this. The only acceptable death is to die by my Batsy's hands." And proceeds to just, try to fucking get out of hell (and let him have fun while he's at it).

I kinda want john Constantine to make a cameo bcs I love him

Oh and I want it to be played like a black comedy

This would be a good companion story to Batman: Damned, only it's Joker we follow and it's funny and it's actually good. (And I guess instead of having full frontal nudity that later gets censored, there could first be censored nudity and then in reprints SURPRISE NAKED JOKER.)

But seriously, this is such a great idea that would work perfectly fine in an official comic. We need more Joker hijinks! Nowadays they still seem to happen mostly in comics that are their own universe (eg, One Operation Joker) or in, like, peripheral comics where maybe it's canon or maybe it isn't (eg, Batman/Superman: World's Finest #25). Whereas in the main storyline in Batman, we've got Joker pulled into grim backup personality nonsense with bonus AI art accusations.

We must end the god-mode brilliant Joker era and return to chaotic idiot Joker. It would be fantastic to see him get himself killed in the stupidest way possible, in a huge blow to his ego. The way he's able to fight his way out of hell should be stupid too, not the usual "oh he's impervious because he's the Joker and figured out a way." I was talking to @distort-opia about this, and she had the idea that it should be because Joker's name is already in the book of the dead because he died temporarily in the acid vat, and I said what if it's because he temporarily died so many times that an overworked afterlife auditor just figured he has to be dead and stamped it in. So thanks to bureaucratic confusion, Joker gets to run around looking for a second loophole that gets him back to the land of the living. And yeah, maybe he's just so obnoxious that someone calls Constantine like, "Please get this guy the fuck out of here."

Wait, oh my god. Joker is insistently pleading (haranguing) his case to everyone, going on and on about how Batman created him and they're inextricably linked, and therefore dying at Batman's hand has to be his only possible demise. And at the end, some weary afterlife Account Manager asks, "Okay, then how has this apparently amazing fighter and strategist managed to not kill you before?"

Joker's like, "Oh, that's the best part of our connection. He thinks he has a philosophical and moral obligation to never kill me. Once I'm out of here, who knows when you'd see me again!"

The Account Manager responds, "I see."

A few minutes later the Curses Department is processing a form that says Joker can literally only die if Batman kills him.

[about-faces]

I'm still loving Gotham Nocturne and I wish it was getting the love/respect/attention is deserves. I've spoken several people who haven't been reading the current Detective Comics run because they're Batmanned Out (good lord, do I get it) and they see it as just another attempt at some kind of "ultimate Batman story with Batman fighting the ultimate evil," which I strongly disagree with.

THAT SAID... as time has gone on, and the story seems to be reaching its finale, there are a few things that stand out of me as problems with this epic storyline.

1.) It's one of the most egregious examples of "writing for the trade paperback." This simply isn't a story that's meant to be read month-to-month. It's too slow, with too little "happening," at least on the superficial level. Paradoxically, it's NOT a story that should be binged! The best comparison that comes to mind is Better Call Saul, since that's the only other example of serialized media that's meticulously slow-paced yet INCREDIBLY RICH for those willing to engage with it on its level rather than expecting it to be Breaking Bad (or in Nocturne's case, a typical Batman story.) Ram V is capable of writing super-engaging monthly issues, as the fantastic Rare Flavours proves, but that brings us to...

2.) The story is sprawling. Maybe even TOO sprawling. When it comes to people who are sick of Batman, I try to sell them on the fact that this story is about GOTHAM AS A WHOLE, right down to the villains who call it home, and how everyone there is as intrinsically a part of Gotham as Batman is. But ensemble stories like that are tricky, and it makes the focus feel all over the place at times, with alternately too much and too little attention being paid to the main players, Batman included. It's a balance that was handled beautifully with Batman: The Audio Adventures, but it seems a bit more awkward here. Again, it's hard to pull off!

Like, we have characters pop up and then vanishing without explanation. We got Azrael back in the AzBats armor for the first time in decades, like, holy shit! That should be a HUGE development! And then, poof, he vanished! There's simply no time to explore Jean-Paul's character because there's so many other things the narrative needs to explore.

This feels like it would have really benefited from a companion series, something to focus on the characters the way the backup stories have done, but just more so. I think about how Peter Tomasi would write companion books to the main big storylines written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Scott Snyder, and how he'd focus on character, which always enriched the greater "big important storyline." Which, in turn, also brings me to...

3.) The backup stories have really lost a lot of their punch since they stopped being written by Si Spurrier and were taken over by Dan Watters. Watters is incredibly capable, make no mistake, and his Cheshire/Lian Harper story is one of my favorite parts of this entire saga. But by and large, his tales focus more on the spooky and weird sides of what's happening with Nocturne, whereas Spurrier's stories were more focused on characters navigating the weirdness of the events. As a result, Spurrier gave us what I consider to be some of the very best stories about Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Victor Fries ever written. I really miss those, and how they enriched Ram V's (possibly overly-ambitious) narrative.

Ultimately, Gotham Nocturne feels like the Batman equivalent to an arthouse film, which means it's going to be appreciated by a handful of nerds while leaving most other fans cold, and I can't really blame them. If anything makes me sad about all this, it's how all this incredible character work with Bruce, Harvey, Victor, Talia, and others is going to be ignored. Hell, it already is, given the complete lack of acknowledgement we've seen in other Bat-books for what's going on in Nocturne.

At this point, I just hope it sticks the landing in the finale, because I want to be able to have a complete, satisfying epic to recommend to people who want something a bit richer than the typical "guy in Bat costume punches clown" stories we usually get.

[confusedhummingbird]

Hi! 'M new to this fandom (got sucked into Batman since April of this year) and I've a got a question to you since you look like you know and understand a lot about Dick and his relationship. Why is he so good as a hero, but so bad as a partner at least at Bat-related comics? 😭

Also, any suggestions about better order to read Teen Titans stuff? Maybe the best order or your personal favorites 👉👈

Hi glad to meet you! Welcome!

As for bad as a partner I'm not sure what you mean. Dick was canonically an amazing partner to Batman. He's considered the golden standard of Robin and many others hope to be as good as him.

Bruce even took Jason in partly because he missed him.

Now if you mean romantic partner, I equate that entirely onto writers not Dick himself. When Dick was with the Titans and dating Kory he was a good boyfriend who loved Kory very much.

But unfortunately the Batman books wanted Dick back because the New Teen Titans was such a popular book back then. Even more popular than Batman and Dick was more popular than he'd ever been before. So they had to break up Kory and put him with Barbara but they also wanted to hint at a will they won't they with Kory of maybe they're getting back together even though they won't let them at least not permanently unfortunately. So Dick being a "Bad partner" is entirely do to DC writers wanting to keep up a love triangle.

As for recommendations I will always suggest the New Teen Titans/Tales of the Teen Titans/ New Titans (It's all the same run just went through some name changes) it's my alltime favorite comic book run. Many of it is fairly dated and can be a bit weird with more modern eyes since it was made in the 80s. But the family dynamic between the characters is fantastic. They all spent time with each other and they all have relationships to each other. No one is left out. It's also what I consider to be the definitive Dick Grayson characterization. His character there is so great and I love it so much. Fair warning after the storyline Titans Hunt the story starts to go downhill but there are still interesting points to it but if you chose to read it I just wanted to give you a warning.

If you're interested in not Dick Grayson things than I also recommend Young Justice 1998. It's such a fun read and you really love all the characters. It truly feels like just a team of teenage heroes just hanging out, being friends, and solving crimes. All the characters are again great and it's also the definitive characterization for many of these characters because after this many of them went down some bad characterization (RIP actually good Cassie Sandsmark writing).

Welcome to the DC Fandom I hope you have fun here! 😁

[batfam-big-bang]

Meet the Mods: Bri!

Pronouns: they/them

Introduce yourself!

hello, I'm Bri! I've been on the team for three years now, and I'm excited we're back for our 5th anniversary!

Your favorite meme from a previous bbb?

ohhhh it's probably also peach god, just like jess? it's just a classic

Your favorite part of big bangs?

i've said before how i love the beginning of the bang, when everyone stumbles in and looks for their friends... but i also love the middle of it, when we get to release the claiming document and everyone is all over it and ooh-ing and aww-ing over the ideas! it's such a lovely atmosphere and, as a writer myself, it also shows you the part you usually don't see - the excitement someone else gets out of your fic (idea)!

How long have you been into dc/batfam?

funnily enough, it will also be five years in summer! i really went down the rabbit hole and stayed there :D

Do you regret getting into batfam/dc?

i mean, sometimes??? like all good hyperfixations, this has consumed too much of my time and energy >:(

but I've met a ton of lovely people in the fandom! some of my best friends I've met here, and i wouldn't trade them for the world (not even when dc releases another sucky batman comic) <3

What's a storyline you would love to see adapted for a movie, tv show, or something else?

you know what. i ranted about it on the weekend to a friend, so i'm going to say it: literally any storyline with a batman villain that is not the joker. there, i said it.

Who is your favorite batfam member? Why?

this is maybe an out-there answer, but i love carrie kelley and i wish we had more of her... because she's so cool and I think she has a lot of unused potential :0

Which batfam member do you think you’d get along/be good friends with?

i think i could get along with dick well! he's smart, capable, likes to micro-manage, and would fucking love my kpop serotonin spotify playlist.

Do you have any favorite fanworks?

oh I've not been consuming much batfam fics lately (i have another hyperfixation burning at higher flame rn), but let me recommend the one i am reading:

@eventualtoast has an ongoing no lazarus pit au series that is absolutely fantastic! it's a canon rewrite that imagines jason coming back without being put in the lazarus pit.

toast pays so much attention to how the same thing can differently affect people and relationships, and i personally love the dual perspectives from bruce and jason on the same events throughout the series!

please heed the content warnings (graphic depictions of violence, permanent injuries/traumatic brain injury, discussions of ableism), but it's at 73k and i know for a fact they have more planned!!

Do you know what you want to do for this year's big bang, if you're participating as a writer/artist?

I might participate as a beta this year because my next semester in college looks like it will be somewhat busy! also, this way I can read some of the fics beforehand :D

Anything you’d like to add?

i hope to see many of you back for this year, and if you're new to the fandom/unsure if you want to participate, please do! we love new people and everyone is really sweet :D

[zahri-melitor]

Batman Reborn: let's break it down.

So I read eight ongoing Reborn titles: Batman, Detective Comics, Batman & Robin, Red Robin, Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Streets of Gotham and Azrael.

Detective Comics: this was the unexpected standout of the set. 'Tec quite often does good family stories, but it got a massive boost by most of its Reborn run being made up of two things: Rucka's Batwoman run and Snyder's The Black Mirror. These are both very, very worthwhile longform stories. It also supported an excellent backup with the Question & Huntress teamup.

Streets of Gotham: aka Dini does his thing. Streets was exactly what I expected from a Bat anthology book written by Dini. Dini's very good at balancing big casts, and the first half of this run was Dini at his best - lots of walk on characters, complex plots, the only really good Damian Wayne characterisation going prior to Bruce's resurrection, and a lot of fun. Andreyko's Manhunter backup was also fantastic. The second half then devolved into interminable Hush storytelling, which I ALSO expect from Dini at this point, and the Two-Face backup simply wasn't as good. It was still enjoyable! But the non-Hush stories were better.

Batman: now here was a title all over the place. It just rotated through SO MANY hands. Personally my favourite stories were: #703, where for one shining moment we got an issue that managed to have Dick, Tim and Damian on page together, in costume, working together (Thank you, Fabian Nicieza); and the Judgment on Gotham crossover that finished out the plot of Azrael. Both were exactly what I enjoy seeing - stories using their supporting cast well. Other than that, you had the Jeremiah Arkham plot, the Kitrina Falcone plots (oh Kitrina), Riddler going back off the rails (I somehow missed where he decided to flip back to being a bad guy instead of a detective), and Two-Face being betrayed by Gilda. There was just so much going on here, and unfortunately it wasn't focused enough on what was going on for Dick.

Azrael: because sometimes you need a tragedy! Azrael was fun. Overtly religious and leaning into Christian theology in places (and Dan Brown plotlines in others), the entire premise of the book was "Watch Michael Lane have a breakdown as he is corrupted by the Suit of Sorrows" and that is exactly what we got. I liked FabNic's plots better than Jim Hine's, but they both pulled off some fun storytelling (I burst out laughing at times. Like when Crusader revealed The Bees). I'm glad it got the crossover to finish out the storyline. The Order of Purity are very bad news, even for a breakaway sect of the Order of St Dumas.

Batman & Robin: oh. Where do I start. This run is, above all, a lot of lost potential. I found Morrison's writing in this particularly painful and a struggle to get through due to their refusal to keep track of what was going on in any other title, and just everything about the way Damian and Alfred in particular were written. I was also particularly aggravated by the timeline inconsistency that B&R #10-16 by any realistic read come AFTER RR #12 (given the resurrection timeline running ahead of all the other titles), but there was no acknowledgment of this fact in the text, and parts of it contradicted that read...this is what an editor should be keeping smoothed out for such a big event (the Return of Bruce Wayne).

Once Morrison left things improved, but realistically it just turned into three separate writers writing three separate stories that didn't really mesh at all. Cornell's story was just more demonisation of Vicky Vale, Winick's story was just Winick writing a Jason story rather than anything about the two title characters, and Tomasi's story was the only one where I actually enjoyed Batman & Robin as a title... only to be let down by the artist clearly never having seen a reference picture of Rebecca or Aaron Langstrom before. You had a villain construct angel wings. On Aaron Langstrom. AARON. LANGSTROM. He's a toddler who is permanently a Man-Bat. He can already fly. The opening movie night though in Tomasi's story was extremely Tomasi and everything my heart wanted.

Birds of Prey: I enjoyed the storytelling in this, though parts of it were very clearly Gail Simone on board. Since I enjoy Simone, I didn't mind that, but for instance the entire plot revolving around rescuing Sin was very much a 'take that' for Sin being written out. I also quite enjoyed the Death of Oracle plot even if I have certain objections to Cass being left off the list (and boggling at the logistics of Wendy and Damian also being left off). Oracle got herself a new Tower!

I have to say though, I cannot imagine how this run would read if you were not already deeply familiar with Simone's first run on Birds of Prey, because she spent so much time picking up dropped plot threads and playing them out.

Andreyko's double issue to finish the book off was actually more of a tie off to his Manhunter backup plot than a Birds of Prey finishing-up plot, which makes sense as it's Andreyko, but it was a little unexpected in that the proper finale of the series was actually #13, not #15.

Batgirl: hmmmm. Yeah, this was probably the weakest written of all 8 and also the book that's aged the fastest. What I think it was successful in doing: look, I loved the Barbara and Wendy plot. That worked really well and was unfortunately the only points in the story that felt like Barbara was fully in character. I also think it was successful in being Stephanie's story. In fact, it felt like Steph was telling it to me. And in the process, eliding over her own mistakes and boosting up how much she was getting praised for her actions. It reminded me a LOT of Cassie Sandsmark's origin story telling in Young Justice Secret Files and Origins - where the main character is telling me her version of events. I actually kind of wish we hadn't got any of Barbara's thought bubbles around Steph, because when they were, they were pretty un-Barbaraish.

Look, there was some fun storytelling here. It was a light and fluffy title. But I don't think it ever fully succeeded in rehabilitating Steph as a usable character for the wider community, because the book so blatantly refused to grapple with Steph's previous actions. Things that other characters had done to Steph and things Editorial had done to Steph? Yes. Things Steph herself did? No.

Red Robin: I loved that this was one of the few titles explicitly committed to trying to keep on top of everything was happening in all of the other books. I enjoyed Yost's run more than Nicieza's, but FabNic also had some great stuff (the Ünternet issue is understandably popular for a reason). Tam, Pru and Lonnie all played off Tim in interesting ways. I actually enjoyed Tim having his little, deserved, breakdown. He spends most of the title at the outer limits of his smugness, using it to conceal his gaps in self-confidence, and while I enjoy Tim being a brat in that manner, this is another title that is just so very informed by pre-existing history that you need to know that Tim is both not quite himself right now, and WHY that is. He was settling back into himself by the end of the book.

I am extremely sad this got cut off where it did, because it was so, so obviously working its way into trying to find a new identity for Tim and move him into adulthood... and then got cut off at the knees, sending Tim into a tailspin holding pattern for a decade that they've only JUST been able to extract him from.

[kevin-day-is-bi]

Embarking on watching all the live action Batman movies pt 7: The Dark Knight Rises (2012):

I actually enjoyed this movie. The plot was comic accurate, I like how much focus is on WE and Gordon and Blake. It makes it feel much more like a Batman comic. I love Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, and I love that the movie starts with her mouthing off to Bruce. She has her own story line, her own motivations, and her own enemies, which I deeply appreciate.

I like the fact that they used Bane, cause he's underrated and fun, but by making him just be Some Guy, without any of the Venom serum, I feel like they didn't use him as much as they could have. Tom Hardy does a good job with what he's got, and they still manage to give him some super strength vibes, but it just didn't make him feel as convincingly un-deaftable. Also making him be connected to the League of Shadows was a weird choice, and it didn't work. This trilogy seems to run into the problem of not mixing their villains well, and just sort of grabbing whoever they think seems cool.

Bruce's little hissy fit/self imposed exile was fun and comic accurate. I know this sounds weird but I liked that they kidnapped him. He gets kidnapped a lot in the comics for so many reasons.

I enjoyed how much Harvey haunted the narrative. That was really neat, and having his name be said so much without him actually being here was a nice touch. There are a lot of characters that are basically their storylines/themes, and I feel like up until this point they haven't been focusing on that given the people they chose, but Harvey is one of those people and I thought that they showed that well this time.

Overall, it still reads less like a tale of hope and human perseverance and more like a white guy power fantasy, but it's better than the other two. I LOVED the Talia reveal! Petition to stop casting white people as al Ghuls, but the fact that she was in there at all was fantastic and bumped it up a whole point. The Robin hint was cute.

7/10

[kryptonbabe]

It's interesting to read a perspective such as this because my experience is different, while I'm a Kirby and Lee's Fantastic Four fan and I consider Claremont's X-Men one of the greatest works of fiction of the 20th century (fight me Harold Bloom), I can never fall completely in love with the Marvel universe. Like how the organization of that universe is so heavily dependent on government institutions, how their superhero team is intertwined with American politics, and honestly... how mutants are often so completely alone in their endeavor for equality, to live in peace and be accepted. I resent the Marvel universe for it in a way. The Cyclops terrorist phase was something I was completely in favor of, I was always a Magneto kind of person... (What can I do? I love chaos and violent uprisings for human rights). Of Marvel I enjoy Dr. Strange, FF, I can read Hulk and Black Panther, their horror comics are cool, space Marvel is also cool, everything X-Men needless to say, but I hate Marvel politics, I can't get interested in The Avengers and their corporate vibes, I would destroy SHIELD with my bare hands and I despise the American government in that universe (and irl tbh).

While at DC, government controlled intuitions are usually the antagonists (ARGUS, Amanda Waller), the corrupted elite is the villain (The court of owls), and other agencies are shady at best, places that seethe with control obsessed people (Checkmate, the DEO), even their animal secret teams have a sinister underbelly, like the Bureau of Amplified Animals was a secret organization of highly intelligent animals that only made Detective Chimp overworked, depressed and addicted to alcohol. Is DC politics perfect? Of course not, I don't think a massively marketed industrial product of American culture will ever satisfy me in that regard. But the DC universe is less dependent on government superstructure to properly work, it's less bureaucratic and yes, perceived as more fantastic because of it (which by no means is saying that Marvel is "realistic" in any way, it's just a different type of fantasy, realism in fiction is an interesting subject in itself, but I digress). The politics of Batman and Green Lantern are honestly bad, borderline fascistic if I may be honest, and use the word for its meaning, but even those stories occasionally find a way of exploring how rotten their systems are, how many times weren't the Guardians of Oa the villains of GL stories? Or how many times wasn't the corruption in Gotham the main antagonist of the heroes and citizens of that city?

About the insane continuity of DC... I kind of love that freaking mess, it's stupidly convoluted yes (but hey, isn't X-Men at least as bizarrely complicated as the DC multiple crisis? the Summers family tree alone would take a two hour lecture to be properly explained). However there are lots of entry points and guides and storylines, limited series, independent, one-shot, else world stories. Every time I read Marvel I gotta do my research as well, both publishers have such a rich and interesting history, it's hard to get into it without a background, unless it's 60s stuff. DC has a longer history, more characters and a few publishers they absorbed like a glob monster, but much like real life mythology I find it fascinating to be able to navigate that history.

This is just a deep dive into some things very specific to my taste however, I'm not in any way preaching a set of rules of what is acceptable and correct and might as well change my mind concerning some points as I'm constantly trying to learn more about these fictional universes.

Also, just to finish this long rant, I love DC's unhinged 60s energy, the playfulness, weirdness and chaotic antics, there's nothing like a good old Lois Lane story about how she turned into a horse and dated Comet, Supergirl's telepathic horse, nothing like Jimmy Olsen turned into a baby by a giant robot, the insanely unhinged Batman villains, early Doom Patrol... I'm just a clown at heart really.

I find Marvel easier to read than DC. It's not that DC has worse characters (on the balance, DC and Marvel both have some great characters). But Marvel is just easier to comprehend for me. DC had their many earths, which always sounded confusing. But trying to fix it (as they did in the 80s) only caused more confusion. Whereas marvel seems way easier to understand. Nearly everything is on the same earth from the beginning. There's no dealing with fifty universes at Marvel.

Also, Stan Lee gave the company a fun voice. His footnotes, catchphrases, in-jokes, nicknames, etc all help give marvel a sense of identity. Most 60s DC comics don't have the voice of Stan Lee. There's less of a bombastic nature to the storytelling (or that's how it feels). There are exceptions to all this, I'm sure. But this is just how it all just seems to me.

[0pin0n-custard]

The Unpopular Truth About the Batfam and DC as a Whole.

*TW brief mention of CSA*

(Edited for clarifications)

DC is inconsistent on its best days. There are infinite universes, and literally every timeline and AU that DC creates is technically canon, no matter how terrible it is.

For example, when I was a kid watching Teen Titans, I thought Slade was awesome! He was my favorite villain for a long while. Low and behold, I get older, read more comics, and realize that he’s a pedo. While I still think he’s a fantastic villain, that certainly took him down a few pegs in my brain.

(Edit: this is just a me thing. You are still allowed to like a morally bad character so long as you recognize that what they do is bad.)

If someone says their favorite villain is Heath Ledger’s Joker, I don’t bat an eye. If someone says that Alan Moore’s Joker is their favorite, I get concerned.

(Edit: this is in reference to the dudebros who relate to the Joker a little too much. You know the type.)

Same thing goes for the Batfam.

The characterization of the Batfam members is so inconsistent that it’s honestly hard to keep track of sometimes. You read one version of Damian Wayne and he’s talking about blood purity. You read a different version, and he’s using “chickens” as a curse word. It is a problem. No one has consistent character writing.

(Edit: Damian didn’t use “chickens as a cuss word. Many people, myself included, misread it as such. But my point still stands that Damian’s characterization is hella inconsistent.)

I could say “Batman is an implied pedo,” and every single Batman fan would want to argue. I want to argue!! But it’s true! In Frank Miller’s All Star Batman & Robin, Bruce, he kidnaps Dick Grayson and abuses him severely. It’s heavily implied that Bruce is attracted to Dick, it’s straight up shown that he grooms him, and it’s implied that he abuses him in that way. I absolutely loathe Frank Miller’s Batman for many reasons, but this is at the top of the list.

(Edit: Frank Miller probably didn’t intend for Batman to come off as predatory, but the actual content still heavily implies it regardless.)

Batman isn’t the only one.

There are versions of every Batfam member that I dislike for one reason or another. I have to live with the knowledge that Devin Grayson’s Nightwing exists, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

DC canon is a nightmare amalgamation of inconsistency, unsatisfactory storylines, unaddressed and mishandled trauma, and terrible behaviors from our “heroes.”

Don’t get me wrong; I love DC. I wouldn’t have read thousands of their comics, sat through all of their movies, and I wouldn’t be writing this post if I didn’t. But they are very very far from perfect.

All this to say, I don’t agree with a lot of comic fans who shame others for preferring fanon character depictions over canon ones. If you prefer fanon over canon, good for you! So do I! A lot of the time, the fanon comes from combining the best aspects of a character from different canons.

So don’t shame fans who haven’t read the comics, or who prefer fanon over canon. Because when it comes to DC, what is canon anyways?

(Edit: Yes, I’m aware that poor-taste fanon interpretations exist. Just like canon, fanon isn’t always going to be good. Don’t go harass people over it.)

TLDR: Death of the Author FTW

[dilfdoctordoom]

On Tom Taylor, the Current Nightwing Run & Ableism

I did mention I was gonna do a post about it, so here we are. There are some things I want to make clear before we begin: the issue exploded on Twitter on the very first day of disabled Pride month; disabled people have been discussing the ableism in Taylor’s Nightwing run since it began; nobody has blamed Taylor for what happened to Barbara in 2011. We are, however, blaming him for the way she is written in his series during 2021. 

I am also going to be discussing the ableism in the fandom in this post. The reactions I have seen, from here to Twitter to TikTok, are showing not only a great misunderstanding of the situation, but a purposeful misunderstanding. The very real reasons disabled people are angry right now have been twisted to make us seem ridiculous and overly sensitive and I cannot help but feel that is very intentional.

Another quick addition: disabled people are not a monolith. Barbara Gordon spent over 20 years as a paralyzed wheelchair user. Stating (and I would like to note, never truly showing) that she is a part time cane user now is still erasing her disability. These things are not interchangeable.

So, with that out of the way, let’s begin.

Tom Taylor’s run is ableist. That is a fact of this situation. He made the active choice to include a version of Barbara Gordon that is ableist caricature. Story wise, the role that Barbara plays could have easily been filled by anyone else. There is no real season, within the narrative and outside of it, for Taylor to include this version of Barbara Gordon, who has received a decade of criticism from disabled people. It’s very well known that this iteration is problematic, to put it kindly, and Taylor is aware of that. 

He made the active decision to include her, anyway, showing, at the very least, that he is passively, if not actively, ableist. Passive ableism is still ableism and disabled people are allowed to take issue with that.

That alone is reason enough for disabled people to be angry. But that’s not why things exploded on Twitter.

On July 1st, the very first day of disabled pride month, the new design for Barbara was dropped. After months of teasing Barbara’s return to a wheelchair using Oracle (see: Last Days of The DC Universe, Batgirl (2016), etc), they debuted... a new Batgirl costume that the artist has openly said draws inspiration from the Burnside suit.

There’s a lot of issues to unpack here, so let’s start small: the issue with consciously calling back to Burnside. The Burnside era of Batgirl stories was... beyond awful. The villain of the series’ first arc, was an AI based on Barbara’s brain patterns when she was disabled. It was evil because of all the rage and pain Barbara felt. The actual Barbara, on the other hand, was good -- because she was able bodied. Because her PTSD had been tossed aside. It was a horrifically ableist era that drove the idea that Barbara’s life was terrible when she was disabled; that it was some horrible, twisted secret.

Comics have kept that narrative going. Barbara is seen hiding books on chronic pain; she reacts aggressively to the mere idea that she could be in a wheelchair again, acting like it would be weakness. Whereas Barbara had once been Oracle not because of, but in spite of, her disability, who was fantastic representation for the disabled community, she now acts like it is the most shameful thing in her life.

To call back to Burnside is to call back to that ableism and make no critique of it. If anything, it’s to embrace the ideas of that era.

There is also the design itself to consider. Many people have pointed out the inclusion of a back brace, as if that saves it from ableism -- it does not. Any person who has ever worn a back brace can take one look at this design and know that they did not consult a disabled person. Hell, by how impractical that thing is, I doubt they even Googled a picture of a back brace.

It’s a superficial acknowledgement that Barbara is supposed to be disabled. Something that was apparently thrown in to appease the numerous complaints of Barbara being able bodied; something that no one working on it put any effort into.

When it comes to aids, this is not a new thing for Barbara in Infinite Frontier. She’s said to be using a cane occasionally, that we got a better look at in Batman: Urban Legends, and as any cane user can tell you... that is not a cane that could feasibly be used. It’s another pathetic attempt to acknowledge that Barbara is supposed to be disabled, without actually doing anything of importance.

[IMAGE ID:  A segmented cane with a tri-pointed handle with a wrist strap. There is a stripe across the sections to connection them, labelled “solar battery charger buttons”. The text reads: “telescoping antenna doubles as cane or weapon if needed”. END ID]

Dropping this design (which we have now established to be problematic) on the very first day of disabled pride month is a sickening move. The very first day, and DC has doubled down on their disability erasure, thrown in superficial things like a back brace to act like it’s fine.

Tom Taylor is definitely involved in this, whether you like it not. No, he is not in anyway responsible for the events of the New 52 and what they did to Barbara Gordon, but that does not absolve him of blame for what is currently being done to her in his run.

When the design dropped, it started trending due to disabled fans reactions. To be clear: we were directly calling out the ableism in this design. This was Tom Taylor’s response:

[IMAGE ID: A tweet from TomTaylorMade that says: “Hey, @Bruna_Redono_F I think our new Batgirl suit is getting some attention.” He then adds a winky face emoji and tags @jesswchen and @drinkpinkkink. Attached are a screenshot showing that Batgirl is trending in the United States and a picture of the design itself. END ID]

This is him, bragging about how the disabled community reacted. Perhaps before this tweet, you could’ve made an argument that he was not ableist, but after he flaunted the fact that disabled people were rightly furious over this, like it was something to be proud of? No. If you are defending him, you are a part of the problem.

Taylor has included ableist writing in his Nightwing run, beyond the inherent ableism that comes with the current iteration of Barbara Gordon (whose inclusion, yet again, is his decision).

[IMAGE ID: A panel from Nightwing #79. Barbara and Dick are standing in his apartment. Barbara is saying: “I have some pretty new technology holding my spine together. I’m happy to do most things -- eat pizza in the park, take down low-level thugs -- but leaping from rooftops seems... unwise.” END ID]

What Barbara says in the panel above has bothered a lot of disabled people. The implication that she couldn’t “eat pizza in the park’ and “take down low-level thugs” without a spinal implant that conveniently erases her disability is... fucked up, to put it mildly. Those are both things that Barbara has done in a wheelchair. The first one is something wheelchair users can do and the implication that it’s not is beyond offensive.

But, let’s leave Barbara behind for a moment. I have previously mentioned that disabled people have been discussing the ableism present in this run long before July -- and that ableism is not only centred on Barbara. Dick is also a player in all this.

Dick Grayson was shot in the head. I don’t believe I need to retread the story, but just in case: Dick was shot in the head by KGBeast, developed amnesia from the event, and went by Ric Grayson for a long enough period in comics. If you have been active within the DC fandom for the past year or so, you know all about this controversial storyline and its fallout.

The Ric Grayson arc concluded itself the issue before Taylor became the writer for the series and ever since his tenure has begun, Taylor has completely ignored the reality of Dick being a disabled man. We understand this is comics, that things do not function the way they do in our world, but still -- it is clear that this gunshot wound to the head has affected Dick massively. We had an entire arc dedicated to how he struggled to find himself in the aftermath.

Taylor is choosing to write Dick as an able-bodied man, despite his canonical injuries and how they would impact his life.

This man is choosing to give empty gestures towards Barbara being a disabled woman (as discussed above, the completely dysfunctional back brace, etc) whilst writing her as able-bodied as possible. He writes both Dick and Barbara as able bodied as humanly possible. That is ableist. He is ableist. This is the same man that said he made a dog disabled ‘in honour of Barbara’. I do not think I need to elaborate on why that is bad.

The least he could’ve done, was get a sensitivity reader. We know that Taylor is not beyond getting people from marginalized communities to consult on his work (see: Suicide Squad), so why, when writing two characters that should be disabled, one that the disabled community have been criticising for a decade, does he not reach out to a single disabled person? A mere Google search could’ve improved the situation massively. In both the new design and the current writing, it is beyond clear that this is not just an able-bodied person writing it -- it’s an ableist person.

He could have listened to the numerous disabled fans that spoke out. Instead, he chose not only to refuse to do that, but to describe justifiable anger as ‘raging’. He treated us like we were crazy for daring to speak out about blatant ableism being parading around of us in our pride month.

Tom Taylor has failed to do the bare minimum and in doing so, he is, at very, very least, guilty of complicity. Again: passive ableism is still ableism.

The argument at hand is not just about Barbara Gordon and the continuing ableism that shines out from her current writing. The argument is about the treatment of disabled characters in his run. It has also become about the way he treats physically disabled people.

We also can’t have this conversation without acknowledging the fandom’s role in it all. I waited a day to write this up, to allow all the reactions to flood in... and I am sickened.

We have everything across the board. Able-bodied people that have actually listened to disabled people, who have supported us (which is deeply appreciated). Able-bodied people who may have had good intentions, but a skewed sense of the situation and perpetuating some of the more insidious lies being spread around (IE. that this is only about the new costume).

There are, obviously, the ableist reactions, though, that we will be discussing here. People deeming the current issues as ‘crazy’, calling disabled people ‘overly sensitive’ and ‘delusional’. Many people have completely glossed over the examples given for why Taylor, specifically, is ableist, and instead have resorted to telling disabled people that we are wrong and should be mad at DC instead.

It’s important to note that Tom Taylor is an adult man. He doesn’t need a fandom to attack disabled people for daring to call him out. He is not the victim in this situation; he has, for quite a few disabled people, been the aggressor.

I have seen claims that Infinite Frontier is a ‘slow burn’, implying that disabled people need to patient... as if we have not waited a decade for less ableist writing. There is a complete refusal from able-bodied fans to actually listen to what disabled people are saying. They would much rather rush to the defence of the (honestly rather mediocre) current Nightwing run. 

Disabled fans know that comic book spaces are ableist. We know that both DC and Marvel and many of their writers are ableist. We are still allowed to be pissed as hell about it and acting like the current reaction being had right now is disabled people being ‘overdramatic’ is yet another example of how the able-bodied side of the fandom both refuses to listen to and undermine disabled people when we call out ableism.

We know it when we see it. We always do and we always will and we will always be able to recognize it far faster than an able-bodied person. If this many disabled fans are coming out and talking about an issue, calling it ableism, then it’s time for you shut up and listen.

Stop being a part of the problem and start supporting disabled fans for once.

[forestlingincorporated]

When Superboy Died For Nightwing

When reading Infinite Crisis and it’s build up, you may notice that Nightwing seems to have a target on his back. The reason for that is fairly simple... Nightwing was supposed to die. 

The decision came from Dan Didio, who admitted to not really liking Dick all that much, but always claimed the decision was a rational one: Dick Grayson had touched the most heroes lives, his death would effect the most people, and bring the most people together. Didio felt Dick’s death would be a hero’s send off for a character that had lived through his coming of age arc and had no where to go. 

Didio: We were looking for the big death in Infinite Crisis – the big moment. We were looking for something that would have equal import and merit and weight in this story. One of the things I’ve been proven wrong about is that I had felt that Dick Grayson was a redundant character – Tim Drake had filled his role as Robin, he would never be Batman, so where could he go? My big fear was that Nightwing would get older than Batman.

As Didio states, he was wrong. Dick had plenty of storylines to be told, and even had his own run as Batman, which was wildly loved. Stories we got because the other people on staff disagreed that killing Dick was the right move - not that it wouldn’t be impactful, but that is was just not a good idea. 

Phil Jimenez: Though I can’t think of a character who would have a greater impact than Nightwing dying.

Geoff Johns: True, but it’s Dick Grayson. My mom knows who he is. Nightwing would’ve been a mistake.

Geoff Johns, who ended up writing Infinite Crisis #6, in particular went to bat for Dick. He thought the idea of killing Nightwing was so bad, he offered up a character, who he’d not only been writing for but was one of his favorites, in his place - Conner. 

Geoff: Superboy was the best choice.

Phil: Just in terms of links to other characters, though. Dick has so many connections to other characters. In many ways, even more than Superman or Batman, Nightwing is the soul, the linchpin, of the DCU. He’s well respected by everyone, known to the JLA, the Titans, the Outsiders, Birds of Prey – everyone looks to him for advice, for friendship, for his skills. He’s the natural leader of the DCU. His loss would devastate everyone and create ripples through the DCU. If it wasn’t him, it had to be a hero that really impacted so many.

Geoff: Well, what other character? Not Wonder Girl. Enough women have died in the DCU. Superboy was my favorite Titan. And I literally had to offer him as a sacrificial lamb.

Interviewer: You killed your favorite Titan? That must have been hard to write.

Jeanine Schaefer: I literally had tears in my eyes when the pages came in.

Geoff: I really fought to have Conner in TEEN TITANS. He gave the title a dynamic the book never had before.

Jeanine: It’s one of the reasons [his death] worked so well and became such a powerful scene. I remember talking to Geoff when the decision was made, and he was, correctly, really adamant that it matter.

Geoff: And Phil did such a great job with facial expressions there, depicting everyone’s sorrow.

Eddie Berganaza: We were hoping to save both Nightwing AND Superboy. But at the end of the day, if we were going to do something really impactful, we really had to go all the way. It just worked for the whole story.

Notably, DC has had off-and-on legal disputes over the Superboy IP with the Siegel family for years (if you’re wondering why they never called Clark ‘Superboy’ in Smallville... yeah) and were actively Going Through It with the Siegels around this time. So, yeah, if two writers were presenting DC with two characters asking the corporate execs to pick which one to kill off, and one of them was Extremely Profitable Fandom Darling Nightwing and the other had their hero name wrapped up in a messy legal battle... I can’t prove that was a factor, I don’t have a quote saying it is, but I know which one I would pick from a cold, business-oriented standpoint. 

All of that to bring me to a rather interesting comic given it’s time frame, writer, and characters involved... Teen Titans #33, by Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman, published one month before Superboy dies in Infinite Crisis #6. It makes a note at the beginning to read Infinite Crisis #5 before reading Teen Titans #33.

This is a team-up comic between Conner and Dick, who have really not had much interaction, especially not one-on-one. We get a good look inside both of their heads and really see into the emotions of both characters. 

There are several panels that use their mental dialog to parallel the two characters. Dick is doing his best to be a mentor figure, and Conner is trying his hardest to appear put together, which puts them at odds where Dick is hoping Conner will be vulnerable with him and admit when he’s worn out or needs help, and Conner doesn’t want to show weakness in front of Nightwing because he doesn’t want him to think he’s a fuck up. 

It’s really sweet, actually, Dick is a fantastic mentor, even if Dick personally feels out of his depth sometimes doing it. 

And they are given just enough time to really bond for a minute...

Just in time for Conner to die in Dick’s place. 

It’s a really interesting comic from that standpoint, designed to put Conner in harms way for Crisis #6, wrap up a lot of Conner’s emotional drama and self-worth issues with the help of a mentor figure (note that Conner’s sacrifice ends up being about Conner coming to terms with himself, and not about motivating other characters as Nightwing’s would have been), and masks a Superboy send off as a Nightwing send off. 

I’m not even completely sure if they made their decision on who to kill when Teen Titans #33 was written, but it’s clearly on their minds, and I find it a very interesting read with the behind the scenes background in mind. It’s an easy comic to overlook if you don’t know what was being discussed, but it’s very much a sweet gesture to give these two room to bond and have Conner literally sacrifice himself for Dick on the page. 

It REALLY turns into a real bait and switch right there at the end, they very much lean into the idea that it’s going to be Dick right up until it’s not. When the decision to kill of Conner instead was made, they leaned into it hard as a surprise, and I gotta be honest... I feel like it works very well. 

[amaraudermind]

Oh boy, comic and show recs? :)

I have a ton, I have more than I care to try to list at once, so many that I'll talk under a readmore.

Comics

We Are Robin: a short run but a brilliant series, if you enjoyed wfa then it's a great place to start a deep dive into Duke Thomas as a character

Batgirl Vol. 1: the first ongoing Batgirl series, starring Cassandra Cain! Absolutely brilliant run, am a big fan

Batgirl Vol. 3: STEPH! This is Steph's run as Batgirl and I cannot recommend it enough, truly one of my favorite series of all time

Impulse: Really I recommend any Flash family book, particularly those by Mark Waid, but Impulse is such a great run that I will mention it specifically. The family dynamics are incredible.

Young Justice(1998): This series means everything to me. A warning, a lot of the latest nineties, early 2000s humor has aged horrifically, and some of the gags are in poor taste. Overall though, the series is amazing, with such fascinating teen hero dynamics and struggles that it's well worth the read.

Robin: Son of Batman: This! Is one of the best series to read if you've liked what you've seen so far of Damian! This series holds my heart and I miss the run terribly, truly the Damian series ever<3

If you liked the Super Sons movie I would definitely recommend most of their comic runs! The only one I'd recommend to never ever get your hands on is the series of graphic novels for children by Pearson! Trust me, it's not worth it, save yourself the time. Everything else starring the Super Sons is pretty great from what I remember.

If you liked the Harley Quinn show, my sibling tells me every comic run Harley has had is fantastic, but I have not read them and cannot confirm myself. But there are tie in comics to the animated series that have the same feel, so I'd definitely recommend giving that a shot!

Shows

Batman: The Animated Series: this cartoon is a classic, and has always been a favorite of mine. Though sparse on the various bat characters, there's a ton of groundbreaking storylines concerning both Bruce and his villains, and interesting interpersonal relationships as well. (Also has my favorite version of Talia Al Ghul to ever make it to the screen!!)

Batman Beyond: man, if B:TAS is a classic, BB is a masterpiece! Hands down, Terry McGinnis is my favorite Batman. Ever. No contest. His dynamic with Bruce is fantastic, and he truly is the only successor to the Bat Mantle that truly made it is own and did it so well.

The Batman(2004): yeah, another Batman. Most of these will be, actually. But! This is a great take on the character, a fresh take on his rogue's gallery, a cute take on Batgirl, and a wonderful take on the Batman and Robin dynamic. It truly is a worthwhile watch.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited: listing these together because jlu is a continuation of jl! If you want a broad look at a ton of different DC characters done with clear love and care for each and every one, this is a great place to start! These shows are why I love the Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, The Question....really brilliant overall.

Teen Titans(2003): oh man, this show was my childhood! It is a fantastic series with great storylines and wonderful relationship dynamics. The only stipulation I put here is this: your understanding of these characters will be skewed if you ever decide to look for comics of them. The most glaring differences are in Starfire and Raven, but all of them vary wildly from their comic counterparts. I find the show completely worth it, myself.

I will cut off the recommendations here, hopefully it's not too long and overwhelming. There's so much great content to be found if you're looking for it, and I hope you enjoy your descent into the DC fandom.

Hey y’all, I’ve finished watching the Harley Quinn show, I’ve read through The Wayne Family Adventures, and watched the Battle of the Supersons. Besides Suicide Squad, I’ve never watched any DC stuff. I’d like get into DC comics and tv shows— only the good stuff though. Does anyone have recommendations on where to start??

[youngbugandtonystank]

And now anti Tony people are blaming him for letting Sam’s family being in financial trouble wtf the man is dead! Let him rest!

Yeah, I saw. 

They’re definitely going to keep doing that, gotta say, the MCU never failed with Tony's character, they created circumstances for him exactly just like Stan envisioned. The ‘love-to-hate’ trope is strong when it comes to him, this is what Stan wanted out of Tony Stark's relationship with his fans/audience. Thing is, the reality of the MCU superhero is that they’re all flawed. None of them are exempt from anything. Why Tony gets more hate than the others?

He’s the most popular character. There’s no discussion in this instance. Popular superheroes that first come to people’s minds are always Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man. Tony Stark/Iron Man is a pop culture legend and the fact that RDJ got to portray him as great as he did, helped a lot. People are always going to circle back to the character who has more hype and audience. 

He’s the one with the money. The fact that Tony is swimming in money automatically makes him the target of the ‘eat the rich’ mentality. People fail to remember that other characters such as T’Challa (who has more money than Tony would ever wish to see and lives in the most technologically advanced country in the world), Shuri, Thor (a literal king with a kingdom), The Pym family, Danny Rand (he has a net worth of $5 billion and is one of the richest comic book characters of all time), etc exist. And we still haven’t seen the other Marvel characters (in the MCU) that are richer than Tony like Reed Richards, Professor X, Warren Worthington, Norman Osborn, Namor, Doctor Doom, etc. 

Even if some of us see RDJ as attractive and good looking, some people don’t. For them, RDJ is nothing compared to Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Sebastian Stan, etc. It’s easier to hate a character you don’t find attractive. And also the fact that they find those actors relatively younger than RDJ. 

It’s the most shippable character. This also means he must be in the way of some other ships. Even if this sounds unbelievable, many people don’t get their irrational hate for a character until it dawns on them that they only hate him because he either treated one half of their ship unfairly or because he’s in the way of that ship. The more reasons they can find to hate him, the more legitimate their senseless hatred seems in their minds.

People don’t call out characters like T’Challa or Shuri because they’re scared of being called ‘racist’. T’Challa is so rich that Howard Stark could only buy (just an assumption, it’s a possibility he stole the vibranium lmao) only a portion of vibranium to build Steve’s shield, and because is the world’s most indestructible material, his worth is approximately $10,000 a gram (Fantastic Four #607) and Wakanda's vaults hold 10,000 tons of the material (Doomwar #1) T’Challa is not a billionaire, he’s a trillionaire lmaoooo everyone else is a joke compared to him.

Even having all of this info, Tony and T’Challa owe nothing to anyone.

T’Challa helped Bucky because of his principles (Tony offered to do this at the beginning as well until of course, he found out he killed his parents) but because of that, that doesn't mean T’Challa owes Steve, Sam, Wanda, and Natasha money or housing assistance. He didn't give it to them at all and he doesn’t have to. 

James Rhodes: Well. You guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years.

Sam Wilson: Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star.

Wanna know why? Because T’Challa knows they’re adults and they make their own decisions. Sam chose to be on Steve’s side, Wanda did too, Natasha too, etc. Adults make decisions and they should deal with the consequences that come with that. Tony was not going to deal with their financial problems because they made a choice and it’s not his problem to deal with. Tony is not their father. People need to ask themselves why Sam was not in the ‘lift the hammer’ scene after the party, because he wasn’t familiar with them, he wasn’t friends with Tony, only with Steve. Besides that fact, they all fought Tony, hurt his best friend, and left him to deal with the rest in CW. They’re not family.

Sam Wilson: No, I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world. Your world is crazy. Steve Rogers: Be it ever so humble. Sam Wilson: You find a place in Brooklyn yet? Steve Rogers: I don't think I can afford a place in Brooklyn. Sam Wilson: Well, home is home, you know?

There’s absolutely no reason Steve can’t afford a place. He’s an adult, he has a good reputation, he worked for shield (why aren’t yall on Nick Fury’s ass if he had Steve and the others as employees? Fury set an entire place for Clint, why can’t he do it for the rest of them, he is the founder of the Avengers after all), and was pretty much capable of doing stuff for others. Tony provided them with a home while they were working together, he doesn’t need to concern himself with their personal problems because they’re not actual friends. Rhodey is his friend. Happy is his friend. Also consider the fact that maybe Sam didn’t want his help? 

And let’s also take into consideration that Tony is not only an Avenger, but Tony is also a businessman, an inventor, an engineer, has a company to keep an eye on, he is the one who finances the Avengers’ messes and other superhero messes too by co-owning the department of damage control, etc. He has other things to do. The rest of the Avengers are adults too, they should seek a job that could give them a future too, not just depend on Tony’s money. Tony had a family and he had to make sure they were covered after his death, this includes, Pepper (his wife, therefore she gets his stuff), Peter (his son, he left him EDITH, he’s basically set for life with that given the A.I. has access to the majority of his things including bank accounts), Morgan (his daughter; his responsibility), Happy and Rhodey (I’m sure we’ll see what he left them in Armor Wars). Why? They’re his actual family. 

If some of you know this and you’re still looking for reasons to put the blame on him, you’re failing to recognize you’re obsessed with hating Tony just for the sake of being right. Wouldn’t you like a life where you don’t have to constantly look for reasons to hate on a fictional character, better yet, a character you don’t like at all. Why the effort? You can love Tony and Sam at the same time, I promise you, this is not going to kill you. 

So please, instead of whining about Tony Stark all the time, why don’t yall just enjoy the fact that the show is showing you a vital and important event that happens in life while representing a part of Sam’s life to add to his emotional depth and character development? Especially because he’s a superhero and possibly the next Captain America, it’s good to see someone who is supposed to be a figure (superhero) whose actions or achievements are far greater than what people expect deal with normal things. They’re giving you a background; a solid storyline for his character. Let it be. Enjoy the shows yall, you can’t keep coming back to blame Tony for everything that happens after every single movie or Disney+ show, look for another metaphorical punching bag. The man is dead. 

[clueless-fan-critic]

The Batman: The Crime Drama We Needed

The Batman was a surprisingly great change to the Batman formula in terms of focusing more on the mystery that makes Bruce Wayne “the World’s Greatest Detective.” It takes elements from crime thrillers and mix it into the the typical superhero film. You could say this is a “Flashpoint” film where the DCEU is rebooted with changes to some or many DC characters.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Batman is straightforward with its themes and plot, revolving around a serial killer killing his victims to reveal the “truth” of Gotham and a narration of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne explaining how the Batman seemingly has no impact on the city at all except by fear. As we goes throughout the film, both Bruce Wayne and Batman are the roots of Gotham’s strife through the Wayne family’s promise of renewal known as the Renewal Foundation for the criminals and Batman’s philosophy of vengeance and anger for the Riddler. He now must learn to become something more than vengeance and grow into someone who could bring hope.

Robert Pattinson as the Batman

Robert Pattinson, in my opinion, does a fantastic job portraying everything that makes both Batman and Bruce Wayne compelling.

As the Batman, Pattinson brings out a much darker portrayal who’s seemingly capable of killing but visibly holds back. He’s also not truly invincible as he gets hurt from his fights and doesn’t move with the most graceful precision while in the Batsuit. It makes it clear he hasn’t truly adapted his more “flashy” into his fighting like we’ve seen in other films.

Bruce Wayne is a shut-in who chooses his life as Batman over his own. He becomes integral to the overall themes about change as it was revealed his father Thomas, known as a kind philanthropist, fell into the same corruption and even his legacy of the Renewal fund was used by criminals. Bruce now must learn to face the consequences of his family’s deeds and learn to become better as a symbol of Hope.

Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman

Catwoman is an excellent foil to the Batman as the mysterious girl with knack for fighting and thievery. Out of the other Batman films, this one brings it the closest to Selina’s comic book origins as a thief with a heart of gold instead of a crazy cat lady or a fashion designer brought back to life by cat magic (believe me, there is a movie to include that, I swear to God).

Zoe Kravitz portrays Catwoman more than just a fem fatale but also a broken soul seeking revenge against her father.

Paul Dano as The Riddler

The Riddler is less Jim Carrey whacky and more Hannibal Lector, making him an intellectual/social threat to the Batman rather than a physical being like Bane or Killer Croc. In the mask, Riddler is demented and disturbed with an almost untouchable influence on the citizens of Gotham. However, Dano comes across as a follower outside of the Riddler persona with an obsession for the Batman and the Waynes.

Paul Dano does an excellent job as a disturbed individual, but isn’t exactly intimidating enough to invoke any

Jim Gordon and GCPD

Jim Gordon plays the “straight man” to the Batman as the man who’s seen as not corrupt and a good man. While he plays a crucial role as the police detective to enforce the law, he seems to play second fiddle to

A Modern Crime Noir with a Superhero

This movie is a breath of fresh air for those getting a bit overwhelmed with nonstop superhero action, so now you have The Batman. It has essentially two storylines which I call the Gotham Underworld and the Riddler’s Manifesto.

Gotham Underground deals with the criminal empire entangled with blackmail, violence, political corruption, and murder.

Riddler’s Manifesto is the rise of Riddler that reveals the secrets of Gotham and the Wayne Family. This also creates a social movement within Gotham where the lower classes would follow the Riddler to destroy Gotham by flooding the city.

Overall...

If you like a mystery drama, this superhero film makes you introduce to the Batman mythos and more gritty superhero properties in the future. I mean the Boys and Invincible would suit people who love bloody violence with complex characters.

[awlwren]

Favorite Character from 10 Fandoms

I was tagged by @shieldmaidenofsherwood and @exlibrisfangirl. Thanks for thinking of me! No thanks for making me make decisions. :(

Rules: List your favorite character from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people.

Rather than try to actually chose, I'm just going to do the last 10 characters I used their tag to find fic for on Ao3, from most recent to least.

Nyx Ulric from Kingsglaive/Final Fantasy XV. RIP to your feeds; this man has captured my attention for almost a full year now. Wow. He is trying so hard to save his friends in spite of everything, but also isn't afraid to chew people out who need to hear it. There are so many blanks to fill in, too.

Elrond Peredhil from the Hobbit/LotR/Silmarillion. A very old, but enduring fave from back when my dad read the Hobbit to me when I was eight or so and started my love for Tolkien. He was wise and smart and helpful, and gave people shelter. Instant fave. Nice to see him getting some more love lately!

Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan from the Vorkosigan Saga. All you people here on tumblr made me decide to start the series and I adored her and her husband and so was very disappointed to see less of them as the series shifted to their son, not that he isn't fantastic! But I've always had a weakness for the previous generation, so this is nothing new.

Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, my original blorbo, as the children say. I got introduced to Star Wars when I was six and it has been an obsession ever since. What can I say, I am basic and weak for main characters. I was heavy into the EU and so I started to draw away when Episode II came out and I could see it killing itself trying to cope with contradictions, but Luke, with such a burden always trying will always be a favorite. 4b. Mara Jade also has gotten a character tag search, but she is in the same fandom so she doesn't get her own number. But don't neglect her!

Jason Todd from Batman comics. I fell sideways into this fandom through an old mutual who loved him, and since that's how I came into the fandom I have stuck with him. I tend to latch onto a character and stay loyal, so here I am, through some very bizarre characterization and storyline choices, having learned from this man and fandom how to pick and chose fanon and canon very harshly. Definitely a character that when written well is very very good, and when written badly (or how I don't like) is horrid. 5b. This is basically a (hopefully more mature) carbon copy of how I got into BtVS through a friend obsessed with Spike.

Clark Kent from Superman comics/shows (yes this counts as separate fandoms). Another oldie. My grandparents had the 1940s cartoons as some of the few brother-approved VHS tapes they had, so I watched a lot of it, and then STAS came out and I was hooked. What can I say, I love characters who always try so hard to be the best they can be, and the reminder that even the Man of Tomorrow, for all his powers, can't do everything.

Meliara Astiar and Vidanric Renselaus from Crown & Court Duel by Sherwood Smith. Yes, both of them, shut up. I got on a nostalgia kick and they have a few excellent fics on Ao3. Ultimate culture clash, all the tropes and they make it work.

Trafalgar Law from One Piece. (No, I am not caught up and will not be until Wano is done.) He...he also tries so hard but in a different way. He tries to be serious in Luffy's world and it never works and it's great. Trash man trying to be creepy and trying so hard. And he's genuinely badass, he just cares too much and it cracks me up. And then his backstory breaks my heart.

Eve Baird from The Librarians (tv show). Mama Baird knows what she wants and knows her skills and is doing all she can to protect her idiot Librarian and equally chaotic LITs, but isn't afraid to admit when she needs to learn from them as well.

Alberich from Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey. Another nostalgia lookup, with even less fic. I like mentors, okay? I like older people learning and teaching and I always have, even when I was young. I actually haven't read much of this series, but I got his two books and enjoyed them, and didn't do much with the rest.

I'm going to chose to interpret the lack of women on this list as a critique of the books I read and not solely of me myself. But it's a good trend to see as I try to figure out what to procrastinate by reading next. (as is the appalling lack of explicit POC. Ouch.)

Again, these are the most recent character tag searches I've done on Ao3, not my top 10 characters, because this took less decisions, honestly.

Absolutely no-pressure tagging of @garbria, @whumpwriterforlife, @starjunco, @sanzochan, @whostarlockeda03, @noirbriar, @newlyorange, and @maychorian, along with anyone else who wants to go. I would love to get more character reccs, honestly. It's gotten me started on two series that I've enjoyed but haven't gotten far enough in to seek out fic yet for risk of spoilers. ^_^

[bigskydreaming]

Yeah I’m probably gonna pass on that one as I’m just not a huge fan of Zdarsky and I don’t think he’s a good fit for a Batbook personally, though I totally get WHY he was put on one. He’s very much known for his comics about street-level superheroes combined with larger-spanning storylines like Daredevil, Devil’s Reign, etc, and I just....don’t think he’s actually that good at them. Like that’s his niche, but its like....eh I don’t necessarily think it should be. Most of his plot points tend to be taken directly from stories that influence him with very little variation, just adapted into a new setting or scenario without actually using the story to examine any new angles that the previous influencing story didn’t already cover. 

Like to be fair, he’s definitely come up with some unexpected plot twists in various stories that have huge potential repercussions, like the way Fisk used the Purple Man’s powers to remember Daredevil’s real identity....but even in these cases I think he has a tendency to just use a twist for one specific out-of-narrative purpose and he never does anything with the wider repercussions of them beyond just his singular reason for introducing the twist. Which can be really frustrating but is also more of just a personal gripe, thinking ‘why are you focusing on this aspect of your twist when there’s so much more to explore in that aspect over there’ kinda thing.

But personally my biggest issue with him - and biggest concern with him on a core Batbook - is he’s one of those writers who absolutely has no problem making characters behave in any way no matter how implausible for the sake of igniting story conflict. I haaaaate that shit, but that was like, basically the entire premise of his Fantastic Four/X-Men crossover. Everyone was heavy-handed as fuck in that mini, throwing around their egos and acting in ways barely any of them have ever acted anywhere else, all for the sake of brewing a conflict between Reed and Xavier that just felt really contrived and unnecessary because like....I didn’t believe it. And there’s so many ways to pit those particular characters against each other and come up with reasons they’d be on opposite sides....hell, its been done a number of times before. But this just....was weak and with no attempt at subtlety or cohesive characterization. The characters were just jerked around the four issues like puppets he was trying to configure in just the right way to make them all fight fight fight, and it was like......these particular characters have WAY too much history of being really tight actually, for me to buy any of them behaving this way.

And I do worry that it’ll be more of the same in his Batman book, especially in terms of the family dynamics, and the few issues I’ve read of his Urban Legends and Black and White don’t reassure me on that, so I’m mostly like.....kinda just hoping that he keeps it concentrated around just Bruce and Tim and doesn’t bring the rest of the family into too many stories because I feel OOC conflict is almost destined to follow at that point.