#ulysses armstrong

[aliteralchicken]

why is he so obsessed with him

[timdrakequotes]

Ulysses: The Batman’s little adjutant…

Robin: Who’re you calling little, shorty?

--Tim Drake with Ulysses Armstrong (Robin #36 – War Toy Story)

[baambastic]

I think an overlooked aspect of potential BatFam stuff is how, because Tim had his own rogues gallery, a lot of those guys would probably carry that beef on with Damian. Sort of a sins-of-the-father situation, or sins of the predecessor in this case.

King Snake, the Baffler, Jaeger, Steeljacket, Michael Lasky AKA Dodge, Scarab, Charaxes, Detectives Cavallo and Wise, Electrocutioner, the General, etc.

[whalehouse1]

Duke, to Damian: Yeah our class got a new student today. Ulysses Armstrong. Just got out of juvie a few days ago. Glad they’re giving him a second chance.

Tim can be heard screaming through the mansion.

[angstandhappiness]

LMAO

Batman Tim comes from one of the darkest future timelines...

[mountainsideturnip]

[its-to-the-death]

Glasses Swag Sequel Preliminary Round #14

Only one will make it into the bracket!

[simplegenius042]

The True Sinners & The House Always Wins?

Ask and you shall receive @carlosoliveiraa!

The House Always Wins is a Fallout New Vegas fic and part of my Fallout series A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore. Here's what I have so far... It takes place a few years after the events of The Waters Of Life Flow (the FO3 fic), and half-human/half-dimensional creature hybrid siblings Ortega "Ore" Brantley and Marissa "Ress" Bishop have been tipped off about atypical activities happening in the Mojave, not dissimilar from the Occult's activities their despicable father, Arcane Urias, lead in the Capital Wasteland and California. Seeing this as an opportunity to put a stop to the Occult and avenge their friends and Urias' victims. However, this is put on hold when they encounter a securitron with a cowboy's face dragging an unconscious Courier through the scorching desert. With no place better to start searching for clues, they help get the Courier, a veteran Wasteland woman named Ryder, to Goodsprings.

Now I don't have any snippets prepared for you, but I can share that Ress and Ore split off to cover more ground; Ore will accompany Ryder to track down Benny, retrieve the Platinum Chip, speak with Mr House, get wrapped up in dealing with the Legion, and win Hoover Dam for House (plus attain any companions along the way) while Ress goes off to track down the Occult by doing the thing she loves most; intimidating the shit out of the locals in the communities she visits, killing people she doesn't like the faces of, bullying the elderly, get wrapped up in doing the NCR's bidding, almost die, then working alongside Yes Man for an Independent Vegas (plus pressuring any companions she meets into following her). All the while Urias second-in-command, Aggravor, chills in the Divide while coordinating efforts to place a warhead into the dam. If only the pesky courier with the mask and long speeches of "something, something, bull, bear" would let him get the location of the remote that originally set off the Divide.

Now The True Sinners is a FC5 fic where it takes place in an alternative setting of Far Cry The Silver Chronicles where Silva Omar's grief still remained long enough to dissuade her from becoming a deputy of the Hope County Sheriff's Department. Without a "muse", especially one chosen by the Voice itself, the Seals can't be opened, and the Collapse can't occur, and the Voice is livid that its muse has decided to opt out. Instead of wasting time in choosing another poor sap (especially since it has history with this one), the Voice instead just re-contextualizes the muse's purpose to Joseph, leading to the Seed Family kidnapping Silva in the dead of night so she can be present for the arrest and still break the First Seal (by technicality). Silva has to balance helping the Resistance from the inside and getting into the Seeds' good graces without sacrificing her morals and values in the process. In the meantime, Silva's (personal? family?) doctor, Kamski Neon, ends up helping to lead the Resistance to rescue the only other person he knew from the Archipelagos, and while great at organization and treating wounds, he is not very popular amongst the locals. Case in point, the snippet below:

Kamski entered the bar, moving ahead to the nearest stool, leaving Armstrong to her own devices outside. He was not unaware of the gazes that were set on him, eyes watching as he steadily sat himself in front of the bar's counter.

Like buitres, Kamski couldn't help but compare the locals to the scavengers. He disliked the bird, more than the eagles that dived at him when he took Silva's invitation into the county, but he understood their importance, despite the little pragmatism they held.

He brought a flask out of his satchel, unlatching the lid to take a swig. He took another swig as soon as he spotted the Pastor making his way toward him.

"Why?"

Kamski lazily glanced to Jeffries, spotting Fairgrave leaning against the wall next to the stairway, watching the confrontation like most of her patrons.

The Good Doctor sighed, scratching at his sideburns, the red in his hair slowly on it's way to becoming white, and asked his own question, "What is the meaning behind this "why", Pastor?"

Kamski took another swig, but found no bitterness reaching his tongue. Upon further inspecting the flask, shaking it about with no signature swish nor swirl, Kamski was disappointed that he'd be dealing with this conversation on a sober mind.

Jeffries took a breath, but his frustration made its way to the tone of his voice, "Why did you kill that man?"

Kamski raised a brow at the Pastor, "You mean the Peggie?"

"A former Peggie. A defector. One who would have exchanged information on John's supply chains, coordination of future attacks, and his next baptisms," Jeffries emphasized, "And you executed him."

Kamski blinked at the Pastor, giving a shrug, "Your point?"

As the old doctor shifted to slide off the stool, Jeffries grasped his shoulder, grounding out his next words with a solemner tone, "Even if it meant losing information regarding Silva's current captivity."

Kamski growled at him, shoving the arm off his shoulder, "I didn't just kill the Peggie. I got information out of him before I gave him what he deserved. It would have been counterproductive to not retrieve whatever information he held, just as it would have been for going through with the escort."

He pulled out a note and slammed it onto the counter.

"Here's all he had. None of it included Silva, by name nor description," Kamski stated.

Kamski made to move but Jeffries stated, "You still killed a man who wanted to change. A way out."

The Good Doctor scoffed, shaking his head at the Pastor's words. He doesn't understand. None of them would. These peggies don't get the right to attempt a vain ploy to change. Not after all they've done. All they do nothing about. It just makes it easier for them to stab us in the back.

He dragged his hand over his face, a fingers rubbing against the scar that crosses the ridge of his nose. His thumb traced the the cut that crossed his bottom lip down to his chin, a reminder that fueled his next response.

"Then he should have never listened to the words of that Profeta," Kamski replied, making his way towards the exit of the bar, ignoring the deep sigh behind him.

"Armstrong," Kamski greeted the sharpshooter at the porch, who only gave a grunt in acknowledgement as she tended to her rifle, "You know where the Jailhouse is?"

Armstrong stopped wiping the barrel, looking up to the doctor, "My pops drove past it sometimes when he was running errands for some old war friends of his. Hard to miss."

"Excellent," Kamski smirked, turning towards the sedan limousine he stole, "Because I'm going to need directions."

[sonofapunk]

Op, here, and I wanted to offer an explanation for this post myself, since I think my original point has been missed a little!

The top panel is from Urban Legends #22, and this is Lonnie facing off with Batman, who spends the duration of this story refusing to hear out Lonnie's points or perspective. Since Batman does not appear to understand Anarky's theory or praxis, he is told to call him Lonnie, which bars Batman from using the name Anarky in reference to the person in front of him.

The bottom panel is from Robin #182, which features Tim Drake in his fight against Ulysses Armstrong, who has usurped the Anarky mantle by force from Lonnie Machin at this time. Armstrong, like Batman, does not understand what anarchism is, or what it means to be Anarky, and so Tim is calling him out on this, proving that Ulysses does not deserve to use the name Anarky.

The point I am making in putting these two panels here is that Tim Drake understands Lonnie Machin's mission.

much 2 think about....

[thehandwixard]

god. im like such a bitch about it for understandable reasons i think but its god's worst trick on me that two of the post-reboot comics ive genuinely loved (new super-man and we are robin) either have their team devalued and never used (JLC YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS. NEVER FORGET DRAGONSON) or be mercilessly broken apart and only used again as strawmen to represent people being shitty about duke as the signal. and they use riko (ok fine she makes sense) and DAX?? conflict avoidant motherfucker nerd boy dax?? to do this. and retcon that the we are robin youth movement is in trouble again post-hoc for whatever reason to do this. their new costumes fucking suck. swagever

[do-you-ship-this-comic-ship]

propaganda:

The chemistry. the banter. Being a hacker and bisexual are too coolest things in 1995. The way years later Tim created an entire vr suit/world for Lonnie when he was fully paralyzed so they could team up to defeat DC's darkweb the Ünternet.

(second propaganda is very long so it goes beneath a read more)

Lonnie is the first vigilante peer Tim interacted with and a major part of Tim's first solo detective case before becoming Robin - their histories are connected inside and outside of the comics, as Lonnie was the third Robin that never was and Tim is the third Robin that was. Tim maintains the myth of the Bat and Lonnie works to render the need for it obsolete (despite admiring Batman to a degree) which makes for interesting contrast. Tim's been at least somewhat interested in talking to and understanding Lonnie since their first interaction despite their couple of clashes, offering to discuss Anarchist politics with him, and Lonnie is someone often misunderstood by the wider vigilante community. Their banter is fun when they're up against each other, and Tim arrives at the conclusion that they'd make a good team the second time they meet. Tim makes a few comments here and there about how Lonnie's motivations are right and how his heart's in the right place, proving a sympathy with his cause even if it chafes against Batman's. Later on, Tim saves Lonnie's life when he's about to die after getting trapped attached to a blimp set to explode. Tim saves Lonnie's life again when Lonnie's kidnapped by Ulysses Armstrong at the end of his Robin solo, beforehand starting to correspond with Lonnie to try to track him down and rescue him and then actually rescuing him with Ulysses makes Tim choose between apprehending him and saving Lonnie. Tim in Red Robin shows signs of liking Lonnie, teaming up with him, being very concerned about his well being, even calling him his "best friend" a few times, even if sarcastically. Lonnie uses the fact that Tim understands him and how he operates to convince Tim to let him deal with the Unternet. Tim defends Lonnie's character. There's a lot of potential for the two of them any way you slice it (because there is some rivalry, annoyance, mistrust present), but I think they're people who are both similar enough to each other and different enough from each other in ways that would challenge each other to reflect on aspects of themselves, and there's nothing Tim loves more than someone who challenges him. Lonnie's painfully lonely and often needs others to drag him back down from the clouds when his well-intentioned schemes get out of hand as well as thoughts that he's the only one who can actually save the world, and Tim tends to connect or connect well with others, working well with a team. Lonnie is someone who has big, alternative ideas about society and how to deal with societal issues and has the drive to get things done, which I think would be good for Tim who is so averse to becoming like Batman, and they make nice conversation partners. There's more I could say but this is already getting so long. TL;DR timlonnie sweep forever.

[necrotic-nephilim]

not enough TimJay content takes advantage of the fact that the Red Robin mantle and suit were Jason's first, and Tim effectively stole Jason's shit that Jason wanted to throw away. Tim took Jason's name, his suit, to go on a one-man crusade when he's at odds with the Batfamily. You're telling me Jason wouldn't be weirdly offended but also weirdly turned on by that?

robin (1993) #177

robin (1993) #178

And yes, Tim only knows about the Red Robin suit's existence because Ulysses Armstrong stole it for a hot second, but the fact he stole the suit from Ulysses and fucking kept it? Even before he had any reason to? Like before becoming Red Robin, Tim just kept a suit he knew belonged to Jason despite openly disliking Jason for. Reasons. And later on, it's explicitly confirmed Tim's wearing it because it's Jason's legacy? That's the most toxic gay shit I've ever seen.

adventure comics (2009) #3

Tim's punishing himself with Jason's image. Jason, who has been constantly trying to get Tim to see things his way and work with him would lose his mind over that. There's such a potential for a toxic possessiveness to it all, Tim branding himself with Jason's suit and name. The assumptions Jason would make about Tim because of it. The way Jason could hold that over Tim's head, that they really are one and the same, and deep down, Tim must know it to some degree, if he became Red Robin when he felt replaced as Robin. I truly do not think Jason would ever shut up about it. As a fan of 'possessive/weirdly obsessed with Tim' Jason, I think this would take Jason's weird feelings about Tim to the next level. And if Tim will punish himself just by wearing Jason's legacy, imagine how much more he'd punish himself for falling for Jason too. Weird freaky little masochist who tortures himself through Jason seems exactly Jason's type, tbh. I'm feral about it.

[about-faces]

Waid and Samnee together again! The incredible Chris Samnee finally getting to draw Batman officially after all these years! The villain bring the General, an inspired antagonist for an early Bruce and Dick story!

On the other hand, Mark “I hate nuanced takes on complex villains who I just see as bastards and assholes” Waid writing Two-Face? Who is supposedly connected to the General in some way?

Well, at least Harvey will look great. That’s about the most I can hope for.

Batman & Robin: Year One #1 preview

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

So if Birthday Boy were to be in some sort of Batman media (comic, movie, show, any variety of batmedia) I think it would be unavoidable that fans would draw parallels from the Joker as a character.

Are there any particular Jokers that you think Birthday Boy would associate with, or maybe beef with? Would he see a sillier Joker like Hamill's or Nicholson's as competition or comrades?

On the other hand, are there any specific Batmans or Robins whose rogue gallery he would be a part of?

okay, so here are things I know for sure about Birthday Boy.

1.) he's a wiener. absolute non-combatant; if you take away all of his henchpersons and exploding party favors and spike-covered pinata bat, he's useless at hand to hand combat. he will just give up and hit the floor to plead for his life.

2.) related to the above, Birthday Boy knows what his limits are and which rogues wildly outclass him. that very much includes the Joker, who Birthday Boy would work very hard to avoid as much as possible. (the sole exception is Cesar Romero's Joker from Batman '66, who;s honestly a pretty chill guy and seems to get along pretty well with his fellow costumed criminals.)

3.) having said that, Birthday Boy does privately feel that the Joker is a bit of a hack. like, what's his deal? he's obsessed with Batman on an extremely personal level? he's hung up on proving some kind of worldview about how everyone is *this* close to being exactly like him? barf, gag. pretentious. get a real motivation, like being as annoying as possible by ruining other people's parties.

4.) and having said all of THAT, if they were ever in the same room Birthday Boy would grovel like a fucking worm to try to stay alive. he's not a proud man, and also he knows he's annoying enough that the Joker will probably just kill him on sight. he goes to LENGTHS to try to avoid any accidental run-ins.

once again this does NOT apply to Cesar Romero's Joker, which brings me to my answer to the second party of this delightful question: I think Birthday Boy would be a DELIGHTFUL fit for the Batman '66 universe. his gimmick would fit right into the delightfully low rent aesthetic!

he'd also be a shoo-in for Tim's '93 solo series, or even '98 Young Justice. they both catch a lot of stray weirdo dork villains, like my darling little freakboy Ulysses Armstrong, and I think YJ could genuinely just bully Birthday Boy so hard he would burst into flames.

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

Okay, you like birds and you like superheroes, so you seem uniquely qualified to answer a question that’s bothered me for awhile: WHY is Red Robin named that when there’s already a Red Hood AND a Robin. It just. . . Blends with the rest of the post robin personas so poorly

(If the Crow wasn’t already taken I would have suggested that since Tim has that whole thing going on with the court of Owls and those two species notoriously hate each other.)

So if you could redesign Tim Drakes vigilante persona what would be your pick?

Hoo boy, now there's a goddamn question, isn't there? I answer it at the end, I promise, but I wanted to explain my reasoning. So, yeah, scroll down if you want the answer quick.

But OK, I can answer your first question really easily: why is Tim Drake called Red Robin if Red Hood already exists? Easy: because Red Robin came first. And I don't mean that as a concept or nursery rhyme or expression; I mean that a Robin, one of Batman's sidekicks, taking up the identity of Red Robin, existed first, complete with the costume. BEHOLD! Mark Waid and Alex Ross' brilliant comic book Kingdom Come, one of the most important DC Comics stories ever published, and arguably one of its most iconic near-future stories!

First published in 1996, this story came out after Tim Drake was introduced in comics, and well before Jason Todd came back to life as Red Hood. And...is actually Dick Grayson in the future, not Tim Drake. In fact, Tim never appears in Kingdom Come for some reason, but a future version of Damian surprisingly does! Ask Mark Waid, not me. Anyway, when DC introduced Damian Wayne into the main continuity, they realized two Robins weren't going to do. SO, they reintroduced the identity of Red Robin, and this time gave it to...Jason Todd. Yeah, Jason actually picked up the identity in main continuity first, during the Countdown to Final Crisis storyline. He was given the costume by Batman from an alternate universe that was a utopian society yaddayaddayadda, you get the point. Jason had it first.

But, that didn't last very long, and Jason became Red Hood again after that event was done. And so, Red Robin was eventually picked up by...Ulysses Armstrong. Yeah, the identity was stolen by a Nightwing and Robin villain previously known as the General, who was basically a child genius that used the identity to...well, kill Robin. Ulysses is an asshole, it's a whole thing. Anyway, after this event, FINALLY, Tim Drake takes up the mantle of Red Robin. So, yeah, Tim is the THIRD Red Robin in continuity. Which, now that you mention it, DOES make it odd that Tim would adopt the identity after it was stained by Ulysses. But, DC editorial wanted the Red Robin character to exist in canon, and Tim was the only character that made sense to wear the mantle. It's a reference for reference's sake, which isn't great, admittedly.

But, OK, you're asking me what I would do if given the reigns to Tim Drake's identity after Damian Wayne essentially steals the mantle of Robin. OK, Anonymous, I'll play your game. And I actually do have an answer to this question. First off, what does Tim Drake represent amongst the Robins, especially compared to the others and their superhero identities? All of the Robins are reflections of Batman himself, often somewhat unintentionally. Their superhero identities similarly reflect this. Let's give the two most prominent examples.

Nightwing is the superhero. Dick Grayson, originally, was the kid sidekick of Batman, and embraced that with a lightness that Bruce could never manifest. As a result, his ideals were that of the traditional superhero: the day-saving good guy who does the right thing for the disadvantaged, old chum. So, his adult persona reflects this. It's a reference to Superman (Nightwing was originally a superhero and Krypton that Superman told a young Dick about early in their friendship), and it's a sort-of cheesy heroic name that also references Batman. Nightwing, savior of Bludhaven! Has a ring to it.

Red Hood is a vigilante against the law. Jason Todd, originally, was a little street punk who stole the tires off of the Batmobile. He's a criminal. When he becomes Robin, he embraces the vigilante identity by also embracing his temper, becoming a rougher-around-the-edges Robin who doesn't follow the rules very well. And then, he dies at the Joker's hand. When he comes back to life, he embraces the idea of being a brutal vigilante that doesn't care about the rules or morality, essentially becoming a criminal in the process. And so, when he has to choose the name of a criminal, why not name himself after the man who created him: Joker. So, he names himself Red Hood, which is also the Joker's old identity before getting acid dipped. Maybe this was on purpose, maybe it was subconscious, but it doesn't matter. He wants to be a lawbreaker, so he gets the identity of a lawbreaker.

Damian Wayne is the martial artist. To be fair, Damian still hasn't come into his own as an adult, since he's...well, a teenager. Because of that, we don't know what his identity is going to be, other than...well, Batman. Yeah, he's quite literally the son of Batman, so it does make sense that he'd become the next Batman. But again, that is yet to be seen. In terms of being a reflection of his father, though, he's the overdisciplined and overserious martial artist, and also...a child. Yeah, no offence to Bruce, but he's still in many ways a child in a mask. And so, Damian originally represented that. But now, as he's grown older in comics, he instead reflects the self-assured determination of his father, as well as the superior martial arts skills. And that finally leaves one major aspect unaccounted for, and you know what it is.

Tim Drake is the detective. Look, Tim is known as the "smart Robin" for a reason...because he is. He's the smart Robin. But in terms of being a reflection of Batman, he represents the Dark Knight's more Holmesian aspects. He's the inquisitive analyst, the tactician, the observer, the planner. So, whatever Tim's adult persona is, it should reflect him as a detective and tactician. And here's a question: should it be a bird at all? I mean, Nightwing only evokes a bird, and Red Hood definitely isn't a bird. So maybe Tim should actually be the only one to keep the bird thing in earnest. But if he does...maybe he could be a little smarter about it.

Y'know, I like your suggestion of "Crow", Anonymous. Smart bird, love the enemy of owls point, too. But Crow feels...off. It's not a great superhero name, as you pointed out. Of course, we're really looking for the name of a good detective. So, maybe you have the right family, just the wrong member. SOme people I've seen suggest Jackdaw, which...come to think of it, may just be a Reddit joke, but either way, I don't like it? So, instead, how about...

The Rook (Corvus frugilegus) is a Eurasian corvid known for its ability to solve problems. It's often seen in the presence of similar, related birds (like the Jackdaw), and lives in nests called rookeries. They have the ability to use complex tools, and even understand the concept of gravity. But perhaps the biggest reason why I think Tim should take up the name Rook, other than the fact that his hideout already has a name now (the Rookery), and the fact that he can keep the "R" on his costume, AND the fact that Rook is also a pretty good codename for a detective or spy...is the double meaning.

After all...I feel like Tim is the kind of person who plays a lot of chess to harness his skills in planning and tactics, amongst other games. He probably has played a lot of games with Alfred, maybe with Bruce. And another name for the castle piece is, of course, the rook. A double-meaning, and BOTH work for the character. And for some reason, I've never seen anybody suggest this as a name for Tim Drake. Maybe I haven't looked in the right places, but thinking on it now...I honestly really want this name for him in the future. Give him a dark costume, maybe replace the red with blue, or even give him the Red Robin costume, recolored to reflect this identity instead! The possibilities abound, really.

Hopefully that was a satisfying answer for you! May not work for everybody, but that's what I would do if I were in charge of Time Drake! Definitely not Drake, or Sparrow, or the other names he's been given in the last few years, just sayin'.