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Mera tried to kill Aquaman in Aquaman vol 3 because she had a prophetic vision of how terribly every single female character would be treated in Aquaman vol 5 by Peter david and she was trying to prevent that future. She's a feminist icon.

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You don’t need to respond to this, but I’ve recently discovered your account and I absolutely adore the perspective you take and things you bring to share!

It had been really difficult for me to get into comics (I hate not having context so I can’t do the “oh, start anywhere and grab a random issue.” and general difficulty in finding older comics), so I resorted to fanfiction as a medium knowing it was going to be a watered down version of the characters but enough context. However, once I had enough to start being able to read some runs, it was jarring to realize how much blatant racism/ableist/misogyny/misinformation lied in fandom spaces.

I could never put my finger on it correctly the way you do which is so informative and helpful!!!

I’ve also read your depiction of how Talia wasn’t present in Damian’s life and it gave me such a nuanced look into Talia that I’ve never seen before that I think I might go look for the comics she’s been in (before Damian).

Anyways, I just want to say thank you for doing what you do! I love seeing everything you have to say and I hope you can continue to enjoy your comics the same way everyone enjoy your fics!

I apologize for the late response (hope it's OK b/c you said I didn't need to respond; I was sitting on this and then got super busy).

I am glad to hear that you've enjoyed my blog and it has helped you. I strongly encourage you to check out the comics Talia's in before Damian's published, she has her own unique character and unique arc! That's why I like the idea of her just not knowing about him, because she would not raise her kid in the league (and also then you've got some fun angst later but that's based on them being in character).

I used this reading list (link) when I was just getting into Talia.

Also thank you for the compliments on my fics haha I love writing them. just need mroe free time ;_;

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Mara al Ghul☕

she's really cool, I wish that we got to see more of her!

Also like :P without dissing more of respawn, I feel like everything williamson wanted to do with respawn, except for the stupid deathstroke stuff, could've been done with mara in a better, less stupid way.

She fills a niche of a kid who feels like Damian has gotten everything she wanted (because she also wanted to lead the assassins), she feels like he got things easier, she's reasonably resentful.... but it doesn't require ra's al ghul having tortured some kid for his entire life for no reason.

I feel like we could get a lot more of a natural follow up to how things ended in teen titans 2016, but IIRC the next time she shows up they're just chill suddenly. Where is the comic that shows them interacting? Mara leaving the league? anything? help DC

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I love Damian insulting the people he's fighting he should do it more often

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really hate when people say certain things are canon when they are NOT and are just HCs

it's really annoying. Anyways i thought the DC one was bad but i recently read something else and there was a very popular HC there that people kept saying was actually canon.

I think the problem with the DC ones though are when they use AUs to say its main canon

Like using bombshells as proof of something in the main universe

yeah it's super weird. I think I remember what this post was in response to sorry XD but like. oftentimes the "my headcanon is canon" stuff winds up making potential readers expect better representation than there actually is in canon.

And being ignorant in main canon vs elseworlds vs animated appearances definitely does make things more confusing. I've also seen people present scenes that are hallucinations/ dreams as main canon, that part was in stupid listicle articles though, so I shouldn't expect too much there.

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Ra's al Ghul ☕

I think this was the say your genuine opinion about the thing meme? Sorry I got super busy and have not posted in a bunch.

He's cool. one of Batman's funnest villains, I think the 70s-80s ra's is peak. We also have a lot of very fun interactions with him with regards to Talia in some superman comics.

People can't forget that he does genuinely love his family, which doesn't mean he always treats them well, but it does mean that in his POV he isn´t going to try to hurt them. Tom King's nonsense "oh he locked Damian in a box in the desert for not tying his shoe??" would never happen. we see him multiple times kill his own dudes for hurting talia even when she was in the middle of betraying him. IIRC he fed that dude who shot her in the leg (to try to disable her non-lethally) to tigers.

However also he definitely is capable of being very cold and harsh to his enemies and that shouldn't be forgotten either. as soon as he has a specific goal* he's okay with large amounts of people dying to further his cause of saving the earth.

*Denny O'neil's ra's' goals were always very vague

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Absolute Wonder Woman ☕

sorry I am clearing out my inbox (after getting free time for the first time in a while) and just saw this.

I do enjoy absolute wonder woman! It's an awesome comic everyone should read it!

I wish they did a little more with this diana being technically disabled though. She lost an arm but she got a magic flesh and blood arm that replaces it and is pretty much exactly the same as if she never lost an arm is kind of... boring? doesn't really represent any real life disability? I got excited at first but nah it's just another DC able bodied thing.

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idk if it's just me but im starting to get very bored with people who push the damian doctor/med school agenda, like it's just the same thing over and over again without anything new or interesting. i don't know though, i think doctor damian is cool but it gets to the point where people can only mention that without considering his other traits. what do you think? maybe you can change my mind about it😭

Oh I don't think it's super interesting either when treated as if its his only goal. Like yeah, I think it's neat as a general idea, he's super hardworking, he's smart, we can see him taking inspo from his mom and the noble parts of his grandfather as well*, but lots of times when it's treated as it would be "retirement" from superheroing for him I get super bored and it doesn't really do anything interesting with his character.

Sometimes one character trait does get pushed above all others, like his love for animals as well. he's a well rounded individual. he can like animals and have medical training and be interested in healing people (and animals) while also being an artist and a vigilante/fighter and taking on a lot of responsibility for everything including things he shouldn't blame himself for ... he's just got a lot going on period. I'm not gonna try to change your mind :P

*since y'know, the entire al ghul family is physicians practically

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Do you know if Jim Gordon and Damian robin ever interacted in the comics? Like I can’t recall a time that happens but it doesn’t make sense for them to have never interacted

They have interacted in canon!

General consensus is they don't get along a ton from what i've seen, though I'm missing any interactions from 2016-now if there were any, so that may have changed. But Jim was kind of not commissioner for a bit.

First interaction I can recall is in Batman: RIP. Talia and Damian and LoA guys save Gordon (IIRC) when he stumbles into Wayne Manor during the Black Hand thing. They don't really talk much, except IIRC Talia brags about Damian.

Second interactions I can think of are in Batman and Robin 2009, early on, where Gordon gets mad at Damian for trying to beat information out of someone in the police station.

They must have had some interactions behind the scenes in Blackest night: Batman, because Damian helps get Babs and her dad to safety during this thing. But we don't see them actually talking to each other, the comic is focused on Dick and Tim.

Then closer to the end of Batman and Robin 2009, when Tomasi is writer, Gordon gets mad at Damian for disrespecting a dead body and twists his arm behind his back.

We see some minor interactions in Batman and Robin 2011, but nothing that I can think of that is super noticeable.

The last notable interaction I can remember is in Robin War where Damian electrocutes Gordon while he's in his bat-suit and tries to break up the robin meeting because you kids are breaking the law (and Damian trash talks him, too, ofc).

I'd say when needed Damian will protect Gordon (and if the situation was ever iniverted, I'm sure Gordon would do the same -- we see him express verbal worry for Damian in Batman and Robin 2009 when Damian is with the joker), but they don't really get along and mostly it's just "OK this weirdo/loser again"

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I swear there's a rule that college disability support services have when hiring where if you are actually competent and interested in providing accommodations they immediately throw your resume in the trash

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Wait why did i not say "absolutely autistic" smh smh smh

Absolute verse Superman is definitely autistic

Absolute Superman #3

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Also Harleys breakdown after choosing to hurt Amanda for money fucks severely because I love it when characters make decisions they regret

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And last thought.... I think a lot of time with protags who are villains it's easy that when the author has them hurt people, they hurt people with no names or who the reader has no investment in, so it's partially "oh yeah he's an asshole but everyone he killed deserved it" or just scenery. The audience gets to know amanda as harley does and gets to care about her.

and also with harley it's easy to handwave more atrocious stuff as when she was following the joker , and therefore put the blame on him, but in this comic she was conspicuously acting on her own. The joker approached her earlier but just to let her know of the job iirc and she made all of the decisions, including the decision to rescue amanda from the police station, on her own and often *against* the advice of her fellow criminal confidants, so the blow is not softened by attaching it to someone else

Reading Harley Quinn (2000) #37 and actually I don't think that Harley letting the little girl go blind after protecting her for 5 issues is a narrative misstep i think its the whole fucking point

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Like harley quinn in the 2000s comics is *not* a good person and she's not supposed to be. She's supposed to be interesting! Sympathetic at points! Fun to watch! But she's not supposed to be a good person.

And I think readers have seen the narrative where a character who's supposed to be morally bad has a secret soft side and they don't hurt kids, and the comic is setting it up that way. And it seems like harley does generally like amanda* and if she could have gotten her money and not hurt Amanda she would have. She seems genuinely conflicted for the first 4 issue

But... that wasn't an option. So she chooses the money. And we see she regrets it 1 issue later, but I do think the end of issue 37 hits with so much shock for the audience because in arcs like these the villain character is supposed to have been sufficiently melted by the child's helplessness that they can't go through with the job they would've gone though with pre the protecting the kid from other scumbags saga

*the little girl

Reading Harley Quinn (2000) #37 and actually I don't think that Harley letting the little girl go blind after protecting her for 5 issues is a narrative misstep i think its the whole fucking point

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Reading Harley Quinn (2000) #37 and actually I don't think that Harley letting the little girl go blind after protecting her for 5 issues is a narrative misstep i think its the whole fucking point

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Y do fictional atheists always gotta have some trauma where their life didn't work out or bad things happened and that's why they don't believe in god? Why can't it just be bc they don't feel it or don't think it's logical?

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Anther cringe shipper thing is "omg why its dc canonizing x ship instead of y ship???? Don't they know y ship is more popular and everyone likes it??? >:O" first of all who cares whether a ship is popular or not wrt canon????? Secondly why are you acting like whether a ship is canon or not is a personal attack on the fans?

I hate shippers why do you react to "this female character is written poorly next to this male protagonist who she's the love interest for" with "that's why it should be this female character i ship the guy with instead" its like ok so you want a different female character to have the bad misogynistic writing? Or do you think that if you ship something it's automatically immune to misogynistic writing bc i have read the comics and it is fucking not