#Batman discourse

[sequencer987]

As much as the Batman fandom likes to shit on Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan is equally responsible for kickstarting the annoying “Uuuuhhh acshully Batman is just a rich guy who beats up poor people” takes because he made three entire movies about Batman beating up poor people because he was too embarrassed to actually make a Batman movie.

[pdxtrent]

Sometimes I wonder about things in the popular zeitgeist in Gotham City. Like, do edgy Gen Zers say something like ‘put my head in a duffel bag cause I’m dead now’ or something like that because of the absolute bananapants actions of Red Hood?

I firmly believe that there are wars fought over exactly how many Robins there have been, like, I think it’s probably sort of generally agreed that Nightwing is the first Robin. But was there actually a second Robin and a third Robin before we got the girl Robin, or was the second Robin just off recovering for awhile.

And yes, I bet there’s at least some degree of agreeing that Spoiler became the girl Robin became Batgirl… but do they think that she was just filling in for Robin while he was out recovering from an injury?

There has to be like die-hard believers in the six Robins vs three Robins. Is there an argument for more? Less? Like Damian is easily distinguishable from Dick and Jason/Tim, and obviously Stephanie stands out, but what are the popular perceptions about this?

I just have so many questions.

[tetrilys]

If the BatComputer were a Virtual Assistant, what would it's name be?

Think along the lines of JARVIS to Iron Man, or how Lego Batman kept referring to it as "'Puter" in the Lego Batman Movie. Would Bruce come up with a clever acronym, or would Dick beat him to it like most other things? Bruce is definitely too vigilant to even consider a service like Google Nest, Siri, or Alexa, so I feel like if he were to ever have an AI assistant that he would program it himself. Or perhaps Tim or Barbara programs it for him as a gift?

I'm not well-read as far as the comics go, so it's very possible that I missed something similar to this that is already canon. Either way, it would be fun to speculate :) I feel like it would just be BatComputer, but that's not very inconspicuous when guests are visiting.

[edjectedly]

"Despite DC themselves claiming it and sending it to be printed physically, a lot of people in the fandom take issue with it. A lot less take issue with the newest movie The Batman, despite it being on equal footing canon-wise with the webtoon."

[pdxtrent]

The thing is, Gotham is WEIRD about their nepo babies. Like Brucie Wayne is the poster child for nepo babies and is beloved. And I can see a snarky Metropolis Twitter personality trying to make a nepo baby comment about Bruce and getting absolutely buried by Gothamites.

But it is really hard to say how Bruce’s kids are viewed in this regard.

Like, it’s obvious Dick has no interest in business let alone WI. The closest he comes to owning a business is buying a circus that he almost certainly operates at a loss. Like you know his trust fund is supporting that place. And honestly, people probably love him for it. It’s what billionaires SHOULD be doing with their money.

And while Jason is technically publicly back from the dead, (and the Red Hood Outlaw run implies it’s public knowledge) but he is still a question mark of a person to the wider public. He recently bought a night club and that’s the first public thing he’s done in years. It’s not giving ‘dependable and trustworthy’ vibes. Especially if you’re in the know and it’s THAT nightclub.

And then there’s Tim whose parents were (admittedly poorly) involved in running DI (seriously it makes no sense that either of them was CEO, and chairman of the board is even a stretch for the amount they were gallivanting around). Like he’s not a great choice for controlling the Wayne Family shares, but good god he couldn’t be worse than the cop or the nightclub owner. And it’s Tim so you know he’s probably already got a 32 point plan to deal with the nepo baby criticism. Hell he probably posts nepo baby tweets himself like ‘Nepo baby guide to success: adoption route’. Like Tim of all of them has probably got this covered.

And god forbid anyone explain to Damian what a nepo baby is and that somehow it’s something to criticize.

tim drake being a shareholder of wayne enterprises at 17 has so many funny implications. like, shareholders have the ability to vote in meetings & have varying degrees of control over the management. basically he wasnt super powerful but like powerful enough.

and that’s so funny bc with twitter calling out so many nepo babies recently i just know that tim got absolutely devoured on twitter for being a nepotism baby, bc “how could a high school* dropout be a major shareholder over people who have been doing it for years bc it’s bc he’s bruce’s son” and you know what? they’re right. he deserves it

*edited bc i forgot tim is a high school dropout not a college one. that makes it significantly worse and therefore even funnier

[bebe-benzenheimer]

Wowww you hate Batman and think he's bad at social justice? Should we throw a party? Should we invite Alan Moore

[thecruellestmonth]

Do you guys really believe that killing is the singular bad thing that cops do?

Or even that killing is the most frequent bad thing that cops do?

Are you saying that if cops didn't kill, then they'd be the same as Batman? Because then you're suggesting that effectively Batman already is a cop, with the "exception" that he hasn't killed (just like the majority of U.S. cops, who have never once shot or killed anybody).

I'm a bit worried to see opinions suggesting that only killing is wrong—and that violence, stalking, and humiliation are okay. In real-life, police commit countless acts of those "little" abuses, terrorizing entire communities, before they murder anybody, or without outright killing anybody.

Invading people's privacy is wrong. Hurting people to the point of hospitalization is wrong. Forcibly drugging people is wrong. Putting people in cages is wrong. Torture and "enhanced interrogation" are wrong. Ambushing people in their homes and safe places is wrong. Keeping inexhaustible wealth is wrong.

Superhero comics are power fantasies. Not all fantasies need to reflect our ideology in reality. But once you apply your real-life values to fiction, once you decide that fiction showcases exemplary real-life ideology—then your praise for Batman's ideology does become a worrying reflection of your real-life understanding of social issues.

[pdxtrent]

So all of the jokes are funny, but is there any evidence that the Red Robin chain exists in DC Comics, or is it completely replaced by Batburger?

[pdxtrent]

Dick has no room to judge. He’s the reason we have a batcave, a batmobile, batarangs, and probably the very name batfamily.

The bat signal is 100% Jim Gordon getting into the spirit of things though.

Dick will let Tim name his vehicles even when the names are kinda embarassing...<3 iconic older brother behavior.

It should also be noted that Tim named his own car “Redbird.” He made up matching names for his and Dick’s cars. Iconic younger brother behavior.

Joker’s Last Laugh #1

ID: A panel showing Barbara Gordon pushing her wheelchair as Dick Grayson walks behind her, in a garage with a blue bulky car behind them and a red car in the corner. Babs says, “When are you going to do something about that car?” Dick says, “The Nightbird’s built to blend. Street camouflage, Babs.” Babs responds, “The "Nightbird," huh?” Dick rubs the back of his neck and says, “Tim named it.” End ID.

Nightwing (1996) #142 & Blackest Night: Batman #3

ID 1: Tim and Dick as Robin and Nightwing sitting in the cockpit of a Batplane. Tim looks over at Dick with a slight grin while Dick has a neutral expression as he looks out the window. Tim says, “Bruce mentioned you’re hitting the friendly skies now. When can I take a spin in the all new, all different "Winger"?” Dick says, “If you call it "Winger" again, probably never.” End ID 1.

ID 2: Damian Wayne as Robin standing with one hand pressed to the comm device in his ear, which Dick is speaking through. Damian says, “On my way!” Dick says, “No, lock in on my signal and send it by one of the Wingers I used when I was Nightwing!” Damian says, “But I could bring--” then is cut short and the rest of the panel is cropped out. End ID 2.

[thesulkycroissant]

Bruce (as Batman) is hard on people. He just is. What's interesting about is that in No Man's Land, it's a pattern: with Azrael and Huntress, he gives them clear and specific directives, and he tells them he believes in them. And they both fail. The tasks they were given are difficult, maybe difficult bordering on impossible, and they both express that, and Bruce isn't interested in hearing it, before or after the failure.

Enter Dick.

Bruce gives Dick a basically impossible mission (go take back Blackgate by yourself). Dick expresses that he can't do it. Bruce says, I have confidence in you. Dick gets it done. He's severely injured, his life was at risk at all times, but he got it done.

And I already know, I can already tell, that they're not going to give me any follow-up.

Failure is addressed. Success, even at tremendous cost, is expected and unremarkable. And I feel like that has to play into undersranding Dick and Bruce's dynamic.

[who-always-pays-their-taxes]

Why do you (as in the royal you) as a member of a fandom,, seem to believe that things need to be,,, canon??? in fanfiction??? why would? that ever be? if you wanted to read pure canon, you could,,,, idk,,, read canon? pick up the source material,,, and if you wanted to read pure canon fanfiction just search the ‘canon compliant’ tag. that’s how ao3 works. so silly.

[galaxymagitech]

Sorry, but I do actually think it’s possible to be a Batman fan without reading any comics. The comics are super fun! I encourage people to give them a try. Never underestimate the power of a universe you care about to get you to read a media you normally don’t enjoy. But there are:

Three seasons of Batman: The Animated Series

Three seasons and one movie of Batman Beyond

Three seasons and one movie of Batman (1966)

58 DC Animated Original Movies, many of which include Batman or Batman characters

Over a dozen live-action Batman-related movies, including the very popular Christopher Nolan trilogy and The Batman (2022)

Many novelizations of comic arcs, including No Man’s Land and Court of Owls

Batman video games, including Arkham Knight (and related Arkham video games) and Gotham Knights

Look, I get that the comics are the source material, the original, but…

Are you really going to say someone who has watched BtAS ten times and has an encyclopedic knowledge of it is “not a Batman fan”?

What about someone who is obsessed with Batman (1966) and knows all the details about it and has cosplayed as Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman?

Or someone who repeatedly plays through Arkham videogames and rambles on Tumblr about them?

Or a fanfiction writer for The Batman (2022) who has watched the movie more times than they can count and written 200k words of fanfic for it?

Or someone who has religiously watched every single DCAOM, most several times?

Or someone who is completely obsessed with that one Batman radio play and makes fanart for it?

Face it. Batman is a multimedia phenomenon. If you can be a fan without watching the movies, you can be a fan without reading the comics. I understand that it’s frustrating when someone who has no grounding in any canon starts talking about something being “out of character,” but…I find it ridiculous for people to claim that you can’t be a Batman fan if you haven’t read Batman comics. Because you can be. Unless in those scenarios I described above everyone is just a fan of Ratman instead.

[pdxtrent]

Look, I’m not 100% sure but I’m pretty sure-

Is one of the two most heartbreaking things Tim has ever said. And the other one was a lie.

(This lie, if you’re wondering.)

Have u guys heard about comics. They’re really cool.

[frownyalfred]

every now and then I peek at the r/Batman comment sections and I swear it could be a bunch of replies on a tumblr post

[eddiebloombug]

all comic fans know how to do is: develop superiority complexes based on their personal perceptions of a character, eat hot chip, and lie