#anti-batwoman

[baambastic]

Holy Batsuit references, Batman!

[evies20dollars]

I'm so angry that Willow has been canceled and we're just barely getting scraps for ALOTO, but even more than angry, I'm just so tired-- i know streaming is awful in general for art, but the specific targeted cancellations of sapphic shows again and again is just so fucking exhausting

Fans deserve better, creators deserve better, wlw deserve better-- our stories matter regardless of what any network has to say about it

Edit: We've since that the reporting about Willow was clickbaity and in reality the show is going on a hiatus, not being canceled altogether. I'm really glad about that, but even so, I think given the overall trend of canceling sapphic shows, my point still stands

Edit again: Disney's removing Willow from Disney+ entirely because it's not enough to be cancelling our representation, the trend now is to erase us entirely so they can screw over writers by not paying them residuals, so, in summation: fuck Disney and every other streaming service

[zionistsinfilm]

When you buy or stream Orange is the New Black, Batwoman, The Meg, John Wick, XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Pitch Perfect, SAS: Red Notice, The Door Man, Vanquish, Resident Evil, Stowaway, The Collective, 1Up, Red Notice, you're giving money to zionists. Ruby Rose is a pinkwasher.

[lazywolfwiccan]

Kate Kane is Batwoman, not Ryan Wilder!!!!!

[azurecanary]

I am still fucking pissed that Warner Brothers won't renew successful and well written shows like Young Justice, Batwoman, Stargirl, or release fully completed movies like Batgirl; but will resurrect a poorly written franchise alongside one of the world's most famous bigots, and force out a Flash movie literally starring a criminal. Like what the fuck?!?!?!

[gisatako]

s1ep9, Crisis ep2, did I lose my mind when earth-74 mick and ai leo showed up? yes. Did I also lose my words when John appeared? ç_ç I did. Am I kind of hoping ray and mick would play family so that I'll melt in a puddle of fluff?? Of course.

[batcavescolony]

Jason *dying his hair black*: you know I started dying my hair before Robin.

Dick: yeah why?

Jason: their's like five red heads in Gotham and I knew as a kid for a fact that one was Ivy and one was Riddler. Then I became Robin to find out the other was Batgirl/Barbra and finally Kate Batman's cousin who's now Batwoman-

Dick: Yeah Red Heads in Gotham are either heroes or villains

Jason: -yeah so I didn't want to draw attention to myself.

Dick: ...Jay?

Jason: what?

Dick: I don't think it worked you've been a hero, villain and now anti-hero.

Jason: ...

Dick:

Jason *slams down color brush*: FUCK

[dairy-farmer]

Back at it again with my love of under represented dynamics! A/B/O remember? It's NOT A/O! Where's my Beta love?! Just because you get the most common presentation, you don't deserve to be sexed up??

Lies! Slander and defamation! We shall not tolerate this Anti-Tim Sexing in THIS Good Tim Sexing household!

And imagine it: Tim's parents. Strong independent Betas who would prefer all these Scentheads stop trying to trap them in their packs just to get at the Drake family fortune. Forever out of the country, both to AVOID the fuckers and to pursue their own interests.

A tiny pack of just Betas.

Tim doesn't need an Alpha to protect him. What is this, the middle ages? And he's not incompetent. He doesn't need an Omega to control and manage the household. Yes, he GETS that's a wildly over simplified version of the social dynamics. Still doesn't need them.

Unlike Alphas and Omegas, Betas don't actually HAVE that extra strong compulsion to group up. They just kinda prefer too.

But? Tim's classmates are GROSS. They stink and are dramatic, swan around like they're hot shit (Alphas) or try to manipulate people into liking them and protecting them (Omegas). And it's? So SOAP OPERA.

Unlike Batman.

Batman doesn't stink. He ACTUALLY protects people. ACTUALLY takes care of people. Both in and out of the mask. THAT is how you're supposed to act!

And Dick Grayson? Best Omega you'll EVER meet! Strong and caring, remembers your name even if you're not important. Was ROBIN. Protects his city and started the Titans! So cool!

But Tim likes Jason the most. Even if he CAN be a growly little Alpha scenthead at times. Cause he CARES. About everyone. Doesn't get wrapped up in presentations and what he's "supposed" to care about or do.

But then Batman's in his rutt. Tim knows, cause Batwoman's taken over, but instead of staying in a guarding the Manor... Jason's sneaking out? Tim knows there's been tension. But how has it gotten THIS BAD?!

He may not be pack... but he cares. A LOT. So he decides to stop him!

And Jason? His quest to find his Mom is completely derailed when he gets body slammed by history's gangliest Pup. Dear FUCK, does no one FEED this kid!? Why is he in Jason's yard?! Ow! Stop scratching!

He THINKS the kid might be trying to growl, but it frankly sounds ridiculous. All crackly and hesitant. It takes him forever to recognize the squirming little monster as his neighbors kid. Okay. He adjusts. Drop the kid off, THEN find his mom.

Except no, the kid is refusing to unlatch. Fucking BIT his shirt with all his little puppy strength and won't let go. Are you KIDDING him?

And the longer it takes to struggle free? The more his nose catches up with him.

The house... smells weird. He can't quite place it. It's like something SHOULD be there, but isn't.

He stills when it finally sinks in. Barely any scent but the Pups. And no Alpha or Omega scent AT ALL. The fuck? He stops fighting the kid. Drags him closer. Tim squeaks but let's himself be manhandled. And...

Nothing.

Kid smells like a pup that's DEFINITELY gonna be a Beta, from the way it mixes so strongly as an undertone, but? No adult scents are anything close to recent. They're barely even THERE. And Alpha scents? Non-existent. Same with Omegas.

Sure, there's some on his clothes, but that's just "he sat near some". Not scented. The fuck? In a big ol house like this??

It pisses Jason off.

What, is the kid not GOOD enough? USEFUL enough? They didn't get some bartering chip Omega or perfect heir Alpha, so fuck um? Did the kid ALSO get accused of some shit he didn't do? Maybe get blamed for turning out Beta, like he had any fuckin CHOICE in the matter?

Do they think they can just toss the kid aside? Leave him waiting for scraps of affection whenever THEY decide he's finally Good Enough again? Fuck um. They don't NEED adults like that! Jason can be the kid's pack! He's an Alpha! Planning to go look for his mom. They'll have a NEW pack!

And Tim? Veeeery close to Smells Good and Robin Being Persuasive(tm). Common sense has left the building. Okay! Tim is On Board with this likely fatal plan! Please keep hugging him. Rub scent aaaaall over his face.

Thankfully? Bruce has coworkers(friends) who care. And are aliens. Immune to the whole "scent" thing. Clark brought over some water and food for his buddy. Rutts are tough. And oh? Is that a note? Better bring it to Alfr-..!!!!?!?!?

They get caught by a VERY alarmed Superman.

It's quite stressful. Tim presents a month early. Now every body STINKY and his skin feels weird. Presentation sucks no matter WHO you are. It'll be days before his body calms down. Small problem?

Getting dumped back in the same house as Bruce, getting caught, and then learning the joker POISONED PEOPLE then Blew Up His Mom? Kinda caused a stress Rutt. And Jason is extra super clingy ON TOP of everything else.

He's upset. ANGRY. And the ONLY thing that DOESNT make him upset and angry? Timmy. Who is warm and soft and feels good to rub against. Who smells nice. Not, like, Omega nice... but NICE. Soothing. He can wrap his arms around him, bury his face against his neck, and just? Grind against that warm body until it gets too good. And he spills all sticky and slick.

Gets his scent spread even MORE all over him.

But... but where's HIS scent? They gotta smell like each other. And Timber's skin is so sensitive right now. Rubbing too much hurts. He can't get enough to cover himself. And it's not like he has a dick Jason can rub against, like HE rubbed.

Wait.

Jason's never tried it before... but he bets he can make his Tim feel good. But.. those classes and lectures and stuff, said betas aren't exactly? BUILT to handle Alpha bits. Can he even FIT inside Timbers? He doesn't wanna HURT him!

He works a hand down instead. It takes him a bit, to find what he's looking for, but... it's warm. Soft and a little wet. Gets wetter as he rubs. Tim squirming and twitching, his heart rate picking up. Body getting warmer. Scent getting all OVER him. It's even better when he squishs a finger inside.

It's AMAZING in there.

He rubs and rubs, inside and out, until Tim is shaking apart. Bites him n makes him PACK. No take backs.

The adults are furious. Fuck um. It takes Timmy's parents WEEKS to even come back and notice. And Bruce was gonna get rid of him anyway!

Except... except apparently he WASN'T. He just sucks at everything and can't use his words. Dick is apoplectic. Might actually KILL Bruce this time. When he comes back from space and Robin has a baby pack within Bruce's pack because Bruce fucked up so bad, he thought he'd be getting DISOWNED.

And the thing is? They don't notice. Are too busy tearing into each other, threatening lawyers and bodily harm, to notice Jason's little pack and how it operates.

Cause THEY decided they LIKE how they "scent". It feels nice. Beta scent is light. Takes a lot to scent properly. Which is easy if there are a lot of Betas, not so much if it's just Tim. But they "figured it out"! And it feels good.

Jason LOVES exploring Timmy's interesting bits. Tasting and rubbing, working his fingers as deep as he can go, to rub and rub until Tim is tensing up and twitching as he falls apart. It takes a lot of practice, but Tim can take MORE fingers now.

Jason even did some research. There are tools! Well, they're called "toys" but they're tools. Made to help when you can't fit! When your little hole is too small. Jason had to break in after hours to get um, but he DID leave money!

He got all sorts of stuff. It was awesome. Timmy LOVES it. And JASON? He loves watching his Beta's body stretch. Take it for him. Getting looser and looser so it won't hurt. So he'll feel so, SO good for Jason. Get off again and again because he can't help but feel so good.

Jason's gonna take SUCH good care of his pack.

And the adults may not notice the scenting? But Dick DEFINITELY notices Jason's next Rutt. More specifically, how quiet it is. No misery, no complaining, no pressing up against Dick, trying to escape the heat. Just... quietly locked up in his room? Suspicious.

So he goes to check.

And finds him fucking his little Beta. It's a worst case scenario. Oh god. Did he lose control?! He's hurting his-! ...except as his mind catches up to his eyes, no. He's not.

Hips thoughtfully propped up on a pillow, whimpers don't sound pained, and that is clearly a bottle of artificial slick. Jason is pounding into his Beta like it's his sole mission in life. Dragging him back to meet each thrust, HARD. Poor thing is starting to look overwhelmed. Must be the first time he helped someone through a proper heat.

So Dick steps inside, closes the door, and locks it.

Strips. Distracts Jason as he detangles the poor little Beta who's looking positively fucked out. Shhhhh. Come here sweetness.

Letting Jason pant against his skin, as he rutts against his leg, is hardly a hardship. It let's him cuddle the cute little Beta close. Press kisses to his precious, drooling face. He lazily pumps his fingers in and out. Keeping from getting too tight again. He wouldn't want the cute little guy to get hurt.

But... in the end, the curiosity gets the better of him.

After all, he feels so warm around his fingers. Soft and delightful. He's obviously bigger the Jason, he's an older man. He wonders if it'll even fit...

He aligns the little hole over himself, the Beta limp onto of him. And lowers him slowly. Watches with wonder as he gasps and whines.. but TAKES it. His poor little body stretching to the brim. So deep it must border on painful.

Fucking him is AMAZING. Jason crawls up, to hold him. To rutt against his back, face pressed to his shoulder, holding him still. Dick helps, hands holding those little hips, as he pulls back and fucks up into that heat.

Every thrust punchs a little gasp, a whine, a whimper, out of their pretty little Beta. He takes it so WELL. Legs shaking. Inner thighs drenched. But no where to run. For the first time in YEARS, Dick let's himself cum deep inside someone. It's so GOOD. Gushing, frothing, and wet. He let's himself drift.

They barely remember to keep hydrated. Fed. If Dick didn't have access to after-heat care, Tim would undoubtedly be pregnant.

Of course, Tim is training to be the "man in the chair" like Oracle. Is over constantly. And Tim's parents? Still take their ill fated trip. The quiet hostilities screech to a halt. Bruce does all he can. But... well. He never wanted to "win" like this. He takes Tim in.

And in short order... notices how unusually CLOSE his sons are to the young Beta.

The Beta who smells like Pack but not HIS pack. Hmmm. Fixable. He starts scenting the boy. But can't shake the feeling he's missing something. But... life distracts. Cases pop up. At least his sons are getting along, right?

But then? He needs Jason for a case. The day is not a special one, just inevitable. He goes looking. Finds Jason with a tied up Tim. Bullet vibe tormenting his poor little clit. Working a knotting dildo into the boys poor, sensitive, body. It's just slightly smaller then he is.

Jason doesn't notice him. Is too focused. Tim's whimpering, straining, but Jason's relentless in working it in. Telling him he's gonna be good for him. Take his knot. Keep it in him till he's all stretched out. How he bets after this, Tim can take BIGGER. The knot is slowly sliding in until... pop! In it goes. Tim gushes and comes apart.

Not Natural behavior. You have to train yourself to cum like that, just from getting knotted. ESPECIALLY a Beta. It's a distant thought as Bruce quietly backs away. Before he can be noticed.

But now? The thoughts won't LEAVE. He notices know. The days when Tim's gait is stiff. What he now knows that MEANS. What's inside him. Can't help but wonder about the other days. Is he empty then? Left craving? Or does he have something else to...

No. Do not. It's inappropriate.

But he can't stop. And the gods must hate him, because his rutt hits full force when it's just the two of them in the Manor. He barely remembers getting naked. Hunting him down.

He's full today.

He kisses like he's devouring the little Beta. Licks and sucks, all but rips the clothes from him. The boy's startled but not opposed. Is embarrassed to be caught full. It stretches him so gloriously. Bruce makes him SQUEEL with his mouth. Fucks him with his hidden companion until he's wet and ready. Then it's out and he's plunging in deep.

He shudders.

So good. A wet little vice, dispite all the stretching. Fucking him up and down his cock like a toy, he enjoys the feel of it. Before lifting them both. Heading for his room. Bouncing the boy on his cock the entire way.

He loses count of how many times he knots him. He takes it so WELL. Even when he's overflowing. Whining and exhausted. He goes to sleep buried deep. Wakes up already rocking. Soon fucking desperately again and again.

The house stinks of them. Jason is not amused. Dick is HIGHLY amused. Tim is unconscious from exhaustion again and won't be walking for at least a week. The Pack is united.

......you know... until Talia decides its finally time to inform Bruce HE HAD A SON.

-🐼

!!!!!!!!!! tim being the perfect little packmember!!! doing such a good job of taking them, better than any omega they ever had and without all those headache-inducing pheromones because some omegas overdid it !!! tim being a nice little beta who trains to take their cocks so well!!

[damianbugs]

what are your favorite wlw ships in the dc universe?

anissa pierce and grace choi are recently on my mind because oh my God. they're so important. everyone should read The Outsiders (2003) for some of the most entertaining found family and realistic (or as realistic as superhero comics can get) romance ever. eventhough anissa and grace get together at like the end of the run you can tell from the beginning that theres some intense chemistry there ans they're just sooo cute ☹️

after that it has got to be diana and barbara ann. save me toxic yuri à la Wonder Woman (2016). i think every single hero needs that one relationship with a villain/anti-hero that they just can't give up on no matter what. it makes them so complicated and REAL because the most wonderful thing about love is it's ability to preserve through the impossible AND THAT IS LITERALLY DIANERVA!!!! they are foils and they want to get nasty everytime they lock eyes.

now i can't discuss dc sapphics without mentioning kate and renee. they were my first ever wlw ship i read in comics and i am very happy for it. as a lesbian i find comics can be a very isolating place, with very few characters and ever fewer stories, so reading Batwoman Elegy was quite literally a life changing experience. and while i loved all of the relationships kate had, her one with renee is such an interesting one with all its ups and downs and very real experiences that i love very dearly. my divorced parents, if you will.

[girlcored]

crazy ass moments in dc comics history off the top of my head

guy gardner is incredibly anti-soviet and causes multiple international incidents (late 80s)

the joker becomes iran's UN representative (1988)

wonder woman delivers a disguised circe's baby underwater by biting through the umbilical cord (i don't even remember when this was? maybe like late 90s)

nightwing joins the mafia, goes by "crutches" (early 2000s)

jason todd impersonates nightwing and moves to nyc to torment him (mid 2000s)

dick grayson shot in the head by kgbeast, goes by "ric" and drives a taxi. also god that half zipped grey hoodie was NOT IT (2019)

hal jordan's "eskimo" sidekick??? (1960s)

batwoman and bat-girl first introduced because batman and robin were accused of turning the kids gay by being gay (1950s)

the wonder woman biker outfit incident. (early 2000s)

tim drake prays in front of jason's shrine in the batcave (late 90s)

the batman cock incident

[scribe-of-maat]

Ranking DC Pride 2024

8. Phantom Rodeo (Jules Jourdain/Circuit Breaker, Jay Garrick/The Flash)

Dead last because 1 - it's not self-contained. 2 - it has nothing to do with anything Pride related and 3 - it's the return of the complete rando from last time. At least before the incredibly cool couple of Jess/Flash and Andy/Aquawoman featured heavily but no, because of detractor 1 Jay is here instead. Personally, I don't care about Circuit Breaker and I really hope someone else gets their spot next year.

7. "Hello, Spaceboy" (Starman/Mikaal, Komak)

If I knew who either of these characters were, this would probably be a lot higher. But the competition this year is steep so at 8 they go. Komak and the blue-purple warp zone 80s color pallet is REALLY slick. I thought I was familiar-ish with Starman but clearly there are multiple people running around with that name who have nothing to do with the JSA.

6. "Lessons in Astral Projection" (Nia Nal/Dreamer)

I stopped watching the CW shows that weren't about Black Lightning or Batwoman a looong time before Dreamer was intro'd (or after? I know I wasn't watching Flash way before she came along) but I knew of her and thought her powers and connection to the Legion of Superheroes was cool. I didn't like that there was no confrontation with Maeve in the story but it definitely would have gotten in the way of the feel-good affirmation vibe of the story.

5. Spaces

I'm 99% sure I've seen mention of Phil Jimenez across various DC fan spaces, so the only surprises here were that he was LGBT and that they were bringing back the real-person issue-ender like they did Mr. Conroy. It was nice seeing his journey, and it being so well-told is a real plus. No superheroes anywhere in sight though, save Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman.

4. Marasmius (Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy, Janet-from-HR)

Now THIS one was a ride. The opening left me a little rudderless and I'm not the biggest Harlivy fan so I thought I wasn't gonna get much out of this but if there's one thing I can believe, it's that if we had interplanetary travel the 'phobes would preach their nonsense across the galaxy. Ivy being an anti-villain is used to great effect here. No hand-wringing about morals, no reasoning with hate. Just do unto others as they would do unto. VERY cathartic.

3. Bros Down In A-Town (Jon Kent/Superman, Jay Nakamura, Ray Terrill/The Ray, Miguel Barragan/Bunker)

This one 3rd because I relate heavy to feeling weird about being openly LGBT out and about in public. I thought it was a surprising feeling that doesn't get touched on a whole lot because people generally don't like to see that type of real queer struggle being depicted in media that's supposed to be heavy on escapism. This artstyle though. I follow the artist on twitter because it fascinates me how one person's character can bleed through so transparently in the way they draw.

2. The Rivers and the Lakes that You're Used To (Jackson Hyde/Aquaman, Ha'Wea, Orion)

My bias for Jackson Hyde is showing but this story was also incredibly cool on its own merits. Orion being stone-facedly het for half of it was a choice but my boys showed up and officially got together - which I was surprised to learn hadn't happened long before now - so of course it shot up further in the rankings than it otherwise may have. Him saying he feels like himself when he's around his boyfriend is just *chef's kiss*.

1, Steeling Time (Natasha Irons/Steel, Traci Thirteen/Traci 13, John Constantine, Xanthe Zhou)

Natasha and Traci's appearances were the only things about this I got spoiled on, but after reading this they've instantly shot up to join Jackson and Ha'Wea in my pantheon on ships. I do like how it showed the steps to reconciliation and they were both still clearly open to the idea of rekindling things eventually. But this artstyle makes me want to see a webtoon of these two YESTERDAY.

[soleminisanction]

Your Anti-Stephanie Brown is the only reason I am still living I have no understanding of why she became everyone's favorite girly. What's your least favorite Stephanie brown headcannon or moment in comics?

Heh, thank you. About once a month I'll get a new person who goes through liking all of my Steph-crit posts, and it's reaffirming to know that people get some relief out of finding someone who shares a common opinion on these frustrations.

As for least favorite moments/headcanons... TBH it varies a lot depending on when you catch me. In terms of canon moments, the entirety of Batgirl 2009 and her part of YJ 2019 pretty much constantly battle it out for least favorite. BG09 is kind of my white whale because it's just... it's such a bad book, badly written, badly drawn, badly conceived, with bad themes and outright offensive characterization, and yet there are people who treat it like the height of comics literature because it worships at the altar of Stephanie.

And while I'm more sad about most of YJ19 than anything else since I can tell it got hard-core screwed over by some behind-the-scenes nonsense, Steph's sections are so blatantly just done to appease people who were harassing the creators, are so infuriatingly Mary Sue-ish (I'm still mad about Earth-3 Steph being a heroic Batwoman just because She's Specialer Than You), and take up so much time that could've been used smoothing out the story for the characters who actually belonged there. It's so aggrivating.

As for headcanons, I mostly don't care what other people do in fandom -- it's fandom, my philosophy is live and let live. But I do side-eye hard anybody who tries to depict her as Black. Stephanie is an extremely white character of the suburban, conservative, welfare-hating, definitely-would've-voted-for-Regan-and-Bush-if-she'd-been-old-enough variety, who gets away with what she does almost entirely because of the white woman victimhood narrative. People who try to make her Black because she's not a millionaire and her hair is curly just weird me out.

[amageish]

With Wayne Family Adventures returning, I would like to overanalyze one panel from one of the preview images, as I have not been able to stop thinking about it...

[ID: Picture of Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake sat in a kitchen area. Tim sits in a chair while Steph sits on the table, giving him a pat on the head and smiling. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, bunches of lavender are visible. End ID.]

So, this panel is a nice moment between Stephanie Brown and her ex-boyfriend Tim Drake, with Steph giving Tim a supportive pat on the head. This may indicate that we will see them discussing their relationship history in some form this season - like the many, many, many other cases of “Thing that comic fans wanted to see acknowledged in canon is done better in the webcomic” before it. But that’s not what I find interesting.

What I find interesting is the flowers in the leftmost corner of the panel.

Drawn in a surprising amount of detail, we see a bundle of lavender. Now, this isn’t wholly interesting in of itself - Stephanie Brown does love purple, after all - but I find the choice of lavender specifically to be really neat and potentially meaningful given the history of Steph and Tim specifically and the mantles of Robin and Batgirl more broadly.

Lavender is a flower that has often had queer meaning assigned to it, dating all the way back to the early 1900s. The flower and references to it have often be used as code for queer community in a similar way to how rainbow flags are used as symbols of queer community.

[Content Warning: The next paragraph will include discussions of homophobia and systemic oppression of queer people more broadly.]

This unfortunately includes the Lavender Scare, the 1950s anti-gay crusade that ran parallel to the Red Scare. That period, horrific in its oppression of queer people in many different ways, also had a surprisingly major influence on the history of comic books in general and Batman in particular. The publication of Seduction of the Innocent in 1954 argued that comic books were having a negative influence on the youth of the day, including claiming that Batman and Robin were gay lovers and that readers would be “corrupted” by their relationship. In response to this book and the massive amount of scrutiny it put them under, comic book publishers founded the Comics Code Authority to regulate their content and DC created the characters of Batwoman and Batgirl as love interests for Batman and Robin in order to “prove” their heterosexuality.

With this in mind, I find the choice of lavender in the frame of this image really interesting. While Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake are not the Batgirl and Robin of the Lavender Scare, they are still a broken-up Batgirl/Robin pairing. Tim Drake is now an explicitly queer man, in a relationship with Bernard. Stephanie Brown has not been made explicitly queer, though the coding is certainly there in several of her appearances (mostly famously in her reaction to Zatanna in Rebirth Young Justice and her relationship with Cass in Future State). With this in mind, the flowers feel like a kind of cheeky nod to the past and how we are now able to move forward - in new, queerer, more lavender directions.

Or, y’know... Maybe Stephanie Brown just really likes purple and I’m thinking about this too hard... Who knows!

[clay-cuttlefish]

Finally we've arrived at 52, the series that turned me from a casual reader of a few comics into a full-on DC fan and Question enthusiast. This is the reason I set out on this project in the first place. I love it so much.

#1

This is my fifth time reading this in full, I think, and I still get hyped at this opening issue. Look at my guys.

It's a miracle this came together as well as it did. The omnibus is great for giving some insight into that construction process.

#2

There's just so much in 52 and I can't believe they pulled it off. Part of that is that it's thematically coherent, despite how different the plots are. Grief, reinvention, self-destruction as a means to cope with loss... it all feeds into itself.

In a slightly different timeline I came out of 52 fixated on Booster Gold and stumbled back into the Question later through Blue Beetle, instead of the other way around.

It took 416 issues but they're interacting! They're together! It's paying off!

Renee's heartbreaking spiral into self-destruction is interrupted by this massive dork. I love them.

#3

I really need to read Steel. Captivated by these two.

Skeets nudging the gyro cart owner out of the way is a very good panel. Catlike behavior.

#4

Booster and Bea's conversation is so. Hhh.

In the omnibus, Mark Waid calls Vic and Renee's scene "one of the high points of the entire series", and I'm with him.

#5

Renee and Maggie...

The metahuman hospital's a really cool piece of worldbuilding.

The only plotline I don't care much about is the spaceguys. I still like them, but the bar's really high here and I want to see other characters more.

Wish this was less creepy about Starfire.

#6

Kind of obsessed with Bob the theatre teacher and villain-for-hire, conceptually.

It takes a while for the Black Adam plot to pick up steam so this part isn't quite hitting yet.

Booster having a normal one.

#7

Renee hasn't talked to her mom in three years by this point. Oof.

The exes of all time!

Booster... Ralph blaming him for Ted's death is brutal.

#8

Oh cmon girl you're smarter than this. It's Lex Luthor, when has he ever had anyone's best interests at heart.

At least Ollie's still doing his thing.

Clark hating Booster is so good.

#9

"Smart-ass." "Consistency is everything." He is so annoying!

The John and Natasha fight is great.

#10

Clark taking a page from Lois' book is so good. Ridiculous.

I like Will and Professor Morrow a lot, nice that they're back in focus.

Supernova time :)

#11

His anti-smoking rant...

"I don't owe you anything." Oof ouch my soul.

Big talk here from a guy who spent a decade hung up on Myra.

The one superheroine ass shot I respect is in the "that's a Batwoman" panel because Renee deserves to appreciate Kate's ass.

#12

Besties moment.

Black Adam's plotline is gaining speed.

Oh Ralph.

#13

Oh NO, Ralph.

#14

They both look so good here. Love his stubble.

Desperately want to hear Tot's side of their conversation, and also their previous phone calls, because I'm sure he'd have Opinions about Vic deciding to become a mentor.

Shaking him. You are so annoying!

"There's no such thing as crazy, just behaviour that society has deemed unacceptable." SO true bestie.

#15

BOOSTER...

#16

Oh god, Renee.

Billy officiating Black Adam's wedding is very sweet.

#17

Luthor's superteam is one of the series highlights.

Still very funny that there's just a guy named Hannibal on it. Zero subtlety here.

Oh Lobo. I do not care about you.

#18

He's so silly.

Renee is having truly awful time falling back into old coping measures and he's out here getting scooped and being made fun of for cockblocking.

Booster's shitty funeral still fucks me up. Choosing to believe Skeets intentionally didn't invite people for evil reasons because the idea nobody showed up is too much.

Once again, oh no Ralph.

#18/2

A backup with Vic's origins. It's about right, though I prefer him starting as the Question before moving back to Hub City.

It lists his "essential storylines" as Mysterious Suspense, The Question 1987, and Cry for Blood, which I mostly agree with. Mysterious Suspense is less important but reading a pre-DC story is useful background for the 87 run and it's his only solo option.

[daughter-of-melpomene]

𝐑𝐄-𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆… 𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐂 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑, 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐖

❝ Paisley had wanted to be a hero since they were twelve years old. Like most kids in Gotham City, she had grown up hearing stories about the Batman roaming Gotham's dark streets every night, delivering justice and putting criminals away where they belonged. They had noted every new Robin, every new Batgirl, and been thrilled when Batwoman first arrived on the scene. But when the Green Arrow made his debut in Starling City, Paisley realized exactly what Gotham, even with all its badass black-clad angels of justice, was lacking.

Gotham needed an archer. And Paisley, twelve years old but already able to outshoot her professional archery instructor, was the just the person to give it one.

And so they had trained. She had spent every second of her spare time improving her shooting skills until she very well could have gone to the Olympics if they'd chosen, and working with the MMA instructor she'd begged their parents for when she'd turned fifteen until they were sure she was nearly on Batman's level. And on their twenty-third birthday, right after starting her second year of university, Paisley made their debut on Gotham's streets, taking down several muggers and thieves on her first night and capturing the attention of Gotham's media.

While the rest of Gotham was mainly amused by this new purple-clad vigilante calling themself Sagittarius (an archer! In Gotham! Can you believe it?) Jason Todd was intrigued. He'd seen the videos; this chick had major skills, and he wanted to know who she was. And as it turned out, she wasn't that hard to find. A first meeting occurred while sharing the takedown of a drug shipment, a conversation happened, and an agreement was reached: neither young vigilante particularly wanted to be a sidekick or a partner, but there was no shame in lending or taking a hand whenever they crossed paths, right?

Two years later, Paisley's nighttime career, as well as their deal with Red Hood, is still going strong. She works as an secretary at Wayne Industries during the day, slings arrows by night, and pretty much always hopes to run into the scarlet-hooded anti-hero, who isn't nearly as cold and intimidating as the public seems to think. But with every assist, every trading of back-and-forth banter, they can't help but wonder even more: who is this dry-witted gunslinger, and how can she be this attracted to him when they've never even seen his face?

Well, Paisley supposes, nothing is ever normal or unconfusing in Gotham. And when you're a vigilante, even less so. ❞

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[wolfsong02]

Totems of Power - Supergirl season 6

I've been thinking about this for a while - pretty much since the last season of Supergirl aired as something just didn't sit right with me.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths merged the multiverse and the Paragons were revealed as "beings of the purest will" by the Monitor. then Supergirl season 6 introduced the All-Stone - a magic crystal that gives the user total control over all creation: energy, matter, magic, and even life and death.

Six of the Totems embody the same qualities as the Paragons that saved the multiverse from the Anti-Monitor Crisis. The sole exception is the Dream Totem, which replaces Honor.

To me - that can't be a coincidence.

Now - considering the Totems can be disguised as literally anything and that 6 of the totems match 6 of the Paragons (and we know the CW had to change plans following the Covid-19 Pandemic and filming schedules etc.) I was thinking it would make sense that the totems that matched the paragons either were drawn to each other or resemble each other in some way.

For example - Kate Kane is the Paragon of Courage. Red is a symbol of courage (a coincidence she chose that colour for Batwoman?). She is also canonically Jewish - so wouldn't it be cool if the Courage Totem manifested itself as a symbol she could relate to? Something like the Lion of Judah - which is a Jewish symbol of courage.

So - my question for you all- if the totems could be anything at all, what do you think they would be? Would they manifest to be close to their like Paragon? Would they be something completely individual?

I'm curious about your thoughts on this