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remakethestars · 3 years

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Being Damian Wayne's Twin Sister Would Include:

Headcanons.

❝Exactly. I don't ask my dog to drive, and I don't ask the Justice League to solve my problems.❞

— Damian Wayne, Adventures of the Super Sons #9: Showdown on Hexworld

TRIGGER WARNING: Cursing, (Damian’s) death. Mentions of toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny, nightmares, blood, knives.

Headcanon masterlist.

When people ask you, “So, which one of you is the evil twin?” Damian always glowers, and you always motion to him.

You look disturbingly alike when only your eyes are showing; Damian’s got long lashes. Talia taught you a good tactic for tag-teaming in combat as kids was to pull up your hinged balaclavas and make the enemy think there was only one of you, that they’re seeing double.

Or for one of you to hang back while the other attacks as a distraction before the other knocks them out from behind.

Obviously, this won’t work when the two of you start filling out, but it works when you’re kids. It’s the reason why, even off the field, the two of you usually wear a matching outfits with hoods.

You utilize the same methods when she sends you to live with Bruce.

You don the Robin costume just like he does, much to the rest of the Batfam’s confusion (both because they weren’t expecting it and because they can’t tell you apart either), but sticking with the “red” theme, you go by Redstart.

There’s a rumor on the street that Robin V. is a meta that can teleport.

The two of you are freakishly good at mimicking the other’s voice and mannerisms, which makes it even harder for your family.

Jason tells you two about April Fools Day, and you make the most of it. Of course, Damian’s a pain in the a$$ and decides to go around pretending to be you and getting into trouble. You’re banned from the mall, and you still have no idea why.

The two of you can communicate with just an impassive expression (Dick says it looks like a prime example of twin telepathy to anyone else), but anyone close to you knows sh¡t’s about to hit the fan when the two of you look at each other and smirk.

If it’s something you can’t communicate nonverbally, you use your cryptophasia.

Cryptophasia is a language developed by twins when they’re learning to talk. Most of them grow out of it, you and Damian decided to keep developing it so it became more of a conlang. No one else has been taught to speak it, and they never will be. It’s for emergencies only.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was your Bible growing up, and the two of you call out verses when you fight together and need the other to understand a tactic (you both inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory, so you’ve got it memorized).

When you get too big to pull off the which-is-which game, you make your own costume and become the true Redstart.

It’s basically Damian’s Robin uniform (the Super Sons’s version is the only one I’ll accept), but the boots and gloves are black, the biceps have a white stripe, the lining of the cape is white (the lining of the hood is black), the gold accents become white, it has a zipper down the front instead of clasps, and the mask becomes black (including the eyes). The waterline of the eyes is white. Like a painted redstart.

If Damian’s into animals, you’re into plants. The two of you find common ground on the fact that pollution sucks, so when you walk Titus, you take a trash bag and gloves with you to pick up litter as you go.

You did not want to go to Jon’s school.

Not because you don’t like Jon (because you do), but because you know you could run intellectual circles around every one of those snot-nosed brats.

School is stupid. Especially because the American education system is subpar; everything about it is.

You hardly pay attention in class. You do all of the homework a week ahead of time incase something comes up. Usually you’re doing next week’s homework in class. You’ve written entire papers on your phone in Google Docs in the middle of class to be printed out later.

If you’ve already done everything, Damian’s usually drawing and you’re daydreaming or you’re working on a case on your phone.

The teachers are always trying to catch you not paying attention, but you little sh¡ts can always answer their questions.

Damian’s closest with Dick, but you’re closest with Tim. You admire his ability to plan ahead (see the entirety of the Red Robin comics), and you know that he’s better than both your father and your grandfather; you want to be as good as him when you grow up.

It takes a long time to wash the toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny our of your head, to learn that your grandfather’s ideas of “strength” were wrong, that it’s okay to lean on someone besides Damian, that you can be just as strong as your brother and still be feminine, that there are acceptable emotions besides anger.

Actually, your father teaches you that anger is more likely to get you killed. He won’t let you go into the field when he knows your angry.

It’s harder to drill out of you than your instinct to kill.

There’s a Lebanese restaurant called Tarbooshes (Teen Titans Special #1) the two of you go to when you’re feeling homesick. They make ox blood soup the same way your mother did, and it’s the only non-vegetarian thing Damian will eat for that very reason.

It’s nice to have a place to go where they know you by name and know what you want when you tell them “the usual.” It’s nice to have a place where you’re not a Wayne or an Al Ghul, where you’re just [Y/N] and Damian.

You disappear for an hour on your birthday to eat there. Bruce has asked you were you go, but you kept that between the two of you.

Speaking of birthdays, you’re eleven minutes older than him. He was six pounds and ten ounces (Batman & Robin #0?), and you were a solid seven.

After Damian died, you go to Tarbooshes to feel close to him.

You were doing all right with the no-killing thing until the night Damian died.

Heretic never stood a chance.

He looked so much like Damian it gave you nightmares, though. Nightmares where you killed your twin brother and woke up sobbing.

Damian didn’t give you a speech in his last moments. He just looked over at you and said in your cryptophasia, “I’m sorry.”

Not “I love you.” Not “Take care of them for me.” You knew that; you’d do that. He didn’t have to tell you, and he didn’t have to ask.

Just “I’m sorry.” Sorry that you were the one that was left behind.

It’s one thing to lose a family member, to lose a friend, or to lose a lover. It’s another to lose half of your soul.

The two of you had always feared you would die apart. It had always been a possibility; you weren’t stupid enough to think, “It’ll never happen to me.” Because it definitely could.

And it had.

You wanted to run away from everything. Even just for a while. Go to one of your safe houses in London or France or whatever and just — you didn’t know — stare at the wall until you felt better? But you’d made that unspoken promise to Damian — “I’ll take care of them for you; don’t worry.” — to take care of Titus and Catfred and Jerry and Batcow and Goliath, to take care of Alfred and Bruce and Dick and Jason and Cassandra and Tim, to take care of Jon and Colin and Maps.

You avoided the cave. And if you had to go down there for some reason, you refused to look at the Robin suits.

Dick noticed. He asked if you wanted them taken down, even just for a while. You gave him a look like he was nuts and said, “No.”

Jon was a mess. More of a mess than you were, somehow.

You’d shown up at the Kents’s. Jon was out doing Superboy things with Clark and Conner. Lois was the only one home.

You nearly scared her out of her skin when you materialized behind her and asked, “Is Jon home? It’s important.”

He had to know first. He deserved to.

For all he put up with from you two, he deserved to be the first to know when one of you was f*cking dead.

Lois, of course, bless her heart, had the mom instincts to know that you were in no way, shape, or form okay even when you were trying so hard to hold yourself together. She asked you what’s wrong, and it’s what made you break.

Your lip trembled. “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Damian,” your voice broke. “He’s dead.”

Jon came home to find you in his living room in your Robin uniform, covered in Damian’s and Heretic’s blood, snot running down your lip, sobbing in his mothers arms and knew what happened without having to ask. He did anyway.

When you and Jon both finally passed out, your Uncle Clark flew you back to the Batcave. No one was in any condition — not even Alfred — so he carried you up to your room; took your boots, mask, cape, and gloves off; and tucked you in. Then he went to find Bruce because there was no doubt he was losing it too.

Bruce doesn’t tell you anything about trying to find a way to bring him back without the Lazarus pit because he doesn’t want to get your hopes up.

You walk into your room one day to find Damian sitting there reading the dissertation (the requirement was three pages, not 120, but your teacher would just have to deal with your coping mechanisms) you had been working on for your World History class and left up on your laptop while on patrol.

He said with the utmost indifference, “You’ve made some good points, Sister,” and, of course, you pulled out a knife and attacked him because this was — was — was some shapeshifting alien or hologram tech or a cruel joke — your twin was dead, this wasn’t funny, whoever did this was going to pay.

He met you blow-for-blow and flipped away from you before saying, “And here I was expecting a warm welcome,” in your cryptophasia.

“Brother?”

“Tt. Obviously.”

Yeah, a college level thesis. You’re smart. You inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory and were raised by assassins.

You learned seven languages and wrote five doctoral theses by the time your teeth came in, wrote your first letter to a newspaper editor when you were two, could’ve had a geology doctorate when you were seven (Super Sons #1), and it only took you a week to learn the language on Takron-Galtos. You’re smart.

You’re also incredibly skilled. You learned to drive when you were five (Super Sons #1), your mother trained you to go for weeks without eating (Adventures of the Super Sons #6), you can micro-sleep for days and converse with half your brain asleep, can use a muscular contraction to move your liver out of the way of a blade (Nightwing #20), and can place yourself in a deep trance to heal damages caused by a hematoma (also #20).

(My dumba$$ didn’t note what Super Sons/Adventure of the Super Sons comic I was reading when I took notes, so I don’t have all of them noted in the two above bullet points. But that’s where they’re from. If I end up rereading them, I’ll edit this and add the comic numbers.)

The first time on patrol you thought Bruce was gonna die, you called him Baba.

The next evening, when Dick came to visit the cave, he turned to you and Damian and asked, “So, which one of you called him Dad?”

“How’d you know?” you asked.

“He’s smiling the way he did the day I called him Tati.”

“He’s not smiling,” Damian pointed out.

“He is on the inside.”

Can we talk about how royally the Arkham Knights game screwed up Tim Drake? (Though, everything seems to screw up Tim one way or another, I guess.) Why does he look like a quidditch player in the gif above the cut?

Visit my headcanon masterlist.

DISCLAIMER ━━━ I’m a dumb white American, and I don’t know much about Arab or Romani culture other than what I’ve learned online. I hope I got it right?? If I didn’t, please drop a comment or P.M. me or something to let me know!

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Kung Fu: Inside The History of a Martial Arts Classic

https://ift.tt/2Q3B4LS

It’s been a long journey for The CW to snatch that Kung Fu pebble from the master’s (Warner Bros.) hand, but the new reboot of Kung Fu could not have come at a better time.

Issues of diversity and representation have been at the forefront of our cultural conversations for years now. The rise in Asian hate crimes – nearly a 150% increase in 2020 – has made #StopAsianHate a frequent trending topic on social media. For The CW to launch a show with a Chinese leading actress and a largely Asian cast right now makes a bold statement for inclusivity that lives up to the network’s longstanding slogan “Dare to Defy.”

What’s more, Kung Fu is promoting itself as an Asian family drama which could fill a newly opened gap. Two wildly successful Asian family sitcoms just went off the air – ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat ended its six-season run in 2020 and Kim’s Convenience announced that their final episode after a five-season run will be April 13, 2021 (In the wake of Kim’s Convenience, CBC is launching a spinoff series, Strays, following the character of Shannon Ross, the only white actor credited in show’s opening). This leaves the door wide open for Kung Fu to capture fans of Asian family dramas. Plus it’s The CW, a network that thrives on soap opera-esque dramas.

CW’s reboot is a complete reimagining of Kung Fu, but what of the legacy of the original franchise? Will this new version bring honor to the Kwai Chang Caine a.k.a. Grasshopper? The original Kung Fu series was groundbreaking in its own way. The show garnered critical acclaim including three Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globe nominations. Even though David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine would be called out for whitewashing today, with its heavy reliance on Daoist philosophy, Kung Fu provided many Americans with their first taste of many aspects of Chinese culture, especially Shaolin martial arts. It also had the largest Asian supporting cast of any show for decades to come.

The Shaolin Temple Days

When the original Kung Fu premiered in 1972, it was the right time too. The pilot was such a big hit that the network decided to show it again (remember this was long before the invention of VHS – back then your only chance to see a show was to watch it when it was broadcast). However, the second showing was preempted by President Richard Nixon shaking hands with Chairman Mao Zedong. China was opening its bamboo curtain to America at the same time Kung Fu was telecast.

Kung Fu ran for only three seasons on ABC and yet it holds a special place in the hearts of its long standing fans. Kwai Chang Caine was a barefoot half-Asian mendicant monk from the Shaolin Temple who travelled the old west in search of his long-lost half-brother, Danny Caine (Tim McIntire). Caine was a wanted man because he took revenge. He killed the Emperor’s nephew who killed his beloved blind master, Master Po (Keye Luke). Beyond casting almost every Asian actor in the business back then, Kung Fu had an astonishing list of guest stars like Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, Harrison Ford, William Shatner, and many others.

The Chinese Connection: Bruce Lee Vs. Kwai Chang Caine

For decades, it was rumored that Kung Fu was ripped off from martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Lee had written a treatment that was remarkably similar – a story of Chinese immigrant martial arts master who landed in America during the Wild West era. However, in the definitive biography Bruce Lee: A Life, biographer Matthew Polly uncovered substantial evidence that Warner Brothers already had Kung Fu in development prior to Lee’s pitch. Nevertheless, Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, claims that her father auditioned for the part of Caine and was rejected because, ironically, he was Chinese. She went on to develop her father’s treatment into Cinemax’s Warrior (another recent show with a predominantly Asian cast that was cancelled last year).

After the original show ended, Carradine returned to the iconic role of Caine several times. In 1986, Kung Fu: The Movie aired on ABC, reuniting Carradine with Keye Luke and introducing Caine’s estranged son Chung Wang. Even more ironic, Chung Wang was played by none other than Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon Lee.

Warrior: The Historical Inspiration for Dylan Leary

By Gene Ching

Movies

How Batman: Soul of the Dragon Pays Homage to 70s Kung Fu and Bruce Lee

By Gene Ching

Kung Fu: The Movie was a steppingstone towards a spinoff series attempt, Kung Fu: The Next Generation, with Brandon Lee playing Johnny Caine. Carradine was not involved in this series. Set in modern times instead of the Old West, Johnny Caine was the great grandson of Kwai Chang Caine, but not the Kwai Chang Caine of the original series. The TNG Kwai Chang Caine was named for his great-grandfather – Carradine’s original character – and played by David Darlow. Brandon Lee was cast as both Kwai Chang Caine’s son and his great great great great grandson. Kung Fu: The Next Generation was not picked up. It was only telecast on an unusual short-lived TV showcase called CBS Summer Playhouse, which ran failed pilots every week. Six years later, Brandon Lee died in a tragic on set accident while filming The Crow.

Twenty years after the original series, David Carradine reprised the role of Kwai Chang Caine, or rather the grandson of Kwai Chang Caine, also named Kwai Chang Caine (not the father of the TNG Kwai Chang Caine because the failure of the pilot removed it from canon). That was the first real reboot of the series – Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. Set in modern times again, Caine was paired with a new son, Detective Peter Caine (Chris Potter). The series ran for four seasons, logging twenty-four more episodes than the original.

After that, Carradine never returned to Caine. He went on to promote martial arts with his book, Spirit of Shaolin, which he wrote in 1991, and some instructional Kung Fu videos that he made in the mid-90s. Carradine was never able to completely shake being typecast by the iconic role of Caine. Over the course of over 200 roles, a few more Carradine parts echoed Grasshopper. Fans were delighted to see him play the flute as Bill in Tarantino’s Kill Bill films (the flute was Caine’s signature accoutrement). Tarantino also referenced Kung Fu in Pulp Fiction when Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) tells Vincent (John Travolta) that he plans to walk the earth like “Caine in Kung Fu.”

In 2008, Carradine played “Crane”, a martial art monk just like Caine, in Kung Fu Killer, a two-part mini-series for Spike TV. Carradine claimed that the role was based on an actual historical figure, which he alleges is how the production worked around Warner Bros.’ copyright on Caine. But Carradine was never able to provide the name of that historical figure. He believed that Crane and Caine were ‘diametrically opposed’ but aside from being more violent (in one fight, Crane knocks an opponent so hard that his spine graphically bursts out of his back) viewers are hard pressed to separate them. The series was slated to have three more installments, but those never happened.

The Barefoot Journey to The CW

Kwai Chang Caine had to walk a lot of rice paper before the character could become this new incarnation of Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang) for CW’s reimagining of the franchise. The first major talk of reboot was back in 2011 (on Halloween no less). Bill Paxton (Aliens, Predator 2) was in talks to direct a screen adaptation. John McLaughlin (Black Swan, The Patriot) was tapped to write the script. The production was from Legendary Entertainment and plans were being made to shoot in China. Paxton said they had intended to follow the original story more or less – Caine ventures across the American West of the 1870s in search of his birth father instead of his half-brother. Paxton claimed that his new production would enrich the scale and grandeur to the level that the show always deserved. This was to be feature films under Warner Brother’s Chinese cooperative venture, Legendary East. As the project developed, other writers who became associated with the reboot film included Cory Goodman (Priest) and Rich Wilkes (xXx)

In 2014, Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!) was in talks to direct Kung Fu for Legendary. If the deal had been signed, Luhrmann planned to rewrite McLaughlin’s script. Paxton died in 2017 but his name had faded from talk of the reboot prior to his passing.

In an unexpected twist, Universal announced that it was opting Kung Fu for a feature length film in early 2020. At the helm is none other than stuntman-turned director David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool). Leitch has also been attached to a remake of Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon (another property with a long history of attempted remakes). However, since the initial announcements, there’s been no information on the further development on either project from Leitch.

On the TV side of things, Fox grabbed Kung Fu in 2017 for a new series. Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash) came on board to produce with Wendy Mericle (Arrow, Desperate Housewives) penning the script. This incarnation was the first mention of changing the gender of the main protagonist. The new lead was to be Lucy Chang, a Shaolin nun. Instead of being set in the Old West, she was to be living in the 1950s. And instead of searching for her half-brother, it was her kidnapped child.

In a successive treatment, Lucy was set in modern times. She was to inherit her father’s Chinatown Kung Fu school, only to discover that it secretly operated as a center to help those in desperate need. Lucy was partnered with a Korean War veteran named J.T. Cullen. The reboot moved to the CW in 2019 with Christina M. Kim (Blindspot, Hawaii Five-0) taking over as writer and producer and Berlanti still attached as a producer. The story is reimagined with Nicky Shen as a young Chinese American woman in contemporary times, who leaves to find herself at a monastery in China, and then returns to her family in America.

In the pilot, there’s no explicit connection given between Nicky and Kwai Chang Caine so far (save for the quick appearance of a grasshopper). Kung Fu is a complete re-imagining, so all bets are off. But as the season progresses, who knows what references and homages are possible? Reboots thrive on their Easter eggs nowadays, and even if Nicky isn’t within the Caine bloodline, Kung Fu will be well served by tucking some call-backs to the original show.

Will Nicky have to walk rice paper and snatch pebbles from her master’s hand? Will she get those classic Shaolin Dragon and Tiger forearm brands? If she does then perhaps Kung Fu will be the right show for its time while still honoring what came before it.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Kung Fu premieres on the CW on April 7, 2021.

The post Kung Fu: Inside The History of a Martial Arts Classic appeared first on Den of Geek.

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dcvalentineexchange · 6 years

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Those damn hipsters (or How Tim brought Jason back to the family with the power of music)

to @demilover21

from @the-casual-cheesecake

A/N: Happy Valentine Ace! I hope you like your gift <3

______

The first time it happens, Jason doesn’t even pay enough attention to it to notice a pattern.

Jason is on a case in Gotham, which is not a thing he wanted to do in the middle of freezing February. At least his nose is safe in his helmet. Gotham winters suck. He’s alone because Roy decided he’s too creeped out by Gotham to come with, and stayed in California like the asshole he is.

Nevertheless, Jason is on a case. A drug case to be specific, he’s following a gang operating on his turf and has managed to find their money man. He just needs to corner him and make him talk.

Thing is, he’s been surveilling his apartment for the last two hours, and he swears if he sees the teenager on the floor below walk aimlessly to the fridge only to open it and close it again, he will yell. He groans aloud when he catches a glimpse of a shadow moving the apartment only for it to be the cat again.

“Oh, I love this show.” A voice says to his right and Jason doesn’t jump only because of years of training.

He glances to his left and it’s Tim. Of course, it’s Tim. What could possibly make this night better for Jason. He follows Red Robin’s gaze and finds him snooping on the third-floor apartment where some sort of cartoon is playing.

“Is there something specific you wanted replacement?” Jason asks.

Tim shakes his head at Jason, “Slow night.” He says as an explanation, presumably.

Jason re-settles in his position on the roof and decides he doesn’t care enough to start a fight with Tim right now. He’s also terminally bored, but that’s for him to know.

Tim settles next to him with an air of satisfaction.

They survey the apartment together silently, but the silence feels different around Jason, not better per-say, he thinks, just different.

That is until Tim starts humming.

Jason ignores him at first, but the tune nags at him the longer Red Robin drones on. He almost asks him what the song is, but then his target opens the door to his apartment and comes in alone, and they’re both moving like cats on a hunt.

Jason backs his target against the corner of his living room and starts the scare tactics he knows always works on these types of men. He makes himself tower over the man and deepens his voice to a Batman bass, and starts listing off his offenses.

In the corner of his eye, he sees Tim making friends with the man’s cat. The dork.

Jason forgets the whole thing with the song during patrol the rest of the night, but then he finds himself humming in the shower afterwards and it hits him that he’s singing Duran Duran. He rolls his eyes at Tim in the privacy of his bathroom and resolutely decides to make fun of the little hipster when he sees him next.

***

The second time it happens, Roy is with him.

They’re in a car chase somewhere in middle America, Jason is too focused on the car in front of him to think about where they’re heading.

Roy is yelling ecstatically in the passenger seat and waving an arm out the window, and Jason would be annoyed if he didn’t find it just as fun as the redhead does. He feels a smile make its way across his face as his foot presses harder on the gas pedal.

The thief they’re following has stolen alien tech and he’s not nearly responsible enough to keep it, and well, Kory wants it back. The guy takes a sharp right into a side street and when Jason turns to follow like a maniac, he and Roy both let out a loud whoop.

Jason’s communicator beeps in his ear as they make the next turn and Jason yells for Roy to answer on the speaker of his helmet in the backseat. Roy dutifully does so.

“What?” he yells in answer.

“Jason? Is everything okay? Your com is moving very fast.” Tim’s voice comes through the helmet.

“Since when do you keep tabs on me you little stalker?” Jason answers and speeds as the car in front of him merges into a highway. Roy laughs.

“you set off an alert you megalomaniac.” Tim deadpans, then adds, “are you following someone or are you just being an ass?”

“We’re chasing the black Chrysler 200, little red.” Roy answers, “wanna help?” he adds after a second.

Tim lets out a loud put-upon sigh, but they hear keyboard clicks in the background.

Jason grins; a glance at Roy beside him shows that his friend is just as happy about this new development.

Jason swerves and bypasses a car on the highway, beeping at it in the process.

The perp is still in eyesight but he really doesn’t wanna lose him.

Tim starts humming on the com, it’s impossible not to recognize the song, and when Tim gets to the chorus all three of them start singing,

“One way or another, I’m gonna find ya, I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha!“

The laughter that bursts out of Jason is amplified by the adrenaline from the chase. He drums his hands on the steering wheel with the song.

They sing the rest of the song accompanied by music that Tim found and broadcasted to him via Helmet. Jason smiles the entire time.

“Got him.” Tim says. Jason and Roy exchange amused looks but don’t point out the pun.

The car in front of them starts slowing down.

The song stays in Jason’s head for days, and he knows for a fact Roy sang it in the shower of their safe house a week later.

***

The third time, they’re all in the manor for Alfred’s birthday.

Dick is sitting on the loveseat with Damian on his armrest, Bruce is on the armchair, Stephanie stealing the loveseat all for herself and Cass, and Tim and Jason are on the couch with Alfred and Alfred the cat.

They’re watching The Breakfast Club, because it was Tim’s turn to pick a movie apparently. Although nobody told Jason there was an order to the picking or he’d have actually shown up on family night before.

The movie’s good, a little sappy, but not Dick Grayson sappy so it’s okay.

It’s when the song starts playing that Tim starts vibrating in his seat and mouthing to the lyrics. Jason can see his hands drumming on the poor cat, and how he’s not scratched to hell by now Jason has no idea.

Dick catches Jason’s eye across the room and gestures at Tim. Jason shrugs at him, but Dick only shakes his head and frowns at him.

‘what?’ Jason mouths at his big brother.

Dick rolls his eyes in reply and grabs the remote. He rewinds the scene and turns the volume up.

Tim glances up at Dick with the same confusion Jason feels.

Dick gets up, disturbing Damian from his perch, which doesn’t seem to earn him the death penalty from the demon brat, but then again, everyone knows Dick has special allowances not available to mere mortals.

Dick reaches Tim and drags him from the couch by his hands and starts singing as his hips dance to the beat. The hesitant smile on Tim’s lips turns into a full-blown grin as he joins in the spectacle with his own rendition of the song.

From the corner of his eye, Jason sees the satisfied look on Alfred’s face and resolutely catches Steph’s eye and gets up himself.

“Hell yes!” Stephanie say, then quickly follows it with a, “sorry Alf.”

Soon enough, the whole family is dancing around the room. Even Bruce has Cass in his arms and is twirling her around expertly.

Stephanie and Dick are the loudest singers, which bodes well for no one if Jason is being honest.

In the middle of the spectacle Tim grabs Jason’s hand and pulls him up on the table to reenact the scene and Jason has never felt more ridiculous in his life, but Tim’s “Please Jason.” Kills any reluctance left in him.

At the end of the night, Jason sneaks into the Batcave to steal the footage from the security tapes, but before he gets to the computer, he sees Bruce there reviewing the same tape Jason was looking for with a soft smile on his face.

Jason leaves the manor with leftovers from Alfred and no tape.

***

The fourth time is a complete accident.

He’s patrolling his usual route in Gotham. It’s a normal night, nothing major. All the freaks are in Arkham, and the only crime Jason’s stopped so far is the petty kind.

He’s passing by the entrance to a club on a rooftop opposite when he someone catches his eye. He stops and zooms in with his helmet, and holy hell, that’s replacement.

Tim is in leather pants and a red shirt partially unbuttoned, and he’s wearing makeup. He looks grown up. Jason squints, because something’s definitely up. Tim Drake has 0 fashionable bones in his body, and there’s no way the nerd decided to show up to a club in the east end dressed like that with no reason.

Jason looks down at himself and makes a decision. He strips the most recognizable parts of his uniform and hides them with his helmet on the rooftop; he rigs the security for the helmet to alert him for any theft attempt.

He shows up to the entrance of the ‘Red Door’ in his black uniform pants and combat boots and a white tank top. He gives the bouncer a look and gets in without a fuss.

He scans for Tim from the entrance, eyes heading to the bar first, because catching the little shit drinking would be hilarious. Tim isn’t there though, so Jason moves in to the dance floor.

He moves fluidly enough to be considered dancing, if only to get through the crowd of people.

When the beginning of the bass of a familiar song starts playing, he catches Tim a few feet away. He’s dancing with an unfamiliar woman. He looks comfortable, but Jason does not like it.

“so, you’ve got to let me know, should I stay or should I go.”

Tim’s dance moves start getting better, and of course he would enjoy this song, Jason thinks, his brother is such a hipster.

Jason moves behind him with a smirk and yells a loud “Boo!” in his ear.

Tim turns, wide eyed at him, then rolls his eyes and apologizes to his partner before dragging Jason away.

“what’re you doing here?!” He demands.

“Am I not allowed to be curious about my underage brother in a club on my turf?” Jason raises an eyebrow.

Tim looks surprised and Jason realizes that he just called the kid his brother, he groans internally, because he just knows this will get to Dick and the big idiot will be all sappy about it.

“I’m on a case Jason.” Tim explains. And well, Jason should have really figured.

He shrugs at Tim, “need help?”

Tim smiles at him, it’s a deadly smile with all that eyeliner on his face, and starts dancing back to the dancefloor, “name’s Alvin.”

***

The fifth time, the time he stops counting, he’s in one of his safe houses in Gotham.

It’s one of his more comfortable ones because he wasn’t that beat yesterday coming back from patrol and made himself go the extra blocks to wake up in a nicely furnished place on Sunday.

The problem is, he woke up because he heard something move outside the bedroom, and that isn’t normal.

He sighs.

He’s fully awake because his body is used to fight or flight responses, but he really doesn’t want to have to deal with this at, he glances at the clock, 10 am on a Sunday. His sighs deepen.

He gets up nevertheless, and moves with one of his guns towards the door. He pushes it open silently and the music is the first thing he hears. It’s synthetic, and somewhere in the back of his mind a bell chimes in recognition, but he doesn’t focus on it.

When the voice sounds half humming, half singing to the music, “don’t you want me baby, don’t you want me oooh.” Jason sets his gun on the living room table and rubs his face.

“Why?” he asks Tim, who’s by the coffeemaker in his kitchen.

“Oh Hi, good morning.” The kid chimes.

“No. not good morning, explain to me why I’m awake red.” Jason glares.

Tim smiles, and Jason wonders when his glares stopped working on him, he mourns the loss of a very effective method for the second he has before Tim turns the sound up on his phone, since apparently this house is an awake house now.

He goes back to the coffee, and then to steal food out of Jason’s fridge.

Jason glances around the place and notices Tim’s uniform on the couch, and the obviously slept in look the couch has. And considers how weird it is that Tim can sneak into his place in the middle of the night without waking him up.

When he catches himself singing along with Tim unconsciously, he has to admit he lost this strange secret game between them, and as he watches his little brother making breakfast in his kitchen, he has to admit he doesn’t really mind.

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thedcdunce · 6 years

Text

Alfred Pennyworth

“We soldier on undaunted, you and I, Master Bruce. And if I may say so, sir... I couldn't beg, borrow or steal a finerway to live my life.” - Alfred Pennyworth

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 160 lbs (73 kg)

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black/ Balding

Abilities:

Acting

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Leadership

Medicine

Military Protocol

Mimicry

Stick Fighting

Tactical Analysis

Universe: New Earth

Base of Operations:

Wayne Manor

Batcave

Gotham City

Parents:

Slade Wilson; father

Lili Worth; mother

Citizenship: British

Marital Status: Single

Occupation:

Butler

Caretaker

Actor

Field Medic

Government Agent

Education: College educated

First Appearance: Detective Comics #567 (October, 1986)

Last Appearance: Batman #713 (October, 2011)

Abilities

Acting

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Leadership

Medicine: A former field medic, Alfred is capable of performing minor surgery and stitching wounds for the members of the Batman Family.

Military Protocol

Mimicry

Stick Fighting

Tactical Analysis

Origin

Alfred Pennyworth is the British butler and valet to the Wayne Family. He took up the role of legal guardian of Bruce Wayne after the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Born under the name of Alfred Beagle, he grew up in England and joined the army once he became of age. He served in various conflicts all over the world, gaining skill as a field medic. After retiring from the army he became an actor, and later a teacher for the MI5, instructing its agents in subterfuge through the use of stagecraft. During this time Alfred received a special mission, loaning his services to the MI7. After this mission ended, Alfred was forced to retire from service, adopt a new identity and move to the United States of America. Alfred legally changed his last name to Pennyworth and started working as a butler for the Wayne Family, carrying over the family tradition, per his father's dying wish.

After several months, Alfred voices the desire to return home to continue acting. However, these plans are forgotten when young Master Wayne returns home from school early after being bullied. Alfred teaches Bruce how to defeat the bully strategically rather than using brute force. Armed with Alfred's tutelage, young Bruce manages to take care of his bully problem. Alfred stays on as the family butler at Bruce's request.

After the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Alfred was named Bruce's legal guardian, however, social services combated the will thinking that Bruce should not be raised by a servant. However, Bruce managed to remain in Alfred's care by, despite his young age, bribing the social service agent into allowing Alfred to raise him.

Alfred raises young Bruce Wayne together with Dr. Leslie Thompkins a close friend and colleague of Thomas Wayne. Later, Bruce decided to travel abroad and Alfred stayed at Wayne Manor and begins a short lived romance with Dr. Leslie Tompkins.

Batman and Robin

Alfred remained as the sole guardian of Wayne Manor until the eventual return of Bruce Wayne, after many years of study and training. It is on his return that he supports Bruce's plan to take back Gotham City from the criminals and helps him as best he can. Alfred tends to Bruce's wounds after his first outing, but only after Bruce discovers a bat in the study that inspires him to don a costume to strike fear into criminals. When Lieutenant Gordon and his wife pay a visit to Wayne Manor while doing some investigation about the "Batman", Alfred helps Bruce disguise himself as a self-absorbed playboy millionaire and thus escaped suspicion of Bruce's "involvement" in Batman's attacks against the city mob.

After a successful first year, Alfred became the most trusted ally of the Batman, often providing everything to make the Dark Knight's quest easier. In the same was as Alfred as a father figure for Bruce, who he considered as his own son, he also played an important role in the inclusion of Dick Grayson as Bruce Wayne's ward and his smooth transition to become Robin, the Boy Wonder. However, in an effort to rectify past mistakes made with Bruce, Alfred tried his best to be a friend to Dick, more than he ever was for Bruce. As a result of this conscious effort, Alfred kept tabs on Tony Zucco, the man who killed Dick's parents and he would always plea the parole board to keep the criminal locked in prison once he was captured by Batman and Robin. Alfred did this for eleven years, keeping the truth from Dick and Bruce, but in the last year, his efforts were in vain and Zucco was released. Although Alfred considered this a deep personal failure, all unfinished business between Zucco, Dick and Bruce were promptly solved.

Enter Tim Drake

Alfred remained the most trusted ally of Batman and Robin, even after Dick Grayson's separation from the team after six years and during Jason Todd's time as The Boy Wonder until his death at the hands of the Joker. However, Alfred played a vital role in the introduction of Tim Drake into the Batman's life. When Dick Grayson brought Tim to Wayne Manor, Alfred was shocked to learn that Tim had deduced everything about Batman and Robin. When Dick joined Batman as Nightwing and fell for a deadly trap prepared by Two-Face, Alfred allowed Tim to wear the Robin costume and he took the youngster to Batman's location, where the two of them confronted the crook. Their initial confrontation allowed Batman and Nightwing to capture Two-Face shortly afterwards. After a succesful mission, Alfred convinced Bruce to allow Tim to become the new Robin. However, this also meant that Alfred was in charge of the initial stages of Tim's training before he could start training with Batman.

Sword of Azrael

Certain day, Bruce started investigating the case of a crime related to Carleton Lehah and apparently an avenging angel. Alfred traveled along with Bruce to Switzerland, where their helicopter was attacked by Lehah. Alfred and Bruce survived the attack and landed on the mountains, where they were attacked again, this time by the figure known as Azrael. Batman fought them away and he found a shelter to stay along with Alfred. Following their investigation, then went to a hospital where they confronted Lehah, who attacked Alfred and kidnapped Bruce. Alfred was later taken hostage by Azrael and his men, but he convinced them to work together to stop Lehah and rescue Bruce. They tracked down the villain back to America, where they rescued Bruce, but failed to capture Lehah. After this, Azrael, whose real identity was Jean-Paul Valley, joined Bruce to be trained as a vigilante.

Knightfall

Back in Gotham, Alfred noticed that Bruce wasn't the same after the moral defeat when Black Mask escaped from the law. Alfred's concern showed, specially after Batman's encounter with The General and also when he found Batman asleep on the batcave's staircase. During this trying times, Alfred was always present to tend Batman and Robin's wounds and he also tried to keep Dr. Kinsolving unaware of Bruce's strenuous activities.

Despite Bruce's intent on self-destroy, Alfred would keep reminding him about his affairs as Bruce Wayne. Alfred became aware of Bruce's decision to shut out Tim while he was working on a case against Two-Face, and he decided that Batman most certainly would need help. Alfred and Robin went looking for Two-Face and they saved Batman's life by doing so.

When the Riddler took over a TV show, Alfred took Robin to the place in the Bat-van and his assistance was essential in the capture of the madman, while Batman was trying to rescue Mayor Krol from Joker and Scarecrow. A few hours later, Tim went home and Alfred stayed alone at Wayne Manor, where he was knocked unconscious by Bane. By the time Alfred recovered, he noticed Batman was being destroyed by Bane and with all his strength, he managed to crawl out of Wayne Manor and walked to the Drake Manor, looking for Tim's help.

A few moments later, Alfred, Tim and Jean-Paul Valley rescued Batman from the streets. They pretended to be medical staff from Mercy Hospital and they took Bruce to the batcave, where Alfred did his best with the medical equipment available, but despite his efforts, Alfred knew that Bruce's back had been broken and he would be paralyzed for life. In order to give Bruce the proper medical treatment without exposing his identity, Alfred arranged for Dr. Kinsolving to come to Wayne Manor to look over Bruce. Alfred and Tim wrecked one of Bruce's cars to convince Dr. Kinsolving that Bruce had been in a car crash and he also acquired top medical equipment for Shondra to work at Wayne Manor without having to leave. A few nights later, Alfred helped Bruce after Dr. Kinsolving and Jack Drake were kidnapped and together, they started their quest to locate them, with their first destination being the island of Santa Prisca.

Resignation

Alfred and Bruce continued their quest to find Shondra and Jack Drake and after a failed rescue attempt at Santa Prisca, Alfred traveled with Bruce to his home land of England, where they tracked down Shondra and Jack with help from The Hood.

After rescuing Jack Drake, Alfred tagged along with Bruce on his search for Shondra, but they soon returned to Gotham, where doctors told Bruce to lay off. Alfred tried to get Bruce to rest, but Bruce was determined to track down Shondra and Asp, forcing Alfred to present his resignation as he wouldn't stand watching Bruce kill himself. As his last act, Alfred went to Wayne Manor to retrieve his stuff, clean the house and ask Jean-Paul to help Bruce if he could. After this, Alfred moved away from Gotham City and out of Bruce's life.

Months later, Dick Grayson tracked Alfred down to London, where he managed to convince him to return to America.

No Man's Land

His resourcefulness came to the fore during the time when Gotham was declared "No Man's Land". Batman was missing for weeks, leaving Alfred alone to watch the city. He used his skills as an actor, storyteller, medic, and spy to survive and collect information on the recently destroyed society. Alfred even used hand-to-hand combat in a rare on-panel fight sequence between him and a pair of slavers that ended with his rescue by a just-returned Batman.

War Games

After a whole year, the city was part of the country again and many changes came with it. Tim Drake stopped being Robin and Batman allowed Stephanie Brown to become the next Robin; a decision that Alfred opposed. When Stephanie was fired from the role, the greatest gang war broke out in Gotham and Tim was forced to return to his role as Robin. Alfred was responsible for giving him back his suit and welcomed him back to the Bat Family. located Nightwing after he was shot on the leg and took him to the mobile batcave. Alfred healed Nightwing and after the procedure was finished, Alfred forced Nightwing to stay in bed and prevented him from going out to battle. When the whole war was over, Alfred shared a glass of wine with Bruce and Dick, remembering past events.

Shortly after, Alfred delivered a videotape of a broadcast by Arturo Rodriguez to Bruce. The mystery behind the videotape caused Bruce to learn that someone was responsible for Stephanie's death and Alfred helped Bruce record a conversation among thugs on a night club in order to learn more about it and filtered the information for Batman. Alfred witnessed along with Bruce how the events of the War Games were solved by Bruce himself and he was glad to put it all behind.

Under the Hood

After a few days, Alfred was contacted by Lucius Fox, who was looking for Bruce. Alfred did his best to diverge Fox's attention as Bruce was extremely busy working as Batman. However, Fox went to Wayne Manor and Alfred was forced to call Bruce to talk with Fox. After the bad news about Wayne Enterprises, Alfred kept an optimistic mind, saying that Bruce won't feel the need for more gadgets and equipment than he already had. Shortly after, Bruce learned that Jason Todd was alive and became the criminal Red Hood. Alfred offered to remove Jason's Robin suit from the display case in the batcave, but Bruce wanted to keep it.

Alfred assisted Bruce on his quest to discover what happened to Jason Todd after his death and together they examined the gravesite and the coffin where Jason was buried. Alfred was concerned for Bruce's well-being and after long days of non-stop work, they discovered that there was never a body inside that coffin.

Later, Alfred received a package from Jason, delivered to Wayne Manor. Alfred took the package to the batcave and examined it thoroughly. He discovered a lock of green hair inside and an address as well. Alfred informed Batman about this and Batman asked him to run a DNA test on the green hair.

Batman R.I.P.

When Hush reappeared, he had performed a plastic surgery on his face to look identical to Bruce Wayne. With his new face, he tried to trick Alfred to let him into the Batcave, but Alfred had been warned by the real Bruce about Hush's plan and when the impostor broke into Wayne Manor, Alfred fought the villain with remarkable fighting skills for one so frail and old versus one so young. However, Hush managed to stab Alfred in the shoulder and was about to kill the faithful butler when Batman arrived. As the fight continued in the Batcave, Alfred activated the robotic T-Rex and distracted Hush long enough for Robin and Nightwing to arrive. After Hush was defeated, Alfred stitched Bruce's wounds.

Some time later, Bruce started dating Jezebel Jet and even revealed his secret to her. Tim Drake asked Alfred about Bruce's well-being and Alfred replied that it would be futile for normal people try to understand Bruce's mind. After this, Tim asked him about the DNA test between Bruce and Damian, but Alfred refused to tell him, just like he was indicated by Bruce.

A few days later, Alfred was washing the Batmobile and later he tried to heal some of Bruce's battle wounds, despite Bruce's reluctance. Bruce told Alfred about a new mysterious group called Black Glove and in order to learn more, he sent Alfred to watch and old movie by the same name. When Alfred returned home, he found the Batcave in flames and most of it, destroyed. He was soon ambushed by Le Bossu and his gargoyles, who beat Alfred to a pulp. Bruised and beaten, Alfred was held hostage by Doctor Hurt in the batcave and witnessed how the Club of Villains and the Black Glove used Batman's secret lair as their base of operations. As their hostage, Alfred endured Hurt's attacks and Scorpiana's torture methods. Shortly after, Alfred was rescued by Damian Wayne, who took Alfred out of the burning Batcave on the batmobile and they rushed towards Arkham to aid Batman, pushing an ambulance off a bridge, much to Alfred's dismay. After Batman's final disappearance, Alfred returned to the Batcave, where he found Batgirl making a list of heroes to create a team similar to the Outsiders, but with the intention of replacing Batman. Alfred suggested that the list consisted only of people seeking redemption for past actions much like Batgirl and he also suggested that she should let Nightwing be part of her plan, but ultimately she refused.

Shortly after, Alfred spotted Nightwing gliding towards Wayne Manor and he met the young hero at the Batcave, where he landed, seriously injured. Alfred performed surgery on Nightwing and removed two bullets from his shoulder, having learned the right procedure by watching Discovery Channel. Alfred dosed Nightwing, allowing him to recover and after Nightwing left the cave, Alfred analyzed the bullets and found traces of Scarecrow's Fear Toxin, leaving him no option but to inform Dick.

Alfred was present when Dick jumped from the stratosphere to Earth and witnessed the extraordinary feat along with Tim Drake. Shortly after, Alfred traveled to Japan to take care of some of Bruce's unfinished business. While in Japan, Alfred was contacted by Nightwing asking for leads on the latest case and Alfred gave him the required information.

A few days later, Alfred returned and having no one else to call, he summoned Nightwing to Gotham after Two-Face's reappearance. After the first failed attempt of capturing the villains, Alfred comforted Nightwing and told him to learn from his mistakes, just like Batman did in the beginning. When Nightwing finally decided to return to Gotham, Alfred picked him from the train station and took him home, where together with the help of Tim, they rebuilt the Batcave and agreed to continue with their mission in memory of Bruce.

Outsiders

After Batman's death, Alfred set up a new Outsiders team, in an effort to fill Batman's shoes with their combined efforts.

Alfred was concerned about Gotham's situation without Batman and he urged Nightwing to pick up the mantle of the bat and follow his mentor's steps by becoming the Batman, but Nightwing refused. Moments later, when Nightwing returned to the cave with an injured Damian, Alfred healed them both and encouraged Dick to finally become Batman. After Nightwing went to stop Jason Todd, Alfred allowed Damian to join the battle by sending him with Squire. When Dick came out victorious, Alfred, still at his service, witnessed how Grayson took the mantle of the bat and became Batman.

Some time later, Alfred learned that Vicki Vale was trying to prove a connection between Batman and Bruce Wayne. Alfred used Thomas Elliot, to impersonate Bruce and try to eliminate her suspicions. However, Vicki wasn't convinced and she went to Wayne Manor, where she revealed to Alfred that she had one of Batman's tracers to prove it all. Alfred used his acting skills to take the device away from her and avoided confirming her theory.

After Bruce Wayne's official comeback, Alfred joined Bruce on a worldwide travel to set up the Batman Incorporated organization.

Fun Facts

Alfred and Bruce started collecting first edition books after the murder of the Waynes and they kept doing it for the remaining of their time together.

He is the only member of the Batman Family that is allowed by Bruce Wayne to own a firearm.

Dick Grayson has referred to Alfred as his "best friend" on multiple occasions.

Alfred has admitted to having been drunk twice in his life; before he left England for America, and the night he left Gotham City.

#alfred pennyworth #batman family #outsiders #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

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studentsofshield · 7 years

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A Hypothetical Mapping of Marv Wolfman’s Teen Titans Run Into Omnibuses

I tried to figure out what would be decent cutoff points for New Teen Titans omnibuses based on the size of the three new editions released/solicited. This also doubles as an abridged chronicle of the run.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 1 - already released DC Comics Presents 26, New Teen Titans Vol 1 1-20, Tales of the New Teen Titans 1-4 The big kickoff to one of the best superhero runs of all time. All Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Introduction of Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, Deathstroke, and more.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 2 - coming in February New Teen Titans Vol 1 21-40, Tales of the Teen Titans 41, Annual 1-2, Batman and the Outsiders 5 The main developments here are Brother Blood and Starfire's Tamaran connections. Terra and the Vigilante get introduced.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 3 - coming in July Tales of the Teen Titans 42-58, New Teen Titans Vol 2 1-9 The Judas Contract, shit goes to 11 for the Teen Titans, Terra, Deathstroke. Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing. Jericho is introduced as a new core member. The series gets so popular that it gets the Baxter treatment. Which means getting printed on nicer paper with less ads. Which came with a renumbering I guess. The opening of that volume seems to resolve Raven's plotline (which was also the genesis for the team in the first place). The Titans defeat her father and she disappears.

George Perez also ends his continuous run as penciler for the series with Vol 2 #5. Most of the major plots up to this point are resolved. These are the only solicited volumes right now. So this is actually a good jumping off point.

So what might come next?

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 4 New Teen Titans Vol 2 10-25, Annual 1-2, Teen Titans Spotlight 1-6, Omega Men 34-35 Classic DC artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez follows up Perez for a short stint. Kole is introduced. But then quickly killed alongside Aquagirl and Dove in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Which will impact some Titans history for a while. Starfire is forced into a political wedding, which pushes away Dick. Roy Harper discovers he has a daughter with the villain Cheshire. Among all this chaos, Donna Troy tries to assemble mismatched pieces like Jason Todd to lead the Titans.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 5 New Teen Titans Vol 2 26-49, Annual 3-4, Infinity Inc 45 Eduardo Barreto is now the consistent artist on the book. The team finds Raven again and defeats Brother Blood again. They encounter the Wildebeest Society, which will factor heavily into the book as time goes on. An annoying kid named Danny Chase joins the team. They help out Dial H for Hero and Red Star.

Besides those JLGL issues and a few major plot points for characters, this chunk is a valley rather than a peak, but it’s not really bad. Wolfman has claimed in interviews that he was suffering from writer’s block for a few years. So there are some repetitive plots.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 6 New Titans 50-69, Annual 5-6, Batman 440-441, Secret Origins Annual 3 Eduardo Barreto is gone. But who better to replace him than the return of George Perez? The side effects of the Crisis are really starting to be felt across the DCU. First on the docket is to fix Donna Troy's continuity for the second time in the Who is Wonder Girl story. She becomes Troia. The next issue addresses some Titans West stuff. Then the Secret Origins Annual recaps and fixes the entire Titans continuity post-Crisis. Perez drops off from drawing the book and then from co-plotting. He's still writing Wonder Woman and gearing up for the War of the Gods crossover, so maybe he was too busy. Bat fans should recognize those issues as half of A Lonely Place of Dying, which handed the Robin mantle to Tim Drake.

Again, another stopping point. Perez is now 100% done with the Titans besides drawing the cover for the final issue of the series. The stability of the book is about to be all over the place too.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 7 New Titans 70-92, Annual 8, Team Titans 1-3, Deathstroke 14-16 Two huge controversial storylines here. Tom Grummett (Superboy, Robin) is now the artist, with a more cartoony but also 90s style. The original Titans Hunt featured the Wildbeest Society hunting the Titans. Spoilers for a 30 year old story, but Jericho is revealed to be leading them. His father (Deathstroke for the clueless) kills him and helps the Titans in the finale. Some D-listers like Red Star, Pantha, Phantasm, and Baby Wildebeest join the team. Raven and Cyborg are constantly changing. Titans Tower is destroyed. Then right after that insanity, a team of weird Titans from a future timeline appear. One of them seems to be the long dead Terra. They want to kill Donna Troy because allegedly her baby is basically the Anti-Christ. Turns out that's not true and these alternate future peeps just stick around for a while.

Depending on who you ask, Titans Hunt and Total Chaos are 90s trash or an exciting uptick in the history of the Titans with a blockbuster story and lots of status quo changes. However, past this point the book officially devolves into standard 1990s fare and loses a ton of focus.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 8 New Titans 93-114, Annual 9-10, Sell-Out Special, Showcase 94 11 The book is kind of shit now, but not absolute shit for some of this. A major editor left and Wolfman is running out of ideas. Roy Harper comes back and becomes Arsenal. Nightwing and Starfire get engaged, only for their wedding to be absolutely ruined by Raven. Tom Grummett leaves and is replaced by a very 90s nobody. Everyone you care about leaves the team at the end of this.

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol 9 New Titans 0, 115-130, Annual 11, Deathstroke 48-49, Green Lantern Vol 3 65, Darkstars 32, 34, Damage 16 And we reach the end of the journey with the final volume. With a broken team and Zero Hour allowing for soft reboots, Arsenal assembles a new one. Featuring characters you like such as Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Impulse, Damage, and Terra (the fake one). Or at least you liked them if you were still reading comics in 1995 for some reason. That shitty 90s artist is even gone and replaced by someone tolerable. But it's totally lost the flavor that made the book so genius 10-15 years before. Fans were completely burned out from the direction and the industry at large, so the book was canceled.

My divisions are based mostly on natural cutoff points and also shooting for similar sized volumes. The three existing volumes all sit around that 24-27 issue mark.

So depending on what kind of Titans fan one is, the options would be 1-3, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8, or 1-9. It seems like each omnibus is about 3 trades, with some wiggle room.

Addendums:

Teen Titans Spotlight is a 21 issue spinoff series created so that Titans related characters could have solo stories that wouldn't work in the context of a team book. Wolfman only wrote 1-6, an arc about Starfire dealing with South African apartheid and a Jericho arc. No other issues are really integral to the main plots. So these are the only ones that make sense in these collections, if at all.

Other semi-significant Spotlight stories though: -7-8 - Hawk in the period after his brother's death but before Dawn Granger pops up -9 - Changeling (Beast Boy) doing some more reconnecting with his Doom Patrol past -10 - Aqualad, technically does continue from a main series plot, but who cares -13 - JMS' first comics work on a Cyborg vs Two-Face story -15 - picks up on some Tamaranian plots, but effectively a minor epilogue to the 80s Omega Men series -21 - a Silver Age throwback issue from Mark Evanier and Dan Spiegle

Team Titans is the book starring the alternate future characters that no one cares about besides Terra. First three issues are part of Total Chaos. The damn book somehow lasted 24 issues though. Wolfman was involved in the writing of the first half. There is really no reason to include those other 9 issues. And the series is totally pointless and bad.

New Titans ends in 1996. Also when Wolfman's other ongoing Titans work ends. That being Deathstroke Vol 1, which lasted 60 issues. Giving the Terminator his own book was majorly inspired by the success Marvel was having with the Punisher. The first 34 issues are all drawn by the same artist, Steve Erwin. Past issue 40, Slade is framed for murder and all kinds of DCU characters try and take him down. His daughter Rose is introduced here.

Just like the main Titans book, sales were lagging hard near the end. So they did some stupid thing where Slade literally walked out of an explosion a changed man. He was de-aged, had amnesia, a dumb new color scheme, and a new artist. It was stupid and didn't help sales.

DC has been reprinting this Deathstroke series alongside New Teen Titans. They're up to four volumes, getting to #25. The early half of this run is actually good and a decent companion piece to Titans. And obviously people are digging Rebirth Deathstroke now. Wolfman did a major plot with Batman before Christopher Priest. Avoid all N52 Deathstroke junk.

Marv Wolfman's Titans run is just over 15 years. A couple years short of Claremont's legendary X-Men run. Though Claremont also wrote and maneuvered around a wider line of closely related spinoffs. Claremont also maintained a higher average. Those first five years of NTT with Perez can rival the heights of Claremont though. Maybe blasphemous, but I find Perez more interesting than Byrne. Then there are occasional highs for another seven years or so.

For comparison, Claremont's complete original X-Men run sits at a similar 10 oversized hardcover volumes or so. Though they're a little larger on average. 1. UXM Vol 1 2. Vol 2 3. Vol 3 4. Eventual Vol 4 5. Mutant Massacre/uncollected gap 6. Fall of the Mutants 7. Inferno Prologue 8. Inferno 9. Claremont and Lee Vol 1 10. X-Tinction Agenda/Claremont and Lee Vol 2

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halloweendailynews · 5 years

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The comics that will be available during Halloween ComicFest 2019 this October were officially revealed today, including 19 full size and nine mini comics, featuring Batman, Spider-Man, Boba Fett, Ghost-rider, the kid-slasher parody Junior High Horrors (pictured above), and many more.

Read on for the full press release and the complete list of 2019 titles, and then enjoy browsing through our photo gallery of all the Halloween comic covers coming your way for the 8th annual Halloween ComicFest.

This year, Halloween ComicFest (HCF) features a whole new selection of 28 comic book titles for the industry’s most anticipated fall event taking place Saturday, October 26, 2019 at participating comic shops worldwide.

Of the 28 titles available, 19 are Full Size and 9 are Mini Comics for fans to pick up and enjoy. All will be available for free at participating comic shops on Saturday, October 26th, with the Mini Comics also available for purchase in packs of 25 for $4.99 at the beginning of October—a perfect item to give to trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

“This year’s Halloween ComicFest is poised to be bigger and better than last year!” said Halloween ComicFest spokesperson Ashton Greenwood. “The comics available this year are designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes, from the all-ages Mini Comics featuring popular properties like Archie, DC Superhero Girls, Nickelodeon’s The Loud House, and Pokémon, while the Full-Size Comics feature well-known characters like Sonic the Hedgehog, Boba Fett, Iron Man, and Batman. Halloween ComicFest is the perfect time to discover the wonders of comic shops and experience them as premiere destinations for Halloween fun!”

Read on for the complete listing of all Halloween ComicFest 2019 comics and our gallery of the covers for each.

HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2019 FULL SIZE COMICS AfterShock Comics | Dark Red #1 Halloween ComicFest B&W Edition – Charles “Chip” Ipswich isn’t one of those coastal elites with a liberal arts degree and a job at a social media start-up who knows where all the best brunch places are… No, Chip is one of the “forgotten men.” He lives in a rural area in the middle of the country where Jesus still has a place at the dinner table and where factories ship jobs to Calcutta. Chip is also a vampire. Stuck working the last shift at a gas station, Chip is lonely and bored…and then his dull, bleak life is turned upside down when SHE comes to town. SPECIAL BLACK AND WHITE REPRINT. Tim Seeley (BRLLIANT TRASH) and Corin Howell bring you a contemporary and horrifying tale of vampirism in the heart of America — one that’ll make you jump right out of your boots. Aspen Comics | Aspen Mascots and the Portals of Doom – When Wormier and Griff accidentally open multiples portals from another dimension, the Aspen Mascots must band together to stop their own doppelgängers from wreaking havoc in our world! In this new jam-packed activity-coloring book featuring Aspen’s most popular critters and oddities, readers must solve puzzles, mazes and more in order to finish the story and save the planet! Benitez Productions | Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte – After suffering a tragic loss, Lady Mechanika takes a trip to a small Mexican village just in time for their Día de los Muertos celebration. But the festivities turn truly deadly after the arrival of the Jinetes del Infierno, the mythical Hell Riders! Includes the first chapter of the Lady Mechanika Day of the Dead special, collected in the La Dama de la Muerte TPB. Dark Horse Comics | House of Fear: Attack of the Killer Snowmen! – A group of kids throwing around a football on a pleasant winter afternoon are suddenly set upon by snowmen with jagged grins and twisted limbs instead of cute button eyes and corncob pipes. They’ll need to think quick in order to defeat these frozen foes! A spooky scare for young readers!House of Fearis the perfect comic for monster hunters young and old. DC Comics | DCeased #1 HCF Special Editon – A mysterious techno-virus has been released on Earth, infecting 600 million people and turning them instantly into violent, monstrous engines of destruction.The heroes of the DCU are caught completely unprepared for a pandemic of this magnitude and struggle to save their loved ones first…but what happens to the World’s Greatest Heroes if the world ends?New York Times best-selling writer Tom Taylor (INJUSTICE) returns with a terrifying new tale and is joined by artists Trevor Hairsine (LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT) and Stefano Gaudiano (The Walking Dead). DC Comics | The Secret Spiral of Swamp Kid / Black Canary: Ignite HCF Special Edition IDW Publishing | Sonic the Hedgehog #1 HCF Edition Keenspot Entertainment | Junior High Horrors Halloween Special – Halloween is here! But Mikey, the boy that’s always ready to dress to impress, has changed his tune and wants nothing to do with costumes this year. The gang gets together to change his mind, but will they succeed? This original story drawn by series creator Rob Potchak is the perfect jumping on point for anyone wanting to see why Robert Kirkman may have said this All-Ages Horror Parody was “Awesome!” This comic also features dyslexic reader friendly fonts, a first in the industry! Kodansha Comics | Tales of Berseria Preivew & Other Game Manga Mad Cave Studios | Battlecats: Halloween ComicFest Special Marvel Comics | Ghost Rider: King of Hell #1 Marvel Comics | Iron Man: Road to Iron Man 2020 Marvel Comics | Miles Morales: Spider-Man #0 Marvel Comics | Star Wars: Boba Fett #1 Random House Children’s Books | Doodleville/ Aster and the Accidental Magic Exclusive First Look Source Point Press | The Adventures of Cthulhu Jr. and Dastardly Dirk Vertical Comics | Bakemonogatari (Monster Tale) Exclusive HCF Edition VIZ Media | The Drifting Classroom/ Smashed YouNeek Studios | Iyanu: Child of Wonder

HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2019 MINI COMICS Albatross Funnybooks | Spook House – A spooky book for kids of all ages! This Albatross Funnybooks anthology features works by William Stout, Eric Powell and Gideon Kendall! American Mythology | Under Dog Halloween Hijinks – There’s no need to fear! Underdog is here! Its an extra special Halloween treat as we present a mini comic adventure of everyone’s favorite superhound, Underdog! We’ll have you singing the Underdog theme as you trick or treat this year, “Speed of lightning, roar of thunder, fighting all who rob or plunder, Underdog!” Don’t let Simon Bar Sinister ruin your holiday, join us for Underdog hijinks this Halloween season! Archie Comics | Archie’s Madhouse Magic – Get ready for magic and mischief in this fun collection of Halloween stories! Archie and everyone’s favorite teenage witch, Sabrina, are proud to present two enchanting and bewitching tales from Archie’s Magical Madhouse–sure to leave you spellbound! BOOM! Studios | Just Beyond: Horror at Happy Landings – THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WOODS. Family camping trips are already a drag for Annie and Parker, especially with their cousin Clark tagging along, but when strange things start happening, they’ll discover startling secrets out of this world! When a pair of Martian siblings find themselves stranded on Earth, they must take over Annie and Parker’s bodies to retrieve the tracker that can signal Mars to bring them home. Can the Martians make it home safe, or will they be forced to become Annie and Parker forever? DC Comics | DC Superhero Girls: At Metropolis High Halloween ComicFest Special Edition – When Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Bumblebee, and Zatanna are continually late to class because of their crime-fighting, they are sentenced to finding an after-school club for a whole week … or else they’ll be suspended!But finding a club is not as easy as it looks, and when the girls keep finding themselves kicked out of the clubs they like, they must think outside of the box and go outside their comfort zones to avoid suspension. This first chapter from the DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: AT METROPOLIS HIGH graphic novel is perfect for ages 6-10 and a great entry point into the DC Universe. Golden Apple Books | Blastosaurus Halloween Special IDW Publishing | Usagi Yojimbo HCF Mini Comic Papercutz | The Loud House: “A Very LOUD Halloween” VIZ Media | Pokémon Adventures

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Halloween ComicFest 2019 Comics Announced The comics that will be available during Halloween ComicFest 2019 this October were officially revealed today, including 19 full size and nine mini comics, featuring Batman, Spider-Man, Boba Fett, Ghost-rider, the kid-slasher parody…

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