#grew up with silver age Batman

[sing-me-under]

Underrated but one of my favorite things is when Dick Grayson is immune to fear gas (or similar hallucinogens) for whatever reason. He’s just like that? Love it. That’s my Robin. He developed an immunity from exposure? Angsty, but badass. Alfred makes him immune to hallucinogens? Fucked up, but I can see it.

I don’t know. I just like it. There’s no big reason. I just think it makes sense.

[whalehouse1]

One thing I love about reading the golden age comics (besides the fact they go unhinged fast) is that it’s nice seeing Dick good at stuff other than acrobatics and being sexualized. The kid is a science genius (especially physics so all you AU ppl if you wanted to make him an engineer it’s plausible), aces just about every subject, takes foreign language classes (I think it was Latin, but I can’t remember for sure), is an ace slingshot user (it’s just hilarious to me that’s never acknowledged and he’s the only hero I can think of who has this skill), he is a good kid all things considered but is absolutely ruthless to criminals. I think it was Detective Comics 46 Where Bruce just let him pick off the riffraff while he dealt with Strange. And he does it in some of the funnest ways possible. Also not that it’s a “OMG Dicknis amazing in it, but I really liked Detective Comics 47. It’s messaging was super hamfisted but it just was a nice story, not amazing or superb, just a good one that reminded a bit on how Bruce was on BTAS which I will favor above just about anything.

[zahri-melitor]

What was the purpose of the New 52? Was it really a failure?

There’s a loaded essay topic!

The purpose of the New 52, to my best understanding, was stated to be the opportunity to tell stories that were less weighed down with continuity and allow a clear starting point for new fans to hop on board and start reading comics.

Basically, COIE and Post-Crisis is a successful version of what they wanted! COIE did in fact reset the universe and make a nice clear boundary for fans, and while if you dig in, particularly to 1980s comics, it wasn’t always as clean or tidy as people think of it being, and it created some weird discontinuities requiring additional retcons (Donna’s everything being the most famous, particularly to tumblr), it created a 25 year long largely coherent story where characters grew and changed over about 5 in-universe years of narrative.

Let’s look at Wally, because he’s emblematic of it. Wally in 1986 was a young adult who just lost his father figure, was expected to step up and take on a role he had never expected to need to take, especially that young, and was a kid from a fairly conservative background who had never examined his views.

Wally by 2011 was a fully grown adult who had a wife, kids, extended family, a career, was fully respected in his role as the Flash, and had found his views becoming significantly more progressive over time as he was exposed to more of the world.

This is fantastic long form story telling. The problem is to tell long range generational storytelling is that you have to be willing to allow those legacies to occur and the character focus to shift. And that makes fans of older characters, particularly the ones giving up their legacies, mad and long for their faves to be back in their prime.

Enter the New 52.

New 52 was an attempt to cut this Gordian knot. If they created a new timeline where superheroes only had 5 years of history, then that meant that the classic Silver Age headline characters couldn’t be ‘too old’ to still be realistically running around doing what they do. They had to be in their late 20s-early 30s! Young! Hot! Spritely! Relatable to a new generation!

While some of these characters did have 70+ years of history, the thing is that nearly 50 years of it (1938-1986) had already been compressed and glossed down to basics. Nobody can actually tell you what happened the year Dick Grayson was 14 years old. You can build one from old storylines if you wanted to have it! But it's not as easy as pointing to a run of comics and saying "during this Dick was 14".

This left two significant problems in tension with each other:

The intention to make Bruce, Clark, Hal, Barry, Ollie, Arthur, Diana etc about 30ish years old and the key adult members of the DCU to revolve stories around.

Everyone from the Titans on down therefore had to get significantly younger to fit into a 5 year history, but a lot of these characters ALSO had active fans and writers wanted to use them.

And then, on top of that? Because the intention for resetting to a new universe was to remove the burden of backstory from storytelling, the editors and various offices...never sat down and worked out together what the new history contained.

This led to the wild situation where The Flash, for instance, was reset to a pre-1986 state where there wasn't even a KID FLASH, and basically every member of the Garrick-Allen-West-Chambers-Mercury Flash Family not named Barry Allen or Iris West had ceased to exist (and uh, given it's the Flashes, only ONE character with each of those names existed). While over in Batman, the writers tried to hang onto everything and they cut ten years out of the timeline mostly from discarding Dick's history, so that Bruce had 4 Robins in 5 years.

This obviously created a lot of the issues. Because there was no structure as to what was in or out in the new universe, writers just...did whatever. And contradicted each other. And when they realised the contradictions, tried to write retcons to excuse it. (Was Tim Drake Robin or not? Depends on which writer you ask!)

Was it successful?

In the short term, in terms of sales? Yes, absolutely. DC managed to get a bunch of new readers in, as was the financial intention. It also did allow for a shift in focus on some characters: it's where basically all of Damian Wayne's stories that people like as stories (and not as concepts) exists; it's where Jason Todd's modern characterisation as an antihero and dynamic with the other Bats was established; it brought back a bunch of older properties that hadn't been seriously used in years back into the spotlight; due to the fixation on having 52 titles running at all times it gave a lot of characters opportunities to headline titles that hadn't got that in a long while, and the opportunity to try out different styles of storytelling; it provided the opportunity for modern rewrites of origins for some characters that needed some retcons applied - Morrison's Superman is well regarded and both Aquaman and Green Arrow's origin rewrites for instance put things together more coherently and discarded some outdated elements. Blue Beetle's rework of Jaime's history to keep the main elements but excise the fact it was so reliant on Infinite Crisis was actually better considered than people give it credit for.

The bigger issue was the lack of planning meant that the timeline became a burden on the whole initiative, particularly given how many fans were asking for the return of beloved characters and dynamics that had been wiped away or rendered unrecognisable in the reset. On top of that, there was the conception that they could just abandon the whole timeline again at the end of 5 years and start over, so large radical changes were fine and wouldn't have ongoing effects.

Also, the initial boost of sales from being able to announce brand new titles, like every time an #1 is announced, trickled away. Yes, it was the entry point for a generation of new fans. But also it wasn't any more turnover in terms of new fans than in any other period, on the long term view. There were still more people who were comics fans of DC who were long term fans than there were new fans, buying comics 2-3 years in, and those are the sort of fans who DO want the continuity back. They've got decades of favourite stories that they were told no longer mattered, and they wanted them to matter. And they lost a whole chunk of fans who reacted to New 52 like it was a contact poison and...stopped buying DC comics.

And so, like a pyramid scheme or a shell game or a company expanding too fast, it started to fold in like a pack of cards. DC found itself frantically relaunching more and more titles in 2014 and 2015 as they tried to regain the new feeling momentum of 2011. Their timelines needed people who cared deeply about the characters to go over things and reinterpret them to make things flow, and most of the people interested in doing that were trying to reinstate pre-Flashpoint continuity elements.

And that's why eventually, in 2016, we got Rebirth.

I don't think it was an outright failure. There are salvageable elements. But I think the damage it did to the company reputation and to their ability to exploit what makes cape comics distinct and unique as a storytelling form far outweighed the benefits gained.

And the recovery process from trying to turn the situation around has been long, drawn out, and is still ongoing for some characters.

[celaenaeiln]

Based on the posts I've been reading, the Titans rlly dislike Bruce xD

Do you have a list of stuff of the Titans clowning/making fun/hating Bruce? 👀

If there's too many (omg is it??), maybe just your faves or those that rlly impacted you

They do!!

I had the post mostly done in my drafts when I saw your ask and decided this was the perfect opportunity to finish it!

BUT I DEFINITELY HAVE MORE!

The tug-of-war between the two groups comes from the fact that Bruce canonically has codependency issues with Dick. He honestly needs his son at all times for everything.

The source of Bruce and Dick's relationship problems all sum up to this:

Nightwing (2016) Issue #7

"I wanted to give him the freedom to make his own choices. To do things his way, even if that meant making mistakes. And then...well, then I blamed him for how difficult it was for me to let him go."

He's so, so proud of Dick but he refuses to release him to be free. When Dick manages to get away Bruce hisses and shrieks in rage and fury and hurt that Dick left. Even those long stints where Dick was ignoring Bruce after being fired or after Jason's death, Bruce never ignored Dick. Sometimes going as far as stalking him like at the circus.

This one is post-Jason, pre-Tim era.

The New Titans (1988) Issue #61

Ignoring the self-realization backtrack, it's applaudable that Bruce was even able to get those words out at all. Usually it's just heavily implied.

So the reason why Bruce hates the Titans so much is because they're his biggest threat. They have the possibility of taking Dick away from him forever and he's terrified of such a future.

It wasn't originally like this though. In the beginning when Dick said, I'm gonna hang out with the Titans, Bruce'd be like "Sure, Chum, have fun!"

Teen Titans: The Silver Age Issue #1

But as Dick grew older, there was increasing animosity between the Titans and Bruce. It got so bad that Bruce gave Dick an ultimatum: Me or the Titans. Choose.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #101

"I know, I know...I'm late. Titans Business. We just shut down Brother Blood for...good.."

"Save it."

"Look, I don't know how many hundreds of people we rescued from Blood's cult, but it was a pretty important mission."

"I said save it."

Nightwing (1996) Issue #101

But here's where it gets worse. Bruce and Dick are too busy fighting that they both missed Clayface recovering, obviously in the end they defeat him but neither of them are happy for the oversight which leads to the final scene.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #101

Bruce literally fired Dick because he couldn't stand him staying with the Titans.

"Robin is my second...my lieutenant. Anything less that total devotion to this cause is simply wasting my time."

Devotion to the cause or to you, Bruce? He's freaking Batman. He's done solo runs and Dicks done solo runs as Robin just fine but for some reason whenever the Titans are involved, he loses his goddamn mind.

But hey. Bruce isn't the only one who gives Dick an ultimatum.

Titans (1999) Issue #15

Damn, Roy.

He came out swinging with a chainsaw.

Both sides want Dick for themselves. About 80% of the Titans problems with Dick lie in the fact that they want him to have nothing to do with Bruce.

Batman (2016) Issue #19

Titans (1999) Issue #15

They just want Dick's priority and loyalty to be to them, undivided. Unfortunately, Bruce expects the very same-only it's for himself.

The Titans get so angry at Dick for going back to Bruce and Bruce gets so mad at Dick for favoring the Titans. But Dick loves both of them so there's literally no winning for him. The successful periods for Dick are when both sides comprise for him.

They're willing to work together to protect him though.

Titans (2008) Issue #1

Outsiders (2003) Issue #50

The instant de-escalation at protecting the reputation of Nightwing and her girlfriend. Not to mention how it was Batman who wanted to keep the dirt off Dick.

But the issue is, like Victor said,

Titans East Special

Titans are family.

But Bruce can't bear for Dick to have a family of his own that's not him.

[bruciemilf]

A Ratatouille type AU where Bruce takes his tentative first steps into detectivism.

Gotham's so massively drowned out in crime that he's barely making a scratch surface level.

But you know who does know Gotham? Knows every nook and cranny among the narrows? Knows no fear? Stole Batman's tires when no one had the guts to?

Jason fricking Todd.

" Wait, -- no no, that's not when Penguin makes his deliveries anymore. That's when the pigs buy from him and take everything for free. You're gonna wanna bust him tomorrow, genius,"

"Jason," Bruce weights his trust carefully. " If I let you go... Are we in this together?"

Jason snorts, imaginary spit in his hand, shakes Bruce for it. And then runs. Leaving Bruce in a golden street light. Leaves him staring with his shoulders down.

"Oh, brother."

It's a pretty good deal; Jason gives him tips, he gets a comfy, puffy head, fresh food, and surprisingly?

Lots of hugs. Sunshine kisses on his nose and cheek and forehead.

" And how," Alfred rubs his temples around Bruce so much Jason thinks it's a reflex at this point, " Will you explain to the public why Batman carries around a sidekick with a curfew?"

" An unjust curfew."

" Jason will work at the Batcomputer."

" On my batchair, sipping on some bat-hot chocholate, from my bat mug. I mean, -- it's Gotham. We're not going anywhere."

Except. Lex Luthor, as most middle aged men who grew up with too much freedom and too little consequences, never learned what a rejection is.

"...The justice league?"

" Yeah, hot shot! I mean, you've been giving us some issues in the popularity department, my friend," He doesn't like the smirk on Lex's smile; As if he owns the whole world and wants to own him, too,

" The people are crazy for Superman punching a nazi, -- I don't like violence in my politics, but agree to disagree, -- Flash running for charity, Wonder Woman visiting some dying kid at the hospital. Everyone likes them. But nobody trusts them. They trust you."

" And it'd look very good for you to have a human on your team. After... That happened."

That includes the suspicious assassination of his political rival. Bruce begins to suspect its not suspicious at all.

" Bingo! See? I know a showbiz kid when I see one. Superman can show you the ropes. Guy's a better liar than me. That's saying something."

Jason's voice is protective and hissing like an angry viper in his ear, " I don't like this, Bruce. Don't take the deal."

But Bruce wanted to meet Superman outside of his city. Wanted to weight the risks. Wanted to see how big the man behind the symbol really is, and If humanity's lifespan is ended at one bad day.

So he accepts. And Superman Is nothing like he expected.

Passionate, angry, and uncomfortably handsome. That's who's got Bruce pinned to a wall, staring with barely surpassed annoyance,

" When I think he can't go lower, he surprises me."

" We're in this together, superm-"

" Oh no no no no. Your position as a citizen was secured the second someone shoved that silver spoon in your mouth. I didn't suffer years under that sentient ballsack so a tax dodging bastard like you can just walk in here, --"

" But I'm no--"

" I know who you are, Wayne. You're a troubled brat who gets what he wants. But I'm not daddy, or mommy, or your seriously scary butler. So if you wanna survive out here, you play by OUR rules. Got. It?"

"...Tell him to shove the biggest piece of kryptonite up his a--"

" We get it."

Superman's brow quirks, "We?"

" Me and my...Mental illness."

"...You're a weirdo, Wayne. I hope you know that much, at least."

[jonmyblaze]

My personal rough BAT fam timeline

Bruce Wayne was nine when he witnessed his parents was shot, he was 18 when he traveled the world (he grew up with other former JSA Masters teaching him in America but he was 18 when he went on a world adventure by himself)

He was 19 when he returned and when he first became "Batman. "

--------

Katherine Kane was in her late twenties when her husband was murdered in front of her and her daughter Bette, she remembered hearing stories of her late eldest sister Martha being murdered by Gotham but she had left way before katherine even knew enough about Martha.

------

Dick Grayson would be 9 years old when he was first taken in as a ward by eligible bachelor and Playboy Bruce Wayne celebrating his 21st birthday.

he spent 3 years training supervised with Batman.

Robin would be 12 when he was first allowed to go on patrol alone. Robin would be named after his mother's nickname for him seeing as he was born on the 1st of spring the Grayson's Little Robin.

Bette Kane and Catherine Kane became became bat girl and batwoman, when Betty was 11 (she's only a half a year younger than dick).

Barbara Gordon would be 20 when she first joined the scene as batgirl(she is roughly halfway between Bruce and Dick's age)

Time jump

At age 15 dick would form The Titans with some of his fellow peers Donna, Roy Garth, Wally. (In New York City)

At 18 he would leave the nest and recreate the Teen Titans dubbing the new Teen Titans

(and West Coast would have their own Titans made by Betty called "Titan's West Coast" in jump City

At 19 dick would be kidnapped by the al ghul family after he met a name Talia Al ghoul in meds class

At age 20 he will drop out of college.

At 21 dick would become Nightwing for the first time. Inspired by his "uncle" Clark, Bette following in her cousin's footsteps would become flame bird

Jason Todd would be taking in (12)

and later become Robin (at 13)

More at part 2

&---------------&

This is the first age the gold and silver age of the bat family.

Notable additions I had

The kanes being more prominent, Betty and Dick remaining having their friendship.(also simplifying the Kane's family tree for Bette)

Catherine was way too young to even raise Bruce but Alfred was also dubbed Bruce's godfather and first in line for Bruce's custody should his parents die.

Keeping the pre crisis origin of Barbara being younger than Bruce but older than dick but still an adult able to go to college for bachelor's degree..

Jason Todd having less than a year to convince Bruce to send him on to patrol.

Keeping the origin that Talia first met dick at college for med school (she's probably way older but they were in the same class as she took college a little later)

And I haven't even gotten to Tim yet.

Look out for part two

[stealingyourbones]

The whole tucker is a pharaoh thing - i thought maybe hawkman would recognize him? Idk a lot about hawkman/woman but im p sure one of their origin stories is that their the reincarnation of two ancient thanagarians that crash landed in ancient egypt and basically jump started human civilization? Maybe tucker was the one human that understood their tech the best when they tried to teach primitive humans and because of that, he became the first pharaoh after the golden age of the gods or something

Honestly at this point there's so many different Hawkman's origin stories that I will simply take your word for it. His entire backstory is so endlessly confusing. Is he Carter Hall? Cool so is it Carter or Karter? Is he actually called Carter Hall or is it just an alias? Is he Carter Hall Jr. who’s actually Fell Ander? Is he Hawkgod and the fusion of Hawkgirl, Carter Hall, and Karter Hall? Is he an alien or a human this time? Is it 9th or Nth metal this time? Who fuckin knows. There's more origins and heroes who carry the Hawkman title than members of the Batfamily istg.

Okokok so let’s just stick to the OG backstory: He’s an thanagarian who is reincarnated as the Egyptian Prince Kufu who got murdered via a cursed dagger and then continues from there. Dude is a brutal space cop that grew up on a war society planet. Dude is a cannon to aim and fire. He was kinda made as a way to go “let’s push the Green Arrow being a good liberal leaning guy” thing by having a completely opposite vibe.

He’s a space cop that is so hot headed and brutal dude that’s like a mix of Indiana Jones and Blue Lives Matter combo. (Indiana Jones is a tad odd but he was a museum curator so I think it’s pretty apt.) He’s so headstrong and fierce and even Batman is like “hey bro can u calm down the brutalness a tad?” He’s intentionally an unlikable character because he has all these memories and tragedies that he pushes everything away. (He also has a very toxic relationship with Hawkwoman but that would take far too long to get into but in summary: She has no memories of being Hawkwoman the two are literally destined to be together. Hawkman is a tad too obsessed with his lover and sometimes they meet and she is FAR too young for Hawkman.)

This is my interpretation of Hawkman since most of the comics I’ve read of him are silver age. I’m unsure how he is now but back then he was a full on sociopath who grew up on a war planet and is fully willing to kill.

Hawkman has to come to terms that everyone he loves will die and he will continue to exist. Imagine his pure delight to see a familiar person after years of only having Hawkwoman as a familiar companion.

(Black Adam also was a champion fighter for Prince Kufu so you could definitely mess around with Tucker knowing both)

I’d love that Tucker helps Prince Kufu and then proceeds to be the first pharaoh after the gods and just has a enemies to begrudging-respect relationship. This guy is just causing death and chaos and Tucker is just trying to live life. They keep meeting up and recognizing each other (mostly cause Carter never fuckin stops using the same name) and having petty squabbles. Tucker does his best to just piss off Hawkman at every possible opportunity. The League is very confused that this fucking child seems to know Hawkman and just RUTHLESSLY talks shit about him almost nonstop.

They do help each other though, they can relate to living far longer and seeing oh so many things that no human should ever see. They dispise each other but if it’s needed, they have the other’s back.

1, 2, 3

[guys-in-distress-database]

The GID Awards: Comic Book

Our next category is a certifiable classic and the origin of many a bondage kink, I imagine: the comic book.

I know a LOT of people in the community who developed bondage kinks because they grew up reading golden and silver age comics. For most people, it was American superhero comics, namely Batman, Captain Marvel and, for DID fans, Wonder Woman.

Not me though...

I grew up reading Franco-Belgian comics and they probably hold about 75% of the blame for me developing a bondage kink. I don't know (and would be really curious to learn) why predominantly children's media between roughly 1920-1980 was SO bondage-heavy. Like, were men with bondage kinks running the media industry or was there some sort of bizarre romanticization of kidnapping (that got upended by the public revelation of the domination of serial killers and kidnappers during the 60s and 70s) or was this all a wacky coincidence?

Aaaaaaaaanyways...

This one was hard to get personal bias out of the picture simply because I just don't read American comics that don't have anything to do with Star Wars. That being said, I did end up choosing one just because, how could I not?! My choice is:

Shazam/Captain Marvel

Now I'm cheating a bit with this one because I've never done an entry on it, though I can justify that as comics being difficult to make entries for owed to how many of them there are and just how confusing they are to categorize. And how can I not choose this one with the impact it's had on GID?

Any character who activates their superpowers through speaking is just asking to get gagged over and over and over. And that's exactly what happened to Billy Batson. While they've definitely toned it down over time (likely due to changing attitudes around having underage characters in distress like this), back in the early days, the guy couldn't go a few issues without getting bound and gagged.

Every source of conflict in his early days seemed to be him getting captured and then finding some clever way to get his gag off. Hilt of a sword, flaming piece of wood, hook in the wall, you name it.

Although there's definitely been a reduction of scenes overtime, you do still see the modern Shazam suffering similar fates, especially in the Injustice comic and the Friends Like These comic, so it's nice to see his legacy being upheld.

So for its contributions to GID, I have chosen Captain Marvel as the winner for best GID comic!

Honourable Mentions

Some other comics I considered, but ultimately did not choose for this award:

Suske en Wiske (for directly influencing my bondage kink and sheer volume of scenes)

Attack on Titan Manga (for having a great scene that didn't make it into the anime)

[roobylavender]

Omg I'm glad I found a fellow new teen titans hater (or at least critic) because while I think Wolfman had some really neat ideas it really amazes me how so much of what he's written for Dick is like the polar opposite of his character for 40 years and how people ignore that simply because they don't read golden/silver age batman... like I hate reboot Nightwing as much as anyone but it's crazy to me how people think he's always been the most anal about his moral code as if it didn't take years for him to develop it after watching Bruce (like in canon: https://64.media.tumblr.com/f20ae729d626788129a371dab7f790db/5b84ba907a5dc5f9-ac/s1280x1920/e0e719108502d4fa51364eb748450141fd1bcedd.png), or how he'd give up college/a day life to be Robin when in canon he was the one all gung-ho about going to college while Bruce hoped for him to stay home (and ironically enough Bruce quit Wayne Industries himself so he could focus full-time on being Batman lmao: https://64.media.tumblr.com/48945b33fa70a2bfbded0fe6c83017d0/68e853c82fce0d82-5a/s1280x1920/32e3b3ab44fa7364ca82eb63bb8c6d5bbbbb7132.png), or even that Dick wouldn't have the patience to mentor children or something when the literal purpose of creating Robin was to be a role model for children to relate to and sef-insert themselves as his friend, hence why he always excelled in school and sports and stuff...like Bill Finger even created this concept of "Robin's Regulars" to show that Dick liked kids and inspired them (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wpPLG-yJpJw/S5v2_3KXjdI/AAAAAAAADnM/1aOMBWuCmT0/s400/robinsregulars.jpg)... the good part is that NTT took place when Dick was just 18-19, I can easily pass it off as his angsty phase that he grew out of in the same way Peter's Ditko era is passed off as his edgy college kid phase in-universe that he outgrew thanks to his friends lmao

admittedly i think trying to ascertain any kind of moral code from bruce or dick in the golden age is a bit of a directionless endeavor bc the writers switched things up soooo often depending on whether they want to pander to morality or comedic value 😭 like there's a golden age issue where bruce quite literally lets= someone die in an electric whirlpool of some kind omds it was hysterical. but yeah interestingly with wolfman i like a lot of the things he did with dick as a character if i view them as developments resulting not only from his personal foray into adulthood but also from the distance that started to grow between him and bruce. it was completely logical for dick to reassess a lot of the things he wanted back when he thought it was going to be him and bruce forever versus at present when bruce clearly no longer wanted to sanction him being robin and dick took that to mean he wasn't good enough (even though bruce was merely being protective and trying to respect dick's own ability to choose his own path in life). the problem with wolfman is that rather than portray it as a series of newfound assessments made in context of newfound developments in dick's life, he wrote these assessments as if they had been lodged in dick's mind since the day he was taken in. which to me at least seems to diminish the significance of dick's development into a more agitated, hyper-emotional control freak. it's not supposed to be something that's always been there. it's more latent. dick's belief in himself with respect to his relationship with bruce sort of hung by a thread for the entirety of their tenure together. that's what happens when you let a nine-year-old become a vigilante and spend nearly nine years together thereafter fighting crime with him as your exclusive partner. it builds expectations, hopes, dreams. for his entire life dick was building up to this.. fantasy almost. and when he went to college it still wasn't so bad because even if there was a desire to be independent he still felt like he had bruce's support. the fantasy remained intact. it was only when dick started to realize that being in college hindered what he really wanted to do with his life, and then bruce opposed him on it, and then they proceeded to disagree on a number of other things—as respectfully as they could admittedly. that was the nice thing about the early 80s. they actually talked in the truest sense of the word—and then bruce finally cut the cord (so to speak) on robin existing as a required extension of batman, that the floodgates really opened. every latent positive emotion that dick had ever felt in his life because of what he believed bruce had given him unconditionally was suddenly up for dissection. and that's how you proceeded to get the neurotic ticking time bomb we know and love so well today. or at least that's how i like to conceptualize it in my head

[sisaloofafump]

AUs I keep thinking about but will never write:

Bruce, Clark, (and Stephanie) coparenting a toddler. This comes in two variations:

A) Stephanie gets contacted by the adoption agency her child went to. They are wondering about her genetic history as her child has developed fairly dangerous powers and has gravely injured and scared her adopted parents. Bruce (the one who organized the adoption with the agency and is a public JL liaison), Superman (superpowers and JL resident Dad), Steph, and Tim (Steph's moral support) have to figure out how to provide the right support for this kid while maintaining appropriate boundaries with the adopting family and, you know, handling dangerous super powers

B) a villain has been making clone hybrids of Clark and Bruce to use as his own weapons. Because the more powerful powers develop later in life, these clones were rapidly aged after creation with only a few surviving the process. Clark and Bruce find one remaining clone, a baby who has not yet been aged up. They are faced with figuring out childcare but also a moral dilemma: if they let the kid age naturally, she will grow up in an unstable body and a face much higher likelihood of dying when the powers develop. If they age her up now, she will miss all her childhood years, but will have a notably higher (though not guaranteed) survival rate when the powers develop. Additionally, who will raise her? This would take place in the current comics world where Bruce is out of resources and family connections, and Clark has just adopted two new twin kids (while dealing with the ramifications of an aged up Jon). Lana Lang and John Henry/Steel have the resources and experience, but can they take this kid? Do they want to? Stephanie plays a smaller role but she is one of the most involved bats in the discussions and early childcare.

More ideas:

Lois Lane as a gun Batman. Bruce's parents are never killed, and he grows up as a philanthropist. Lois, however, has to grow up with her own mother's death and her father's militarization, and raising her sister. As an adult living in Gotham, she starts doing her most dangerous investigative work under the mantle of Batman. She works closely with Bruce (funding her) and Harvey Dent (legal support and her husband). When Harvey's accident happens, it kick starts her turning further and further into violent and vigilante justice, rather than her previous detective-oriented work. She forms a deep friendship with Superman, and helps Bruce raise Dick, Damian, and Tim. She doesn't adopt anyone herself, but she is a mentor to the self-starting hero's in the city, especially Harper and Steph. She has a fairly long fling with Talia. It would really explore how her style of investigation would work within the constrains of her Silver Age ethics. (A variation is where her and Kate grew up as childhood friends and Kate took on the Batwoman mantle in Gotham while Lois became Mothwoman something else in Metropolis)

Golden Age Clark being transferred to Gotham. (This would mix a lot of Pre-Crisis ideas but) radioshow-inspired Clark who isn't really Superman yet; and Superman is an unknown public figure. Most of his work is done as this adventurous yet mild mannered "human" hero, with Superman being an ominous alien form. Early on he strikes up a partnership with a solo Batman (pre-Robin), and a friendship (w benifits) with Bruce Wayne. Lois, despite being given very clear instructions to stay in Metropolis, is brought by her own work to Gotham and into investigating Bruce Wayne. The main center point of this would be the friendship between Clark and Lois, and the loneliness of Bruce

1987 Wonder Woman run where everything's the same except Julia Kapatelid and Diana become a couple. (I have too many thoughts about this it needs its own post)

[lokiinmediasideblog]

I find the DC heroes much more likable than the Marvel ones (whom I kinda dislike). I DON'T KNOW WHY (I like Batman but can't stand Tony Stark, I like Superman but refuse to watch Captain America movies). I am trying to unpack it in this post because it doesn't make sense.

Maybe it's because DC cartoons where what I grew up with? And Marvel popped up more (with the exception of Spiderman and X-men) around my teenage years and people got all pretentious about the MCU?

Also, Superman's costume is less American flag-like than Captain America, so that could definitely play a part in it because one of my main gripes with Captain America is that he's walking American propaganda. I also think Batman as a character is somewhat less politicized than Iron Man because Iron Man's wealth came explicitly from weapons manufacturing, and they show his weapons killed Middle Eastern civilians.

While Batman was just some trust fund wacky dude that refuses to go to therapy and deals with grief in VERY questionable ways and has a fun rogue gallery full of fun, spooky, wacky antagonists he refuses to kill. Like yes, Batman can also be criticized and as with the entire superhero genre there's a lot of copaganda and capitalistic propaganda involved, but he's wackier and the copagandic aspect is far from unique to his story.

I also have this very weird one-sided beef with Peter Parker Spiderman because I constantly broke my brother's Spiderman action figures and I associate Spiderman with punishment and having the worst expected from me. I joke that it sounds like something out of a Silver Age Spiderman Rogue origin story and I am a lab accident away from becoming one.

[whalehouse1]

Barry: Stop trying to one up Batman, Green, he’ll break you in half.

Hal: I’d let him.

Clark: CAN I JUST EAT MY BREAKFAST ON THIS SPACE STATION ONE TIME WITHOUT SOMEONE SAYING SOMETHING INAPPROPRIATE!?

Hal: Jealous Sups?

Barry just walking away, questioning his taste in friends.

[the-batgirl]

I'm sorry I'm venting in your inbox but I'm so frustrated rn. Feel free to ignore.

I haven't brought a Catwoman book since the failed wedding because I didn't like how Selina was being written, I was hoping to wait it out until a good writer came in. Tini Howard will not let go of Selina and I was hoping the pause in the Catwoman run meant another writer was taking over. Well I was kinda right only to be more disappointed because it's one of my least favourite comic writers, Leah Williams, she's writing a goddamn Gotham Sirens series. The series sounds terrible, it mentions half naked cowboys, a bunch of new oc villains, and Punchline. I'm so tired of Catwoman content being so rubbish.

I think 'okay it's not all bad after all', when Batman: The Caped Crusader screen shots are released. Only to be let down again after Selina's background description says she grew up as a millionaire heiress with a silver spoon in her mouth, her father lost all the money, now she steals stuff because basically she loves money. How have they fucked it up that bad. It sounds more like Penguins origin then Selina's.

I didn't always love how Tom King wrote Selina, but I thought after the Batcat wedding they'd be a different writer to take over and we'd get something new and interesting. Only for the cluster fuck that was that entire event and it ending with Selina being written so horribly, to getting the complete nothing burger that was Joelle Jones Catwoman run which added nothing, to Tini Howard just making to worst decisions possible. Even in Batman related books it's either Selina from another dimension/timeline or she's just there as a reminder she exists (sometimes in a way that is disrespectful, like when Ram V had Bruce talk how much Selina is important and means so much to him only to then turn around and sleep with another woman- why bring up Selina then?!)

It's even worse because apparently despite the success of The Batman the next live action Batman movie isn't using Selina. Idk I'm just mad.

I know exactly how you feel anon, it's looking like it can't get much worse, and then it dose

I'm incredibly frustrated with the way catwoman comics have been for YEARS now. Her classic stories are getting big reprints along with heros like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman- and her modern comics are just....ugh they wouldn’t even feature her in the pride event!!!! SHE IS A CANON BISEXUAL AND A MEMBER OF THE BATFAM and she got NOTHING

I saw that news abt Caped Crusader as well :/ the copy paste of Penguins origin when Selina already has MULTIPLE origins that make so much more sense for who she is as a character!!

I so so miss having a writer that understands and respects Selina

I wasn't totally shocked that ram v couldn't resist having him sleep w T*lia, disappointing and ooc, but ultimatly it's somthing that every title that isn't tec could and probably will ignore lol, most of the time it feels like none of these writers are reading each other's comics, you can never tell if something is going to have consequences or be completely forgotten and all the bat related series really do feel like they’re in different dimensions (in a bad way) and as much as dc jerks them around, they capitalize big time on batcat. the statues, makeup collections, celebration books entierly about their relationship, jewelry- it's the bat and the cat forever even if dc is too scared to commit to anything these days. They know who their 2nd most popular couple ever is. If they could only find good writers💀

On the bright side...Selina will probably be in dkos: allwinter, and the ongoing batman dark age features a nice version of her as well!

But anyways yeah FUCK GCS all my homies hate gcs, the people yearn for Lois&Selina !!!!

[celaenaeiln]

Hi cl! I was wondering if you have or one day would make a recommended reading list for dick?

Yea!! I would love to!

For Robin- the best would be Batman 1940, Batman: Golden Age Omnibus, Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet, and Robin: Year One

Untainted by bored and desperate authors, the comics are genuinely funny and interesting and action packed. I love puns and humor and good fighting so Batman 1940 was top tier for me. Batman: Golden Age Omnibus I really liked Bruce and Dick's casual "you're like a brother-son-friend-partner" thing that flowed so naturally.

Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet and Robin: Year One show Dick's capabilities and and how excellent he is even though Batman 1940 shows that too, these are more recent. Whoever wrote The Gauntlet-I'm kowtowing to you. It's god tier work, thank you.

Batman and Robin, A Boy Wonder

I know this is a controversial one because of what Frank Miller makes Dick do but also I just considered it to be part of this universe's batman's psyche. But Frank Miller aside from this one can go suck it. I love everyone in it.

Robin and Batman by Jeff Lemire

This comic talks about Dick directly after his parents' passing. It shows how instead of angry like people think, he was mostly sad and lonely and how he and Batman both grew from this. Going from grief to the light of Batman's darkness that he's known to be.

The Detective Comics

It's Batman and Robin stuff but you know it's just like a progression of the Batman comics but different stories.

The World's Finest Comics both the 1941 and the new one.

Dick's relationship with the Titans and family- Batman: A lonely place of dying.

It takes place some time after Jason's death and shows how Tim joined the family. I love the way they wrote every character. I'm going to put up a post later about Dick and the Titans and this comic is quintessential to that. MUST. READ.

Want more incentive? It's all about Dick and Alfred's relationship and how they're the best father and son.

Dick's relationship with the Titans and Outsiders

Teen Titans (1966) - the silver age, og titans.

The New Teen Titans (1980)

The New Teen Titans: Judas Contract

The New Teen Titans (1984)

JLA/Titans

Titans Secret Files

Titans (1999)

Outsiders (2003)

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files

Teen Titans Lost Annual

Titans (2008)

Titans Hunt

Titans (2016)

Titans United

Titans United: Bloodpact

Titans (2023)

World's Finest: Teen Titans

Nightwing Dick- Nightwing 1996 and 2011

Okay. I know people hate Chuck Dixon but honestly, I think he's one of the greatest Nightwing writers. With him, the writing felt continuous and fluent. It takes you from Dick being fired to the majority of his life. Every arc that was written was excellent because even when Dick was at his worst mentally, emotionally, and physically, he was a formidable foe. He's a tactical genius and one of the strongest fighters and Chuck Dixon put him through a lot but one thing he never did was nerf him. This was very good.

ACTUALLY NO- I LOVED THIS SPECTACULAR, MARVELOUS, BEAUTIFUL, EXTRAORDINARY, BRILLIANT WORK. LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS.

Nightwing 2011 will be one of my all time favorites. Undefeatable badass boy. The entirety of Nightwing 2016 has nothing on even a single panel from Nightwing 2011. Glorious work.

Batman Dick- Batman: Streets of Gotham

The things is, Dick was a very good Batman. Actually, he was an excellent Batman. Maybe it's because he's an excellent actor but the internal struggle he had was not outwardly shown when he was Batman thus effectively convincing the public that there was not a different man under the mask (They could only tell because he actually cared about people unlike Bruce). Actually I like him better than Bruce Batman because Dick's actions as Batman at that time were cooler than any Bruce has taken. I know it's hard to believe but this comic was fantastic in showcasing that.

Other top favorites- Nightwing: The New Order, Future State: Nightwing, and Grayson Comics

I'm literally going feral over New Order. Nightwing is the world's favorite (as expected) and has an entire army to himself. He also has a kid named Jake Grayson and JAKE IS THE CUTEST ADORABLEST KID EVER. I LOVE Kori but what I love even more is Dick is a single mom to Jake because Kori left and Jake loves Dick so much! I cried at the end because how badly I was moved.

Future State! Future State Gotham was trash. It was so bad I had to search for a trashcan to dry heave over because it's character assassination. That comic was so bad other DC authors just refused to acknowledge its existence. Future State: Nightwing showcases just how brilliant Dick is. Ever heard the saying, "There's method to my madness?" Dick always has a plan. It's only madness for those that don't understand the full scale of it.

Heh. Everyone hated the Grayson comics but honestly? I loved it. Dick was manipulative, talented, excellent fighter, and a spy. Every task he took he excelled in it. They said that Dick wasn't made for spying but they weren't talking about his skill set. They were talking about his emotions. Even Tiger- Spyral's number 1 asesst and spy- was outplayed by Dick multiple times. If Helena hadn't become Matron, Dick would've burned Spyral to the ground so completely not even ashes of the fire he had set would have been left as evidence for beetles to collect.

Batman/Nightwing: Bloodbourne

Pure fighting prowess. It reiterates the fact that Dick is undefeatable.

Batman and Robin (2009)

Dick!Bats and Damian's run as Batman and Robin. It sheds light onto the hardships of raising an assassin child. People think that Damian would just follow someone along and become good if they knew him earlier but you don't understand. Dick. Put. Work. Into. Damian. Their obsessed with each other relationship exists because Damian is fully aware of the amount of time, effort, and love Dick has given him and reciprocates that. He loves Dick beyond measure and will fight anyone who says even one word against him.

Batman and Robin Eternal

Really talks about Bruce's impact on Dick, Dick's impact on Bruce, family dynamics, batfamily working together, intelligence and fight skills of Dick Grayson. There's a couple plot holes in the middle with about 2-3 panels being wrong but everything else is so correct.

Convergence

Do you want to know how important Dick is in terms of the multiverse's perseverance and continuation? This one!

COMICS I HAVE READ A BILLION TIMES BECAUSE THEY'RE SO GOOD - DARK CRISIS, DARK CRISIS, DARK CRISIS!!!!

DARK CRISIS

DARK CRISIS

DARK CRISIS

I SAVORED every letter of that comic.

[inkstainmuses]

——  🗡️* ; 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐘𝐑𝐈̂𝐍 𝐓𝐀𝐑'𝐕𝐀𝐋

[ deadly assassin trying to make amends. double swords. uses her dagger to do her eyeliner. lilac, silver, black. wants to be a good person. socially awkward. ]

Name: Shayrîn Tar’val, aka Rin

Species: Drow

Occupation: Vigilante, (grumpy) Tavernmaid (trying to be charming and nice for tips, but it's not going well)

Age: Unknown. Young - middle-aged.

Gender: Cis Female

Sexuality: Demipansexual, no lean

Appearance:

White shoulder-length hair.

Dark grey skin.

Piercing violet eyes, matching eyeliner.

Dark clothes, leather armor, there’s always a weapon hidden somewhere.

Tall, athletic.

Delicate silver jewelry (earrings, multiple rings), silver nostril ring.

Personality:

Weird (and sometimes very dark) sense of humor.

Awkward.

Quick to anger.

“I only broke his leg, it’s not THAT bad”

Trying to be cool and funny.

Trying to be a good person.

Twisted morals.

Drinks too much.

Skills:

Combat. Double swords, daggers, bow and arrow, a teaspoon. Anything, really.

She likes to draw, but could never really tap into her artistic passion, because an assassin of the Underdark DOESN’T DOODLE. Now she finally can.

Sneaking.

Thieving.

Basically being Batman ?

GENERAL BACKSTORY (DnD & most fantasy settings)

Born into the ruthless world of the Underdark, Rin grew up with bloodshed and betrayal. She was trained as one of the best assassins in her house Tar’val. When a rivaling house eradicated Tar'val, Rin, against all odds, emerged as the sole survivor of the brutal assault, forced to flee Menzoberranzan. 

Adapting to the surface world was hard. The Drow refugee befriended an elderly barmaid named Lavinia, whose kindness slowly thawed her icy exterior, and overtime she felt the urge to make amends for all the atrocities she had committed – and in her mind the best way to do that was putting her deadly skills to good use, becoming a vigilante and slaughtering criminals at night. 

[ may be edited / additional verses may be added! ]

[from-silverlinings]

Is that [Blake Lively]? No, that’s [Silver St. Cloud]! [She] appears to be [30]. [She] has/have the abilities of [emotional manipulation, acting, being a bad ass bitch] which makes them a powerful [civilian].

BASICS

Name: Silver St. Cloud Nicknames/Alias: Sil

Face Claim: Blake Lively

Age: 30 Gender: Female Sexuality: Bisexual Date/Place of Birth: Gotham, Currently: Gotham Occupation: Heiress, socialite, event planner

HISTORY

Past: Silver St. Cloud grew up in Gotham with a silver spoon in her mouth. She always had everything she ever needed, except for deep relationships and unconditional love. She did everything that she was told in hopes of gaining her parents' love and attention. When that didn't work, Silver turned to getting attention in other ways. She started shoplifting at 13, clubs at 16, drugs at 17; none of it worked. She cleaned up her act before graduating high school and bribing her way into Yale University. Getting away from Gotham during her college years helped Silver more than she would ever know. She joined a sorority and flourished in it, becoming an it-girl and one of the leaders of the sorority within her second year. She was top of her classes all four years and came back to Gotham ready to take over the upper-class world. She met and fell in love with Bruce Wayne, but couldn't handle worrying about him as Batman and ended things. Now she is a successful event planner and hosts many parties and fundraisers for Gotham's Social Elite. Education: Yale, Business & Art History