#since both heroes were operating in gotham in their careers

[mattzerella-sticks]

The silhouette of a figure in the doorway. A picture of Hawaii before WWII.

I am hoping beyond hope that a plot dream I've been having has escaped containment inside my head and has infected some poor writer to bring my dream to life.

[writer-panda]

Hit on the groom and what became of it - chapter 2/Take me out maybe (with a sniper rifle)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Miraculous or Batman (and other DC characters). This is just a fanfiction. 

Chapter 1  -|-  Next

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As much as Marinette disliked the meeting with the female entourage, when the time came to start working on Adrien’s suit she wanted to scream. She could clearly see that he was uncomfortable with even the gentlest touches. She did her best to make it as non-invasive to him as possible.

They had absolutely no privacy whatsoever. The Bodyguard (Gerard; His name was Gerard) and Nathalie observed their every move. Marinette was half-convinced it wasn’t her who was under watch. 

The professional atmosphere was far cry from her usual working environment. When Uncle Jagged, Clara Nightingale, or even Diana Prince came to her for clothes, it was always very informal. They would joke, gossip, or exchange stories while she worked. Now? Now she was wary of even speaking with Adrien. 

Likewise, the boy refused to meet her eyes or open his mouth. 

At some point, when she was trying to find the right shade of white for the undershirt, she noticed a make-up stain that was not there before. 

“I’m sorry, but I will need to request you remove the makeup. It is staining my materials.” She informed Nathalie and Gerard coldly. It was all she could do to resist calling the police there and there. Sadly, the commissioner was good friends with Gabriel, so it would most likely just end her career and make it worse for Adrien. 

“I was assured it would not leave stains on materials. Please accept our apologies. We will cover the costs of destroyed materials,” Nathalie informed her in an equally cold voice.

“I see…” Marinette’s lips thinned. Inside, she was screaming. But there was nothing she could do. The hit was in place. Soon Adrien would be safe. It would go without a hitch. It had to. 

As the group was leaving, she could’ve sworn the Bodyguard gave her a mournful look. As if he shared her sentiment, but was powerless to stop it. She’d know that look. She saw it in the mirror all too often.

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The Wedding (even the narrator started to capitalize it) came faster than Marinette wanted to accept. And there were still no words about the kidnapping. She made sure to specify that they were to take him before he was married or no payment. Did she not make the money enticing enough? Were there already attempts that were stopped without media coverage? Maybe she forgot to check some boxes?

A million scenarios ran through her head as she wandered through the alleyways.

The whole event was happening in Gotham Botanic Garden. Whatever the weak excuse was given to the press, Marinette knew the real reason: it was one of the few places in the world where Gabriel could marry his son to Lila legally without messing with courts. And bribes were said to be cheapest there. 

As the designer for both the bride and the groom, she was invited to the main ceremony. 

Lila was kind enough to even give her a seated place… right next to Chloé Bourgeois.

Marinette had a hard time deciding if it was bigger punishment to her or the mayor’s daughter. Ultimately, the two girls did their best to not look at each other during preparations. At first, that is, because the first chance she got, Chloé to drag the designer to a remote garden gazebo in a secluded corner when she was least expecting it.

“Wha-!” Marinette was about to protest, but the blonde covered her mouth. She seated her on the bench and took the seat on the opposite side. 

“I’ve been friends with Adrien since we were kids.” She announced in the usual ‘I’m-better-than-you’ tone. “I also know that you’re not always an idiot.”

“Gee! Thanks, Chloé… I’m honored with your praise.” Marinette deadpanned, interrupting the heiress. “Now get to the point”. She really hoped her dress wasn’t damaged or she might just turn to murder. 

“Fine. You worked with Adrien on his suit.” She paused, and for a moment, just a brief moment, her mask fell. That was not what Marinette expected. She has never seen Chloé so… so… The designer’s brain lacked the word to describe how her childhood bully looked like. “How is he?” The blonde asked, her voice almost trembling. 

Marinette opened her mouth, but no sound came. 

A moment passed.

“Not good.” She finally admitted. “During the measurements, he winced even at delicate touches. Plus I was called in last week to make some adjustments to his garments. He lost weight between then and now. And he wore makeup on his right arm. On both occasions.”

“Makeup?” Chloé’s eyes widened. 

“Yes. I would’ve probably missed it if I didn’t soak my fabric into makeup removed beforehand.” She thought back fondly to her brilliant idea. 

“They hurt him!?” Chloé burst out after few seconds. “I will show those… those…”

“Believe me, I share the sentiment.” Marinette nodded sagely. She needed plan B and needed it fast. There had to be something… “I slipped him a burner phone on his way out. I doubt they found it. If it gets really bad, he can try calling the police.”

“You are devious sometimes, Dupain-Cheng.” 

“Thanks. I try.” 

“So… they are coercing him into it?”

“I think so. He is resigned to his fate it seems, but he tries to show some rebelliousness. It wasn’t his father’s idea to hire me and Lila would rather walk to the altar naked than wear anything by me.” Marinette cringed. Any interaction she had with the Liar made her feel almost dirty. And forcing politeness was physically painful sometimes. 

“I got that much from the fact he hasn’t reported it yet. That burner phone was a good move, but Adrikins was always too obedient.”

“And I’m sure you had nothing to do with it,” Marinette muttered, but Chloé didn’t hear her. The heiress somehow managed to derail her rant into telling the story of her entire childhood.

Marinette listened only with one ear, filtering the information for something useful. The rest of her consciousness focused on something else. She started to seriously entertain the idea of using Miraculous to get Adrien out. She would need a combination of several powers though. Trixx was the obvious choice. Illusions would be a great asset. Maybe the Tiger, for the Power Up? If Roaar didn’t exaggerate her power, she would be able to put a distance between them and the city before anyone even realized what happened. She would need to time her illusion right though. And there were the American Heroes to watch out for…

If she didn’t use miraculous immediately, she might get a drop on the bodyguard(s) and then make an exit using Kaalki’s power when they were alone. Disable cameras, take out the guards, get in, portal out. It was feasible but still involved too many risks. If anyone connected miraculi to the operation, Ladybug would be in great trouble. She couldn’t endanger Paris like that… not even for her partner and best friend. 

Then, there was the most dangerous plan. Don’t use Miraculi at all. She was confident enough in her skills to enter undetected. Maybe even sneak out. The question was, would Adrien make it. She could sneak him Plagg’s ring. Chat Noir would have no problem leaving any prison. But… there would be the same risk as when any other Miraculi was connected and the whole point was not to use them in the first place. 

“Ugh!” She let out an angry sound that startled Chloé. 

“What’s with you, Dupain-Cheng! Don’t you see I’m opening my heart to you!?”

“Shut up, I’m trying to do something productive.” She snapped at the blonde. 

“Why, I…”

“Silence. Your tale was entirely unhelpful. Let me focus.” 

Gotham. What was in Gotham that could help her? The most corrupt city, famous for its high crime rate, mad villains, and eternal gloominess. Even now she could feel some of it resonate in the air. As if the whole city was one big Akuma. Probably no help from the establishment… The police were more likely to put a bag on her head and deliver her to one of the crime families… 

“What in Gotham can help…” She voiced her musing loudly, causing Chloé to peak up.

“Waynes!” She proclaimed. “That serial adopter would jump at the chance to get another orphan…”

“Adrien isn’t an orphan… Yet.” Marinette grumbled. “But he will be married by then, so I would need to plan a double homicide… Meh. No great loss.” She said without a shadow of care. It was like the thoughts about the murder were completely normal for her. 

Chloé shivered. “Remind me not to get into your way when you’re in that mood.”

In the distance, the orchestra was starting to play, signaling the guests that the ceremony would start soon.

“Ugh! Hawkmoth it!” Marinette raged as she ran to the clearing. She no longer had the time and if she was the only one missing, Lila would make her prime suspect for anything that happened. Blast it. She would get one more chance. Screw the career. She could survive living somewhere in Argentina if it all went to hell. 

-------

Adrien already accepted his fate. His father and Lila made sure that all avenues of further rebellion were closed. He exhausted everything there was. 

To this day, he was grateful for that burner phone from Marinette. He made sure to hide it but always have it somewhere nearby. It became a form of a lifeline for him. A one-off save-your-life ticket. It would only work in short term, but at the rate everything was going, it could potentially save his life…

He missed his life before the mess with The Wedding started. 

Hell! He even missed Plagg’s stinking cheese. He would maim for some camembert.

“Adrien,” Gerard spoke solemnly. There was no need for more words. They both knew what was about to happen and Adrien took just a bit of solace in the fact that he was not entirely alone, even if no one could help him. 

“I’m ready.” He spoke, barely above a whisper.

Before he realized it, the ceremony was undergoing. Lila, in her stunning dress, held the attention on herself like a pro. No one even thought about looking anywhere but at them. The dress was similarly just so… Lila. It made all of her features all the more proponent. Yet, there was just a small, barely noticeable, stitch that said Marinette. A smile ghosted his face. There was some good out of this. He managed to make his friend famous. After today, no one would deny her style. 

“Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” The marriage officiant spoke. Adrien didn’t even care what convention the wedding was in. 

The silence swept across the garden. 

No one dared to even breathe loudly.

Adrien lowered his head. Here, the last…

There was a rustle somewhere close to the front. He looked up, a small glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. 

Marinette was standing there, her backs straightened and one finger held up. “I…”

She felt the gaze of hundreds of guests on her. They were the most influential people in the world of modern business. Waynes. Luthor. Queen. Burgeiose. Agreste… And they all kept staring at her. 

She tried to swipe the hall with a glance, but something attracted her attention. A glint of light somewhere in the distance.

“Watch out!” She shouted, tossing a chair she was sitting on just a moment ago. 

The metal item sailed through the air until it crashed in the middle of the alley.

With an arrow sticking out of it.

For a second (which felt much longer) everyone stared at it.

Then the mass panic started. People got out of their chairs and started trying to get out of there. They trampled one another as each considered themselves to be the most important, hence first to evacuate. It was chaos.

Among the mass of people, Marinette tried her best to make it to the altar. She saw that Gerard and several other hired bodyguards were of similar minds. 

She managed to squeeze through the crowd the fastest, only to find Lila knocked out and Adrien and the Officiant missing. Adrien’s cousin (best man) and Alya (bridesmaid) were both nowhere to be found. They probably ran away. There was still no trace of the Groom. That is until she saw a giant mass of brown mud dragging the boy away. 

The sad thing? Adrien wasn’t really protesting much. 

Gerard was the next to make it through. He noticed Adrien a tad quicker and tried to chase whoever it was that tried to kidnap Adrien, but a fist made of mud slammed into him, sending him flying away. 

“Holy Hawkmoth!” Marinette cursed once more. Okay, so far, it was only a curse for her, but he deserved it. 

In the distance, police sirens could’ve been heard, but with how fast the mud was escaping, Adrien would be long gone before the police arrived. Marinette had to do something.

Wait… Why am I trying to stop the kidnapping I ordered? She suddenly questioned herself, freezing in place. 

Two guards rushed past her and started firing at the mass, but the bullets seemed to be about as effective as Parisian police when dealing with Akuma. 

The last Marinette saw of Adrien he was being taken into the sewers.

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After the police arrived, Marinette was of course first to be interrogated. (“Gee… Thanks, Lila”). They wanted to know how she noticed the arrow, did she see the attacker, how did the kidnapper looked like, and dozens of other questions. By the end, she was exhausted. Somewhere after the sixth question, her phone pinged. Luckily, the police didn’t bother with checking it and believed that it was just a worried friend. 

Not the kidnapper trying to contact their employer.

Finally, after the police released her and informed her that no further information was needed, she could contact her Maman.

“Sweety? Are you okay? I’ve seen the news!” Was the first thing that came through

“Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m perfectly fine. The police held me back for questioning a bit. I’m going back to the hotel and be back in Paris first flight tomorrow, okay?”

“Stay in Gotham! I’m coming to pick you up!” Her mother informed her.

“Wha-!? But there is no need! Seriously Maman! There’s no need to trouble yourself.”

There was a silence on the line for a moment and Marinette could feel that her mother was trying to glare at her through the phone. It worked. 

“Fine… I’m at Wayne Plaza, room 30-14.” She relented, not wanting any more arguments. She would still have several hours to sort the mess with Adrien. What could possibly go wrong?

Trying her best to be careful, Marinette left the site of crime and traveled to the industrial district. The taxi driver couldn’t be bothered less about why she wanted to go there. He just wanted to get paid and leave. 

The only-slightly-creepy aura of the completely silent area full of factories and warehouses served as a perfect background to contacting the kidnapper. Marinette, after making sure she was truly alone, activated the voice-scrambling app on her burner and dialed the number that sent her the text about successful work. Her Maman showed her that, thinking she wanted it for a prank. Or that’s how Marinette presented it anyway.

“Who is this?!” A voice on the other side of the call asked.

Marinette took a deep breath before answering. “I was led to believe you have what I wanted.” She tried her best to channel Chloé into her voice. 

“Ah… Yes… There’s been a… complication.”

“What do you mean ‘complication’?” She hissed into the phone call. 

“Um… I had the package… But then someone stole the stolen package…” Whoever that was informed her. 

“Who?” She demanded. 

“Last I checked, Lawton was the one who had ‘im… But it might’ve changed. But don’t worry, Boss… lady?” They asked. Marinette didn’t give either confirmation or scolding, so they continued. “I’m still in the game.” With that, they hang up. 

“What did I just get myself into…” She moaned. Then, the realization hit her. “What did I just get Adrien into…”

Elsewhere, Adrien was starring into a pair of curious sea-green eyes. 

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[controloffandoms]

Numb (D.W.)

Prompt: Just something that came to mind. Reader is part of the Super Fam. Older Damian Wayne.

Pairing: Older!Damian Wayne x Super!Reader, Dick Grayson x platonic!reader

Words: 5870

Warnings: Cursing, violence (lots of violence for a little bit), Deaf reader at one point, emotionally vacant reader

Notes: This just kind of happened. There may be another part, but this is where I felt this part ended.

Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5

You slowly rose from your bed. You had gotten in around four that morning and had to be at work by seven...unless there was a crisis that you needed to stop that involved you getting snapshots of Krypton as she fought against whomever decided to become the villain of the morning. Then, you could tell your boss you were late because you were getting some action shots of Bludhaven’s favorite hero-though Dick Grayson would challenge you on that fact. 

You would think a Super as yourself would be in Metropolis or another city close to it, but you would be wrong. You wanted to be independent of your father’s influence and your other siblings. You needed to make your own name. So, your father, Clark Kent, had reached out to Bludhaven Global Journal and had allowed you to further your career as a journalist without having to live up to the expectations of the Daily Planet since your parents were Clark and Lois, two famed journalists. After much debate, you decided to take the out and transfer to Bludhaven. That had been the best decision to make. 

Last night you and Dick, as Krypton and Nightwing, had taken on Bane and Blockbuster who were teaming up to take Bludhaven before moving onto Gotham. Bane had been working on the Gotham end while Blockbuster had worked on Bludhaven. Last minute, Bane had joined the fight and your found yourself between a rock and a hard place. Why, you ask, does that put you in a pickle? While you are part Kryptonian, you didn’t get all of the powers your dad had...or Jon had...you didn’t even have the best attributes like Connor did. Sure, you can fly, you have heat vision, super hearing and strength. You do not have cold breath, X-Ray vision, or superspeed. The worst part was that you didn’t even have the invulnerability. You get bruised and cut like Dick does after a rough battle. While it takes more force to break bones, that’s also a possibility-especially when fighting Blockbuster and Bane. 

You and Dick had stood back to back, taking in the new scene and information. Needless to say, your ached all over and were grateful that Dick was able to find the information you both needed to stop their operation in its tracks. While he had been off on a search of information, you had taken on the two powerhouses. Let’s just say that by the time Dick had the information, you were overpowered and running out of energy. 

You stumbled into the bathroom and started your morning routine. A short, but relaxing shower followed by applying makeup to your bruises and cuts so no one at work could ask about your after-shift activities. You checked everything in the mirror before exiting your room and walking to the kitchen where Dick was just setting out a warm breakfast with coffee while taking a face-time from Bruce. 

Dick’s eleven years older than you (as you were Damian’s age) and had taken it upon himself to watch out for you in Bludhaven. After you had accepted your position at BGJ, you had been called by Grayson telling you that he had lots of extra space in his penthouse that he would be willing to rent out to you. He knew the only way that you would accept the offer is if you worked for the space. He had been right, and you couldn’t thank him enough. It was nice not being all alone in a new city at the beginning. As the months went on, it was just nice to come home to someone who knew your nightly activities and understood both the mundane and super things. 

Dick sat next to your at the bar, leaning the phone on the popsocket to get both of you in the picture and freeing his hands so he could eat. “Morning Bruce,” you mumble, not yet completely awake. 

“Morning. Tell me what you experienced last night,” the frame shifted as Damian joined the picture. 

“TT, they did a number on your face, (Y/N),” Damian sighed. 

“Thanks for the update,” you rolled your eyes. “I had my suspicions after having overheard a conversation Blockbuster was having with someone on the phone before Dick showed up last night. No names were mentioned but they were talking about a ‘shipment’ that would cripple both Gotham and Bludhaven. They wanted to take out the vigilanties and take over the cities and make them in their own image. After the call ended, Blockbuster met with Tarantula. Tarantula was in charge of the shipment and was given coded directions that I still haven’t been able to decode. Whatever this ‘shipment’ is, I believe we better get ahead of it before they have a chance to use it against us. I’ll keep on trying to decode the message after I get to work today.”

“The information I downloaded and deleted from their computers seemed to cripple the operation for the time being. I think that they have something to do with the shipment that (Y/N) was talking about. She gave me a copy of the coded directions and I’m going to see if I can get anything from looking at that and the files. I’ll make it my primary case today. From the information I got several warehouses in Gotham, I’ve sent the information over to you for you both to look into. Be careful, in case the Gotham end is more prepared than ours,” Dick took a gulp of coffee.

“I will grab Drake, Todd, and Brown. We’ll go look into the warehouses. I will let you know of our findings,” Damien nodded. 

“I did my own recon last night while Bane was still in Gotham. He was meeting with Joker, Harley, Penguin, Two-Face, and Riddler. I wasn’t able to get much information out of the conversation, but they were talking of the operation taking place in the next two weeks. Depending on if all of the information you gathered transfers over to the Gotham operation, you could have set them back as well. I want us all to be on our toes. I also believe that if Bane was meeting with five other villains that your operation is bigger than just Blockbuster and Tarantula,” Bruce sighed, looking up as a knock sounded on his door. “I don’t want either of you patrolling on your own, that goes for you as well Damian. We’ll talk more later. Be safe.” 

The video ended and you stretched as you stood to take your dirty dishes to the sink. “Damian was right, Bane and Blockbuster did a number on your last night. Maybe you should call out today.”

You turned sharply, ignoring the pull of multiple cuts on your stomach. “I am a powerful Kryptonian, I do not need to take ‘sick days’. I will apply more makeup and be on my way. Stay safe on the job today, Dick. I’d hate to have to take an early break to save your ass because you can’t reveal to your partner that you’re Nightwing,” you stalked off to finish getting ready for work. 

Don’t misunderstand, you love Dick Grayson. He’s like a big brother to you, a big brother that you never got, being the oldest in the Kent clan. At twenty-three, you’re still headstrong and willing to push every ache behind in order to get the job done and seem normal. You had been the first one that Clark had to teach to control your super strength, dial down your hearing, control your heat vision when you were angry. You had been the trial run. Hell, you were the reason that they slowly tested Jon’s abilities just in case he was like you, with penetrable skin. After realizing you weren’t bullet proof, it took your father almost a whole year to let you patrol again. 

You stepped into the living room of the penthouse, seeing Dick grabbing his keys. You sighed quietly and walked over to him. “Thank you for being concerned, but I know my limits. I’ll leave work early if I’m not feeling well. Don’t do anything stupid today, Detective Grayson,” you hugged him. He wrapped you in gentle but firm arms. 

“I know you do, but you’re my little sister (Y/N/N). I worry. I promise no stupidity today as long as you do the same,” he released you, giving you a look. 

“Scouts honor,” you smirked and grabbed your own set of keys. You both parted once you got to the car garage. 

_____________

You looked up as a shadow cast over your workspace. “Kent, we need to talk.” You rose an eyebrow at Damian and stood. 

“I need to tell my boss that I’m not feeling too well and will be taking the rest of the day off,” you state as you grab your things. After he was informed, you and Damian began the walk to the parking garage. “What’s this about, Mr. Wayne,” you asked. Since you were in public, you were treating him as if he was in on your next story. An informant or professional expert on what your next article was going to be. 

He opened the passenger door of his car and closed it behind you before joining you in the car. “We have time sensitive information on Blockbuster and Bane’s operation. It’s even bigger than we thought. We’re meeting everyone back at Grayson’s penthouse.”

You nodded and stared out the window before turning to look at Damian as he drove. His chiseled cheeks, his broad shoulders, the muscles rippling beneath the tailored suit he wore. His eyes turned to you briefly, but you didn’t turn away. “It’s been a while,” you casually stated.

“I know. Next time I’ll come for a social visit. Or you could come to Gotham, either way. We haven’t spent time together since you got your job eight months ago,” A small smile was present on his face. 

“You still see Jon almost every week,” you asked.

“Oh most definitely. He asks me when I’m going to come see you,” you rolled your eyes. Jon and Damian were best friends, much like you and Damian were. Jon just seemed to think that there was more to your relationship than just being best friends. He was right on your end. You realized four years ago that you were in love with your best friend. You knew he couldn’t feel the same, so you kept it to yourself and used your feelings for him to better your friendship and protect him when your worked on missions together.

“The little brat thinks he’s so slick,” you joked.

“You might want to tone down the judgement on your brother. When I said this operation was even bigger than we thought, that meant that it spread to Metropolis. Jon and Conner are already with Grayson in the penthouse. Your father is off world but is trying to wrap up the mission to get back here to help deal with the situation. Father, Todd, and Drake have arrived at the penthouse. Pennyworth and Brown are monitoring things in Gotham.”

You nodded and stretched your hearing to the penthouse. Everyone Damian had mentioned was, in fact, at the penthouse. Another sound caught your attention. You zoned in on it and tensed. “-eady in two hours. We’ll take those idiot do-gooder’s out in no time,” that was Tarantula. 

“Good. I want to be rid of them as soon as possible.” Blockbuster.

You zoned back into the car as it parked. You both exited the car, but you paused as a scream reached your ears. It was coming from the same direction as Blockbuster and Tarantula. “-(Y/N)? KENT,” Damian shouted as he shook your shoulder. 

“What?” 

“Are you coming?” 

“I’ve got to check something out,” you muttered, mind still on the information you’d gotten on the way...and thinking of the scream. Was it just a trap to see if their plan would work on you? Was someone really in danger and needed assistance? As the scream returned, you rushed into the penthouse, ignoring the people already in it. You changed into your suit and was out your bedroom window before Damian even reached your room. 

“TT, damn it Kent,” you heard Damian exclaim and you tuned out the penthouse. 

Landing quietly on the roof of the building you tracked the scream to, you carefully looked around. You weren’t going in blindly. This could very well be a trap. You wished that you’d gotten the genetics for X-Ray vision at this point, but you could deal with this. You could help the person in danger and get back to the penthouse to talk about the operation with everyone else. 

You entered through a vent, using the many lessons Bruce and Dick had taught you about hiding in the shadows and using the element of surprise. Finally you found the room where the screaming originated from. Good news was that there was cause for you to investigate. Bad news, someone did need rescuing and it was most likely a trap. 

You reached your hearing to the penthouse, before whispering out, “Jon, Conner, your listening ears on?” You heard them quiet down the others in the penthouse as they responded. 

“Good news, I know where Blockbuster’s master plan resides currently. Bad news, they’re going to go through with the plan in two hours.”

“Why the hell did you go off without anyone else,” Conner hissed.

“Other bad news, they have hostages.”

It was silent for a minute before Jon sighed. You could imagine him running a hand down his face, “and they know you have enhanced hearing meaning they were planning on drawing you into a trap...which you blindly did.”

“Not exactly. They still don’t know I’m here. I spent too much time with bats to be that stupid,” you paused as you saw movement as the door in the room opened. “Hold on, movement.”

“Don’t engage, Kent,” Damian growled, “we’re coming to you. You don’t move until we get there.”

Your heart stopped momentarily as you realized that you didn’t have a choice in that. Seconds after seeing the man come through the door, you put up your mental shields as you had been taught. Manchester Black, renowned telepath and enemy of Superman and all of his children. You didn’t know he was back on Earth. “Black,” you whispered, hearing Jon tell the others of the telepath. 

Apparently you hadn’t put your shields up fast enough to block Black. “Come now, Kryptonian.”

Before you could move, the vent was torn from the ceiling and you were left staring at Monolith and General Zod. A quiet curse left your lips as you made a head count. Manchester Black, General Zod, Monolith, Blockbuster, Tarantula, Bane, Joker, and Harley Quinn. “And I thought your little plan wouldn’t work,” Bane chuckled as he looked at Zod. 

“All of Kal-El’s children are too righteous to ignore helping the innocent. Even his clone can’t ignore the need to help others. It’s pathetic really,” he responded. You could feel Black trying to break your shields. 

“Can we hit this one now? I want to see her turn black and blue,” Harley leaned on her bat as she waited on an answer. 

“I need her disabled in order to test our plan out, go ahead,” Blockbuster grinned. 

It was like you were an all you can eat buffet and the villains were starved people as they all rushed at you. You growled under your breath and fought them off. You stayed as far away from Monolith as possible. As far as you and Dick knew, he was invulnerable-not to mention the superstrength he possessed rivaled your own. You kept Zod at a distance as well. He was a full blooded Kryptonian, he possessed all of your dad’s abilities and other than kryptonite, he had no vulnerabilities. 

You focused on Tarantula. Get her out and you’ll have one less villain to deal with. It wasn’t hard to knock the young woman out. With her out of commission, you worked on Joker and Harley while still dodging attacked from the others. You had knocked Harley out just as you felt yourself being picked up and thrown through the air, complete with the feeling that your skin was being melted. A huge fist pushed your farther into the concrete you rested against. 

You met the next fist and threw off Monolith. You didn’t get far before it felt like your head was exploding. With your concentration gone, you crashed to the ground, hands going up to your head as the rest of your shields fell. You felt the blood starting to leak from your nose and you couldn’t fight the scream that left your lips as the pain in your head intensified along with the physical abuse by the other villains in the room. Just as you began to pass out, you felt your left leg shatter, causing a broken gasp to leave your mouth as everything went black. 

___________

You don’t know how long it had been since you lost consciousness when you woke next. A quiet groan left your mouth and you bit your lip as you pushed yourself up. You hissed as you put weight on your leg. You floated slightly to keep weight off of it. Several fearful eyes stared back at you once you began to look around. As you took stock of the situation, you extended your hearing, hoping to find the heartbeat of your brothers or the bats. You couldn’t find any sign of them and that worried you. As you looked around again, you realized that this wasn’t the location you scoped out earlier. They had moved you. 

Your heart beat began to quicken and did your breathing before you quelshed the fear. Damian Wayne would find you. You trusted him with your life. He would find you and he wouldn’t stop until he did. You took one more look at the hostages in the cage with you, your face hardening slightly. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to try and get the bars open enough for everyone to crawl out,” you whispered. You didn’t know where any of the villains were, but you didn’t want them to overhear you. 

As soon as your hands clasped the bars, it felt like your energy was being drained from you. As you pulled at the bars, they moved barely and inch apart. As you went to pull at them again, a very familiar chuckle reached your ears. “I made them especially for you Supers. The cages are infused with Kryptonite. I have to say, Krypton, I’m surprised that the other idiots’ plan worked. I didn’t think you were dumb enough to fall into the trap.”

You backed away from the bars and glared at the man coming from the shadows. “Lex Luthor, why am I not surprised. I thought you were still off world.”

He smirked, coming closer to the cage. “I came back just for this. You didn’t think that Bane, Zod, and Blockbuster came up with this whole operation by themselves, did you? By being off world, no one would suspect my involvement. Once we take Gotham, Bludhaven, and Metropolis, the other heroes and cities will fall into our control.”

“How do you plan to make the cities fall? How do you plan to get rid of the other heroes?”

“That’s the easy part. You’ll be helping us out. We’ll see if it works on you. If it does, we can implement it on the others. If it doesn’t, we’ll fix it until it does...and even if it doesn’t work, you’ll be out of the picture,” Lex smirked. He crossed his arms in amusement as you pried at the bars again. “How does it feel to know that you’ll either be under our control or dead in less than thirty minutes?”

“That’s not going to happen,” you growled. Monolith, Zod, and Blockbuster emerged from the shadows and Lex smirked. 

The cage door opened and you took the chance to attack, pushing the Monolith back into Zod. You used your heat vision to blind Blockbuster temporarily. You had to admit that you were panicking on the inside. You were a cornered animal and they all knew it. It would only be a matter of time before one of them restrained you. 

You screamed and fought as Zod held onto you, dragging you through darkened hallways as the others followed. “When we get in there, make sure to inject her with the compound before we hook her to the machine,” Lex turned to smirk at you. “The show is about to begin.”

A door at the end of the hallway had light peeking from the bottom. It blinded you as the door swung open. It took a second for your eyes to adjust. That was enough time for your handlers to be changed out. Monolith was now holding you as Zod approached with a syringe. “No,” you shouted and tried to fight against Monolith’s hold on you. You used your heat vision, superstrength, and flight to try and get away, but nothing you did got you free. 

Whatever was in the syringe burned your veins as it moved through. You grit your teeth, refusing to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much pain you were in. “Lock her in,” Lex stated as he moved further in the room. 

You fought the whole way there. You weren’t going without a fight. As the last restraint was put on you, you felt tears of frustration building up. “No no no no no,” you mumbled, pulling at the restraints. 

“You’ll find that those restraints are made of Kryptonite. While I’ll be displeased if this doesn’t work, at least I have one Super out of my hair,” Lex turned to look at Black behind the console. “Light her up!” 

As the machine roared to life, you heard glass breaking all around you and multiple figures entered the room. You didn’t have time to take it all in before the machine sent a steady stream of energy at you. Upon contact, the fire in your veins intensified tenfold and you couldn’t help but scream out. You could feel Black probing your mind and implanting thoughts, but you couldn’t focus enough to block him out. You felt like your body was being torn in two...but then it all stopped. 

Black was unconscious, the machine shut down, Conner and Jon fighting Zod and Monolith… Damian in front of you, hands on your cheeks, wiping away your fallen tears. His mouth moving, but you can’t hear what he’s saying. All you hear is whitenoise. “Hurts,” you form the word with your mouth. Whether it’s spoken or not, you don’t know but Damian understands. 

Your restraints are undone and you can’t catch yourself, but you don’t need to. Damian has you, he’s lowering you to the ground, crouching with you, still saying something you can’t make out as he turns his head while he talks in order to see how the others are doing. Slowly, your hearing comes back, “-got you. Should have gotten here sooner. How are you feeling,” he turned back to you, picking you up bridal side. 

“Hurs, Dee,” your words are blending, but you can’t help it. 

He exits the building with you, holding onto you tightly as he sits in the passenger seat of the batmobile. Not long after, the other vigilantes exit the building, some with villains in tow, others talking in low voices. Well, low for them. To you, it was like they were yelling directly in your ears. Your hands come up to cover your ears, letting out a distressed sound. 

Damian’s arms tighten around you as you begin to try to get out of his grasp, “loud...too loud. Hurts,” you squeeze your eyes shut. 

“Father, get us out of here now,” Damian’s voice is loud as well as he calls to his father. 

_________

You’re lucky the penthouse soundproof. Even with that, you can still hear things, but it’s all dull. Everything that happens in the penthouse, though, sounds like an airhorn in your ear. The quiet talking of the other people in the house are like shouts. The flush of the toilet is like a hurricane. The beeping of the coffee pot being done is like being right next to the tsunami siren. Not to mention every time you move, even the smallest bit, everything burns and hurts. You imagine this is how Jason Todd felt after being beaten by Joker then left to a fiery death by bomb. 

You hissed slightly as you sat up on the bed. You had to get out of here. You had to get rid of the headache. You had to go somewhere quiet...and you had just the place: your dad’s Fortress of Solitude. You stumbled into the wall as you walked to the window. 

Suddenly, Jon is in front of you, arms crossed and worry evident on his face. “Where are you going,” he asked. 

Your right hand went up to your ear as you winced. “Quiet,” you whispered. Your left hand, which you had against the wall for support, quivered. 

Jon placed both hands on your shoulders to steady you. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“No,” you shouted. This caused Jon to jump slightly, giving you a moment to back away from him. “I-I can’t think! I can’t-I can’t concentrate! I can’t-I need-I-Hurts! Jon, it hurts! My head-My head, feels like it’s ex-exploding! I don’t care how quiet you and everyone else talks, it’s like you’re each screaming in my ears!!” By now, tears were freely falling and you had drawn a crowd. 

You backed away until your back hit a wall. The fire in your veins was back and getting worse with each breath you took. “Make it...STOP!” The temperature in the room dropped and you could only watch as each of your increased breaths cooled the room even more. “What’s happening to me,” your voice cracked, as did the mirror on your wall from the amount of ice piled on it. 

Damian was in front of you, placing one hand on your knee and the other on your cheek. “Beloved, you need to calm down. I will help you figure it out, but I need you to calm down...you’re scaring me.” The fact that Damian Wayne admitted that he was scared was enough to get your attention. You stared directly at him, nodding slightly. 

“Damian, I’m scared. Everything hurts. I can’t think-I can’t-I can’t focus...Veins on fire.” You shut your eyes, letting out a shaky breath. You let out a scream intentionally and stood abruptly. “Injection. Lex,” you closed your eyes, trying to bring the words to your lips, “injected me with something.” You could tell your body was shaking but you couldn’t focus on it. Get it together, Kent. “Black was-Black-in my head. Changed things. Put things in.”

The different heart beats in the room were going at different speeds. It created an unsteady thrum that you couldn’t help but focus on. “What kind of things did he change,” Conner asked as quietly as he could, at least you thought he was trying for your benefit to be quiet. 

You still winced at his voice, slowly sitting on the edge of your bed. “Thoughts. Feelings. All fucked up.” You put your face in your hands, trying to scrub away the tears that had fallen. “My fault. All my fault. Stupid. Idiot,” you mumbled. “Feels like-like mind’s splitting in two.”

“That’s probably an accurate description. You didn’t fully complete Lex’s plan before we interrupted. From what Conner and Jon heard, you were either supposed to be dead or under their control. Black was probably implanting memories and changing your beliefs and didn’t get to finish. Your core beliefs are fighting what he changed making your mind fight itself. As for what he injected you with, I’m running that through my systems to figure out what it was. Alfred and Stephanie are tracking down the exact components of it to see if we can create something to counteract it.” Bruce slowly stepped forward. “You just need to hold on. Clark’s almost back to Earth. We’re going to figure this out.”

___________

You’d finally passed out around five a.m. Looking at the clock, it didn’t seem worth it. Six fifteen a.m. You went through your morning routine on autopilot. You felt numb. You looked at yourself in the mirror, wincing at your battered body. You couldn’t feel it, but it sure as hell look like it hurts. Now that you think about it, you should be more worried that you couldn’t feel anything. You were battered enough that your makeup didn’t even cover the bruising. 

You rolled your eyes and walked out of your room and to the kitchen. You were slightly surprised to see almost everyone sitting around the living area/kitchen. You hadn’t heard them moving around. You grabbed a plate and grabbed portions of eggs and grits. You decided to take it back to your room as all of the convenient seats were taken. 

Before you could walk back to your room, a hand landed on your shoulder and turned you around. You cocked your head, why didn’t he just call for you? Dick’s mouth was moving, but you couldn’t hear his voice. The confusion must have shown on your face as Damian and your brothers approached. As much as you wanted to figure out what was wrong with your hearing, you couldn’t help but not care about it. You handed Dick your plate and turned around, locking the door behind you.

You finished your morning routine and deciding on a hat for today so that you could hide some of your bruised face. You had to get to work. You had an article due today after all. As you approved your look in the mirror, you walked out the door of your room. You gave the usual parting words to Grayson as you neared the front door, “don’t do anything stupid that I have to save your ass from today, Grayson.”

You had just made it out the door when there was another hand gripping your shoulder. You huffed and jerked out of their hold to come face to face with your father. His mouth moved and you barely made out the words ‘you’re hurt. You need to rest and heal.’ You shook your head and backed away from him. 

“Article due today. Gotta finish it. I feel fine,” the truth was you didn’t feel anything at all. His arm moved quickly to grip you again, but you jerked back again, glaring at your father. “Don’t make me do something I’ll regret later, Daddy.”

Jon was on your right side and Conner on your left. Both their mouths were moving, but you couldn’t concentrate on one of them to figure out what they were saying. You started to walk away from them again. You didn’t hesitate to fight against the next hand that grabbed you. You swung the arm over you, disorienting your brother before popping his shoulder out of its socket and shoving him hard enough into the wall to leave a Jon sized print.

You didn’t bother to stop to apologize, just continued to your car. This time no one stopped you. 

(Third Person POV)

Damian wasn’t sure what was going on with you. It scared him. The previous day when he couldn’t figure out how to comfort you and make the pain go away, he felt like a complete failure. He’d finally been able to get you to go to sleep around five and had promptly found his father and the others in the living area to figure out what to do to help you.

About an hour later, you walked out of the room like you were back to your old self. Like nothing had happened the previous day. Dick excused himself from the conversation as you reappeared with a plate of food, heading for your room. “(Y/N)! What are you doing up? I would think you’d be resting.” She didn’t respond. “(Y/N)?”

He placed a hand on your shoulder and you turned around, cocking your head in question. “Are you alright? How are you feeling this morning? (Y/N), can you understand me?” Each question was followed with her brow furrowing. Damian, Conner, and Jon approached you while Dick held your attention.

By the time Damian had an idea of what was wrong, you were already back in your room. He tried the door, but it was locked. He thought of picking the lock, but maybe you just needed some time to yourself. 

When you came walking through the room again, this time looking like you were going out, Damian was out of his seat quicker than any of the others. “(Y/N), where are you going? You should be resting.” It didn’t seem as if you’d heard him. 

“Don’t do anything stupid that I have to save your ass from today, Grayson,” you called as you grabbed your keys and proceeded out the door.

Clark was right behind you, gripping your shoulder. “I think there’s something wrong with your hearing, Sweetheart.” You turned in his grip, shrugging out of it. “You’re hurt. You need to rest and heal.” 

Damian watched as your face hardened and you glared at your father. He had never seen you act this way around Clark Kent. You adored him. Sure, there were times when you argued with your father about missions, but he had never seen this pure hatred that crossed across your face. “Article due today. Gotta finish it. I feel fine.” Your voice was a little loud which supports the theory that your hearing could be shot from the previous day.

He watched as you jerked away from your father’s grip again. If you had been an animal, he could imagine your hackles rising and you growling to ward off a predator or unwanted visitor. “Don’t make me do something I’ll regret later, Daddy,” you practically spat the last word. By this time, Jon and Conner had closed in on both sides, making a narrow opening for your to walk through. 

“(Y/N), Sis, this isn’t you. I think it’s best that we keep you here for today. Let us help you,” Jon held his hands out complacently. 

“(Y/N/N), please. We don’t want to hurt you anymore than you already have been. Let’s go back inside,” Conner tried. 

He watched as you walked away from them. “Jon, don’t-” Damian tried to call out as he saw Jon reach for you. Your demeanor suggested that another attempt to stop you would end up with one of your family hurt. You tossed him like a rag doll, dislocating his shoulder and pushing him hard enough in the wall to leave an imprint. Jon called out in pain as you walked away. Something was very wrong...and Damian was going to figure it out.

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[eddycurrents]

For the week of 21 October 2019

Quick Bits:

Action Comics #1016 continues brilliantly integrating Naomi into the broader DC Universe as she helps Superman with the Red Cloud and introduces Batman to her mom. Some very nice double-page spreads in this one from Szymon Kudranski and Brad Anderson, with a nice structure from Brian Michael Bendis in the form of a investigative journalist format.

| Published by DC Comics

The Amazing Mary Jane #1 is an interesting debut from Leah Williams, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Lopez, and Joe Caramagna. It plays upon MJ’s resumed career as an actress and a different turn for Mysterio (I need to go back and read some of his stuff with Kindred, because something seems off).

| Published by Marvel

Amazing Spider-Man #32 begins the next stage in Marvel’s seeming neverending onslaught of event after event with the prelude into the upcoming 2099 thing, including the Marvel debut of Patrick Gleason providing line art. The thing that gets you is that it’s good. Nick Spencer, Gleason, Matthew Wilson, and Joe Caramagna give us an interesting hook in a future and a present that have apparently gone wrong, but we’re really unsure what’s happened yet, just that a seemingly powerless Miguel, back in his original costume, needs to find Peter. It’s compelling.

| Published by Marvel

Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1 is a rather fun and funny story that you really have to go into blind in terms of most content. It’s better to be surprised by the experience. It’s an all-star team of talent including Jonathan Hickman, Chris Bachalo, Gerry Duggan, Greg Smallwood, Nick Spencer, Mike Allred, Kelly Thompson, Valerio Schiti, Al Ewing, Chris Sprouse, Chip Zdarsky, Rachael Stott, Jason Aaron, Cameron Stewart, Mark Bagley, Tim Townsend, Al Vey, Karl Story, John Dell, Laura Allred, Mattia Iacono, Dave McCaig, Tríona Farrell, Nathan Fairbairn, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Caramagna playing a game of exquisite corpse, with each team coming up with a more outlandish cliffhanger for the next team to extricate Spider-Man from. It’s hilarious and incredibly well done.

| Published by Marvel

Angel #6 gives us another perspective on the “Hellmouth” crossover event, as a dejected Spike is tracked down by Fred and Gunn. I really like how Bryan Edward Hill, Gleb Melnikov, Roman Titov, and Ed Dukeshire are continuing the ongoing narrative of the series, while still dovetailing seamlessly into the event. It doesn’t miss a beat on either side of the equation, while still presenting an entertaining story in its own right regardless of whether you’ve read anything previously. All while introducing another player that’s already causing complications. Very nice layered storytelling here.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Aquaman Annual #2 seems to have been oddly scheduled, with a story taking place after the still ongoing “Amnesty” arc in the main series, but Kelly Sue DeConnick, Vita Ayala, Victor Ibáñez, Jay David Ramos, and Clayton Cowles still deliver an entertaining story that plays into the DOOM that’s been spread by the Legion of Doom and Perpetua. There’s an undercurrent of animosity, anger, and paranoia that seems to be fostered by the doom mark hanging in the sky, and this story nicely builds on it.

| Published by DC Comics

Ascender #6 begins the next arc, though it is much more a direct continuation from the story unfolding, with Andy captured and Mila on the run by boat. Jeff Lemire continues to inject humour into this story through the sheer ineptitude from the vampires. It’s a wonder that they can control anything.

| Published by Image

Avengers #25 is the finale to “Challenge of the Ghost Riders” from Jason Aaron, Stefano Caselli, Jason Keith, Erick Arciniega, and Cory Petit. It does a good job of building Robbie back up, while showing more of the cracks that we’re seeing in Johnny Blaze that were shored up in Ghost Rider. 

| Published by Marvel

Bad Reception #3 goes hard into more traditional themes around horror and, more specifically, slasher films and it’s absolutely wonderful. Juan Doe is giving us a very compelling mystery here, adding more layers as to why the killer is doing this and adding complications through the different characters. Great stuff.

| Published by AfterShock

Batgirl #40 escalates Oracle’s plans as she launches an offensive on Burnside in order to draw out Batgirl. The art this issue from Carmine Di Giandomenico and Jordie Bellaire gets taken to a completely new level. They layouts and colours are absolutely beautiful.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman/Superman #3 goes deeper into the Batman Who Laughs’ machinations for the Infected and what he’s trying to unleash on the DC Universe. Joshua Williamson, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez, and John J. Hill are very nicely executing this story, playing with the darker elements that have been bubbling since Metal, but presenting it in such a way that it’s not a dour, grim and gritty story. Also, though it doesn’t have the branding, this is still absolutely integral to the overall “Year of the Villain” event.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Adam: Year of the Villain #1 aims the infected Shazam at Khandaq at lets explosions ensue from Paul Jenkins, Inaki Miranda, Hi-Fi, and Tom Napolitano. This gives us an interesting look at leadership, humility, and responsibility, seemingly entrenching Black Adam again as a somewhat heroic figure.

| Published by DC Comics

Bloodborne #16 concludes “The Veil, Torn Asunder”, revelling in some of the madness that really grips the world. There’s a real unnerving sense of reality crumbling here, somewhat more horrific than what we’ve seen before. Great art from Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson.

| Published by Titan

Contagion #4 gets darker in this penultimate chapter from Ed Brisson, Damian Couceiro, Veronica Gandini, and Cory Petit. Things get even more grim as more and more of the heroes fall and we’re left with a rag tag band of street-level heroes and the z-list ring of magicians.

| Published by Marvel

Count Crowley: Reluctant Monster Hunter #1 is an entertaining debut from David Dastmalchian, Lukas Ketner, Lauren Affe, and Frank Cvetkovic. It revels beautifully in the low budget local network horror programming of the ‘70s and ‘80s, following an alcoholic reporter who gets fired for her behaviour, before taking the job as the host to a b-movie segment like Elvira. Great stuff here.

| Published by Dark Horse

Criminal #9 distances us a bit from Jane and that story in this chapter of “Cruel Summer”, instead giving us a look at what Leo is up to as his father plans a heist and Ricky’s recklessness. It’s a nice side track, giving us a different perspective again along with a seriously messed up robbery. Love the washes for the flashbacks from Jacob Phillips.

| Published by Image

Detective Comics #1014 brings Nora Fries back. And aside from just the extreme lengths that Victor has gone to in order to accomplish it, something about all of this feels very, very wrong and that some new horror is about to be unleashed on Gotham. Beautiful artwork from Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Mark Irwin, and David Baron.

| Published by DC Comics

Dial H for HERO #8 gives us the origin stories for The Operator and Mister Thunderbolt from Sam Humphries, Paulina Ganucheau, Joe Quinones, Jordan Gibson, and Dave Sharpe. There’s a rather neat format for the storytelling here as we get parallel stories of The Operator and Mister Thunderbolt, told forwards for one and then backwards for the other.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Doctor Mirage #3 has some gorgeous and trippy art from Nick Robles and Jordie Bellaire. The oddity in the colours and the impressive layouts and double page spreads really adds to the overall feel and atmosphere of the story, immersing you into the surrealism and unsettling feel that even Doctor Mirage herself is feeling.

| Published by Valiant

The Flash #81 concludes “Death and the Speed Force” from Joshua Williamson, Scott Kolins, Luis Guerrero, and Steve Wands. There are some major ramifications here for the DC Universe as a whole and some interesting developments for Hunter Zolomon himself. Like last issue, it’s pretty fitting that this is being handled with Kolins’ art. Also, we see a bit of what might be happening because DOOM won.

| Published by DC Comics

Ghost Spider #3 keeps things interesting as we get a continued build for two different Miles Warren stories on both Earths-65 and -615, from Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa, Rosi Kämpe, Ian Herring, and Clayton Cowles. There’s also a feeling that through school and superheroics across two realities, Gwen might be wearing herself out more than she already has been with a hungry costume, which is a compelling fact that might feed into to forthcoming stories.

| Published by Marvel

GI Joe #2 takes a bit of a step back from the explosions of the first issue, still following Tiger, but in a much more introspective and measured way as he keeps getting his ass handed to him by Scarlett. Paul Allor, Chris Evenhuis, Brittany Peer, and Neil Uyetake are giving this a very different feel from any previous GI Joe incarnation and it’s very interesting. Some neat twists and some very welcome humour.

| Published by IDW

Hellboy and the BPRD: Saturn Returns #3 concludes this excellent mini-series from Mike Mignola, Scott Allie, Christopher Mitten, Brennan Wagner, and Clem Robins. I quite like this new approach to the historical series, giving a broader view of the previous years. Also, the development of Liz and Hellboy is wonderful, just great character building.

| Published by Dark Horse

Immortal Hulk #25 is very strange. Very, very strange. The lead story is set in the future where the Hulk has become the Breaker of Worlds and everything is slated for destruction. A pair of former lovers are trying to stop him. From Al Ewing, Germán García, Chris O’Halloran, and Cory Petit. There’s a lot of your usual dystopian future stuff, plus sending something back to save the future, but there’s more to this. The set up plays into some of the Kabbalistic themes and ideas that Al Ewing has been using through this series and we get an interesting interpretation of Binah and Chokhmah here. Though it might be more appropriate to consider them as their Qliphoth. Granted, you don’t need to get into any of this to enjoy the comic. Especially since it will appear much more straightforward in the present as the usual team of Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Paul Mounts, and Petit reintroduce a familiar evil face.

| Published by Marvel

Josie and the Pussycats in Space #1 is a digital original from Alex de Campi, Devaki Neogi, Lee Loughridge, and Jack Morelli. It’s a pretty damn good reimagining of the characters, putting them on an intergalactic USO tour, and then eventually cranking up the weird and the horror.

| Published by Archie Comics

Justice League Dark #16 is incredible. “The Witching War” continues in this story from James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martínez Bueno, Fernando Blanco, Raul Fernandez, Brad Anderson, and Rob Leigh as Wonder Woman confronts Circe and everything gets doomed. The stakes here feel real, especially as the team continues to fall apart.

| Published by DC Comics

King Thor #2 is as epic as the first issue with Jason Aaron, Esad Ribić, Ive Svorcina, and Joe Sabino seriously bringing the thunder here. The artwork is drop dead gorgeous and the magnitude of the confrontation between Thor, Loki, and Gorr is massive.

| Published by Marvel

Marauders #1 gives us our first look at an X-book in “Dawn of X” without Jonathan Hickman at the helm. It’s really good. Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, Federico Blee, and Cory Petit give us a somewhat more lighthearted approach to some of the concepts, featuring a Kate Pryde who for some reason can’t go through the Krakoan gates, so is recruited by Emma to helm a vessel for the Hellfire Trading Company. It then sets up the more serious element of rescuing mutants who wish to accept Xavier’s offer, but are stuck in hostile regimes. Very nice humour here.

| Published by Marvel

Martian Manhunter #9 rounds the corner for the homestretch, with Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Deron Bennett plumbing the depths of one of Charnn’s victims and discovering a bit of a plan for what’s to come. The artwork from Rossmo and Plascencia remains some of the most inventive currently on the stands.

| Published by DC Comics

Middlewest #12 puts together the pieces of where Abel and Bobby have been taken and gives us an introductory glance at the horrible place that they’re being forced to work. Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos continue to work magic on this story.

| Published by Image

Money Shot #1 is definitely unique. Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Rebekah Isaacs, Kurt Michael Russell, and Crank! give us a story of a group of scientists who turn to making alien porn in order to fund their science projects. There’s humour and a lot of oddity here. Also, alien sex.

| Published by Vault

Punisher Kill Krew #4 sees the Black Knight enlisted to the team as they continue to navigate the Ten Realms to get vengeance for the orphaned war children. The art from Juan Ferreyra is absolutely gorgeous.

| Published by Marvel

Resonant #4 dives into the two new regions of Honcho’s island and the Congregation. It’s interesting to see how other areas are dealing with the waves, even in horrifying ways. The art from Alejandro Aragon and Jason Wordie is incredible.

| Published by Vault

Second Coming #4 sees Sunstar enlist help to find Jesus, while Jesus laments Christians with his new friend Larry in jail, from Mark Russell, Richard Pace, Leonard Kirk, Andy Troy, and Rob Steen. Some very interesting ideas presented here about how a religion can get away from apparent foundational messages. This issue is rounded out by the usual text pieces and short stories.

| Published by Ahoy

Sera and the Royal Stars #4 has us still in the underworld, from Jon Tsuei, Audrey Mok, Raul Angulo, and Jim Campbell. It’s very interesting to see the zodiacals interacting with variations on various deities. Also, Mok and Angulo remind us that they’re an incredible art team. The visual shifts throughout this issue are beautiful.

| Published by Vault

Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle #4 gives us a central tale featuring Jabba the Hutt’s extended family and a bunch of disembodied brains, as illustrated by Nicoletta Baldari. We’re also getting to the end of the framing tale from Cavan Scott, Francesco Francavilla, and AndWorld Design and this issue gives us an interesting cliffhanger to take us home.

| Published by IDW

Strikeforce #2 maintains the high level of storytelling from the first issue, continuing to keep us on our toes about this oddball group, and deepens the threat of the Vridai as the team heads to Satana in Vegas. Tini Howard, Germán Peralta, Miroslav Mrva, and Joe Sabino have hit on a winning combination here and it just keeps getting better.

| Published by Marvel

Unbound #1 is kind of a cyberpunk/fantasy series with this first issue focusing on Lukas, a famous hunter who takes on a helper for his current hunt, from Ralph Tedesco, Oliver Borges, Leonardo Paciarotti, and Carlos M. Mangual. There’s some nice world-building here, but the real hook comes later in the story that’s really compelling. I won’t spoil it, but it definitely takes it above what you’d expect.

| Published by Zenescope

Valkyrie #4 unveils a lot more of the context of what happened in the first three issues in a rather interesting way, while bringing back a trio of really old Dr. Strange villains. One of whom will be familiar to moviegoers. Al Ewing, Jason Aaron, CAFU, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Sabino are telling a very interesting story here with some great twists and gorgeous art.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Woman #81 concludes “Loveless” and with it G. Willow Wilson’s run on the title, here with Tom Derenick, Trevor Scott, Scott Hanna, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Pat Brosseau. It’s not bad, progressing with a few changes and setting up Steve Orlando’s incoming arc.

| Published by DC Comics

You Are Obsolete #2 gets creepier, playing up even more of the Midwich Cuckoos vibes and revealing that the kids are actively spying on people, with the implication that they’d use more salacious details to their benefit as potential blackmail. We’re still not entirely sure why anything is going on, but the series is definitely setting up a creepy atmosphere.

| Published by AfterShock

Other Highlights: Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #3, Agents of Atlas #3, Archie vs. Predator 2 #3, Black Canary: Ignite, Books of Magic #13, Fearless #4, Freedom Fighters #10, Future Fight Firsts: Luna Snow #1, Immortal Hulk: Director’s Cut #6, Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance #3, Kaijumax - Season 5 #1, Lumberjanes #67, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #10, Rat Queens #19, Red Sonja & Vampirella meet Betty & Veronica #6, RWBY #5, Sharkey: The Bounty Hunter #6, Spider-Man: Velocity #3, Star Wars #73, Tony Stark: Iron Man #17

Recommended Collections: Amazing Spider-Man - Volume 5: Behind Scenes, American Carnage, Ascender - Volume 1, Evolution - Volume 3, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Volume 23, Harrow County: Library Edition - Volume 4, Hex Wives, Infinity 8 - Volume 5: Apocalypse Day, Invisible Kingdom - Volume 1, The Long Con - Volume 2, Naomi: Season One, Spider-Man: Life Story, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Teen Titans - Volume 2: Turn It Up, Wonder Woman - Volume 1: The Just War

d. emerson eddy is not a pineapple.

[thedcdunce]

Catman

“Ah, the thrill of the hunt, there's no feeling in the world like it!” - Catman

Real Name: Thomas Blake

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 179 lbs (81 kg)

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Abilities:

Genius Level Intellect

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Tracking

Weaponry

Equipment:

Catmobile

Catarang

Universe: 

Earth-One

New Earth

Base of Operations:

Africa

Gotham City

Citizenship: American

Parents:

Reese Blake; father

Sienna Blake; mother

Marital Status: Single

First Appearance: Detective Comics #311 (January, 1963)

Abilities

Genius Level Intellect

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Tracking

Weaponry

Equipment

Catmobile

Catarang: Thomas Blake used the equivalent of a Batarang. Painted in red, it had several spikes to represent a cat's claws.

History

Thomas Blake is Cat-Man, a former super-criminal and enemy of Batman, who had somewhat reformed and turned his efforts for good instead of evil. Despite still upholding poor regard for the law, Cat-Man has become an anti-hero for his intermittent code of honor.

Earth-One

Thomas Blake was a former wealthy socialite from Gotham City who trained himself to become a professional jungle cats hunter. His dedication to this hobby caused him to squander his fortune and without any resources, he decided to turn to crime. At first, he considered becoming a vigilante, but since Batman was already working in Gotham, Blake decided to adopt the identity of the costumed criminal, Cat-Man. Blake was partially inspired by the animals he had devoted his life to capture and the notorious former criminal, Catwoman, who had retired from crime. As Cat-Man, Blake started a criminal spree and often stole cat-themed items, like valuable cat statues. Batman and Robin eventually deduced Blake's secret identity thanks to Batwoman, who had confronted Cat-Man moments later. Cat-Man tried to fight the Dynamic Duo using a giant cat robot, but the heroes destroyed the machine and just as Cat-Man tried to escape, he was carried away by a nearby river, after which he was presumed dead.

Cat-Man soon returned to Gotham with a new criminal plan. During this time, he managed to recruit Batwoman and Blake provided her with a Cat-Woman costume, which resembled his own Cat-Man outfit. However, this was a mistake on Blake's part, as Batwoman led Batman and Robin to his hideout and he was forced to retreat on a boat, which crashed on the sea, apparently killing him.

It was later revealed that the reason why Cat-Man managed to survive those deadly accidents was because part of his Cat-suit was made of a magical cloth that granted the wearer nine lives, just like a cat. When Cat-Man learned of this, he used it to his advantage, escaping from Batman and Robin by exposing his life. However, it was Batwoman who deduced Cat-Man's plan and she used her own Cat-Woman costume in order to stop the Cat-Man. Blake was finally arrested and taken to prison.

Several years later, Catman returned to Gotham and initially, Catwoman was blamed for his crimes. The truth was eventually discovered by Catwoman and Batman, who tracked down Catman to his lair. Catman used a deadly trap to eliminate them while he traveled to Greece to sell the stolen goods in return for his own private island, which he planned to turn into a criminal haven/retreat. His plans were foiled by Batman and Catwoman, who tracked him down and caused his apparent demise in the ensuing confrontation. Although, because of the magical properties of his suit, Catman survived. Seeking revenge against Batman and Catwoman, Catman returned to Gotham and tried to retrieve the missing part of his costume to restore his scarred face. Although he managed to capture Catwoman and retrieved his costume, he was defeated by Batman and Blake learned that his magical costume didn't work anymore.

New Earth

Thomas Blake's origin remained unchanged after the Crisis on Infinite Earths altered reality and continuity. Although Catman began his criminal career as just a cat-themed version of Batman, his gimmicks were mostly considered laughable by the general community and he was never taken seriously.

Later on after an long absence, Catman resurfaced when his pet tiger escaped and started killing people in Gotham. Although Catman tried to take the tiger back, he took the chance to confront Batman, forcing him to fight the animal. Batman managed to capture the tiger and Catman was attacked by Catwoman, who sought to clear her name after she was blamed for Catman's crimes. Despite his utter defeat, Catman was not captured.

He would usually spent time in Blackgate Penitentiary. Eventually Blake left the villain game and became a couch potato. After several particularly humiliating run-ins with Green Arrow, however; he decided to shape up again. Recently, he has decided to return to his old community after many years of training in Africa. He is also no longer exclusively a villain, working with both heroes and villains as an on-and-off member of the Secret Six.

Outcast

In 1993, Catman as a member of the short-lived team "The Misfits", led by Killer Moth. The Misfits were a group of third-rate villains trying to prove themselves by working as a collective, but were naturally defeated by Batman and Robin. Catman would later come into contact with Catwoman again, when it was revealed the cloth his suit was made from actually belonged to a South Sea cat cult. Catwoman was hired by the cult to return the cloth, but ended up giving them a fake.

Catman remained in limbo until around 2003, when he resurfaced as a minor foe of Green Arrow. It was shown that Catman had become a pathetic, overweight loser, looked down upon by other villains and defeated by Green Arrow without any real effort. His hair had been dyed black, which he thought "made [him] look tougher," and not only was he still hitting his girlfriends, but he apparently wore his old costume under his regular clothes. At one point, over an old grudge, Monsieur Mallah sent Warp to abduct Blake, the implication being that he had met a rather grisly end as Mallah's dinner. Blake alluded to this during the events of Villains United: "You know you've hit rock bottom when a monkey and a Frenchman don't consider you worth killing." Later, when he met Monsieur Mallah again, he commented that he had no desire to see the gorilla's stomach again.

The Secret Six

During the events of "Villains United," Catman resurfaced it was revealed that actually Catman had gone back to his roots in an attempt to remake himself as a man. After a failed attempt at suicide, he returned to Africa and began living with a pride of lions. He lost weight, and regained his sense of self-worth and fighting skills, becoming even more than the warrior he had previously been. This "perfect existence" however, would be shattered by the arrival of recruiters from the Secret Society of Super-Villains, who were attempting to unite all of Earth's super-villains under their control. Catman was one of very few villains who refused, and as it was embarrassing to have a "nobody" like Catman refuse them, they slaughtered his entire family of lions. It was later revealed that although Catman had thought Deathstroke the Terminator had done the job, it had actually been Deadshot under orders from Mockingbird to coerce Catman into joining his team.

Catman vowed revenge against The Society, and was subsequently recruited into the Secret Six. Together, the Secret Six waged war against The Society under the direction of "Mockingbird". When he found out it had been Deadshot who had performed the hit on his pride, he was furious. But Deadshot would later apologize, and Catman forgave him. Although the two were reluctant allies at first, they soon bonded and became what one could loosely call friends. He would also undergo a carnal relationship with fellow Secret Six member Cheshire. She would later betray him and the rest of the Six to the Secret Society though, and it was revealed she had tricked Blake into helping her conceive a child; Mockingbird was holding hers hostage, and she believed Blake to be a nearly perfect specimen of man. During the Battle of Metropolis, after leaving Mockingbird's control, the Secret Six decided to strike out on their own as neither villains nor heroes, but rather mercenaries.

During the events of "Birds of Prey: Dead of Winter," the Secret Six ran into the Birds of Prey. Blake and the Huntress - out of costume, danced together while incognito, with hints of an attraction. The two teams battled, six on six, and Catman paired against Huntress, who hinted that she might have been interested in a relationship if he drew the line between villain and hero a little bit more carefully. The fray ended with the resurrection of former JLI member Ice. The Secret Six broke up at the end of this adventure.

Catman was next seen on the Hell Planet with the rest of the villains deported during the events of "Salvation Run," along with fellow Secret Six members Deadshot, Rag Doll and Scandal.

After returning to Earth, Catman rejoined the Secret Six. Catman joined Bane and Ragdoll on a mission to stop criminals in Gotham City after Batman's death. Catman and Bane had a discussion about their suitable positions to take place as Gotham's vigilantes. Their hopes however, were crushed when Nightwing banished them from Gotham and they decided to move on as the Secret Six.

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Harvey Dent

Harvey Dent was born into a life of hardship. Growing up in a lower-class family, Dent was raised with an instinctive dislike and mistrust for the upper-class. His violent, cruel and mentally ill father frequently bullied and abused him as a child, with his favorite game being flipping his double-headed coin promising to spare the child a beating if the coin landed tails. These harsh surroundings resulted in Dent developing repressed mental illnesses of his own, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. His hard work ethic, however, allowed him to rise to become a lawyer and, eventually, the District Attorney.

He was nicknamed "Apollo" by the media, because he was charming, good-looking and seemingly untouchable. He was dedicated to his job of upholding law and order, and became one of the first supporters, allies and even friends of the Batman. At the time of his job as D.A., the worst criminal threat in Gotham was the nigh omnipotent mafia boss Carmine Falcone, "The Roman." After Dent struck several blows to the Roman's Empire, Falcone hired Mickey "The Mink" Sullivan to eliminate the D.A. However, the attempt by Mickey's gang to take out Dent failed.

Harvey Dent was the District Attorney of Gotham City, and a close, personal ally of Batman. Unfortunately, the notorious gangster, "Boss" Moroni, threw acid in Dent's face, severely disfiguring it on the left side, leaving the right side unharmed. Because of his new appearance, Dent underwent a mental breakdown and became the insane crime boss Two-Face.

Dent escaped from the hospital and descended into madness. He became obsessed with duality and opposites, and developed a second persona, the villainous Two-Face, to compliment the law & order obsessed Harvey Dent. As Two-Face, his trademark was crimes involving the number two. His obsession even shows in his clothes, which are usually composed of two halves made out of very different materials. He carries a double-sided coin with one side scratched at all times.

His first crime as Two-Face was the killing of his corrupt Assistant District Attorney Vernon Wells and Carmine Falcone. (Two-Face failed to kill Maroni, as he had already been assassinated at this point by Falcone's son Alberto.) Two-Face was eventually incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.

Dent somehow managed to escape and started a scheme to murder several shareholders of a company to seize their assets and get himself a reconstructive surgery with their money. He was stopped by Batman and Green Arrow, but they failed to capture him.

A few years later, Two-Face escaped prison and resumed his criminal activities. Two-Face gathered a small gang and started a series of robberies, with subtle relation to binary numbers. His ultimate goal was to steal a cache of gold doubloons lost in an ancient ship, and although he almost succeeded, his compulsion to obey his two-faced coin allowed Batman to stop him. Two-Face was locked in Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, but he managed to escape with outside help. Once free, Two-Face used an atomic bomb to blackmail the US Government, but once again he was stopped by Batman. Two-Face was soon sprung out of Arkham once again, leaving the Joker behind. This action forced Joker to escape and thwart Two-Face's plan. As they confronted each other, both criminals were promptly captured and taken back to Arkham. Learning from past mistakes, Two-Face and Joker teamed-up to steal a valuable item from Oliver Queen and this attracted attention from Green Arrow, Batman and the Atom.

After stealing the binary codes for a nuclear weapon, Two-Face blackmailed the American Government into giving him 22 million dollars. However, Two-Face was forced to change his plans when Batman and the Federal Agent King Faraday tried to stop him. Two-Face relocated his operations to New Orleans where he tried to steal the double amount of ransom money, but he was stopped by Faraday and Batman. Although his plans where thwarted, Two-Face escaped to an apparent death.

In the months that he remained missing, Harvey sought the help of Albert Ekhart, the surgeon who restored his face the first time and Harvey had him restore his face a second time. With his new face, Harvey adopted a new identity and tried to earn the love of Gilda, his first wife. However, Dent challenged Batman, convinced that his new identity would protect him, but Ekhart's surgery didn't last long and the new face started to fade. Batman learned that Two-Face was responsible for killing "Boss" Moroni as a revenge after he killed Gilda's second husband, causing her grievance. During the final confrontation with Batman, Two-Face recalled the incident that turned his life and after Gilda showed him love and support, Two-Face turned himself to the authorities and returned to Arkham willingly, in hopes of being cured and eventually return to her love. Later, Two-Face escaped from Arkham and created a master plan to capture Batman using his own hideout as the perfect trap. His plan was successful and Two-Face held Batman prisoner for a week, time in which his plans were foiled by Robin from the outside and Batman from his prison.

Two-Face was the reason Bruce Wayne fired Dick Grayson, then Robin, from being his partner. After a failed attempt to rescue the then D.A. from Two-Face, who also had The Dark Knight captive as well, Two-Face brutally beat Dick, scaring Batman into firing Dick.

Later, Two-Face killed a henchman by the name of Willis Todd who happened to be the father of Jason Todd, the second Robin. In the wake of Todd's career as Robin, Two-Face came in conflict with the new Boy Wonder, who helped Batman put an end to Dent's new criminal spree.

Two-Face's last encounter with Jason Todd as Robin was unfortunate as Batman captured him and he was sent to Arkham. However, shortly after Todd's death, Batman broke Two-Face out of Arkham in order to locate member of his gang, who were located in one of Two-Face's hideouts in Santa Prisca. Although Batman found the wanted criminals, Two-Face escaped and remained on the loose for some time.

Eventually, Two-Face resurfaced and carried out a number of obviously two-related crimes, following a voice he thought was his own subconscious, but who in fact was the Joker, manipulating Two-Face's fragile sanity. Batman became increasingly obsessed with catching him and Two-Face became fixed on taking down Batman. Meanwhile, Tim Drake tracked down Dick Grayson and attempted to convince him to return to his position as Robin for Batman's safety. Nightwing refused and followed various clues left by Batman, meeting up with him for the attack on Two-Face's base. Two-Face has prepared a trap for the heroes and learning about the peril, Tim adopted the Robin identity and confronted Two-Face to rescue his idols. Tim's intervention saved Batman and Nightwing and helped them apprehend Two-Face, leading Batman to accept him as the third Robin.

Two-Face then staged a trial for Batman at the old Couthouse, where he acted as judge, jury and prosecutor. Two-Face blamed Batman of betraying his trust before the accident with Sal Maroni that scarred his face and therefore, he blamed Batman for him turning into Two-Face. Batman managed to free himself during the trial and after a long chase and a battle in a nearby construction site, Batman defeated Two-Face thanks to Robin's timely arrival. Afterwards, Two-Face was arrested by the GCPD and taken to prison.

In the aftermath of the earthquake that left Gotham City in shambles and declared a "no man's land," Two-Face kidnapped Commissioner Gordon and put him on trial for his actions, with Two-Face as both judge and prosecutor. Gordon played upon Two-Face's split psyche to demand Harvey Dent as his defense attorney. Dent cross-examined Two-Face and won an acquittal of Gordon.

It was also during this time that Two-Face met GCPD detective Renee Montoya. Montoya was able to reach the Harvey persona in Two-Face, and was kind to him. He fell in love with her, though the romance was one-sided. After the earthquake that ravaged Gotham, Two-Face outed her as a lesbian and framed her for murder, hoping that if he took everything from her she would be left with no choice but to be with him. Montoya was furious, and the two fought for control of his gun until Batman intervened, putting Two-Face back in Arkham Asylum.

Since the arrest of Black Mask, Two-Face has been working at regaining his former power over Gotham. However, his plans have garnered the attention of the FBI. After he discovers a mole in his midst, he flees only to be stabbed by his own henchmen. Two-Face is left for dead, his body dumped off a bridge. Sometime later, two fishermen in the middle of a lake reel in Two-Face's water-logged body.

Powers

Toxic Immunity: Two-Face seems capable of resisting Poison Ivy's pheromones, that bends people's actions to her will.

Law: He is also a successful attorney, and is proficient in nearly all matters pertaining to criminal law. 

Firearms: However, Deathstroke the Terminator, after accepting a heavy fee has also trained him to become an excellent sharpshooter.

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Dent has also been extensively trained by Batman in Hand to Hand combat. 

Multiple Personalities: Two-Face does things according to chance and therefore relies heavily on his coin to make decisions, making the coin his Achilles' heel. Batman has managed to incapacitate Two-Face on his coin such as by making him lose it or stopping him from seeing the result. 

Left side of the face disfigured, often seen as brownish pink. Hair is white on the disfigured side. As Two-Face, the left side of Dent's face and left hand are mutilated and discolored. Dent also suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder.

Occasionally, Two-Face will drive a "getaway" vehicle painted to reflect his personality (i.e., one side is painted green, while the other may be painted white).

Verses

tba

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Let me explain in copious detail why the OP’s statements are complete BS.

   This boils down a lot to a fundamentally flawed understanding of what Spider-Man’s goals are as well as not taking into account the restrictions placed upon the character by virtue of genre and dramatic necessities.

  The OP codifies that Spider-Man’s goals is to combat crime and irresponsibility but has flanderized the former to make Spider-Man out to be like Batman levels of trying to deter crime when...that isn’t the case.

  A lot of people use Batman as a comparison for this but it just doesn’t hold up. For starters crime in Gotham city is NOT the way it is in Marvel New York city. Gotham when Batman’s career began was CORRUPT to it’s core and infected with street crime. The citizens of Gotham were in effect prisoners in their own home unless they were members of the elite. The poorer, or even middle class citizens, categorically lived in fairly frequent fear of crime, whether it posed a threat to their property and livelihoods or their lives. The death of the Waynes made this point hardcore because they were the elite of the elite and the smallest of criminals took their lives.

   The point was no one was safe and worse the system was broken.

   Batman arose and used the methods he used to combat crime under these extenuating circumstances.

   And he succeeded to a point. He has yet to eradicate corruption in the police department or the system as a whole, and street crime still exists in Gotham. This is to say nothing of the rise of super criminals after Batman appeared who were a thousand times worse than the regular street punks

   He did majorly alleviate the problem though.

   Marvel New York City and DC’s Metropolis were NOTHING like that and so never necessitated Batman’s methods of fear and intimidation to build a legend and frighten criminals.

   Metroplis in most incarnations is NEVER depicted as particularly crime ridden. At worst it’s in the behind the scenes grips of Luthor. Superman has off and on removed Luthor’s influence over Metroplis but never permanently. And he has never put a halt to all street crime (hence Intergang is a thing), despite every criminal knowing he could apprehend them even if he is literally another country away.

  Spider-Man in contrast lives in Marvel NYC. Crime and corruption exist but it’s not like one big bad dude controls 2/3 of the workforce whether they know it or not or where crime and corruption have such a choke hold on the city no one is safe.

   I should also point out Spider-Man neither possesses powers on Superman’s scale nor the resources of Batman. Batman could never have achieved what he achieved without a shitton of technology at his disposal, even if he had Spider-Man’s powers. His vehicles allowed him quick access around the city. His corporation could provide all the tech he needed and money was never an issue. If he needed medical attention or a loved one needed it hey no problem. These resources also allowed him to better conceal his identity and gather vast intelligence for his activities.

   Now compare and contrast that to Spider-Man who whether as an adult or a teenager basically had to earn a living to support himself and his family (including a mother with expensive health problems) and be a superhero in addition to that. He also had obligations to family and friends which took up his time. Batman has had these too but never to the same degree. Most of his close abiding relationships exist with people within his inner circle and who’re involved in crime fighting themselves. And Peter obviously doesn’t have supersonic speed to get where he needs to be whenever he wants more or less.

   He’s the working class superhero who can’t afford to dedicate himself solely to superheroing but also hasn’t got powers and resources that prevent superheroing from having a detriment upon his normal life.

   But lets get back to goals.

   Spider-Man’s goal has never been to eradicate all crime. I don’t think Batman’s is either and if it is that’s stupid and impossible without becoming a monster himself. Spider-Man does NOT seek to eradicate all crime.

  He’s your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

  It’s not just a catchphrase, its a descriptor of who he is. He’s the little guy superhero who helps out the little guy. His focus is smaller scale. He goes on patrol and stops crimes as he sees them, pursues leads on crimes he gets a whiff of or otherwise intervenes as he comes across crimes by chance.

  Which to begin with isn’t that dissimilar to ACTUAL methods of policing except he can’t do much as far as intelligence gathering is concerned because

  a)    He is one man and

b)    He lacks resources to do that and

c)    He does have other obligations

   Spider-Man’s mantra stemming from his origin story is simply this:

   If you have the power to help it is your duty to help.

   He DIDN’T help when he saw a crime in progress and it resulted in something tragic. He does his best to not repeat that mistake.

  However on a broader level his story is about living up to his responsibilities but those extend BEYOND crime fighting. His family’s welfare, his friendships, his education, his own well being, these are all his responsibilities as they are all of OUR responsibilities.

  Does he always succeed at them? No. Because few of us succeed at them all the time. frequently we have to juggle and things can and do go wrong just as they can and do go right. Example: my father is constantly stressed because the type of man who does things for everybody and to an exent he’s let his health suffer for it. At the same time things with his work can take abrupt unexpected turns which have knock on effects on other parts of his life (and by extension my own). Often times he is constantly stressed due to living up to all these burdens. Now not EVERYONE is like this, but a lot of people are.

  This is who Spider-Man is. It’s really unrealistic and cheap to say “Well if he only did this then it would fix everything and him not doing it shows he’s bad at his job and stupid!”

   Returning to what I said was his ACTUAL goals, like I said Spider-Man doesn’t WANT to remove all crime in NYC. Not only is that impossible, not only are there OTHER heroes working on that at the same time as him, but his goals is simply to help where he can.

  And...it works!

  In Sacasa’s Senssational Spider-Man run we see a beach full of people who represent a tiny number of people who’s lives Peter has saved. In ASM #500 Peter decides NOT to change history by preventing the spider from biting him because he knows how many people could be hurt because he wasn’t there to save them. Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Surpeme that he is stated in the same issue that the greatest gift anyone can give another human being is the chance to make a difference just once and went on to say Spider-Man has no idea how many times HE has made such a difference.

   Want some proof? ASM #3 Spider-Man averts a nuclear disaster. Spec #75 he averts ANOTHER nuclear disaster. PPSM #98 he literally saves the whole planetary population from being wiped out by Norman Osborn.

    Want some more proof? You say Spider-Man does NOTHING to deter crime. Well again...that’s not his goal. He knows crime won’t be deterred by him. Crime isn’t deterred in NYC despite it having the single highest concentration of superheroes of any city in both Marvel AND DC. Crime isn’t deterred by Batman OR Superman’s presence, at least not completely (and is still siginifcant enough to be a real danger). So what’s Spider-Man going to do really? Not to mention that Spider-Man was a kid when he began his career. How was he even going to THINK of deterring crime on a large scale?

   More than this once he got older to comprehend that idea (which again was stupid and pointless anyway) it was too late as his reputation had been established. Sure he COULD’ve switched to a new identity but again that’s dramatic contrainsts at work and we can’t hold that against the character. It’s called Spdier-Man so the protagonist has to be SPIDER-MAN!

    Does Spider-Man intimidate and scare his opponents? Depends. Sometimes he can do that. Michelinie issues of Spider-Man had him bend metal and frighten some thugs into surrender. The black costume was also pretty scary.

   But again...scaring people isn’t Spider-Man’s deal. Jameson already made people hate and fear him and it made his criem fighting career HARDER not easier. It’s also not who he is as a person. He doesn’t operate as a force of fear like Batman (again this is a lot of the bullshit ‘Batman is the best hero ever!’ mentality at play which condemns other heroes who doesn’t operate the same way he does). Many heroes don’t use those tactics and again Peter is a pretty friendly person and nice guy. He doesn’t want to frighten innocent people which is exactly what would happen if he did employ those methods. Given how he also operates in the day in a bright costume intimidation isn’t much of an option the way it is for Batman, who cultivated an urban legend which by nature relies on staying out of the limelight. Spider-Man can’t do that since he needs money to survive and earns it from literally making himself famous through pictures.

    But even taking AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL that into account...Spider-Man DOES deter crime in NYC. In the Spec cartoon Tombstone states that Spider-Man scares criminals off of the streets before they’ve committed any crimes in the first place. And in ASM #50, you know the comic book Spider-Man friggin 2 was based on, it was PROVEN that Spider-Man’s absence saw an increase in crime rates. So Obviously his efforts were reducing crime.

   Now as for his humour? Does it dissuade criminals from villainy? No. Does it make them hate him more? Maybe.

   But to begin with criminals are gonna hate ANYONE who captures them so the latter point isn’t a big deal. As for the second...who the fuck in Batman’s rogue’s gallery was ever deterred from being a super villain by him scaring them? No one I know of? Street punks maybe but none of the major villains.

   But even then...Spidey isn’t the only humourous superhero out there. Silver Age Daredevil cracked jokes at villains too just not to the same extent.

  More importantly Spider-Man isn’t fighting villains for the long term and shouldn’t be either. His goal is to rectify the IMMEDIATE emergency right then and there.

  A mugger is threatening a civilian. So he cracks a joke and gets under their skin causing them to make mistakes which he can then use to resolve the situation more quickly whilst also putting the victim and possibly himself at ease, the latter being a good thing as it allows him to fight better and the former being he good thing because it reduces any trauma the victim might have later on. Meanwhile the punk goes to jail and spends a few years rotting there before MAYBE resuming a career of crime.

  But again...he’s fighting someone with SUPERHUMAN powers. Is he scared? No, but he also knows his chances of capture are VERY significant and his chances of success very low against that person. Meanwhile if he doesn’t run into the unthreatening and humourous Spider-Man again he might run into Daredevil, the FF, Punisher, Moon Knight, Dark hawk, Nightthrasher or any of the other DOZENS of NYC based superheroes and vigilantes he stands absolutely no hope of overcoming.

    Now for the costume, again this is a stupid argument against the character since it’s tied up with superhero conventions. Yeah it’s easy to spot but

 a)    Suspension of disbelief

b)    It’s more entertaining for him to wear a costume like that because it looks cool

c)    Daredevil wore fucking Yellow to begin his career

d)    He then switched to bright (not dark, bright) red which is also easy to spot

e)    Moon Knight walks around in white

f)    Wolverine’s main outfits have been different combinations of bright blue and bright yellow and he literally worked as a spy

   Moving onto his public persona, again...COUNTLESS heroes operate this way. Batman is the exception NOT the rule and even he doesn’t succeed entirely at his goals it is arguable.

   More than this Spider-Man ALREADY had a public persona because he was a goddam wrestler and TV star! He isn’t cultivating anything he’s already been established as what he is.

  The claim that he is daring people to come after him is also a major extrapolation by the OP. No one is saying that is how criminals tthink regarding him due to his outfit. It’s especially bullshit given how the black costume didn’t change that much at all.

    Additionally is daring people to come after him a bad thing in a fight where it distracts them from hurting civilians?

   Now to address the ‘it makes him a target and gives his enemies a common threat to rally around’...again EVERY hero has this. Dude...Batman was MORE of a urban legend and stealthy ninja in the Nolan movies where his costume was solid black and people debated his very existence. But the entire plot of the Dark Knight was that the criminal underworld rallied together and even trusted a mad man to end a threat to their business ventures despite his public appearances and persoinality being more reserved than his comic book counterpart.

   EVERy superhero more or less has a time where their enemies team up to take them down. Friggin SUPERMAN has that and he’s probably more powerful than most of his enemies one on one and is even MORE public than Spider-Man. he has an even flashier costume and is a globally recognized and revered figure. And he also has a Superman Revenge Squad who’re more active against him in many versions than the Sinister Six have ever been against Spider-Man. Hell the second Sinister Six story didn’t even have the Six form against Spidey specifically. In fact they didn’t even do that in their debut. I mean you are saying criminals and villains would unite to take down their common enemy Spider-Man but the actual Spider-Man comics mostly dispprove that. not only has that not happened all that often but it rarely works, either because they are unable tow work harmoniously  because they are bad guys or because Spider-Man is able to beat them.

  In fact Spider-Man’s powerset and abilities make his chances of success BETTER when he fights groups since he’s faster than most of them and can turn their abilities on one another. Frequently Spider-Man has fared worse in one-on-one battles than in group villain battles.

   If we wanna go comics....how many tiems have the Batman rogue’s gallery teamed up against Bruce in various combinations seriously? Like the Trial episode from the animated series doesn’t prove this idea to be bullshit?

    As for his villain don’t have a reason to stop what they are doing...this is illogical.

  Thier reasons for stopping should be that Spider-Man will kick their asses (Spidey once beat Doc Ock so bad he developed an outright phobia of him) or that they will go to jail. And again let me ask which villains, yes even batman’s, actually have ever ceased being bad guys because of their heroe’s intimidating them? Certainly not Joker or Poison Ivy that’s for sure? Luthor or Toyman? Fuck no. Jigsaw? Nope. Kingpin? Hahahahahahaha.

   This is thus a foolish line of reasoning. As is the idea that repeatedly being beaten by Spider-Man makes them stronger in the long run. Like...why? Where is the A>B>C logic of them growing stronger through repeated defeats? Not to mention...it’s literally not true. There is no evidence to suggest Shocker grew stronger as a villain through his battles with Spider-Man. Nor did Kraven or Doc Ock. But Spider-Man with his immense experience and frequent battle experience sure as fuck was growing more powerful whilst they rotted in jail. He’s one of the greatest street level MU fighters.

   Now for the loved ones angle. You know who else the laws of probability are working against? Superman. Batman. The Flash. Daredevil. Police officers. Judges. Politicians. Political activists. Gangsters. People who testify in court. You. Me.

    Spider-Man has a secret identity which protects people and a Spider sense to help maintain that. does this guarantee safety? No. But Spider-Man is far from alone in this regard and has kept his identity safer than most people. His identity provides BETTER protection from criminals with axes to grind than people in real life who put criminals away without the benefit of anonymity.

   Plus again they live in New York. COUNTLESS super villains put the citizens in danger all the time, much as they do on Gotham. But in Peter’s case FREQUENTLY his loved ones have been endangered by things which had nothing to do with him.

   Doctor Octopus lived with Aunt May for reasons independant of him being Spider-Man.

  Jonathan Caesar kidnapped Mary Jane because SHE was famous and he was obsessed with her

  The Hobgoblin targeted Harry Osborn because his Dad was the Green Goblin

  Betty Brant and Ned Leeds’ wedding was interrupted by Mirage because he happened to be pulling a heist there

  Eddie Brock happened to be batshit insane and delusion ally picked Peter as the target of his hatred

 The Scorpion has beef with J. Jonah Jameson because HE created him

   And FYI, Gwen died because PETER made a mistake in the way he saved her. Goblin was still at fault though.

   And just what exactly is the OP trying to say here?

   That if only Peter had adopted a less bright costume and a scarier demeanor *coughbeenmorelikeBatmancough* his loved ones could’ve been spared. Because you know that worked so well for Rachel Dawes in the Dark Knight and Alfred was 100% not at risk from Bane in Knightfall obviously.

   Or is the OP saying Peter just shouldn’t have loved ones? Which you know is OBVIOUSLY the healthy thing to do right?

  Finally explain to me with SPECIFIC examples how precisely ‘the more he does the worse things get’?

   Lets move onto the whole ‘its stupid that he doesn’t kill people and that’s inept’.

   Dude...he’s not LEGALLY sanctioned to kill people. He already bends the law in pursuit of addressing immediate dangers he encounters and sparing dangers posed to other members of law enforcement.

   He’d 100% go to jail if he killed someone. That is not his role in the legal system. He is a glorified special officer. He intervenes in crimes as he sees them and halts the immediate threat. The legal work and legal system is then left to deal with it and it’d be a gross ABUSE of power for him to decide to act as judge jury and executioner. It crosses a line and puts him on a slippery slope to say nothing of the psychological toll that takes on a person. Killing deliberately can be incredibly psychologically damaging and is partially why many police officers and soldiers develop mental issues in life, including PTSD or alcoholism to cope with what they’ve seen and done. For someone with raw physical power the temptation to abuse it is always there but he doesn’t give into it or risk becoming as bad as the bad guys.

  Whatever else he may be no one man should EVER have the power to decide life or death unless in cases of self defence or defence of another.

              So in the grand scheme of things the OP doesn’t know what they are talking about, has taken things out of context, failed to do much research, has defined an illegitimate set of criteria through which the situation (hinging upon using Batman and Punisher as a valid basis for comparison) through and over all taken a needlessly cynical aapproach to the character.

    I mean for God’s sake. Please tell me how Spider-Man is such a massive failure compared to fucking Daredevil? Elektra and Karen Page’s deaths along with other’s and MULTIPLE examples of his identity going public tell an entirely different story. Like seriously when you have to fake your own fucking death because you are that bad at keeping your identity secret (despite having the obvious alibi of being blind) the fuck do you suck more than a guy who’s identity only wnet public when he decided to make it so? Like goddam.

   Some final points to finish up

 ·         Spider-Man isn’t seriously going to wound his opponents? Tell that to Kingpin in Back in Black

    ·         Its not Spider-Man’s fucking job to actually try and REFORM his enemies. Shit Batman to my knowledge rarely if ever does that. Same with Superman and MOST superheroes. It’s not their job the same way MOST cops don’t actively try to reform the criminals they capture. That’s the job of OTHER people in the legal system. Laying the blame for everything on the superheroes’ shoulders is disgustingly cynical and short sighted.

  ·         Spider-Man carries himself with the maturity of a 13 year old? Not in the comic I’ve read which by the way is a shitton. And you exemplify this by posting a picture of Ultimate Spider-Man. I.e. the Spider-Man that is 100% non-canonical to the mainstream version. How well researched of you

 ·         You realize the Fantastic Four render themselves even bigger targets than Spider-Man right? And they have much more powerful enemies. Doctor Doom alone has sent the Baxter Building into space and Frankling Richards to Hell.

 ·         Batman’s enemies gang up together all the time, often to fight him. they mostly know he isn’t super human so they could in theory kill him with a mere gun. And they sure as shit aren’t afraid of him

 ·         Well I actually DO know a fair amount about social psychology. So I know that when you have that many big egos as supervillains with raw physical power have or crime lords they are far from guaranteed to unite harmoniously towards a major cause. Shit, the debut of the Sinister Six saw them unable to fight together to the point where they just decided to fight Spider-Man one on one...and he beat them all...at age 18....

 ·         Spider-Man doesn’t ‘fight irresponsibility’ you know that right?

 ·         You codify that ‘being responsible is deterring those types of villains’. But...it’s not. NOTHING sets in stone that THAT is the responsible thing to do. The responsible thing to do is to just stop crimes when he sees them. Because given how most of his enemies are power hungry, power mad, stupid assholes reform is unlikely. The Sandman is an exception not the rule. Most of his villains have spent their careers in prison where logically they would’ve been exposed to rehab programs which have never worked. Some criminals are lost cuases and since Spider-Man began his career as a kid and lacks any formal training in this field is is idiotic to discredit him or reprimand him for ‘not trying to change their behaviours’. And again BATMAN and Daredevil have categorically failed in this regard too. Penguin has never been reformed nor has Kingpin. Nor Mr Hyde nor Joker. They also haven’t been deterred from lives of crime.

 ·         David Michelinie stated he created Venom specifically because no other Spider-Man villain actually WANTS to tangle with him. Even Doc Ock only rarely conspired plans specifically to get rid of Spider-Man. Mostly Green Goblin and Venom were is. Most other villains would rather just avoid Spider-Man than go after him. most of them were NOT bent on revenge, they just wanted payback if given the opportunity.

 ·         It is continually brought up how intimidating Daredevil and Batman are. And I will thus keep brining up how at times that wasn’t always true and how being intimidating does little to honestly deter crime since it is still around in Gotham and Hell’s Kitchen. I will also keep bringin up how OTHER characters are not intimidating in their looks or personalities but MANY criminals are intimidated by the mere prospect of you know...fighting super powered beings. No one knows Daredevil has powers, and by now most people know Batman doesn’t either. Spider-Man though really does not seem human at all and has been shown to intimidate criminals but just not outright scare them. But again, he isn’t trying to combat ALL crime in NYC. That’s stupid and would never work. He is just trying to help out where he can is all. At the same time we know from ASm #50 that his presence does deter criminals so in theory there are people who avoid crime because of his presence...and you know...every other hero’s in NYC.

    Long story short the premise and arguments laid out by the OP are bullshit and hinge upon worshipping Batman, Daredevil and Punisher and their methodologies despite all of them having major problems on par with or greater than Spider-Man’s.

   Or to put it another way the OP doesn’t know what the Hell he is talking about.

[jenniferasberryus]

Top 10 Most Addicting Online Games

Every year a flood of new games enter our libraries and some manage to become entries we can’t stop going back to. Even years after they’ve been released, we can’t rip ourselves away! These are the games that regularly give us reasons to keep playing be it because of excellent developer support, post-release content, or regular patches to the base formula that only seem to keep improving the product or changing it in interesting ways. To prove they can stand the test of time, our entries were all released before 2019 and have continued to be successful for years. So join us in celebrating the Top 10 Most Addicting Online Games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-most-addictive-online-games&captions=true"] Click through the gallery above, or scroll down the page for the full list!

10. Overwatch

Remember when Bastion had his own shield barrier in the beta? Or when D.va took damage from her own ultimate? Or how about when Symmetra had a dynamic mobile shield barrier similar to Sigma’s current one? And let’s never forget when Mercy could resurrect her entire team at once… Overwatch is ever-evolving. It’s a true paradigm of modern hero-based first-person shooters that are made up of addictive gameplay, numerous play styles, and backed by a community that supports the game and keeps it alive. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=overwatch-2-maps&captions=true"] From subreddits to discords, to community-content, and patch notes overview videos from the lovable Jeff Kaplan, the Overwatch community is an ecosystem that continues to redefine the hero-shooter genre. We can’t wait to see how the upcoming Overwatch 2 builds upon the existing Overwatch foundation, but whenever it does release, rest assured it will be a very different game compared to now and that really excites us and keeps us wanting to play.

- Armando Torres, Syndication

9. Destiny 2

On September 6th, 2017 Destiny 2 launched and while it seemed to be an upgrade in many respects, fans felt the systems nearly perfected with the original just didn’t translate into Destiny 2. PVP teams became larger, there was an odd mod-based power level chase, and the Raid only had a single big-boss damage encounter. It was good but faltered in the endgame. Fast forward to 2019 and Bungie has made vast improvements to that original sandbox and continues to do so with their latest release Destiny 2 Shadowkeep that brings back a 3v3 PVP mode, infuses some much-needed narrative into the overall experience, and builds upon the excellent PVE changes that started with Forsaken in 2018 and continued here with a new armor system. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/09/destiny-2-shadowkeep-review"]   It seems they’re building a playstyle that lends to builds, weapon pairings, and balance. There’s no arguing that Destiny has had its ups and downs through development, but Bungie has also done a tremendous job trying to find that sweet spot as they poke and prod the engine into a place the community is happy with. With regular updates, cross-save, and especially since they’ve gone free-to-play it’s not surprising that Destiny 2 was the number 1 paid, and free game on Steam this October. Destiny 2’s future looks brighter than ever, especially with a team as committed to getting it right as Bungie.

- Destin Legarie, Senior Features Producer

8. Fortnite

While we understand that Fortnite has reached market saturation and you’re probably tired of hearing about it there’s no denying that it’s been a phenomena that has made the career of several streamers and regularly brings in huge views on platforms like Twitch and Mixer. The craze may have stabilized, but that doesn’t mean Epic has slowed down their incredible in-game events like the Blackhole that shut servers down for a few days, kicked off season 2 and had children crying in their parent's arms. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/23/7-million-people-watched-the-end-of-fortnite-event"] The regular tweaks and partnerships keep giving players a reason to sign on, be that for the chance to play as Batman to explore Gotham, or to become Thanos and wreak havoc on the world. PUBG, Apex, Call of Duty, and Escape from Tarkov are all doing interesting things in their corner of the Battle Royale genre but for the time being Fortnite remains king.

- Destin Legarie, Senior Features Producer

7. Rainbow Six Siege

If you would have told me in 2015 that Rainbow Six Siege would be on bestseller lists for the next 4 years I wouldn’t have believed you. However here we are and it’s not as surprising as you might think. With constant updates, tweaks to the operators, and huge championships featuring new reveals every year, Ubisoft has managed to keep the game feeling fresh with each patch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/26/rainbow-six-siege-operation-ember-rise-exclusive-details-raleigh-major-recap-more"] In the last year, I’ve found myself gravitating back toward Siege and having a great time learning to be a better player via the plethora of fan-made strategy videos that often manage to blend information with a bit of blunderous fun as creators poke fun at themselves (and the rest of us) for the ways we all made mistakes when starting out. Not only is there a community out there of inviting people willing to teach you the best ways to breach, but even as you’re learning you find yourself improving even when learning simple tactics like camera placement or creating a rotate between points. With the Operator grand total being brought to 52 as of last month with the addition of Kali and Wamai Rainbow Six Siege shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

- Destin Legarie, Senior Features Producer

6. CS:GO

Even though Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released on August 21, 2012, it still holds a strong reign over the competitive first-person shooter genre. While known for its competitive game mode in the esports scene, CS:GO offers casual and competitive game modes that invite a wide range of players. There is also a wide range of esports tournaments and leagues that operate all year round, which means players wanting to get into the true competitive scene of CS:GO have plenty of opportunities to do so. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/12/07/counter-strike-global-offensive-is-now-free-to-play-battle-royale-mode-added"] While this is an older FPS title with no other games to match its content (Rainbow Six Siege being the closest game in similarity), CS:GO focuses on challenging players on pure skill and strategy. Teamwork is heavily important in the standard competitive matches and mastering specific spray patterns of each weapon available is critical to becoming a top player. Whether players are looking to get into competitive play and test their skills or hop into a quick game of free-for-all or other casual game modes, CS:GO offers plenty of content for anyone to jump into. Valve has been working on updates this year to this beloved FPS title which further make CS:GO still one of the best FPS games out on the market.

- Stella Chung, Associate Gameplay Producer

5. Hearthstone

While the competitive landscape for Hearthstone may be getting old for those of us who have played for 5 years, it's actually the other modes in Hearthstone that keep the game great in 2019. Over time Hearthstone has amassed a surprisingly large single-player experience. From Dungeon Runs to Puzzle Lab, Hearthstone is nearing 10 unique single-player experiences that offer fresh alternatives to its standard gameplay. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/01/hearthstone-descent-of-dragons-cinematic-trailer"] If you are the type who still prefers the competitive side of things, the newly announced Hearthstone Battlegrounds auto battler mode has captured the attention of the games most prominent players and appears to have introduced a much-needed change to the competitive landscape.

- Tate Fiebing, Senior Product Manager

4. League of Legends

League of Legends continues to fulfill the niche of being one of the most accessible games to the greater PC audience, while also having the depth of play to keep players coming back for more. Critically a Free-to-Play first model, anyone with a half-decent computer could download the game and play one of the distinct 146 champions in 5v5 combat. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/25/league-of-legends-aphelios-the-weapon-of-the-faithful-champion-trailer"] It’s a game where teamwork, skill expression, and game knowledge all work hand in hand to try to capture victory. The League community also remains extremely vibrant – the game developers do a great job tweaking the game every so often to prevent the meta from being stale. Because of this, you’re always feeling like you are playing something ‘new’, while yet still fundamentally sound.

- Kevin Kwan, Campaign Manager

3. DOTA 2

Dota 2 is a satisfyingly complex game; not only are there well over a hundred heroes with unique abilities to learn (with about two heroes added each year), there also tons of items and creative ways to use both to achieve the ultimate goal of destroying the enemy team's ancient. No one playstyle is absolute either, and the freedom to play creatively keeps Dota 2 engaging even if you're not interested in learning all of its heroes and roles. Constant updates and seasonal events are helpful in retaining player interest too. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/11/is-dota-2-really-harder-than-league-of-legends-esports-mashup-episode-2"] These updates aren't just for balance, though. There have been several game-changing updates since Dota 2 first came out of beta in 2013, and the latest massive patch that altered some fundamentals of the game is one of the most exciting yet. With so much constantly changing in the meta and an interesting professional scene to help interpret those changes, it's fun to keep coming back to DOTA 2.

- Miranda Sanchez, Senior Editor

2. Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV Game Director Yoshi-P and his team at Square Enix not only dropped one of their best expansions yet with Shadowbringers this year, but they were able to introduce a slew of big quality of life updates that improve the experiences for new and old players. Jobs were changed significantly to make combat easier and features like the Trust System are geared towards players who like a single player experience. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/18/final-fantasy-xiv-patch-51-vows-of-virtue-deeds-of-cruelty-trailer"] Aside from the typical patches you see with every MMO, Final Fantasy XIV was able to add in a new unique job, a Final Fantasy XV crossover event, and new post game content in collaboration with Nier Automata this year. From Square Enix’s livestream updates to community fan events, Final Fantasy XIV is a great contender for the best ongoing game of the year.

- Mike Mamon, Syndication Editor

1. World of Warcraft

With over fifteen years of content updates spanning across seven expansion packs, there’s no denying that World of Warcraft is one of the largest and most popular MMORPGs out there. Before WoW came out, MMORPGs had a certain kind of gameplay formula that was quite daunting for a lot of people who were interested in the MMO genre, but the idea of hardcore grinding didn’t sit quite well with a vast majority of folks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/01/world-of-warcraft-exploring-the-shadowlands-gameplay-trailer"] Then came WoW, which was Blizzard’s answer to create an MMORPG world set in the Warcraft universe that managed to take the old formula and transform it into something that was more accessible to all types of players. And it worked! Nowadays, WoW is played by millions of people who have fallen in love with its world, characters, lore, gameplay systems and its fantastic raids that have all been built up over these past fifteen years. Plus, with WoW: Classic being a gateway for folks who crave Blizzard’s first (more hardcore) version of the game, there’s a version of WoW for every kind of player — past, and present.

- Eric Sapp, Editorial Designer

Note: Narrowing this down to 10 entries was incredibly difficult so there we wanted to let you know about a few games that were incredibly close to making the list. GTA Online  always has someone watching the NoPixel mod community's latest role-playing antics, and Magic the Gathering Arena is starting to give Hearthstone a run for its money. There are plenty more excellent games that could make this a Top 20 like Diablo 3, Path of Exile, Warframe, Star Citizen, or RocketLeague all of which have created amazing communities that keep their game worlds exciting, interesting, and hopefully here to stay.

So do you feel like we got it right or wrong? Let’s talk about it in the comments below, and tell us what should be swapped out and replaced with your favorite and why. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Destin Legarie is a Senior Features Producer at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter or watch him stream on Twitch. from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/2020/01/09/top-10-most-addicting-online-games via IFTTT from The Fax Fox https://thefaxfox.blogspot.com/2020/01/top-10-most-addicting-online-games.html

[njawaidofficial]

'Spider-Man: Homecoming': Michael Keaton Was Destined to Play The Vulture

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/07/spider-man-homecoming-michael-keaton-was-destined-to-play-the-vulture/

'Spider-Man: Homecoming': Michael Keaton Was Destined to Play The Vulture

‘Batman,’ ‘Birdman’ and his new role as The Vulture complete a journey in which each part has built upon the previous one.

Over the last several years, Michael Keaton has enjoyed a career renaissance, rising from the trappings of second-rate family films and thrillers (like Jack Frost or Herbie: Fully Loaded) like a majestic phoenix from the ashes. His wings were once clipped, but now he soars, picking off critically acclaimed acting roles like a bird of prey.

The avian similes are fitting because of Keaton’s winged character choices as of late, such as in Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) — which scored the actor an Oscar nomination — and now the Vulture in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Across these two films, he essentially plays out his own career in a stupendously meta and cathartic way that shows just how emotive and varied a thespian he can be. In many ways, The Vulture is a role Keaton has been preparing for since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 — and one that people may not have been able to take seriously had he not done Birdman in between.

Let’s start with Birdman, the 2014 film credited with his career renaissance and which stars Keaton as Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor who’s only famous for his role as the superhero Birdman in a popular trilogy of movies 20 years previously. He’s plagued by strange hallucinations of his former superheroic persona. Though Keaton never starred in a trilogy (he exited the franchise after 1992’s Batman Returns), those years playing Bruce Wayne surely showed him what it means to balance one’s identities and burdens, something that feeds heavily into his latest role as Adrian Toomes (aka The Vulture) in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

While pundits have argued Birdman completed Keaton’s journey back to the A-list, there’s an argument that Spider-Man actually completes that journey. There’s nothing more A-list than doing a string of critically acclaimed movies and then jumping into a giant franchise like Spider-Man. Bonus points if that role also gives you serious dramatics to dig into, and that’s certainly the case with the Vulture.

And in a way, there’s a strong throughline from Birdman to Spider-Man. It’s not hard to imagine that Riggan went totally nuts after the ambiguous ending of Birdman and decided to become a New York City supervillain, turning his once heroic legacy into one of infamy in order to get back at those who slighted him. Head canon aside, Riggan and Toomes are also similar in mentality despite differing in their methods and end goals. Whereas Birdman dealt with the blurred lines between identity and fame, Spider-Man is about the ones between identity and responsibility. Toomes has been described by one of the Homecoming producers as a family/business man with a “Tony Soprano mentality” who’s not interested in world domination. In other words, he differs from other Marvel villains we’ve seen before, like Ultron or Thanos, because he’s just a normal blue-collar dude who feels like the world has cheated him and the only way to get even is to play dirty.

Like Thomson, he’s seen what the “good life” can be in the form of guys like Tony Stark and he even goes so far as to say that rich people like Tony don’t care about the little guys. Instead of putting on a Broadway show, however, he decides to start committing crimes with high-tech gadgetry.

Keaton knows how to play regular guy, hero and villain all wrapped up in one talented package. As Homecoming shows, he’s expertly able to switch between all three on a dime, surely aided by his experience as Bruce Wayne and, more specifically, Batman, a vigilante with a strict moral code who made a choice to fight the darkness when his parents were gunned down. Batman of all people knows how easy it is to give in to the allure of criminality when everything seems lost (see: The Joker) and yet he uses his own demons — and extensive resources — to fight on the right side of the law.

At the same time, Wayne grapples with status in the world as a billionaire, playboy philanthropist (the Tony Stark of the DC Universe) and his duty to the city and people of Gotham. Simply put, Batman strikes the perfect balance between identity and responsibility, which is what Peter Parker deals with in Homecoming. He’s just a teenager with a tremendous burden: If he doesn’t use his powers, people get hurt, and even if he does, he may lose out on living a normal life. By that same token, Toomes’ Vulture has the same choice. At the crossroads of doing what is right and what is easy, he picks easy, thus straying down the path of darkness and villain hood. In essence, Keaton is now playing his Batman role in reverse, an alternate (or Bizzaro) universe where Bruce became a supervillain. They’re both non-superpowered individuals who use fancy technology to fly around menacingly and operate outside the law. The more you think about it, the more Toomes and Wayne are different sides of the same coin. Keaton’s basically been preparing for this role for nearly 30 years.

It’s funny to think that there was such a negative outcry from fans when Keaton was first cast as Batman back in late 1980s. Now he’s entrenched in two of the biggest superhero franchises to date, and more than that, he’s actually bridging the gap between them. As Harvey Dent once said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” 

Source

#Destined #Homecoming #Keaton #Michael #Play #SpiderMan #Vulture

[thedcdunce]

The Riddler

“The future is a riddle only time can solve!” - The Riddler

Real Name: Edward Nashton

Aliases: 

Enigma

Edward Nigma

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 1″

Weight: 183 lbs (83 kg)

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Abilities:

Genius Level Intellect

Investigation

Escapology

Weaknesses:

Obsession

Equipment:

Riddler’s Staff

Universe: New Earth

Base of Operations: Gotham City

Marital Status: Single

Citizenship: American

First Appearance: Detective Comics #140 (October, 1948)

Abilities

Genius Level Intellect: The Riddler is a supreme problem-solver, criminal mastermind. He is a genius with brilliant deductive power. His mind excels with puzzles, minds games, and manipulations. Investigation: He possesses great deductive skills and analytic ability. Escapology: Riddler is adept in escapology. Since childhood Edward has been a big fan of the late great Harold Houdini. Using this skill to build his infamous elaborate death traps and easily escape handcuffs. Like the Joker, he can escape the high security hospital Arkham Asylum whenever he pleases.

Weaknesses

Obsession: His riddles are in fact a bizarre obsessive compulsion; his attempts to stop himself from sending them has met with failure time and time again. This extends to the fact he cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand, but prefers to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot escape. However, compared to Batman's other themed enemies, Riddler's compulsion is quite flexible, allowing him to commit any crime as long as he can describe it in a riddle or puzzle.

Equipment

Riddler's staff

History

Edward Nashton, who later changed his name to Edward Nigma, is the super-villain known as the Riddler. His signature gimmick is committing high-profile crimes, and giving clues or hints to law enforcement. This has made him an enemy of the Batman in Gotham City. The riddles are a compulsive obsession to prove he is smarter than others, and this has made him an occasional patient in Arkham Asylum.

Origins

Edward Nashton was born into a broken home. His mother was absent and his father was abusive. When Edward was a young boy, he became excited at the idea of winning a puzzle contest at school. To increase his likelihood of winning, Edward sneaked into school during the night and practiced the puzzle until he could solve it with ease. He ended up winning, and was awarded a riddle book as a prize. Since that time, he has mastered puzzles, mind games, and riddles.

Edward was profoundly intelligent and would pass tests with apparent ease, something his father, out of jealousy, couldn't or wouldn't believe; he therefore attributed his success to cheating and started beating on him to keep him 'out of trouble,' or to stop him from lying. Out of the abuse, Edward developed a compulsion he has became known for, he constantly endeavors to tell the truth to prove his innocence. This is where his obsession with riddles comes from. Unfortunately, the abuse is also a main factor that drove him mad and to a life of crime.

The Riddler

When Edward got older, he left home and became a carnival performer, using his skills to cheat carnival-goers out of their money. But this was not enough for him. He longed for something more, and became the Riddler, at the same time changing his name to Edward Nigma, picking The Batman as an adversary, as he believes him to be an intelligent and more-than-worthy opponent.

Starting out as a simple informant and criminal profiler for the underworld of Gotham City, as well as for Batman, the Riddler slowly became more of a villain to Batman. It wasn't long before he became a main adversary to the Caped Crusader, constantly testing his analytical abilities to their limits.

The Long Halloween

During the events of the Long Halloween the Riddler became an informant for Gotham city crime lord Carmine Falcone. When a serial killer known as Holiday began targeting Falcone's associates, Carmine hired the Riddler to discover the killer's identity. However, the Riddler's results displeased Falcone, and the gangster even laughed at him, when the Riddler suggested that Carmine himself was the killer. The Riddler later became one of Holiday's victims, but much to the Riddler's confusion, was purposely left unharmed. A year later, Batman consulted Riddler about a second Holiday killer called Hangman.

Career Criminal

Over the years, the Riddler would earn his living through various heists and robberies, working his way up the criminal food chain, eventually even securing himself a couple of henchwomen to do his bidding. Later in his career, after his exploits have been well established for some time, he attempts a heist in Manchester, Alabama, only to be thwarted by Impulse, whose problem-solving skills he severely underestimates after Impulse initially confuses him for The Question.

Dark Knight, Dark City

The Riddler becomes darker and more bloodthirsty when he takes an interest in occult rituals. He discovers instructions on how to tame a bat daemon called Barbatos, originally summoned by Thomas Jefferson. The Riddler leads Batman around the city with a series of riddles, designed to prepare Batman as a demonic sacrifice. To make Batman chase him, he kidnaps four babies. He tricks Batman into kissing a hanged man through CPR, and covers him in blood at a transfusion center. The next step is a dance with the dead, accomplished through zombie robots, then slaying a dog with silver. He forces Batman to slit the throat of an unbaptized child, by leaving him with a baby who needs an emergency tracheotomy. Finally he makes Batman do an acrobatic dance in front of a goat representing the devil, by attacking him with a flamethrower. Batman is captured and tied to an altar. The Riddler prepares to stab Batman in the heart, but the demon Barbatos intervenes to stop him. The Riddler flees in terror and torches the building, but Batman is able to escape.

Knightfall

Riddler was back in action, but he was attacked by Bane, who dosed Riddler with Venom. Batman tried to stop Riddler, but he was too strong and Batman was tired. Bane's henchmen shot Riddler under Bane's command leaving Riddler badly injured.

His stay in Arkham was short lived as Bane released all the inmates as a plan to eliminate Batman. Riddler escaped as well, gathered his old gang and started planning his next move. Riddler sent a letter to the Gotham City Police Department, but they were too busy with all the other criminals from Arkham and Riddler's letters got overlooked in the situation. After a while, his own henchmen got tired of waiting for the police to notice the clues and they ditched Riddler out of the score. On an attempt to be noticed, Riddler went to a live TV broadcast, armed with bombs and took over the show. He delivered his riddles to the audience, but nobody was able to answer them. Riddler was soon stopped by Robin, who watched the TV, learned of his move and arrived at the TV station in no time. The bomb turned out to be fake and Riddler was captured and taken back to Arkham.

Hush

The Riddler is diagnosed with terminal cancer, so he cures himself by stealing one of Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pits. This grants him a temporary clarity, and he finally figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman. He tries to sell this cure to a rich doctor named Thomas Elliot, whose parents also died of cancer. Elliot hates Bruce Wayne, and they decide to work together to destroy Batman. Elliot becomes the villain Hush, and the Riddler designs an intricate plan. This involves enlisting or manipulating Catwoman, Clayface, Harley Quinn, Huntress, Jason Todd, The Joker, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and Superman. Batman and Nightwing actually fight the Riddler during this time when he robs an armored car. They assume the Riddler is too pathetic to be involved. Hush loses to Batman, and Batman figures out that the Riddler was the mastermind. Batman explains that a riddle everyone knows the answer to is worthless, so he knows the Riddler will keep his secret. Ra's al Ghul will also have his League of Assassins kill the Riddler if they ever discover what happened. Batman punches the Riddler, tells a security guard that he fell, and leaves Arkham Asylum.

After the Hush incident, Riddler escaped from Arkham and sought Poison Ivy's protection from Hush and from the League of Assassins. However, Ivy was equally mad at him after he used her on his "Hush" scheme and she attacked Riddler as soon as he stepped into her lair. Riddler tried to escape, but Ivy wouldn't let him go. Riddler finally gave up and asked Ivy to kill him and finish his pain. However, she refused, leaving Riddler helpless in a catatonic state.

Downfall and New Start

Later, Elliott reappeared demanding from the Riddler the location of the Lazarus Pit. When Riddler refused to answer, he was brutally beaten. Seeking refuge, the Riddler went to the Joker and the Penguin. He tries to bargain with the Joker for asylum and he agrees but eventually his safety is compromised and he is forced to go on the run again. He asks Poison Ivy for asylum, both of whom remembered his manipulation and the meeting didn't go well. At a loss, the Riddler went into a downward spiral of insanity and became homeless. He eventually was found by a ex-NASA decoder who helped him recover his mind. It is during this time that the Riddler has an induced flashback about his childhood, he comes to the realization of what happened when he was abused and why. He also deduces the reason behind why he has the compulsion he has for riddles.

Using his vast fortune, acquired over many years of crime, he gets minor plastic surgery and extensive tattooing. He covers the majority of his torso with his trademark question mark insignia. He kills the Codebreaker, who has discovered his secret identity and steals a priceless scroll, before Batman can get to it. It was at this time that Riddler starting amassing a huge fortune legally and attacking various heroes to prove his abilities.

During this time, he had a run in with Green Arrow, Arsenal and the Outsiders. The Riddler is up for revenge against his defeat by the Green Arrow and he brutally injures and almost kills the the two archers. If not for the timely arrival of the Outsiders they may have been killed. Before these events, the Riddler was hired to steal artifacts imbued with mystical powers from one of Star City's museums, and then distract the authorities so that the related rituals could be commenced. He sends Team Arrow on a wild goose chase around the City, and then reveals that he has an atomic bomb housed in the stadium where the Star City Rockets play. However, as a side effect of the ritual performed with the artifacts, the city is plunged into complete darkness, and Green Arrow uses this to his advantage, to capture the Riddler.

Infinite Crisis

The Riddler was with a group of villains attacking the Gotham City Police Department. He later escaped from Arkham Asylum after a worldwide breakout by the Secret Society of Super Villains. He then is along with the Society when they attack Metropolis. He is defeated by the Shining Knight and is struck in the head by the Knight's mace.

One Year Later

The Riddler was sent into a coma when he was hit in the head by the Shining Knight's mace. When the Riddler awoke a year later, without his obsessive compulsive fixation for riddles but still possesses his great intellect and enormous ego. He also suffers from memory loss forgetting his own name for a while and not remembering that Bruce Wayne is Batman, but he is suspicious. With the Penguin's advice, he was reformed and then became a private investigator at which he legally develops even more of a fortune. He was finally on the right side of the law using his great talents for the good of the people.

He even becomes involved in a ship bound murder mystery alongside Batman, while deducing a part of the mystery, Batman deduces the real reason. In the end they both did there part in solving the crime and have become hostile allies. He is then hired by Bruce Wayne to find a experimental drug stolen from Wayne Enterprises. In the end with the help of a reformed Harley Quinn he gets the drug back and returns it to the rightful owners.

In a run in with Mary Marvel he describes to her how he is reformed, the two then join forces against Clayface, where Edward gets to see up front how twisted and cruel she has become with a great power. He suggests that she gets a mentor or some anger management.

Even Nightwing hired him to find out who was behind recent string of museum robberies, whom he later saves from gang warfare while investigating Penguin's involvement in organized crime. He later deduces that Nightwing is Dick Grayson.

During his time as detective, word about Batman's death started to spread. As crime became more violent in Gotham, he was approached by Penguin who wanted Nigma's service as an investigator to find the new Black Mask that started operating in Gotham. To help his investigation, he recruited Harley Quinn and later Poison Ivy joined their efforts. On this quest, Riddler became the man who helped Quinn, Ivy and Catwoman to become a team.

Fun Facts

In many other realities, the Riddler's birth name is Edward Nigma, Edward Nygma, E. Nigma or even Edward E. Nigma. However, the New Earth Riddler was born Edward Nashton and changed his name to Edward Nigma later in life.

Jim Gordon has mentioned that several Gotham criminals have their own codewords. These are special phrases they can say when they call the GCPD, to distinguish them from prank phone calls. The Riddler chose "Oedipus" as his codeword, because Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx. Gordon remarks that this is strange, because medical records suggest the Riddler hated his own mother. The Riddler's codeword for Batman is "The Hanging Man."

The Riddler's online screen name is "Wizard101." This might be a reference to the game of the same name, which was released the same year as Detective Comics #845, the issue where this username was used.

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► Helena Bertinelli

The Huntress is a vigilante operating out of Gotham City, and a member of the Batman Family. She is also a devout Catholic, and is very in touch with her Italian heritage. Her career is inspired by a personal vendetta against organized crime, responsible for killing her entire family. At first, her ruthless methods and willingness to kill made her an outcast from the heroic community, but in time she learned to temper her methods and became accepted by her peers. She has also been a member of the Justice League and the Birds of Prey.

Maria Bertinelli, the wife of Franco Bertinelli of the Mafia family in Gotham City, was the subject of frequent beatings from her husband, though he was careful never to hit her in the face. Maria began an affair with a man named Santo Cassamento and eventually became pregnant by him. Knowing the unborn child wasn’t his, Franco continued to beat his wife throughout her pregnancy. When Maria gave birth to this child of her illicit union, she chose the name Helena Rosa. During the first eight years of Helena’s life, she lived in the household of a Mafioso without ever being aware of the criminal dealing which took place there.

When Helena was eight years old, a man barged in to the Bertinelli household during dinner and shot Franco, Maria and Pino Bertinelli, sparing Helena. The hit came from Mandragora who wished for no vendettas against him. Helena’s biological father passed the order along with a modification that “the sister” be spared. Santo was referring to Maria, but the gunman confused Maria with Helena and so Helena was spared, though she was not supposed to be.

Helena was placed under the care of her Uncle Tomasso’s nephew, Salvatore Asaro. She was taken back to the old country, Sicily, where she would be kept safe and where the family was still strong. When arriving, she was terrified. Helena remained there for a number of years. Watching her cousin and uncle train and practice with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. However, the nightmares stayed with her. One night, her cousin showed her that only she could stop the nightmare by putting an end to those who murdered her family: blood cries for blood. 

When taken into the barn, she asked her cousin to teach her how, picking up a crossbow on the wall. She trained until the age of fifteen when she was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland to protect her from the Italian authorities who were cracking down on the Mafia. When reading and seeing what was happening, she realized that everything she had been told was a lie about the Mafia. She realized that the Mafia was a force of corruption and evil, and it had been headed by her own family in Gotham City. At age sixteen, she finally returned to Gotham City to spend Christmas with her uncle. However, she hated everyone there. During the party, Helena witnessed her family finally was frightened of something. Batman had crashed the party and fought with them. Inspired by the way Batman frightened and defeated the people she hated, Helena realized that she could fight them too by following his example.

Helena returned to Switzerland for school where she plotted her vengeance. She went to her old house in Sicily (which had since been abandoned as a result of her uncle and cousin being arrested), and took a crossbow and a number of items for her crusade. Enrolling at the university in Palermo, she learned all about the Mafia. She constructed her costume and a number of weapons. She thought herself as a nun, totally devoted to her quest. She returned to Gotham in pursuit of vengeance as the Huntress.

Shortly after beginning her days as a Gotham vigilante, she busted some of Riddler’s former henchmen after they stole a large amount of money.

Huntress ended the lives of Mandragora and the assassin who murdered her family. Sometime later, Nightwing and she began a brief romantic relationship while working together on a murder case of a police officer with connections to the Mafia.

During the No Man’s Land declaration in Gotham City, she briefly donned the guise of Batgirl to better inspire fear into the criminals of Gotham City, though she would also work in the guise of the Huntress. She began the habit of marking territories in No Man’s Land, all of which would be adopted by the criminals and GCPD. Though Batman knew the entire time that it was Huntress under the cape and cowl, he eventually ordered her to give it up. Batman would give Huntress’ Batgirl outfit to Cassandra Cain. Helena continued to be Huntress in No Man’s Land, allying herself with a renegade police officer to the point where she assisted in capturing Nightwing and Oracle (though in the end, she helped them escape). On Christmas Eve, the Joker attacked her. Joker shot the Huntress five times that night, but She survived the encounter and fully recovered. In doing so, Helena earned Batman’s respect.

To curb Helena’s violent attitude, Batman nominated her for a position in the Justice League. However, Batman revoked her membership when she was about to kill Prometheus. After a series of murders which seemingly pointed to her as the killer, Huntress became wanted by Batman and Nightwing. Fortunately for her, she tumbled into the bay where she was picked up and rescued by the Question. She was taken to Canada where she was trained by the Question’s sensei for three months. The two then traveled back to Gotham where she shared the story of her becoming the Huntress. The time Question and Huntress spent together sparked a relationship. However, when Huntress discovered who had been framing her, she discovered more then she bargained for. She discovered her true father as being Santo Cassamento and he was responsible for the death of her family. As a result, Helena asked a favor of her Uncle Tomasso. Santo was lured to the docks and was killed by Tomasso’s men. The Question did not approve of what Helena had asked, and inquired when the killing would stop. He left her as she threw her golden cross into the water, ending the relationship.

Batman eventually supplied Helena with a new uniform and bike. She would later return the favor by saving his life when he took a fall in Crime Alley by fighting off attackers and putting him into the Batmobile. Huntress remarked in hindsight that he’d never thank her for her heroism. A short time later, the Scarecrow, working with the mysterious Hush, drugged her, and manipulated Helena into attacking Catwoman, who she perceived as her old self. With the aid of Batman, the Scarecrow’s drugs wore off and Helena made a full recovery. The Huntress soon found herself allied with Oracle and Black Canary and continued to fight crime in both Gotham City and Metropolis as an official member of the Birds of Prey.

Fearing that Oracle was manipulating her just like Batman and feeling guilt over her past, Huntress abruptly left the group and returned to Gotham. Using Creote and Savant as backup, she gave an offer to the Mafia saying she wanted in and would eliminate the competition. Barely accepted, she set her plan by setting the mobs against each other. In truth she was gathering information on the mob for Batman to use. Batman confronted her but was pleasantly surprised when Huntress handed her “atlas” to him.

Oracle gathered the Birds of Prey back together in Gotham. Helena initially displays anger towards Oracle over her perceived abandonment of the team in order to help train the new Batgirl, but nonetheless tearfully accepts her offer. Huntress then aides Black Canary (who had now left the Justice League), in a battle against a new villainess calling herself the White Canary.

Powers 

Archery: Huntress carries her trademark crossbows on her at all times. Whether they’re dual mounted mini-crossbows or one large crossbow is up to her as she has proficiency to use both. She’s once used a single bolt to split a bullet in two.

Criminology: Huntress grew up in a criminal environment and later spent a few years surrounded by gangs and criminals. If there ever was a street-wise hero who stayed on the straight and narrow it would be the Huntress.

Driving: Huntress is an effective driver, able to pilot the Batmobile in high stress and combat situations as well as her own motorcycle at varying degrees of above-average driving situations (being shot at, accelerating to high speeds and over semi-separated bridges).

Firearms: Over the years Huntress realized that firing and reloading bolts at armed individuals may not be the most effective even if they were the most non-lethal. She’s adapted her arsenal over time to include various firearms.

Investigation: Batman, himself, has mentioned Huntress’s prowess during investigation situations. She is credited as the “Batman” of the Birds of Prey team and regularly spends her free-time solving cold cases especially when the Mafia is involved.

Martial Arts: Huntress was very much a street fighter before honing her skills in martial arts. She spent many years getting into intentional fights just to prove and test her mettle. She has since fine-tuned her skill after years of work with Black Canary. She learned various disciplines of martial arts, enough to challenge even Lady Shiva. She prefers to use a specific kind of Kung Fu learned from Richard Dragon.

Dragon Style Kung Fu: One of the many disciplines she has learned is Dragon Style Kung Fu.

Stick Fighting: Although she prefers to use her martial arts and hand-to-hand combat when it comes to close quarters there has been many occasions where Huntress has used her Battle-Staff to taken on multiple enemies.

Multilingualism: She can speak both English and Italian fluently.

Peak Human Condition: Huntress works hard to keep her body in peak physical condition. She stated her costume change to include more skin was a result of her 300 ab crunches a day.

Pedagogy: Before and sometimes during her career she has taught at various schools and varying people the complicated language of English. She has cited her skill as a teacher on a few occasions but prefers to leave her civilian life out of sight.

Stealth: Huntress can be very stealthy when she needs to. With her specially outfitted suit and various toys in her utility belt she can sneak into a facility and learn whatever information she desires although she sometimes prefers to fight her way in.

Throwing: Helena learned the art of throwing from her cousin Salvatore Asaro.

Verses

tba

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Helena Bertinelli

The Huntress is a vigilante operating out of Gotham City, and a member of the Batman Family. She is also a devout Catholic, and is very in touch with her Italian heritage. Her career is inspired by a personal vendetta against organized crime, responsible for killing her entire family. At first, her ruthless methods and willingness to kill made her an outcast from the heroic community, but in time she learned to temper her methods and became accepted by her peers. She has also been a member of the Justice League and the Birds of Prey.

Maria Bertinelli, the wife of Franco Bertinelli of the Mafia family in Gotham City, was the subject of frequent beatings from her husband, though he was careful never to hit her in the face. Maria began an affair with a man named Santo Cassamento and eventually became pregnant by him. Knowing the unborn child wasn't his, Franco continued to beat his wife throughout her pregnancy. When Maria gave birth to this child of her illicit union, she chose the name Helena Rosa. During the first eight years of Helena's life, she lived in the household of a Mafioso without ever being aware of the criminal dealing which took place there.

When Helena was eight years old, a man barged in to the Bertinelli household during dinner and shot Franco, Maria and Pino Bertinelli, sparing Helena. The hit came from Mandragora who wished for no vendettas against him. Helena's biological father passed the order along with a modification that "the sister" be spared. Santo was referring to Maria, but the gunman confused Maria with Helena and so Helena was spared, though she was not supposed to be.

Helena was placed under the care of her Uncle Tomasso's nephew, Salvatore Asaro. She was taken back to the old country, Sicily, where she would be kept safe and where the family was still strong. When arriving, she was terrified. Helena remained there for a number of years. Watching her cousin and uncle train and practice with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. However, the nightmares stayed with her. One night, her cousin showed her that only she could stop the nightmare by putting an end to those who murdered her family: blood cries for blood. 

When taken into the barn, she asked her cousin to teach her how, picking up a crossbow on the wall. She trained until the age of fifteen when she was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland to protect her from the Italian authorities who were cracking down on the Mafia. When reading and seeing what was happening, she realized that everything she had been told was a lie about the Mafia. She realized that the Mafia was a force of corruption and evil, and it had been headed by her own family in Gotham City. At age sixteen, she finally returned to Gotham City to spend Christmas with her uncle. However, she hated everyone there. During the party, Helena witnessed her family finally was frightened of something. Batman had crashed the party and fought with them. Inspired by the way Batman frightened and defeated the people she hated, Helena realized that she could fight them too by following his example.

Helena returned to Switzerland for school where she plotted her vengeance. She went to her old house in Sicily (which had since been abandoned as a result of her uncle and cousin being arrested), and took a crossbow and a number of items for her crusade. Enrolling at the university in Palermo, she learned all about the Mafia. She constructed her costume and a number of weapons. She thought herself as a nun, totally devoted to her quest. She returned to Gotham in pursuit of vengeance as the Huntress.

Shortly after beginning her days as a Gotham vigilante, she busted some of Riddler's former henchmen after they stole a large amount of money.

Huntress ended the lives of Mandragora and the assassin who murdered her family. Sometime later, Nightwing and she began a brief romantic relationship while working together on a murder case of a police officer with connections to the Mafia.

During the No Man's Land declaration in Gotham City, she briefly donned the guise of Batgirl to better inspire fear into the criminals of Gotham City, though she would also work in the guise of the Huntress. She began the habit of marking territories in No Man's Land, all of which would be adopted by the criminals and GCPD. Though Batman knew the entire time that it was Huntress under the cape and cowl, he eventually ordered her to give it up. Batman would give Huntress' Batgirl outfit to Cassandra Cain. Helena continued to be Huntress in No Man's Land, allying herself with a renegade police officer to the point where she assisted in capturing Nightwing and Oracle (though in the end, she helped them escape). On Christmas Eve, the Joker attacked her. Joker shot the Huntress five times that night, but She survived the encounter and fully recovered. In doing so, Helena earned Batman's respect.

To curb Helena's violent attitude, Batman nominated her for a position in the Justice League. However, Batman revoked her membership when she was about to kill Prometheus. After a series of murders which seemingly pointed to her as the killer, Huntress became wanted by Batman and Nightwing. Fortunately for her, she tumbled into the bay where she was picked up and rescued by the Question. She was taken to Canada where she was trained by the Question's sensei for three months. The two then traveled back to Gotham where she shared the story of her becoming the Huntress. The time Question and Huntress spent together sparked a relationship. However, when Huntress discovered who had been framing her, she discovered more then she bargained for. She discovered her true father as being Santo Cassamento and he was responsible for the death of her family. As a result, Helena asked a favor of her Uncle Tomasso. Santo was lured to the docks and was killed by Tomasso's men. The Question did not approve of what Helena had asked, and inquired when the killing would stop. He left her as she threw her golden cross into the water, ending the relationship.

Batman eventually supplied Helena with a new uniform and bike. She would later return the favor by saving his life when he took a fall in Crime Alley by fighting off attackers and putting him into the Batmobile. Huntress remarked in hindsight that he'd never thank her for her heroism. A short time later, the Scarecrow, working with the mysterious Hush, drugged her, and manipulated Helena into attacking Catwoman, who she perceived as her old self. With the aid of Batman, the Scarecrow's drugs wore off and Helena made a full recovery. The Huntress soon found herself allied with Oracle and Black Canary and continued to fight crime in both Gotham City and Metropolis as an official member of the Birds of Prey.

Fearing that Oracle was manipulating her just like Batman and feeling guilt over her past, Huntress abruptly left the group and returned to Gotham. Using Creote and Savant as backup, she gave an offer to the Mafia saying she wanted in and would eliminate the competition. Barely accepted, she set her plan by setting the mobs against each other. In truth she was gathering information on the mob for Batman to use. Batman confronted her but was pleasantly surprised when Huntress handed her "atlas" to him.

Oracle gathered the Birds of Prey back together in Gotham. Helena initially displays anger towards Oracle over her perceived abandonment of the team in order to help train the new Batgirl, but nonetheless tearfully accepts her offer. Huntress then aides Black Canary (who had now left the Justice League), in a battle against a new villainess calling herself the White Canary.

Powers 

Archery: Huntress carries her trademark crossbows on her at all times. Whether they're dual mounted mini-crossbows or one large crossbow is up to her as she has proficiency to use both. She's once used a single bolt to split a bullet in two.

Criminology: Huntress grew up in a criminal environment and later spent a few years surrounded by gangs and criminals. If there ever was a street-wise hero who stayed on the straight and narrow it would be the Huntress.

Driving: Huntress is an effective driver, able to pilot the Batmobile in high stress and combat situations as well as her own motorcycle at varying degrees of above-average driving situations (being shot at, accelerating to high speeds and over semi-separated bridges).

Firearms: Over the years Huntress realized that firing and reloading bolts at armed individuals may not be the most effective even if they were the most non-lethal. She's adapted her arsenal over time to include various firearms.

Investigation: Batman, himself, has mentioned Huntress's prowess during investigation situations. She is credited as the "Batman" of the Birds of Prey team and regularly spends her free-time solving cold cases especially when the Mafia is involved.

Martial Arts: Huntress was very much a street fighter before honing her skills in martial arts. She spent many years getting into intentional fights just to prove and test her mettle. She has since fine-tuned her skill after years of work with Black Canary. She learned various disciplines of martial arts, enough to challenge even Lady Shiva. She prefers to use a specific kind of Kung Fu learned from Richard Dragon.

Dragon Style Kung Fu: One of the many disciplines she has learned is Dragon Style Kung Fu.

Stick Fighting: Although she prefers to use her martial arts and hand-to-hand combat when it comes to close quarters there has been many occasions where Huntress has used her Battle-Staff to taken on multiple enemies.

Multilingualism: She can speak both English and Italian fluently.

Peak Human Condition: Huntress works hard to keep her body in peak physical condition. She stated her costume change to include more skin was a result of her 300 ab crunches a day.

Pedagogy: Before and sometimes during her career she has taught at various schools and varying people the complicated language of English. She has cited her skill as a teacher on a few occasions but prefers to leave her civilian life out of sight.

Stealth: Huntress can be very stealthy when she needs to. With her specially outfitted suit and various toys in her utility belt she can sneak into a facility and learn whatever information she desires although she sometimes prefers to fight her way in.

Throwing: Helena learned the art of throwing from her cousin Salvatore Asaro.

Verses

tba