Comments on: Batman is Dead. Long Live Batman

by: Kunoichi

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:27:30 +0000

But that doesn’t fix the inherent problem of American comics, raize. They never achieve real depth, and they never evolve beyond what they started as. Oh they’ve gotten a bit better, but given the depth they’ve gotten to after how long? 80 years? 90? It’s pathetic compared to Asian comics, especially if we only consider them once they became similar enough to the Western ones for proper comparison, which was only 50 years ago.

Instead of telling stories about the same people over and over, American comic book writers should be trying to tell completely new stories, about new people. This constant story-telling without a set plan or background of the same characters is how we end up with Wolverine and Spidey’s and a host of others’ stories being so fucked up you have to add in parallel universes, time travel, and hallucinations to make it all work.

Batman was one of my favorites, because all he had going for him was smarts, science, and insanity. But my favorite storyline in the Batverse? The Batman Beyond t.v. show. Bruce Wayne was a crotchety old man who had to give up the mantle but didn’t want to, and had to groom someone as wild as he was to take it on. They achieved a perfect comprise for American comics: they got to keep their iconic hero but start telling new stories about a new person.

by: raize

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:49:15 +0000

When we talk about continuity in comics, we should also think abotu the comics themselves. Cultural icons like batman with more than enough room for excellent stories, and tons of material to work with don’t necessarily need to be changed or moved on from. The focal point of the comic, is Batman himself. The one constant is the Dark Knight. Having him as the one constant in his crazy world is what allows them to build the stories (some so great) that they did. He doesn’t need to change, and even if he does die, nothing says that can’t be the end of the legend, while still continuing to write great stories that may have taken place before his death.

It’s funny, but knowing that Batman is dead doesn’t actually surprise or bother me because ultimately that’s where the character feels like he should end up. Dead. He is more human than most super heroes. If they were ablle to actually come up with an decent end to the character, good for them (I haven’t read any of it yet so I won’t comment on the story itself). Maybe instead of replacing the character they can just tell stories that haven’t been told that occured before his death. I always lliked the self-contained graphic novels the best anyway.

by: Lurklen

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:27:05 +0000

Sad as i am to see Bruce go, I’m glad this happend it always botherd me when I was a kid that none of the super heroes I read about ever got older really or that they ever got in real danger. I always knew they were gonna make it, and that got old pretty fast I like the direction mainstream comics is heading it makes things so much more exciting.

by: Devin

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:23:16 +0000

Good post, Jam!

I wonder if they’ll pull a Major League Baseball kinda maneuver and call up Grayson to be the new Bat and send Drake to the minors in Bludhaven to take over there…

And call me crazy but I wonder if this is DC’s response to the hype and press Marvel received by killing off Captain America, like maybe they were looking for a way to boost hype themselves? The timing seems to fit, as comic scripts are written, what, 6 to 8 months in advance? And since they couldn’t just off Batman right away without serious planning, add in a couple more months to the total to plot out the whole thing and… voila…?

Or is this just a crazy conspiracy theory?

by: Mike

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:55:47 +0000

I’ll admit, I kinda like the idea of Cassy being Batman. (Batwoman?) Since Bludhaven needs Nightwing, I guess Drake is the best default. But for me, I love a good shocker ending. Why does it have to be an established member of the Bat family? Why does it even have to be an established DC character? Completely eff with everyone by pulling off something completely off the wall! With the right writer and the right exectuion, this could be a killer reveal, regardless of who’s under the cape and cowl.

by: Taellosse

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:45:46 +0000

Eh, it won’t last. They haven’t got the guts to keep an icon like Batman dead. I don’t follow comics directly anymore, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not even definitive that he’s dead, or even that he’s truly quit the superhero biz.

by: Jami

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:28:32 +0000

Well, the helicopter crash over a giant body of water is the easiest comic death to recover from. So I imagine if enough people are pissed, we’ll have Bruce back by the end of next year.

by: Hawk

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:22:53 +0000

I wonder how they’re going to explain “Bruce Wayne” disappearance.

I’m sorry but I’m not liking this at all. You can’t have Batman without Bruce Wayne.

by: Jami

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:55:20 +0000

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about Cassy! With Oracle backing her up, she’d make an imposing Batman. Hell, she’s fucking beast as Batgirl.

by: Kiey

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:42:47 +0000

In my opinion Cassandra Cain should be Batman, and I feel like that was they way they were taking her character, until they utterly screwed her over (and I think to not let her be was the reason she got screwed over.)

Regardless I think she is the best choice since, she is a better fighter then Batman ever was, she might not have all the detectiving down but that’s learnable or supportable by other characters. But most importantly she understands Batman’s whole sanctity of life thing (at least she did…) it wasn’t something Bruce had to explain to her, like he had to with the others, she already came to him knowing it.