#Source: Batman Issue 16

[thegaysinmyhead]

DC X DP IDEA(?)

Guys why is literally no one jumping on a VERY OBVIOUS trope for ghosts??

FUSION?? LIKE STEVEN UNIVERSE STYLE??

Just–hear me out hear me out!

Ghost forms are just extensions of their core, so it makes sense they can be changed right?? Gems physical bodies are just extensions and projections of their gem!!

SO, if going by a lot of phanon core logic, it would make sense if ghosts can have conversations to like fuse or something. Probably to use in battle mostly (ghosts are obviously territorial) but can also be used for love or to protect a weaker/damaged core! JUST IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES!!

Danny being able to fuse literally Steven universe style w his friends because he's a halfa, Danny being able to fuse with Jason because he has a connection because of the pits (Halfa or Revenant Jason Todd), Danny fusing with LITERAL BATMAN as he's the ghost king!!

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW TERRIFYING THAT WOULD BE???

Jason in the middle of getting sacrificed: :|

Danny, the one being summoned and seeing a poor baby ghost/potential boyfriend material and snatching him to protect him: :)

Bruce:

Tim:

Dick:

Barbara:

Steph:

Cass:

Jason: ¯\(°_o)/¯

Danny: Mine now :)

*he says as their body erupts into flames and they become the most bad ass looking ghost that kicks the cultists asses; Before they started lounging around and reading Jane Austen* (floating laying down is apparently more comfortable than just laying down on something solid, so its nice to float and read)

ORRRR

Justice League facing off an impossibly strong enemy that they have no choice but to look into outside sources to help defeat him (Trigon, Darkseid, something else that probably show up like 4 times a week lmao). Eventually, JLD get wind of a new ghost king who's supposedly kind and benevolent, which is races better than his old counterpart.

With the entire League's permission, begrudgingly Batman's, they summon the Ghost King as a last option and are ready to sacrifice anything for his help (within reason). Imagine their surprise when Danny Fenton, aged somewhere between 16 to 21, pops up in the portal looking frazzled and like he was woken up from a nap. Not even in his ghost form, just blinking owlishly at the League members while gaping like a fish.

"Holy shit—the Justice League?! I'm being summoned by the Justice League?! Ohmygod Tucker is gonna freak"

Constantine butts in looking nervous as hell and sweating buckets, "Your Majesty—"

"Just Danny's fine, I can't believe I'm being summoned by THE Justice League!"

"...Danny. We could really use some of your help, mate. See, we got ourselves an issue we can't really fix ourselves–"

"I'll do it. I'm not even joking, you guys don't even have to ask me twice,"

Everyone in the League (besides Batman) was watching with bated breath at the exchange. The confusion as a random teenager showed up was quickly washed away with how formally he was addressed, but it spiked back up when 'Danny' seemed to...hero worship them?

"—But!"

Ah, there it was. Can never do trades in the occult for free.

"I would really do it for free if I could man, honest! Just...I need to make a teensy weensy deal to be let out of the circle? You guys don't even have to let me do it on my own if you're worried I'll go rogue! You can tie me into a deal about one of you 'using my power' in exchange for like, a cup of coffee or something,"

Now everyone (except Batman, though he seemed to have a clenched jaw) was opening gaping as the omnipotent described being. Being offered something to great...in exchange for a mug of bean water? There had to be a catch, some sort of trickery, but Diana and many others could sense no ill intent on the young king. Constantine had even let up on the nerves as the being continued to speak, relief seeming to crash through his entire body when he realized none of them would have to give up their soul or something. Batman was the first to speak up.

"And if you were...to offer your power to one of us, what would that entail for the mortal or semi-mortal user?"

The king hummed and tapped his chin in thought, "Well, they'd probably be fine. Most of my power would be filtered through myself, so whoever is wielding it wouldn't go mad or suddenly overwhelmed with it. It'd be like turning on the tap while the well is underground, or something close,"

Batman nodded before Danny continued to speak.

"—But, obviously, I reserve the right to take away my power at any point if I see it needed. I would not be mind controlled, nor would I be drained, I would be an observer in the back of whoever decides to be at the other end of the contract until it's fulfilled,"

Constantine stepped forward once again, cigarette all but ash between his lips now, "Contract, right, mate. So uh, one of our sorry blokes gets access to your unfathomable power for the time it takes to beat whatever the hell it is out there. And in exchange, you get a cuppa? Maybe some biscuits and other treats with it to sweeten the deal?"

Danny smiled brightly at the ruffled looking blond and nodded, "Sounds good to me!"

All at once, the room dropped in temperature as the summoning circle around Danny became encased in ice. The ice shimmered an otherworldly dark blue, almost black, and stretched until it reached the feet of the young king. A spark lighted ontop of Danny's head before exploding into a flame, a crown taking shape through the smoke of the fire to sit upon the teenagers head. There was a flash of blue as a ring materialized on the teen's finger, as well as a cape seeming to sew itself from nothing to sit upon his shoulders. Danny looked sheepish as much as he looked serious, his eyes now emanating a neon green with hints of red in his pupil.

"This is kind of the awkward part, whoever what's to use my power will have to form the contract. I don't really feel comfortable with a super or meta using it, with how powerful I am it might cause more damage than repair it, so preferably a human or mostly human host?"

Danny looked so incredibly shy all of a sudden as he rubbed the back of his neck in an incredibly human gesture. The word's were out of Batman's mouth before he even realized he was speaking then.

"I'll do it," The Bat walked forward to stand beside Cobstantine. Constantine pinched his eyebrows together before letting out a nervous chuckle. Danny just seemed to light up.

"Ohmygosh I'm going to be core merging with Batman," the young king seemed to be doing another small fan-boy freakout before coughing and collecting himself.

"Right, right. Contract to do now, tell my Fraid about this later," Danny lifted up a flaming hand towards the edge of the summoning circle, motioning gently to the Bat.

"Heads up, this is going to feel really weird. Just keep holding onto me after the contract sets, and then make sure to get everyone away as fast as possible. You will grow, it's not gonna be very nice if other people are around because you'll squish them,"

The other League members around nodded mutely, eyes staring at Batman as they prayed and wished for his safety. Batman just gruffed and slowly placed his own hand into the awaiting palm. It didn't burn as he thought it would. In fact, it felt quite cold. Like the feeling of putting your bare hand into a pike of snow just to know how it felt. Batman forced himself not to shiver as he felt the contract form through the handshake. The young king sent him a reassuring smile before he seemingly vanished.

No, not vanished. There was a bright light in Bruce's gloves hand that shook with power. The light—sphere, orb?—sunk into his palm, and this time Bruce did shiver. It felt like the biting winds of a blizzard as it crept up his arm to settle in between his ribs. There was a ringing in his ears blocking out the noise around him, but he could faintly make out images of the League rushing away from him and giving a very large berth.

There was a building in his chest, and he felt it pulse like a second heartbeat. Bruce pulled his hands to his sternum and clawed uselessly as the hevlar, the freezing cold threatening to consume him whole inside and out. His chest pulsed, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Bruce heard some of the members try to rush to him, but the JLD held them baback. There was a cracking like ice pulling away from itself, like glaciers splitting, and all of a sudden Bruce felt power rush through his veins.

It should have been overwhelming, it should have terrified him into immeditely creating contingencies, it should have drove him mad with power, but it didn't. Bruce didn't realize his form had grew until he opened his eyes (when did he close them) and blinked down at the members of the League. They were so...small compared to him now. Bruce felt more than he saw the flames dance from his collarbone, and they flickered up high around his thankfully still cowled face. Though, it seemed his face was the cowl right now.

Bruce turned to the being they were fighting (and losing to) moments ago, and smirked. He felt the spike of fear, and he suddenly knew that this thing didn't stand a chance.

.

.

.

GUYS I KNOW BRUCE WOULD NEVER AGREE TO POWERS LMAO LET ME DREAM THO I THINK HE WOULD LOOK COOL ASF AS A GHOST!!

#dc x dp crossover #dcxdp #danny phantom crossover #danny phantom #ghost king au #ghost king danny #jason todd #red hood #batfam #batman #sam manson #tucker foley #danny fenton #ghost core

[heroesriseandfall]

I think Jason and Tim may have canonically been in the same school grade before Jason died. Not because Tim skipped any grades, but because Jason was behind two grades. This would also mean Jason died before he ever made it into high school.

Based on what I have extrapolated from post-Crisis comics, this seems like a working timeline:

Here is a calendar view with arbitrarily chosen years and other details added in for reference (if you can’t see it very well, here’s the spreadsheet)

Below is the math + sources (all based on post-Crisis comics)

Before being adopted by Bruce, Batman #410 says Jason was a 5th grade dropout

(sidenote: Jason said his mom was sick for over a year and she died in the most recent February before Bruce met Jason in Batman #408-409)

By the time of Batman Annual 12 (published only a few months before Jason died)*, Jason was in 7th grade

His deathdate is given as April 27th in Batman Annual 25 and The Batman Files, which is during the school year

So he was probably in 7th grade when he died

Jason was most likely 14** when he died, and his Aug 16 birthday is before the New Jersey cut-off date of October 1st

Tim was most likely 12 when Jason died, since they’re almost exactly 2 years apart

Usually, 7th graders are 12-13 years old

So Jason was 2 years older than typical for 7th grade, and he is 2 years older than Tim

Tim started 9th grade/high school at age 14 (Robin II: Joker's Wild), over a year after Jason's death

14-15 is typical starting age for 9th grade, so Tim is clearly in the usual age-range for his grade

So Tim would be in 7th grade when Jason died. Same as Jason.

* Publishing dates don’t always match up with where things fit in a timeline. Especially since annuals aren’t always clearly positioned in related to the rest of the comic’s issues. In the annual, Jason does mention KGBeast, who he’d fought recently in the then-current Batman run.

My default is to presume things are meant to be set generally near other comics published the same time unless I see an indication otherwise. There isn’t much indication here—Jason’s age really isn’t mentioned at all during his actual run as Robin IIRC, we have to extrapolate from later comics.

**My reasons for Jason being 14 and Tim being 12 when he dies are long and complicated, but for a brief overview:

We know they’re almost exactly two years apart because Jason turned 18 on Aug 16th in Detective Comics #790, and just a while before that, Tim had turned 16 on July 19th in Robin Vol. 2 #116. That would make them around 1 year 11 months apart. The death certificate in The Batman Files says Jason was 15 when he died on April 27. However, Jay dying in April and Tim being 13 when his training starts a few months later (implied to be late summer/early fall, in Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying; age 13 confirmed again in Batman #448) and then December and more than 6 months passing before Tim is finally said to be 14 starting high school (Robin II: Joker’s Wild), and then having to stuff Tim’s Robin training, Knightfall, Contagion, Legacy, and Aftershocks into all being while he’s 14…all make it mathematically unreasonable for Tim & Jason to be anything other than 14 and 12 when Jason dies. Tim must turn 13 after Jason’s death, right before he’s introduced, so that he has time to become Robin etc. before he turns 14. Jason being 15 really doesn't work well when comparing to other comics, so I think it makes more sense to say they for some reason rounded up his age to 15 since he would have been turning 15 in a few months. With this timeline, Jason would be roughly 14 years, 8 months, and 11 days old when he died. There IS a comic (Batman #416) that implies Jason was Robin for longer than this would require, but the timeline for that makes my head hurt and it was contradicted by Nightwing: Year One anyway. There’s also the case of Dick’s age compared to them, which bitimdrake has already gone into depth about and also makes it less likely Jason was 15 since Dick was 19 when he became Nightwing (Batman #416) and at most 21 after Tim already became Robin (Deathstroke Annual 1, 1992). TL;DR: Jason could, theoretically, have been 15 when he died, but it makes the timeline so wonky to do that and 14 almost 15 works way better.

My personal headcanon is Jason drops out of 5th grade at age 10, probably due to homelife issues. Catherine Todd gets sick, and a year or more passes of Jason not being in school while she’s sick. It’s not entirely clear when Jason becomes homeless, though Batman #426 says he “disappeared” (according to his old neighbor) after his mom died to avoid getting put in a state home. Catherine dies in the closest February to when Dick quits being Robin/gets fired at age 19. Then Jason gets adopted at age 12, turns 13, and goes into 6th grade right after. This would match up perfectly for Jason to be in 7th grade by the time he’s 14, rather than 9th grade like most other 14 year olds.

(Which, at that point, especially when Jason had such good grades, why not let him skip to be in his own age group? idk, maybe Bruce or Jason or Alfred had particular thoughts about Jason continuing where he left off, maybe Gotham schools have particular feelings about that, who knows)

I do want to note, I think it is very unlikely Tim and Jason attended the same school in pre-Crisis canon. Jason’s school for 7th grade wasn’t specified, though in Batman and Robin Vol. 1 #25 he says he went to Thomas Wayne Middle School for 3 months (why only 3 months??? eerily that is the same amount of time between a spring semester starting & Jason’s April deathdate...an implication Jason switched schools or was homeschooled at Wayne Manor for a bit??).

EDIT: I've recently looked it up and realized some schools in the US do include 5th grade as middle school. So if Jason dropped out of 5th grade, at Thomas Wayne Middle School, three months after starting there, that could be an explanation for why he said that.

It seems like (but not totally sure) Jason probably went to public school, which would match up with Robin: Year One showing Dick go to a public middle school, too.

On the other hand, we know for sure that Tim attended various private boarding schools throughout his childhood (as stated in Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, Robin III: Cry of the Huntress, etc.) so I just really don’t think they were at the same schools. If you wanted to, though, you could easily make them go to the same schools in fanfic so they could be in the same classes.

#jason todd #tim drake #batfam #robin jason todd #dc comics #dc continuity #heroesriseandfall #post crisis #robin ii

[filthy-vigilante]

Since the fact that the current bat family ages makes no sense and absolutely infuriates me, here are my headcanon ages

For Bruce a lot of sources have him becoming Batman at 25, that part makes sense but that would mean, on my personal timeline, he would be 44 now and that just seems kind of old to me to still be a vigilante. So I headcanon him as becoming Batman at 22 and adopting Dick at 23. This puts him at 28, for Damian's birth, with Dick being around 17/18 and off with the titans and probably college. It also puts him at 32 for Jason's death. Currently, he's 41

Tl;dr Bruce became Batman at 22, adopted Dick at 23, conceived Damian at 28, and is currently 41

Pre-reboot established that Barbara was a couple years older than Dick, also that she became Batgirl around the time she was starting college. She graduated high school early at 16 meaning she was about 17/18 when she became batgirl. Dick would be around 15 at this time. I've seen some sources say that the events of The Killing Joke (and Death of the Family, which happens a few months after) took place when she was late 20s. This doesn't quite work with the Robins timeline as she was only Batgirl during Dick and Jason's time as Robin. 23/24 makes more sense on the greater timeline. Currently she is 33.

Tl;dr Barbara became Batgirl at 17/18, got shot at 24 and became Oracle shortly after. Currently 33.

Several different sources give different ages for how old Dick was when his parents died, ranging from 8 to 15. We do know that Tim was 3 when he saw Dick's parents die at the circus, so if Dick was 8, the timeline wouldn't be big enough for his and Jason's career as Robin before Tim at 13 takes up the mantel. 12 seems like the most reasonable age for Dick to be for the timeline. This puts him at 18/19 when he goes off to college, quitting the Robin mantle and taking up Nightwing. At 28 he takes up the mantle of Batman with Damian, age 11 as his Robin. He is currently 30.

Tl;dr Dick gets adopted by Bruce at 12, becomes Nightwing at 19 and is currently 30.

Jason's timeline is fairly straightforward. We know he died at 15 and was only Robin for about 2 years. So it makes sense for him to have been picked up by Bruce at 12 and trained for 6ish months and debuted as Robin by the time he's 13. Post death timeline is a little more shaky. He came back to life a few months after his death and wandered the streets for about a year. Talia found him and tried to help him recover, with little results. After about a year or so of that Ra's wants to send Jason away so Talia throws him in the pit. He's around 18/19 at this point. He does travel, training like Bruce did but I don't think it was for nearly as long and he makes his return to Gotham at 20/21. He's currently 24.

Tl;dr Jason became homeless at 10, adopted at 12 and debuted as Robin at 13. Died at 15 and returned to Gotham at 20. Currently 24

Cassandra Cain is slightly older than Jason, by a few months. We know this as she was stated to be 18 in a batgirl issue released in 2004, and a few months later in another comic run Bruce and her visit Jason’s grave and he tells her that it would be Jason’s 18th birthday. With comic timelines this could mean she is anywhere between 1y3m or just 3m older than Jason. Unfortunately I am not too well versed in cass’ history to make a chronological breakdown of her life events. 

 Tl;dr Cass is approximately a year older than Jason. Currently 24

Now that we are further down in the list the ages are a lot clearer. DC was a lot more willing to give specific ages to characters during the era. So we know that Stephanie Brown is firmly 15 when she becomes Spoiler because she states it. We know that she is still 15 when she is pregnant. After this her timeline has no exact age assigned to it except her death. Stephanie died at 16. This was of course later retconned out and she is discovered alive at 17/18ish and shortly after starts her freshman year of college at either 18 or 19. This is also when she becomes Batgirl. 

Tl;dr Stephanie is approximately a year older than Tim and became spoiler at 15. Currently 22

Tim Drake’s ages are fairly clear. He became Robin at 13 approximately 6 months after Jason’s death. He’s a year younger than Stephanie. He takes up the red robin mantle around 17/18

Tl;dr Tim is a year younger than stephanie. He became robin at 13 and is Currently 21

Duke of course is still a relatively new character for DC and one they don’t utilize quite as much as others. They have mentioned his age multiple times in the past several years but is always 16. I do find this hard to let be, as I believe he was also stated to be 16 during the Robin War/We are Robin…. Personally, just to give the guy some range and growth for his age, i do headcanon him as 15 during robin war, where he became a more recurring character in DC and probably about 13 when he is initially introduced. Currently he should be around 17.

Tl;dr DC hates Duke and refuses to think about his age. He was 15 during the Robin War arc, and is currently 17

Damian is another one that is too straight forward as DC is spoon feeding us every next birthday of his. He was 10 when introduced and shortly thereafter became Robin. Most sources state that he also died at 10 but I don’t find the timeline big enough for that so I am going to place him at 11 for that . He was only dead for a couple of months before being resurrected, which would be around 11/12. I believe he just turned 14.

Tl;dr Damian was 10 when introduced and became Robin, Died and resurrected at 11 and is currently 14

TL;DR

Bruce 41

Barbara 32 

Dick 30

Cassandra 24

Jason 24

Stephanie 22

Tim 21

Duke 17

Damian 14

#batfamily #batfam #bruce wayne #dick grayson #barbara gordon #jason todd #cassandra cain #tim drake #stephanie brown #duke thomas #damian wayne #mp #meta

[soleminisanction]

If you ever have the time/interest, would you break down the canon surrounding Stephanie’s economic circumstances/home life? It seems like a lot of people have chosen to take it a specific way so I’d love to see your reasoning

Sure. Thanks for asking, it's honestly a fun topic.

Y’know it’s funny—I actually happen to own something that I think most people, even most Steph fans, haven’t seen: Steph’s first appearance. Not her Robin first appearance, her Detective Comics first appearance, her actual introduction. I happened to pick them up by accident at a con a few years ago because they’re also some of Tim’s first cover appearances. 

Other people might disagree with me on this, but I like to go back to the characters’ origins whenever I can to find the baseline of what they were originally intended to be and try to bring later interpretations in line with that. I like to think of retcons as new revelations, new plot twists in an ongoing story, and not a way to reset aspects of the past just to fit your story. It works especially well for this because Steph’s socio-economic status doesn’t actually change, there’s just kind of a game of telephone that happens across the decades that leads people to misunderstand. 

One thing worth noting in these early issues is just how much Steph, a 16-year-old girl, has at her disposal before she ever even glimpses Batman and Robin. Literally the first shot we ever see of the Spoiler is this: 

And because I am, in fact, that kind of nerd, I have gone in a couple of times and dug out old era-appropriate electronics magazines to figure out what that piece of equipment would cost you in 1992. Baseline for a parabolic microphone is $600, and that price is for much larger, more delicate pieces of equipment meant to be used for like, outdoor nature shoots, which wouldn’t be able to hear through glass. Steph probably dropped $1,000 on that microphone alone. 

Remember also that her costume is homemade—she doesn’t have any other way of getting it. She’s also shown using some pretty elaborate climbing and painting gear, with no indication that they were stolen or borrowed or anything, and you can see that she’s got a pretty well-stocked utility belt there.

Again, for some reason people tend to forget or overlook this but, right up until she demanded Bruce make her Robin, Steph operated as Spoiler with zero Bat support. She got some hand-to-hand training from Cass late in the game and tagged along on some of Tim’s assignments, but was otherwise being actively discouraged from vigilantism for most of her career. She made her own costume, bought her own equipment, and maintained her own motorcycle, all without the financial support of either Batman or her parents. 

So right off the bat we know she’s a teenage girl with a not-insignificant amount of personal disposable income, the only hinted source of which is the implication she works a part-time job somewhere—which I don’t think is ever brought up again when she reappears in Robin. 

We all know minimum wage went further in 1992 than it does now, but it didn’t go that much further. So it’s reasonable to assume that Steph has access to at least some money from her parents to support her vigilante habit, whether that’s in the form of an allowance, gifts that she carefully manages between Christmas and birthdays, or money that she’s able to just, take from Crystal without her noticing. 

But this page is more important to our current interests because it’s also when we see Steph’s neighborhood for the first time. We’re told here that Steph and her mother (who is called Mrs. Agnes Bellinger in this comic, although it’s possible she was using a fake name to visit her ex in prison) live in what is described as “115 South Holden Street, in Manchester.” 

Now keep in mind, the Gotham City map can be extremely fluid and tends to change depending on the needs of the story. But there have been attempts to map it, and “Manchester” has never been on any of those maps, so we have to do some extrapolation. At the very least, we can tell the neighborhood is clearly not in the city, given the very deliberate angle there in the first panel to show that they’re well away from the crowded downtown Gotham skyline.

This implies that Manchester is intended to be one of the mainland suburbs that feeds the island city of Gotham, similar to Bristol Township where the Wayne and Drake Manors are located. It’s not nearly as nice a neighborhood as Bristol—note the fenced-in front lawns, the broken shutters on the neighboring houses, and the vaguely racist lawn ornament on the Brown’s property—but it’s also not some rundown slum. People aren’t afraid to let kids play in their front yards or leave their garage doors standing open. And you'll note those aren't trailers, either, they're decently-sized suburban homes.

Also worth noting: Crystal seems to keep this house perfectly fine on her own as a single mother. Arthur doesn’t live with them; when he’s shown having residences it tends to be apartments in the city by himself, and it’s not like he could support them from prison or with his ill-gotten criminal gains. And yet, we don’t see Steph or Crystal worrying at all about bills or mortgages or anything like that throughout any of their appearances. We see the interior of their house on several occasions and, while it’s often messy, it’s not in disrepair or neglect.

This is a constant portrayal throughout all of Steph's appearances, from Robin through even her run as Batgirl. So, with that in mind, where does the idea that Steph is poor come from? Well, I’ve got a couple of theories.

One is the usual comics fandom problem: canon is huge, nobody can keep up with all of it, and some people go out of their way to be assholes about it, so misinformation gets spread like wildfire, in no small part because Steph is a character that a lot of people use as a self-insert and therefore she must be the misunderstood underdog in all things.

But on the more-interesting-to-talk-about front… I don’t think it’s controversial to say that Steph’s first big storyline was her pregnancy. Yeah? Like, it’s the first story involving her that really started getting critical attention. Whether it deserves that attention is more open to debate—personally, since reading Icon & Rocket for the first time, I’ve come to view it as Dixon pulling the comic book equivalent of white guys repackaging black music and watering it down—but the important thing right now is that it’s the first time people would’ve been specifically reading the Robin comics for Stephanie Brown. And in those comics, Steph’s house is shown as visibly run-down, covered in cracks and disrepair.

Thing is, there’s a context that people miss if you’re reading for the baby storyline and nothing else: this storyline plays out over the last days of “Aftershock” and early months of “No Man’s Land,” the storyline where Gotham is racked by a destructive earthquake that nearly levels the city and is abandoned by the federal government.

Again, we get the reinforced confirmation that Steph’s house isn’t actually in Gotham because it’s not destroyed in the quake—the neighborhood is damaged and briefly evacuated due to a gas line rupture in the immediate aftermath, but once that’s cleared up they’re free to return home, and their suburb is not part of the federal government's evacuation. Nearly every building in Gotham is shown with similar damage during this time, including Drake Manor. 

This storyline also plays into, I think, the stereotypes that people jump on when it comes to Steph’s socioeconomic status. Like I’ve mentioned before: Arthur is a criminal, Crystal is a drug addict, and Steph is a teen mom. Therefore, they must be poor, right? Because good middle class families supposedly don’t have those kinds of problems.

But, as I’ve mentioned before, that’s an inaccurate stereotype that ignores reality: plenty of drug addicts, criminals and teen moms live in the suburbs. And the Browns’ specific circumstances are distinctly atypical of the stereotype—Arthur’s not some down-on-his-luck thief pushed to crime by economic hardship, he’s an arrogant former gameshow host who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else and resents the world for not handing him the success he feels entitled to. Crystal’s not some crack addict, she’s a working nurse who used to get her doctor friends to write her scripts for prescription painkillers. And Steph is just a teenage girl who slept with a boy and got pregnant, with the costs of prenatal care and/or childrearing never seeming to be a factor in her decision to bring the child to term and give it up for adoption. 

I could go on but that’s pretty much the long and short of it: Steph is simply not shown as being poor in the comics. Ever. She’s not rich, she does clearly rely on her fists much more than any gadgets or fancy gear and lives with her mother rather than moving out on her own for college, but she’s also never shown worrying about student loans and can apparently pay for all her classes with some government assistance and a part-time job alone.

People just assume that she’s poor because they’re misinformed, or they’re projecting, or they’ve got biases they haven’t examined, or they need her to be an underdog to justify their argument against one of the other characters, or they really want her to be buddy-buds with Jason for some reason. 

Or, y’know, they just don’t want to acknowledge that they’re rooting for a middle-class white girl from the suburbs who commutes into the inner city to pick fights for fun. 

#stephanie brown #is this critical? I honestly can't tell I don't think it's criticism to point out that she's not poor #dc comics #batgirls #robin #detective comics #meta #ask me stuff #anon ask #crystal brown #dc #arthur brown #the cluemaster

[i-have-one-braincell]

As someone who hasn't read the Iron Fist comics, at what age is Danny supposed to return? In the show, they're teenagers around 15/16 so if he got another year then 17/18, right? But we've already established that the show's writing can be iffy so I'm curious to know from the official source.

I think there was a Netflix show about him but I'm not a huge fan of real person productions made on comics/books.

Do you have suggestions on where to start reading about Iron fist and the other heroes? I've heard Batman had gone through different writers with different takes - some that are even contradictive of each other - and I don't like it when that happens. And Spider-man? I've been told that the newest aren't as good as the older issues; something about not staying true to his character.

Oooff don’t watch the live action Iron Fist show. I’m begging you.

In the comics, Danny entered K’un L’un when he was 9 years old and won the Iron Fist when he was 19. He was given the offer to eat a plant that would make him immortal and to continue residing in K’un L’un as their weapon but Danny declined and left the city when the next opening have opened to return to New York for revenge. So he returned to New York at age 19.

From the show, I believe he entered K’un L’un when he was about 5 or 6 and left when he was 16 or so.

I recommend reading the Ultimate Spider-Man comics when starting on reading about Peter. He was very well-written in the comics and was an asshole (my fav gender) and we also got Iron Fist in it too but he’s an adult and a daddy and appeared for about 5 issues or so.

For Danny, I say reading the 2014 Iron Fist: The Living Weapon since it’s a more edgy and angsty take on the character and is pretty badass. 2016 Power Man and Iron Fist is a really wholesome comic series of Danny and Luke getting back together again after stopping Heroes For Hire now that Luke is a family man. Both of them are pretty goofy and quite the opposite of how they’re protrayed in the usm.

For Ava, she appears in the Avengers Academy comics but we don’t much of her and doesn’t appear until in the middle of the comic. She is put more on focus in the Mighty Avengers about her control of the amulet and seeking revenge (and also works with Luke Cage and Danny).

Sam would be in his 2013 Nova comics. He’s given more depth and character in his comics than in the show and is not much of an asshole in the comics😭😭.

I’m not entirely big on comics but those are the comics that I read to understand the characters more when writing my Call You Mine fic. I’m not a big fan of the current Spider-Man comics in the main 616 universe since Peter would be written so badly and kept torturing my man😭😭 (I mean I do too but there’s a limit💀). As you said, there’s many writers who writes a single character and would have very different views on the character of how they’re supposed to behave, they can’t stay consistent which is the biggest flaw in current Spider-Man.

Ps. Surprisingly the usm show have their own comic issues as well that I discovered like 2 years ago💀😭. It gives a bit more personality in the characters and Danny is a bit of a doofus in those comics (a good doofus🤭). Its called the 2015 Ultimate Spider-Man (Infinite Comics) if yall want to check it out.

#hope I helped in starting your journey with reading of the gang #im not a big comic book reader myself but these helps me in writing #asks #comics are confusing #so many things to read just to understand a comic issue #its annoying but I dont really care about that and just read it anyway #mcu be going the comic book route in doing that💀

[androxys]

I’m trying to figure out Batman Beyond continuity and it’s making my head hurt SO bad so I’m writing it out here to see if I can make sense of it:

So there‘s the DCAU Continuity, where Terry and Batman Beyond as a concept first originated. This is

Batman Beyond, the show

Batman Beyond (Vol 1), which is the 6 issue mini in 1999

This one seems to have been collected into a TBP just called Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond (Vol 2), which ran for 24 issues in 1999-2001.

It seems like Vol 1 and Vol 2 both happened at the same time/pick up right after the animated show. This DCAU Continuity then continues with

Batman Beyond (Vol 3), which ran for 6 issues in 2010. Various sources claim that this is its own continuity, but while reading it I am satisfied by its apparent continuity with DCAU, and then Vol 4 (below) references its events.

This is collected as Batman Beyond: Hush Beyond

Batman Beyond (Vol 4), which ran for 8 issues in 2011 before Flashpoint cancelled it.

This is collected as Batman Beyond: Industrial Revolution

This is where things get really messy and my brain starts wanting to melt out of my ears.

Batman Beyond (Vol 1)(Digital) follows Vol 4, running for 29 digital-first issues from 2012-2013. This will be physically printed as Batman Beyond Unlimited (Vol 1).

Some, but not all, of these are collected in Batman Beyond: 10,000 Clowns (Collecting #1-13) and Batman Beyond: Batgirl Beyond (#19-28)

As I learned and documented with the Teen Titans (New Teen Titans/New Titans/Titans) reprints and title changes are the bane of my existence.

After that is Batman Beyond 2.0 (Vol 1)(Digital), later physically printed as Batman Beyond Universe (Vol 1). 2.0 ran for 40 issues from 2013-2014, while the physical copies only reprinted 16.

These are collected as Batman Beyond 2.0: Rewired (#1-8); Batman Beyond 2.0: Justice Lords Beyond (#9-12); and Batman Beyond 2.0: Mark of the Phantasm (#13-16).

As for main continuity, then, it seem that in 2014 DC decided to bring Batman Beyond into the mainstream with the Future’s End story.

Batman Beyond (Vol 5)  ran for 16 issues in 2016. It is a direct sequel to the Future’s End series, which I’m not researching here.

Collected in Batman Beyond: Brave New Worlds (#1-6); Batman Beyond: City of Yesterday (#7-11); and Batman Beyond: Wired for Death (#12-16).

After Vol 5 was the DC Rebirth initiative in 2016. Rebirth saw the debut of

Batman Beyond (Vol 6), which ran for 50 issues from 2016-2021

Collected in TPB in Escaping the Grave; Rise of the Demon; The Long Payback; Target: Batman; The Final Joke; Divide, Conquer, Kill; First Flight; and The Eradication Agenda

Currently, the world of Batman Beyond is being published in Batman Beyond: Neo Year (Vol 1). This is a 6 issue limited series being published from April-September 2022 (Cover dates June-October). Neo Year follows a story in Batman: Urban Legends (Vol 1) #7, wherein Terry has to solve the murder of Bruce Wayne. I believe this is the same continuity as Vol 5 and Vol 6, but I haven’t read it yet, so I may be wrong.

And... I think that’s all of it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read some Flash. That’s a continuity that’s not convoluted at all.

#dc comics #comic reading list #batman beyond #batman #chit chat

[orphancookie69]

DC Universe: In Order!

Have you ever watched an animated Constatine? He is way cooler in animation and comic books...Anyways. I stumbled upon that movie first with my partner, and he told me that there is an order to the DC Universe and this movie was like way on the bottom of the list. We decided to watch it in order, but the order is not self explanatory. 

This is for your reference (and source): https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/dc-animated-movies-in-order/

Order Up: 

1) Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)

We know these characters all have their own stories, but this is the point that they come together into their own grouping in this universe. This movie resets all the rules you think you know. 

2) Justice League: War (2014)

This is an important point they get back to later in the storyline. It helps to bring and keep these guys together. 

3) Son of Batman (2014)

This gets more into Batman’s story, but remember everything connects and leads to other things. 

4) Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)

This is a call to action from the team that shows the underwater world but also adds to the team. 

5) Batman vs Robin (2015)

This explores the conflict that creates the super hero icons true selves, but we all have daddy issues. 

6) Batman: Bad Blood (2016)

This is pretty neat for seeing how big the Bat Family actually gets. 

7) Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)

This introduces the Teen Titans into universe and helps to (eventually) establish a younger and older set of heroes. 

8) Justice League: Dark (2017)

This is where you get more in the mix, Constatine’s group is pretty cool and works well with a group of supers. 

9) Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)

A fun little installment from our youthful heroes. 

10) Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)

This universe is a little interesting as even vilians get to switch sides and join the party. It’s not a party until they show up...right?

11) The Death of Superman (2018)

This is a pretty iconic point in comics and animation both, it has even been said that Superman is being compared to Jesus.

12) Constantine: City of Demons (2018)

Really any of these that have Constatine are awesome. 

13) Reign of the Supermen (2019)

With the death of one superman, you get many revivals. Not unlike Jesus right? Sorry not sorry. 

14) Batman: Hush (2019)

Between Batman’s day job, child, night time hobby, and his new friends...its not like he needs more to do does he? 

15) Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)

Some people get no back story movies, some get a lot. This is Wonder Woman’s back story. 

16) Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)

The year starts to catch up with us now. This name, if you watched the movies in order, is mentioned more in the beginning. Its the big bads name and his effect on earth. 

17) DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery (2022)

While I do think this is in two collections, one in this set of films and two in the DC showcase collection, this picks up where no16 left off. 

I loved the animation, the old school lore, the comic book origins. A proper mix of characters. No 16 was supposed to be the last but they are adding to it. Which is awesome. I personally prefer this to MCU but I wonder if this wasn’t inspired by DCU? Have you seen any of these? Did you watch them in order because of this post? 

#rant #hbo max #now watching #dc #nerd #geek #dc universe #dc showcase constantine house of mystery #justice league dark: apokolips war #Wonder Woman: Bloodlines #Batman: Hush #Reign of the Supermen #Constantine: City of Demons #The Death of Superman #suicide squad: hell to pay #Teen Titans: The Judas Contract #Justice League: Dark #Justice League vs. Teen Titans #Batman: Bad Blood #Batman vs Robin #Justice League: Throne of Atlantis #Son of Batman #Justice League: War #Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox #order up

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

"No one's coming"

by Jlynn105

whumptober day 16

Dick gets kidnapped for the first time after leaving home and realizes he may miss his family more than he thought.

Words: 2453, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 16 of Whumtober 2022

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Batman (Comics)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth

Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Robin, Hurt Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson-centric, Dick Grayson Has Issues, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Protective Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Drunken Confessions, Kidnapping, Kidnapped Dick Grayson, Whump, Whumptober 2022

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/42441501

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the cape crusader #gotham #dc universe #ao3 #ao3feed

[dan6085]

Top 20 Cartoon TV Series of All Time:

Choosing the "top" anything is always subjective, but here are 20 animated TV series that are widely considered to be among the best of all time, along with some reasons why:

**1. The Simpsons (1989-present):** A satirical look at American society, with sharp wit, memorable characters, and cultural impact that's unmatched.

**2. SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present):** Absurdist humor, iconic characters, and surprisingly deep themes make this show a classic for all ages.

**3. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008):** A rich world, complex characters, and engaging story make this show a masterpiece of animation.

**4. Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995):** Dark, atmospheric, and faithful to the source material, this show redefined superhero animation.

**5. South Park (1997-present):** Crude humor and biting satire tackle current events and social issues with hilarious results.

**6. Futurama (1999-2013):** Sci-fi comedy with clever writing, memorable characters, and surprisingly emotional moments.

**7. Adventure Time (2010-2018):** A seemingly simple show with surprisingly deep themes, imaginative world-building, and lovable characters.

**8. Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015):** Clever humor, catchy songs, and endless creativity make this show a joy to watch.

**9. Rugrats (1991-2004):** relatable characters, imaginative storylines, and surprisingly mature themes make this show a classic for kids and adults alike.

**10. Rick and Morty (2013-present):** Sci-fi comedy with dark humor, complex characters, and mind-bending storylines.

**11. The Powerpuff Girls (1998-2005):** Action-packed, funny, and empowering, this show broke barriers for female characters in animation.

**12. Tom and Jerry (1940-present):** Slapstick comedy that's timeless and hilarious, with iconic characters and endless creativity.

**13. Scooby-Doo (1969-present):** A classic mystery franchise with memorable characters, fun adventures, and spooky mysteries.

**14. The Flintstones (1960-1966):** A hilarious and satirical look at modern society set in the Stone Age, with iconic characters and timeless humor.

**15. Pokémon (1997-present):** A global phenomenon with engaging characters, exciting adventures, and a focus on friendship and teamwork.

**16. Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996):** Action-packed anime with epic battles, memorable characters, and a powerful story.

**17. The Jetsons (1962-1963, 1985-1987):** A futuristic sitcom with relatable characters, imaginative gadgets, and a humorous look at the future.

**18. Kim Possible (2002-2007):** A strong female protagonist, exciting adventures, and witty humor make this show a classic.

**19. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985):** A classic action-adventure cartoon with iconic characters, epic battles, and a focus on good vs. evil.

**20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996):** Pizza-loving, crime-fighting turtles with a unique blend of action, humor, and teenage angst.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and there are many other fantastic animated TV series out there. However, these 20 shows have earned their place among the best of all time due to their lasting impact, cultural significance, and ability to entertain and engage audiences of all ages.

[spoilertv]

#SpoilerTV

[monriatitans]

Realism is Bad, Actually

Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: https://wren.co/start/zoebee The first 100 people who sign up will have 10 extra trees planted in their name!

* Description: * We say we love "realistic" fiction like Batman, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Horizon: Forbidden West. We say we love when our characters "act like real people" and "have realistic dialogue." But it's worth asking: Are these things ACTUALLY realistic? And if not, is realism even worth trying to capture?

* chapters: * 00:00:00 - Intro: Concrete Monsters 00:04:17 - Part 1: Using Realism 00:10:34 - Part 2: Investigating Realism 00:17:27 - Part 3: Criticizing Realism 00:40:32 - Intermission 00:43:17 - Part 4: Replacing Realism 00:59:16 - Conclusion: Sounds Good 01:08:39 - Outro & Poem

* Sources: * ---Books ------“Gamic Realism”: Player, Perception and Action in Video Game Play - Hanna Sommerseth ------Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds - Jesper Juul ------Hunting the Dark Knight - Will Brooker ------Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist - James Gurney ------Maps of the Imagination - Peter Turchi ------Method and Madness - Alice LaPlante ------reality tv: realism and revelation - Anita Biressi and Heather Nunn ------Rules of Play - Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen ------The American Monomyth -  Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence ------The Militarization of Childhood - ed. J. Marshall Beier ------The Rules of Play - Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman ------What is Cinema? - Andre Bazin 

---Articles ------“A Grounded Investigation of Game Immersion” - Emily Brown and Paul Cairns ------“Foley Sounds vs Real Sounds” - Stefano Trento and Amalia De Götzen ------“Footsteps with character: the art and craft of Foley” - Benjamin Wright ------“Making fictions sound real – On film sound, perceptual realism and genre” - Birger Langkjær ------“Perceived realism and the CSI-effect” - Logan A. Ewanation, Susan Yamamoto, Jordan Monnink & Evelyn M. Maeder ------“Reading Realism: Audiences’ Evaluations fo the Reality of Media Texts” - Alice Hall ------“Realism in FIFA? How social realism enabled platformed racism in a video game” - Sam Srauy and John Cheney-Lippold ------“Selling Marvel's Cinematic Superheroes through Militarization” - Brett Pardy ------“Skeleton Keys: Teaching the Fiction of Narrative Truth” - Douglas P. Felter ------“Social Realism in Gaming” - Alexander R. Galloway ------“The One Measure of True Love Is: You Can Insult the Other” (Interview) - Sabine Reul and Thomas Deichman ------“The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television” - Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter ------“Videogames of the oppressed: critical thinking, education, tolerance and other trivial issues” - Gonzalo Frasca 

---Videos ------"Reality Isn’t Always Right" - Solar Sands (   • Reality Isn't Alw...  )  ------"SHUT UP ABOUT PLOT HOLES" - Patrick (H) Willems (   • SHUT UP ABOUT PLO...  )  ------"What's the Point of R-Rated Superheroes?" - Patrick (H) Willems (   • What's the Point ...  ) ------"Why Do We Care if Movies Are "Realistic?" - Patrick (H) Willems (   • Why Do We Care if...  )  ------“MASSIVE sound design breakdown of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” - INDEPTH Sound Design (   • MASSIVE sound des...  ) 

* Further Watching: * ---"How Animal Sounds Are Made For Movies And TV | Movies Insider" - Movie Insider (   • How Animal Sounds...  )  ---"Does Representation Matter?" - Legal Kimchi (   • Does Representati...  ) 

* quote reads (in order of appearance) * ---Caelan Conrad ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaelanConrad ------YouTube:   / caelanconrad   ---Mica (Ponderful) ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/PonderfulYT ------YouTube:   / @ponderfulyt   ---Little Hoot ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/hoot_little ------YouTube:   / littlehoot   ---Aranock ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aranock1 ------YouTube:   / @aranock   

* edited by Charlie Flowers * YouTube:   / @xxinrealtimexx   Twitter: https://twitter.com/xXinrealtimeXx 

* To Support Me: * ---Become a channel Member! ➤   / @zoe_bee   ---Join the Patreon! ➤ https://www.patreon.com/zoe_bee ---Make a one-time donation! ➤ https://ko-fi.com/zoebee ---Join the Discord! ➤ https://discord.gg/8GBmS9Qug9 ---Check out my second channel! ➤   / @zoecee   ---Watch my D&D game! ➤   / @thejaycorn   ---Watch my Blades in the Dark game! ➤ https://www.twitch.tv/itucrew 

(disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Wren.)

#Zoe Bee #realism #realism is bad #plausibility #typicality #factuality #involvement #narrative consistency #perceptual pervasiveness #what is realism #immersion #mirroring experience #mirroring reality #emotionally evocative #idealized version of reality #audience story contract #dress-up

[generousqueen21]

#3

[Batboys plus Bruce gather round at a booth in Bat Burger]

Bruce: We should have met in the cave.

Dick: C'mon Bruce, it's fine. Everyone's tired of Alfred's cucumber sandwiches. We're all here, so enjoy, talk. We'll listen.

Everyone staring at Bruce: ...

Bruce: Fine. But if Alfred gets word of your cucumber sandwich remark...

Bruce: ...God help us all.

#dick grayson x reader #batboys imagine #batman fandom #jason todd x reader #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #damian wayne #damian wayne x reader #dc comics #duke thomas #duke the night #Source: Batman Issue 16 #jason todd #damain wayne

[ufonaut]

this is a very niche complaint about a little known comic that’s nearly a decade old at this point -- and aimed at a younger audience, on top of all that -- but i recently read the all new batman: the brave and the bold #7 off what’s clearly a very bad recommendation and i sincerely can’t get over the fact that it manages to misunderstand alan scott/the original green lantern in favour of propping up batman to such a horrible degree it’s like nothing i’ve ever seen before. hell, it’s the kind of writing i find to be downright offensive to anyone who’s ever read a single alan scott comic before, let alone to fans of the character

the plot revolves around batman running into green lantern while on patrol early in his career and the following interaction takes place:

(the all new batman: the brave and the bold 2011 #7)

this is a symptom of a much larger problem regarding the public perception of alan scott as an elder statesman, as one of the ultimate powerhouses around, as a typical hero. that’s bothered me for a long long time and i find its source to be the way he’d been written in jsa 1999 & what came after but the specific way it’s put into words here, especially for the sole purpose of justifying batman’s existence as is, is plain ridiculous in ways i barely have words for.

the issue not only completely ignores the undeniable fact that alan’s motivation has always been plainly vengeance in every single version of his origin ever published

(”Alan reels homeward... a mad light in his eyes... revenge in his heart!” // all-american comics 1939 #16)

(”Then I’m going to find out if this was Dekker’s doing! And if it was I’ll kill him!” // secret origins 1986 #18)

(”It promised me power... power that I’d need to avenge my friends.” // green lantern corps quarterly 1992 #1)

but it elects to also overlook the fact that for the vast majority of his career alan had been fighting for the little guy, so to speak. costumed supervillains are few and far between during the height of alan’s days as the green lantern and throughout his appearances in every single title of the jsa’s heydey (all-american comics 1939, green lantern 1941, comic cavalcade 1942, all star comics 1940) he’d fought almost entirely mobsters, racketeers, saboteurs and small-time crooks. i’d be hard-pressed to name a single hero on par with alan’s powerset that has dealt with cosmic threats any less than he has!

what we see in the brave and the bold isn’t a particularly uncommon sentiment in the modern era but its bluntness took me aback like few takes do nowadays and i simply can’t stand to see something so utterly devoid of any trace of knowledge regarding who alan scott really is.

(green lantern 1941 #14, for those keeping track!)

#alan scott #green lantern #bruce wayne #batman #dc #u can reblog #ITS SUCH A NICHE THING I KNOW I KNOW BUT IM SO MAD

[rael-rider]

Unfortunately the Guardians run didnt end, it was confirmed by sources it was officially CANCELED by Marvel so I doubt Ewing will come back for the inevitable reboot/relaunch of the team with the movies starting production this year and also game (that is still influence style wise by the movies) soon in October. Sad truth unfortunately is that the Gotg in the comics dont have as much as popularity like the movies & marvel will be forever be trying to capture that in the comics for their benefit

It was cancelled but the thing is that no one knows why. A lot of the websites that reported on them had the last page as the proof and form what I've read even people who have insider info don't know what's going on. Until Ewing or someone that officially is from Marvel has announcements about it I'll believe it.

If you're implying it was sales wise? GotG sold above cancellation levels (and more than some current ongoings and characters that are now considered MCU A-lists but I'll get there in a minute). Because of Marvel leaving Diamond there aren't exact sales info but from what is estimated this comic was in the 30k and 40k range (issue #17 from what I heard was like 43k).

According to Comichron for the month of July 2021 Guardians of the Galaxy #16 is estimated to have sold 35,403 which was more than what was estimated for Captain Marvel #30 (33,737), Captain America #30 (28,190) and Iron Man (26,717).

Yeah Guardians was selling better than those titles and both Captain Marvel and Iron Man are still going and are still selling lower than Guardians.

Which brings me to this next thing

Sad truth unfortunately is that the Gotg in the comics dont have as much as popularity like the movies

Yeah and neither does Iron Man.

Iron Man is super popular in the MCU (the whole franchise was even built around him) but when it comes to comics he's always been B-list when it comes to popularity and sales (and a lot of this can be said for the other Avengers that they do OK to bad alone but sell like crazy when they're in a team). The true giants of comics with both Marvel and DC have always been Amazing Spider-Man and Batman. When it comes to Marvel alone it was Amazing Spider-Man at the top, then Uncanny X-Men (something that Marvel almost killed for stupid reasons), and Avengers started enjoying a lot of success after Bendis relaunched the title post Disassembled to the point that Jason Aaron's run can pretty well.

I can tell you having firsthand experience when it happened that whatever synergy was made with the comics and cartoon during the time GotG was at the height of its popularity didn't help sales wise for the comics and the Guardians cartoon had poor ratings.

Now Bendis' run, which is considered the most awful GotG run, sold really good (and there's a lot of reasons for that which would require another post) and yeah hype for the movie helped him but in terms of synergy Bendis didn't really do much of it (his run came out years before the movies did and was probably being written before Gunn was on board and if anything could have been based on the drafts which had Spartax in it) so it wasn't because of synergy that it sold, and besides MCU roster when he started (plus Iron Man and Angela) his comic couldn't be any more different from Gunn's movies.

Bendis eventually somewhat synergized with the movies after his X-Men/Guardians crossover and well after the movie was out and it was mostly cosmetic stuff and some personality changes like Drax getting flanderized as the guy who takes everything literally (and you could tell when Bendis saw the movie because that shift in how he wrote Drax was very noticeable). Even then he did things like include a lot of characters that weren't Guardians and he bumped Peter off for a short while to make Kitty Star-Lord and there came a point where his sales were going down but that had more to do with the fact that his popularity was going down, his style of writing was becoming predictable, and people realized he had no good long term plans for Guardians (he ended his run by having his last arc being a tie in to Civil War II and the Guardians being on Earth).

But everyone that synergized with the movies during that time just produced cheap imitation of Gunn's plot for the first movie, heavy character flanderization, and nothing helped their sales.

As for the Eidos-Montreal game, it has some movie influence,yes, but a lot of it's selling point it's also that it takes stuff from both the movies and the comics and it makes it's own thing. Abnett was even brought in to promote the game and he has no involvement in writing it.

And judging from the story in the game it takes from the MCU, Annihilation, the DnA era, Jim Starlin (particularly part of Drax's origin in the game), and other comic influences. One reviewer that was talking about the recent demo for the game that I saw even said that he didn't care about the Guardians outside of the movies and that he had no positive expectations for this game so the movie's popularity alone didn't help there with him. What made him like the game besides the gameplay was that the game felt different than the movie to him, that it had its own lore and feel and it made him interested in that particular universe. As a matter in fact one criticism he had was that Rocket's VA was trying too hard to impersonate Bradley Cooper and it was distracting to him.

MCU synergy also didn't save Marvel vs Capcom Infinite and all the shitty problems that it had and they couldn't replace the popularity the X-Men had with the gaming community.

So if Marvel Comics is truly wanting to synergize with the MCU again then they have learned nothing because that really didn't help them before when they tried it.

#And from what I've seen it's because no one can write James Gunn humor like James Gunn #which also doesn't translate well into writing #because it's akward and sometimes hit or miss and it relies on comedic timing #Also people cannot get MCU Peter Quill right #like they make him into a clown and an idiot and he's not that #he has arrested development and other flaws but he was never an idiot #I can even argue that the Russos also didn't get some aspects of him right #and I'm well aware that Gunn wrote his dialogue there #but the Russos still directed were his character was going #that's another rant for another time #wondyanswers

[pluckyredhead]

Do you have a reading list recommendation for comics with Roy Harper? Also I love your blog ❤️

Yes! The short version is that you should pick up anything written by Devin Grayson or Judd Winick, who are the best and second best Roy writers out there IMO. The longer version is this:

Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85-86, a.k.a. “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” and “They Say It’ll Kill Me...But They Won’t Say When” by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams: This is the original Roy addiction storyline from the 70s. It’s definitely dated but once your brain adjusts to Bronze Age art and storytelling it’s absolutely brilliant and gorgeous and heartbreaking. It’s also a groundbreaking moment in comics history for its unvarnished and sympathetic portrayal of drug addicts. And of course it’s probably the most important thing that ever happened to the character and hugely pivotal for his relationships with Ollie, Hal, and Dinah.

The New Teen Titans (1984) #20-21 by Marv Wolfman and George Perez: Roy discovers he’s a father and meets Lian.

Batman Plus Arsenal by Devin Grayson and Rodolfo Damaggio: A one shot but there’s so much good character stuff in here oh my god.

Arsenal #1-4 by Devin Grayson and Rick Mays: There’s a plot about Vandal Savage trying to harvest Roy and Lian’s organs but mostly this is a deep character study and exploration of Roy’s relationships with Ollie, Dinah, and Connor, and UGH it’s so freaking good.

The Titans (1999) #1-25 by Devin Grayson and Mark Buckingham: If you like team books with lots of complicated feelings, you need to read this. I pretty much draw all my headcanon about Roy’s relationships with Donna and Cheshire and his own self-destructive romantic tendencies from this series. It ran for 50 issues, but the first 25 by Grayson are the good ones - there’s more Roy stuff in the back half of the series but it’s a different writer and simply not as good.

Green Arrow (2001) #16-21, a.k.a. “The Archer’s Quest” by Brad Meltzer and Phil Hester: Full disclosure: I don’t actually like this story, but it’s a pretty major Ollie ‘n’ Roy teamup adventure and most people like it more than I do. The art’s good! Roy pets some puppies! *shrug*

Outsiders (2003) #1-33 by Judd Winick and Tom Raney: Do you want Roy as a super badass emotionally intuitive leader and A+ dad who is EXTREMELY homoerotic with Dick but also very much enjoys being topped by dangerous ladies? Well, this is the book for you!

Green Arrow (2001) #32 by Judd Winick and Manuel Garcia: Roy and Connor go out for a night on the town and discover that they do actually have things in common despite being very different people. It’s a crime that we don’t have more Roy and Connor team ups but this one is A+.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) and Red Hood/Arsenal by Scott Lobdell and various artists: ...Sigh. Look. These are bad comics. They are actively terrible. BUT they are the source of the Jason/Roy relationship and like so many bad comics, they steer so hard into macho nonsense that they just wind up being homoerotic. Also you should pick up Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #25 and Annual #2 if you want to cry about how much Jason and Roy love each other and how Roy’s dead now. SIGH AGAIN.

#roy harper #speedy #arsenal #red arrow #dc-sidekick-support-group #comics recs

[bitimdrake]

any canon validity to the concept of dick, not bruce, being the one to name the bat parts of the cave? ie BATcave BATmobile BATcomputer etc?

I had to do some digging for this one!

I could be missing an earlier appearance, but at the very least, Bruce talks about the “batgyro” (i.e. plane) and “baterang” in Detective Comics #31 from 1939, which was published before Dick’s first appearance in Detective Comics #38, 1940.

[Two panels cropped together. Bruce stands beside a plane, holding a boomerang, both with bat aesthetics. He says, “Two new weapons. My Batgyro in which to follow Julie and...” The narration continues, “The flying baterang, modeled after the Australian bushman’s boomerang!”]

...but continuity is a funny thing in comics.

Those issues are from the golden age, which has long-since been declared as a different Earth in the multiverse, i.e., not the actual Bruce and Dick that we all know and love. Like--the batcomputer was introduced well after the other bat-things on this list because computers didn’t exist when Batman was created, but in any modern conception of Batman, he definitely had a computer from day one.

The golden age was followed by the silver and bronze ages, and there’s no single answer to what exactly from those eras still “counts” as canon in any modern continuity. Starting in 1986, we finally reach Post-Crisis continuity, at which point everything is confirmed canon. (Though still sometimes contradicts itself, because comics.) By that point, Dick had already grown up and become Nightwing, so everything we can say for sure about Batman and Robin’s early years comes from flashbacks, prequels, and characters discussing it.

The post-Crisis origin of Batman is my beloathed Batman: Year One (which I have skimmed back through for this post; that’s the kind of sacrifice I’ll make for a kind anon). This story occurs before Bruce met Dick, and Bruce does talk about naming the Batcave.

[A panel from Batman #406 showing the grounds of Wayne Manor. Bruce’s narration reads, “[...] If my family manor weren’t placed over a huge cave...the Batcave, I call it.”]

Comics being what they are, even Year One isn’t an entirely solid source--multiple elements of it, like Catwoman’s backstory, have been (blessedly) retconned since--but I can’t personally recall any comic that mentions or even alludes to Dick being the one to create the bat-names.

The third continuity to talk about here is the New 52, which I have not read. However, new52!Dick became Robin when he was 16, so he definitely wasn’t the cheerful child typically imagined in this theory.

so tl;dr: No, there is not any canon basis for this.

That being said, imo it would still completely work with established characterizations. Bruce is a dramatic enough man to give all his tools bat names, if you prefer the canon version. But Bruce is also broody and dark enough (and, in most versions of the story, didn’t even come up with the name ‘Batman,’ but was dubbed such by the press) that I could fully believe a version where it was actually a bubbly kid who gave all his super-serious vigilante tools theme naming.

#bruce wayne #dick grayson #batfam #batman #robin #nightwing #dc #* #*dc #dc meta #anon #ask #thanks for the ask!