#grant morrison's Batman and Robin run was so fun to read

[look-how-they-massacred-them]

Talia Al Ghul

Submission reason:

she was like a very fun and interesting complex character, but then 9/11 happened and she's middle eastern so they were like got to make her just plain ol' evil so they made her a bit of a rapist, amongst other things

This one writer, Grant Morrison, took her existing character and massacred it through a racist and sexist retcon. Morrison made her a rapist, removed a lot of her depth (haven’t read this specific run because of how badly it treated Talia, there’s better things out there so forgive a lack of details), and just made her character worse. Plus, the run had continued effects which made her continue in the worse state.

After Grant Morrison's run, she was turned into the person to SA Batman, every fucking adaptation and official material insists on having her conceive Damian without Bruce's consent. Not only that, they like to depict her as a shitty mom. They also had her sleep with Jason, you know, the teenage adopted son of her beloved, who she helped heal after he crawled out of his grave.

Racist writing and misogyny. General Grant Morrison writing

Everything about her was completey changed because racist wrier couldn't bother to check what exactly happened in older comics they decided to reference

Grant Morrison took a noncanonical story in which she and Batman were in a committed relationship and totally consensually got pregnant and adapted that into main continuity by having Talia drug Bruce and rape him. For no reason other than Brown Woman Bad.

she's literally made into racist caricature, also she used to be a fashion queen and now she only wears either some black catsuit or same green top and skirt most of the time

Talia is the mother of Damian Wayne. Originally, she and Bruce had him consensually. Her morals were grayer than Bruce's, but she was a good person. They changed it so that Talia r*ped Bruce to have Damian. Nowadays, she's a horrible person! She user to be torn between Bruce and her legacy as an Al Ghul, but look at how she is now! Eugh!

While the treatment of Talia's character has never been perfect and was always marred with racism, she was a complex and nuanced morally grey character who functioned as one of Batman's main love interests for decades. Then a writer named Grant Morrison (they/them) used her as a mom for his new character, Damian Wayne (who later became the fifth Robin), without bothering to read up on her, resulting in her turning into complete racial stereotype of a heinous child abuser and heartless, coldblooded assassin who had to drug Batman to have sex with him (ie she's a rapist too now). This massacre happened in 2006 and this has since become her default characterization. Increasingly, there have been attempts made to lessen the severity of it, but since this massacre is intrinsic to Damian's character, it's extremely unlikely she'll ever recover from it.

Propaganda:

Also before Grant Morrison ever even got their hands on her she also was repeatedly killed and resurrected in rapid successikn in an explicit effort to break her mind and brainwash her into being evil, which succeeded. This had no real lasting impact but I definitely think it adds to the character massacre complete picture.

TALIA IS AMAZING AND SHE SO INTERESTING AND FUN IN STUFF THAT HASN’T BEEN RUINED BY THE MASSACRE. SORRY FOR YELLING I JUST LOVE HER AND REALLY NEED TO GO READ MORE STUFF WITH HER IN IT.

Like many Talia stans I prefer for her to be depicted as a mom figure for Jason, it's fair for us to ignore canonical shipping from the company that allows BrucexBabs and who deaged Vicki Vale (the reporter they had Bruce and Dick competing to date) so they could ship her with Tim Drake

I'm an aroace but miss al Ghul can always get it

She's cooler than you

she's really cool <3

#look how they massacred them poll #look how they massacred my girl #talia al ghul #dc comics #dc talia al ghul #propaganda post

[invisibletoothpasteman]

Batman Day Comic Recommendation List

In honour of this day, I've compiled a list of 9 batman, or batman adjacent comics that I think everyone should check out (specifically fans who aren't super familiar with the comics yet). They're my "Batman Necessities" so to speak:

Batman by Grant Morrison: While there are certain some interesting things in this book that aren't really my favourite (a consequence of Morrison writing it), overall it captures such, for lack of a better word, camp. It's has the kind of creativity that makes silver age comics so fun while still remaining modern and serious. There are some great stories, it introduces Damian, and overall is just such a compelling run. In the same vein we get to...

Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison: Ok yeah this pretty similar to the above but I had to include both. I actual prefer this short series to Morrison's run on the main Batman book. It features Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin and is a great role reversal of the traditional Batman and Robin. The two of them have such a great dynamic and it takes place during such an interesting time in the Batman mythos with Bruces "death" (which I'll admit I wished lasted for longer. Honestly, any book from this era is a blast because of the brief change in the status quo.

Batman Vol. 1 #408-416, #421-425: If you're new to comics don't be intimidated by all the numbers! Batman 408 introduces Jason Todd's Post Crisis backstory and then the issues roll right up to his death. It's a pretty self contained story, and super easy to fly through. I think these are some of the most painfully underrated batman issues. Speaking of Jason's death, my next recommendation is...

Death in the Family + A Lonely Place of Dying: I won't say much because these are just classics and probably the most impactful comics for the Batman mythos ever. Read them.

Batman: Year One: If you want a good ol' Bruce Wayne Batman comic, this is the one. Beautiful art, timeless story, what's not to enjoy? It's also very influential for other Batman media(like The Batman movie) so if you liked that and want a good entrance into comics, this is a great place to start. It's a contained story too, which is really nice if you don't want to have to piece together stuff you missed from other comics. Definitly my favourite Frank Miller Batman story.

Nightwing Vol. 4 #78-: Sure, it's not Batman, but like it or not, Dick Grayson will always be an essential Batman character. Tom Taylor's and Bruno Redondo's run is a big hit for a reason. It's simultaneously fun, heartfelt, and impactful and the writing and art work so well together. It's such a treat to read every month and while it starts great, I feel like as it goes along it starts ironing out and issues I had with it. Great if you want to get into something ongoing (or even if you don't, read it anyways)!

Scott Snyder's Batman (specifically Batman vol 2. #1-12): New 52 was a tumultuous time in DC comics. On the bright side we got the court of owls out of it! Another really good Bruce Wayne Batman story that doesn't need any outside knowledge. I'm in love with Greg Capullo's art, it suits the series so well. The court of owls is such an interesting addition to batman, and honestly it feels like it's a much older part of the batman mythos it was added so seamlessly. If you want a taste of just a solid, simply batman story, this is it.

Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi: This is some of the best New 52 has to offer. I love how Tomasi writes Damian, and I'm a sucker for his dynamic with Bruce. It's a just gives off the best, action packed comic fun vibes. When it's written well it's written WELL and even when it's not quite as perfect it's still solid. Lots of sweet moments too, which I am such a sucker for. And finally we get to the last rec on my list...

Robin: Son of Batman by Gleason (especially issues 1-6): Ok, yes yes I know it's not really a batman book. But just like Nightwing, Robin is an essential part of Batman and how could I leave out my favourite comic ever. Seriously, this book fundamentally changed me when I first read it. Gleason writing, Gray's art, and Kalisz's colouring all combine and complement each other so well. Honestly it's such a joy to look at, and get's even better when you read it. They get Damian, and he shines in this book. The story is tight and impactful and after only 6 issues you'll have such a deep appreciation for the character (and feel like you've been punched in the gut). I recommend everyone take a little bit of time to sit down and give this a read.

And so concludes my great batman recommendation post! Honestly, there's so many more that could be on here that aren't that the best piece of advice I have is pick up any Batman comic that looks interesting to you and give it a go. In all his years, Batman has had such range in his books that there really is something for everyone. Please feel free to add any necessities of your own!

#dc comics #batman #dc #dick grayson #damian wayne #robin #bruce wayne #batfam #nightwing #jason todd #tim drake #red hood #red robin #tom taylor #new 52 #dc robin #alfred pennyworth #batfamily #dc batman #batman day #robin: son of batman #post crisis #bruno redondo

[zahri-melitor]

I've got to say, personally deciding "so I want to make fun of Grant Morrison by specifically riffing off and discussing one of their runs that I don't like reading" was...a choice, when I'm sitting here with an issue of Batman & Robin open again checking that my descriptions match exactly what's in the text (and then making it make sense through what was not included in the art).

Bit of a fail on my part. "I don't like Morrison so I'm going to have to look at some of their comics over and over to work this out."

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Thank you so much for the Jason review rec list! It motivates me to start reading his comics, tbh. It helps tremendously that you put so many details of his characterization in it, because it prepares me of the way hes written in it! :D I do have a question, which is: in your opinion, which of runs have the most consistent writing/characterization? Ive heard that hes written.. very inconsistently bcs they dont know how to write him (wont let him be an anti-hero or challenge batman, which also brings me to another question on what counts as his true characterization; is it him before the n52 reboot?) Thank you!

I'm really glad to hear that! I hope you have lots of fun exploring Jason comics :D

Wow are both of those questions very difficult to answer! But I shall do my best to under the cut!

Most runs are very internally consistent with regards to his characterization. Jason will stay mostly the same throughout the run, or have an actual character arc that keeps him feeling like the same character throughout.

Batman and Robin (2009) is a notable because Jason is written by two different authors in it, and Grant Morrison's Jason and Judd Winick's Jason have very different vibes.

What people usually mean when they say he's written inconsistently is that every author has a different take on what Jason should be like, and they all have a different idea about what kind of story they want to tell using him.

Judd Winick read Hush and thought something along the lines of "Wow this story would have been so much better if Jason had actually been the one behind everything that happened here!" and so he wrote Under the Red Hood, and made Jason into Evil Batman: someone with all of Batman's methods and techniques, yet without the commitment not to kill and with a serious thirst for vengeance.

Grant Morrison wanted a much more traditional Batman villain. Villains who blame Bruce for all their problems despite Bruce not actually being at fault and then killing people about it are pretty common. Morrison took that idea and used Jason to fit this mold in a new era where Bruce was gone and Dick Grayson took up the Batman mantle.

Scott Lobdell wanted a story about redemption and healing and family. So Jason gets repeatedly paired with other people to care for or to love and shown parallels in his own life that force him to confront his own unwillingness to forgive and become a much, much gentler person.

The authors of The Man Who Stopped Laughing were faced with the challenge of finding a suitable antagonist for the Joker. Jason is a character with enough of a violent streak to actually be menacing to the embodiment of all evil that is the Joker. But that requires bringing out that murderous streak, and thereby countering Lobdell's characterization.

Which of these is the true characterization?

None of them.

All of them.

One True Characterization can't exist in comics. Especially not DC comics which has a policy of almost routinely destroying their entire multiverse and building it back up from scratch.

Every character's personality is an aggregate of all the different stories that have been told about them. Those stories are told by dozens of different people, in a constantly shifting setting, full of characters who are also written by dozens of different people. What is and isn't canon changes constantly. All you can do is read a bunch of comics and get the general vibe of a character from that.

Jason's characterizations in particular have been so widely different that it's hard to figure out what exactly you should count as being true to him.

The reason many people may point to pre-new52 comics as 'true' characterization is that an important part of characterizing is keeping in mind the events the character has gone through and how those might impact their thinking and worldview. During the time span of around 1980-2009 DC comics were written such that it was pretty easy to make a timeline of events for any given character. Post-new52 I and many others find it nearly impossible to tell what history any of the characters have.

In between 2009 and now there have been at least two or three reboots. So, for any comic passed 2009 here is a list of questions about Jason that I can't answer:

Has Jason ever been to prison?

Did Jason fight Tim in Titan's Tower?

Was the Red Robin identity originally held by Jason?

Did Jason ever attempt to be Batman?

Has Jason actually stabbed Tim before?

Did Jason ever shoot Damian and Dick?

Does Jason remember the time he spent multiverse hopping with Donna Troy and Kyle Raynor?

Did he ever have tentacles?

Does he know that Dick has killed people? For that matter: Has Dick killed anyone?? Did Blockbuster ever exist??? Is that time he killed the Joker counted as canon still????

Did Jason ever kidnap Mia Dearden?

How many people has Jason killed? I can't even tell you if he's killed less or more than 100

Did the All-Caste thing happen?? Did Lost Days happen???

Was he involved in Hush?

These are really important questions! The list does not stop there either!

This uncertainty does not invalidate the newer comics, but the nature of the reboots does mean that the already difficult task of getting a 'true Jason' is impossible. You have to take every reboot as a reboot, meaning that new-52 Jason and Rebirth Jason and 2005-2009 Jason are literally alternate universe versions of each other. This is both true on a meta level, and has been written into the canon of the fictional world he lives in. Arguing that one is more real than the other is futile.

(Though it does mean that if you want a stable timeline, starting with 2005-2009 era comics is a good idea. It's easier to follow along with what is supposed to have happened and when. It also contains the majority of the events that fandom likes to play off of.)

The versions I like best reside mostly in the 2005-2009 era, and that's true for most of the other Jason fans that I follow on Tumblr, but I know of a few blogs who much prefer Rebirth Jason and neither of us can definitively prove that one Jason or the other is more valid or canon or true or whatever.

Most arguments about which Jason is the true Jason will just come down to personal preference anyways. Many, many people could write essays, pulling up sources and comic panels, to argue very effectively that I'm wrong about Brothers In Blood and Batman and Robin (2009) #1-#6 being in character for him. That's okay. It's cool even! The fact that he is messy and complicated and can be interpreted so many different ways is great! As you read, you'll find out which versions appeal to you best and they might be very different than mine!

My biggest advice is to read each author's rendition of Jason with an open mind, and an open heart, and just see if you like it!

Don't worry about searching out the real Jason. Just vibe with the stories that have been made about him and think about how each appeals or doesn't appeal to you. If you start reading, you'll develop an understanding of him. Your personal interactions with the art/stories will always be more valuable than figuring out the fan or authorial consensus about him.

#jason todd #damian's tomfoolery #Hope this answers things satisfactorily anon! #And thank you for the ask :3 I like rambling about blorbo and comics!

[goodluckdetective]

Yesterday, I read volume 1 of Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin run. This run has been pretty highly praised so I went in expecting to enjoy it despite my general distaste for Grant Morrison’s work. I expected to be annoyed by Jason’s part in the story but that was really it.

BOY HOWDY I DID NOT HAVE A GOOD TIME.

Sometimes you read a comic, and you can date it solely based on it’s politics and yep this one is peak late 2000’s-early 2010s. The transphobia is blatant and overt. Every evil character is queer coded. Women are either sex objects or victims. And the racism, there’s so much and I heard it only gets worse!

So things I liked:

-Dick and Damian’s working relationship was fun

-The speech Alfred gives to Dick about Batman being a performance is A+

-Jason attempting to use marketing to be the new dynamic duo was fantastic, he’s a dweeb and I love him even if I don’t love a chunk of his characterization in this book.

-The concept of Dick’s first round of villains being circus themed is a good concept we. It’s executed in the worst way possible but as a concept it’s fun.

What I didn’t like:

-Literally everything else, this was a slog.

-the homophobia and transphobia are not subtext it’s fucking overt. I know Morrison is nb and good for them, but that isn’t a get out of free pass for some of the most blatant transphobic and homophobic writing I’ve ever seen. One of two female characters in the entire book is a bearded lady caricature and she’s an evil villains who is treated as gross. The two main male villains besides Jason are flirty, flamboyant and love the color pink. Damian uses the word “gay” as an insult. If you wanted to know homophobic and transphobic tropes of the late 2000’s/early 2010’s, I could put this in a time capsule and it would be a great summary.

-I’m not qualified to cover the racism here but it’s bad, trust me.

-Quietly is a clear scholar of the “I draw women as sexy by default and thus do not draw them any other way regardless of the situation.” There is a panel full of dead/half dead women with their faces obscured due to gore reasons. However, they are all posed with tits and ass on full display. It’s more misogynistic than all the seasons of Supernatural combined and that’s a high bar to clear.

Anyway, spare yourselves, I read this so you don’t have to.

#iz rambles #dc comics #grant morrison #grant Morrison critical

[collectingrobins]

The list of my favorite things include: 1) hugs, 2) Dick and Damian’s dynamic duo.

#my art #grant morrison's Batman and Robin run was so fun to read #seriously I could write a dissertation on their relationship #it's just such a well-written reversal of personalities #and such good found family material #dick grayson #Damian wayne #dynamic duo #batbrothers #fanart #bonding

[greatcheshire]

i know you’re into batman and i’m really looking for some good recommendations for comics at the moment (other than the obvious like long halloween and killing joke lol) and was wondering if you had any?

I might have some, yeah!

It might count as an obvious choice nowadays, but my go to recommendation for someone looking to get into reading Batman is always going to be Scott Snyder’s New 52 run, or at the very least the Court of Owls storyline. Snyder does a good job at telling darker crime stories with Batman without the edge lord trappings that some other writers bring. Plus the new movie might be taking inspiration from it? So it might be worth it for that.

There’s the other obvious one, Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On A Serious Earth. It serves as the inspiration for the video game but, more than that, it’s just a wild time with amazing artwork that really tries to present at atmospheric examination of the mental health of Batman and his rogues gallery.

It’s not fully done yet, but having read the four issues that are out, I really recommend Batman ‘89. It’s written by one of the screenwriters of the original Keaton Batman films and serves as a theoretical sequel to Batman Returns, exploring ideas such as Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent and Marlan Wayans as Robin. I enjoy it as a big fan of both the original movies, but I also think that its commentary on race relations, gentrification and police brutality makes it a very compelling read in it’s own right.

If we allow ourselves to go to Batman adjacent stuff, I’d be amiss if I didn’t get to mention Cassandra Cain, my favorite Batgirl. Her original run from the 2000s is great, though admittedly with some VERY early 2000s era artwork. If you want a good entry point into the wider Batman mythos and characters, I recommend starting there.

But she and Stephanie Brown are also back in a current comic called Batgirls! Only two issues are out so far (not counting the preview issues that were done) but so far it’s a lot of fun! It’s Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown living together in hiding with Barbara Gordon serving as their mentor and guide. It’s very cute and fun and I have to recommend it because if it does well then Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown won’t be put back on the blacklist again.

If you want recommendations besides Batman related things, I have a few

- Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: a cute little comic about the canonically strongest Marvel character as she deals with defeating any supervillain and balancing college life. Like if Deadpool was wholesome and not obnoxious

- Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four: one of my favorite comic runs ever. Hickman gets that the Fantastic Four work best when their adventures are written less like superhero stories and more like Doctor Who serials. It’s a story of time travel, aliens, alternate universes, and a war between four different ancient civilizations. It’s a good time!

- All-Star Superman: I know that this is one of those obvious comic recommendations but it’s an obvious one because it’s so good and basically THE story to use to get someone to see what makes Superman so great

I hope that helps! I’m bad at recommending things but hopefully something here strikes your fancy!

[stxleslyds]

It seems like you have a negative opinion on all non-Winick characterizations of Jason in the comics. But do you hate them all equally? Could you rank all non-Winick comic depictions of Jason from best to worst characterization? Or maybe give them a letter grade?

Hi friend! This is a bit funny to me because I really didn’t expect people to be so vocal about me being such an annoying person when it comes to Jason’s characterizations. I can’t promise that I won’t complain anymore but I will try to be kinder.

But I won’t start right now, because I really want to make this ranking, it will go from best to absolute worst! I bet you guys won’t know who is in the deepest circle in hell! Place your bets everyone!

This is the level that gives me joy! (Yup, I put a writer that only wrote ten pages of Jason content as the best, please don’t call me out on it).

Matthew Rosenberg: I love him and I love what he has done with Jason, I have only read ten pages of his work while writing Jason and he already has me hooked. Like I said in that one ask/post, I think he will make some amazing things with the Jason that we have now and I still believe that. Little shit and competent Jason Todd, I am glad you are here.

Peter Tomasi: This one is a little checky because his run is out of comics canon, but his Arkham Knight Jason Todd and the way he wrote his origin are absolutely stunning.

Marv Wolfman: His Robin Jason was really good and I am really glad that we had those comics in which we could see Jason in an environment that didn’t include Batman. I was like looking at what Jason could have been if he had stayed with the Titans’ instead of keep on being Robin in Gotham with Batman.

This is the level in which I can still like some things about the story even though in general I didn’t enjoy the book.

Joshua Williamson: Yeah, but he is only here because his story seemed interesting, my issue as I have said before is his subplot “romance” and the fact that he seems to be the kind of writer that wants to push the “Batfamily” dynamic. Otherwise, his Jason characterization when it came to him not liking working for the Magistrate was really good, sadly it was overshadowed by all the bad that I just really didn’t enjoy at all

Chip Zdarsky: Tyler (Blue Hood) and Jason working to rid Gotham of a drug really brought me back to the good old days. I also really liked seeing the parallels between Jason and his mom with Tyler and his own mother, it felt like a good way to start a connection and develop a Red Hood story. Sadly, the book as a whole was shit and it ended horribly but there were some interesting moments.

Now we are looking at the level where I just wonder: Why?

Paul Dini: Why? His Jason really did a 360, and I meant it, I really don’t know what the point of Jason taking the mantle of another dead Jason was. His Red Robin was just a Red Hood in a different suit and that was that. I understand that they wanted to kill him because he was an anomaly and all that but, he just really felt out of place in that event. This was the first warning: Jason Todd/Red Hood only works on a street-level, stop trying to make everyone dimension jump and all that DC.

Bruce Jones: Hey! I forgot about this guy in the last post! He sucks! And his arc in Nightwing is the epitome of the question: Why? I get it, DiDio wanted to kill Dick and then have Jason take over as Nightwing but Dick didn’t die at the end of Infinite Crisis, he was still alive there was no reason to have Jason dress up as Nightwing and going on a killing spree, also, the tentacles? Really? Annoying and weird.

Scott Snyder and Tim Seeley: I ask why but I know why. This was a desperate attempt to use Jason in stories because they couldn’t use Dick Grayson. It was also weird because being there only pushed him more towards the Bat-Clan even though he had his Outlaws team going on. It was just weird and they were also big on unnecessary “romances”.

This is the Skrull Jason level. Here I see, hear and feel no Jason Todd.

Grant Morrison: Grant needed a villain and all they could come up with was this weird as red-haired-pill-headed-Red Hood and DC said “sure, why not?”. There is no real way to find UtRH Jason in this version of Jason and that for me is a little bit better than still seeing the Jason that I loved in whatever this was.

Tony S. Daniel: This one sucks the most because it isn’t that Jason is unrecognizable its just that Jason is the exact opposite of who he would have become. Everything about this Jason seems to come from the Upside Down. Him saying that Gotham needs Batman so he will be Batman and he needs a Robin was the wildest take that I have seen about Jason. I have no other words for it.

Hell.

James Tynion IV: whoever invited this man to this party needs to understand that they made a big mistake. All Tynion did was overpower the living hell out of Jason for a fight that wasn’t big enough to become a Batman/Red Hood event. The fight was so lame and so stupid, if Jason had learned the ancient martial arts move in the All-Castle and the used that and the All-Blades to defeat Ra’s it would have been more than enough, but in New 52 writers really wanted to make Jason look like the most experienced and best at being a hero when Kory and Roy were standing next to him.

Scott Lobdell: He sucks, New 52 was just terrible, there was nothing that I liked from it, character assassination for everyone, nobody was treated well there. He wrote a self-insert version of Jason and it was noticeable because Jason was trash in New 52. Rebirth was better but that didn’t make things better for Jason because Lobdell started to fuel the “Jason was guilty for his own death” and “Jason was a reckless Robin” narratives and here we are today. Lobdell danced around his own stories, his characterization of Jason and he never gave a fulfilling ending to any of his arcs. Some characters we only saw once some others simply disappeared. Nothing ever truly started or ended when it came to his writing.

Ginnungagap.

Geoff Johns: to him all I will say is: comprate un bosque y perdete.

Thank you for the ask! I had fun doing this! I wish you have an excellent day!

#jason todd #red hood #rhato #dc comics #jasons characterization #asksss

[hellyeahheroes]

Robin(2021) #1 Review

Opening this comic with an assessment of a character that I have no choice but to agree with is a cheap way to score points with me.

Anyways, we caught heat for being unfair to this story since it was announced because all of us wanted it to be a Cass story since forever. And it became yet another thing Damian absorbs. I mostly ignored it because I’ve always been open about my disdain for the character and his fandom for nearly a decade. I never liked Damian because put these characteristics on a non-white passing character, they’d be dead inside of year. Then again I hate almost all of Grant Morrison monstrosities.

Regardless, new story who dis is in full effect here. We open this bad boy up with Damian gone missing and the Batfamily searching for him. Nightwing tried asking Damian’s old Teen Titans team and they obviously don’t know and probably hope Damian is dead. Tim checked Arkham Ruins(???) and Damian wasn’t there. I honestly don’t think Tim was trying to find Damian. Steph and Cass checked Damian’s farm and Steph concluded Damian has been there at least because while Damian may be a little shit, he loves his dog and pet bat dragon. Barbara checked facial recognition pings and his transactions and dude is an IRS nightmare.

Damian is missing. Bruce is worried that maybe making a violent murderous preteen Robin raised in a cabal of killers to be chief murderer was a bad idea and is worried. Barbara ensures him that they will find his son and we cut to Damian fighting Snake guy in some musty ass fight put somewhere. Because of course it’s a musty ass fight pit because while the story is well drawn, it never claimed to be not cliche.

Damian hands the scrub his ass and it turns out Damian is trying to earn a marker to participate in some tournament. I liked this panel.

Not because of the artist flex of changing the art style, but it establishes Damian with a relatable hobby, reading manga. And not just a Shounen as you expect him to read but a slice of life manga which kind of puts his life in perspective. Also the lesson in the manga is reflective of what happens in the comic. Damian’s mastery is reflective of how he sees Hana. Hana decides to go beyond what her masters taught her. She decides to innovate and make her art her own. And that’s indicative of another flaw of Damian: Damian leans of the prestige of his teachers. He is the student that replicates the style 1:1. He wants to inherit Batman’s mantle, but doesn’t want to shed his teachings that he is proud of. And it comes down to this idea that Damian refuses to innovate and adapt because he is hiding behind his masters.

This panel saved the story so good job.

And after a talk with dead Alfred, it’s revealed that Damian is on this journey as a way to mirror Bruce’s journey into becoming Batman. It’s his way to iron his resolve without a catalyst to find a need to. It highlights his naïveté. He thinks that he can just simply copy the steps and get the same results.

Regardless what happens next simultaneously undermines the story or the impact of it.

Okay, when you think of Martial artists in DC, you immediately think Batman, Shiva, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Bronze Tiger, Richard Dragon, and Shiva. Why I said Shiva twice? Because Shiva is the pinnacle.

So to reveal that three premier martial artists in the universe are not only not participating but they were paid off to not participate, cheated out, or were subbed in as an entry replacement, it undermines the promotion. It’s like going to a Beyonce Concert only to find out that between the words in small print Beyonce and Concert was ‘s Sister’s and now you are watching Grammy award winning Solange. Sure, it’s an unique experience but it ain’t Beyonce.

And also, there is no amount in the world that would keep Shiva away from this tournament if it’s as prestigious as it’s led to be. Let’s be real. If anything, it’s far more likely that she saw the roster of scrubs and decided to make some scratch.

There are two characters that I recognize: Connor Hawke and Rose Wilson. I am not familiar with Connor so I am not sure if he is out of place. Rose is fine but y’know, scrub. I’m sorry Rose Wilson got her ass handed to her by Cass in the previous universe. There is no universe where I take her seriously in a fighting tournament to crown greatest fighter because the ass stomp was so thorough that Cass was beating Slade’s ego by proxy.

Back to the comic, Damian interrupts the host and basically is the fighting tournament trope of overly confident disrespectful guy with too many accolades which he will proudly tell you about them. What I like about this is the nice nod to the previous manga panel. Damian is not a great fighter. There I said it. Damian’s ability hinges on the idea that he was trained by the greatest killers and Batman but the issue is that name prestige doesn’t make great fighters. Too many times, comic books overly rely on this idea of fighting being a what you know and not being a game of not getting hit and getting hits in. It does not matter if Damian is trained by the League and Batman and it’s questionable as to how much Batman taught him in the first place. Hence why we see Damian with a sword or staff to compliment his lack of range. Damian can’t read muscle twitches like a Cass or Shiva so he has a normal reactive response and comics never highlighted his ability. The most impressive thing I’ve seen Damian do is catch a Batarang which is something I’ve seen Tim do. Damian overly relies on the idea that his teachers taught him to be the best when they simply taught him to survive in a fight.

“But why does Cass get away with it?,” you ask. Cass has this broken hax that is reading muscle twitch and immediately knowing the instant of what you are going to do before you do it or decide to do. Cass doesn’t need range because to her, you are screaming your intentions. She doesn’t need to block an attack when she can just parry. She doesn’t need to step back when she can just step forward while slipping all attacks. She is an autistic savant at fighting with an absolute defense. Damian is just another badass teen in a world of badass adults.

And the humbling of Damian begins...again.

Pros:

-Damian’s new costume. I like that he is branching out and starting to own his own colors. It’s nice.

-Using a character flaw to make it a theme. I like Chekhov’s gun via teachable moment. In tournament arcs, what separates the good ones and the bad ones is the idea that the hero simply must overcome their opponents and not their own self. This is why Yuyu Hakusho is awesome.

- Great art and nice continuity. It’s nice that Damian’s past wasn’t ignored for once and they didn’t just throw his Teen Titans characterization down the tubes. Say what you want, but it was arguably Damian’s longest run in spite of his fans hating it. And contrary to what they believe, it was very much in character for him. My fear going into this that Damian would not face any fallout and lo and behold he ran away.

- it’s a good start for a Damian story. Say what you want, but it’s unique in that the little shit gets his comeuppance immediately. And not that just by losing, but by dying. Damian has killed before and readily justifies it because he never realizes the weight of taking someone’s life. He’s been killed before but those were painted in a way that he is valiant. Here, this is death caused by his own arrogance. He mocks a fighter for talking shit and gets murked while talking shit. He spouts names of his own teachers and expects people to care or be weary as if Rose Wilson and Connor aren’t there. It’s a tournament sponsored by the League of Assassins, Damian. They have been taught by the league too.

Cons:

-Look I get promotion. No promoter is going to undermine their product but the fact that this tournament reeks like ABA is killing my interest to give a shit. It’s a convenient caveat to say that, “Well, a character won this so they can have the title but the title doesn’t mean anything.” I know of regardless of whom wins this, they aren’t the best. Go ham or don’t at all.

-not enough emphasis of the importance of this arc. Why even have this tournament? What’s the prize? What’s even the point?

-While the art is nice, the action is framed poorly. I like physical action like this to be nearly choreographed in a way I can see and piece movement in my head. The two fight scenes we get are somewhat disjointed in that it’s just poses. For example, Flatline’s first kick makes no sense at all and I don’t get her follow up. Trying to picture the movement hurts my head and in an action concept like this, it’s best to frame action scenes as more than doing poses. Here is a good example:

This only emphasizes the action and gets the reader to acknowledge that this a tournament of great fighters or at least a great fighting story.

All in all, do I think this story is off to a good start? Yes. Is it going to change my opinion on Damian? Hell no. My reaction to Damian getting his ass handed to him was this.

The issue is that it never sticks. Damian can learn and be a better person but the development never sticks. It becomes a cyclical series of events because whoever writes him next will just keep writing him as this shitty entitled murder rich kid who never learns anything and gets validated somehow. It’s been over a decade and I’m tired of the same excuses of his shitty behavior. I am tired of writers validating it or excusing it.

Damian losing isn’t an outcome I care for because it’s wasted on him. Honestly I am more interested in Connor and Rose being there. I have no faith that it will stick nor does it undo the shitty idea of the character. I have never wanted to see Damian fight. It’s never been fun to read about nor has the impetus of his character emphasized the ability or style. Placing Damian in an Enter the Dragon style tournament lacks the pizzazz of Cass doing the same thing. For example, let’s try Marvel.

Let’s say someone pitches an idea of a tournament arc styled after Game of Death. Immediately you think Martial Artists non-powered. Danny Rand, Daredevil, Elektra, Shang-Chi, Pei and Colleen Wing. Okay, instead of giving those characters the honor, you give the story to Black Cat. Honestly, I’d read it because Felicia could sell me a documentary on grass and I’d buy it but the point stands, why does Damian have this Bruce Lee inspired Martial Arts story versus the actual Chinese or East Asian Martial Arts focused member of the Batfamily, Cassandra Cain?

But this has nothing to do with what could have been. It’s a fun beginning of a possibly fun arc. In that regard, it delivers but what’s the point?

Like I said, fun story.

@ubernegro

#dc #robin #damian wayne #batman and robin #batman #tim drake #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #batgirl #barbara gordon #oracle #dick grayson #batfamily

[spock-smokes-weed]

Thoughts on Damian Wayne?

!!!! I ADORE HIM!!!!

I haven’t read much with Damian, but the few of the things I have read he was really good!!!

He’s just a kid man, he’s just a kid that wants love and affection and just everything that he was starved for in his childhood. He’s a kid that’s not always nice, not always good, but he wants to be better, he wants to stop lashing out and be part of a family that cares about him.

I don’t really like a lot of his early characterization because he was very underwritten and he’s so evil and cruel all the time that it’s really hard to like him. He also low key feels like a Grant Morrison self-insert. But he gets so much more interesting when he’s handed off to other writers!!!

While it’s certainty not the best batman story and I have my problems with it, Dick and Damian’s Batman and Robin run was a lot of fun!! But where I really started to love him was n52 Batman and Robin with Bruce. You can see the struggle of Damian trying to be gentle and while being scared to let go of the only thing he’s ever known, violence. The scene with the fire flies is one of the best moments of Damian’s character struggle.

I wish he had gotten better stories between him and his siblings. Damian was introduced right around when the n52 was starting, and so he didn’t get to have any in-depth stories building his relationship with his siblings. He was treated almost like an only child all the way through n52 and rebirth, and that’s so disappointing. I’m really hoping Damian’s relationships with Cass, Jason, and Tim (especially Tim) get fleshed out more in the future.

#ask box #batman #damian wayne #this one got kinda long but I love dami so much

[raptorific]

so your blog has singlehandedly turned me from a casual marvel enjoyer who's apathetic towards dc to the exact opposite, but i've heard asking which comics to start with is the worst question, so i wanted to know if you had any favorite dc writers/runs (characters don't matter) you'd want to share? not necessarily as jumping in points, just favorites in general that i could work up to

Aww, this is really nice of you to say! I also don't object to asking which comics to start with, that'll really depend on what you're personally into, but there's a lot of good entry-point comics. Personally I like to recommend "Batman: The Long Halloween" and its sequel "Dark Victory" for starters, just because they're really good at setting the vibes and are treated as somewhat "quintessential" stories that don't require you to figure out where exactly they fit into Official Comics Continuity.

Some (not all!) of my favorite runs are Controversial, but I stand by them! I personally really enjoyed Grant Morrison's run on Batman, I have the omnibuses on my shelf and I reread them periodically, but that's such a long run that I feel I should be a bit more specific: the one I think is most worth checking out is the "Batman & Robin" series within it, where Bruce Wayne has "died" and Dick Grayson has taken over as Batman, with Damian as Robin. The original Cass Cain Batgirl comics are also a personal favorite.

I love the "New Krypton" run on Superman, it's such an interesting Superman story that isn't quite in the mold of Superman stories you tend to see adapted. You won't find much disagreement that Mark Waid's "Birthright" is a must-read Superman comic.

One that you don't have to work up to at all is Paul Dini's "Gotham City Sirens." It requires next to no knowledge of prior DC media, you just have to kinda know who Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman are, and it's one of the most fun series I've ever read.

My most controversial pick is probably the Adam Glass run on Teen Titans. People hate it for reasons that I think are, at the very least, not necessarily a fair or accurate appraisal of Damian's story in that series. It introduces my favorite, Crush, and has some of the best character interactions.

One that I'd definitely recommend is Steve Orlando's "Justice League Of America." It's all about Batman trying to make a version of the Justice League that's more grounded and human and not so "gods lording over us on high," and really stresses the status of the Justice League that's Global Public Servants.

If you want a more modern take on Batman that's, like, actually good, Scott Snyder's "The Court Of Owls" plotline is one of the few recent arcs that tries to introduce a completely new element into the Mythos and it's actually good enough to stick.

But my honest recommendation is to check out some of the transmedia adaptations. They're generally a bit more focused and easier to get into than the comics, and it's a good way to find out which characters and worlds you want to spend more time with. Batman Beyond has aged fantastically, there's a lot of good stuff in the DCAMU movies, and I will hammer this drum until the day I die: Watch Krypton, a show about Superman's Hot Grandpa, now free in full on the CW's website. It's one of my absolute favorite shows in the world.

[davidmann95]

Got a handful of DC-solicit asks, so I’ll just write up my thoughts on the whole batch again.

Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1: The BALLS to not only do the next Mister Miracle thing after King and Gerads, but to do it with Shilo Norman and therefore invite Seven Soldiers comparisons as well. I wouldn’t be that interested, but the preview art that came with the announcement looked fun so this is a maybe for me.

Wonder Girl #1: I got a Yara Flor ask so I’ll go more into detail with that, but this sounds...not good.

Future State: Gotham #1: Hahaha, thanks, call me in six months if the next team does something there’s a reason to give a shit about. Except...wait, Dennis Culver cowrote that E Is For Extinction Secret Wars mini, dammit this might be good. Either way though, god willing we get a Future State: Metropolis book by Dan Watters too.

Legends of the Dark Knight #1: Hopefully this going with Sensational Wonder Woman means there’s a similar Superman anthology in the cards too, but I won’t hold my breath. Darick Robertson doing Batman is enticing, but I’m not familiar with his work as a writer and the premise doesn’t sound that gripping so I’ll wait and see. That Francavilla variant though? DC, blow that up to poster size and you’d make a mint.

Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0: Hmm. I got love for Static, but I might wait for further announcements and/or buzz before taking the plunge on this one.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1: This is a SERIOUSLY stacked lineup, definite buy.

Stargirl Spring Break Special #1: Impeccable timing, DC. It feels like it must be some kind of statement that there are no Morrison members of the Seven Soldiers in the mix (even swapping out Ystin for the original version of Shining Knight no one cares bout) - we focus on the Moore fixation, but there’s enough tidbits that I really do feel like Johns probably flat-out hates Morrison. And what’s this ‘secret eighth soldier’ nonsense? There’ve always been eight soldiers, people have been joking about it forever!

Justice League: Last Ride #1: Discussed that announcement here.

Batman: Earth One Vol. 3: *blinks*

*blinks again*

*squints at the cover art*

...Geoff Johns are you seriously trying to step to Morrison and use the Miagani tribe? YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN PEOPLE

I Am Not Starfire: Interesting concept that seems like it pushes into indie-flavored territory as much as DC’s superhero output just about ever has, if word-of-mouth is good there’s a decent chance I’ll get this.

Action Comics #1031: Wonder if this is serious about the potential of Kryptonian refugees, given PKJ suggested the idea in Worlds of War and that could play a significant part in the New Krypton stuff from Bendis’s Legion (with Johnson being clear he’s following up on a lot of Bendis’s ideas with his own Superman run).

Superman #31: This sounds big-time like Johnson hammering Superman into a swords-and-sorcery shape for an arc since that’s his bag, but Superman’s malleable enough for that to work so I’m not complaining.

American Vampire 1976 #8: Still not getting, so.

Batman #108: Tynion’s well and truly figured out how to game the direct market’s dopiest instincts, hasn’t he? Well, as long as that’s in service of him getting to continue doing weird Batman stuff with Jorge Jimenez like introducing whatever the ‘Unsanity Collective’ is, that’s fine with me. And more Ghostmaker!

Batman: Black & White #6: Not as packed for the finale as some previous issues, but still looking good. And there’s really never gonna be a ‘last’ Scott Snyder Batman story, is there? Sure it’ll be good but that’s kind of a shame, his Detective #1027 feature really felt like a nice full circle.

Batman: The Detective #2: Guess I wasn’t the only one wondering if it was a stealth DKR prequel and they wanted to cut that notion out at the knees.

Batman/Catwoman #6: Still very down for it, but BOY that Batwoman costume Mann debuted on Twitter.

The Batman & Scooby Doo Mysteries #2: I recently finally started reading Sholly Fisch and companies’ Scooby-Doo Team-Up! recently after getting the whole run for free on ComiXology earlier this year and have fallen in love with it, so I’m totally grabbing this digitally.

Batman/Superman #18: “The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel are on a mission to stop the godlike Auteur.io from destroying the pocket worlds he’s created...but where on Earth did Auteur.io even come from? The answer starts not on Earth at all, but with an ancient cult of World Forger worshippers on a planet far away—and if our heroes are to have a prayer of stopping this mythic behemoth, they’ll need to get to the bottom of his power source, and quick! It’s a race against time as the parallel lives of entire worlds hang in the balance!”

Anonymous said: Haha is Yang really doing Superman & Batman vs. Zack Snyder and the Snyder Cult (look up “auter” if you don’t know what I mean)? That’s fucking hilarious, especially since he apparently comes from the World Forge which is where all the shitty Earths full of bad ideas are made. Pretty pointed criticism there if I’m reading it right.

I’ve seen two or three people other than this anon independently conclude this arc is about the Supermen and Batmen of the Multiverse teaming up to stop Zack Snyder from destroying them all and at this point I’m ready to ask my LCS owner if I’m allowed to pay more than cover price for this run.

Batman: Urban Legends #3: Much more into this after the Grifter and Outsiders stories in Future State.

Catwoman #31: No reason not to assume this’ll continue to be great.

Challenge of the Super Sons #2: Good for the folks who want this, and that Nick Bradshaw variant is fun.

Crime Syndicate #3: I wanna be convinced to get this book, but the interviews are not persuading me.

Detective Comics #1036: How long is Mora sticking around?!

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #10: Another one I’ve got nothing to say about because I’ve never been getting it.

The Flash #770: Actually really excited to hear about how bad this run will suck now that I know it’s by the mind behind that “Geoff Johns’ OC - do not steal - beats up the Grant Morrison DC future” catastrophe from Future State.

Green Lantern #2: Really couldn’t wait a month for Far Sector to wrap up, huh?

Harley Quinn #3: Still not interested, but that *is* a nice cover.

The Joker #3: There’s a very real possibility I’ll have dropped the book by this point if it turns out to be the illustrated editorial mandate I get the feeling it could be, but fingers crossed.

Justice League #61: Not complaining, but wow, this really is Naomi 2 since Campbell’s busy in order to provide the necessary material for the CW show.

Looney Toons #260/Mad #20: Were these grouped with the rest of the solicits before?

Man-Bat #4: Very curious how this’ll be received, given nobody much cares about Man-Bat but Wielgosz seems to be quickly becoming a favorite.

The Next Batman: Second Son #2: Hadn’t realized this was only 4 issues - guess for at least one of them it’ll be the Luke Fox book everyone expected in the first place.

Nightwing #80: Dick Grayson vs. Heartless, not how I expected the DC/Kingdom Hearts crossover to happen but I’ll take it. That variant though? ALL TIMER:

The Other History of the DC Universe #4: I was trying to figure out who the focus of #4 would be since we know #5 is about Thunder and Lightning, forgot Montoya was confirmed.

Robin #2: Wanna care, so don’t care.

Rorschach #8: I will get it and probably like it.

RWBY/Justice League #2: My thoughts here will be their own post because there’s something particularly notable, but:

Anonymous said: Have you seen the BATtleaxe from the new art for RWBY/Justice League?

Yes, anon. Yes I have.

Sensational Wonder Woman #3: Eh, premise doesn’t grab me but maybe.

Strange Adventures #10: God I love the book about how Adam Strange sucks.

Suicide Squad #3/Teen Titans Academy #3: Hahahahaha

Superman: Red and Blue #3: Fiffe and Stokoe doing Superman stories!!! And...Nick Spencer. With Christian Ward art?! Sigh, fine, hopefully it’ll be Nick Spencer doing a nice little comedy, and not having Grant Morrison Superman throwing his t-shirt away because he grew up and realized changing things is too hard. A horrible shame Pope is doing the main cover though, the allegations against him I guess never really got any attention. At least there’s this JPL variant:

The Swamp Thing #3: Swampy will never be my guy but very happy for those who dig him, because I imagine this’ll be terrific.

Truth & Justice #4: Normally I wouldn’t care at all, but what I’m hearing on Twitter about this is a crying shame - that Jeff Trammell is really talented and Red Hood is a favorite of his and this is likely to be one of Jason Todd’s few Actually Good comics, but that artist Rob Guillory is a bullying transphobic piece of shit. Sucks all around.

Wonder Woman #772: I was so excited for this run, and then Immortal Wonder Woman had to go and suck.

#DC Comics #Opinion

[c-e-gold]

In light of recent events involving Damian in a certain DC Comic book, I have decided to revisit my proposed line up for a Teen Titans book that I would love to read. It’s going to be similar to the one I did before, but I’m going to try to go more in depth about it. If there’s any changes or additions you would make, please let me know. My knowledge on DC is limited. Especially now since I havent read them in awhile due to how annoyed they’ve made me lately. 

Enjoy!

Core Team

Damian Wayne / Robin

Maya Ducard / Nobody

Suren Daga (He’s been staying at Carrie Kelly’s place since he’s had nowhere else to go)

Jon Kent / Super Boy

Kathy Branden / Beacon

This is the core team at the start of their tenure together. There really isn’t any designated leader among them. Instead, they opt for a rotating system where a leader is chosen for specific missions. For example, Maya be more suitable to lead a stealth mission than Superboy. 

I know he would get brought up, by Colin isn’t included because I know nothing about him and haven’t read any of the stories he’s been in. I recognized that he’s popular among some of the fans, but I wanted this list to be as true to me as possible.

Team Mother

Talia Al Ghul

In this iteration, everything about her that was written by Grant Morrison is wholly ignored. Never happened. Talia, while not as involved in Damian’s life as she would like to be due to her work, maintains a healthy relationship with her son. She takes on the responsibility of training the team in combat, language, espionage, tactics, and assassination. She also does the mission briefings for them. 

For those who are familiar with the Young Justice cartoon, she’s pretty much Batman. the events of R:SoB still happens, so her relationship with Maya and Suren are still rocky at best. Maya goes out of her way to annoy her and Suren just doesn’t like her. But the course of the story will have moments where, while not being a fan of eachother, Talia would definitely go out of her way to protect Suren and Maya and they would do the same for her. Perhaps their relationship develops from antagonistic to just playful ribbing.

Den Brother

Duke Thomas

Duke takes on Talia’s responsibilities while she’s not around due to her job and/or missions. His tasks normally include being the team’s “therapist”. Talia recruited him for this because she correctly figured that the team would be more likely to warm up to him since he’s closer to them in age. It also helps that he’s a bit better when it comes to understanding emotional children. While not being licensed, he listens to their problems and help work them threw it. On occasion he will tag along on missions with them.

Future additions to the team

Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi and Olive Silverlock

(Anyone else remember in Robin War where Damian left supplies for the Gotham Academy kids and nothing came of it? I do.)

Maps- who is by far the most excited about the prospect of joining the team- she begins early training at the insistence of Damian, much to Talia’s chagrin. Talia tries to discourage her threw tough conditioning, but Maps perservere, showing her heart and that her desire to help people isn’t just surface level. Eventually she does join the team part-time.

Olive partakes in the practice concerning the usage of metahuman abilities in order to master her pyrokinesis. Duke and Kathy helps her navigate her training and slowly teaches her to be able to call upon her abilities without losing herself to the flames. I’m on the fence about having Olive join the team, so I’m open to suggestions on that front. I’m leaning more towards no, though.

Detective Chimp

Why not? He’s not really doing anything in the comics that is worthwhile. And I think his presence would add an air of brevity. He would be in charge of teaching the team proper investigative tactics. He even has a few tips and tricks up his sleeve that even the most seasoned detective wouldn’t be privy to.

Also I want to see him and Maps interact. Not to mention the potential for a fun side adventure with Detective Chimp and all of the pets teaming up.

Temp Join/Team-Ups

Batfamily

Not having the rest of the Batfamily interact with this team would be a crime in of itself. Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Orphan, Batgirl, Spoiler, Blue Bird, Batwoman, Batwing, and Alfred. I want to see all of them interact with the team. It doesn’t even have to be serious! Maybe Stephanie shows up with Cass and kicks all of the boys out and has a girls night with the female team. Or Jason regales the team with totally not made up stories about all of the times he saved Damian and all the favors that he owes him. 

Harley Quinn

I don’t know exactly the circumstances that would make this work, but I think this would be a cool and fun crossover. They would just kinda run into each other and decide, for the sake of the mission, to work together to get the job done. 

Justice League

I mean, they HAVE to have their “Now do you take us seriously” moment. It doesn’t have to be a situation where the League is brainwashed or anything. Maybe it’s just a test. Or a friendly competiton. Or an excuse to get Wonder Woman and Maya to interact and have a proper passing of the touch and make the Tiny Trinity a for sure thing.

Robzarro and Boyzarro

They obviously like hanging out with Jon, Kathy, and Maya. So them popping up every now and then should be a given. Also I kinda wanna see how Damian and Talia reacts to Robzarro. There is so much comedy potential there.

Base of operation

The Fortress of Attitude

The base has an official named that Talia had given it upon construction, but Superboy called it the Fortress of Attitude. The some of the team just started calling it that out of being easier to remember while others (read: Maya) does it because she wants to annoy Talia. It’s very sleek with cutting edge tech rivaling Batman’s own tech. But as the team gets more and more accommodated to the hideout, they start adding their own flairs (stickers, posters, beanbag chairs, animal dens, dolls, figurines, and magazines). 

It’s equipped with a central computer that monitors the coming and going of the members, the registry, and mission files. The AI is programmed into the teams phones, offering the same protection to their personal phones that the foretress has. Using technology similar to the Watchtower and threw studying Beacon’s powers, they can beam themselves to the fortress whenever they please.

Main villains

Slade and the Hive Academy

I put Slade and not Deathstroke because I’m not really a fan of comic book Deathstroke. But Slade is Bad. Ass. Methodical. Calculating. Brilliant. Powerful. Coniving. He would make a perfect overarching villain for this team. I wouldn’t have him want Robin as his apprentice though. That can stay exclusive to the Teen Titans cartoon. In that place, he would just be the headmaster of the Hive Academy and use the team to test his students.

The Court of Owls

While theyre largely Batman’s villains, I feel they would meddle in the affairs of anyone they deem a significant annoyance. Their Talons would prove such a huge obstacle for this team to overcome. Of course it wouldn’t be the entire court after them, though. Just a small team that is assigned to keep an eye on them and steer them in the direction that best serves the Court.

 Blockbuster

I think 2 syndicates is enough for one title. Blockbuster is a departure from the cold, calculated, machinations of both Slade and the Court. He’s pretty much an immovable object that would be built up to be able to even withstand hits from Superboy.

Manchester Black

I think being trapped inside of a cow would make anyone thirsty for revenge. Also, a cow that is hell bent on revenge could be both terrifying and fun to read. No one is going to punch a cow, so the team would have to think of other tactics to take him down. Maybe Detective Chimp and the pets would have a hand in bringing him down!

I literally typed this out while working off of 3 hours of sleep the previous night and it is currently 12:37AM. That’s the excuse I’m going to go with if something is wrong here. I would want to include more villains that challenge the team both philosophically, physically, and mentally. But the longer I work on this, the more I go blank. So I’m putting a pin in this here.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave them! This is my own personal take on what I would like to see from a hypothetical Teen Titans/Young Justice book. 

#Damian Wayne #Superboy #Maya Ducard #Kathy Brendan #Talia Al Ghul #Teen Titans

[90sjenniferconnelly]

dude comics tho. i really wanna like go thru all the bat family stories and get really familiar with all of them, i feel like that fandom would be really REALLY fun to get involved w/, there’s so much juicy fic, but god there’s so much to read, where to even start. do i read the chuck dixon runs about tim drake, his birds of prey run, his nightwing run, gail simones batfamily stuff, the grant morrison run on damian and dick as robin and bman, the cassandra cain batgirl run, the stephanie brown batgirl run, the various barbara gordon batgirl runs, she had an oracle solo book too right?, like oof, SO MUCH. wig. not to mention all the best batman runs. so many friggin volumes my dudes.

[batboyblog]

i’m reading justice league and flash comics and barts solo is the only one i felt like i was allowed to read if you know what im sayin

You the gay comic person? yeah Bart’s Solo run Impulse comics, a fucking gift to ALL mankind and some of the best shit ever written. 

Check out Young Justice, the original comic, on Justice League, which Justice League? because.. girl there have been many, I would push looking up Grant Morrison’s (and I just learned he’s a Knight!) JLA which ran from 1997 till 2006, Morrison and a lot of other talents wrote for it, really good stuff.

Also check out the 1980s-90s Justice League International and Justice League Europe, those were fun and a little bit campy 

other stuff to read, uh, the JSA (1999-2006) was a great book as well (that 1996 to 2003 zone is kinda my jam in comics) I’d go back to the New Teen Titans (1980) and forward with the Titans they have highs and lows but over all through till Geoff Johns killed both the Titans and Young Justice to bring forth his Teen Titans over all the Titans were a good team and the New Teen Titans are a big part of comic history and the Titans (the 1999-2002 book) is great and my favorite version of the team (can you tell I like 1996-2003 a lot?) 

I’d check out Tim Drake’s solo Robin book as well, um Batman No Man’s Land is a really good book and helps you get into the Bats well. I highly recommend Kingdom Come as just being beautiful to look at and amazing art and story telling that gets to the heart of a lot of characters, Crisis on Infinite Earths is also a good story, people might say “oh you can’t because....” but like I was 8 and it was the first comic (graphic novel) I ever got and I LOVED it, I still have it, water damage and back cover falling off, so you can totally go into it cold not knowing much about the DCU because it’s character driven. 

yeah thats what I got. 

[tessatechaitea]

Teen Titans Spotlight #14: Nightwing

So that's why I finally dropped this series: they dropped the "on:".

You might have forgotten that the biggest gang in Gotham in 1987 were the Jewish Surrealists.

I don't even care how many people don't know what the fuck I'm on about. Did you know this world is on fire? Batman is busting a cocaine shipment into Gotham in the prologue of this comic book. According to the cover, he's about to be crucified. I guess the Jewish Surrealists are still micro-managed by Caesar's Hand. Speaking of unbelievable things in comics (this segue works because I believe I was speaking about it fifteen hundred commentaries ago when Nightwing drove a motorcycle up the wall of a building), how does Batman always wind up unconscious and in some form of complicated trap and yet, in all the time it takes to put him there, nobody ever takes the mask off. Not one henchman is curious? Not one henchman binding Batman to the cross ever thinks, "If I knew Batman's identity, I could quit this henchman gig, sell the information, and retire"? I don't believe it. My theory is that thousands of henchmen have tried this plan but Alfred intercepted all of the blackmail notices, hired Jason Bard to find who sent them, and then hired Tommy Monaghan to kill them. I would just like it on the record that I spelled Tommy's last name correctly before looking it up. The Jewish Surrealists capture Batman because they had a sniper with a tranquilizer gun on overwatch during the deal. Batman gets drugged, blackjacked, and spit upon before nobody thinks to take off his mask.

At least I hope that's spit.

I guess if that isn't spit, I now understand why nobody took his mask off.

"Are ya kiddin' me, Rudy?! Put yer fuckin' dick away and help me schlep this bastard into tha van! The boss can take tha fuckin' mask off. Ugh."

Alfred calls up Dick Grayson when Bruce doesn't show up for morning stitches. Dick sighs, hangs up the phone, and goes off to do a literally thankless job because Batman thinks expecting people to be there for him is the same thing as gratitude. I hate complaining about the art because I never complain about the art. So when I finally complain about the art, that means I really fucking think the art sucks. And, well, I'm complaining about the art now.

"Fuck dinosaur references! I got this!" -- Stan Woch

This is some of Woch's earliest work with DC so I shouldn't be too hard on him. Plus he's still alive and he might read this. Although wouldn't it be worse if I were criticizing the work of a dead man? Also, he draws a pretty decent studio apartment and jizz dribble. Nightwing heads off to save Batman even though he knows Batman doesn't need saving. If Batman seems to need saving, it's only because Batman misses Nightwing and this is the only way he can see him without admitting that he misses him. "Oh no!" says Batman as he tries to remember what it's like to feel sleepy from tranquilizers or to feel concussed from a blackjack to the back of the head. "My legs are all, um, wobbly? I'm, um, falling now, right? OH! I'm helpless! I just peed a little too!" Then he lets the bad guys kidnap him and waits for Alfred to worry way too soon and call for backup. And of course Batman would choose a night when Jason Todd is off in California and Superman is off on Oa and Wonder Woman has her anniversary dinner with Steve Trevor.

Oh, just because he's suddenly half-robot, I'm supposed to believe some high school football star can now design high tech contact lenses?! Fuck you, comic books.

Dick finds a vial of acid left behind as Batman as a clue to who murdered him. I mean kidnapped him, probably! Who would kill Batman when they had the chance? I mean if they actually had a chance and Batman wasn't completely faking and ready to start breaking kneecaps the second somebody tugs at his cowl or tries to put a bullet in his brain. Anyway, the acid vial reminds Dick of that one case which was the only one ever in which Batman used a vial of acid which leads him to Drakkar, a Gotham drug lord. This is less evidence that Batman was in trouble and realized Nightwing would come looking for him and more evidence that Batman wasn't in trouble at all and was expecting Nightwing to come looking for him because Batman misses him.

With all the Batman themed stuff in this picture, that marquee obviously says Debbie Does Batman.

Nightwing threatens to beat up some cowardly punk named Skates who Batman apparently beats up every time he needs information. And even though Skates always gives up the information, he somehow hasn't been killed by any other Gotham criminal. Skates tells Nightwing that Batman is going to be killed at midnight in the graveyard. It's going to be a huge party. But instead of thinking, "I'll go to the graveyard and stop this!", Dick wastes precious time tailing Skates hoping he'll lead him to Batman or Drakkar. When Nightwing loses him due to Nightwing's fandom crowding around him, Nightwing thinks, "Wait. What did Skates say? Oh yeah! He gave me everything I needed to know! But now it's so close to midnight, I might not make it in time! Shoot!" Drakkar's plan is to auction off the right to unmask Batman and put a bullet in his brain. So, you know, almost the plan I proposed when they first knocked him unconscious! Stupid greedy thugs! Now Drakkar won't be rid of Batman or rich because Nightwing has found him! And he saves Batman in the nick of time! Time for hugs and demonstrations of familial love and intimacy!

Oh Batman!

Nightwing should know Batman cares because he didn't disappear the instant Nightwing looked away. Batman does smile at the end but not until Dick leaves. Only the reader gets to know Batman is capable of the tiniest bit of joy! And that joy probably wasn't due to Nightwing telling Batman that he's proud to have been Robin. The joy was probably in getting away with not thanking somebody for saving him yet again. Teen Titans Spotlight #14: Nightwing Rating: C+. If I had written this issue, it would have been from Batman's point of view. And all along the way, Batman would be thinking things like, "I'll drop this acid vial which will remind Dick of the Great Dragon caper which will lead him to Drakkar and the subway graveyard where I'm certain Drakkar will take me to kill me!" Then Batman will think, "I bet Dick and Alfred are brainstorming how to find me right now!" And later, as the gun is being put to Batman's head, he'd be all, "The lights should go out just about now! Dick will save me in the nick of time which I'll totally razz him over. Should I say, 'Cutting it pretty close, Boy Wonder' or 'Jason would have been here five minutes sooner'?" Then the final panel of Batman's life will be a bullet passing through his head as he's unmasked. The final page would show Dick Grayson sitting in his apartment listening to Cat's in the Cradle with the phone off the hook.

#Teen Titans Spotlight #Nightwing #Batman #DC Comics #DC