#or the name Gotham as a nickname for New York City (which Batman uses)

[mrmaybank]

Fandom: DC, MCU

Title: Did She Run Away?

Series: Wheres My Love (2/??)

Character(s): Peter Parker, The avengers, Talia Al Ghul, Connor Kent, Jon Kent

Request: No

Genre: Fluff, Angst

TW: None

A/N: Reader used to be superman’s sidekick . When I through New York in here, if y’all didn’t expect this to be a DC, Marvel cross over idk what to say

Key:

(Y/S/N) = Your superhero name

(N/N) = Nickname

(S/W) = signature weapon

Masterlist

December 1st, 2019

Almost two years that’s how long you had been here, in New York city. You were living with your friend Peter Parker and his aunt May. It had hit the news quickly that (Y/S/N) had moved from crime fighting in Gotham, Bludhaven, and Metropolis. To fighting crime in New York city, you hadn’t had a run in with the avengers, the rip off justice league as you called them, or heroes that were affiliated with them yet.

That would change tonight though. Since you decided to suit up about two months into your stay into New York, you had only gone after minor thugs. Which you found patrolling, which you were doing at the moment. When a familiar spider-boy who wore bright red decided you need company.

He swung down landing in front of you, before he could say anything you spoke. “What you want?” You asked.

“I thought you would like some company,” he replied, he stuck out his hand. “Spiderman,” he told you.

You rolled your eyes before taking his hand, “(Y/S/N),” You replied. You two began talking for awhile, getting to each other without revealing anything about your secret identities. You too had moved so you were sitting on the side of building with your legs dangling off the edge.

“So what’s it like working for superman?” He asked.

You shook your head, “I didn’t work for him, sure I was his sidekick but there no power dynamic. I would boss him around sometimes, he would do the same to me. He’s my mentor but he was also so much more then that,” You replied.

He placed a hand on your shoulder, “It must have been hard leaving. I don’t what I would do if I had to leave behind black widow or Iron man,” You gave him a sad smile, and nodded.

“Why’d you leave?” He asked. You froze, you hadn’t told anyone not Peter not May. The only people who knew were the ones back in Gotham and Metropolis. He must have noticed your reaction to the question because he quickly told you, that you didn’t have to tell him.

“No, I’ll tell you. It’s fine,” you replied.

“You sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,”

“It’s fine,” you assured him, you took a deep breathe. “My robin died,” you told him.

He tilted his head much like a confused puppy would, “Huh? Your bird died?” He asked.

You laughed and shook your head, “No, Batman’s sidekicks are called Robins. Mine died, he was killed by the Joker. It was couple of years ago but I never got over it, I spent months reviewing the footage from Batman’s suit from that night,” your voice cracked, “Trying to figure out if someway, somehow he wasn’t dead. But I just found myself watching my baby die, over and over again.

I did it until realized he was gone, that he wasn’t coming back. So I started visiting his grave, telling him everything that he was missing. I thought I was okay, I really did. Then one night I found myself fighting the joker. And were there, at the warehouse or what remained of it.

And he started things and I just remembered how mad, I was,” tears rolled down your face, “Mad that this sick son of a bitch was alive, but my baby bird was dead. Then I just snapped and I almost killed him and I just remember thinking that was I wanted to do it. I want him dead, I was gonna kill. If Nightwing and Orphan hadn’t shown up, I would have killed him,” You looked over at spiderman, “I’m not a murder,” you told him.

He shook his head, “Your not a murder (M/N).”

“How..?”

He removed his masking, revealing that he was Peter. “I figured it out, while you were talking,” the brunette explained.

“Can we go back your apartment?” You asked.

Peter nodded, “let’s go,”

March 2nd, 2020 (There is no COVID)

As the elevator went up heading to the top floor, where currently the Avengers resided, so did your nervous. Peter must have sense this because he placed a hand your shoulder, “Relax, everything is gonna be okay,” he told you.

You scoffed, “Telling people to relax doesn’t really make them relax,” You replied, “Besides this like meeting the Justice League all over again,”

“But it’s the avengers this time,”

You shook your head, “Still. Do you know how bad I embarrassed myself the first time, I met the Justice League?”

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Peter replied.

“It was that bad!” You exclaimed, “I fell into the fucking pool of Justice!” You looked over at Peter and noticed he was trying not to laugh, which earned him a small shove. “Asshole, don’t laugh!”

“I wasn’t laughing at you,” He replied, “Pool of Justice?”

You bit your lip trying to stop yourself from laughing as well because you knew if you laughed, Morpheus would strike you down then and there. “Yeah…the justice league isn’t the best at name things,”

“Then I feel really bad for there children,” Peter laughed.

You shook your head, “Surprisingly there kids have good names, well the ones who didn’t name themselves or had names before they got there,”

“Named themselves? Names before they got there?” Peter asked.

“Well sure the justice league treats there sidekicks and refers to them as there kids but most of them aren’t. Like my buddy Dick, he might be Bruce’s son but Bruce didn’t name him.

Dick’s parents did and so did my parents. And as for naming themselves, sometimes there sidekicks are manmade. Like my brother, Conner. He was made to be a clone of Clark and Lex Luther, he escaped the lab though and he needed clothes. So he stole them from one of the guards and the name on the outfit was Connor,” You explained.

Before Peter could respond the elevator door opened signaling you were on the avengers floor. “You ready?” Peter asked, you nodded. The two of you exited the elevator and walked down a small hallway that took you to living room.

Where a butch of people sat you recognized them all right off the bat. There was Black Widow or Natasha Romanoff, Iron Man or Tony Stark, The god of thunder or Thor, Hawkeye or Clit Barton, Bruce Banner or the Hulk, and Steve Rogers aka Captain America.

They all smiled at you, “You must be (M/N) Kent,” Tony smiled at you.

“I am indeed,” You smiled back.

Natasha patted the space next to her, “come sit down,” she told the two of you. You both did as you were told.

“We’ve heard a lot about you from Peter,” Clit told you.

“Good things, I hope you,” you replied.

“Really good things,” Steve assured you. You spent the next hour or so getting to know them all. It was nice, you laughed a lot this much since Jason died.

“How’d you end up with, Superman and superwomen?” Thor asked.

“My parents dropped me off outside, Superman’s house. Apparently they were work buddies with his Superwomen and they couldn’t take care of me. I was two, they left a note with my name and I haven’t seen them since. But it’s okay because Superman and Superwomen raised me as there kid. There my family,” You explained.

“So why’d you leave, Metropolis and Gotham? If all the family you’ve ever known was there?” Tony asked, “Get tired of the Justice League up your ass?”

You shook your head, “The love of my life died,” you told them. You felt the whole rooms atmosphere change.

“I’m so sorry, what happened? If you don’t mind me asking,” Natasha asked.

“It’s okay,” you replied, “He was murder by the Joker and years later I thought,” You shook your head, “I didn’t think, I knew I was okay. Then I’m back at what remained of the warehouse, he was killed, fighting the Joker and I almost killed him. I was lucky two of my friends were in the area because they pulled me off of him and at that moment I knew I couldn’t stay,” you explained.

“I’m so sorry,” Tony replied, “I wouldn’t know what to do if Pepper died, especially if I found myself fighting the person who did years later,”

“It was hard,” You replied.

“Well, on a happier note,” Bruce spoke up, “we don’t usually summon people to the Avengers tower, you’re aware of that correct?” Bruce asked, you nodded.

“Well were thinking about giving you an opportunity, to work with us. You know this business way better then a lot of us do, and we could use that,” He explained.

You lit up, “Really?”

Bruce nodded, “You could teach a lot of us some things and some of us have been in this game for years.”

“I’ll try my best,” You replied.

“So you in?” Peter asked.

“Of course,” you smiled.

August 23rd, 2021

You sighed as you unlocked the door to your apartment, yes your apartment. You moved out of May’s and Peter’s a couple moths ago. Finally having enough money to buy your own, which you were very happy about. You loved Peter but after a night a patrol all you wanted to do was go to sleep, which was with him that was not so easy.

As you entered the apartment you were quick to realize that the Tv and the light in the living room were on. This set you on alert, you pulled your (S/W) out and slowly made your way to living room. As you got closer you heard a laugh, one you had heard so much that you almost immediately knew who had broken into your apartment.

You rolled your eyes, as your entered the living room. “Con-” you cut yourself off. Curled up, asleep next to Connor on the couch looked like a mini-boy version of Louis Lane who couldn’t have been more then four years old. “Whose that?” You whispered.

“(M/N), meet our younger brother, Jon,” He smiled at you.

You were very skeptical, “Is this another clone?” You asked.

Connor shook his head. “So Clark and Louis…,” you didn’t finish the sentence.

Connor nodded once more, “Yep, they had sex. I wonder how that would work, I always-,” you grimaced and cut your brother off.

“Connor!” You exclaimed, “I don’t wanna think about my mother and father figure having sex!” Your shouting cause Jon to stir next to Connor, immediately opening his eyes.

He blinked a couple times before looking around eyes landing on you. “(M/N)?” He asked. You smiled and nodded, getting down on your knees in front of your baby brother.

“Hello, Honey,” you smiled.

Before Jon could respond Connor spoke up, “You know, Bruce had another kid,” Connor told you.

“Really?” You asked not taking your eyes off of Jon.

“Mhm, he’s an Al Ghul,” This caught you off guard, you turned Connor wide eyed.

“Yep, I know,” Connor replied.

“Holy shit!” You exclaimed.

“Hey! Watch your mouth in front of Jon!” Connor scolded you.

You put your hands up in surrender, “I’m sorry,” you replied.

“You better, do you know how much of a bad mouth Dick, Stephanie, and Tim have?” You watched as Jon visible lit up at those names and quickly looked around.

“Dick?” Jon asked, you shook your head.

“He’s not here buddy,” you turned Connor, “he can’t be more then four, when did Louis have him?” You asked.

“She was three months at the time you left.”

You couldn’t believe it, Clark and Louis probably knew but they didn’t tell you. Hell they didn’t even tell you he was born. You were anger but also hurt, Connor could tell. He could always, he placed a hand on your shoulder. “I’m really sorry (N/N),” he told you.

“How could they not tell me?” You asked.

“I don’t know, maybe they thought you’d come straight home,” Connor suggested, but you both knew it wasn’t true.

“I can’t believe it!” You exclaimed. “I’m just much as there kid your two are,” you gestured to Connor and Jon, “I didn’t know my parents, Clark and Louis were the only I had. How could they not tell me?” You felt tears burn your eyes and at this moment you didn’t care, you let them fall freely.

Connor weakly smiled at you, he moved off the couch and sat down on your right. He took your hand into his, you could tell he was fighting back tears. You two had always been close, doing everything together. So when one broke down, the other was very close to following because you didn’t like seeing each other like that.

You didn’t like seeing each other in pain, or sad, or sick. “(M/N), Clark and Louis aren’t good people. You always looked up to them, so I never wanted to tell you but there not. Heck once Jon’s old enough, and Clark doesn’t need me around to take care of his son. I’m gonna grandma and grandpa, I’m not gonna be welcome at home anymore.

I’m gonna be superboy, he is. Because he was kid Louis and Clark wanted,” You watched as the tears fell down your brother’s face, “Not some clone made of him and his arch enemy, not some random kid left on his door step. He’s gonna be the golden boy, the golden child and were gonna be left behind like we never exist,” Connor told you.

You didn’t wanna believe it but deep down, you knew it was true. There was no avoiding it. “Do you ever wish you lived with Lex, instead of Clark?” You asked.

Connor nodded, “Because he even the small times I see him because I have too. Because as much as Clark and Louis want to deny it i’m his kid too. He treats me better then either of them did, he might be asshole sometimes and supervillain but he’s good dad. You ever wonder, what it would be like if you parents kept you?”

You nodded, “Everyday. I wonder what it would like. If they take me back now, even with how fucked I am,” Connor squeezed your hand.

“You not fucked up,” He told you.

You shook your head, “I am! Connor, I am! I couldn’t take care of myself before Jason died, I can hardly do it now. Hell i tried to kill the Joker. I’m having nightmares about the Lazarus Pit and Jason crawling out of his grave. Even though I know it’s gone, and so is he. I’m fucked Connor,”

He shook his head, as he pulled you into a hug. “I love you so much,” he told you, “Your brother, and trust me your not fucked. Clark, Louis, the

joker, and everyone else is,” you felt an extra pair of arms wrap around you and looked to see Jon.

He smiled at you, “I love you too,” he told you.

You couldn’t help but smile as well, “I love you too, Jon. I love the both of you,” you told them.

“Now I have two awesome brothers!” Jon exclaimed. Your smile grew even wider at that.

February 1st, 2022

You, Peter, and Nat were building away from were the other avengers. There was group of people who had landed on Avengers and tower and Friday classified them as threat. The group of people, they brown robes and on the back of them was a symbol one you had seen before.

You knew it but you couldn’t remember where it was from. You remembered it being from a league of some sort, you watched as leader of the group, a women, looked around and as your eyes laid on her you realized who she was, Talia Al Ghul.

“Shit!” you exclaimed. You moved from the building you were on to the Avengers tower. Nat and Peter’s called your name but you didn’t care, as you cared about was making sure Tony, who blasted was currently pointed at Talia, didn’t do something that would cause a war behind the league and the avengers.

You landed in front of Talia seconds before Tony was about to shoot, “Stop!” You exclaimed.

“Good of you finally show up,” Talia told you, you just rolled your eyes

“(Y/S/N), what are you doing?” Tony asked.

“You can’t hurt her, you’ll start a war behind the league and the avengers and believe me that is the last thing y’all need,” You explained.

“A war?” Steve asked.

“The league is a very power power group,” you turned from your friend toward Talia, “What are you doing here?” You asked.

“Can’t I visit my son’s boyfriend?” She asked.

You cocked your eyebrow at her, “Huh?”

Talia just rolled her eyes, “Jason, my son?”

You couldn’t help but be more confused, “Since when is Jason your son?” You asked.

“Since a couple months ago,” she replied.

“Talia, Jason died. He’s been died for years,” you replied.

Talia just smiled at you, “Oh (M/N), he’s alive,” you froze, “And you know it. You’ve been having dreams of him and the Lazarus Pit,”

You shook your head, “No.” You simply said, “Jason died years ago, The Lazarus pit was destroyed years before that by the Justice League,” You exclaimed.

“Yes, but I rebuilt it. I need someone to take of Damien,” She replied.

“So you brought my boyfriend back to life?!” You screamed.

Talia frowned at you, “I thought you would be happy,”

“Oh i’m thrilled!” You stomped your foot, “So fucking thrilled, do you know how dangerous that is? Talia, sure he can protect Damian but he is gonna have urges cause by Lazarus. He’s gonna be so unbelievably anger at Bruce, the Joker, Dick! Everyone!” You exclaimed. Then you remembered, Damian was in Gotham, “Is he..,” You didn’t finish the sentence, you didn’t have too.

“He is,”

“Talia,“ you whispered.

“I didn’t know,” she replied, “You need to stop before he does,” she told you.

“What do you mean?” You asked.

“Your connected to him. You can stop him, you can help him,” Talia replied. One of the assassins whispered something to her and she frowned, “I have to go but you need to stop him.”

Before you could speak they were gone you just stared at where they once were. “(M/N)?” Tony asked.

You turned around and noticed Nat and Peter had now joined the other avengers, “I have to go home, I have to go back to Gotham,” you replied.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯/Next

#jason todd x male reader #peter parker #the avengers #talia al ghul #connor kent #jon kent #league of assassins #Clark kent x Son!reader #Louis Lane x Son!reader #Connor kent x Brother!reader #Jon Kent x Brother!Reader #dc x male reader #marvel x male reader #x male reader

[smokescythe]

[OC] Have you ever noticed that ( JAX STORM ) who’s connected to ( THE WAYNES ) looks a lot like ( JENSEN ACKLES )? But ( HE ) also go/goes by ( THE RED REAPER ). Having the ability to/of ( SMOKE MANIPULATION ) sure makes them a force to be reckoned with. Rumour has it they are ( 28 ) and is working as a ( MECHANIC ). (ooc; smo, she/her, mnt, 21+. )

basics;

full name: jackson storm

nicknames: jax

gender: cis male, he/him

birthdate: april 19th

languages: english

abilities: smoke manipulation

affiliation: n/a

personality; 

alinement: lawful neutral 

zodiac: aries

mbti: esfp

positive traits: confident, attractive, charismatic, witty

negative traits: hot-headed, emotional, self-destructive 

abilities;

title: smoke manipulation

category: manipulation 

specifics: the ability to control and create smoke. 

limitation: jax cannot create smoke in spaces that do not have enough air, he can’t create or control smoke as well in rainy weather. he requires a small level of concentration so if he’s in immediate life threatening danger- he may not be able to control his abilities. 

physical traits: when he uses a lot of his powers, his eyes will turn a pitch black. 

backstory;

jax storm was born into a cult in bludhaven, his mother found out that if jax was not born a meta human- he would have been ‘sacrificed’ to the demon they worshiped in a ritual. as he started to reach the age of five, and hadn’t yet started showing signs of meta-human physiology: his mother took him and ran from the cult. successfully hiding with him in gotham city for years. 

jax’s life was relatively normal for gotham standards. he went to school in the narrows. he got a little caught up in the petty crime of the narrows. his mother was struggling to pay the bills as a singer, so he figured he could help in some way. although his days of petty theft were short-lived when someone he’d pick-pocketed caught up to him and beat him senseless. saved by batman and robin during a patrol. he started to idolize them. 

trying out the vigilante thing by himself had been difficult but he wasn’t about to let that stop him. jax stopped small crimes in his own neighbourhood. inspired by batman- but especially by robin. who looked to be a similar age to him. he was scrappy and his fighting skills weren’t all that great, but he made do. especially as his smoke manipulation started to manifest. needing to light things on fire at first to even use it. he started going by ‘smokescreen’. though that name wouldn’t stick.

his fun would abruptly come to an end on his 18th birthday, coming home to find his mother surrounded by a bunch of people he didn’t recognize. all of which, had a strange goth-like style. trying to fight them all off for her, things got rough. jax was overwhelmed and one of them even managed to grab him and give him a deep cut across the bridge of his nose. his mother put up a bit of a fight but eventually she was kidnapped. 

knowing that the police were useless... jax rifled through his mother’s things for an answer. he found her diary, which mentioned the cult and was able to use the clues in there to find out where it was. 

tracking down the cult a few years later, but without a plan. jax barged in on a mission to retrieve his mother. it was during this fight, one against many, that he ended up going against the one rule he’d set for himself. massacring nearly all of them out of anger. splattered with blood and hooded. he was referred to by one of them as the ‘red reaper’. 

although he ended up saving his mother, she was traumatized by his display of anger. calling him evil and a ‘demon’. she refused to live with him any longer and casted him out on the street to make his own way. 

now, jax lives in new york city as a mechanic. hoping to start over in a new place. 

#intro #assembleintro #tw: drinking

[revolutionary-pirate]

Some of my Highlights from the 1811 Washington Irving - Henry Brevoort Correspondence:

These letters take place between Irving and his closest friend, Brevoort, over the course of Brevoort’s time helping with his brother-in-law, John Jacob Astor’s, fur trading business on Mackinac Island during the summer of 1811. There are so many excerpts from their generally incredibly long letters that I enjoy or are just so freakin’ adorable that I honestly cooed at them -- and this is only one summer’s worth.

My Dear Brevoort:--

“The Great Mandarian has just informed me that there will be an opportunity to forward a letter to you on friday, so my dear Boy, though hurried almost unto death, yet I will endeavor to indite a little epistle which may follow you even unto your savage haunts,...” ... “I am in quiet possession of your room, and am very much pleased with my situation. […] I hope you will be induced to take up your quarters with us when you return. You need not fear shocking the feelings of Mrs. Rumsey, as she expects it.” ... “I’m weary of company & dissipation--I have gone through such a variety this last winter that I am perfectly sated for the present; and feel no disposition to visit or mingle in any scene of amusement. I’d give anything to be accompanying you through the sublime solitudes of our Savage country. I feel as if I could sit for hours and muse deliciously on the borders of one of our vast lakes--or on the summit of one of our solitary promontorys in the highlands as I did last summer.” ... “…this letter is made up of such trifling chit chat and such trifling topics that I should be ashamed to send it to any body but yourself.” ... “Affectionately yours”

- Irving to Brevoort, New York, NY, May 15-17th, 1811

Dear Brevoort:--

“L’Herbette has just informed me of an opportunity which departs today of writing to you. I am half inclined not to use it, as you remained several days at Montreal without writing me a line…” ... Nothing of particular moment has happened since the writing of that epistle [May 15-17th letter] excepting the arrival of the most noble Patroon [Gouvernor Kemble], who has once more resumed his sway over the club. Gouv has had a long and boisterous voyage in an old leaky hulk of a british ship, with a mutinous crew and a nincompoop Captain. He & Ben Seaman were so tired of their ship that they quit her about 150 miles from land & got on board a coaster by which after being tossed about 4 days they were landed at Folly landing in Virginia & got home in a week more; having by this short cut, arrived here in little more than 8 days after the ship, which made the lighthouse in 20 hours after they quit her.  Gouv has now been home three or four days, and has already become so regular, and domestic, and has fallen so exactly into his old habits, that it begins to seem as if he had never been away from us. I never knew a fellow so little changed by European travelling. His looks too are much the same, excepting that he is a little sunburnt, but he is still spare and gaunt as a greyhound.” ... “Write to me by the first opportunity & believe me, ever, Yours truly,”

-Irving to Brevoort, June 8th, 1811

Dear Irving:--

“Mr. McGillivray has just arrived & handed me your letter [of May 15-17th]; it is the first intelligence that I have received from the regions of civilization since my departure, and I swear to you that no famished epicure ever devoured the most delicious viands with more flavour than did I its contents–I look upon it as the most attentive proof of fdship that I ever received from you.” ... ”The river abrupty descends within a distance of a mile about 200 feet, forming a variety of Falls & rapids--We were fortunate in arriving about an hour before sunfall; the whole scene was shaded with a shick mist; in a moment the oblique rays of a fine evening sun shot through this cloud of suspended vapour and were refracted into the most inchanting optical phenomina; rain bows alternately appeared & dissappd. & reflected their images with the utmost vivacity through the air, and presented all the variagated hues of the prism.--” ... “I am, my dr. Irving, most affy. ys.” ... [P.S.] I am very glad to observe that you have crept into my shell at Mrs. Rumsey’s.

- Brevoort to Irving, June 26, 1811

Dear Irving:--

“I have read your letter a dozen times & each perusal made me feel as if I had just left our best of all Cities. –In this wilderness one’s local affections are ever tugging at one’s heart; it is impossible to know by how many imperceptible fibers the soul is bound to familiar objects, until one separates from them and resides for a while remote from Civilizations, then each one holds him with the force of a cable.–” “Avert thy glorious face divine Apollo from the unworthy occupation of thy choicest votary the renowned Knickerbocker [Irving], but when he again supplicates thy aid & has finished copying his invoices of filthy Dowlass, inspire him with immortal fire.” [in response to Irving saying in his last letter “Shut your eyes, oh, ye blessed Muses, lest ye afterwards look upon me with scorn!” because he hadn’t been able to pursue his writing lately thanks to how busy he was helping his brothers, Peter and Ebenezer, with moving their mercantile business to a new location.] “Would to Heaven you were with me in this second Eden (without an Eve). Within an hours walk, I would scramble with you to the summit of a venerable old rock, from whose lofty head you would behold natures savage face, expande to endless dimentions, commanding a partial view of Lakes Michigan & Huron, studded with innumerable islands and bounded by the most romantic Bays, Inlets, Promontories & Rivers, the seats of future Cities and future Empires.--” ... “I am glad to find you so contented since you have crept into my shell, I doubt not that I shall quarter with you on my return.–” ... “If you think a letter will have time to reach me on receipt of this at Montreal, write a volume– I am Affec Yr. fr.”

- Brevoort to Irving, June 28th, 1811

Dear Irving,--

”All the curiosities which nature has lavished upon this romantic little Island, have been again & again explored, & I begin to wish devoutly for my departure, for it is recorded that even Paradise lost its inchantment & became a desert wild, without a companion. There is however no want of Eves in these inhospitable regions, [...] But these are not the companions in question; [...] There is not a man here of the least congeniality, either of taste habits or thinking with myself.-- [...] the Demon of solitude has cursed me with his deadliest influence.–If by some magical device you could manage to bestride one of these Arabian steeds, celebrated in romance for their docility and swiftness, & convey yourself beside me, I would engage to go frantic with joy, which I think ought to satisfy any reasonable man of the value of my affection” ... “What magic is contained in that honest little word home! It is impossible for a wandering exile to speak or write it, without kindling in the soul a blaze of pleasure!--On my feelings, it operates as a talisman to dispel melancholy and animate hope; reviving all those local affections that play about the heart, and which after all our chilling philosophy, constitute the true end and charm of existence.--I have often thought that if such a reptile as myself, has the power of forming sympathies, so indissoluble towards particular persons & places, how irresistable must be the longing of the exile whose consequence and talents, made him the idol of that society which he once adorned!--” ... “We look for a canoe from Montreal daily, and I have promised myself a long epistle from you, but if I find that you have forgotten me in your wanderings, ‘I will have such terrible revenge–but what it is I know not.’–” ... “I disdain to apologize for this dolour. As to a discontented spirit, I scorn it from my very soul; but somehow or other, I feel myself sunken into a state of abandonment which nothing but the company of those I hold nearest my heart can alleviate.–” ... “God Bless you my dr. Fellow--”

-Brevoort to Irving, July 14th, 1811

“Blessed be the cheering sound of the voice of friendship when heard in such a dreary wilderness as this!– “Your last epistle [June 8th] my dear Wash: has certainly rescued me from petrification. I felt myself waxing fast into that blissful state; my heart began to exhibit the first symptoms, and I think it not improbable, that some future generation of Barbers might have sharpened their razors upon my poor forlorn carcas.– […] the kind efforts of my N York friends & you as chief magician have (I hope) effectually exorcised the vile Demon.--I would not send it, if it were not for the purpose of shewing you how exactly our lethargic miseries corresponded though originating from somewhat opposite causes.” (Irving from too much [dull] social interaction, Brevoort from too little) ... “But in sober sadness, should I (my dr. boy) ‘shuffle off my mortal coil’ ‘And o’er my head close the dark gulf of time!’ in this villanous terra incognita, I should certainly run the hazard of being out of roll-call at the general muster; and consequently be lost to my friends in waiting upon the shadowy side of the River Styx.” [The embargo on trade was sparking tensions between the Whites on Mackinac and the Natives and Brevoort was nervous that he might end up dying there.] ... “Thine forever & ever!”

-Brevoort to Irving, July 29th, 1811

Dear Brevoort:--

“Dennis has come home laden with anecdotes of your expecition, and yourself. According to his account you landed safely on your head at Benny Cornwalls at seven in the evening & flourished your heels in the air for joy. He relates long conversations which he has had with you about the fair Julia besides several tender things which you said in your sleep;...” ... “Dennis informs us that he and you keep a journal which is so exquisitely humourous that Mrs. Cooper on only looking at the first word fell into a fit of laughing that lasted half an hour. We look forward with vast expectations to the perusal of this manuscript.” ... “I have laid out your spy glass, boots, chessmen &c. & had thoughts of sending all the other nicknacks I could find in your draws; but had thought it best to reserve the rest until you have tired yourself with these. The flute is not in the draw; for which I am very glad–I do not think it would be an innocent amusement for you; as no man has a right to entertain himself at the expense of others.” ... “Yours truly”

- Irving to Brevoort, August ?, 1811

[Sources: Irving to Brevoort; Brevoort to Irving]

#Washington Irving #Henry Brevoort #The Lads #I ship it. I /really/ ship it. #both platonically and romantically #fuck do i need to make a ship name? #Don't really need to. I mean. So obscure xD #HalWash? #meh idk #not important xD #Irving called Brevoort 'Hal' for short sometimes #Most people know Irving's works but know /nothing/ of his person. #many don't even know it's his name attached to his famous works #Like Rip van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow #or the name Gotham as a nickname for New York City (which Batman uses) #long post

[tripsonflatground]

Is it just me, or is it kinda capitalist that in order to get new superheroes, people kill off or age up the old ones and then put the new heroes in the same role/identity? Like, they killed Peter Parker to have Miles Morales. Bucky Barnes and Falcon/Sam Wilson both became Captain America after the death or age & retirement of Steve Rogers, depending on whether you’re looking at the comics or the MCU. Batman goes through Robins and Batgirls like it’s going out of style (and seriously, why does Dick Grayson let other people be Robin? That was a personal nickname from his birth family, right? Why would he give something so intimate away?). Replacing someone else and living up to their legacy rather than making your own path was a whole plot point/theme in Spider-man: Far From Home!

There are exceptions to this, like X-23 and Wolverine, who have managed to have some form of a father-daughter relationship in the comics (although, if memory serves, I believe he’s been killed in recent comics and she replaced him as Wolverine - though I haven’t read anything recent, so I might be wrong, and in the film Logan they killed him off). And things like Conner/Superboy from Young Justice being created with the idea to replace Superman doesn’t count in the same way because it was a villainous plot and Con didn’t end up following through. And there’s a new Ms. Marvel now that Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel, which is a much better alternative considering that Carol wasn’t using that identity anymore.

The idea I’m trying to get at, if it isn’t clear, is that the costume identity, AKA Spider-man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. seems to me the thing that’s given value while the person behind the mask is more recently being treated as expendable/dispensable. Which doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, because the person created the mask, and so much of themselves and who they are and what their goals are drove the reasons behind the creation of the identity and the way they behave in that identity. It’s like being a kid and trying on your parents’ clothes or getting hand-me-downs, even if it fits, you didn’t exactly choose it, and you look different wearing it. And I’m calling this capitalist because it feels like capitalism. If we equate being a superhero to a job, which in many ways it really is, especially if you are employed by an organization to do it like SHIELD, then the value is being placed on the role/job, and not with the labor. Capitalism doesn’t give a shit who’s doing the job and how they’re being treated as long as it’s getting done. Employees in the service/retail industry get treated like shit and don’t get paid enough but that will never change unless people have other options and aren’t desperate enough to accept those conditions and get something better. Recently, with the deaths and/or replacements of superheroes in order to have someone else fill the identity in comics and films, the individuals behind the mask, who are the real source of emotional connection and relatability, not the mask, seem to have become dispensable in the eyes of the creators.

And I do get that it’s a shortcut and an attempt to bring in new audiences by putting more modern characters into recognizable roles. But why does the original character have to *die*?

Yeah, superhero-ism is a dangerous occupation, sure, but doesn’t death seem like the most extreme option? It’s not as if there aren’t other possibilities:

1.Having characters be located somewhere else other than New York City or its fictional equivalent (Metropolis, Gotham, etc). There are other major cities in the US where crime happens, let alone other cities in the world. Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, Philadelphia. Who doesn’t want to imagine a Spider-man or a Batman with a Boston accent? Wouldn’t it be a cool storyline if other Kryptonians not related to Superman escaped Krypton and eventually made it to Earth and moved to different cities and took up mantles and eventually the Kryptonian race could start rebuilding on Earth? Talk about a really interesting and positive way to show a diasporic community. And also, it doesn’t make any sense statistically that the majority of the world’s superheroes are in the US. Put some in Toronto, Paris, London, Cairo, Sydney, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Rome, Athens, Rio, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Seoul, Istanbul, etc. If the Olympics happen there, then there’s probably a lot of people that need saving and crime happening. It’s especially dumb with the alien invasion stories where they show the audience aliens popping up in places other than NYC and suddenly the heroes have to get other there, like unless you got super-speed or teleportation, it’s going to take a while, and how are you even going to communicate with the civilians if there’s a language barrier?

2.Having characters be from other dimensions. Marvel and DC have a history of playing with alternate timelines and multi-verse theory. Into The Spiderverse was a super-popular movie that inspired tons of people to make their own Spidersonas, and the lesson that can be taken from it is that you can take a character and make it still feel unique or individualistic even if you’re using similar themes. Maybe instead of the dimensions having evil versions they have to fight or being fucked up in some other way, make the new version of Wonder Woman or Iron Man or whatever be from an alternate dimension and end up in the main because of science/magic, or a dimension-hopping villain they’re fighting, or an accident, or to get help from other versions of themselves, or even escaping from an apocalypse/doomsday from their own universe. It’s so easy to either send them back to their own universe when you decide you’re done playing with them or keep them around if you want them permanently. Wouldn’t it be fascinating if the Captain America we’re familiar with met a Captain America from an alternate universe where he fought in the American Revolution or for the Union in the Civil War or even in WW1 or Vietnam?

3.Having female characters take on feminine versions of the identity, or vice versa, or non-binary characters find a way to have a gender-neutral version. This has been done with Hulk and She-Hulk, Superman and Supergirl, Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel back when Captain Marvel was a dude, Spider-man’s daughter May was Spider-girl at one point, Batman’s cousin or something is Batwoman. There’s also been some adjacents, such as AntMan and Wasp or Wolverine and X-23. There are definitely ways that you can use a familiar identity to put more female and non-binary superheroes out there. I mean, military titles (the Captains) or even names like Black Panther, Green Lantern, and Flash aren’t even gendered. You can feminize names if you want to, but I’m pretty sure the female Hawkeye is just straight-up Hawkeye. People like Thor I feel differently about because Thor’s an actual mythological character, not something Marvel came up with, but you could just use a different Norse god/goddess? And yeah, Dr. Strange is the man’s actual name so that’s also a little different, but if he had a daughter or a non-binary child who also got their doctorate, they are in fact entitled to call themselves Dr. Strange rather than something lesser. Not to mention, that whole alternate universe versions point I just made? Yeah, these can be characters from gender-bent alternate universes or a universe where humans are androgynous or something.

4.Have multiple characters use the same secret identity. This would be the perfect concept for twins or friends with the same build. The bank’s been robbed but A is on a date? B can totally show up at the scene! B got really hurt in their last fight? A’s got them covered. There’s a bit of risk to it, like if people recognize they have different voices or someone notices them at two different crises happening at the same time, but that’s just what makes the challenge of pretending to be the same person interesting. And it could get even more complex if you had triplets doing it, or four college roommates, or whatever. It’s also a great excuse to be able to write deep interpersonal relationships and identity struggles. Hell, can you imagine how much scarier multiple Batmans would be? They could play even more on the “you never know where he’s going to be next or what shadow he could be hiding in” thing, like, just when the crook thinks he’s lost Batman, another comes out out of nowhere.

And if superhero writers don’t want to do any of this, there’s also the C-List and D-List heroes that maybe got introduced in like the 70′s or 80′s or whatever but didn’t take or ended up being a blip in another character’s backstory. If you want more modern superheros connected to the major ones so you can use them in the same stories, it is totally valid IMO to try revitalizing these obscure concepts. I have a vested interest in seeing if Monica Rambeau shows up as her hero identity Photon in the Captain Marvel sequel. This idea is still using what you have, but it doesn’t capitalize the lives of the characters you have or make them expendable in any way. In fact, it’s also kind of like recycling, or the opposite of capitalism, because you’re trying to use alternative resources or all of your resources instead of very specific ones to the point of over-saturation.

Look, I’m just very tired of superheroes getting killed off to be replaced by someone else using the same identity or because it’s edgy or dark or whatever. Even a debilitating injury that leaves them in a wheelchair or blind or deaf is a hell of a lot more interesting. Once a character’s dead, they’re dead, there’s nowhere else you can take them unless you bring them back to life  (which admittedly happens a lot in superhero universe) or have them hang around as a ghost or something. It’s boring, it doesn’t give the audience any closure and just messes with their emotions for shock value, and it promotes toxic capitalism.

#superheroes #marvel #dc #capitalism #killing characters #alternatives to killing characters

[jason-todd-deserved-better]

Welcome to the DC Universe - Tim Drake x Reader Headcanon

Request: “I really love your 'welcome to the dc universe' stuff. May i ask a Tim Drake ver? To complete it? Ty”

AN: After three scrapped drafts, four months of delays, and a whole year of planning, I’ve finally have gotten to post Tim’s version of WttDCU. I’m so sorry that it has taken so long, it’s been a long time going and after scraping it three times, I’ve finally figured out the story that I wanted to tell. It’s different than the other boy’s but in all honesty, I’ve grown to love this one so much and even though writer’s block did not help me whatsoever, I’m very proud of what this had become. I hope you guys enjoy, let me know what y’all think, and I love you guys, just want to make sure you guys know that!

Since you were a kid, you were absolutely obsessed with Batman.

Like Batman: The Animated Series was the shit for you, and you were seriously obsessed with it.

Since you were so young, you always loved the Robin character, from Dick Grayson to later Tim Drake. (Unfortunately, Jason Todd was never really in the show from what you remembered.)

Even as you grew older, you often rewatched the series every now and then.

But then you started going for the comics, and oh wow there was a richer story with them.

The Batman series were always your favorite though, you would often read through those the most, especially the ones with the rest of the Batfam.

Hell, you loved almost everyone there, especially the third Boy Wonder.

Oh man did you have a crush on that dude.

To you he seemed the most relatable, especially when you started college this semester.

The sleepless nights spent studying, the constant amount of work that needed to be done, and the ever present need for coffee. (Oh you needed that crap injected in your veins at this point, because you were about ready to crash and burn.)

Yep, very relatable.

Especially now at the most stressful wonderful time of the year, when finals are running rampant and with you craving an end to this misery called a semester.

By some miracle of the gods though, you had just made it out of your last exam of the hell quarter and you were ready to just melt away into nothing. (Or freeze into oblivion because it was way too freaking cold outside to function.)

Since it was freezing outside and you finally had a time to relax, you decided that a long and warm shower would be absolute heaven right now.

So after trudging to your apartment that was five minute walk from your campus, and tugging off your warm layers, you hop into the shower, goosebumps littering your skin from the cold.

You turned on the shower, letting the warm water tug you into bliss.

Which was interrupted by a large crash that sounded as if it originated from your kitchen.

At this, your eyes could be compared to one of a deer in front of headlights.

Absolutely no one else should be in the apartment right then because your roommate left two days ago to go spend time with her family for the holidays.

To make matters worse, you didn’t bring any change of clothes into the bathroom because they weren’t there.

Oh you really wanted to cry right then and there but you stare at the shower curtain rod that you were going to put in to replace the old one, but have now found a new use for it.

Turning off the water, you get your towel, securing it around yourself and grabbing the rod that you were now going to use as a makeshift bat.

Opening the door slightly to check if the coast was clear, you glance out, seeing nothing for the moment and opening the door more as silently as you could walking out with the rod up and ready for anything.

The hallway was clear so then you take the hallway to the kitchen.

You were thinking that it was a dumb move on your part, hell, that’s how people die in horror movies and here you are doing that exact thing.

So when you walked in and saw what was in your kitchen, you screamed.

Mostly out of shock and surprise, plus a tiny amount of fear pinched in there too.

There was a dude dressed up as Red Robin leaning against your counter trying to stay upright.

You weren’t sure what you were expecting but this sure as hell wasn’t it.

Not that you were complaining or even thinking about complaining because you notice that this dude is bleeding all over.

This is when you snap out of your freaked out daze and put down the shower rod and help the guy out.

”Okay my dude,” You pull him to sit on the stool by the counter. “I need you to sit here for a sec.”

He lets off a weak nod, his breathing very ragged, but you already left to get your first aid kit.

Not even a moment afterwards you come back with it in your hands, putting it on the counter as you pop the case open.

You then move to peel off the armor you slowly process the past couple events.

”Oh geez Tim.”  You mutter, starting to disinfect the wounds on the front off his chest.

”Wait a sec, how do you know my name?” He states, stiffening under your touch and he alcohol being rubbed in.

”You my dude, aren’t in Kansas anymore,” You stated bluntly.

”What’s the supposed to mean-” His eyes widen, “Oh crap, Wizard of Oz reference-”

”Means that you aren’t in your universe anymore, I think anyway,”  You say, moving on to another open wound.

”Yeah, but how do you know my name? Do you know this universe’s version of me?” He asks, looking at your face.

”Uh no,” You glance up at him, “Not exactly.”

”Then how do you know it?” His eyes narrow slightly, causing you to move your eyes away from his and to the work that you were currently doing.”

”T-That's going to be a lot to explain,” You stutter.

”Well I’m not going anywhere soon so please explain away.”

So you do, and Tim got very weirded out.

Not at you, but the whole “My Life Is a Source Of Entertainment” to this universe and the fact that he wasn’t even real here.

You didn’t blame him, this was also weirding you out to the max.

Like it's not everyday that your fictional crush pops out of nowhere in the middle of your kitchen.

Then there was the reason that he got there in the first place.

Turns out that he was fighting with the rest of his family against a powerful warlock, and they were winning when all of a sudden there was a flash of bright light when he then felt himself falling.

Then the next thing he knew, he landed in someone’s kitchen.

So that leads to where you two were at now, sitting on your couch, as you look through whatever DC comics you owned and showed them to him so he could see what you were talking about.

The two of you spent a couple hours reading through them.

You guys stopped when your yawns were growing large in numbers.

So you help him put the couch together for him to be more comfortable and head to bed.

Either way, you guys progressively got closer as the days pass.

Like you guys became friends very quickly.

Often times he really liked hearing you talk about your life, especially your interests and your opinions on everyone he knows.

Like how if Bruce sees an orphan he’s got to adopt them.

Or how Jason and Damian were complete and utter hotheads but still likeable in their own odd little ways.

But one that kinda rubbed him the wrong way was that you thought that Dick was a ten out of ten in almost everything. (Especially looks.)

He just shrugged it off.

What he did like the most though was that he didn’t need to hide anything from you.

It was all out in the air and it was a freedom that was kind of new for him.

Then the holiday rush really started to hit.

You were originally just going to spend a couple days with your family till after New Years.

Now you weren’t sure what you were going to do.

Eventually you got the idea to invite Tim to go with you to your parents house.

There was only one thing stopping you though.

Would he even want to?

Oh man you didn’t know where you’d put yourself if he said no.

Well, you did finally get the balls to ask him to go with you.

And you thanked whatever god was out there that he accepted.

Quite happily in fact.

So happily that he was smiling from the second you asked him to the moment he got into your car to travel to your parents.

That’s when he got a little jittery.

He wasn’t sure on how your family was going to react to him.

Like did they know about his life in Gotham?

Either way, you tried to help him out in that aspect and told him that he didn’t really have much to worry about, since in your family you were kind of the only one who was into the DC Universe.

But you guys did come up with answers to questions they might ask him.

For example;

”Where are you from Tim?” and his answer would be “I’m from New York.” (Since New York’s nickname was also Gotham and the cities are extremely similar.)

”What does your family do?” then he’d say, “My father is a businessman.” (Extremely vague but this was the only way to make sure there wouldn’t be any brows raised that would insure more questions.)

And, “What’s your major?” now this one he’s got a couple answers for but, “Criminal Science” had to be said. (For obvious reasons.)

The car ride went by pretty smoothly and the next thing you guys know, you’re at your parents house.

Oh the nerves were hitting the both of you pretty hard, but you both hid it as you guys walked inside.

Now your parent’s knew that you guys were coming (You called them beforehand.) but they were very curious about him.

It seriously wasn’t everyday that their daughter brought home somebody for them to not only meet, BUT to also stay over.

It was entirely out of character for you.

And they of course thought that there was something going on between the two of you before even stepping foot in the house.

So to say they were curious would be an understatement.

Your whole damn family was there at your house and everyone wanted to see the boy that you brought along.

All eyes were on you when the two of you walked in, hugs were given with kisses on the cheeks and the questions were flying all over the place.

Your mom though was the first one to greet the two of you, bringing you in for a hug and then going and pulling Tim in one right after, welcoming the two of you.

Tim took it very well, and he felt his nerves starting to go away.

The rest of the evening was spent with the family getting to know him and the same with him.

Your siblings liked him, your little brother especially. (He lowkey wished that Damian was more like this, and less on trying to make his life miserable.)

Your dad though was a little standoffish, and was trying really hard not to like him, like he was answering your dad’s questions with ease. (Plus, when the two of them went for a handshake, he wasn’t expecting Tim’s grip to be that strong.)

And your mom immediately liked him, she got a good vibe from him the moment they met.

The night went by in a series of laughs and good stories, but then it was time for everyone to got to bed.

The thing is all the beds were taken, except or yours.

Now when you realized this, there was a prominent heat on your cheeks.

But of course, the honorable Tim offred to sleep on the floor.

“Yeah you’re not sleeping on the ground, it’s freezing,” you state, lifting the sheets to get in, “plus I’d feel bad.”

He couldn’t argue against that so he went to the other side of you bed and crawled in.

Seeing how stiff he was, you decide to put on cheesy holiday movies on your laptop that you brought.

Putting it between the two of you, you only make it 45 minutes into the movie till you crash out.

Thing is, you were now leaning your head on his shoulder sleeping, and he blushed when he felt you nod off.

His heart was doing somersaults when he saw you sleeping, a warm feeling filling his heart.

So he turned off your computer and fell asleep with an arm wrapped around you holding you close.

After that night, the rest of your break went by in a blur.

Then the next thing you know, you were back at your apartment and life went back to normal.

Well as normal as it could have been with Tim now in the picture.

He was a good sport throughout it all.

But he needed to go home.

You guys did try your best to find a way to get him home, but it became clear that someone from the other side needed to open a portal or something.

So waiting was the only option.

It was taking his family a while though.

Enough to the point where it gave you both a bad feeling.

But you gave at least the Batfam the benefit of the doubt, Tim on the other hand, had thoughts about them forgetting him at the forefront of his mind, even as he tried to push them away.

Life goes on though, and days became weeks, weeks became months, and the next thing you knew it was March and school was eating you alive.

Currently you were in the middle of a APA essay on the couch, with Tim sitting with you, his nose stuffed in his own laptop. (Also working on stuff, but he was listening in on police conversations, old habits die hard.)

But then your roommate walks in from her 7 o'clock class.

Tim notices her pull out her phone, but something was going on with the coms, so he wasn’t paying attention to the sly smirk appearing on her face.

You weren’t paying attention, and one minute you were working on the essay and the next you had the back of a phone shoved in your face.

“And now witness the wild geek in her natural habitat, typing her life away as the rest of her sanity boils out of her blood shot eyes,” Your roommate narrates, trying and failing at doing a nature documentary voice over.

Your eyes narrow, “Bro, what the hell are you-”

“Oh but look,” Then she motions the phone in Tim’s, “There seems to be a male Geek, also having the life being slowly sucked out of him.”

She then turns the camera to face her, “Could it be some odd mating ritual? Or something else?” She lets out a dramatic sigh, “The world may never know-”

You each glanced to each other for a brief moment, and a devious smile crawls on both of your guy’s faces as you both got the same idea at the same moment.

It was lightning fast, the camera almost didn’t get it as you jumped on each other, lips meeting in a frenzy.

Cue your roommate.exe has stopped working and is now having an aneurysm because of h o l y  s h i t.

Out of all the things that she thought that you’d do, like maybe throwing her phone across the room on to the other couch, she was not expecting that.

So that is basically how the two of you became a couple.

Funnily enough, though, it was all recorded on Snapchat.

Even funnier that your older sister was friends with her on Snapchat.

You had forgotten that until your phone was ringing and you saw her face on the screen.

Oh man, was she freaking out, she was happy though, if not a maybe a little grossed out. (Ain’t nobody want to see their sister like that.)

Tim could hear the whole conversation as he left the living room with you to your room and he was trying really hard not to laugh.

This was basically how the next few weeks went.

Only now there was the addition of you going and working out with him whenever he trains. (Which was legit almost every day, and your thighs have never started to look so good, but oh my god they were never this painful.)

But in all honesty, you guys were happy, yeah Tim was kinda sad that his family never came for him.

Yet he was grateful that you were there for him, through thick and thin, whenever his mind would go back to Gotham, whenever he’d wake up shaking and heaving from a nightmare, you were there to ground him and remind him that it would all be okay.

However, fate still wanted to make Tim’s life a living hell.

It was a normal day where you got up early to head to your 8 o'clock class, everything was just the same as you sat down, but it all started going to hell when all of a sudden your classroom was filled with a flash of bright light.

Your eyeballs felt like they were fried from how bright it was.

But you could still feel yourself falling.

And you just about felt your soul leave your body from how scared you were.

Thank god that it wasn’t a considerable height that you fell.

Well, it was long enough for you to have a bruise on one whole side of your body while you forgot to breathe for a good couple of moments.

With a groan you lift yourself on your elbows, only to yelp and duck as a piece of metal was thrown over your head.

What. In. The. Actual. Hell.

There were more being thrown in all sorts of directions, and you only realized where you were when you saw a couple dudes in colorful costumes fighting it out with a dude that kept throwing white flashes of light, almost like mini suns.

They even left blotches in your eyes as you watched.

But not only was he throwing fireballs, but he was also throwing random objects, which explained the whole iron beam thing.

They kept going, and from what you realized the Batfam kept going too.

Only until the evil discount Doctor Strange threw a light ball at his feet and then he was gone.

“Damn it!” You heard Batman yell dashing to the sport where the wizard dude was but it was already too late.

“Not this shit again!” You heard the Red Hood yell out.

They were all more agitated now, but they didn’t notice you shakily stand up.

“H-Hey!” You yell out.

They all turn their heads to you, not realizing you were there.

“Y’all need to get your head in the game if we’re going to get Tim back.”

This got their attention.

The next thing you know is that you’re getting whisked away to the Batcave.

Lots of interrogation after that.

Your nerves were fried before, but now you could feel them sizzling in your mind.

So was theirs but you were pissed but how long they waited to get to him.

“It’s been months you assholes!” You let the floodgates open now, “He lies awake at night wondering why you guys haven’t come to find him, he’s been in so much pain since fucking December-”

“Woah Woah Woah,” Jason says, holding his hands up, “It’s only been two weeks, and we’ve been fighting that asshole trying to get Tim back-”

“Dude, we’ve been waiting for like four months,” You say, a voice in a deadpan.

This scared everyone in the conversation.

It even scared you.

Time went faster where you were, and nobody knows how much time has passed.

Now you were feeling horrible about leaving Tim alone.

They all got somber after that.

Conversation died off soon after, but they weren’t on your ass anymore.

Eventually, they all were ready to crash, so they all went upstairs.

Which left you and Alfred, so he offered to take you to a room to let you rest.

And so you followed, anxiety making you not really up for conversation as he led you up and into the manor.

He led you to a room, and it only took you a few seconds to realized that it was Tim’s room.

It was as tidy, with a faint smell of coffee in the air and his laptop still open on his desk.

Alfred had a feeling that you and Tim were closer than what everyone else thought, he only took you there to see if he was right or not.

From the look of your face, he knew that he was right.

“I thought that you would be more comfortable here, it seems as if you and Master Drake were inseparable,”

You smile a little and nod, “We were,”

“Then I can reassure you that we will find him and bring him home,” He smiles for a moment, shutting the door quietly behind him as he leaves.

You didn’t sleep well that night, nor the next night after that or the next.

But you didn’t have to wait long before the wizard showed up again.

They wouldn’t let you go anywhere near the action, but you stayed with Oracle in the cave, so you were able to watch the scene unfold.

At first, it seemed as if they were outmatched, but they were slowly gaining ground, and the Discount Doctor Strange saw this, but before he could set off another portal, Nightwing found an opening to his head and knocked him out with one of his escrima sticks.

It was soon after that the man was taken into custody and soon after that was he getting interrogated by Batman.

But days later, he wasn’t budging.

They were getting desperate, and you were their last option on getting information out of him.

When you walked in and saw his eyebrows raise in surprise everyone knew that they hit something there.

“Surprising that you are here, darling,” You feel your gaze narrow.

“Who are you, and why did you send him away,” You say, voice like steel.

“The question is who are you, and why are you here while he’s there?” His voice was condescending.

“You’re the reason why I’m here, and the dozens of people you’ve displaced from their homes.” (A couple of your classmates were also transported to Gotham, just scattered around the city and were showing up at the GCPD ever since looking for help.)

“Oh but you don’t realize that you have this power as well, I could sense it,” he says, and evil smile revealing his grotesque teeth. “It’s small, but it is there,”

“I don’t have-” He cuts you off.

“Ahh, but you do.” The interrogation did not go much further.

But this did end up with you in the Batcave, trying to see if he was correct.

And for the moment, you were pretty sure the asshole was messing with you.

Much to your embarrassment, as Dick and Damian were also in there with you.

Dick was supportive, but Damian was more annoyed than anything else.

“Why can’t you just suck it up and-” Damian was in the middle of one of his many criticisms, but that was the last straw from you.

“I’m freaking trying goddamnit!” You yell out, throwing your arms out behind you, too much at the moment to actually notice the light surrounding them.

It took a couple of heaving moments to notice the look of shock on Dick’s face and the smugness on Damian’s.

“What?” You ask.

“Um (Y/n), look at your hands,” Dick says pointing.

You do and let out a yelp that was half excitement and half fear.

It then took you a couple minutes to turn it off, and a couple more as you figured out how to turn it back on.

You did this a couple more times, getting the hang of it and making sure that you could control them.

Then it was really time to put it to the test, after bringing the rest of the Batfam down, you open a portal that was big enough to get you though.

You let out a nervous laugh, “Wish me luck, guys.”

“We don’t need to, we already know Tim’s in good hands,” Dick says smiling.

“Bring him home, (Y/N),” Bruce says, hope in his gaze (An emotion rarely is ever seen on his face.)

And so you walk through, light blinding your vision as you step though.

For a couple moments, you blinked away the dark blotches left by the blinding light.

You let out a cry of joy when you realize that you were back in your apartment kitchen.

Dashing out of the room, and onto the hallway, you bump straight into a familiar chest, both your eyes widening at the sight of each other.

“Tim!” You exclaim out of breath, itching to hold him close.

At first, he couldn’t say anything, bringing his hands to your face as if he was making sure that you were real and were right there, whole in front of him. “(Y/N)?”

In less than a second, you guys were on each other, your arms wrapped around his neck, and his around your waist, neither one of you wanting to let go.

“Oh my god, (Y/N), where did you go, it’s been over a week, everyone has been worried sick,” He chokes up a bit against your neck.

“Heh, it’s a long story, but I’m pretty sure you want to hear it.”

You tell him everything that happened in the passed few days for you, and while he listened, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

His family didn’t forget him.

After you finished with your story, Tim filled you in on what was happening while you were gone.

Your family came when they found out what happened in your class, while he and your roommate were doing all they could to figure out how to find you.

You called them after Tim told you, and then you had everyone make it your apartment in almost no time.

You were pretty sure that you were never hugged and questioned more ever in your life.

Everyone stayed late, but eventually, they went to their hotel room for the night.

Then after a long hug from your roommate, she too retired to her room, and finally, both you and Tim were alone.

That was the first night that you too actually slept decently for a while. (After some you know what.)

But then the conversation came up about what the two of you were gonna do.

Tim had to get home, but you had a decision to make on whether you would stay or go with him.

After a lot of talking, you decided that you were going to go with him, but you would take frequent trips too and from so that you can stay in contact with your friends and family.

The next day you let everyone know what the plan was, at first they were hesitant ut they knew you’d be happier with him.

And the next day, you made a portal that took you and Tim back to the Batcave.

Turns out it a day had passed since you’ve gone back so maybe you could control what time you could get to a place, you thought but were interrupted when you and Tim were legit tackled by everyone, including Damian.

Tears were shed, feelings were spared, and a whole lot of love was pouring into the room.

Once everyone had gotten their selves partially together, you reached out for Tim’s hand, your finger’s threading together.

“Welcome home, Hon.” You say, smiling brightly.

Tim’s smile matches yours with a little amusement sneaking through, “Welcome to the DC Universe, Babe.”

#tim drake x reader #tim drake imagine #tim drake headcanon #tim drake imagines #Tim Drake #red robin x reader #red robin imagine #red robin headcanon #Red Robin #DC Headcanon #dc imagine #DC comics #dc comics imagine #dc #robin #robin headcanon #robin x reader

[strangenessbooks]

The Bat-Man Recap #5

Issue 31 of Detective Comics. This story is apparently called Batman Vs the Vampire, but there's no mention of a vampire. Just some monk guy. This is the first comic to actually name cities.

Gotham was obviously based on New York as Gotham was nickname for it. Don't worry, I'll tell when we're in Gotham.

Batman never goes back for this man, so he's either still there or the fire department got him down. Also, Bruce is strong enough to pull this man up on a rope. '

Julie Madison is Bruce's Fiancée' and I wonder how long she lasts as character. I literally just read Gotham by Gaslight which is the first time I've remember hearing about her. Gotham by Gaslight is retelling of Batman's begins but Victorian so it makes sense that it takes lot from the actual origins of Batman.

At least he takes her to the doctor, who just happens to also be hypnotised and tells her to go to Paris. Also werewolves but no vampires.

We do have an exciting first, the first time Bat is added to the name of object/ vehicle. Also, the Batarang is here.

Sorry, Bateranga. I'm sure it will be an important difference. He uses a lot this issue. As well as his gas pellets but we get to that later.

Batman being stronger minded is here and able to beat tances. Something that will last longer than Julie Madison.

No werewolves but randonly giant apes which Europe is famous for.

We have our first death trap. Honestly, Bruce kinda deserves this. Not that the Monk knows that. Unless he's Ricky's bother back for revenge.

You might have seen me post an edited version of this already. Just a reminder than I move panels about for these recaps so this was not the original layout of these panels. Read the comics if want all the gold that's in them.

This is okay, kinda disappointing but obviously, the story is not over yet. Join us next time for part 2, where we have been promised werewolves. It better not be apes again.

A fun note about language. Episode is so associated with TV now, that I forget it that it was used to describe sentimental stories before then,

#The Bat-Man Recap #Batman #Julie Madison

[spyral-agent37]

character name: Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson

codename: Agent 37

character age: 26

faceclaim: Cameron Cuffe

species: Human

status: Hero

occupation: Secret Agent

home earth: E19

biography

past:

Richard Grayson started his life as part of a loving family, he was the youngest member of The Flying Graysons, who toured with The Haly Circus. When the circus came to Gotham City, his family were the main attraction, which ultimately sealed their fate. Dick overheard "Boss" Tony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid protection money. The owner refused, and that night he watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending them hurtling to their deaths. He felt completely responsible, because he failed to warn his parents in time.

Dick was placed in Gotham's juvenile services system, on the grounds that social services was full. He got beaten up by a number of the inmates, and he was later sent to a Catholic orphanage, where it seemed he would stay until an unlikely guardian stepped forward. Bruce Wayne. Things didn't get off to the best of starts between the two, as Dick was still consumed by vengeance for his parents. One night he sneaked out of Wayne Manor to solve the crime on his own - only to run into Batman. After waking up in the Batcave, he was shocked to learn that Bruce and Batman were one and the same. Working together they proved Zucco's involvement in the crime and Bruce offered the Dick the opportunity to train as his partner. He accepted and chose the name Robin, after the nickname his mother gave him.

When Robin was 17, he was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this scared Batman into ending his career for good. Now completely independent Dick went to work with the Teen-Titans, leaving the Manor and moving to New York. Unsure of who he was meant to be, now he was no longer Robin, Dick turned to Superman for advice. The Man of Steel told him about a Kryptonian hero named Nightwing who protected the helpless and wanted a world ruled by justice.

As Nightwing, Dick spent the majority of his time with the Titans, Outsiders and then later, alone in Blüdhaven. He made firm friends with his Titans teammates and considered Wally West aka Kid Flash his best friend. When the speedster was lost in the battle against Abra Kadabra; Dick felt as if a part of him had gone along with Wally. He didn't fully understand the depth and meaning behind this huge sense of loss until much later. While in New York he was approached by Tim Drake and eventually helped him become the third Robin. When Batman was injured by Bane, suffering a broken back, Dick stepped up to fill in for Bruce while he recovered, developing a strong bond with Tim both as Batman and as an older brother.

With such a hectic Vigilante life, it was a wonder Dick managed to build any kind of civilian life, but somehow he did. Initially he went through Police Academy and joined Gotham PD before transferring to Blüdhaven. However, his desire for justice didn't match with the departments he was placed in, as both Gotham and Blüdhaven were rife with corruption. Dick made the decision to leave and re-skilled as an EMT, he was still helping people, just in a different way.

Batman was seemingly killed during his final confrontation with Darkseid, leaving Dick orphaned again. Bruce leaves a message for him pleading that Dick not take up the mantle of the Batman, due to his belief that Nightwing and Robin can protect the city as they are. Dick agrees with his guardian's last wish, until Jason tries to take the cowl for himself. Dick becomes Batman, with Bruce's son Damian as his Robin, until Bruce Wayne returns from the 'dead' (Tim had actually been right all along, Bruce wasn't dead, just missing).

Damian is murdered by The Heretic, which hits the family hard. Even though they didn't always see eye to eye, and he was constantly being ridiculed by the youngster, Dick is deeply grieved by the loss, being reminded forcibly of when they'd had Jason stolen from them. Bruce resurrects Damian with the chaos shard and things return to some semblance of normality for a while.

Shortly after this Nightwing is captured by the Crime Syndicate. They threaten to unmask him and hook him up to the Murder Machine which would detonate if his heart isn't stopped within a set amount of time. Batman tries to break him free, but to no avail and is forced to allow Lex Luthor to stop Nightwing's heart. Once he is revived, Bruce brings him home to the manor to recover in secret. 

No sooner is Dick back to full health than he's out on another mission, this one more dangerous than any he could find around Gotham or Blüdhaven. Nightwing died on camera, the world thinks he's gone, giving Bruce the perfect opportunity to send someone he trusts undercover into Spyral, a spy ring he had been tracking for some time. Even though it means lying to his family, Dick does as his mentor asks and leaves the manor, heading to Europe and Spyral. Nobody but Bruce knows he is alive.

present:

Still with Spyral, Dick has been working alongside Matron to try and weed out all the corruption from the organization. Stumbling upon an experimental facility which tracked the Speedforce in an attempt to access it. Dick stuck around, working with the researchers in the hopes of finding a way to bring his childhood friend, Wally, back from the mysterious plane of existence. Successfully seeing the missing Speedster in the energy, the attempt to extract him backfires and instead sends Dick hurtling through to the other’s location. Stranding him on Earth 1.

positive traits: Resilient, Kind, Courageous

negative traits: Bold, Selfless, Secretive

para sample:

So far his plan of avoiding other participants in this experiment had gone well. He’d managed to pass through the Cornucopia again without incident; aside from stumbling over a coil of rope and two skyhooks that he hadn’t seen amongst the rocks. Now he was headed down a deserted tunnel, sparingly using his flashlight as up ahead he could swear he saw natural light. Faint, but most certainly there. Unless of course he was hallucinating. Which if he was honest, he wouldn’t discount totally. He was definitely lacking some Vitamin D after spending so much time underground.

This cave was very much preferable to the one where he’d refilled his canteen and bottle (with water, thankfully, not pee), no skeleton for starters and it didn’t smell like a sweet shop exploded. In fact, as he stepped further into the cavernous space, he actually felt almost at home. A familiar rustling came from above, and the somewhat annoyed chitter that followed as his light swept the roof caused a smile to come to his face.

“Hello everyone,” Dick responded to the bats, “nice place you have here.”

Moving forward, his eyebrows shot up in surprise as saw the tree, leaves upturned toward the distant sunlight filtering through the mass of bats at the cave’s roof. Further inspection resulted in him picking a rather odd looking banana. But it tasted fine and was a welcome break from fish. His curiosity kept drawing his attention back to the light far above and the temptation to climb up there grew stronger. It was a tough ascent, he’d have to use all of his skill and his new sky hooks, but would beat sitting around in guano.

[nightitan]

* 𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐒𝐎𝐍

It  seems  UNCALLED  for , for  me to  write  out  every  instance  of  Dick’s  life  in  a  biography . So  instead - here  it  is  condensed  into  the  VERSES  that  I’ll  be  writing  in !!

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒

ETHNICITY: CAUCASIAN  SEXUALITY: DEMISEXUAL / BIROMANTIC EYES: ULTRAMARINE BLUE HAIR: DARK BROWN / BLACK BIRTHDAY: 1ST MARCH 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟏 : 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐘'𝐒 𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐒 𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜

AGE: 8 MANTEL:  LITTLE ROBIN RELATIONSHIPS: NONE

This  is  set  with  Dick at  the  age  of  EIGHT  . He’s  part  of  a  trio  known  as  the  FLYING  GRAYSONS  with  his  mom &&  dad  at  HALY’S  CIRCUS . He’s  young - a  lot  younger  than  most  acrobats . But  as  he’s  been  training  since  he  was  able  to  walk - he’s  already  the  most  PROFICIENT  acrobat / gymnast  of  his  age  to  EVER  perform . He’s  refereed to  locally  as  LITTLE  ROBIN , a  nickname  that  was  given  to  him  by  his  mother .  

This  also  leaks  into  the  DEATH  of  his  parents  &&  his  transference  into  Juvenile detention  as  there’s  no  space  for  him  in  the  care  system . It  can  explore  the  TROUBLES  that  he  faces  there  &&  the  time  spent  desiring  to  be  back  in  the circus  &&  figure  out  what  actually  happened  to  his  parents . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟐: 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐍 𝚒𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜

AGE: 10-17 MANTEL: ROBIN RELATIONSHIPS: NONE

After  being  adopted  as  a  WARD  by  the  infamous  BRUCE  WAYNE : BILLIONAIRE , it  doesn’t  take  Dick  long  to  discover  his  new  father  figure’s  SECOND  life . He’s  soon  taken  on  as  Batman’s  protégé , Bruce  allows  him  to  choose  his  own  name  &&  he  adopts  the  mantle  of  ROBIN ( After the  nickname  his  mother  had  given  him . )  This  verse  covers  the  TEN  YEARS  that  Batman  trains  Robin  for - &&  the  grueling  challenges  he  faces - including  the  GAUNTLET . 

This  verse  ends  when  Dick  is  SHOT  at  the age  of  Seventeen  &&  Bruce  decides  it’s  time  for  him  to  drop  the  idea  of  ROBIN . Dick  is  heart  broken  &&  leaves  the  WAYNE  MANOR  for  the  first  time  to  try  &&  seek  out  some  independence . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟑: 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝚋𝚒-𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕

AGE: 17- 25 MANTEL: ROBIN && NIGHTWING RELATIONSHIPS: STARFIRE ( KORIAND’R)

Dick - DETERMINED  to  continue  on  as  Robin  but  under  his  own  steam - becomes  the  leader  of  a  group  known  as  the  TEEN  TITANS . During  this  period , Bruce  &&  Dick  are  most  at  odds , &&  rarely  converse - when  they  do  it’s  heated  ,  rough  between  them  . Eventually - Bruce  tells  Dick  that  he  is  no  longer  a  part  of  BATMAN && ROBIN ,  &&  that  he  is  to  retire  as  Robin . 

*

This  verse  is  resumed  AFTER  Dick  changes  personas . With  Superman’s  Guidance , Dick  takes  the  name  NIGHTWING  &&  Returns  to  the  Titans  with  a  new  suit - a  new  attitude  &&  high  hopes  for  the  Titans . He  also  asks  his  girlfiend  STARFIRE  to  marry  him ,  but  their  wedding  plan  does  not  go  to  plan . Starfire  returns  to  her  homeworld  &&  Dick  returns  to  Gotham . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟒: 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐓

AGE: 25- 27 MANTEL: BATMAN && NIGHTWING RELATIONSHIPS: STARFIRE

During  this  verse - Dick  takes  up  the  role  as  Batman  while  Bruce  is  out  of  action  with  an  injured  back . His  ROBIN  is  TIM DRAKE , a  lad  a  little  younger  than  him  that  had  IDOLISED  Dick  for  years  after  seeing  him  in  the  Circus  as  a  boy .  The  two  work  well  together  for  a  short  while  until  Bruce  returns . 

This  also  covers  Dick  returning  to the  TITANS  to  find  that  he’s  been  replaced  as  the  leader  by  SPEEDY . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟓: 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍 (𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄)

AGE: 28 - 30 MANTEL: NIGHTWING RELATIONSHIPS:  BATGIRL ( BARBARA GORDAN )

In his  MAIN VERSE , Dick  lives  in  BLUDHAVEN  &&  protects  the  city  the  way  that  he  used  to  protect  Gotham  with  Batman . This  verse  is  pretty  self  explanatory - &&  can  encompass  most  threads  as  it’s  open  to  expansion .    

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟔: 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

AGE: 31 MANTEL: NIGHTWING RELATIONSHIPS:  BATGIRL / ORACLE 

Dick , planning  to  INFILTRATE  the  panel  of  super villains  led  by  LEX  LUTHER - Tells  Slade  Wilson  That  he’s  given  up on  being  a hero  &&  that  he’s  decided  to  join  him  &&  the  others.  It  takes  a  while  to  convince  him  - but  EVENTUALLY  Slade  asks  Dick  to  train  his  daughter  , ROSE .  Dick  does  what  he’s  being  asked  of . Except  he  isn’t  rewarded  with  REVELATIONS  against  the  other  side - instead , Deathstroke  Destroys  Dick’s  new  home  of  BLUDHAVEN . Dick  tries  to  save  as  many  civilians  as  he  can  but  is  unable  to  do  much . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟕: 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑

AGE: 32-35 MANTEL: BATMAN RELATIONSHIP: NONE

After  BRUCE  WAYNE’S  death , Dick  returns  as  Batman  once  more . But  tells  TIM  that  he  doesn’t  want  him  to  be his  ROBIN . Mainly  because  he  saw  him  more  as  an  equal  rather  than  a   protégé . Tim  is  VERY  unhappy  && they  part  on  bad  terms . Dick  INSTEAD , takes  Damien  on  as  his  Robin  - a  mistake  as  Damien  is  cocky  &&  rude . Tells  Dick that  he  shoud  step  down  as  he’ll  never  be  good  enough  to  replace  BRUCE.  

This  verse  also  covers  Dick  trying  to  revive  Bruce  in  the  LAZARUS PIT . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟖: 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒

AGE: 35 - 39  MANTEL: NIGHTWING (DARK) RELATIONSHIPS: RAYA VESTRI

Dick  ( through  a  lot  of  pain )  gains  ownership  of  HALY’S  CIRCUS . He  also  returns  to  the  Mantel of  Nightwing ,  but  takes  on  a  darker  persona  &&  also  becomes  a  little  darker  within  himself  - Perhaps  more  VIOLENT . After  the  destruction  of  Bludhaven , Dick  now  watches  over  NEW  YORK  instead . Things  are  going  well  until  Dick  is  kidnapped  by  the  SYNDICATE  &&  his  identity  is  revealed  to  the  world . After  dying  for  a  short  while  - Dick  is  revived  &&  convinced  by  BRUCE  to  let  go  of  his  Vigilante  life  &&  become a  secret  agent  instead . 

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝟎𝟗: 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐀𝐋

AGE: 40  MANTEL: AGENT 37 RELATIONSHIPS: NONE

Dick  plans  to  go undercover  in   the  SPYRAL  agency . He  is  eventually  recruited  &&  is  set  on  a  mission  of  his  own . This  verse  covers  the  MAJORITY  of  Dick’s  time  as  a  double  agent  inside  of  SPYRAL  as  he  attempts  to  bring  down  LEX LUTHER  &&  other  bad  guys  working  together  . 

𝐀𝐔 𝟎𝟏: 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄

AGE: 17-28 MANTEL: NIGHTWING  RELATIONSHIPS: NONE

This AU  is  one  in  which  Dick  remains  at  home  as  NIGHTWING  &&  lives  with  his  ‘ BROTHERS’  as  they  progress through  being  Robin  &&  to  their  own  Mantels . It  can  explore  the  relationships  between  the  boys  more  easily  as  they  don’t  spend  a  lot  of  time  together in CANON . 

#i. ──────── 『N』 ( out of character) #ix. ──────── 『N』 ( study: about )

[mmsuperman]

Electric Earthquake

May 15, 1942

Directed by Dave Fleischer. Produced by Max Fleischer. Voices by Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Julian Noa, and Jackson Beck. Animation by Steve Muffati and Arnold Gillespie. Story by Seymore Kneitel and Isidore Sparber. Musical arrangement by Sammy Timberg.

General Notes

This story is specifically set on Manhattan Island in New York City, not Metropolis. Since the recognizable Daily Planet building is the same as in the other shorts, we have to conclude that all of the Fleischer Superman shorts are similarly set in New York. (Elseworlds writers, take note!) Remember that this is 1942, so many aspects of Superman’s story are still being developed, including the Daily Planet’s usual home of Metropolis. While Marvel Comics uses New York as its main setting, most of DC’s stories happen in fictional cities. The idea didn’t catch on widely, but at one point Grant Morrison, in the pages of Guardian, even coined a nickname for the New York City of DC Comics: “Cinderella City,” as it’s constantly overshadowed by its two wicked step sisters Metropolis and Gotham.

On the topic of fictional geography, the current, fabulous Supergirl TV series invented a new locale, National City, for its setting, named presumably for National Comics Publications, Inc. The company, Wikipedia tells me, was the result of a merger of two companies founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, National Allied Publications, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. Detective Comics is the periodical in which Batman made his 1939 debut. The company would brand itself as “Superman-DC” for years after its two most popular books until eventually officially renaming itself “DC Comics.” (Yes, “DC Comics” stands for “Detective Comics Comics.”)

Bud Collyer typically changes the register in Clark’s voice when he says, “This looks like a job… [lowers voice] for Superman!” He doesn’t do it here, delivering the line entirely in Superman’s baritone.

I like this short in particular for the variety of obstacles Superman has to face. As I’ve said before, you feel that Superman is really having to work hard here since he’s generally less powerful than modern Superman who’s depicted as being just as fast as The Flash and able to swim deep in the ocean like Aquaman. Here he’s getting swept up by whirlpools and almost crushed by debris.

He’s underwater for most of his screen time, but Superman’s initial leap is starting to look more flight-like, isn’t it?

With the seventh film in the series, we finally have our first non-white character. I’d like to give the Fleischers some credit here. The villain is Native American but is drawn in a professional business suit and later depicted as a scientist. You could easily see the exact same scene showing him coming into the Planet offices dressed in animal skins with a huge feathered head dress on. The representation of him as a mad scientist goes a long way toward making this movie palatable 75 years later. His heritage is the premise of the story but he himself isn’t a caricature.

This film series affords a few opportunities to look at the the ways American culture hasn’t really changed too much in 75 years. (And mostly when I say “American culture” I mean “white culture.”) The villain makes his demand that Manhattan was stolen from his people. Clark replies “possibly, but just what do you expect us to do about it?” I’d say that his response is about the same as we have today. Yes, whites delivered an injustice upon your people, but it was so long ago that there are no living perpetrators and no living victims. Taking land away from living Manhattanites would indeed create a new injustice.

Clark is actually being far more honest here than anyone in the room knows. Not only did he not force the Lenape off their land, his ancestors are from a different planet entirely! Yet Clark passes as a white male on Earth. No matter how good a person he is, he still benefits from the efforts at oppression that made sure that whites sit at the top of the totem pole economic tier. At some point we (whites) need to start understanding that a little bit. Just because you didn’t take away anyone’s land (or own a slave) doesn’t mean you don’t benefit from those actions even hundreds of years later.

Further reading:

The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Why Native Americans don’t want reparations by Daniel R. Wildcat

Mild-Mannered Edition Notes

All of the versions of this film are in good shape. VCI Entertainment’s “Ultimate Max Fleischer Cartoon Collection” truncates the music that plays over the Paramount logo. Each of the copies I own has a slightly different timing for when the logo fades in, but none drastically so.

The Mild-Mannered Edition of the film is the same as the Warner Home Video DVD, which has the best colors and sound.

📽 YouTube link

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