Batman General Discussion

During the War of Jokes and Riddles, Bruce tried to stop the fighting by offering one side a billion dollars, pointing out what an insane advantage that would give them.

IIRC, it was a ploy, but still.

Did they take the money? XD

That's actually never really followed up on, since he sides with the person he was going to give the money to, as Batman. Briefly.

Though I imagine a good chunk of it was spent on Kite-Man's fleet of kites.

Kite-Man. Hell yeah.

Edited by ArthurEld on Apr 15th 2024 at 4:14:54 AM

That's money well spent from my point of view.

Damn straight.

I found it wild that Batman was forced to invite Joker and Riddler into his manor to discuss some kind of treaty over dinner.

Well, he wasn't forced to. It was a ploy. At one point he even says Batman is laughing at them (while presumably he was, internally, laughing at them. )

Well technically he was forced to for the ploy I guess. Like, things had gotten so bad, that he had to resort to that to try to stop them.

Also did War of the Jokes and Riddles show Poison Ivy doesn't like killing? I vaguely recall something like that in the story. That was why she didn't want to work with Riddler anymore.

Well that's just ignoring what force means.

By that logic Joe Chill forced Bruce Wayne to be Batman.

Well...yeah.

If Joe Chill didn't kill the Waynes, there's no Batman.

At this point, it wouldn't surprise if they reveal that mainline Thomas was seconds away from wearing a mask and busting the faces of mob bosses himself before his death, honestly.

Edited by Blueace on Apr 16th 2024 at 3:36:19 PM

Yeah, after Flashpoint Thomas Wayne, I've assumed that Thomas had similar ideas of being a vigilante even in the main universe.

Heck, in the old silver age comics, he was the first Batman, using a costume to fight thugs in a masquerade ball he was at. Which led to him getting shot.

Technically there is story where Bruce goes back in time and stops the murder … inspiring that timelines Bruce to be Batman as away to repay the hero who saved his parents

—-

The issue with Bruce’s wealth isn’t how much it’s that the writers refuse to let there be any progress

It’s the same with his level of tech

Bruce should make a dent but Peter Parker syndrome is in play no matter what status quo is god

Edited by FrozenWolf2 on Apr 16th 2024 at 2:41:24 PM

Yeah but that Batman was saved by the main line Batman who had his parents killed.

So without Joe Chill murdering our Batman's parents, then there's no Batman to inspire that alternate universe Bats.

Because every timeline becomes awful if Thomas and Martha aren't killed. Remember the gift?

No I don’t Red and if you know what’s good for you you won’t try and make me remember /jk

Somewhere in the Dark Multiverse, there's a doomed universe where the Waynes were never murdered and eventually died of natural causes, and Bruce ended up growing up as an entitled rich brat who ends up condemning the world to exactly the kind of ecological catastrophe that Ra's al Ghul and Poison Ivy feared would come through his sheer, mundane 1%er greed.

I'm aware of Robin King. I was thinking this would be more along the lines of Bruce Wayne as a realistic billionaire, with all the evil and depravity that implies.

Edited by TrashJack on Apr 16th 2024 at 5:01:16 AM

Like, I get that there being no Batman would make the DC universe worse, but not to the comical extremes it gets into the gift.

How the hell does Thomas and Martha Wayne surviving lead to Penguin becoming president, Ra's al Ghul taking over the Middle East, and Catwoman becoming a mass murderer?

Like, there ARE other heroes that are around without Batman. Sure DC thinks that Batman is the center of the universe, but I doubt things would get as bad without him.

Say hello to Robin King.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Apr 17th 2024 at 3:47:52 AM

So with Tom Taylor's Nightwing finally coming to end after 3 years, I realize...... I remember very little about the run.

Its all blur because yeah its a pretty uneventful. As successful as it the book running purely on good vibes means its not very memorable. No significant struggles, no major conflicts or characters, and no supervillains. Dick spends majority of the run fighting normal-ass thugs with only like 2 supervillains total, Blockbuster, Heartless, and the formers mooks

Its primarily Dick is so wholesome, him and Barbara are cute, look he has a 3-legged puppy, he solves single-issue problems by being wholesome.

I found a neat comment on Batman (1989)'s "Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight" scene.

"I thought the line meant have you ever felt a horrific pain but don't know where that pain is coming from because you're in a normal and familiar place."

Poor young Bruce :(

(7) Once again I am betting money that Failsafe invented time travel and forced Joe Chill to shoot the Waynes so that Bruce would create him.

The moral being that if Bruce weren't such a f-ck up Failsafe wouldn't have needed to have his parents assassinated.

Edited by FOFD on Apr 16th 2024 at 4:20:39 AM

You forgot that the Joker also made failsafe do it as part of his master plan to make Batman Zur again.

It'd be hilarious if Failsafe got the wrong guy, like this person who thought Bruce being Batman was a plot twist and OP's dad who didn't know Batman's parents die.

"The first time I saw Batman 1989 I was so proud of myself for deducing that Bruce Wayne was Batman before they showed him in the batcave after the museum scene. I honestly thought that they were setting up a mystery as to whether Bruce or Knox was Batman and that half of theater was like, "Bruce? But he's a spoiled rich guy! The reporter on the crime beat makes way more sense!"

It's honestly a shame that I will never be able to watch a Batman movie with that level of naivete again."

Failsafe killed Robin's parents cause Nightwing > Batman and without Robin Bruce would've been killed a long time ago

Edited by lalalei2001 on Apr 16th 2024 at 4:41:47 AM

I think in the unlikely event I ever had to write the Batman comic I'd have the next twelve months planned out in two hours.

Gotham is almost saved! Violent crime is at an all time low! Most of the super villains are either in the asylum or trying to be productive members of society. Bruce Wayne has shifted his focus to white collar crime after some pundit complained about the Titans not doing enough to fix it. The Titans, The Outsiders, Birds of Prey, The Outlaws, Batman Inc. are expanding their horizons more than ever before, saving city after city. Batman apparently lives in New York now. That would at least take six months to a year.

Assuming I had to keep going after that, I guess I'd then fall back on super villain plots.

A masked reactionary rails against inflation and gentrification. He's stumped the complacent police force and the super heroes have all gotten caught up with other things since Gotham is so low priority now. Bruce looks into the case. Eventually he decides to put his own mask on again and deliver this fool personally.

Two super villains next. "What a pristine, peaceful city! This is nothing like the Gotham my ex talked about!" "We could run this place in a week!" A spike in criminal activity is investigated. A sidekick's assistance is requested.

Third super villain. A shocking series of home break ins have left Gothamites rattled. Police are stumped at the seeming lack of connection between them. Bruce Wayne sees a pattern though. Bruce Wayne sees clues. Batman recognizes a Riddle.

Fourth super villain. Despite the best efforts of reformers, philanthropists and super heroes Gotham still has a homeless problem. Now there is a new vigilante out to solve what no one else could by ridding the streets of bums and hobos through any means necessary.

Readers are sick of the town being taken over? So wipe the town clean. No takeover attempts for at least six months and then have the next attempt stopped cold. Sick of Joker? No Joker. Too many people getting out of Arkham? Only reformed criminals get out then, only one relapses in a year's publication time. Even then he doesn't actually hurt anyone. Batman's being too mean to the family and the family is looking inept? So the family is all successful. Bruce gets to kick his feet up and be proud dad and honest executive. The successful Nightwing book is all wholesome? These Batman complaints have been going on since 2017 you say? Batman is practically a self writing character. I could see Aquaman floating into a rut no one can get him out of but how hard is it to pivot with Batman? Happy Batman! He doesn't have to smile very often, not when he has the mask on, but you know, happy atmosphere. Good times in the Gothic city for a year.

Edited by IndirectActiveTransport on Apr 16th 2024 at 8:20:22 AM

I'd say if you want to evolve Gotham... probably playing with a bunch of the one shot ideas would work.

Like the Victims syndicate never went anywhere

I remember when i pitched a Dick Bats the animated series 'I already know the Suits would never green light a Batman whatever without Bruce as Batman'

x5 Zur becomes Batman's Reverse Flash, causing every terrible thing ever to happen to him as part of some arcane scheme.

Edited by immortaleditor on Apr 16th 2024 at 6:42:22 AM

...sigh The issue is eventually EVERY Major DC hero is gonna have a IT WAS ME villain...

Granted Norman beat even Vince to that title