History Fanfic / CatTales

->"Ugh, Hugo sweetheart - 1967 called, they want their glasses back. Wonderful invention Dearie, they're called 'contacts'. Say it slowly with me: 'con-tacts.'"

* NeverHeardThatOneBefore: Greg "Giggles" [[Series/TheBradyBunch Brady]], a former Joker henchman being hired to bartend at the Iceberg Lounge, admits his real name to his new boss. Penguin finally says it sounds familiar, and is not surprised when Brady replies that "I've heard all the jokes, sir."

* DeadpanSnarker: Jason Blood. Just... wow. This is his reaction when Poison Ivy tries to green him: “Just because I look at you when you speak, you shouldn’t assume that means I’m listening to you or care about what you say. That’s just something I do to be polite.” Both sides of Two-Face start a fan club for Jason when they hear about this.
** Also: "In the interests of proceeding before the fabric of space-time erupts into a flame of un-existence, let us say that I’m satisfied with your typically female and feline assurances uncorroborated by any rational explanation whatsoever."

* BattleCouple: Tim (Robin III) and Cassandra Cain (Batgirl II) are dating. Mind you she could probably snap his back over her knee.

* {{Chickification}}: Poison Ivy. In almost every single ComicBook/PostCrisis depiction of her character, she has a poisonous kiss, is a skilled chemist, and while less common, is able to psionically control all plant life. Here, however, she's pretty much just a gardener with pheromones, a weak control of plants and a massive ego. She needs to take magical steroids in order to pull off any large-scale manipulation of plants.

** Surprisingly [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed.]] Selina balks heavily at every instance of Batman [[ControlFreak asserting that it has to be done his way,]] and Bruce slips into an {{Ax Crazy}} {{Knight Templar}} version of himself, dubbed Psychobat by just about everybody, whenever Selina's criminal past comes around and flaunts it's presence in front of him. they considered breaking up once or twice during some of the harsher episodes. they're still absurdly in love with each other, but it's not all rainbows and kittens after they hook up.

* HeelRealization: Talia Al Ghul's messy breakup with [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous Gr]][[EmbarrassingFirstName eg]] [[Series/TheBradyBunch Brady]], she actually realizes how neurotic and obsessed she's gotten about Batman, and actually begins a slow process of [[LoveRedeems shaping up her life so she can get Greg back.]]

* NoodleIncident: Superman's bachelor party.

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: One story is narrated from Alfred's first person POV.

* HeelRealization: Talia Al Ghul's messy breakup with [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous Gr]][[EmbarrassingFirstName eg]] [[TheBradyBunch Brady]], she actually realizes how neurotic and obsessed she's gotten about Batman, and actually begins a slow process of [[LoveRedeems shaping up her life so she can get Greg back.]]

* CrowningMomentofAwesome
* CrowningMomentofFunny
* CrowningMomentofHeartwarming

* HeroicBSOD: Bruce has a couple, but the first and [[CrowingMomentOfFunny funniest]] is when he (as Bruce Wayne) is visited by Two Face, Riddler, and the Mad Hatter when he starts dating Selina, and is told that he's "part of the family now."

** Just to add another layer to the whole thing; they're watching Nocturna try to seduce Azrael from a nearby video rental store. In the middle of Nocturna's attempt, Harley finds a bunch of erotic tapes titled, word for word, phrases that Nocturna has been using since her arrival at the Iceburg to make herself sound [[PurpleProse mysteriously sophisticated]].

* SilkHidingSteel: This trope is used by generations of [[HouseWife Wayne women]] to... ''influence'' their husbands.

* GenreSavvy: Greg "Giggles" Brady has this by the truckload. Joker gets that "let's kill all the henchmen because it's Thursday" glint in his eye? Time to take the hyenas for a walk! Is that Batman approaching? Better be the first one to fight him, because the last henchman standing usually gets used as a hostage or killed by Joker since they attacked the Bat last. He's a self-appointed "brawler" because the lookouts have a short life span.

* HumiliationConga: Arranged for [[FrankMiller F. Miller.]]

* RetCon: Everything about Catwoman ever written by FrankMiller and his spiritual descendants has been eviscerated, through the above concept: it's all published in a skanky newspaper (or a trashy biography) [[MaliciousSlander and not 'real']].

* TakeThat: "Pussywhipped" makes it abundantly clear that Chris Dee does not like FrankMiller's take on Batman.

* {{Chickification}}: Poison Ivy. In almost every single PostCrisis depiction of her character, she has a poisonous kiss, is a skilled chemist, and while less common, is able to psionically control all plant life. Here, however, she's pretty much just a gardener with pheromones, a weak control of plants and a massive ego. She needs to take magical steroids in order to pull off any large-scale manipulation of plants.

-->[[DeadpanSnarker ''So I've got the trinkets. Brunhilda is still snoring away. Cujo, the killer schnauzer, is still locked in the bathroom. I close the safe, restore the power, slide the window back exactly the way it was – 8 minutes flat. Personal best for a private residence where I didn't have the floorplan going in. I drop down to the alley – and there… he… is…The Batman. Caped Crusader. Dark Knight. Guardian of Gotham. Crime Fighter extraordinaire. I am Vengeance, I am Justice, I am in desperate need of a personality transplant… Batman.'']]

-->[[DeadpanSnarker ''In full regalia – looking like Sir Lancelot dipped in tar but not yet feathered.'']]

-->''And he speaks: [[CaptainObvious "I don't think those jewels belong to you."]]''

-->[[DeadpanSnarker ''I salute you, World's Greatest Detective.'']]

* ShipperOnDeck: Incredibly, ''Joker'' is this to Bruce and Selina- but not Batman and Catwoman. [[spoiler: Harley]] attempts to take advantage of this when [[spoiler: she and Joker break up.]]

* ShipperOnDeck: Incredibly, ''Joker'' is this to Bruce and Selina- but not Batman and Catwoman.

** Dick and Barbara are also this, [[TheyDo after they get married.]] they're basically an example of what Bruce and Selina could be, [[DysfunctionJunction if they weren't both so neurotic.]]

* BadGuyBar: The Ice Berg Lounge. Also, they have instant messaging.

* BerserkButton: any reference to Bruce being accepted as part of the Rogues' Gallery extended family usually sends him into a roaring case of [[KnightTemplar Psy]][[AxCrazy cho]][[RoaringRampageOfRevenge bat.]]

* BlackWidow: The Penguin picks one up through an ad in the Personals. The Huntress recognizes her, though, and warns the rogues. knowing that if Oswald dies, [[BadGuyBar The Iceberg]] falls down around their heads, Two-Face and Mad Hatter [[{{Brainwashed}} take matters]] [[PutOnABus into their]] [[DearJohnLetter own hands.]]

* {{Chickification}}: Poison Ivy. In almost every single PostCrisis depiction of her character, she has a poisonous kiss, is a skilled chemist, and, while less common, is able to psionically control all plant life. here, however, she's pretty much just a gardener with pheromones, a weak control plants, and a massive ego. She needs to take magical steroids in order to pull off any large-scale manipulation of plants.
** Talia is equally de-badassed. Master of armed and unarmed combat? Nope, can't even get into a non-lethal catfight with Selina without tripping over her own two feet. Genius-level intellect? Nuh-uh, can't even plan out something more complicated than a MissingStepsPlan. Skilled in Managerial tasks and has helped keep both the League of Assassins and DEMON in the black for decades? No way, she can't even balance her checkbook and provide for her own welfare without daddy's credit card, let alone anybody else. secretly undermined Lex-Corp during Luthor's stint as president, leaked Luthor's under-the-table dealings to Superman and blew the whole company out to Wayne Enterprises when the time came to take him down? HAH! she tanked that multi-billion dollar, Multinational company all by herself, no motivation necessary! Seeing as how Talia is Selina's main rival for Batman's affections, [[DieForOurShip this is blatantly intentional]], especially as Talia ends up [[spoiler: falling for an OC]].

* DeadpanSnarker: Jason Blood. Just... wow. This is his reaction when Poison Ivy tries to green him: “Just because I look at you when you speak, you shouldn’t assume that means I’m listening to or care about what you say. That’s just something I do to be polite.” Both sides of Two-Face start a fan club for Jason when they hear about this.

* {{Flanderization}}: Pretty much any woman Batman has ever been hinted at romantically besides Selina has had their negative personality characteristics played UpToEleven so that they are nothing but annoying self-absorbed harpies or immature, irrisponsible idiots; there is little doubt [[DieForOurShip that this is entirely intentional]]. Character development eventually brings (some, but not all of) them out of this.

* GenreSavvy: Greg "Giggles" Brady has this by the truckload. Joker gets that "let's kill all the henchmen because it's Thursday" glint in his eye? Time to take the hyenas for a walk! Is that Batman approaching? Better be the first one to fight him, because the last henchman standing usually gets used as a hostage. He's a self-appointed "brawler" because the lookouts have a short life span.

* MagicVersusScience: given that this is a Superhero series, both have their merits and are given their due, but Batman's dislike of magic is proven valid more than once via LaserGuidedKarma: whatever you do with magic gets returned to you three-fold, generally in the most inconvenient time possible.

* ParodySue: Nocturna seems to be Chris Dee's take on this trope. Making her debut by robbing Batman and getting away with it? Check. 'Enthralling' the male half of the Iceberg with heady monologues about the night? Check. Obsession with seducing Batman with a wave of her arm and a monologue, ignoring the fact that the other villainesses, sans Catwoman, have tried and failed dozens of times? Natch. what makes her this instead of a bad MarySue is that she has absolutely no respect from the rogues, and is captured, literally, by being duped by the other villainesses into thinking Azrael was the better seduction target, with absolutely no effort expended by the Bat-crew. Her own husband even thinks she's a nutcase and wishes she'd never talked him into the Thief Of The Night/Nocturna gig, [[OnlySaneMan instead wanting to tour Gotham like a normal person]].

* PutOnABus: more than a few characters have been more or less written out over the course of the series: Clayface, Talia, Greg Brady, Etc. [[TheBusCameBack Characters subjected to this]] [[CommutingOnABus have been known to reappear again, though,]] so it's hard to tell if something will stick.

* UrbanLegendLoveLife: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Bruce: he can't be [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob the Fop]] without some sex exploits of him, but he can't let [[DumbBlonde the 'Bimbos' he dates]] see all the scars he's gotten from fighting crime. solution? get them drunk, lay them out in the manor, and [[WhatDidIDoLastNight let them fill in the blanks.]]
* VillainProtagonist: a large portion of the stories are primarily written from Catwoman's point of view, not that she acts particularly villainous.

* ParodySue: Nocturna seems to be Chris Dee's take on this trope. making her debut by robbing Batman and getting away with it? Check. 'entralling' the male half of the Iceberg with heady monologues about the night? Check. Obsession with seducing Batman with a wave of her arm and a monologue, ignoring the fact that the other villainesses, sans catwoman, have tried and failed dozens of times? Natch. what makes her this instead of a bad MarySue is that she has absolutely no respect from the rogues, and is captured, literally, by being duped by the other villainesses into thinking Azrael was the better seduction target, with absolutely no effort expended by the Bat-crew. her own husband even thinks she's a nutcase and wishes she'd never convinced him into the Thief Of The Night/Nocturna gig, [[OnlySaneMan instead wanting to tour Gotham like a normal person.]]

* TheNeidermeyer: Ulstarn, Ra's Al Ghul's regional leader in Gotham, is a huge ass-kissing paranoid {{Jerkass}}. even Ra's can't stand him, which is why he sent him halfway across the world.

* LegacyCharacter: Clayface disguises himself as the Monarch of Menace, an old Silver Age villain, to get around the unofficial [[PersonaNonGrata ban from the Iceberg]] that Poison Ivy's [[DisproportionateRetribution freak out about a bad Christmas present]] caused. he later decided he didn't even care and returned as himself.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Talia to Batman, HARD. also, Ivy to Harvey/Two-Face, [[{{Tsundere}}even though she'll never admit she actually wants him.]]

* {{Flanderization}}: Pretty much any woman Batman has ever been hinted at romantically besides Selina has had their negative personality characteristics played UpToEleven so that they are nothing but annoying self-absorbed harpies or immature, irrisponsible idiots; there is little doubt [[DieForOurShip that this is entirely intentional]]. Character development eventually brings (some, but not all of) them out of this, but the fact that they were in this at all is so disappointing from an otherwise amazing author.

* GreenEyedMonster: ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE. you can probably count the characters, that get any amount of screen time, and are never jealous of somebody's romantic entanglements, on one hand.

** surprisingly [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed.]] Selina balks heavily at every instance of Batman [[ControlFreak asserting that it has to be done his way,]] and Bruce slips into an {{Ax Crazy}} {{Knight Templar}} version of himself, dubbed Psychobat by just about everybody, whenever Selina's criminal past comes around and flaunts it's presence in front of him. they considered breaking up once or twice during some of the harsher episodes. they're still absurdly in love with each other, but it's not all rainbows and kittens after they hook up.

* ArchivePanic: the series has been running for over 10 years now, and the 60+ stories don't shirk on length.