TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

rename and clean up description: You Are Batman

Go To

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#26: Jan 2nd 2011 at 11:00:44 AM

Yeah, this trope isn't Legacy Immortality, but it can set it up in the same way as Take Up My Sword.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#27: Jan 2nd 2011 at 11:06:13 AM

Related trope. Possible cause of, or reason for, Legacy Immortality.

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#28: Jan 2nd 2011 at 11:25:58 AM

So basically the two tropes can work as cause and effect, but they don't have to.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#29: Jan 2nd 2011 at 11:27:43 AM

right. It may be a one-time thing, or it may happen over and over again, creating an "immortal" persona.

CaissasDeathAngel House Lewis: Sanity is Relative from Dumfries, SW Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
#30: Jan 2nd 2011 at 12:49:38 PM

Yep, Legacy Immortality and Jumped at the Call are related tropes (either could be reasons behind this trope, the former could be a result of it) and it's a sister trope to Take Up My Sword - the end result may be the same, but how and why it happens are different.

That could be where the confusion is happening - just because the result is the same doesn't mean the trope is, when the how/why are just as critical to what constitutes a trope.

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
XRay2 X Ray 2 from My chair Since: Nov, 2010
#31: Jan 6th 2011 at 6:59:51 PM

Okay, let me try this again...

So you're watching a movie/reading a book/listening to a radio show. Suddenly, the main protagonist is killed, captured, or otherwise incapacitated. Things are going down the tubes fast, and the protagonist never bothered to bothered to apoint a successor. But wait! There's still a third or so of the movie left! Suddenly, the Sidekick, Love Interest, (theoretically, even a villain could pull this off) either steps into or is pushed into the role of the hero. They find, that they, are, BATMAN.

Is that better? :D

Hi, I'm X Ray 2. I'm a high school student, and I am AWESOME.
SeanMurrayI Since: Jan, 2010
#32: Jan 6th 2011 at 8:14:34 PM

You were doing great until the BATMAN. That sentence doesn't do a thing to explain the basic trope and just sounds completely out of place.

edited 6th Jan '11 8:14:45 PM by SeanMurrayI

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#33: Jan 6th 2011 at 11:26:06 PM

Yeah, cut the last sentence about Batman. It derails the explanation and confuses the trope.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
CaissasDeathAngel House Lewis: Sanity is Relative from Dumfries, SW Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
#34: Jan 7th 2011 at 9:56:54 AM

Yep, Batman has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the paragraph. Could use my name in its place and it would mean as much.

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
XRay2 X Ray 2 from My chair Since: Nov, 2010
#35: Jan 7th 2011 at 4:12:14 PM

Alright, I admit it. The name dosen't work, but it's still a feasible trope. So, got any ideas for a new name? How about...

Wait, I've got it. When you think about it, this trope is a slightly altered version of Step Up to the Microphone, right? So, how about, Step Into The Cowl?

Batman Legacy? (read: Pragmatic Legacy)

We're getting there...

Edit: Also, a related trope of All Up to You, different in that the change involves a Legacy.

edited 7th Jan '11 4:16:13 PM by XRay2

Hi, I'm X Ray 2. I'm a high school student, and I am AWESOME.
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#36: Jan 7th 2011 at 4:18:55 PM

I would have it be something that doesn't use the word Batman because really the trope isn't something that tends to be associated with him.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
SeanMurrayI Since: Jan, 2010
#37: Jan 7th 2011 at 4:37:36 PM

So, how about, Step Into The Cowl?

What does a cowl have to do with filling in for a fallen hero? And can anyone suggest a name that doesn't have anything to do with the goddamn Batman?

CandyCrazy Satellite Spark Since: Mar, 2010
Satellite Spark
#38: Jan 7th 2011 at 4:57:42 PM

I'll Take Up His Sword.  *

Take Up My Sword implies that someone is saying it to his would-be successor. I'll Take Up His Sword would imply that the successor is making the decision himself, possibly without his predecessor/mentor knowing, regardless of what his predecessor/mentor would think about it.

edited 7th Jan '11 5:00:58 PM by CandyCrazy

SeanMurrayI Since: Jan, 2010
#39: Jan 7th 2011 at 5:00:07 PM

Or it would imply that the successor is following someone else's dying wishes by repeating the request as a statement of declaration (among other problems).

edited 7th Jan '11 5:00:30 PM by SeanMurrayI

Deboss I see the Awesomeness. from Awesomeville Texas Since: Aug, 2009
I see the Awesomeness.
#40: Jan 7th 2011 at 5:20:48 PM

Candy, you have to use ptitles. They're a mess.

Fight smart, not fair.
XRay2 X Ray 2 from My chair Since: Nov, 2010
#41: Jan 7th 2011 at 7:10:01 PM

I kind of like I'llTakeUpHisSword, though I will explain why we could call it Batman Legacy.

You see, a lot of the people in the bat-mythos have a habit of pragmatically stepping into the role of the hero/legacy character with no word from the previous bearer. Huntress became Batgirl (temporarily), Nightwing became Batman (who actually knew that Bruce didn't want someone to take up the cowl), and Stephanie Brown became Robin once (yeah, I know).

So, what I'm saying is, Whatever We Are Gonna Call This Thing boils down to someone having to become Batman or whoever when The Hero or main protagonist is knocked out of the picture two thirds or so through the movie when they never bothered to pull a Take Up My Sword, so to speak.

@Sean Murray I, the reason a lot of people are linking it to goshdanged Batman is because he's just too awesome! grin

Hi, I'm X Ray 2. I'm a high school student, and I am AWESOME.
SeanMurrayI Since: Jan, 2010
#42: Jan 7th 2011 at 7:47:12 PM

I don't care how awesome Batman is; it's got nothing to do with the trope, and people reading This Wiki who are greatly familiar with the Batman Legacy are complete rarity in the grand scheme of what we're all about. The Batman parallels don't make sense to anybody in a [Trope Name].

edited 8th Jan '11 11:45:58 AM by SeanMurrayI

Yamikuronue So Yeah Since: Aug, 2009
#43: Jan 7th 2011 at 10:05:56 PM

X Ray 2, you realize "A lot of people" means you and only you, in this context, right? You keep trying to link it to batman and nobody in this thread has spoken up to agree.

BTW, I'm a chick.
SilentReverence adopting kitteh from 3 tiles right 1 tile up Since: Jan, 2010
adopting kitteh
#44: Jan 7th 2011 at 10:43:45 PM

Well, I haven't agreed because I haven't been here again yet. But I am here now. And I agree, 'for the most part'... Batman has got to do with the trope, maybe not in a completely awesome utterly unquestionable definitive way, but I find it at least an iconic example in comic book media (eg.: nothing Marvel-side speaks the trope as much as him, etc), and other media are bound to draw from the comic books if they follow any semblance of plot or timeline anyway. Take a look at Batman Beyond (note however that it doesn't exactly use this trope).

Still, one important problem is the whole "Batman is an idea" concept behind the trope, which makes it difficult to use the name Batman in a way that doesn't invite misuse (and doesn't point to cases that are beyond the scope of the trope). I'd rather like a title playing on Take Up My Sword, like say I Will Take The Sword, or Inheriting The Sword. TV Tropes-side, The Sword is the item we use to designate the things and tasks The Hero has, so it makes sense to use it for this particular trope. Such a titling would also help distinguish both tropes.

Oh and almost more than anything, I'd rather not have a ptitle.

edited 7th Jan '11 10:48:47 PM by SilentReverence

Fanfic Recs orwellianretcon'd: cutlocked for committee or for Google?
XRay2 X Ray 2 from My chair Since: Nov, 2010
#45: Jan 8th 2011 at 11:41:32 AM

Alright. I'm wrong, you guys are right. I'm the only one who thinks that Batman pertains to this whole issue at all. So, I'llTakeUpHisSword? (Dodges old tomatoes being hurled toward me)

Hi, I'm X Ray 2. I'm a high school student, and I am AWESOME.
Aquillion Since: Jan, 2001
#46: Jan 8th 2011 at 5:22:25 PM

For a new name: Take Up My Mask? I'm usually against snowclones, but that one seems to fit.

Although, the fact that it's worded like a command doesn't quite fit. Inherit The Mask, perhaps, or Inheriting The Cape.

Although, do we really need a trope for the act of a Legacy Hero picking up their Legacy Hero mantle? It seems like it's going to exactly overlap with Legacy Hero in terms of what it lists.

edited 8th Jan '11 5:27:53 PM by Aquillion

CaissasDeathAngel House Lewis: Sanity is Relative from Dumfries, SW Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
#47: Jan 8th 2011 at 5:48:27 PM

Legacy Hero is related but not identical - the person taking up the mantle doesn't actually have to retain the hero's identity, what matters is that they take on the role of hero, because a ruddy great hole has been created by said's retiral or death. Obviously with characters like Batman and Superman, generally they will keep the name, but a champion warrior or a protector of a village tribe could go for this trope.

With the latter, if the protector goes missing or is killed and there's no succession plan, and someone simply decides that they will be the new one, and the rest of the story could be them proving it. They might even explicitly defy Legacy Hero in that case, in order to ensure that while they're doing the same job, they are their own person doing it in their own way, because it's of whatever reason they have.

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
Stratadrake Dragon Writer Since: Oct, 2009
Dragon Writer
#48: Jan 9th 2011 at 10:47:28 AM

^ Substitute Superhero for the latter?

At least it's better than, say, Jumped At The Cowl....

edited 9th Jan '11 10:47:46 AM by Stratadrake

An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.
SeanMurrayI Since: Jan, 2010
#49: Jan 9th 2011 at 10:51:07 AM

I thought someone else already threw out using the term "substitute" for this because that word makes it sound like the character is filling in during a 10-Minute Retirement.

A hero being replaced as per this trope also doesn't have to be "super."

edited 9th Jan '11 10:54:21 AM by SeanMurrayI

rodneyAnonymous Sophisticated as Hell from empty space Since: Aug, 2010
#50: Jan 10th 2011 at 5:28:09 PM

Replacement Hero?

edited 11th Jan '11 6:23:21 PM by rodneyAnonymous

Becky: Who are you? The Mysterious Stranger: An angel. Huck: What's your name? The Mysterious Stranger: Satan.

AlternativeTitles: YouAreBatman
20th Apr '10 12:00:00 AM

Crown Description:

Vote up names you like, vote down names you don't. Whether or not the title will actually be changed is determined with a different kind of crowner (the Single Proposition crowner). This one just collects and ranks alternative titles.

Total posts: 121
Top