Madeline the Edifying (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zdashamber) wrote2006-06-10 05:51 pm
zdashamber) wrote2006-06-10 05:51 pm
Na na na na Na na na na Batman!
When even my mom is telling me that I should blog more, it must be true... I've been very busy either doing other stuff or avoiding doing other stuff. In the process of the second, I wiped a couple more boxes off the map and cleared up a nice tasty chunk of floor space, so hey, bonus!
And now I'm going to talk about Batman. Neil Gaiman and Adam Rogers wrote an article about Superman's folk-hero status. It concludes with,
But then, I just don't buy omni-benevolent gods. I'm cool with people who like Superman, though; different strokes for different folks.
Gaiman's wrong about Batman, though. Bruce Wayne chose to become Batman, and denying that he's done it is like pretending transgender people are just dicking around. Denying that people can change their lives if they choose... Where does that get you? "You may have a college degree, you may head a major engineering firm, but you'll always stink of the crackhouse where you were born..." Hooey. The thing about Batman is, any one of us could be Batman if we worked as hard at it as Bruce Wayne did.
...So I'm thinking this, and I'm thinking, "Though... Could we, if we weren't fucking rich?"
Yeah. It would be really cool to see a dirt-poor Batman. Without the tech doodads to shield him, a community of people on his side would serve.
I'm thinking, make him black, put him in the sketchy part of town... His parents were involved in trying to better the community from within, got shot leaving a repertory theater production by a gangbanger. Raised by his grandmother. Devoted his life to coming up with a way to stop the criminals fucking up his city. Learned martial arts from the Korean guy who ran the corner liquor store. Made friends with the guy teaching Chemistry at the public high school, and learned how to make smoke bombs. Vowed not to kill anyone else... Couldn't trust the cops to work with them, but was willing to deliver criminals to them... Drives the 1987 American-made Batmobile... Wears a ski mask and the hoodie with little Bat-ears...
It all fits. Has it been done? Can I buy a trade paperback? Because that would be friggin' neat.
And now I'm going to talk about Batman. Neil Gaiman and Adam Rogers wrote an article about Superman's folk-hero status. It concludes with,
Other heroes are really only pretending: Peter Parker plays Spider-Man; Bruce Wayne plays Batman. For Superman, it’s mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent that’s the disguise – the thing he aspires to, the thing he can never be. He really is that hero, and he’ll never be one of us. But we love him for trying. We love him for wanting to protect us from everything, including his own transcendence. He plays the bumbling, lovelorn Kent so that we regular folks can feel, just for a moment, super.Which points out pretty well why I don't love Superman. There's just all kinds of things wrong with that... Keeping people in the dark. Wishing you were less than you are. Not owning up to your potential. Leading a double life for the approval of other people.
But then, I just don't buy omni-benevolent gods. I'm cool with people who like Superman, though; different strokes for different folks.
Gaiman's wrong about Batman, though. Bruce Wayne chose to become Batman, and denying that he's done it is like pretending transgender people are just dicking around. Denying that people can change their lives if they choose... Where does that get you? "You may have a college degree, you may head a major engineering firm, but you'll always stink of the crackhouse where you were born..." Hooey. The thing about Batman is, any one of us could be Batman if we worked as hard at it as Bruce Wayne did.
...So I'm thinking this, and I'm thinking, "Though... Could we, if we weren't fucking rich?"
Yeah. It would be really cool to see a dirt-poor Batman. Without the tech doodads to shield him, a community of people on his side would serve.
I'm thinking, make him black, put him in the sketchy part of town... His parents were involved in trying to better the community from within, got shot leaving a repertory theater production by a gangbanger. Raised by his grandmother. Devoted his life to coming up with a way to stop the criminals fucking up his city. Learned martial arts from the Korean guy who ran the corner liquor store. Made friends with the guy teaching Chemistry at the public high school, and learned how to make smoke bombs. Vowed not to kill anyone else... Couldn't trust the cops to work with them, but was willing to deliver criminals to them... Drives the 1987 American-made Batmobile... Wears a ski mask and the hoodie with little Bat-ears...
It all fits. Has it been done? Can I buy a trade paperback? Because that would be friggin' neat.
no subject
Personally, for nearly the last twenty years, I've read DC comics regularly, usually 1-3 titles every month. It's not at all unusual for me to pick up Batman (and to a lesser extent) Superman comics -- but I never read their mainstream on-going titles. That's as in (as far as I can remember) I don't think I've read even a single issue of either since John Byrne left Superman.
And I'd say in the non-mainstream-continuity mini-series I do read, the characters are still normally portrayed the way Gaiman describes. I'm particularly fond of Matt Wagner's Batman comics...
no subject
B: tAS had more heart and seriousness than any other version of Batman I've seen... I stopped reading the comics because they were so far off it, and haven't gotten back into the habit.