Bat-rant!

One of the things which set apart the Bat-clan from most other 'human-heroes' was their intensive training.  For example, Batman once said to Dick, with regards to the kind of physical training he would have to do: 'triple it (Dick's acrobatic training in the circus) and then triple it again'.

I remember when I read that years ago, my mouth fell wide open and I just thought 'dang...'.

Those of us who have done gymnastics or (most forms of) martial arts are readily aware of how intense the training is, and to crank it up to what Bruce was outlining...well, it's no wonder the Bat-clan were 'the best of the best of the best'.

Barbara donned the cape and cowl without training from The Bat, but that didn't last long.  She, too, underwent the intense physical training the job she was aspiring to do required.

Nowadays, though...it seems all one needs is a couple of months (sure, Jason says 6 but that includes the other disciplines the Bat-clan embrace and he was nowhere near Dick's base-level (and neither is Tim, even with his 'Olympic-scout-attracting' level of gymnastics (Teen Titans #0))) and they're 'ready'.

Is this an attempt to make them 'relatable'?

Is this something people feel works?

Back in Blind Justice, when Bruce used someone else's body while his own healed from various injuries, the 'fit' person was nowhere near Bruce's level, now a few Crossfit, P90X and Insanity sessions and 'regular'-folk, too, could do Bat-clan stuff?

oh dear...



(yes, yes, I'm 'underselling' but so are the current writers...)


I'm all for having them have a 'base level' and for Tim to have a certain 'just above base level proficiency' in certain things but, personally, when Tim and Jason are shown to be more 'physically able' than Dick there's a part of me that just rejects that portrayal.

Their deductive skills are different (Tim, for example, doesn't have Bruce's 'blindspot' (or, rather, reluctance to acknowledge), Dick is more immediately intuitive, Jason's able to mingle with the underbelly) but they're all smart.

Personally, I'm hoping for something in the upcoming Bat-arc that showcases these differences - a scene similar to the Robin #0 one, for example, would be great.

They are 'the best of the best of the best', but they're different - and there are no Mary Sues!!


(rant over)

Alternative ending to Lincoln March's encounter with Batman

This should have ended with issue 10 (if not sooner), as soon as March made his 'reveal' - and long before he put on the suit.

'If not Lincoln March, then who am I?'

'You're a traitor,' the netting snaps, 'and a thief.' Batman pulls the netting off himself as March steps back, readying the snare-gun again in case he needed to 'buy time'.

'You were a member of the Court of Owls, but you betrayed them,' says Batman, stepping forward...smiling. 'You only killed a handful of them, though, and the others will come after you.'

'Let them come. I'm pretty damned hard to kill, now.' Lincoln steps back.

'The serum doesn't give you much of an advantage, Lincoln, especially not against those who know how it works.'

'Wha-?'

'I did what you dared me to do. I found the truth inside the lie.'

'A truth inside the lie. Exactly, just like with you. Like when I saw you fight that Talon when we had our meeting in the tower. You were supposed to die then, and I was going to watch.'

'You didn't know the Talon was going to attack you. I reviewed the footage of the attack. You didn't know.'

'They said the Talon attacked me by accident. That he made a mistake.'

'They lied. They lied about a lot of things, Lincoln.'

'Stop calling me that! You found the truth, tell me who I am!' He fires the snare-gun again, and turns to open the storage cabinet behind him. A batarang pins his left hand to the door of the cabinet and Lincoln roars with anger, pulling his hand free as he turns to face Batman.

'You were a patient here during the time my parents were patrons of the hospital. You were admitted soon after a car accident that occurred on the junction of Lincoln and March. The Court lied to you, Lincoln, you're not who you think you are.'

Lincoln throws the snare-gun at him and again tries to open the cabinet. Batman catches the gun and fires it at Lincoln, pinning him, draped over the cabinet, to the wall.

'WHO AM I?! Say it, Bruce! Who. Am. I?'

Batman leans in and says, softly, 'You're not my brother.'

In a rage, Lincoln roars and tears the net off himself and strikes out at Batman, who parries and kicks him back into the wall.

'My brother died as a result of that accident.'

'No. I lived.'

'Thomas lived for 12 hours after the accident, but his injuries were too severe.'

'I. LIVED!' Lincoln rushes at Batman, who dodges each blow (moving backwards) with a sad look on his face.

'I wish he had lived. I think about him sometimes...how things might have been. I thought about him a lot when I was younger, joking to myself that he would be my Kato or Tonto.'

'I am...Thomas...Wayne....' exclaims Lincoln as he throws kicks and punches at Batman, steamy air drifting as they both move around the room Batman has led him in to.

Lincoln lunges at Batman in an attempt to grapple him to the ground, but Batman leaps over him, landing softly.

'There's a willow tree near my parents' graves. My mother planted it with my father, in my brother's memory.'

'Lies! She visited me every day! I remember!'

'No, you only remember what you think you're supposed to. What you were told to. I'm sorry, Lincoln.'

'THOMAS WAYNE JU-' Enough! Batman's punch knocks out several of Lincoln's teeth and breaks his jaw.

'This sick fantasy is over. Your delusions are just that.'

Lincoln writhes around trying to get up, steamy breath escaping his clenched mouth.

'I told you, Lincoln, the serum doesn't give you an advantage over those who know how it works.'

End with the external scene of the cold storage room, leaving the opportunity for someone else to play with the March and Talon toys later on down the line – if they’re so inclined.

A suppressed rant

Below is what I was initially going to post after hearing about the shooting at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado, but I held off.  I figured it wouldn’t be read anyway (yes, that same stance again).  A few days ago there was the shooting of six Sikhs at a gurdwara in Wisconsin and recently another shooting was, apparently, averted – a copycat of the TDKR one…

As some say: ‘better out than in’ so, rather than holding the rant back…I’m going to let it out…

As news of what can only be described as the ‘actions of a mad man’ (no, I’m not referring to events in the Middle East) filter through, I just can’t help wondering what it is that this person’s friends and family missed…or dismissed.

I’m in no way saying that we should critique the behaviour of everyone we know, or be paranoid about things, but there has to be a certain level of awareness…and inquiry.  The warning signs are almost always there…

With the Columbine shootings, for example, there were numerous signs about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and their intentions:

-         website stating pipe bombs were being made; naming people they wanted to kill (they had a hitlist)

-         they already had a criminal file for breaking into a van

-         police warning the school but no action taken (a year before the shooting)

-         showing the weapons to friends

-         the story Klebold wrote mere months before the shooting

Then there’s the aspect of none of their parents having any idea that there was an arsenal in their respective houses.  Sure, there’s respecting the privacy of one’s offspring…but, personally, this ‘ignorance’ of what was going on under their own roofs is disturbing…

Here, so far, we have someone who started buying numerous firearms over a short period of time (from May), but that didn’t cause any eyebrows to be raised (apparently).  I’m not going to call it an ‘arsenal’ because that’s exaggerating and distorting, but he had a good amount of firepower.

Then we find out that a psychiatrist at the university he was attended had identified him to the university’s ‘threat-assessment team’, but they decided not to do anything about it.

This seems to happen often, generally speaking – those in a position to do something, who are provided the information needed…not acting upon the information.  Whether it be football coaches, social services workers, etc…action has to be taken.  Yes, it’s time consuming but rather that than ‘uh oh, we knew about such-and-such.  Sorry.’

And now…the new shootings…

Which has hardly been in the news…

Six Sikhs shot dead.

Why?  Because someone didn’t like them, wanted to make an example of them, and hoped his actions would encourage others to do the same…

Thing is…just as we’ve had potential copy-cats after the TDKR shooting…we’re going to have the same here.

Over in Nigeria we have ‘Islamic militants’ murdering 19 Christian worshippers.  They expect to establish Islamic law in Nigeria by going against Islamic teachings and Islamic laws?!

Batman (as at 29 June 2012)

One of the things which bugs me about the reveal of TWJ is that SS spent quite some time putting forward aspects of the Wayne family history, especially in the early issues of the ‘mega-arc’, but that was ‘ancient’ history – several generations before Bruce, or even Thomas S.  Personally, that would have been the opportune moment to slip in the tidbit of ‘the lost younger brother’.

Similarities and differences.  There were underlying threads of these ‘character facets’ in SS’s narrative and the loss of a brother of Alan Wayne, for example, could have served as a reflective moment for Bruce.  Would it have come across a little forced?  Perhaps – but, in light of the fact that we were starting a ‘new continuity’, I think it would have been somewhat more acceptable than what we have been (at the moment) presented with.

It could also have served as a point of misdirection further down the line…