A few points that Batman comics should meet...but usually don't.

[Brannon]

1. Batman is not crazy.
2. Batman should be more of a detective than some idiotic, juvenile, super-ninja.
3. Batman should not be the best at any one thing; he has, however, "nearly" mastered more seperate fields than just about anyone else.
4. Batman is not gay anymore than most guys are gay for spending so much time dressed in tight football jersy's and slapping each other on the ass while watching sports.
5. Alfred should always be a loveable smartass. I like this retcon.

Thank you for your time.

[literally exaggerated]

correction: Batman is not entirely crazy, but does have severe issues. he's the best detective in the world and possibly the smartest person in the world as well

[shaunyc56]

[QUOTE=Brannon]4. Batman is not gay anymore than most guys are gay for spending so much time dressed in tight football jersy's and slapping each other on the ass while watching sports.


Ummm, I'm a huge batfan, but since you bring it up, are those sports guys also hanging out in the middle of the night w/ young boys also in tights.... and pixie boots..... um, cuz, that all sounds pretty gay....

[Kid Quick Foots]

1. Batman is not crazy.
2. Batman should be more of a detective than some idiotic, juvenile, super-ninja.
3. Batman should not be the best at any one thing; he has, however, "nearly" mastered more seperate fields than just about anyone else.
4. Batman is not gay anymore than most guys are gay for spending so much time dressed in tight football jersy's and slapping each other on the ass while watching sports.
5. Alfred should always be a loveable smartass. I like this retcon.

Thank you for your time.

agreed. especially with number 2.

[Bruce Wayne Jr.]

It's good to know we've got the authority on Batman here to lay down some ground rules.

[Brannon]

correction: Batman is not entirely crazy, but does have severe issues. he's the best detective in the world and possibly the smartest person in the world as well

I fail to see how his issues are anymore severe than Spider-Man's or Daredevil's. I think this is pretty silly. One can be intense an driven without being crazy. Just because most people are mediocre, cowardly, sheep, does not mean that someone that dares for greatness is crazy just because he goes against the norm.

He might be the best detective in the world, but I've never viewed him as being Reed Richards or Doctor Doom level smart...unless people are just dumber in the DCU. (Given Superman's secret-ID, that's a possibility...)

[literally exaggerated]

Spiderman's issues are hardly that severe. daredevil's a good comparison, because he actually has gotten pretty close to going totally nuts a few times, most recently when he became the kingpin and mutilated Bullseye.

[Buried Alien]

1. Batman is not crazy.
2. Batman should be more of a detective than some idiotic, juvenile, super-ninja.

ONE YEAR LATER, this has started to happen.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[phantom1592]

He might be the best detective in the world, but I've never viewed him as being Reed Richards or Doctor Doom level smart...unless people are just dumber in the DCU. (Given Superman's secret-ID, that's a possibility...)


Best Quote EVER :p

[mrc1214]

1. Batman is not crazy.
2. Batman should be more of a detective than some idiotic, juvenile, super-ninja.
3. Batman should not be the best at any one thing; he has, however, "nearly" mastered more seperate fields than just about anyone else.
4. Batman is not gay anymore than most guys are gay for spending so much time dressed in tight football jersy's and slapping each other on the ass while watching sports.
5. Alfred should always be a loveable smartass. I like this retcon.

Thank you for your time.

lol this is funny are you the high authority on Batman and writers have to portray him to your liking. And hes mastered more seperate fields because he studies alot and has alot of free time. And would you be against him being a Detective/Ninja because i like that.

[cactusmaac]

But ninjas are cooler than detectives.

[Alan2099]

lol this is funny are you the high authority on Batman and writers have to portray him to your liking. And hes mastered more seperate fields because he studies alot and has alot of free time. And would you be against him being a Detective/Ninja because i like that.
What free time? Does he have a compnay to run, a super team to be a meber of, nightly patrol, multiple people to train, routine exercises, mysteries to solve, crime to prevent, medical attention to seek, routine matenence on his gadgets and weapons, lots of villians to fight, and you want to say he's still got lots of time to keep up to date on all 537 things he's supposedly the best at?

[mrc1214]

What free time? Does he have a compnay to run, a super team to be a meber of, nightly patrol, multiple people to train, routine exercises, mysteries to solve, crime to prevent, medical attention to seek, routine matenence on his gadgets and weapons, lots of villians to fight, and you want to say he's still got lots of time to keep up to date on all 537 things he's supposedly the best at?

He is very smart so maybe he only had to learn it all at once. And the stuff you mentioned would be practice at these various things. And did you read yesterdays issue it seemed like he had plenty of free time on his hands to me.

[The Batman]

Spiderman's issues are hardly that severe. daredevil's a good comparison, because he actually has gotten pretty close to going totally nuts a few times, most recently when he became the kingpin and mutilated Bullseye.

agreed

while Peter did not witness Uncle Ben's death first hand and when Uncle Ben did die he was somewhat older in age than young Bruce Wayne. as well he had Aunt May to share his grief and offer him support. in many ways Peter's circumstances more closely resemble those of the movie Superman than Batman's, comic continuity or otherwise.

as for Matt Murdock, his curcumstances may more closely resemble Batman's, he too was older i believe, and Murdock has been shown to have some issues of his own that have manifested themselves over the years.

that Bruce Wayne ended up the way he did, scarred and with definite issues but not necessarily crazy, while others did not is as much due to the specific circumstances as to the fact that not all characters are the same.

oh and batman can be an awesome detective and a super-ninja.

[jackups]

YES SPOT ON!
Man I think the worst Batman that doesnt follow these points is All-Star batman!He a idiot all because of Miller!:mad:

:D I've said it once and I'll say it again . . . .NO DRUGS AND NO GREAT CHARACTERS TO RUIN THESE DAYS MAKE FRANK CRAZY! WHOOP~!WHOOP~!#~][*&'@::p

[phantom1592]

YES SPOT ON!
Man I think the worst Batman that doesnt follow these points is All-Star batman!He a idiot all because of Miller!:mad:

:D I've said it once and I'll say it again . . . .NO DRUGS AND NO GREAT CHARACTERS TO RUIN THESE DAYS MAKE FRANK CRAZY! WHOOP~!WHOOP~!#~][*&'@::p


I have a theory on that. I believe Frank Miller is testing a theory. Someone, Somewhere told him He was a Batman god, and that people would buy ANYTHING that he did with him.

I think Frank has $20 that he CAN drive fans away. ;)

[King Krypton]

What free time? Does he have a company to run, a super team to be a member of, nightly patrol, multiple people to train, routine exercises, mysteries to solve, crime to prevent, medical attention to seek, routine matenence on his gadgets and weapons, lots of villians to fight, and you want to say he's still got lots of time to keep up to date on all 537 things he's supposedly the best at?

Good point. Bruce Wayne's got a ton of things on his plate already. That doesn't leave a lot of free time for him to be someone who learns every single thing on the planet and is such a genius that he can wipe out anyone he pleases no matter how outmatched he should be. He's got to have limits.

[Kid Kyoto]

It's good to know we've got the authority on Batman here to lay down some ground rules.

when last I checked the whole point of a discussion board was, well... discussion.

If you disagree say why, if you don't care don't post.

[Johhny Blame]

Batman is so crazy. He's haunted by his parents death so he dresses up as a bat and obsesses over fighting crime. Thats pretty damn crazy.

[Brannon]

Batman is so crazy. He's haunted by his parents death so he dresses up as a bat and obsesses over fighting crime. Thats pretty damn crazy.

Are fans really this dense nowadays? No personal offense intended; I just find it ridiculous that modern audiences can't accept the most basic of superhero conceits. Yes, in our world a guy wearing red underwear over blue tights is a laughable idiot, however, in the quasi-realistic/quasi-cartoonish land of superheroes, it's perfectly acceptable behavior. I have never heard Superman or Spider-Man referred to as being "crazy" for wearing costumes and fighting crime. If Batman is crazy (which he shouldn't be, the Joker's crazy, sheesh) his costume wearing habit is the last possible reason for it.

[Choppa]

How exactly have these points not been met? Wtf have you been reading?

[jimmyboy]

correction: Batman is not entirely crazy, but does have severe issues. he's the best detective in the world and possibly the smartest person in the world as well
Agreed.

Also agree with point #2. The man's the World's Greatest Detective; he should behave like it more often. The story should more often focus on that aspect of his character.

[jimmyboy]

Good point. Bruce Wayne's got a ton of things on his plate already. That doesn't leave a lot of free time for him to be someone who learns every single thing on the planet and is such a genius that he can wipe out anyone he pleases no matter how outmatched he should be. He's got to have limits.
Nonsense! Only mere mortals have limits! :cool:

[Bruce Wayne Jr.]

when last I checked the whole point of a discussion board was, well... discussion.

If you disagree say why, if you don't care don't post.

I never said I didn't care. I just find it silly to think that one person's idea of a character is the only way that character should be portrayed.

Incidentally, I never said I disagreed either.

[OverMaster]

But ninjas are cooler than detectives.

Why can't he be both?

HE'S A NINJA DETECTIVE! There's nothing cooler than that, other than a Pirate Ninja Detective, but the world isn't ready for that yet.

[dancj]

1. Batman is not crazy.
Not crazy, but as has been said already, lots of issues
[/quote]2. Batman should be more of a detective than some idiotic, juvenile, super-ninja.[/quote]
The detective side and the super-ninja side should both be there
[/quote] 3. Batman should not be the best at any one thing; he has, however, "nearly" mastered more seperate fields than just about anyone else. [/quote]
Yeah - except for possibly detective work that's about right.
[/quote]4. Batman is not gay anymore than most guys are gay for spending so much time dressed in tight football jersy's and slapping each other on the ass while watching sports.[/quote]
No-one really believes he is.
[/quote]5. Alfred should always be a loveable smartass. I like this retcon.[/quote]
Is that a retcon?

He's a loveable smartarse (he is English so it's smartarse not smartass;) ) in Year One and Batman vs Predator which are the two best examples of his characterisation that I've seen.

As for Batman's intelligence, I place him somewhere in the worldwide top 20, but his combination of intelligence, Willpower, determination and singlemindedness would probably be number one

Dan

Thank you for your time.[/quote]

[TheTen-EyedMan]

To take prompting from one of my fellow poster's avatar.

Batman is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.

Superman may be faster, Flash may be quicker and Sentry a poorly designed Superman write off who has been shoe-horned into Marvel continuity in a half-assed and crapulent manner...but Batman is the most perfectly trained human on the planet.

[Jeff F]

Yes!

Let's slap Bruce Jones and Frank Miller on writing chores.

Frank Cho on art.

12 part maxi-series depicting exactly how NOT GAY Batman is.

Issue one we start out with a bang... literally! The Joker is back, with Harley Quinn in tow. He has some generic nefarious scheme possibly involving animals smiling, but it's all foiled when Harley can't resist Batman's OVERWHELMING masculinity! She tells all to Batman during his post-coital smoke break, and he runs out in nothing but his Bat-boxer shorts, cape and cowl to demoralize the Joker.

Poison Ivy is back! Sadly, she finds that her longtime pseudo-love, Harley Quinn is in love with the Batman! She sets up an elaborate trap, but when she has the Bat pinned to the wall, she is overcome with LUST for the world's least gay man!

Mr. Freeze is back in town! Has he finally succeeded in reviving his comatose wife? The answer is YES! But when the totally heterosexual Batman intervenes, has Freeze lost his love forever? The answer is a resounding and repetitive YES!

I'm sure someone would love that, I knew I loved writing it!

[OverMaster]

Yes!

Let's slap Bruce Jones and Frank Miller on writing chores.

Frank Cho on art.

12 part maxi-series depicting exactly how NOT GAY Batman is.

Issue one we start out with a bang... literally! The Joker is back, with Harley Quinn in tow. He has some generic nefarious scheme possibly involving animals smiling, but it's all foiled when Harley can't resist Batman's OVERWHELMING masculinity! She tells all to Batman during his post-coital smoke break, and he runs out in nothing but his Bat-boxer shorts, cape and cowl to demoralize the Joker.

Poison Ivy is back! Sadly, she finds that her longtime pseudo-love, Harley Quinn is in love with the Batman! She sets up an elaborate trap, but when she has the Bat pinned to the wall, she is overcome with LUST for the world's least gay man!

Mr. Freeze is back in town! Has he finally succeeded in reviving his comatose wife? The answer is YES! But when the totally heterosexual Batman intervenes, has Freeze lost his love forever? The answer is a resounding and repetitive YES!

I'm sure someone would love that, I knew I loved writing it!

You missed the orgy of the final issue with Bruce, Talia, Catwoman, Harley, Ivy, Oracle, Huntress, and Black Canary.

And Supergirl.

Because he's that good.

[OverMaster]

Is that a retcon? [/QUOTE]

Well, when he originally appeared back in the Golden Age, Alfred wasn't a smartass. More like a bumbling fatso.

The Alfred we know and love is basically a retcon of that first incarnation.

[Brannon]

Yes!

Let's slap Bruce Jones and Frank Miller on writing chores.

Frank Cho on art.

12 part maxi-series depicting exactly how NOT GAY Batman is.

Issue one we start out with a bang... literally! The Joker is back, with Harley Quinn in tow. He has some generic nefarious scheme possibly involving animals smiling, but it's all foiled when Harley can't resist Batman's OVERWHELMING masculinity! She tells all to Batman during his post-coital smoke break, and he runs out in nothing but his Bat-boxer shorts, cape and cowl to demoralize the Joker.

Poison Ivy is back! Sadly, she finds that her longtime pseudo-love, Harley Quinn is in love with the Batman! She sets up an elaborate trap, but when she has the Bat pinned to the wall, she is overcome with LUST for the world's least gay man!

Mr. Freeze is back in town! Has he finally succeeded in reviving his comatose wife? The answer is YES! But when the totally heterosexual Batman intervenes, has Freeze lost his love forever? The answer is a resounding and repetitive YES!

I'm sure someone would love that, I knew I loved writing it!

And this, my friends, is why adults shouldn't be allowed to read superhero comics! It's amusing to think that there was a time when creators just wrote goofy stories and didn't put much thought into the possiblities of precieved homoerotic subtext.

I actually found this witty as well as funny (the adult part of me) but the child inside is weeping.

[Brannon]

I will also add that Robin should always wear pants. That's and early 90's innovation that really needs to stay innovated.

[Jeff F]

You missed the orgy of the final issue with Bruce, Talia, Catwoman, Harley, Ivy, Oracle, Huntress, and Black Canary.

And Supergirl.

Because he's that good.

Haha, I just didn't get there yet. Those are just the first three issues. I have this crazy idea involving the first Clayface...

And this, my friends, is why adults shouldn't be allowed to read superhero comics! It's amusing to think that there was a time when creators just wrote goofy stories and didn't put much thought into the possiblities of precieved homoerotic subtext.

I actually found this witty as well as funny (the adult part of me) but the child inside is weeping.

Hey now, I'm a very young 22. I just thought it was hilarious that you wanted writers of Batman to touch upon the fact that Batman is not gay. So I just took that to the logical extremes and thought of some story potential for BatMAN.

I do agree that it is kind of sad that mainstream comics aren't just fun anymore. While I certainly enjoy the current crop of comicdom, I think a lot was lost the day DC cancelled Young Justice.

However, I like books like Young Avengers, Invincible, Runaways, Godland, and Noble Causes for putting some fun back while still touching upon more 'adult' themes.

I'm glad you thought it was funny though:)

[Brannon]

Haha, I just didn't get there yet. Those are just the first three issues. I have this crazy idea involving the first Clayface...



Hey now, I'm a very young 22. I just thought it was hilarious that you wanted writers of Batman to touch upon the fact that Batman is not gay. So I just took that to the logical extremes and thought of some story potential for BatMAN.

I do agree that it is kind of sad that mainstream comics aren't just fun anymore. While I certainly enjoy the current crop of comicdom, I think a lot was lost the day DC cancelled Young Justice.

However, I like books like Young Avengers, Invincible, Runaways, Godland, and Noble Causes for putting some fun back while still touching upon more 'adult' themes.

I'm glad you thought it was funny though:)

You're cool with me dude. I like anyone with a complex thought process.

I look around and see so much talent and sophistication, particularly with writers, yet so little creative energy when compared to the "good old days." Why can't we have Alan Moore + Jack Kirby embodied in a single creator? Ah well.

[BeastieRunner]

This is a sort of on topic side note:

What superhero is NOT crazy?


Batman (DC) became Batman because he could not handle the death of his parents that he bore witness to as a child. That's a pretty sane reaction there. :rolleyes:
Moon Knight (Marvel) has multiple personalities.
Wolverine (Marvel) suffers from little man syndrome.
Bruce Banner/Hulk (Marvel) clearly has suppressed emotions and anger managment issues. Not to mention a split personality.
Superman (DC) suffers from survivors guilt.
Green Lantern, Hal Jordan (DC) went insane because the Guardians told him he used his power ring for a selfish cause (recreating Coast City). Another resonable reaction. :rolleyes:

[Brannon]

It's possible to say that, using real world terms, Black Panther is the lone "non-crazy" superhero. His costume is a cultural tradition and might very well be the only practical costume that someone in the real world would actually wear.

[Lorendiac]

1. Batman is not crazy.
I tend to agree, although "crazy" is a word that can be stretched to cover almost anything "unusual" or "different" about a person's thought processes.

2. Batman should be more of a detective than some idiotic, juvenile, super-ninja.
I have often said that Jeph Loeb, for instance, seems to feel that Batman can't reliably detect his way out of a paper bag unless someone else takes him by the hand and guides him in the right direction. On the other hand, would it be acceptable if Batman were written as a super-ninja who was non-idiotic and non-juvenile? ;)

3. Batman should not be the best at any one thing; he has, however, "nearly" mastered more seperate fields than just about anyone else.
I can accept Batman being "the best" at a handful of things. Not everything he does, but a few special skills and fields of study.

4. Batman is not gay anymore than most guys are gay for spending so much time dressed in tight football jersy's and slapping each other on the ass while watching sports.
I agree with the general sentiment, but I'm curious: Is there any particular Batman story you've been reading recently that gave you the strong impression that the writer was trying to tell you Batman was gay? If so, what story was it, by what writer?

5. Alfred should always be a loveable smartass. I like this retcon.
Just when did this retcon happen? Hasn't Alfred been making occasional wry, critical, or downright sarcastic remarks about Batman's lifestyle at least since the early 80s, and maybe even longer for all I know?

[Kid Kyoto]

I never said I didn't care. I just find it silly to think that one person's idea of a character is the only way that character should be portrayed.

Incidentally, I never said I disagreed either.

but... the whole point of a discussion board is to present opinions and disucss them.

You're basically saying no one should present their ideas of how batman should be portrayed, in which case why post anything at all?

[Brannon]

My comments were really just random sentiments about the various states of the Bat mythos. It's been years since I've actually read Batman. I've never read a story that insinuated that Batman was gay, however I'm sure you're aware of the running gags and puns about Batman and Robin. It's even mainstream! Kewl! ;)

[cadmium_blimp]

Do you guys know of any comics that do a good job of portraying Batman as a detective?

[dancj]

Do you guys know of any comics that do a good job of portraying Batman as a detective?

It's been a while since I read it, but I think Gothic might have been quite good for that.