Is Batman over-used in the current in-continuity DCU?

[Paul Dee]

As far as current continuity goes Batman's featured in his own series, Detective comics, Superman/Batman, Justice League, Batman and the Outsiders, Batman Confidential, Countdown as well as guesting in the books of others (Robin, Nightwing, Green Arrow etc). Do you think this is too much from a continuity point of view? That he's too busy? I'm not referring to the fact that a lot of Batman-related titles are on the shelves each months - if they're good books then who cares? More about the fact that if you took 2 years of his appearences in all the books he's in and put them into chronological order he'd be everywhere and it'd be a bit ridiculous. Is his presence in the DCU so ubiquitous that his impact suffers as a result? Or does it not matter? (and I don't mean in a "not as long as the stories are good" kind of way).

[rwe1138]

I agree, he's in way too many places at once. Two "current" monthly books, plus JLoA and now Outsiders, plus minis and guest appearances? But there's really not much that can be done about it. He's the Wolverine of the DCU in that respect.

[Choppa]

Batman and Superman have always been overused. I can't remember a time when there weren't at least 3 monthlies plus the one-shots.

[jerrymcl89]

I don't really like the idea of Batman taking over the Outsiders while also staying with the JLA. I think one team should be enough for a guy who really prefers to watch over Gotham. But other than that, his multiple other appearances don't really bother me. Confidential and All Star aren't in current continuity, and Superman Batman just barely is.

Also, Batman is currently appearing quite a bit less than he was before IC. Gotham Knights, Gotham Central, and Batgirl have all been cancelled, and he almost never appears anymore in Catwoman, BoP, or Nightwing.

[Paul Dee]

Confidential is in continuity though. It's in-continuity stories set in his early days.

Out of interest? what 3 Superman monthlies were there before Confidential and (if you're counting it) Superman/Batman?


In a way the Batman thing doesn't have to be an issue since 12 months of comic books doen't equate to a year in the Dark Knight's life - the timeframe for a years comic books is condensed somewhat a lot of the time. But that desn't take away my natural reaction of "Oh, come on! Not again!" whenever I see him pop up on the front cover of Green Arrow, Manhunter or Amazon's Attack.

[Rattlehead]

Confidential is in continuity though. It's in-continuity stories set in his early days.

Out of interest? what 3 Superman monthlies were there before Confidential and (if you're counting it) Superman/Batman?


In a way the Batman thing doesn't have to be an issue since 12 months of comic books doen't equate to a year in the Dark Knight's life - the timeframe for a years comic books is condensed somewhat a lot of the time. But that desn't take away my natural reaction of "Oh, come on! Not again!" whenever I see him pop up on the front cover of Green Arrow, Manhunter or Amazon's Attack.

Confidential, both of them, are great books by the way. Certainly a lot of fun.

To answer your question:

Superman
Action Comics
Superman : The Man of Steel

plus, the Adventures of Superman which has now been renamed Superman, plus there was that Superman: The Man of Tomorrow quarterly title for a while.

[BeastieRunner]

Two "current" monthly books, plus JLoA and now Outsiders, plus minis and guest appearances?

He's starring in Brave and the Bold as well.

[Captain Jim]

He's starring in Brave and the Bold as well.

Not so. It's different characters each issue.

[Testament_X]

DC stands for Detective Comics, doesn't it? That should answer things....

[BeastieRunner]

Not so. It's different characters each issue.

He's appeared in every issue as the whole thing is one giant arc involving the Book of Destiny.

[Captain Jim]

He's appeared in every issue as the whole thing is one giant arc involving the Book of Destiny.

Okay, I'll rephrase: different main characters each issue. And don't look for Batman to continue once the arc is over.

When the book was started up again, DC made it clear that this was NOT going to be a Batman team-up book this time around.

[Captain Jim]

DC stands for Detective Comics, doesn't it? That should answer things....

Huh? :confused:

[brundlefly]

He's the Wolverine of the DCU in that respect.

That's a very appropriate comparison as far as number of monthly appearances goes. I agree that Batman's spread kind of thin and appearing in too many books. Personally, I would take him off Outsiders (since that's a waste if Winnick is still going to be the one writing it) and cancel Superman/Batman (as that book's never been very good), then just keep him in his own three monthlies and in JLA, plus his occasional cameos and involvement in the various big events that everybody in the DCU shows up for (Countdown, Amazons Attack, etc.) or popping up every so often in the Bat-Family books like Catwoman or Birds of Prey. It won't happen, since Batman and Superman are the Spider-Man and Wolverine of DC as far as "special guest stars" are concerned, but it would be nice to pare down Batman's appearances to a somewhat logical level and not be so shameless.

[colossus34]

Guest appearances aren't that big of a problem if done sparingly, it becomes a problem when he's on two superhero teams fulltime, two solo titles, three other ancillary books as a star charcter and 3 more out of contiunty tales. It basically throws logic out the window when you have to try to make sense of how batman can be doing everything at the same time and how any book could possibly affect one another in continuity.

It defintly takes away from his prescence and appeal if he's overexposed that way. Marvel learned their lesson with Wolvie when a few years back he was basically in all 3 X-books, his solo, New Avengers and popping up in every other book as a guest star--it became downright ludicrous to the point Quesedo admitted to the need to pull back on Wolvie so his continuity made sense and he's not everywhere all the time. Hopefully, Dido can take a hint!

[lawman]

...Personally, I would take him off Outsiders (since that's a waste if Winnick is still going to be the one writing it) and cancel Superman/Batman (as that book's never been very good), then just keep him in his own three monthlies and in JLA, plus his occasional cameos and involvement in the various big events that everybody in the DCU shows up for (Countdown, Amazons Attack, etc.) or popping up every so often in the Bat-Family books like Catwoman or Birds of Prey...
I think you may be too generous even with this. What on earth is Batman doing in Amazons Attack, for instance, other than standing on a rooftop in broad daylight for hours on end, attempting to coordinate communications? It's both pointless and completely out of character.

(Moreover, although this isn't strictly a Batman problem, the "not all stories happen at once" sidestep doesn't apply here when it's painfully clear, from Countdown, that the events of AA and of the JLA/JSA "Lightning Strikes" crossover are, somehow, taking place simultaneously, contrary to any logically plausible interpretation of either story.)

[brundlefly]

I think you may be too generous even with this. What on earth is Batman doing in Amazons Attack, for instance, other than standing on a rooftop in broad daylight for hours on end, attempting to coordinate communications? It's both pointless and completely out of character.

(Moreover, although this isn't strictly a Batman problem, the "not all stories happen at once" sidestep doesn't apply here when it's painfully clear, from Countdown, that the events of AA and of the JLA/JSA "Lightning Strikes" crossover are, somehow, taking place simultaneously, contrary to any logically plausible interpretation of either story.)

Yeah, I know his appearance in AA doesn't make any sense and agree that he probably shouldn't be there, but all the DC big crossovers like that end up being mandatory attendance for Batman and Superman, regardless of how they impact their individual titles or timelines. As Tony Soprano would say, "what are you gonna do?" But junking Outsiders and Superman/Batman would at least be a good start to trimming his appearances.

[Captain Jim]

Personally, I would take him off Outsiders (since that's a waste if Winnick is still going to be the one writing it) and cancel Superman/Batman (as that book's never been very good), then just keep him in his own three monthlies and in JLA, plus his occasional cameos and involvement in the various big events that everybody in the DCU shows up for (Countdown, Amazons Attack, etc.) or popping up every so often in the Bat-Family books like Catwoman or Birds of Prey.

It remains to be seen who's writing Outsiders. I'd prefer someone else but, on the other hand, I thought Winick's stint on Batman was pretty good. And Superman/ Batman (which I don't like either) is one of DC's best selling titles. :eek:

[jv2k]

(Moreover, although this isn't strictly a Batman problem, the "not all stories happen at once" sidestep doesn't apply here when it's painfully clear, from Countdown, that the events of AA and of the JLA/JSA "Lightning Strikes" crossover are, somehow, taking place simultaneously, contrary to any logically plausible interpretation of either story.)
Not every story crosses over with countdown and not every story takes place at the same time. For example the issue of superman that came out yesterday still takes place before it rained new gods in countdown.

[brundlefly]

It remains to be seen who's writing Outsiders. I'd prefer someone else but, on the other hand, I thought Winick's stint on Batman was pretty good.

Winnick turned Batman into The Adventures of Jason Todd, Guest-Starring the Comedy Stylings of Black Mask. He pushed Batman to the sidelines of his own book. But if Tony Bedard ends up being the writer on Outsiders instead, I retract my "get Batman off the Outsiders" recommendation. Give him a chance writing Batman. But Winnick already wasted his, imo.

[Captain Jim]

Winnick turned Batman into The Adventures of Jason Todd, Guest-Starring the Comedy Stylings of Black Mask. He pushed Batman to the sidelines of his own book. But if Tony Bedard ends up being the writer on Outsiders instead, I retract my "get Batman off the Outsiders" recommendation. Give him a chance writing Batman. But Winnick already wasted his, imo.

I would prefer to see Tony myself, but I'll have to disagree with your assessment of Winick's tenure on Batman.

[lawman]

Not every story crosses over with countdown and not every story takes place at the same time. For example the issue of superman that came out yesterday still takes place before it rained new gods in countdown.
I didn't claim "every story" did, of course. The part of my post you quoted was quite clearly concerned with two specific stories which, from all internal evidence and as a matter of dramatic integrity, should not overlap... yet thanks to the placement of crossover scenes in Countdown, unavoidably must overlap. It's just awkward.