Kage Kisaragi
06-10-2009, 02:50 PM
I was in the bathroom shaving, and well I didn't cut myself but I did do some thinking. I was thinking about the similiarities between Batman and Black Panther from Marvel. I also thought about all the recent things that have happened to BP.. He got married, and suddenly less than a year after his marriage he has complications and can no longer be BP and can't even be king of Wakanda, now the two most important women in his life, Storm his wife and possibly his Sister Suri are running his kingdom and taking over the mantle of BP.. one of the on going problems most people cited about BP pre marriage was that he was always self contained in his region of the world, and that was a bad thing to everyone who read comics and knew of his name. So these new turn of events have left Black Panther or the new one, as a character who can now not be tied down to their roots in Wakanda, and Storm can now be ever the powerful ruler of her own nation... well what strikes me and what makes me bring this discussion to the Batman board is,
Isn't Batman King of Gotham City?
He answers to no one, and yet knows everyone and can influence just about any part of the system that governs Gotham. He is on a first name bases with the chief of police to which he can gain access to all kind of police files without necessarily having to take them by force/hacking (though he can do this if he wants and I'm guessing anyone smart enough to detect it is already under his employee ie Barbara Gordon or Tim Drake.)
I don't mean to say that Babs works for Bruce, I know thats not the case, but she is more than likely to turn a blind eye to anything that he does so long as she believes he's doing it in the best interest of Gotham.
He has agents of various caliburs under his direct supervision or permits them to work within his city. Many of whom have either worked with him or were trained by him or asked by him to work on his behalf. All of whom would most likely come running at his beckon call.
The mayor of Gotham city outside of the animated series is largely unknown to me, and I would assume is unknown to the casual reader as well. Though as Bruce Wayne I'm sure Bruce could easily get the mayor under his wnig should he wont to, but since that position is highly unstable with elections and so on, I doubt he wants to deal with that.
So why is it possible that Batman can be both a Superhero/King of his City while other such characters (and by this I mean more than just BP) can't seem to pull it off as well. What is the secret to Batman's success with both the target audience and within the DCU?
Isn't Batman King of Gotham City?
He answers to no one, and yet knows everyone and can influence just about any part of the system that governs Gotham. He is on a first name bases with the chief of police to which he can gain access to all kind of police files without necessarily having to take them by force/hacking (though he can do this if he wants and I'm guessing anyone smart enough to detect it is already under his employee ie Barbara Gordon or Tim Drake.)
I don't mean to say that Babs works for Bruce, I know thats not the case, but she is more than likely to turn a blind eye to anything that he does so long as she believes he's doing it in the best interest of Gotham.
He has agents of various caliburs under his direct supervision or permits them to work within his city. Many of whom have either worked with him or were trained by him or asked by him to work on his behalf. All of whom would most likely come running at his beckon call.
The mayor of Gotham city outside of the animated series is largely unknown to me, and I would assume is unknown to the casual reader as well. Though as Bruce Wayne I'm sure Bruce could easily get the mayor under his wnig should he wont to, but since that position is highly unstable with elections and so on, I doubt he wants to deal with that.
So why is it possible that Batman can be both a Superhero/King of his City while other such characters (and by this I mean more than just BP) can't seem to pull it off as well. What is the secret to Batman's success with both the target audience and within the DCU?