Why is DC editorial mandating that Batman be older than Superman?

[super1man]

Why is DC editorial mandating that Batman be older than Superman?

With New52 you could say that aas they preserved Batman's history he is older but then so should GL be but again whatever replaced Superman's history must have taken time too and he is the first superhero. The mandate even reached as far as Smallville Season 11where Batman is not only older but active before Clark both as Superman and the Blur. Here Batman's history too could have been truncated to keep him younger.

And again wasn't DCnU's whole purpose to make everybody younger. Why is Batman immune to that?

Or is the real reason Batman is older than Superman because he is currently making more money in comics so they are attenuating every aspects of him. If he is older he has more authority than the real world original superhero in the fictional realms?

[RoughNTumble]

I'm pretty sure they're about the same age

[Sacred Knight]

Batman wasn't immune to the deaging process. He is younger than he was pre-reboot. It just so happens now he might be a couple years older than Clark is all. He worked under cover of darkness for a couple years before Superman went public, but beyond that I don't know if its been explicitly stated he's of an older age. I think he is though, and have no problem with it. As for why they did it...I don't really know what more of answer to give other than that's the way they wanted it. It has nothing to do with a heightened sense of authority over Superman though. The writing doesn't support that at all when amongst his colleagues. If anything Superman's being portrayed as pretty tough to handle when he sets his mind to something the others might be wary of, quite the opposite of bowing down to the authority of someone else.

[Conan The Barbarian]

I think Batman should be older considering all the Robins…

[super1man]

Batman wasn't immune to the deaging process. He is younger than he was pre-reboot. It just so happens now he's a couple years older than Clark, if that. He worked under cover of darkness for a couple years before Superman went public, but beyond that I don't know if its been explicitly stated he's of an older age. I think he is though, and have no problem with it. As for why they did it...I don't really know what more of answer to give other than that's the way they wanted it. It has nothing to do with a heightened sense of authority over Superman though. The writing doesn't support that at all when amongst his colleagues. If anything Superman's being portrayed as pretty tough to handle when he sets his mind to something the others might be wary of, quite the opposite of bowing down to the authority of someone else.

My problem is really because making Batman older and active longer steals something away from Clark. Like the JSA stole the status of first heroes from him in previous continuity and eventually some writer telling us Superman was inspired by Crimson Avenger, JSA, Green Lantern, Flash, Starman, Batman, etc which is crap as he is the real worrld original superhero. No wonder new people reading the comics thinks Batman inspired Superman (also due to the animated series) and thinking he is so cool for doing that.

[super1man]

I think Batman should be older considering all the Robins…

Yes but thats because pf selective continuity on DC's part. They could just as well fill Superman's continuity with something else and say Superman is older. Linda could have been Supergirl before Kara and this Superboy could have been the second Superboy like originally planned.

Furthermore they have spread the mandate to Smallville Season 11 where according to the interviews by the author Batman was active longer than Clark in both his superhero guise of Superman and the Blur. Not only is he older than Clark but also than Lex who in Smallville was a couple of years older.

[Sacred Knight]

I don't think his age steals anything away from Clark at all. Its absolutely inconsequential to me if Bruce was born a couple years before Clark. His active years, I can see that argument, but all the same I think they compromised it well enough with the fact that Batman was an underground myth who didn't dare show his face to the light of day till Superman ushered in the age of superheroes. Besides, "active" in this context is a relative term. One could make the argument Superman was active way before Batman because we know for a fact that he had adventures with the Legion as a boy. In that sense clearly what's being made to matter here most in a historical context is when these people first became known to the world at large. And the first, for the people, was Superman.

The evidence as I see it strongly hints that the only motivation for this change was to accommodate a lot of Batman's history that they didn't want to get rid of, especially as it pertained to the Robins. It had nothing to do with any sense of authoritative pull for the character, nor to diminish Superman's role. I DO think Johns is giving Batman kind of a symbolic "older brother' type role to Batman in the Justice League, but nothing more beyond that. And I think that's kind of a cool role for Bruce. Definitely more refreshing than "Grrr, I'm dark and brooding and standing in a corner not trusting any of you" Batman.

[super1man]

I don't think his age steals anything away from Clark at all. Its absolutely inconsequential to me if Bruce was born a couple years before Clark. His active years, I can see that argument, but all the same I think they compromised it well enough with the fact that Batman was an underground myth who didn't dare show his face to the light of day till Superman ushered in the age of superheroes. Besides, "active" in this context is a relative term. One could make the argument Superman was active way before Batman because we know for a fact that he had adventures with the Legion as a boy.

Yes, and that I think is the only saving grace otherwise everybody know its actually Superman who inspired Bruce to become the Bat and not some random bat that flew through his windows.

[Last Son]

To me it just comes off as them saying Batman is older, wiser, more mature, smarter.. same damn story as usual. Batman gets to look down on and belittle Superman like always, as if he's just another Robin that he can order around.

[Sacred Knight]

Except that's not how he's being portrayed in the League. At all.

[Cypher-Z]

Its a new day in age. People find Batman cool, and Superman rather lame (Although the majority havent really read Superman comics). And thus is the result of the current thing in comics. In my opinion this makes them less equal. They should always be the same age.

[Cypher-Z]

To me it just comes off as them saying Batman is older, wiser, more mature, smarter.. same damn story as usual. Batman gets to look down on and belittle Superman like always, as if he's just another Robin that he can order around.

I dont think its that, I just think nobody cares about Superman so they've degraded him to a 2nd rate character with nothing special about him, not even the status he had before.

[Sacred Knight]

That too, is entirely unsupported by anything being currently published.

[Cypher-Z]

That too, is entirely unsupported by anything being currently published.

Maybe all the years before of no one caring about Superman before the reboot, his personality change at the start of the reboot, the fact he does nothing in Justice League, and that Batman is older and first, hasnt gone through to you.

[Sacred Knight]

You're talking about the past, I'm talking about now. And if anything hasn't "gone through" to anyone its you, because his personality change at the start of the reboot was hardly anything drastic and met with acclaim and interest, and to say he doesn't do anything in Justice League is false.