Should Bruce Wayne Get Married?

[beetlebum]

Originally Posted by Vakanai

True, but I still fail to see why the relationship would have to fail.

I'll compromise and say I'd be open to the prospect of Bruce getting married if they could make it work.

And that's if they could.

But DC has given me many reasons to doubt them over the years.

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by beetlebum

As for Bruce being Catholic, I always thought Bruce was more Episcopalian than Catholic. The Catholic thing was a projection unto him by writers like Frank Miller, who have a tendency to project aspects of themselves unto the characters they write.

Chuck Dixon has said he always pictured Bruce as a lapsed Catholic, I believe because of all the guilt he carried around.

[Flash's Lightning]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

Chuck Dixon has said he always pictured Bruce as a lapsed Catholic, I believe because of all the guilt he carried around.

And here I thought that was a Jewish thing.

Seems like we'll all have to share in it.

[pariah-1972]

I have a hard time believing he's catholic since i have never seen him step inside a church.

[Flash's Lightning]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

I have a hard time believing he's catholic since i have never seen him step inside a church.

Don't be ridiculous, he's been in churchs plenty of times. Kicking in someone's teeth.

[Vakanai]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

I have a hard time believing he's catholic since i have never seen him step inside a church.

Eh, I'm Baptist, and I've gone months to years without going in a church. Some religious folk aren't all that religious about going places to listen to crap you already believe in anyways. I hear someone going on about God and I think 'Yeah, I know, don't care, when's the meal?'
So in that sense he could be Catholic without really caring to attend any services.
That said, I still say his religion is fluid and depends on the writer.

[pariah-1972]

I don't know i wouldn't mind if it jibbed with his character but it doesn't because Deadpool and Nightcrawler already own that.
Wayne doesn't sound like a typical catholic last name to me anyways.

[Vakanai]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

I don't know i wouldn't mind if it jibbed with his character but it doesn't because Deadpool and Nightcrawler already own that.
Wayne doesn't sound like a typical catholic last name to me anyways.

I think Episcopalian and atheist were also thrown in there. Which also doesn't jibe to me. I think he would be religious, but not very much so or very concerned with it. Sort of a lapsed whatever have you. Religion is nice and all, but Batman doesn't seem to be worried about religion or politics. Is there a heaven? Maybe. Should I vote? Eh, flip a coin. The only thing that really seems to matter to most incarnations of Batman is the mission to fight and stop crime. He seems unable to afford anything as emotional or normal as a stance on religion or politics. It's just something out there other people are concerned with, but since religion or politics are usually unable to rob a bank, being concepts as they are, he can ignore them.
So yeah, a lapsed something or other who isn't really concerned about it one way or another seems to fit better.

[beetlebum]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

I don't know i wouldn't mind if it jibbed with his character but it doesn't because Deadpool and Nightcrawler already own that.
Wayne doesn't sound like a typical catholic last name to me anyways.

What's a typical Catholic last name?

(I didn't know such a thing existed!)

Is it something similar to Grossi? O'Malley? Martinez? Ho?

If we were to go by the theory that Bruce's family is of Scotch descent, and Scottish Catholics comprise about 16% of the Scottish population.

There is a chance he could be descended from them, but I always thought Bruce's lineage would be from wealthy Scots who are usually affiliated with the Church of Scotland.*

*Though it should be noted that Bruce's Scottish heritage is up for debate as well.

I usually don't like to think of him as Catholic, and I say that because, to me, the only "real" Catholic in the Bat Family is Helena.

A big part of her identity is the fact that she struggles to reconcile who she is with her faith. It's something that I can very much relate to -- and it's why she's my fav heroine.

I don't see that so much with Bruce. Though as Chuck Dixon noted, he does struggle a lot with guilt (but it's not as if the Catholics have a monopoly on it...)

From Adherents.com:

What is meant is that Batman is an "Episcopalian/Catholic" who is lapsed in the bi-denominational upbringing of his childhood. It is a valid observation that children raised in homes with a split religious identity are more likely to be lapsed or religiously non-observant as adults than children of parents with a united religious identity. Batman is certainly no exception to this trend, although it is possible to think of many reasons other than his parents' inter-faith marriage for his lack of traditional religious observation and identification as an adult.

The observation is worth noting.

As for Bruce being atheist, to me, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, considering the universe he's in. Agnostic would be a better description for him.

Another angle of this to consider is that while he was travelling the Orient while training to be Batman, he studied in various monasteries of Eastern religions. His teachers during this time were for the most part Buddhists, and Bruce Wayne actively studied not only martial arts but also various Eastern religious philosophies, practices, and mysticism. Heck, Grant Morrison referred to him as "the super-confident, zen warrior".

But ultimately, there is no established answer for this. He is subject to anthromorphisation, and subject to the whims of the individuals who are writing him at the moment, and ultimately, the interpretation of the people who read the folklore centred around him.

[HopeLantern]

Hmm...
I thought Bruce was more Agnostic than anything else...he's seen gods, heck, he even shot one in FC #6. So he knows they exist. But as far as the Judeo-Christian GOD, it's been up in the air.

I always pictured Bruce's thinking as along the lines of "If He (God) exists, great... why hasn't He stopped crime in Gotham City... you know what, never mind, I'll do it myself".

[Vakanai]

Originally Posted by beetlebum

Agnostic would be a better description for him.

I don't know. I don't see him being the typical agnostic type. It makes more sense than atheist, but not as much as lapsed whatever. I'm pretty sure his folks would have raised him to believe in something that he would probably still technically believe in, but just doesn't dwell on or consider that much.

Though, now that I think about it, this topic has kind of got off topic, since the debate was over whether marriage would ruin him or not. I guess people just really like speculating on religion for some reason (I'm guilty of that too), but this might be the wrong thread for it.

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by pariah-1972

I have a hard time believing he's catholic since i have never seen him step inside a church.

I said LAPSED Catholic.

[pariah-1972]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I said LAPSED Catholic.

Yes i SAW what you said and my point still stands he has to have actually gone to catholic church to lapse, believe me i know this for a fact since i happen to be one.

[carabas]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I said LAPSED Catholic.

If he's a lapsed catholic, he lapsed when he was eight, on, the night Batman was born. I don't think that really is sufficient to be a lapsed catholic.

[pariah-1972]

It's probably just Frank Miller gettng Daredevil and Batman confused in his old age.