A list of some the posts I write in (because I keep losing them in my sea of reblogs)
Discussion/Rant:
Amanda Waller: part one, and two
Unstructured blurb-Gotham Corruption and Why Bruce had to become the bat
Gender roles in fandom- Primary looking at Fem! Bruce
Inspiration, Rant (pt.1), Rant (pt.2)
The US school system, Racism, and the failures of US history (WW2)
BBC Merlin: Kidnapping
Thoughts:
Bruce and Fear
Batman, restoration and naming
Bruce and substance use:
FMA and the Enlightenment mini essay
Graft Charlie and Bella Swan onto Bruce and a Batkid
Creative writing/ Head canons:
Bruce Hospitalized
Dick as a sibling and son
Dick and Bruce Cuddling
Omega Bruce and work place harassment
The Wayne's Death (Bruce being covered and blood)
Superbat domestic abuse AU
Sad BruHarvey + baby Dick idea
Okay but imagine Bruce who is used to falling in love with people who hurt him physically/mentally as well as are on the opposite side of the law (Talia, Selina, Harvey, Khoa...)
And then he falls for Hal. Hal is a hero like him, a good man, a friend. Bruce would never have to argue morals with him and Hal would never actually hurt him, so for once Bruce isn't worried. He thinks he doesn't have to worry about it at all, because he trusts Hal wholeheartedly.
I realized because I keep telling people to read The Spectre (2001) I should maybe provide a reading order in case you want to read it with context for Hal's arc. You definitely do not have to read all these comics to read The Spectre! as with all comics you should pick what sounds good to you. but they do provide context for where he's coming from and I think his arc as a whole is really satisfying.
League of Comics Geek list
Bold is recommended, italics is bonus.
Origins:
Emerald Dawn #1-6 - Hal's post-crisis origins. He gets the ring, he crashes a plane, he goes to jail (not in that order.)
Hal Jordan as Parallax:
Green Lantern 1990 #48-50 - Heel turn! After the destruction of his hometown Coast City, Hal tries to use his power to undo it and destroys the planet Oa, his bosses the Guardians, and most of the Green Lantern Corps.
Zero Hour #0 - Hal tries to destroy all of time to set things right. This is a big crossover event spanning multiple universes - do not worry about who everyone is.
Green Lantern 1990 #0, 62-64 - Following the events of Zero Hour, Hal fights his successor Kyle in an attempt to get his ring back.
Parallax: Emerald Night, Final Night #4 - Hal sacrifices himself to destroy a creature eating the sun. If you pick one of these to read pick Emerald Night, which has the meaty character stuff.
Green Lantern: Legacy: Last Will and Testament of Hal Jordan - This doesn't add much to a Spectre read but it follows off of the Parallax arc so if you're already at it you might as well pick up this side story where Tom Kalmaku, Hal's mechanic and close friend, grapples with Hal's betrayal. I just think it's really nice to see Tom get to be a fully realized character with his own complex emotions about Hal and not just a sidekick.
Hal Jordan as the Spectre:
Day of Judgement 2-4 - You reeeally don't need to read Day of Judgment and I did not enjoy most of it but I'm including it for completionism's sake. All you need to know is that Hal's soul is summoned from purgatory to inhabit the Spectre, the embodiment of divine wrath, after its previous host Jim Corrigan leaves.
**Legends of the DC Universe #33-36 - Hal's early days as the Spectre dealing with the fallout of Parallax. If you skip everything else on this list I'd still recommend these four to get you up to speed.
**The Spectre 2001 #1-27 - 1-14 are Hal settling into what being the Spectre means for him, 15-27 deal more with his niece Helen and space adventures. Spectre 2001 has never been collected in trades and is not on DC Infinite so you're going to have to go with scans for this one but the scans do collect the letters pages which are a fun read. I miss letters pages.
Arcs and stand-alones if you just want to dip your toes in:
#2-4 - Redeeming the Demon - Hal wrestles with what it means to be the Spectre. Also, Superman and Batman are here, and so is an all-powerful woman from outside of time.
#5 - The Two Faces of Evil - If you like Two-Face this is a comic for you. I don't know where I come down on this as a story about mental illness but it's interesting!
#6-9 - The Redeemer/Gates of Heaven, Doors of Hell - these are the most explicitly religious of the bunch so ymmv BUT they're the first appearance of premium weirdo Stigmonus and also Helen's parents die in these so they're pretty important for her.
#10 - Joker's Last Laugh tie-in - even if you hate the Joker, this is stunningly drawn and is in fact a really good Parallax issue.
#11 - The Mission - good encapsulation of where Hal's ended up as the Spectre. Certainly the most sympathetic portrayal of terrorism you're going to see in a Big Two comic that came out in January 2002.
#14 - The Silver Room - just a really beautiful vampire story.
#15-17 - Mystery in Space! First appearance of Materna Minxx, Helen's cosmic nanny.
#20 - My Perfect Life - Hal helps a man with a seemingly untouchable existence.
#21-23 - Stigmonus and Son - Hal Jordan gets his own perfect life back. Mostly including this because a) I like it as a story arc when it's what Parallax was trying to accomplish the whole time and b) One Of Hal's Spectre Aspects Is A Woman. Yay :)
#24 - They Say It's Your Birthday - Helen birthday issue! Perfect incredibly sweet issue imo.
#27 - The Beginning of the Beginning - Wraps up Hal's arc with Helen beautifully.
I just watched a YouTube video about what makes a villain well-written. It was a pretty standard video until the creator brought up the Joker—which was nothing unusual—but then they mentioned Batman in the same breath and claimed that both Batman and the Joker are villains in their own ways
They went on to say that Batman is a villain disguised as a champion of justice , and that the reason he refuses to kill criminals is because he enjoys beating them up and wants to keep sending them to prison so they’ll get out and give him another excuse to beat them again.
That must be one of the most ridiculous bad faith interpretations of Batman that I have ever heard in my life.
So I usually come here to read your character analyses because I really enjoy your perspective, I’m curious what do you think about the relationship between Batman and his villains?
Okay, first of all, I must insist that you send me the video link either in the comments, another anon ask, or via pm. I would like to be an informed hater
But just focusing on your question: "What is Batman's relationship with his Villains"
—if you mean this as in what the villains have to offer to the themes of the Batman mythos and what challenges and conversations should be had regarding them....
(I hope that's what you mean, if not, amend it in my inbox)
....I think Batman's rogue gallery act as foils to at least 1 of the 3 key themes of the mythos:
Reform VS Revolution (and the brutality on either side)
Hope as Retribution (and Hope is a Luxury)
Fear is a Weapon (and we are one bad day away from using it)
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Reform VS Revoltion
Batman, like many of the capes, believe that Reform is...
(a) possible, because society is built upon the notion that we have to care about each other according to what we have and what we need so that we can all survive, and even with how its become flawed and riddled with oppressive adjacents (products of times of crises when kindness becomes insufficient to satisfy the needs of this society according to the information that this kindness was institutionalized with), kindness and care for our fellow person can and still does exist
and (b) necessary because the answer to a broken system isn't to toss it out, as that is largely dismissive to the people who do depend on it and what can happen to them if there becomes a vacuum of power and progress stagnates
Side note but this is why I get iffy when people call Bruce a "leftist" like he's center-left at best on the horizontal spectrum
This explains Bruce's humanitarianism which is one of the cornerstones of his modus operandi, alongside being a detective, a father/mentor, and a soldier
But then you have characters or groups like Ra's Al-Ghul and the League of Assassin are revolutionists who operate on Misantrophy and think that human society (and in some extreme cases, the species itself) should collapse for...
Well, depends on the telling, but in their original telling as eco-pessimists, the Al-Ghuls believe that humans are inherently bad and are the plague of the Earth and its other inhabitants, because the systems by which human society operate on are inherently destructive (the way we source food, travel, etc.) and the only penance and solution to humanity's destruction is mankind's extinction
Another villain example I have would be Poison Ivy, who believe that humanity is a parasite to a planet that had been better off without the existence of society
As well as the likes of Two-Face and Black Mask, who believe that order can only be established when the "enemies" of this order is extinguished and from their rubble comes the model of a world made anew
Both sides of the debate have merit to them.
Believers of Reform.... would have to concede that some of the institutions that human society depend on (a) are based on harmful operations, and (b) have harmful history or precedences it's propagating
Believers of Revolution.... would have to concede that their means would set precedences to the value of life, either by forcing others to give it up for the cause, or by determining some living beings as enemies, regardless of how much of them is a victim or a beneficiary of the system being revolted against
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Hope as Retribution
I've already talked plenty about how Red Hood exemplifies this foil to Batman well, but the better character to exemplify this foil is honestly Catwoman..... before whatever the fuck New 52 did to her ig
Batman, alongside systemic reform, is a firm believer in individual rehabilitation and redemption. It's why every rogue he's ever had, he's done his best to invest in their betterment or at least uprooting the reasons why they feel the need to resort to villainy to satisfy the emotions that led them down their path.
It's all based on the belief that for there to be a better world, we all have to take care about each other and stop thinking of each others an enemies when we are all victims, one way or another.
Meaning we all have to think that every life is precious and deserves dignity. Yes even that one.
Catwoman challenges that in many of her better stories, asking "Even this one?" and referring to child abusers, rapists, human traffickers.
That even if an argument can be made that these same criminals are victims of circumstance (economic necessity, indoctrination of oppressive systems), that doesn't erase the fact that they had committed the worst crimes a human can do to another human, and it often meant preying on the most vulnerable of our species.
And their victims are angry, and they want retribution because they already had their own dignity stripped of their supposedly precious lives, and so demand it made equal
Both sides have merit
Rehabilitating villains/criminals... doesn't change what they did, and why must society invest in the welfare of those who contributed to the oppression that destroys it
Allowing individuals and states to decide who lives or dies.... sets a precedence of mistrust because these standards can be altered, and doesn't address the root of why these crimes happen in the first place
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Fear is a Weapon
This is why I wanted to ask where that video is so I can understand the context of calling Bruce "a villain disguised as a champion of justice"
Because in a way.... that is what justice is. A punisher pretending to be judicious. A method of reform and resolution to timeless problems that proceeds based on traditions founded on stagnant, archaic culture
But that aside, I think it is fair to think Bruce is no better than his villains in a way that he also weaponizes fear. Bruce doesn't shy away from the fact that Batman is only ever effective or legitimate if criminals are afraid and victims trust that they don't have to be afraid of him.
We are all genuinely one bad day away from becoming the same monsters that destroyed us or we otherwise swore not to become
Two-Face exemplifies this well because he is what Bruce could've been if that one bad day had made him a crueler person.
Whereas Batman believes that fear is better as a detterrent, Two-Face thinks of fear as a warning shot.
Meant to hurt, to send a message, to legitimize one of two choices "Stop or else..." Both methods of using fear has the same end goal, but one already hurts, the other is making corpses into the banner of a philosophy war.
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I want it noted that Bruce doesn't hate all of his rogues, if the question is only about how they feel about each other.
He respects some of them to a degree or another, and the same right back, depending on why they became who they are and how much merit can be creditted to the sincerity of their goals.
But Bruce is also right to be against them because.....
......he's a fucking superhero, my guy.
Of course Bruce will be stubborn that society is worth fixing and everyone is worth saving. He's a superhero. He's meant to be an ideal. That's the whole thing with them.
Fuck you gonna come up to Batman and start yapping about the death penalty, eye for an eye, clean slates........ LIKE DO YOU NOT LOVE HUMANITY? DO YOU NOT BELIEVE THAT KINDNESS CAN EXIST FROM THE RUBBLE OF OUR FLAWS?
But that aside...
I think if you have to analyze Bruce's relationship with any of his villains, or any of his allies too, you have to keep in mind that these characters are, well, fictional characters
Of course Batman's fights with his rogues are frustrating as they are action-filled. Of course it's gonna be tied to a city characterized as being a cradle of stubborness, good and bad. Of course neither of them will ever truly win or die.
They're mouth pieces to age-old stories and debates that we've been having as a society for centuries.
The value of human life. The pursuit of rehabilitation. The institutionalization of kindness.
Can we survive this? Where do we draw the line?
"Are we worth saving?"
As long as the answer to those questions are "Well, it depends..."
Then their battles will keep being told in the stupidest, most fantastical, most frustrating ways imaginable.
This is formatted like these are just snippets of a longer comic, except there's not a longer comic (sorry)
Idk why I decided to write this in hal's pov when I have read way more things with bruce as the narrator but well,,, sorry for the ooc hal
Basically the scenario I concocted when I drafted this was lanternbat where they sometimes met to fuck while maintaining some level of a dom/sub dynamic that they don’t fully acknowledge and they just negotiated the most basic of terms.
It just so happens that the start of their arrangement coincided with a very vulnerable period of Bruce life, let’s say a few months after jaybin’s death when he’s practically alone in the manor, and well, Bruce catches very deep feelings towards the green lantern (that is not to say that Bruce wouldn’t have fallen in love eventually but rather that the circumstances facilitated him getting attached pretty fast).
In this comic Hal realized he’s in love too the moment he caught Bruce’s gaze because he doesn’t remember a time when someone has ever looked at him with such besotted, trusting and adoring eyes, but obviously, this is not the way they operate and he has to put some distance between theme ASAP unless he fucks this up even more. Hal leaves despite knowing that Bruce is very prone to experiencing sub drop after a session, so hehehehe, drown in guilt ya dog!!!! ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Also, this note that I left to myself in the draft:
Single dad Bruce Wayne surrounded by his precious babies, who are all worried because last Parent-Teacher Conference, he was the only daddy without another daddy or a mommy with him!!
Bruce is trying to calm his wailing children, "Oh loves, being a single parent is fine! Unconventional but fine! I'm happy and I love you all enough for two!"
But they're not having this!! That's not fair!! Their dad is so nice and pretty, he deserves to have MANY mommies and daddies with him!! No, he should have ONE REALLY GOOD, REALLY BEST MOMMY OR DADDY WITH HIM!!
So they ask Bruce what kind of other daddy ("A husband!" Jason corrected) or a mommy ("That's called a wife!" Dick said) he would like to have
And Bruce, realizing that fighting his kids is something he simply doesn't want to do, so he tries to placate them
"Well.... I always liked someone who is good with numbers. A-And someone who's good at taking charge. I love it when someone has good hair and a biting sense of humor, and is family-oriented 😊"
Bruce thought dignifying his children with a response would be the last time he even has to think about the wifeless/husbandless existence he's living
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Then a week later, Bruce has to watch his kids come home to his porch holding one very confused looking Hal Jordan
"Dad, look! We got you a husband!" Jason cheered, pushing Hal to Bruce.
"I checked his bank statements and his police record! He's a-okay, Daddy!" Tim added on with the sweetest smile a 7 year old can have.
"And he smells nice, like hot chocolate brownies, my favorite," Cass said, currently in Hal's arms and nuzzling her face on his neck, "He has really soft hair too."
"And I checked his social media on the way here! He's single! The kids on his accounts are his brothers' kids!" Duke said, holding Hal's hand, "Isn't that right, Mr. New Dad?"
Hal chuckles nervously, "I swear, they said they were lost in the city, Mr. Wayne.
Bruce looked at his eldest in horror.
"It was that or we went to England to find what a 'distinguished gentleman' was supposed to be, or whatever it is that Alfred wanted for you," Dick shrugged, not looking up from his phone showing the map home, meaning they were very much not lost.
Before Bruce can find his bearings, they start to usher Hal into the house
"Okay new dad, you can sleep in our daddy's room!"
Hal, who is too nice and a bit of a sucker for cute kids, follows happily.
It takes Bruce 10 seconds to process that there is a stranger in his home
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After all children were put into their respective time out corners, Bruce is finally ready to face the poor soul his children abducted.
"Okay, finally. Mr. Jordan, I'd like to apologize for—"
Bruce stopped.
Currently there's a 6"4 muscular man on his floor playing with toddler Damian and letting him touch his face. Hal is blowing raspberries into the baby's palms and answering his babbles with full sentences.
"Oh, Mr. Wayne! Are the kids all packed away?" Hal asked, hands still stuffed in animal puppets that Damian is giggling at.
guys i want to talk about the no man's land novel and how bruce gently touching people (ex. babs & helena in this novel, but oh man in the no man's land comics alone: tim and cass and dick and and and) only happens after they've directly suffered (physically or mentally) as a result of his mission and how when dick says that's his highest praise maybe it's not just the good job but also the fact of his touch but then again possibly i might explode thinking about it so here's an excerpt for you to stew on instead
Bruce having a butler/staff to do for him whatever he needs done but still doing it himself for the people he loves is so infinitely important to me, especially because the people don't realize its him.
Dick's fondest memories of childhood is the hot chocolate he used to drink every winter. He thought Alfred had always made it for him, because Alfred had always been the one to give him a mug of it, but the year after Alfred dies Bruce hands him a mug and Dick bursts into tears right then and there. "You know his recipe?" he sputters, through snot and a lump in his throat. Bruce pauses, considers briefly and dismisses the thought of telling him the truth. "Of course, chum." He lies, because Alfred wouldn't have known where to start in making hot chocolate, that sort of drink was beneath him. "I'll teach it to you."
Jason's favorite feeling in the world is slipping on a freshly ironed shirt. It's fucking fantastic. The greatest thing ever. He loves it so much. He used to watch Alfred do the laundry because he knew ironing was a part of it. Alfred never ironed a thing in his life. Bruce did all the ironing in the house. It soothed his mind to do it, to watch the wrinkles smooth out, to see the mistakes go away with just a little bit of water, heat and pressure. Jason comes to the Manor after a rough patrol and snaps 'where's Bruce?' and Tim points wordlessly to the laundry room. 'doing laundry? yeah right." Jason scoffs, and slams the door open only to find Bruce actually ironing. His shirt. "What are you doing?" He barks, and Bruce looks up, surprised. Like... genuinely surprised that someone is questioning the fact that he's ironing. "I'm... ironing?" He questions, and Jason snorts, snag his shirt and tosses it over his shouldr. "Yeah right. You lose a bet or something, old man?" Bruce debates for a moment, dismisses, and smiles at his son. "It can wait to be fulfilled. Hungry?"
Tim loathes cucumber sandwiches with his whole heart, but his parents staff used to do this thing where they'd put zuccini in the sandwiches in the center just for him. He told the story once to Bruce, and Alfred was in the room with them, and the next time he reached for a cucumber sandwich on the table, it was zuccini. He was elated. Alfred never bought zuccini. Never cooked it. He listed it amongst the top five worst gourds to exist. He never knew there were zuccinis hiding amongst his cucumbers
Steph had this one specific spoon that she loved eating with whenever she was at the Manor, and it was always polished to perfection everytime she needed it. She'd seen Alfred polishing and had been forced to polish utensils as a punishment enough times to assume that he'd just been doing it. When Bruce finally passed, he left the rag he would polish her spoon with and the spoon to her in his will. "I'm sorry I can't do it for you, anymore, but at least I taught you how to do it yourself."
Damian walks into his room to find Bruce bent over his shelf with a feather duster, meticulously cleaning his room for him. "What are you doing?" He barks, sharp and harsh. Bruce straightens, turns to him in surprise. "Damian! You weren't supposed to be home for another few hours!" "Only Pennyworth is allowed in here to clean." Damian says stifly, crossing his arms. Bruce raises an eyebrow. "I thought you said we're only allowed in to clean, unless you give permission otherwise. It's your room, Damian. I will respect your privacy." "Yes but-" Damian begins, and then stops. He'd said they could only go into his room to clean because thats what had happened in the League. Unimportant people, the servants, had cleaned his stuff. It didnt matter to him if they saw it because... they didnt matter. He'd thought... he'd assumed Pennyworth would- not... Bruce smiles.
Just. i dunno. Bruce doing the mundane 'servant' tasks for his family because it matters to them and as a form of affection and them not realizing it/realizing it much too late
Hello Occa! I hope you're doing well. I recently found out that the reason I go days without being able to eat and intensely dislike solid foods is because I have gastroparesis - essentially my stomach is somewhat paralyzed. Since I pretty commonly projected those issues onto Bruce in the past I wanted to toss it your way as potential prompt. Maybe from the angle of well-meaning but deeply flawed Alfred. He keeps forcing Bruce to eat full proper meals after his parents passing and doesn't realize that Bruce is still vomiting after/refusing eating not due to grief but a legitimate medical issue. He's not trying to be cruel but he's scared Bruce will waste away. Bruce gets diagnosed during his training and when he comes back he doesn't tell Alfred, just makes the diet adjustments a part of his regiment with Batman so the man won't feel guilty but won't feed him such large or such solid meals. Bruce eats the large meals placed in from him at family events and holidays, hiding that's he's in pain and sneaking off to throw up. He doesn't tell his kids either, maybe he kept secret at first so Alfred wouldn't find out then later so they wouldn't feel bad for having teased him about his eating habits - something he enjoyed, most of the time. Maybe one of the kids finds him throwing up. Would be fun if Jason found out after he baked/cooked something for Bruce for the first time-post resurrection and catches Bruce heaving in the bathroom after. You don't have to do anything with this but would love it if you did🩷
Jason's finger hovers over the mouse.
On the screen, the cursor hovers over Bruce's medical file. It would be so easy...
"You could've just said you didn't like it if it was that bad," Jason said afterwards. Afterwards, because he wasn't actually that much of an arse, and when he came across the man worshipping the porcelain throne his first instinct wasn't to make it about himself, and he instead kneeled next to him, rubbing his back, flushing the toilet when he slumped aside and wiping off his face like they'd suddenly swapped roles and Jason was the caretaker. It was weird. He doesn't like seeing Bruce so weak.
"Not that," Bruce had gasped, a hand curled into claws over his stomach as he slumped against the wall. "Was nice flavour. You're a good baker."
"That's why you're throwing up?"
Bruce grimaces. "Just something...don't worry about it, Jay."
So Jason had nodded, and pretended to agree, and after Bruce had clapped him on the shoulder and hobbled away, he followed the instinct tugging at his gut and followed it down to the Cave.
It would be so easy to find out why Bruce was throwing up.
