It's easy to criticize Guy Gardner if you don't know him. It's even easier to criticize Guy if you do know him. Every action he took in his relationship with Tora, especially towards the end of New Earth, was accompanied by his inability to listen to her. At first, it didn't matter, because Ice herself needed ordinary people with below-average perspectives on life. The girl came from a family that taught her to run and hide, which resulted in a naturally quiet personality on the one hand and a desire to find someone who didn't care about titles or bloody mistakes on the other.
The lack of morality played an important role, as I see it. Not because Guy will literally kill people for no reason. He allows himself to be a little crazy, which frees up space for Ice to take more decisive actions. The problem is, she develops along with the other teams she joins, because - and this is especially evident in the period just before her death - she needs the stability that she can't get, while Guy only changes the names of his costumes. She talks about this in the closing story of the Lantern Corps, which becomes the final story for them.
We'll skip the modern age for a while to move from a destructive example to a model of perfect relationships throughout DC. Post is double - the second part is due in a day.
Scott/Barda was an answer to the Gods' Rules. For the previous duo, even Guy, violence was an attempt to hide personal problems and express pain. Barda uses it like a true warrior. She enjoys the process, the power of the opponent, not the fact of simply beating them up. Scott is just free from the concept of intentional cruelty without necessity. This is important because they quickly become members of many Leagues. They don't change the general settings, except for the world they live in and a stable home, which was impossible on Apokolips. Do you see a common point?
Bad conditions at home —> Finding your own way out of this is loud enough —> Circumstances that allow them to become something more in the eyes of the world —> A quarrel over this after one of the partners grows —> A second chance after realizing the mistake, closing your individual troubles.
The old Superman? There were so many of them. Zero working versions. Clark is usually depicted as depressed and withdrawn. He had definitely lost Lois, the world had turned away from his ideals, and everything was wrong with this damned universe. Of course, he returns and guides the society on the holy path. I mean, really?
We are talking about the main dreamer of our time. Even during his first, as they would be called today, "problematic" acts of Good, Clark was the standard of our innermost intentions. You'll believe a man can fly! For Tomorrow! Truth, Justice and a better Tomorrow! If you seek his monument, look around you. It's all Superman!
I'm not saying that I don't believe in dark variations. I think it works on Frank Miller Earth. I like what they showed in Futures End. It must exist because everyone sees the world in their own way, everything in the world is constantly changing. But I really don't understand why…
Okay, I understand. The future of Superman, any future in principle, works based on adding up the facts, trends, and turning points of current history. We take existing algorithms and try to apply modern experience to them. This is an analysis foundation. The mistake is that the world cannot be objectively measured using certain global models. Good analysts use knowledge within individual fields to make good judgments about specific circles. War, politics, etc.
Therefore, when we try to predict something in large volumes, we are bound to make mistakes. The idea of Superman is that there are no mistakes. Not literally. Of course, Kent is not perfect, and he is capable of going too far in his judgments. Ask Batman. Okay, don't ask…not him.
Man of Steel - we've seen this since the mid-70s - uses knowledge to give people a more reasonable and acceptable solution. That's why I never call him a Warrior. I would compare him to a doctor. Medics remove rot from wounds, set bones, and provide a course of treatment. However, then only our own body decides whether we want to continue living.
This position may seem supportive of the publisher's actions. But only if we both agree with the idea of a world on the edge. Clark doesn't agree with that. When we do worldbuilding, we rely on global points. This is true if you're doing an event like Scott Snyder or Grant Morrison. Most of the "sub-worlds" in DC, however, form their own realities. You know how it works. The darkest city on the planet and right across the bridge is the lightest. In Gotham, crime is 100%, but it certainly has no effect on the Metropolis. Very realistic, yeah.
I'm not trying to bully it. But the assumptions do exist. Writers of other heroes' futures understand this. This is how Wonder Woman usually gives the mantle to the next generation in order to do things that are no less important, but require more experience. Establishing new ties between states, caring for survivors of a major war, and mentoring younger versions of herself...
I want to say that no one knows what it is, it is the ideal future of the world. But I think if we build it around the ideals of Superman.
Objectively, there's no reason for Kate to remain as an independent concept from Batman. Batwoman cannot exist without Batman, because the method of passing on the mantle is different from Robin or Batgirl. Because last ones' role = an idea created for the future. Robin is born in the moment. To bring Peace to the heart. Or Justice to the streets. To inspire Batman himself. To remind us that the world is not lost. To emphasize the importance of the mission. This is how we get indirect sidekicks in the faces of Maps or Duke. Batgirl becomes a personal matter for every girl. I don't think it's just about Barbara. Because she wasn't always the first in the comic book story. In any case, starting from the street level, each of them ends up in the Batcave sooner or later. Even the future does not break this glorious tradition.So, we have a dependency.
But we also have a constant shift towards autonomy as soon as a girl gains self confidence. Batman works as a checkpoint, verifying the readiness of incoming candidates. Barbara wasn't self-sufficient before the Oracle. Beth didn't establish herself as a permanent Bat because she quickly realized that she wanted to be in a different environment. Closer to her time, you know. Making a long story short, there is a clear "continuity of superhero robes."
Batwoman, on the other hand, ends up on a personal level every time. When the mask stops working, a girl either goes her own way or dies. She does not determine the intervals of other family members. The new Batwoman is always different. No stylistic or ideological inheritance. Batwoman's selfish. Outsiders made one point in this discussion:
What if, on a subconscious level, Batwoman is also a Batman for girls? Because it's always easier for us to imagine ourselves within our own barriers, whether it's age, worldview, skin color, priorities...or gender.
No, no, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Batwoman has identical functions, but with breasts. However, certain versions, such as Earth 11, do have too much male/female Bat-crossing. When you have a recurring story and a name or appearance, it's always an easy target. But what about Legends of the Dead Earth, which we know almost nothing about? How do you feel about Elainna Grayson's weird vibes? Or this wild composite version from the Thrillkiller? Yes, technically, she's Barbara! That's what it is!
They say, "Our paths have intertwined, but they have not become one." For the universe, a concept does not always have a specific meaning. Because the Earth changes its formats and shapes according to its own laws. In some cases, this creates lines that must be preserved in order to ensure the safety of a more significant character.
And remember, this is a position without trying to be biased. An opinion may differ from the universe. Or maybe you'll just fade away---ayaya----yeah...
The idea had been on the surface since the boy's return as a Red Hood. Later, after Bruce's "death", many visual references to the Devil appeared in the exterior aesthetics. Both in the Hood costume and in the Batman's Cowl. In fact, it has become part of history. Escapes from demons, a literal intersection with the Arab ideas of the other world, a theme with magical weapons…and of course, we cannot forget the Joker, who established himself around the same period as something more than a treacherous and merciless man. So, there were some reasonable seeds in this duality. Let's not forget that even getting rid of his injury at one point didn't stop him from going off the path of a kinder person after Roy's death and Batman's rude attitude before that.
Nowadays, Jason feels stable. I'm talking about the period before the reinvention, before Gotham War. A bit of a victim, a bit of a soldier, a bit of a coach and mentor, a bit of a failed lover, and a bit more of a spirit of vengeance. I see his future route as an attempt to unite the extremes that had previously developed and destroyed the normal perception of the character. Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen have already made a perfect start, which allows a boy to show aggression from a young age, which became the norm after 2011, while remaining a vulnerable child(post-Crisis) with strong views and some understanding of the big events around him(pre-Crisis). By changing the beginning, you also change the context of future events. From now on, everything inside the Hood has a pronounced psychological connotation. The darkness inside Wonder Boy, as teased at the end, will be caused by a complex of doubts that neither Bruce, nor Alfred, nor anyone close to them will be able to see until it's too late.
Thus, Todd acquired the concept of an internal enemy, completely moving away from the external Batman, Joker, Penguin, and so on. It may seem that the introduction of an element on the contrary contributes to the development of a diabolical theme. The parallels with an angel and a demon fighting for human morality are as old as the world itself. This is where we come across Todd's global interpretation. Red Hood was born as a response to the inability of an exhausted (and slightly insane) child to cope with the amount of manipulation and the burden of guilt that fell on him immediately after his second birth. The topic of instant adulthood is not Jason's topic. However, a broken childhood - in any form - already forms a certain framework of play within the mentality. If before, with his Talia, All Caste, and inability to even understand his own emotions in a basic way, this tunnel in Jason's brain was constantly expanding, which gave rise to evil associations, now, on the contrary, it is narrowing. Therefore, instead of an allegory, we have a very specific weak boy, his parents, failures.
That is, the unity of interpretation kills the multiplicity of interpretation. The devil leaves because Jason stops using generalities as a lens of perception. Which is very good. Because there are enough demons in Gotham without Hood…
How many tears did Kara shed as she watched everything that happens around? I'm asking about a girl who was born in 2005 and has been hosting the most spectacular rock concerts for the past 20 years. Because the truth is, she left when Sophie Campbell came in. And yes, I sincerely believe that the current volume is an excellent work about Zor-El. However, this is a different Kara. This is a girl who cannot exist in the described form. Let's appeal to the latest issue.
Sophie uses all the major conflicts Kara has ever gone through, allowing her to free herself from the heavy burden. Now, Supergirl can fly in the 60s and flirt with boys while walking her cat...dog...horse...
The problem lies in the description and the very idea of "consolation". Light and Darkness, as they are depicted in the comic, are complex concepts that rely on public understanding of certain social trends and assess their acceptability within the same society. Supergirl is part of Krypton, a race with a rather militant philosophy and strange standards. Most adventures, especially the key ones, don't make any emphasis on this. And indeed, Kara has a personal understanding of rightness that is close to the human standard of Earth 0 and is inspired by many of Surerman's teachings. At the same time, her behavior is usually fixed on feelings and acceptance of conditions dictated by her inner circle(friends, parents and so on). You could say that she's like the Amazons who trained her, but that wouldn't be accurate either, because life on the Paradise Island is all about upholding traditions. Kara acts based on the damage that is caused to important people(or herself). For example, in the second Injustice, it is the lie that drives her to leave Clark and find a place among Batman's team, which has always been honest and respectful about her. I beg you to read this text a few times:
Sophie uses the word powerless, which is partially true in the story of Supergirl. She often felt lost, and the inability to reach important places or desires really killed her. The true meaning lies in something much more complex and rather opposite, in causing pain. From the very beginning, Kara used rage as a perfect method of defense. She beat her former lovers, some heroes, and she directed it against her crazed relatives. This is a natural defense system of the psyche. However, due to the frequent use of such an attacking tactic (which was not used in her home world), Supergirl has gained immense emotional instability. Bruce talked about it in 2005. She hurt Clark because she couldn't handle her own pain. The Red Lantern was the culmination.
In other words, what is described as an attempt to escape from pain is actually the center of pain. I'm not saying that Kara wasn't scared and helpless. Excessive aggression is a way to overcome it. But where did it come from? From the first loved ones after the death of the planet. When she first got here, she was basically a child. Okay, a teenager. Did anyone talk to her about her loss, try to help her with a simple conversation? No. More precisely, they made an effort. I don't want to demonize anyone. The problem was that they didn't know how to do it right. Available for Kara. So they just "shifted" the girl without asking if she needed it. Look at the people she really trusted, from Boomerang to Jon. Something in common? Yes, they just understood her. When the rest of the world:
This is how the rage was formed. The inability to find the right strong words, because she is truly afraid of losing the few people she still has, on one side. A complete madness with enemies on the other. Even without Clark's death between New and Rebirth, she is rejected by the city she defended. Several Laughing Crises. A psychopath with an axe and an evil copy. Her attempts to find herself in space have shown that the alternative lies in the future, but she doesn't see it yet:
Therefore, King plunges Supergirl into the depths of despair. If she gets close to someone, sooner or later, it's not the rage that hurts. But without the rage, she won't be able to be herself. She'll become closed off due to the events in the past. Tom helps Kara realize this. But he doesn't give her a solution. This is the reason why Supergirl didn't have any personal stories until 2023. She's not a child anymore. She understands that she can act differently. She's tired of aggression too much to deal with it. This is where she truly became powerless.
Then we get two directions to work with. The main universe gave Kara a chance to re-start. Every panel inside Supergirl Special and Mariko Tamaki's adventures in Action Comics shows that pain will never go away because it's an essential part of the experience, a part of your identity, but you don't have to live with it...
Animation does it differently. Death in the Crisis is ideological. She completely loses control, which leads to the death of a loved one. This is the first time in history that someone has truly lost their life because of Kara. She realizes that she can't continue like this anymore. She sacrifices herself for the better Tomorrow.
My Adventures with Superman, on the other hand, make rage and prejudice the beginning of the journey. It may seem like it's literally 2005, 2011, and so on, but there's a difference in the introduction. She has already formed as a person, and the trauma of Krypton, as it dominates the comics, is absent. Therefore, what Kara has only come to in the comics is the starting point here. Once she's free from the pain, she gains an element that has been unavailable to her since the post-Crisis. She and Clark are playing on equal footing. Kara has a family where she can speak freely and where she can no longer hurt anyone.
Whatever path we choose, her future is now open to interpretation. But the joke is that the current volume is based on animation, while also having the issues of a comic book.
This is the reason for our entire dialogue. Today, we have three different Karas, two of whom (the World's Finest interpretation requires a personal dialogue) live in the comics. None of them are from the sources we discussed above. This doesn't make them any worse or wrong. In fact, this is the best time to be a Girl of Steel fan. But I want to see the completion or a proper reboot of the line that was my first one, that I fell in love with. Who knows, maybe 2026's movie will be able to achieve this by showing how a completely broken and introverted person hides behind the mask of a fun and crazy party girl. At the end of the day...
Kara's smile was always sincere. But she's smile best when she is allowed to be herself.
If I were to add any music here, it would be In My Remains
It sounds rude, but it's true. Vertigo is a dumping ground for ideas. Not in terms of quality! However, they picked up a lot of kids who were too dangerous, unfashionable, outspoken for their parent company. House of Secrets, Changing Man, and Swamp Thing out of Vertigo as an adult, established phenomena, which wasn't the case when they first started. My reader will exclaim, "Of course, they had Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis! Thanks to them, the heroes became great!". Without ignoring truly significant masters, I tend to pay more attention to lesser-known authors or the contributions of major figures where they remain unknown. For example, Mike Carey effectively single-handedly made the laws of the magical part of DC an invisible and influential whole. The last volume of Gen 13 was written by Simon Oliver, who made his way into DC publications through Vertigo's Exterminators. Mark Millar's work on the Swamp Thing allowed the green monster to discover the power of traveling through the Earths. It sounds insignificant. In fact, it was this discovery that made the further integration of superheroes into everyday life so smooth and lore-justified. So, point one is: Vertigo is refining the Concepts.
Point two. While early comics had an aesthetic fanbase, works after the early 2000s allowed us to experience the taste of the Freedom in all its forms. Why this is so important? The world building, in its higher stages, is all about routine and small details. In the context of the universe as such, that is, when we are not talking about specific hero or events, there are many insignificant things that simply exist. The world will not explode if they disappear. But will it become poorer? Absolutely. So, you get your million gangster clashes, the authors' personal dramas, the strange worlds of the future, and the behind-the-scenes stuff. Do you know what Mnemovore, Otherworld, and Fables have in common? Yes, they are portals through the realities! So, total #2: Vertigo creates space for combining lore.
Third one. A plot breaks the plot. Comics by Vertigo are the closest to the traditional format that DC followed before the merger. The vast majority of them were approved by the publisher as completely independent adventures. However, we do have the fact of overlapping series, such as The Sandman and Shade. Swamp Thing uses a pantheon that spans across worlds. A couple of years ago, DC officially recognized a certain Vertigo Earth. In other words, despite the impossibility, the real Life of MF Grimm, a mystical Bodies, and how-to-explain-this Art Ops originate from the same point. Absurd!
Through such contrasts, we can better understand the boundaries of divergence. The problem with mainstream comics is the sequence of retcons. They either change everything or change minor details. These things cannot be understood outside of major events or specialized areas.
When you read The Filth, you get a lot of important terms, ideas, and concepts that then work in the main DC. That's why Vertigo resurrects every week!
Ok, let's look at this from the perspective of Dick's correct presentation. Obviously, he has to start independently, and the first real girl in his life will be Barbara. The princess can't start with the Titans, because the loneliness segment is one of the parts that made her character.Of course, this can be shown in the part where she travels through space, which will be shown in animation soon...
But I see the Outlaws scenario as much more consistent. I'm not sure if Jason should be here, but we'll 100% need Roy. Among the stars and here, on Earth, she will gain a lot of bad decisions and cruel looks. I really don't think Starfire has any problem with killing, and she's worried about the code. But it is important to close the topic in order to (partially) let go of the traumas of the past, learn to see the world in a brighter light, thereby transforming into something similar to DCAMU. For the record, this is only the first part of the journey. It would be strange if she had adopted a much more moderate lifestyle at the very beginning of her career. You can work off the injury with the help of an evil copy. I think the authors can transform the idea of Nega Starfire into something independent + add reworked trails from the Kynasf'rr arcs of the 90s. Thiat's where she meets Dick for the first time. He's already hung out with the League, gained experience with a couple of individual heroes. I think it's better to leave a short period of relationship with Barbara. That is, no relationships with other girls, but these are the first stages of Batgirl and Robin's natural separation from each other. The breaks with Gordon and Wayne are close to each other, and he completely goes to Teen Titans, where he has a very strong relationship with the guys. But he starts looking for new truths, which leads us to something like the first volume of Nightwing. Only Robin isn't here anymore, and Nightwing isn't here yet. Just that Grayson and his life, in disarray.
For Cory, this is a period of socialization. She wouldn't be able to understand Dick here. That doesn't mean it's completely none of her business, and we have Wally…anyway, you get the idea. So, she's having fun, and after Grayson returns, they have a little heart-to-heart dialogue scene, which is also the beginning of a long-term relationship. Accordingly, next we get the Nightwing of the Disco period and the comparatively radical Starfire. When the Titans become Teen Titans, Grayson loses himself a little bit again. I'm comparing this with the second volume. They haven't completely gotten together yet. In fact, Dick is divided between a troubled city and a fairly solid but ideologically divided (Titans Rebirth narrative) team. Problems force Star to go into space and finally deal with the difficulties in the family. I see this as the story of Tamaran's temporary queen, with the quick realization that there is no place like the tower. The relationship has already gone through the kissing phase, but it has not become solid. It reminds me of the period of the second volume of the Titans. When the team met after a long period of loneliness and solving their own wonders of life. The same foundation can be used to reunite them. But without killing Donna, of course. Since we no longer need Blackfire and other loved ones, Starfire can fully focus on Earth. For Dick, the desire to return would be blocked by the threat to Bludhaven. During this, he is killed. More precisely, Nightwing is being killed. The world learns the secret of identity, and we get a Spyral line. For Cory, this may be the period of the first serious feelings. When she learns to do it like on Earth. I would add Franklin Crandall, who will have to die because of H.I.V.E., which is currently at war with Spyral. At the end of it, the Titans find out that Dick is alive. After that, they can start building a relationship for the first time.
So far, it's hard for me to say whether it should end with a wedding, a baby, or a breakup. But I think it's a good dynamic with all the highlights from the story preserved. Once, I'll come back to the topic.
I love the grayness of Christopher Nolan movies. There is a strange consensus within the fandom regarding his perception of Gotham. Supposedly, this city was only in the first part, and then we got an ordinary American metropolis. I've always believed that Gotham is primarily about the atmosphere it surrounds the people who live in it.
And no, this is not an atmosphere of fear, lack of money, or permanent 180% criminal activity. This is a kind of melancholy that is created in the body at the sight of the setting sun after a frankly lousy day. These are nighttime gatherings with friends from the university on a floor where you shouldn't be. It's an awareness of one's limitations against the backdrop of giant bicentennial statues and majestic skyscrapers. Nolan understood that, too. The audio didn't.
Before, I described the difficulties that any listeners face while traveling on the Year One. The Long Halloween loses the same way. Behind the layer of narrative problems lies the effect of a broken ideology that creates identity. The first year created an atmosphere of modernity, where any kind of once-difficult business became routine, and even the darkest moments of life were overgrown with "illumination". Therefore, such an important moment with the intimidation of the cops was lost here, and the scene with the theft of the TV suddenly focuses on the lack of control. The problem is not global, just unpleasant and obvious to an inexperienced Batman.
Then, all this focus is lost in order to shed tears that are quite basic for the 80s for Harvey Dent and go into madness because of another prank by a serial killer. Today, one Dark Victory later, this is only reinforced by Dick's much darker (compared to the main ones) origin and downgraded (from the point of view of the dynamics of our days, of course) relationship with Selina. This will become even more absurd soon, since the problem of Ego was not very relevant even for its own time. I am writing all this not to alienate the listener from not the most brilliant, but based on good ideas and qualitatively showned individual moments of audio dramas. This is my way of showing, how big is crisis that Batman has today in almost every area where he was a king. How does The Dark Knight Trilogy can help?
Nolan divides Batman's life into three strict intervals. The first film begins with a lot of pain and insecurity, as Batman's condition is often equivalent to Gotham's feelings. Ideally, in the audio, we would have had a shift in Selina and Wayne's relationship to a less tragic path. Harvey's injury would have been obvious, and therefore the Dark Victory (but not the first part, because Bruce sincerely wanted to find a cure, as he did in many modern stories) simply allowed him to leave, to become another psycho who chose the path of injustice and revenge. This would have contributed to a much easier communication with Grayson, the absence of isolation. The Dark Knight focuses entirely on philosophy, the clash of ideas. As we can see, even the main character's position is often questioned by Alfred, Lucius and Rachel. Ego has a good foundation for an identical problem, but exclusively within Bruce. Today, when the hero has learned to see his own misconceptions and overcome them, the story could begin by denying the idea of Batman's rightness and necessity, but then not just dispel it, but turn it into a formative thing for Wayne, like the plot from Detective # 1000. The Gauntlet/Nightwing: Year One is an opportunity to talk openly about the imperfection of our winged boy. I find Year One a little problematic because it transforms Wayne and(a small cameo) Todd is into much simpler people (in a bad way). They work on emotions, like Dick, which is just not true. However, this makes sense if we look at the comic not from above, but from the Nightwing's perspective of the perception of his past. I need to do more homework here, I think it's important for the first Robin to emphasize the squabbling and bias of the early years.
Finally, Rises. It shows the peak of the Batman's willingness to leave the conflict. It is this part that seems to people to have lost the atmosphere the most against my highest point of the atmosphere. Because the point is not even handing over the mantle or the opportunity to become happy. It's all about the little details that make up Gotham. Orphanages, thieves at social engagements, the place of a particular policeman in the system that covers a huge city, monsters in the sewers…
The Killing Joke has already created this in the most magnificent book by Christa Faust. This is an opportunity to understand Barbara's mind, to see little people in the game of big super being. I think you got the thought. Audio Earth can save Batman. It doesn't want to.
And this text is not an attempt to force you to find some perfect model. I'm just saying that even adaptations can have a variety of approaches. Take care of Batman. How he cares about us.
*They Don't Care About Us is playing here*
