Nolanverse Ramble

Over at The Fortress of Soliloquy, Foss brought up up possible villains in a future third Nolan Batman film.

I finally got around to reading that post and had a few thoughts of my own, while greatly appreciating his. But as I started to reply I kind of answered myself, seeing the complications that could happen. But I wanted to preserve the thought.

I'd really love to see Edward Nigma done Nolan-style. Clean cut suit, bowler hat, distinctive cane. But as someone brought in instead of 'Robin'. There are too many connotations and expectations with Robin. And I actually don't want to see Nolanverse introduce Dick Greyson. The Nolanverse experience had reached this very darkly philosophical and grey ethics place and Dick Greyson's story is all about the lost of innocence in the death of his parents. Gotham's already lost that innocence, seeing it again would feel like a repeat.

But then I end up thinking that Edward Nigma would end up a Harvey Dent repeat, either as a colleague going bad, or in the reverse as an anti-hero trying for good. I can't quite see something new to say about the mythos of the Nolanverse there.

Which makes me think that as much as I'd like to see Jason Todd as a confused and troubled teenager that Batman puts hopes in - that path too leads to possibly losing a colleague and a rehash. Though part of me does actually like the thought The Red Hood onscreen.

And no doubt part of me giggles at audiences seeing a high wire kid, and then NOT hearing the name Dick Greyson. And now there's this whole story in my head of lost on the edge youth, and Foss' inspired Royal Flush Gang led by Harleen Quinzel.

Except for the part where Harley is being manipulated by the Joker - I like Timmverse too much where it was proven that Harley has what it takes to capture Batman. So I quite like the thought of her as either Joker's already acquired Right Hand, coming to rain down anarchy on Gotham by utilizing the Firebug and who knows what else. Or her becoming mesmerized, due to an already created obsession, after one meeting, and just going out there and raising unholy hell in a story about a fourway war:

Gotham Police fighting remaining Mobsters
Mobsters fighting Freaks coming to wipe them out
Freaks hunting down Batman for 'playtime'
Batman avoiding Police, and dealing with Freaks and the Mob.

Seriously, something like that? I can just see Ra's al Ghul spinning and laughing in his grave at it being Bruce bringing Gotham to its knees after all, with half the city burning to the ground.

*sighs*

These are the moments I love imagination and fanfiction. So much better than giving DC money too.

Willow Has A Batman Moment

I wanted to make a note of the art, of Thomas and Martha Wayne as Bruce's foundation; the legs he stands on. As well as their deaths being the foundation of Batman. All that combined with Seditious Greed, Capricious Madness, Compromise With Despair and Survival Selfishness; Penguin, Joker, Harvey and Catwoman - hovering in the background like projected internal demons, while Batman protects Gotham's families, Gotham's careless moments, and Innocence.

It's a very effective and evocative piece to me. There's even some mirror in mirror symbolic womb representation. I should get around to finding out who drew it at some point.

The Nibbles & Nostalgia

Batwoman in Detective Comics has been attacking me via the nibbles. The imagery seems to pop up everywhere I surf online. Gorgeous art, and Batwoman with the bright red flowing hair. There are several personal reasons for me to be drawn to Batwoman.

Yeah, I'm a lesbian. Big whoop.

Yeah, I'm a Bat fangirl. Straight up hardcore.

But my first non baby doll, was Batwoman. My mother refused to buy me a Barbie. My father refused too. Between the two of them, even though they were separated at the time, Barbie was just not in my future as a child (I didn't get one until was 9 or 10. And that was because my mother saw a black Barbie and black Ken on a visit to the States and that tipped the scales. We won't get into the week of adjustment for my heart not to be broken over the fact she wasn't blonde.

But Batwoman (possibly more Batgirl), with her motorcycle, and secret lair and bright red wig. I loved the show as a child. And I couldn't help falling in love with my action figure, once I got over the fact that she too was not a taller, thiner, blonde Barbie doll. She was definitely cooler, her limbs were more articulated and she and Supergirl could kick doll tail all over the place. I distinctly remember once having them battle the carpet sweeper in my Dad's office. Once I got over not having a Barbie doll to play dress up clothes with and who'd hang around a pool - I think I embraced super hero doll playing whole heartedly.

Batwoman calls out to that little girl, to nostalgia, in ways I can't begin to explain. And as I mention Rucka's take on Wonder Woman all the time, it makes it easy to believe I won't be disappointed. But Rucka's only human. And he's a man, and white - extra spin on human fallacy. So I'll wait. My inner little girl doesn't want things this hard as a regular occurrence. So I'm paying attention. But it is frustrating to realize that DC could very well get my money in a couple months, despite my over all dissatisfaction with them.

PS: I am currently fantasizing about an alternative for the trade paperback, with a comic floopy size backing of art, with a disc placed on it, disc art matching the backing. With single issues as pdfs or cbrs. And possibly some extra art. (yeah, even my fantasies don't think it'd go as wondrously far as behind the scenes/interview with artists etc)

[Comments Allowed]

She Who Scars Her Citizens

Trying to get caught up on my feeds reading, I stumbled across something I'd missed, written by my favourite DCverse fan-writer way back in March; Mithen.

For me, Batman is a symbol of hope in a very different way than Superman is. Superman is the dawning hope, the inspiring hope, the hope that brightens the soul. Batman, on the other hand, is the hope that keeps going even when there's no reason for it, the strength to get out of bed in the morning when there seems to be no point, the will to keep moving through the darkness when you're not certain there will ever be an end to it. He's a willed hope, a bone-deep faith that a mere human can make a difference, even when days and weeks and maybe even years go by without seeing that difference at all. In many ways, that's far more amazing to me than the sunlit hope Superman stands for. Hope when there's nothing to hope for, faith within the utter dark night of the soul.

I think that is the best description of why a little girl with a not so good childhood, found Batman and held on tight. It's why she's alive today; A Gothomite by right.

A Love Letter

Dear Christopher Nolan,

You don't know me and I don't know you. However, this documentary captures you discussing Batman's true super ability, the only super power he really has; as self discipline.

I love you, Christopher Nolan. In that whole "Yes!" fannish way that doesn't involve stalking but does involve happily giving you money.

Also Benjamin R. Karney PhD - I like you a lot too.

PS: The Merlin; that documentary captures a lot of why my favourite phrase in the world is: What Would Batman Do?

Batman Nolanverse: Some Later Thoughts

Chris Nolan's Batman Franchise
_{Ie - Batman as a blank space to be built upon.}
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I've seen it mentioned enough in reviews I've gone back to read since I finally saw the film that Batman in Nolan's Universe is a blank space; that he's boring, that all the interest is around him instead of within him and what the hell is Chris Nolan doing??!

Now a couple weeks later having sat on my thoughts I'm not going to claim I know what Chris Nolan is going, especially since I doubt Nolan's a secular womanist, or particularly invested in race equality. That is, the man's not me, I'm not him, I don't read minds.

What I am going to do, however, is discuss why I both agree and disagree with the description of Batman as a blank space. That is, I think it's entirely possible for the role to be interpreted that way (un-engaging, static shell) but I believe there's a reason for it and more-over, I've been enjoying it.

Batman Begins showed us a Bruce who was listless and unmotivated and basically one of the walking wounded from the time of his parents' death until he walks into the court house intent on murdering Joe Chill. Then Rachel slaps him (physically and metaphorically) and he goes on a journey to both find himself and to see the world he's been ignoring, as if it all stopped turning when his parents died.

This is not a Bruce, as in some canon arcs, who dabbled in a bit of everything with a mission in mind since childhood. This is not the Bruce who contemplated joining the FBI.

The way things are set up in the courthouse it doesn't even look as if Bruce gave any thought to getting away unseen or unscathed. He just wanted Chill dead. So he really had nothing to lose; since he'd been prepared to commit a type of suicide; when he goes traveling the world with nothing in his pockets. And when we next see him in the Chinese prison, he's a ferocious fighting dog. All his rage and pain and confusion is channeled into some very dirty fighting; impassioned fighting, such that catches his mentor's attention.

From there we go to a rigid training of body and mind and the discovery by Bruce of his own inner lines; things he will not do when his head is clear. Things he would and will train himself not to do even when his head is NOT clear. He's pulled himself out of a spiral of self-pity, seen his own strength and determination and realized that killing the criminals in summary execution is not the answer.

Thus is born, in Batman Begins, when he goes back to his city to try and save it - Bruce Wayne as an adult and Batman (the legend). BUT, things are bad in Gotham and Bruce needs to create a counter persona so his own personal growth, hard fought until this current plateau has to be put on hold. He has two jobs that take up all his time; Brucie and Batman.

There are three personas; Bruce Wayne, Brucie and Batman.

It's no surprise to me that there's all this movement happening around Batman but not coming from within him. It makes perfect sense. Bruce is still stalled on a plateau. He's still. In TDK, I realized that he's been holding on, over the past how many ever months, to this dream that with enough people inspired by him, the right people, he can hang up his cape and give Brucie a funeral and begin to discover who Bruce Wayne really is; what sort of man is he really? What does he want now?

But events in TDK reveal that Gotham's redemption will not be a simple path. It will take more than shining beacons of hope; beacons can be dimmed. Batman Begins explained to us that there was an organization set upon Gotham's destruction, encouraging it and feeding it the worse of human nature, letting it over-boil with corruption.

Gotham's an infection site, swelling with irritant fluids and turning things red and pus filled. Gotham's a Hellmouth (if you followed Buffy). Gotham's a place dictated the end spot of lines of corruption and darkness from all over the world; lines created by an ages old organization that's been working on this for YEARS (possibly something around 30-35 yrs). So Gotham's been this way for a generation.

The people currently alive in the city have always known it this way. Bruce himself was born into the city as it stood. And it'd been admitted to him that all his parents did, in their life and with their deaths was very partially stem the tide.

At the end of TDK I felt as if that is when 'the mission' is born. That's the moment when Bruce gives himself over to the City, to be Gotham's protector and avenger. To me that would be the moment he realizes that Bruce Wayne, that is Bruce Wayne the normal guy, the guy with trauma who's healing and moving forward is never going to happen. There is no magic bullet. There is no quick solution. The cure might have to take as long as the cause. That Bruce Wayne is a myth and waiting around for the right time for that myth to get the chance to show up - gets people killed, gets them hurt and injured, exposes them to too much.

I liked that Alfred burns Rachel's letter, because in Alfred's heart, he wants his young man, his almost son, to have that hope present - that it could have been fulfilled and one day still might be. He doesn't want to see Bruce become consumed by the mission. As much as a Bruce active and living means to him; the path down to obsessed is near and slippery.

I like how much is implied if you know the myth/legend/canons of Batman. But that this brushes a near real world margin on the psychology of evil, strength, weakness and redemption. I also like that someone paying attention can tease apart the possibilities. I say nothing for those who're all 'Cool explosions! And OMG romance dead now!'. We're obviously enjoying things in different ways.

I also like where Jim Gordon stands in this universe. Jim knows that Batman had hoped to one day stand aside. He knows the truth about what happened to and with Harvey. He knows that Batman is capable of almost anything (up to certain strict lines) to save this city. Or rather, that when it comes to saving innocents, he'll side with the most vulnerable (ala the hostages in the hostages dressed up as bad guys vs cops).

Jim's more than just a companion in arms right now in the Nolan universe. He's a friend. I can visualize Jim going up to the rooftop by himself, no signal, just Jim and cup of coffee on a break, waiting to see if Batman will show up to talk - because there's something going on Batman should be/would be clued into. Though more realistically in this verse, it'd be back to the back of the house with Batman up in the rafters and Mrs. Gordon wondering about who her husband trusts and why and the kept secrets between them. Jim's wife knows how poisonous Gotham is. She saw what it did to Dent. The Gordon family situation has become, quite elegantly, a pressure cooker and an example of what Bruce wants to save, all in one.

And speaking of saving examples, and themes of strength, weakness, and redemption; Batman/Bruce lost one symbol of Gotham and glimmer of hope in Harvey Dent. It was beautiful and awful and horrifying and brutal. I can forgive a lot for the narrative I saw/got to pick apart as I watched.

Jim, Batman, Harvey as a Trinity and now things are crushed and lopsided is something I absolutely adored. Ab.so.lutely. The Three Fates of Gotham *makes kissy noises of enthusiasm*. The three conspirators; the three schemers for Gotham's future delicately balanced against the three men that would change Gotham forever; The White Knight, The Dark Knight and The Mad Knight.

Sweet mambajomba and precious Baby Moses!

Seeing things like this made Harvey's turn into Two-Face resonate right down to my toes; because when watching the movie I forgot the change was coming. Screw believing a man can fly. I believed that on a single man, hung the fate of a city. And even though I worried about Harvey's control issues, I was caught up in every tiny step he carved out towards a new and brighter Gotham.

Harvey made his stand as a man who makes his own destiny; he forges his own path, creates his own reality. This a powerful attribute in a leader; in anyone, in fact. Which means it is a just as powerful attribute when used on a destructive path. The thing that made the fall of Harvey Dent for me was the realization that the Joker had only to look at him to understand him. The Joker wasn't sure about The Bat; he was curious and intrigued and possibly just a little aroused and tittillated. But Harvey? The Joker knew how to turn the ability to make your own reality become noose and smoking gun.

While I felt that there should have been more in the hospital room between Dent and the Joker I still believed that Harvey Dent, wracked with pain and loss and shock and physical devastation decided to get up and FIX his reality; fix what went wrong where it went wrong - starting with the people who broke it; the ones who betrayed his trust and his dream of a better, brighter Gotham.

Going after the dirty cops was just basic, common, revenge sense. Besides they clawed and wounded Gotham and brought her down into the dirt. And he'd already been disgusted at the concept of dirty cops.

Going after Jim and Batman, however, his fellow comrades in arms; that had me mentally reviewing the confrontation with the Joker even as I watched.

Why? I asked myself. So I watched and I thought and...

BOOM!


Already spiraling in his own guilt and anger and shame. Harvey's notedly embracing the pain and the loss, lashing out at himself. And here comes the Joker who points out that Harvey wasn't alone in his plotting, planning and scheming. And it's always so much easier when one is in pain to blame others, especially when you're the sort who believes that when YOU have it all under control, nothing can go wrong.

That the Joker had Harvey's number from day is positively chilling to me. TDK showed how well the Joker understands the dark side of other people and how he manipulates it and how much fun he had pressing the dark buttons of Gotham's public at seeming random. But realizing he -knew- just which buttons to press for Harvey... The ease of it for him; like a hot knife through butter; is actually terrifying.

It took me a while to realize the reason it was so easy is because Harvey Dent didn't believe in hope. Batman hoped. Jim Gordon hoped. Hell, even Rachel Dawes hoped. But Harvey believed in Harvey; his plans, his ambitions, his created reality.

And the realization that he wasn't strong enough on his own to fix everything / save everything and that because of that, Rachel died? What a painful lesson to learn; an awful, painful, crushing lesson. It was almost religious. Without faith in Harvey Dent, who did Harvey have faith in?

We've already seen Bruce in this place and we got to see how he found a way to not just believe in himself, but to honor his parents and believe in Gotham. Batman exists on hope. Heck, he was hoping to be an inspiration and hoping that such an inspiration would be enough to set Gotham back towards the right. He'd moved on from hopelessness when he walked away from Gotham and found himself. We've seen Jim Gordon believe in the people of Gotham; no matter the trips and stumbles and second and third chances. If circumstances changed; if people were given an opportunity to do right - Jim Gordon would give them that chance. Rachel Dawes? She believed in the system, that it could self correct and heal and be about Justice again; no matter how many times she saw it fail.

To me the Joker won the moment Harvey decided to use the coin that first time in the hospital. The coin represented Harvey consistently making his own luck, creating his own destiny; creating change through belief in himself. The coin was Harvey demanding/insisting in control. To use the coin when it had become proof he couldn't control everything; it had become proof of his failure - that to me was a gut punch.

Even if the Joker had ended up with his brains decorating the hospital walls; he'd have won. Harvey was lost and set in motion to publicly display himself as lost to Gotham. Chaos had won one and the failure sent Harvey screaming into denial. And he was screaming so hard that he couldn't see the Joker gently tipping him onto a path the Joker chose for him.

Anyone can snap and kill someone (several someone's) responsible for the death of a loved one. But flipping the damaged coin was Harvey saying that if Chaos could win once, then it was better off being an agent of Chaos. He stopped believing in himself and there was no one else to look to. Maybe that was the true loss in Rachel Dawes that she'd been trusted support without being a co-conspirator in fate manipulation. So in moments before when it looked like Harvey wouldn't win, he could see her faith. Then again, maybe she contributed to his belief that he could do anything and come up roses.

Going back to the concept of a Trinity I realized that Jim Gordon and Batman believed in more than themselves when it came to saving Gotham. And they had the life experiences of disappointments; learning from them, picking themselves up and starting over. Gordon and Batman know how not to lose faith. But Harvey had no hope, only certainty in his own ability to fix everything.

While I don't much believe in the words of Jim Gordon's speech in the end, (a touch melodramatic with some channeling of Frank Miller) I do believe in the sentiment. That Batman has hope and he doesn't let it die and he's willing to bear the pain and the difficulties that come with hoping in Gotham. I guess part of hoping for Gotham was giving them someone to rally against; giving them a focus for cohesion. And he's had the lesson proved to him that without realizing that one can come back from a loss and disappointment it's far too easy to fall down the slippery slope to despair and chaos and blank acceptance. And Harvey's death? No doubt the city as an entity was wondering what they could possibly do without him.

Still, I think between Barbara Gordon (Sr.); Jim Jr; The Joker's flapping lips; and all those other variables there's really no way what Harvey did can be completely kept under wraps for long. But hopefully Gotham will be more mentally prepared to deal with it. And in the meantime, Batman with an acknowledged on screen inner life should, I hope, begin, because there's no point in living life on hold anymore.

The Dark Knight

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PARTIAL SPOILERS

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I just saw The Dark Knight movie. I liked it. Of course I was already spoiled with all the WiR posts (with the term in the titles) going on re: TDK. Though since I was avoiding, I kind of thought there would be a fake out.

But I haven't cared a damn for the character since the first movie. And I didn't care too much now. The character was a plot point to me and not where my interest fell. I think I'll care more about WiR in this franchise when I give a damn about the female character in general.

Luckily I'm not a feminist so I can't be a 'bad' feminist for not giving a crap and for actually thinking 'Thank Goodness we don't have to deal with that character in the next movie'. It was wish fulfillment.

Re: The Joker? - I loved his intelligence, his lack of history or identity other than as the Joker. I'm someone who didn't like Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's creation. To me he read like Jack Black in make-up or the Joker high on pot and full of 40's. Just... didn't like him. Or rather, I wasn't scared of him.

Things I didn't like? There's only one. Will Kevin Conroy or Will Friedle please contact Christian Bale and teach him how to do a presentable Bat voice? PLEASE?

I might have more thoughts later. I'll definitely be up to discussion in IM. Mostly I'm just wondering when we'll get a Superman movie that's even half as good as this one. Nay, half as good as the first one.

Looks Like The Lifetime Channel

This clip is somewhat old. I've been avoiding it and avoiding it. But I added some new feeds last night and up this popped this morning; rolling automatically.

My reaction?

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Dear Superman,

When he hits you, it is NOT love. Just because you can recover quickly does NOT make it okay.

Stalkery Obession is a sign of Mental Unbalance.

Walk Away.

Take Out An Intergalatic Restraining Order.

And tell Batman you find Luthor creepy. Bats'll take care of it.

On Batman (and then some other things)

I need to get my hands on JLA: Divided We Fall. I've seen scans of it, and read fic of it (Jen-in-Japan). I know I'll enjoy it.

But I need to get my hands on it and own it for the simple reason that I think it likely canonizes My Batman.

Separated (due to shenanigans from 6th dimensional aliens) it's Bruce who has all the rage and passion, frustration, fear and more and it's Batman who is an empty shell.

I've role-played Batman in RPG's and I've ended up defending my choice to make Batman the outfit that hides the identity within Bruce himself. I've defended my decision to make Bruce the Playboy the mask, but only because underneath it was Bruce the Champion of Justice and Batman was merely a costume, a way of protecting his identity.

I don't know where it came from, this concept of Batman, cloak and ears and skills being the true persona, the real thing. - that Batman overwhelmed Bruce himself. Maybe it was Dark Knight with its comparisons to Harvey Dent.

But I always thought that it was Bruce's pain and Bruce's loss , therefore Bruce was the one with the passion and that his true self had been born the night his parents died; with the decision that this was unjust, unfair and unneeded and he would find a way to make sure no other child ever felt the loss and despair he was feeling.

Maybe that's why it's always been easy for me to see Bruce in AU's, as a government agent or in some RPG's where he was a Presidential candidate. All that changes for me, when it comes to Bruce in these alternate universes, are his tools and his teachers.

Perhaps that's also why I could so readily call Terry McGinnis Batman and not feel like I was cheering on a replacement; because to me, Terry was seeded with the same loss, the same crack across the face from and about bullies, and might equals right and horrendous loss and he used Batman to try to balance the scales. More-over he used Batman as a way to make-up for the little losses and little pains he'd caused others in his mindless trip down 'the wrong path'.

Maybe Amanda Waller had it right, Batman is formed by pain but more- over he's formed by the decision to protect rather than avenge. And so the minute Terry made that turn over, he stopped being a wanna-be-Jason in a possible future.

And I think that's why I also cherish good Batman - Jim Gordon interaction. Because between the two of them, there's a whole hefty weight of 'To Protect & Serve'.

*blinks*

Batman, Wolverine, Smax - To Protect & Serve.

Oh yes, Wolverine's a savage, ravage son of a b*tch etc - secret agent blah blah blah. But even look at the movies, when did Hugh Jackson become the Wolverine for you? For me it was the moment he let Rogue into the cab.

Why do I like him in the comics? When do I like him in the comics? When he protects, when he continually faces the choice to destroy and avenge or to protect and serve and he chooses to protect.

Yes, I need to own JLA: Divided We Fall and I probably need to give the new Wolverine animated series a chance too.

Got the name.

Supe / Bat Pairing (Note to me)

Random brainstorm I want to keep a record of. Instead of Ms. Supergirl of the barely there skirt, and cigarette burning self, bad ass attitude - having a crush/teaming up with Dick/Nightwing; what would happen if she ended up hanging around Jason Todd?

They're both trying to fit in, and get out from under the expectations of a well known hero. They're both confused, messed up, angry, emotional people. They're both trying to find and figure themselves out. Jason's supposed to be getting over his madness and dealing with his impulses to be more violent and vengeful with criminals. But is Supergirl still having impulses of evil? Has she figures out how to deal with her darker aspects yet?

Am I the only one who thinks that'd make an interesting story? A random one off mini-series wherein they become aquainted, bitch, fret, fight, talk....

I can so clearly see Jason taking the meanest potshots on the barely there skirt, and crop top and asking if she wants to be the SuperHo.

I can see Supergirl calling him a monster at some point, and him morphing into that wtf tentacle creature, just for a second, and admitting he doesn't know what or who the hell he is anymore.

Would it be insider to have them wondering about what's real and what's not real? Would it have to be? Couldn't it just be human and young and confused to feel unreal or like the world was unreal because of everything that's happened? Because of expectations? Because of feeling left out, unloved, unavenged, abandoned.

She could explain why she felt so alone among the Amazons even though to all appearances it was the best place for her. He could explain why Batman sucks (from his pov) or maybe someone would actually go deeper with Jason and deal with him feeling replaceable and like some cog in the wheels within wheels the Bat spins.

And then from there, I don't know, a friendship wherein they branch off into their own books after? It's not unusual for a Supe and a Bat to be friends. There was Tim and Kon. There's Kal-el and Bruce. Why not, Kara and Jason?

Dick can get taken under Powergirl's wing and get given lots of books on coming out of the closet and being a modern gay figure and have deep talks about being taken seriously and trying to form identity when so much of you is tied up in another person; but at a far more adult level than Jason and Kara. J and K could be the teenagers trying to sort things out. And PeeG and Dick could be the adults who still haven't figured things out.

And now I wonder if I'll end up writing some hastilly scrabbled summary (it's been ages upon ages since I wrote fanfiction) because I'm interested in the story now. I'm interested in the layers

ETA: Even the 'incest' thing could be explored well between J and K, as part of the confusing emotions and perceptions of being a teenager and coming back from the dead/ being in stasis etc.