Theory of Bats

Doing my best Miller Batman face.

A big happy birthday to one of the greatest characters and series in comic book history, if you didn't know Batman is celebrating 75 years in the business. That being said, who doesn't love Batman? I mean seriously, he has some of the best characters, best villains, best moments, best stories, best cartoons and best movies. And sure he had one of the worst movies to his title as well, but does anyone really give a crap now in days about the disaster that was the Batman & Robin film? I know for me, I grew up on Batman. I would watch the cartoon religiously, I would watch and be so intrigued by the colourful cast from Gotham and Arkham. And in the later years I would pick up all the different books, I read as Batman would be broken in two by the ruthless Bane, seeing Joker get beaten to a pulp but being able to live another day, the mystery that was Hush, the battles with Two-Face and Penguin, the hallucinations of fear from the Scarecrow. I loved this world and the many different stories that we have seen in all these years. And something that was always in the back of my mind, was the concept on how all the villains in Batman truly define him. How you ask, well check this list out and see if I am on to something here...

The Joker (Chaos): Let's get this guy out of the way first. The Joker is the polar opposite of Batman, pretty much in any way possible. Granted with have seen as many Jokers as we have Batsuits, but the general idea has always been chaos, disorder and murder. Joker loves to shoot people, Batman doesn't use guns (except in special moments, Final Crisis). Joker will kill anyone, Batman will save anyone. The bond they have has been a great part of Joker's obsession with the dark knight. When does it end? When Batman succumbs to Jokers way and puts the clown out of his misery for good. But Batman is better then that, and thus will continue to always stop the Joker, no matter what without death in the cards. 

Scarecrow (Fear): Another one that is very obvious in the way of connecting with his foe, both Batman and the Scarecrow are masters of fear in Gotham. But while Batman uses his abilities to stop and prevent crime, Dr.Crane has an obsession with seeing and feeling fear in every single way possible. He wants to see what fears are in the minds of others, he wants to fall asleep to the screams and cries of everyone in Gotham. The Scarecrow has become one of the most dangerous foes in Arkham by finding more and more ways to control and scare others, he has the ability to scare others into taking their own lives. And while Scarecrow over the years has tasted his own fear toxic, it made him more sick and more frantic, becoming almost fearless, with the exception being Batman. And in a twisted way, Scarecrow wouldn't have it any other way.

Bane (Pain): Practically every other villain before Bane had tested Bane more mentally then physically, with the obvious exceptions being Killer Croc and Clayface, but for the most part there was no one who could really deliver a beating to Batman. Until Bane. But it wasn't just because of his venom increased strength, it was the timing and strategy, waiting for Batman after a long night trying to put all the inmates back into Arkham Asylum and finally putting the bat out of his misery. Up to that point, you could say Batman was untouchable in Gotham, it was Bane who really brought the beating and the pain to Batman physically like no enemy since. Bane is still a foe to be weary of, with a sharp mind and ungodly strength, the dark knight is no longer free of pain. 

Catwoman (Love): With the amount of times these two have seen each other, teamed up, revealed secrets, I would say this is the best example of true love in the crime fighting life of Batman. Now that is not to say Selena Kyle is a good girl, by no means, but Batman has a lot of respect and trust for her, even if she tends to walk the thin line of good and bad methods or choices. In a lot of ways, she can do no wrong, no matter what happens Batman will always be there for her. I get the feeling he would love to have her quit being Catwoman, but that is never going to happen, she is still needed in many ways in Gotham. Even if that means taking a little bit from those on the top. Hey, a girl has got to have hobbies. 

Poison Ivy (Lust): Attraction and lust are things that are part of all of us, some of use choose to be wild about it and others can keep it in check. But as stone cold as Batman can be at times, even he can't resist Poison Ivy. And can you blame him? I love Ivy, she is always made as the most gorgeous siren in all of Gotham and hell even in the entire DC universe of comics. Sorry about that Wonder Woman. But I wonder, does Batman let himself go wild because of her, the constant fighting and fighting must take a toll on him and maybe that weariness makes him easily seduced. Who wouldn't want to be taken by Poison Ivy? Could you resist? 

Harley Quinn (Obsession): Harley is many things; insane, cute, crazy, dangerous and mostly obsessed. Her love and affection for The Joker turned her into one of the most difficult foes for Batman. Even when fighting her, Batman sees a girl who is in love and unaware that for the most part, she is being used and manipulated. That kind of dedication and obsession is similar to Batman in the way he never stops fighting for Gotham, fighting to save others of a tragedy that happened to him many years ago. With Harley now far and away from The Joker, Batman has one less worry. But old flames don't go out easily. 

Riddler (Knowledge): The world's greatest detective for a reason, with a foe like The Riddler, you need to be. Whenever you need proof on the smarts and brain power behind Batman, look no further then The Riddler. He battles with the mind of Batman constantly, it seems like a game they both enjoy to take part in, however Nigma has been raising the stakes always higher and higher. But to this day, he hasn't found a puzzle that could stump Batman, and thus continues to challenge him to more and more games of wits and knowledge. 

Penguin (Greed): For everything that the Penguin has, Batman has probably twice if not much more then our bird looking foe. But with Bruce Wayne you see him constantly giving and using his money to help others through his company and as Batman. The Penguin wants it all, the city and everything in the skies and sea. With the wealth of the Cobblepot family, he could give up the life of crime, but why quit when you can have more. In another world, Bruce Wayne could have turned out like the greedy old Penguin. 

Two-Face (Justice): One of the tragedies in the career of Batman, in a very twisted way Two-Face still seeks to dish out Justice. While Batman chooses to stop crime, Two-Face does so swiftly and through murder. They both want the same thing, just very different ways of delivering justice to the lowlifes in Gotham. And while Dent will never be the same physically and mentally, Batman still has some respect left for the man who was known as the White Knight of Gotham. 

Hush (Identity): One of the famous quotes of Batman is of course, "I am Batman". But if you ever want Batman to doubt himself or his identity, well then you get Hush. A man who is part mystery, part ghost of the past and at times an identity thief. I always enjoyed that in Batman: Hush, you never really had a clear idea about who was who at anytime, Hush could have been anyone. Every now and then we always need to remember who we are, or be lost in the world.

So I know that there are tons and tons of other villains, but I need to sleep to you know, I am no night bat. Although that would be something wouldn't, even to be on a ride along with Batman, how cool would that be? But I am really happy to do a little something to celebrate Batman, and I know we only got tons and tons of great stories to be told, and I can't wait. So a big cheers, and to the next 75 years of darkness, insanity and justice! Keep chasing the storm! 

Sadcrow

So today I have a comic book review of sorts, but I will be talking about a few issues, the story arc if you will. I guess also to keep in mind, this blog will contain tons and tons of story spoilers, so please if you haven't read the story yet or were waiting for the graphic novel collection, then be warned now. Although come back and read this so you can see if you agree with me on any of these points. So this is the spoils warning and so you have been warned. Also Thai counts for both my blog post this weekend, cause I want to have a Marvel and DC comic book review. Lets get things started.

My first review will be for Batman: The Dark Knight by writer Greg Hurwitz and by artist David Finch, and the issues are from to.

So this one has Scarecrow as the main antagonist to Batman, and if you know me you'll know how much I love the fear king of Gotham. I find he's one the greatest characters ever created in the DC universe, but a character that has barely been taped as far as story potential, so you can see why I'd be excited to start reading a new Batman story with the Scarecrow, anything could happen. So essential the story gets going when Batman falls prey to Dr.Crane after hunting him down, looking for a kidnapped child that Scarecrow is using to complete a new and stronger fear toxin, using the fear of this child as the driving source behind it. I can see why that makes sense, kids by nature have a greater imagination, things are amplfyed more in their minds. So if you can use that sense of wonder and awe on horror and nightmares, it could crush the human mind for good, great Scott, so far so good. We then see Batman in a James Bond kind of scenario, you know the one, strapped down and ready to be killed, but instead being lectured by Scarecrow and having new fear toxins used on him. Let's make one thing clear here, Crane is insane, I don't think killing Batman would give him as much joy as seeing him live out his darkest dreams for the rest of his eternity, so I am not mad at the fact that he didn't just off the bat, by all means that should be a Joker thing...but knowing Joker he'd make meat dolls out Batmans flesh and play with it while he slowly kills him or something like that. So we go deep into Bruce's mind and see that deep down inside he's got an attraction to the dark, to all the crazies and the monster of society, he never wanted to be accepted by the light. All the while Batman is dealing with this new fear toxin, Scarecrow is trying to perfect his toxin using the kidnapped child, however you get see the past origin of Dr.Crane, the fact that his father was the creator of the fear toxin and he was the original subject, he was being used in the same experiment that he doing now. Through the course of the story, the little girl starts to see similarities between her and Scarecrow, apparently he has a speech impediment just like the little girl and she even makes him a little drawing as well,  so you get to see that maybe there's more to him than being a fear driven monster. A really interesting idea to throw in the mix, but it's one that unfortunately never sees any light. And by the time Scarecrow is bored and readensues y to off Batman, with a sick bone scythe by the way, the Batman regains his belt and escapes, a fight ensues, a very bloody good fight ensues. Batman ends with the blade in his shoulder and Scarecrow get the bat hook shot right through his mouth, yeah, its as painful as it sounds. So Batman still intoxicated with the fear toxin and bleeding from his shoulder and is picked up by Damien, while Scarecrow with a hook still through his mouth goes to the Penguin to order up a machine of sorts...a zeppelin. This where things start going south, real fast.

So I guess after getting hooked through the mouth, Scarecrow gets pissed off and decides to take it out on Gotham with a f*cking zeppelin. Now here's my beef with this scenario. Scarecrow is a creature of fear, something that lurks within the shadows, the idea that he crashes a holiday street festival with a zeppelin to infect everyone is a little, I don't know, not subtle. He's poisioned the water system, air vents, infected toys, but never something like this. It's a very direct way about going through things. But this is all just a lead to a terrible downward spiral in the last issue. It begins with Batman waking up to Gotham being infected by the Scarecrow's aerial attack, so injured and all he goes out to save the city, he realizes quick that he needs a cure and he needs a cure fast, oh man, this is where it gets wacky. He realizes that the cure is his blood cause he's been infected already and cured himself when gets back to the bat cave. So Batman needs to drain himself out on the city and cure everyone...with his blood. Sigh. So Batman is dying slow but manages to get back home. Of course the most ironic scene in the comic comes where Bruce and Damian are eating dinner after a near death situation with Batman's blood cure thing, Alfred being pissed at Bruce's inability to give a shit about almost killing himself, drops a cup of coffee on him, funny, cause I felt about doing the same thing to this issue by the end of things. So the cops and Batman go and track down Scarecrow at one of his hideouts. Let me play for you, this is all in one page. Batman walks in, Scarecrow looks at him, still bleeding from an attack that was days ago, falls down, end scene. What. The. F*ck! Just an issue ago these two were having an epic bloody battle and then this!? And why was he still bleeding from the bat hook, the guy is covered in stitches and he couldn't just sow himself up, really? That's it. No epic showdown, no nothing. I know the good guy is supposed to win all the time, I get that, but it's the conflict and the fight that makes things interesting. Oh and it gets better, as Scarecrow is being locked up in Arkham Asylum, he is plotting his escape and he reveals he's got a toxin hidden in his pants, of course as soon as he is thrown in his cell the toxin explodes and he ends up self intoxicated. But at this point in time, we all know he is immune to his own toxins! Oh wait...new 52!

I feel like this story had so much potential and it looked amazing as well, but I think due the time frame and the change of artist for the next arc, they may have rushed this one out a little too quickly. And that's the thing, you can't rush a good story. So to the next story, and regardless the character, don't rush it guys. But I suggest check this one out, cause David Finch's art alone makes the trip worth it, regardless on the lackluster run. I find the Dark Knight comic has a more adventure by adventure feel, where as the Batman title as great as it is as well, has a more continued one storyline going on, but by all means check out the court of owls and the current death of the family story going on as well. I am going to continue reading this series, but if there any good recommendations by all means let me know. My next review is coming soon, so stay tuned. Later slackers!