Do You Think Bruce Wayne Became Written As A Worse And Worse Parent Because The Idea Of What Makes A
Do you think Bruce Wayne became written as a worse and worse parent because the idea of what makes a person "Heroic" has changed over the years?
(Cut for rambling)
At the start of Batman comics there was a very clear need for the audience to suspend their disbelief. The comic was very much a story, a reflection of the world where the reader was to be entertained with tales about a strange detective investigating the strange crimes of Gotham City.
Robin was Batman's partner, a new element to the story that appealed to a younger audience. They were a team that brought in a lot of capital. Authors would write heart-rending storylines and at the opposite page there would be a weird cheerful ad for Batman and Robin using fruit pies to stop crime.
Society evolves quickly and our media can struggle to keep up. The notion that children should be protected is a relatively recent one and it makes the inclusion of child heroes become... unpalatable to people. Modern values have changed and so too must the characters.
But applying current social values to the concept of child heroes would erase them.
Their whole existence is to be young and to fight the people who want to hurt them. To be young and be able to protect one's loved ones is a compelling story.
It's not just comic book heroes who fall under this paradox, either. Avatar: The Last Airbender is full of children learning how to fight and die for their world. Percy Jackson is another. Hell, one could even make a case for Warrior Cats. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were facing off with murderers just as often as any kid hero.
It's a common and loved story because we've all been children who have had to carve out a place for ourselves in the world.
So the existence of Robin, of child heroes in general, becomes an awkward duality. The character is too profitable to retire. Many people can still suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. Other people struggle to accept that a "hero", a "good Dad", could allow his children to fight at his side.
So authors are tasked again and again to try to explain Robin. To excuse the existence of a child hero in a day and age when most responsible adults would freak the fuck out at the idea of a kid going out at night to fight criminals.
And sometimes, more often than many of us would like, they come up with writing Bruce as a bad parent. A bad leader, even. It doesn't help that writers don't often get to have stories published that have significant influence on Batman as a character. He's purposely, perpetually trapped at one starting position for every new story.
Which is a valid take. In my opinion it's uninspired, but I understand the rationale behind it. They're working against a lot of baggage. There's nearly 90 years of culture shift to account for and hundreds of authors. Even the way comics are written now is very different from back then and that also messes with perceptions.
To me, Bruce is a deeply flawed man. He's been a shitty dad, yes, but not because Robin exists. He didn't have a choice with Robin - that was decided by forces beyond his control. I don't know how to judge canon Bruce Wayne; there are genuinely too many stories for me to feel like I have an accurate read on him.
I know that he tries very hard to do good. I know that he has the potential to make better choices and take kinder actions.
I'm not going to hold my breath, though. Even if we get a canon Batman run where he gets therapy and apologizes for his mistakes and past actions, where he has some real, meaningful dialogue with the people he loves... The next writer can ignore that for a more dramatic plot where he acts like a complete drip.
Pick your preferred version and warp canon to fit that guy - it's what DC does.
Thank the goddess for fanfiction.
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Hey, you know what would be absolutely tragic? What if Jason were alive because of traditional ghost story reasons - he cannot rest until he is avenged?
If Jason kills the Joker, or if anyone kills the Joker in Jason's honor, then Jason has to rest in peace whether he wants to or not. That's how the stories go, don't they? The spirit can move on once their Unfinished Business is Finished.
Would it be quick? Would he collapse immediately, like a puppet with his strings cut? Would he feel his heart leap in one last beat of vicious satisfaction?
Or would he feel the gentle embrace creeping up on him slowly, the way his limbs grow stiff and cold. Would he have time to stumble to his family, his team, a friend, a sibling, a lover, and feel the burning heat of a living person hold him as he stutters out confused goodbyes?
It's been so long since his last stay in the coffin, he's rebuilt an entire life. And he's losing it again. Because of the same bastard man.
Just a thought (â âżâ ^â âżâ ^â )
Friendly reminder that in America many people on disability income lose that income if they get married or can't quality for it at all if they are married!
stop getting married between the ages of 18-25 like wtf are you thinking�
Two things I think are important to acknowledge about children and young teen lit
1) What they do well in the sense of literature/craft (usually itâs pacing, hooks, interesting characters)
2) What areas are sacrificed to make them different from adult literature and consumable by children (usually itâs elaborate prose and certain complex topics or character traits)
Comic book history is so much fun and such a fascinating way to measure the changes in society. In fact, it can be super interesting to measure any society by what censorship laws are in place at any point in time!
I'm not sure about OG Joker being gay, but I do know that sexual deviancy was not allowed to be shown, and since we queers are deviant by default, we weren't exactly in the spotlight.
If you're up for a good read, cbldf.org has a great article from 2012 by Joe Sergio. "Tales from the Code: How Much Did Things Change After the Enactment of the Comics Code of 1954?"
And Academia.edu is a fantastic resource for even more reading!
Me, skimming pages of Batman year one and two, with Jaybin: . . . The f#&% you mean Batman has killed before in self defense? â˘-â˘
WHAT!!!??? BATMAN HAS KILLED PEOPLE!?!?!? ._.
This... This messed with my character analysis so much.
WHAT. DO. YOU. MEAN?!
"I'm glad they're dead!" Careful, Jason, the writers took that singular comment and haven't let it go since.
Also, just shout out to Jaybin for being all cute and >:/ and :D
For the authors and the curious
LISTEN UP MOTHER FUCKERS
SEE THIS WEBSITE?Â
ITS CALLED WOLFRAM ALPHA
THIS IS THE BEST GODDAMN WEBSITE FOR ACADEMIC SHIT. FUCK GOOGLE.Â
THIS MOTHERFUCKER WILL LET YOU SEARCH âHOSPITAL BEDS IN CHAD VS. IRANâÂ
AND IT GIVES YOU A STRAIGHT GODDAMN ANSWERÂ
MAYBE YOUâRE NOT INTERESTED IN DOCTORNESS OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES COOL SHITÂ
HAVING TROUBLE WITH MATH?
HOLY SHIT
OR MAYBE YOU WANNA DICK AROUND
WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT
I think I've been reading Bernard's name with the wrong pronunciation for years. I didn't watch many shows and I haven't played the games so I haven't actually heard the canon pronunciation of Bernard and now I'm having a light existential crisis.
Because the second way is how it's pronounced in my region and the first way makes me think of Bianca from The Rescuers.
I don't understand why fanon always has Jason so upset about his Memorial in the Cave. That shit is Metal. That shit is DOPE. I'd want to have that in a public goddamn park to shame Gothamites into making better decisions.
"You let it get this bad," the ghost of a child would cry out soundlessly, "You were content to change nothing and I died. Kids like me die or worse every day here and it's always someone else's problem."
And "A Good Soldier"? Fuck yeah. I was raised Christian, that army-of-god cult mentality isn't easy to shake off. If I were twelve and someone offered to teach me how to investigate crime and train me to be strong enough to dig it out by the root I would also sign the fuck up.
(Art is by the amazing @dahtwitchi. This is a freeform collab with no real goal)
YoungestMadara groans at the commanding voice and sits on his heels behind his older self, firmly grabbing his hips and pulling him onto his lap. "Here, like this...you kneel and keep your hands on the ground, that's right. He said no touching, so only your pretty mouth is going to be taking that cock. That's right, right there, fuck..." He has spent an age working the man open with his fingers, lining himself up and pressing into that heat was almost criminally easy.
"Fuuuck, you're so ready for me, so fucking good..."
One hand rubs soothingly over SugarMadara's shaking back, brushing his hair to the side so he can scratch trails down the bared skin. The other hand grabs at his hair again and jerks his head back until his mouth is forced to open.
"Stick out your tongue, Soldier; I believe you have a position to keep."
His older self whimpers.
SugarTobi finally gets around to removing the rest of his clothes and lets his younger self sprawl over him, cuddling his back and watching the others with undisguised awe. He is...not completely fine. Trying to fall back under, but he cannot quite return to his state of euphoria.
Me - if I don't take these daily medicines I'm going to have side effects that include extreme nausea and vomiting
The Flu - you've already got that
Me - but I'd like it to not be worse please
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