Book Review: The villains get analyzed by a real-life psychologist in "Batman and Psychology" (2012)

Oct 18, 2012 23:08

Preamble: While I will be discussing this book to the best of my abilities, I know that there's nothing quite like seeing a work that's being critiques yourself rather than just hearing the critic's description. As such, if you're interested in checking this book out for yourself, I have found three separate extensive previews of this book: two ( Read more... )

riddler, jason todd, catwoman, henchgirl, scarecrow, mad hatter, penguin, hugo strange, bane, psychology, ra's and/or talia al ghul, nonfiction and essay publications, poison ivy, joker, mister freeze, harley quinn

Leave a comment

psychopathicus October 19 2012, 05:01:45 UTC
I'm guessing that Ledger-Joker is so popular because his makeup is specifically designed to look like it's been smeared on by a madman with no desire for subtlety, hence no matter how much of a half-assed job you do, it'll still look more-or-less as intended. That's always been the problem I, for one, have had with it - it's ugly. Sure, it fits the character, and Ledger made it work very nicely, and I can forget my objections while I'm actually watching the movie, but in a still-frame shot? Ick.
That's good news about the Hatter - he really does need a good comics origin if he's going to remain a viable long-term character. I look forward to your thoughts once my next article is published on MRFH, as I specifically mention Jervis in it, and go into what my own personal solutions to the problem would be (at least so far as making him viable for inclusion in a movie).
Another thing against the 'why she doesn't move into a jungle' thing is that she did, more or less, during No Man's Land. Sure, it was a city park instead of a ' ( ... )

Reply

mothy_van_cleer October 19 2012, 06:37:15 UTC
Really, the sheer effort that Misiano puts into his costume work is what's managed to electrify the blogosphere in the first place. Scott McClure may do a good Heath Ledger impression, but I doubt you could pick him out from the nine dozen or so other Jokers wandering around around any given convention floor. Harley's Joker, on the other hand, looks like a Bolland sketch made flesh (down to the cufflinks, even), and fans flock to get a picture taken with him because he's also willing to act the part.

The upsetting thing, though, is that he's not just a gold standard for all cosplayers to emulate - he's an anomaly. Most con-goers, if given the choice, would rather slather on a thin layer of greasepaint and a "I slept overnight at the bus station" bedraggled purple suit than be bothered constructing an elaborate costume, and that's fine - if you've got time or budget restrictions. But if you're waiting six weeks for your replica coat and vest to come in the mail, you've officially become the "weekend warrior" of Comic-Con. In other ( ... )

Reply

psychopathicus October 19 2012, 07:11:49 UTC
I might point out that it's not just time or budget restrictions - it's talent for costuming, something which not everybody has. I, for instance, have plenty of time in which to make a costume, lots of ideas for one, and if I ever manage to scrape together the dough to get to a con in the first place, I'll probably also be able to afford the necessary materials - but I can't sew worth a darn (er... as it were), so... yeah. That kinda brings things to a halt. I'm not a fan of the Ledger-Joker look, but at least it doesn't require specialized skills to to put together.

Reply

about_faces October 19 2012, 10:41:46 UTC
The talent factor is another big one, as is convenience. If I've learned anything from all these cosplayers, it's that it is EASY to look creepy with the Ledger Joker makeup, much easier and more effectively than if you just dyed your hair green, slapped on white makeup, and applied lipstick.

Reply

psychopathicus October 19 2012, 11:20:47 UTC
Exactly. The thing about the regular Joker - and one of the reasons why he's so fascinating - is that, taken at face value, his basic visual elements aren't all that threatening-looking. He is, basically, a clown, and while clowns can be creepy, they are not (although some will state vociferously otherwise) inherently creepy. It's the attitude and mannerisms that make the Joker what he is - the face-splitting grin, the crazy eyes, the laugh, etc. To make for a convincing regular Joker, you have to A: get the look right, but also B: be at least a fair actor (or, at very least, be able to do a good impression of Mark Hamill).

Reply

mothy_van_cleer October 19 2012, 11:56:37 UTC
Well, if you don't have a costume you've sunk a significant amount of time into, there's always the option of just "taking one for the team" and going plain-clothes. It's what I chose to do at my first con this year rather than show up in an embarrassing rummage-bin fright mask, and now I have about 10 months or so to craft the one I'll wear next year.

Reply

psychopathicus October 19 2012, 12:24:39 UTC
Oh, of course - there's nothing saying you have to go in costume. I've only gone to one con so far myself (WonderCon, a few years back), and I went in street clothes. It's just that if you do decide that you want to go in costume, it's always nice to have something that you don't have to sink huge amounts of time and effort into, should you just want to have fun dressing up.

Reply

about_faces October 19 2012, 10:53:00 UTC
That's good news about the Hatter - he really does need a good comics origin if he's going to remain a viable long-term character.

I don't know for sure if the storyline will give him an origin, but that's what I'm hoping for. Heck, what else could anyone do with a Hatter-centric story these days?

Another thing against the 'why she doesn't move into a jungle' thing is that she did, more or less, during No Man's Land...I was actually thinking of addressing that, but I cut it out due to length. Thing is, it both confirms Langley's hypothesis about Ivy's biocentrist perspective while throwing it into question. Langley brought up the fact that she's charitable towards the orphan children as a sign of how she acts when her life is in balance, with the idea being that they are able to keep her in touch with her human side. So he does mention that ( ... )

Reply

psychopathicus October 19 2012, 11:45:51 UTC
The same as they generally do, I guess - find something in Alice or Looking Glass that they haven't used yet, and then do so. Frankly, I'm amazed that they haven't done something based on The Hunting of the Snark yet - at least that'd be fresh territory of a sort ( ... )

Reply

abqreviews October 20 2012, 04:31:15 UTC
>Heck, what else could anyone do with a Hatter-centric story these days?

Depressingly, the best case scenario I coud think of for an original Hatter story would be one where he somehow goes to Wonderland, not literally of course, but as a hallucination, a dream, or some sort of weird meta nonsense.

The story could have him be ecstatic to have finally reached the world he's mentally been living in his whole life, only to somehow be rejected by it ('Alice' is a pretty nasty satirical look at humanity if you think about it).

It could be Jervis's own version of Faces, with a little "For the Man Who Has Everything" thrown in

Reply

psychopathicus October 20 2012, 09:30:30 UTC
The problem with that, though, is that it would kind of be the apex of the Hatter's story arc - I mean, where do you go from there? His whole thing (these days, anyway) is being based around Wonderland - if he's rejected and disillusioned by it, in effect kicking him out of his own psychosis without actually curing him, then he has no story-worthy motivation; he's just a crazy short guy in a hat.
If it weren't for the fact that modern DC would never go for something that whimsical these days, I'd suggest a retelling of the old 'Oz-Wonderland War' storyline from Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew, in which the two eponymous locations were treated as actual places - only instead of involving the Captain, this would involve the 'real' DC superheroes, Batman, Superman, etc. If ever there would be a good excuse to get the Hatter involved, it would be that - I can see a running subplot with him trying to bump off the genuine Hatter so he could take his place, then somehow usurp the throne of the Queen of Hearts so he could rule ( ... )

Reply


Leave a comment

Up