Hush Part 3
Finishing off on Batman and Catwoman's relationship in Hush... finally. Oh, I've still got plenty to talk about after this. There are still some brilliant moments that I've got to talk about... but first: The reveal and the aftermath. (cross posted to my journal)
I left off where Bruce was wrestling with Relationship Issue #1: Everyone he loves dies.
Does he decide he can deal with that? Sure. After two of the most WONDERFUL pages ever written dealing with Nightwing and Batman talking.
Say what you like about Loeb's ability to keep a plot coherent, the man GROKS the bat-family. This isn't the horribly disfunctional relationship that's frequently displayed between Nightwing and Batman, the one that will leave any sane reader wondering why Dick even bothers to try to talk to Bruce at all. This is touching and funny. This issue is very much about Nightwing and Bruce. They spend pages on it. It's well worth the read, but I'm still talking about the Bat and Cat here. So I'm leaving it with those two pages that make me laugh every single time.
Regardless, at the end of this issue comes something fans have been waiting for for pretty much FOREVER.
Batman finally manages to screw up enough courage to TELL some girl that he's Batman. and then he DOES it. I think I actually squealed the first time I read that. and then I read it three more times because I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. Talia? Daddy told her. Silver? Figured it out (Really, they should have used that one more often.) Viki? Bailed before he could tell her. Vesper? Didn't have a clue... then died. Sasha? He let her figure it out, but he didn't TELL her. Shondra? I'm not going there. And she forgot everything anyway (can we say COP OUT?) They FINALLY. STOPPED. JERKING. US. AROUND.... for four whole issues. Must be some kind of record.
So what next? Well why not just toss the Ex and the girlfriend into tight quarters and watch them snipe at eachother?
Ignore the plot on the second page. What's important is those little blue boxes. (And make sure you mouse over. He wraps the thought up on the next page.) If it weren't PAINFULLY obvious by now: A: The Bat hasn't got clue ONE about real relationships. B: The Bat has trust issues. The real question is: can he get OVER it? (We all know the answer to that. DC's already upended the status quo enough.)
Now, I honestly have to say I don't LIKE Talia. But Loeb writes a Talia I can actually stand. She obviously still cares about Bruce, but she's not clingy and she's accepting of the situation as it is. I'm not going to say she's the bigger woman here, but she sucks up an obviously painful situation and deals with it gracefully. The real reason I included this page though is because of Bruce's little admission at the end. Having her used against him is worth it to him as long as he can be with her. For Batman that's an impressive admission. That's probably about as close as one gets to hearing him say he loves someone.
Then comes the interlude. He takes her back to the cave. It's six pages of touching, wonderful stuff... complete with alfred snark.
The scars talk is actually not original. (It's pulled from a discussion between the Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman, again happening during the story where he revealed his identity to her. Very nice if slightly contrived story I belive it was released in the Memoirs of Bruce Wayne or something like... Came out near the time of the first Crisis I think. A nice happy little wrap up for all of that world's fans.) Regardless if it's original or not... it's absolutely perfect for the two of them.
So, They're now in the cave. I adore Selina's interactions with Tim in this series. The barely restrained hostility. They both care about him. and neither one wants to hurt him, but that doesn't mean they have to like eachother.
Bought it? Oh yes, did I mention that was all a STUNT put on for the kittycat's benefit? Hellooooo control freak. And now it begins. Batman has two major relationship issues. Everybody he loves dies... and he can't trust ANYBODY. Guess which one becomes an issue? Someone's screwing with his life. Is Selina a part of it? Did he make a mistake? The world's greatest Detective MUST KNOW. (Can I commence with the beating now? I'm sure Alfred will help.)
So. Stuff happens. Catoman finds out that Batman's been following her. Robin's being held hostage by someone CLAIMING to be Jason Todd (I really wanna kill DC for THAT little retcon. Really.)
Selina displays an impressive amount of understanding about Bruce. Jason rabbits and Bruce takes off after him.
Yet another nifty moment between Selina and Tim. Again, She shows an impressive understanding of Batman. This woman's been around him for a long time. She really does understand him.
She understands him... She just trusts him a little too much. This is Batman. If it will further his goals he has absolutely no problems with lying to or manipulating the people he loves. The man is a paranoid obsessive control freak. This is NOT going to end well.
...I knew it was coming. I knew it the second he told her. And I STILL want to beat him over the head with a clue-by-four. The single biggest issue in bruce's love life is BRUCE. The man's lucky that she still talks to him. Yet somehow that's what he does. treats everyone around him like a tool to be used and abused... and yet inspires dedication.
...man what a downer to end on. Just how screwed up are these people?
I left off where Bruce was wrestling with Relationship Issue #1: Everyone he loves dies.
Does he decide he can deal with that? Sure. After two of the most WONDERFUL pages ever written dealing with Nightwing and Batman talking.
Say what you like about Loeb's ability to keep a plot coherent, the man GROKS the bat-family. This isn't the horribly disfunctional relationship that's frequently displayed between Nightwing and Batman, the one that will leave any sane reader wondering why Dick even bothers to try to talk to Bruce at all. This is touching and funny. This issue is very much about Nightwing and Bruce. They spend pages on it. It's well worth the read, but I'm still talking about the Bat and Cat here. So I'm leaving it with those two pages that make me laugh every single time.
Regardless, at the end of this issue comes something fans have been waiting for for pretty much FOREVER.
Batman finally manages to screw up enough courage to TELL some girl that he's Batman. and then he DOES it. I think I actually squealed the first time I read that. and then I read it three more times because I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. Talia? Daddy told her. Silver? Figured it out (Really, they should have used that one more often.) Viki? Bailed before he could tell her. Vesper? Didn't have a clue... then died. Sasha? He let her figure it out, but he didn't TELL her. Shondra? I'm not going there. And she forgot everything anyway (can we say COP OUT?) They FINALLY. STOPPED. JERKING. US. AROUND.... for four whole issues. Must be some kind of record.
So what next? Well why not just toss the Ex and the girlfriend into tight quarters and watch them snipe at eachother?
Ignore the plot on the second page. What's important is those little blue boxes. (And make sure you mouse over. He wraps the thought up on the next page.) If it weren't PAINFULLY obvious by now: A: The Bat hasn't got clue ONE about real relationships. B: The Bat has trust issues. The real question is: can he get OVER it? (We all know the answer to that. DC's already upended the status quo enough.)
Now, I honestly have to say I don't LIKE Talia. But Loeb writes a Talia I can actually stand. She obviously still cares about Bruce, but she's not clingy and she's accepting of the situation as it is. I'm not going to say she's the bigger woman here, but she sucks up an obviously painful situation and deals with it gracefully. The real reason I included this page though is because of Bruce's little admission at the end. Having her used against him is worth it to him as long as he can be with her. For Batman that's an impressive admission. That's probably about as close as one gets to hearing him say he loves someone.
Then comes the interlude. He takes her back to the cave. It's six pages of touching, wonderful stuff... complete with alfred snark.
The scars talk is actually not original. (It's pulled from a discussion between the Earth-2 Batman and Catwoman, again happening during the story where he revealed his identity to her. Very nice if slightly contrived story I belive it was released in the Memoirs of Bruce Wayne or something like... Came out near the time of the first Crisis I think. A nice happy little wrap up for all of that world's fans.) Regardless if it's original or not... it's absolutely perfect for the two of them.
So, They're now in the cave. I adore Selina's interactions with Tim in this series. The barely restrained hostility. They both care about him. and neither one wants to hurt him, but that doesn't mean they have to like eachother.
Bought it? Oh yes, did I mention that was all a STUNT put on for the kittycat's benefit? Hellooooo control freak. And now it begins. Batman has two major relationship issues. Everybody he loves dies... and he can't trust ANYBODY. Guess which one becomes an issue? Someone's screwing with his life. Is Selina a part of it? Did he make a mistake? The world's greatest Detective MUST KNOW. (Can I commence with the beating now? I'm sure Alfred will help.)
So. Stuff happens. Catoman finds out that Batman's been following her. Robin's being held hostage by someone CLAIMING to be Jason Todd (I really wanna kill DC for THAT little retcon. Really.)
Selina displays an impressive amount of understanding about Bruce. Jason rabbits and Bruce takes off after him.
Yet another nifty moment between Selina and Tim. Again, She shows an impressive understanding of Batman. This woman's been around him for a long time. She really does understand him.
She understands him... She just trusts him a little too much. This is Batman. If it will further his goals he has absolutely no problems with lying to or manipulating the people he loves. The man is a paranoid obsessive control freak. This is NOT going to end well.
...I knew it was coming. I knew it the second he told her. And I STILL want to beat him over the head with a clue-by-four. The single biggest issue in bruce's love life is BRUCE. The man's lucky that she still talks to him. Yet somehow that's what he does. treats everyone around him like a tool to be used and abused... and yet inspires dedication.
...man what a downer to end on. Just how screwed up are these people?