FST: Dreams of Light
It started out with a kiss.
Not even a passionate liplock, just a simple "thank you for trying to dig me out from under that missile" kiss on the cheek. And my perception of two of comicdom's iconic figures changed forever.
Okay, maybe not forever. But that little peck on the Justice League cartoon started something. As much as I love it, fandom can be extremely irrational, many of us driven by emotion and seeing pairings in the shortest conversations--or the suspicious lack thereof. A kiss, therefore, is tantamount to becoming a canon pairing. Fandom, seeing the fateful animation frames, roared "Kiss? OMG BATS/WONDY OTP 4EVAR!!!!eleventy1!!" Even better was the fact that the people who actually make the show decided to use the idea. There was dancing. There was Bond-style action. There was another kiss, this time a honest-to-goodness lip-to-lip one. There was Batman sacrificing a deep dark secret to save Wonder Woman from becoming someone's breakfast bacon.
And since it's a pretty much a fact that you can support anything through the comic books from which these characters originated, canon can provide what the 'shippers are looking for: proof that we are not crazy. Remember Joe Kelly's run on JLA? There are more examples. The proof is out there, my friends. We're not nuts, we're just in denial. (Who is this Sasha you speak of?!)
Batman and Wonder Woman might not seem to be a logical couple at first, and it'll happen in the DC Comics Universe at approximately the same time that Hell freezes all the editors of the Batman comics books into unspeaking ice cubes. But IMHO, it's just as logical as, say, Superman and Lois Lane.
And it's a hell of a lot more sexy.
Notes:
Most of the quotes are from comics in which Wonder Woman and Batman both appear. Two are from the animated Justice League series. Some of them are taken way out of context.
I ended up telling a story with this FST, and the notes for the songs reflect that. While some events that I mention have happened in the comics or the cartoon, the vast, vast majority never happened. Their comics canon relationship was killed by TPTB in JLA #90 and their 'toon canon relationship is still ongoing, but since JLU ties in with Batman Beyond...nothing's going to happen.
Please let me know if any of the links are broken. As always, feedback is most definitely welcome.
01. "Revenge!" Spoon
"Clark introduces me to a friend. He looks so deep into me that I feel I have no secrets."
Batman. Since Green Day's song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was used on the Batfamily FST, I had to fend for myself. I foraged around the internet, nearly succumbing to the delirious over-the-topness which is mclusky's "Without MSG I am Nothing," but finally settling on a song already on my harddrive. So. Batman. The guy whose parents died when he was eight, and he's never been the same since. He's almost terminally angsty.
02. "Boots" Noe Venable
"Ah, I see. That friend. It's a pity Bruce Wayne would never pursue a woman of that caliber."
Wonder Woman. She is a very hard character for me to get a hold of, if only because I am currently slogging through about twenty years of her comics books and no one writes her consistently. Perez showed her as a naive foreigner, Loebs liked to depict her as a wise-cracking P.I., and Byrne...well,the less said about his run, the better. I decided to pick and choose. Noe Venable's voice is awesome, and I think that this shows a trusting, hopeful, learning, caring, and strong person. Which is what Diana is, essentially.
03. "The Serious Mythology of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs" Ben Lee
"And so he continues to fight...for justice. But now for something else, as well. A memory. Of sunlight and dewdrops. He has seen paradise."
Putting aside Ben Lee's love for Karen O. and all that, I think this is the perfect song to show that Batman isn't as unaffected by Wonder Woman as he seems. Forget Legends and Trinity for a moment: there's this one page in the middle of Perez's War of the Gods crossover that has Diana (who was then currently a fugitive from the Gotham police) trying to persuade Batman to help her find her mother's goblet. He listens to her, and agrees to help. Maybe I've just read too much recent Batman stuff, but that seems so out of character for him.
04. "Oops (Tweet vs. ?)" Dunproofin'
"I was having the perfect dream. I had finally brought peace to the World of Man--but it wasn't enough."
Diana is probably the only virgin superhero. And it's so stupid, too, because she's dated hot guys--Superman, Trevor Barnes, Aquaman, and Batman, to name the ones I know off the top of my head. Not to mention the really cute girlcrush Io has for her. But Jimenez said that she was still a virgin, so she's got to be fulfilling her own sexual desires. (And while Tweet is all coy about it, Missy has said flat out that this song is about masturbation.)
05. "We Don't Care (Gameover Mix)" Audio Bullys
"Here's the secret about Diana: we all love her. Even Batman."
Batman has the most anal, analytical brain in the whole DCU. If he's ever contemplated a relationship with Diana (either as Bruce or Batman or both), he's also found about a million things that could go wrong with it. Namely, that she doesn't know what he does in Gotham. Patrolling its unruly streets is a lot different from saving the world from mythological disasters and such. His methods are not her methods, and therefore they are incompatible.
06. "My Heartbeat" Annie
"You know, we never did get to finish our dance."
"...I don't know what you're talking about."
"If you say so. But you're still taking me dancing."
Diana, meanwhile, has been noticing her teammate. Maybe it was their dance in the Justice League episode "Maid of Honor," or their kiss during the Obsidian Age in the JLA comics. Whichever, her feelings come up to the surface, and she delights in these sensations. Diana is an honest creature, first and foremost, and would be happy about what she was feeling towards Bruce. Even if it complicated things.
07. "Take Me Out (FakeId Remix)" Franz Ferdinand
"Okay. Sunday. Dinner. The Manor."
I truly can't picture them having a peaceful date (first date or otherwise), so instead of a "getting to know you" vibe, this song is frenetic, breathless, and exciting. If The Powers That Be ever exploit all their chemistry, I predict a lot of dates where they have to rush out and stop crime before coming back to the obligatory fancy restaurant for dessert.
08. "Sloooweee (Kylie vs Mark Ronson)" Lionel Vinyl
"For cryin' out loud, will you two get a room already? I'm freezing my palpi off here! You heard me! Load Batboy-toy into the Invisible Party Plane and--what is that?!? Don't you come near me with that!!! AAAAAAAAH!"
Chemistry. They've got it. It's so obvious, even the criminals they catch want them to do something about it. Instead of returning to the fancy restaurant for dessert, they might just skip all those calories and head right for the dance floor.
09. "Club Foot" Kasabian
"Beeper of the Gods. No offense."
"None taken...oh 'fragile mortal.'"
Batman's still kind of resistant to this whole metahuman in his city thing. His world is dark and gritty, dammit. He is a solitary vigilante who always checks a room to see where the deepest shadows are located. He is vengeance, he is the night, he is...incredibly distracted by thoughts of Diana while he patrols. Dammit.
10. "Are You Gonna Be My Love Machine? (Jet vs Girls Aloud)" Lionel Vinyl
"I once read somewhere that those two didn't get along very well. But you know what? I think they kind of like each other!"
One very, very sexually frustrated Amazon wants to get laid. As soon as possible. Like, now. If she doesn't seize this chance, her comic book's editors and fandom in general may not let her get any ever. Plus, Bruce is really hot.
11. "50 Cent Head (50 Cent vs. The Futureheads)" Dunproofin'
"You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors, I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues."
The hounds of love are nipping at Batman's heels and he makes one last, desperate attempt to fend them off. He and Diana have different missions and carry them out differently. They come from different backgrounds. They live in different worlds, or close to it. They're so different, they couldn't possibly have a relationship. He almost convinces himself with these arguments.
12. "Golden" A Girl Called Eddy
"Please, take my hand. I give it to you as a gesture of friendship and love, and of faith, freely given. I give you my hand, and I welcome you into my dream."
Diana realizes she loves Bruce. She's not blind to the fact that he is a bit resistant to their relationship, but she loves him and it's a beautiful thing. Diana has never felt like this before and wants Bruce to know her feelings for him.
13. "Fill Me With Your Light" Clem Snide
"I hope your dream comes true, Princess."
Bruce knows he loves Diana. When Diana tells him that she loves him, he tells her that he loves her. There might not be a future for them, but they love each other. For the moment, it is enough.
14. "It's Wonderful" Ella Fitzgerald
"I don't need a lasso to tell me what I'm feeling is true!"
Diana is in love and happy. Bruce loves her; in truth, she's amazed that he even told her. It seems so out of his normal behavior. Maybe her love has changed him. Maybe they can work on building a life together. Diana is excited by the possibilities in front of them.
15. "Aptitude" Novillero
"Greek tragedy is always a story of the insoluble. The conflict of personal desire versus the demands of society. And tragedies always begin long before the first scene is ever played; they are born often enough of actions taken in purity, be it in intention or emotion, done more often than not for the best of reasons. But all tragedies end the same way."
Relationships, of any type, are not Batman's forte. Romantic relationships are possibly the thing Bruce/Batman is the worst at; women have come and gone through his life and he has mostly been to blame for the ends of all those relationships. So he has a very, very bad track record. In addition, his parents were, by all accounts, very much in love and yet died tragically young. This makes him (understandably) wary of relationships altogether. Bruce believes that he is Batman, and that is all he has to give.
16. "Get Along With You (FakeID Remix)" Kelis
"You refuse to understand."
"No, I understand. I just refuse to accept."
After hearing Bruce say that he wants to break things off, Diana is horribly disappointed in his reluctance to continue their relationship. Of course it's risky--what relationship isn't? She feels that risk is not the point; they should be willing to face that if they are truly committed to each other. Instead, he shoves her away.
17. "In Your Room" Devics
"I can't go back to being alone. But I have to."
Bruce and Diana stop dating/sleeping together/trying to have a relationship. Bruce is resigned; Diana is angry and hurt.
18. "This Time" Lismore
"Fear is just your tool--as the Lasso of Truth is mine. Batman, I beg of you--have faith in more than fear."
Despite everything, Diana isn't going to give up. Though it's never been explicitly stated in the comics or animated series, it's generally assumed that Diana is immortal. So she's got time to wait for Bruce to change his mind. She also has time to plot about how help him to change his mind.
19. "Alone Again, Or" Calexico
"Diana..."
And Batman is left to his mission again. But this time, he notices how empty his life is without Diana in it. How lonely his life is now. And all around him, his protegees seem to be involved in relationships. Bruce stands back and tries to ignore that part of his life, tries to make it a distant experience.
20. "Ageless Beauty" Stars
"One more day. Can I have one more day?"
"Every one I have left. My life is yours. It always has been."
Because I am a hopeless romantic, I can't end this FST on a pessimistic note. Despite their differences (and they are numerous) Batman and Wonder Woman, Bruce and Diana are two people that really make sense together, and I hope that TPTB allow their potential relationship to be explored in the future. (And if they don't, well, there's always fanfiction.)
.rar of all the songs (90.4 MB)