Decisions, Decisions...

[sailorlibra]

So I read Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale a while ago and, frankly, I was a little disappointed. Some of the stories were great, but a lot just didn't cut it for me.

So, after a bit of thinking, I came up with my own list of the best Catwoman stories. Then I started creating lists for some of my other favorite characters. And then I

Comments

[aaron_bourque]

To Kill A Legend is the best Batman story ever. The Phantom Stranger gives Bruce a strange gift: access to an alternate Earth whose time is something like 25 years behind Earth-1. Bruce Wayne is still a kid, and his parents are still alive . . . but only for a couple more days. Batman and Robin do some investigating and discover some interesting facts, among them:

1) Kid Bruce is a fucking spoilt brat.

2) There aren't any other heroes or potential heroes on this Earth. No Krypton. No mysterious island that could be Themyscira. No evidence at all of Atlantis. No Oa, no Green Lantern, etc.

3) Not only that, there's a dirth of heroic fiction, the closest being Sherlock Holmes and other detective fiction.

4) The Fateful Night is fast approaching.

Everything Batman tries to prevent the mugging before the fact fails (tracking down Joe Chill, for example, leads to the possibility of just someone else performing the mugging . . .)

And Robin suddenly starts to wonder if maybe by preventing the Wayne double-murder won't prevent this Earth from getting it's only super-hero. It's only hero, period. Robin mentions his concerns, but Batman has made his decision.

The night comes. Batman (and Robin) emerge from the shadows and save the Waynes. Bats and Robin go home, and that looks like that's that . . .

Except, in the epilogue, it's revealed that the Bruce Wayne of this strange Earth was still inspired to be a hero, by Batman. This time, not a hero burdened by survivor's guilt and emo shame. An inspired hero who could potentially be greater than the standard Batman.

Best.

Batman.

Story.

Ever.

Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; Night of the Hunter's pretty damn good, too, for mood. It's very overblown nowadays, though. The Darwyn Cooke revamp oddly doesn't improve on it, it's more a lateral move (well, it does remove the . . . narm, I guess, of the original.)

[janegray]

Ok, that does sound like a Batman story I'd love to read. What issue is it in?

[aaron_bourque]

Detective Comics #500.

Night of the HunterStalker (that's what I meant), the original, is also included in the latest "Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told!," the one with the Alex Ross cover.

[janegray]

Thank you :)