I actually do remember commenting on the preview of this when you posted it way back when, and while I didn't predict this specific outcome for Jessica Dent, I believe I did make a tentative prediction that she might turn out to be Two-Face, or be somehow roped into the yin-yang split that defines the character - and lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. Jessica is a bit better than Rachel Dawes, though, because at least she did survive and will evidently make an impact on the series beyond 'I'm the motivation for all the guys in this story
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Jessica is a bit better than Rachel Dawes, though, because at least she did survive and will evidently make an impact on the series beyond 'I'm the motivation for all the guys in this story'.
Well, she'll still presumably in the position of Batman trying to save her while also thwart her plans, but at least that's perfectly in keeping with the Batman/Two-Face relationship, just with romance thrown in. I can't think of any instances with a male hero trying to save the soul of a female villain, so that alone should make it an interesting combination of several cliche tropes.
By contrast, I'm not sure what the female Lex brings to the table beyond a novelty factor. It doesn't help that her motivation is entirely shallow and ill-conceived, as she has no reason to hate Superman without some serious mental gymnastics. Then again, we are talking about a villain whose classic motivation was "You made my hair fall out! VENGEANCE!" But I think we're a little beyond that, aren't we? I should really read the Superman: Earth One books in full
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I would have thought that the Batman/Catwoman relationship would fall at least partially into the category of 'trying to save a villainess' soul' - even in most of her older appearances, it was emphasized that she basically had a good heart beneath the criminality, and was one of his first villains to reform for a while
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Well, Catwoman's sane. I was thinking more along the lines of trying to reach and redeem a mentally ill villainness the way Batman does with Harvey. I guess he's maybe sorta tried it with Ivy once or twice? Maybe? But even then, he wasn't romantically interested in her.
I have to wonder what story Lex's artificial life-form was from, because I don't think that was in the original Silver Age comics. I imagine that was a retcon added to make the baldness excuse less silly.
Good to know that someone else likes 'Batman of Arkham' - that's one of my favorite Crocs, too. (I probably would call him my favorite, period, except that I've had sporadic exposure to Croc, so it's difficult to say that someone is your 'favorite' when the competition against them is scant.) At any rate, it's certainly my favorite design for him - it merges the 'human with a skin disease' and 'mutated reptile-man' concepts neatly into one, so that whichever version you prefer, it works. Wasn't acid - it was a Molotov Cocktail. Would have made more sense if it was acid, honestly; I don't think flames kill that quickly.
Well, the cannibalistic monster side can work too, I think; it just shouldn't be his only side. It's a question of balance, really - if him eating people is treated as a case of 'sure, I act like a monster - why wouldn't I? I look like one, and everyone treats me like one, so I might as well be one', then it makes sense. The core issue is that this is something he feels he's been driven to do rather than something he just does 'cause he's a monster. He can have like a 'rage mode' where he just sees people as meat - he is, after all, crazy - but when he's feeling a little more rational, there's a relatively decent guy under those scales.
Hrm. This looks like what I'd about expected - a bunch of terrible and not-very-sensical stuff with a handful of interesting ideas mixed in-between and at least one absolute gem. Looks like good ol' Croc got nominated for that last one. I'm told that a very similar subplot to this one happens in Alan Grant's The Batman of Arkham Elseworlds, so looks like I'll be picking that up next
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The way I look at it, Eddie would be reluctant to kill because of his ego. His whole thing is outwitting the Batman/the law/anyone handy, so killing is counter-intuitive - he'd be killing off his audience. He wants to impress people, not murder them. (As for the murder rap business, I'd agree, except, well, he's crazy, so he'd just be sent back to Arkham again like the Joker and everyone else.) I think Gordon and Alfred knew each other back in the Pre-Crisis days - I seem to recall a story where Bruce's friends are planning a surprise birthday party or some such for him, and the Commissioner comes over to Wayne Manor to help set up - and, naturally, keeps coming perilously close to discovering the way into the Batcave, so Alfie has to wear himself to a frazzle leading him away from that damned grandfather clock over and over and over again.
Sidebar: hasn't Geoff Johns said before that he openly dislikes Batman? It kind of makes me wonder why he's writing this.
I don't recall him saying this, but it wouldn't surprise me. I imagine he was hired to write this because it's a high profile project and he's one of DC's very biggest writers, and I recall him saying that he saw it as a challenge. In any case, the first volume was a massive success, so the gamble paid off, regardless of how we feel about it one way or another.
Now, the Dents... yeah, I don't see much worth writing home about. I guess... kudos to Johns for pressing a more realistic version of the legal system?
Yeah, but if anything, the realistic problems of the legal system should be a springboard for a Harvey Dent origin story, since he's could be torn between his ideals and the compromised, failed reality of the justice system. Welp, looks like the only person who's interested in writing that one is me.
But to be fair, off-hand, I can't think of that many shows of friendship between Gordon and Alfred - DCAU
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Yeah, I'm just gonna say it: Post-reboot, Killer Croc is the best Batman rogue currently. And I can't believe how incredibly awesome and incredibly sad it is. How do you feel about his appearences in Eternal and Gotham Academy
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Yeah, there's least a variant of the Croc scene in 'Batman: Nine Lives' (which is an excellent Noir-themed Elseworlds if you ever run across it, by the way). It's not so much a scene so much as part of a sequence, but in this version of things, Croc used to be a part of the same circus Dick Grayson was, so when they run across each other in the sewers, Dick's like 'oh, man, Croc, what happened to you, buddy?'
I wrote a long and detailed response, and of course, LiveJournal ate it. The short version is that, no, I'm not, and you'll notice that you're not the only one I haven't responded to, and that I've been responding to only about one comment per day. I already explained to you months ago about the issues of anxiety and depression that I struggle with, so I had hoped that you'd remember that before assuming that my lack of response was due to a dislike of you. It's not.
I honestly can't respond with much more than resignation on this here graphic novel. It's so misguided that I can't muster up any enthusiasm. Between Gotham, the Batman Very. Superman trailer and the entirety of the Suicide Squad looking like they bought their clothes from yard sales and Hot Topic, I've lost all excitement for DC. The Arkham Knight game is the only thing coming I actually look forward to, but even if it proves to be a fantastic gaming experience it will still feature more than enough wrongheaded ideas and character interpretations to cause the same division within me as the last games
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Well, she'll still presumably in the position of Batman trying to save her while also thwart her plans, but at least that's perfectly in keeping with the Batman/Two-Face relationship, just with romance thrown in. I can't think of any instances with a male hero trying to save the soul of a female villain, so that alone should make it an interesting combination of several cliche tropes.
By contrast, I'm not sure what the female Lex brings to the table beyond a novelty factor. It doesn't help that her motivation is entirely shallow and ill-conceived, as she has no reason to hate Superman without some serious mental gymnastics. Then again, we are talking about a villain whose classic motivation was "You made my hair fall out! VENGEANCE!" But I think we're a little beyond that, aren't we? I should really read the Superman: Earth One books in full ( ... )
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I have to wonder what story Lex's artificial life-form was from, because I don't think that was in the original Silver Age comics. I imagine that was a retcon added to make the baldness excuse less silly.
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Wasn't acid - it was a Molotov Cocktail. Would have made more sense if it was acid, honestly; I don't think flames kill that quickly.
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I think Gordon and Alfred knew each other back in the Pre-Crisis days - I seem to recall a story where Bruce's friends are planning a surprise birthday party or some such for him, and the Commissioner comes over to Wayne Manor to help set up - and, naturally, keeps coming perilously close to discovering the way into the Batcave, so Alfie has to wear himself to a frazzle leading him away from that damned grandfather clock over and over and over again.
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I don't recall him saying this, but it wouldn't surprise me. I imagine he was hired to write this because it's a high profile project and he's one of DC's very biggest writers, and I recall him saying that he saw it as a challenge. In any case, the first volume was a massive success, so the gamble paid off, regardless of how we feel about it one way or another.
Now, the Dents... yeah, I don't see much worth writing home about. I guess... kudos to Johns for pressing a more realistic version of the legal system?
Yeah, but if anything, the realistic problems of the legal system should be a springboard for a Harvey Dent origin story, since he's could be torn between his ideals and the compromised, failed reality of the justice system. Welp, looks like the only person who's interested in writing that one is me.
But to be fair, off-hand, I can't think of that many shows of friendship between Gordon and Alfred - DCAU ( ... )
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