Why You Couldn't Be Batman, Part Four: Crime Alley

Part One: Introduction can be viewed here.
Part Two: Those Wonderful Toys can be viewed here.
Part Three: Of Fists and Feet can be viewed here.

A really big thing happened within the last couple of weeks. DC rebooted its entire universe and released fifty-two brand new issue ones, fifty-two ongoing series restarted from scratch. Of course, "from scratch" isn't exactly accurate. All of the Superman books, as well as Wonder Woman and Aquaman, it seems, have been completely re-imagined, but some of the other, more successful books, have been rebooted in a different way. The series Batman and Robin begins after the events of Grant Morrison's ever-so-long run on the series. This reboot is more subtle, but in ways it is more profound. Throughout the narrative of Batman and Robin #1, Bruce Wayne / Batman describes to his son Damian that he will no longer return to crime alley in order to mourn, that the entire community is about to be transformed. Batman will no longer dwell on the past or the present, on the sadness and the anger and the need for vengeance. Instead, he will focus on hope, on life. In other words, he will emerge from the darkness.

Of course, if you're not a huge Batman fan, this takes a little bit of context to understand. The reason Batman has been known as the Dark Knight is that something horrible happened in his past. The reason he was offered a Sinestro Corps ring for his ability to strike fear was because he experienced a moment of great fear when he was only a child, a moment that is only now potentially ending. When Bruce Wayne was young, his parents took him to see "The Mask of Zorro" at a theater in the district that was once called Park Row. As Bruce and his parents exited the theater, a petty thief with a gun, a man named Joe Chill, attempted to rob the wealthy family. When his father Thomas showed courage and stood up to the thug, both parents were shot, leaving orphaned Bruce Wayne to cry over their dead bodies. As a result of this incident, Park Row was transformed into Crime Alley. As for the boy Bruce Wayne, he was transformed into something else entirely.

The DC reboot also brought us Nightwing #1, which features Dick Grayson as Nightwing, protecting the streets of Gotham after the destruction of Bludhaven and the completion of his time as Batman due to Bruce Wayne's "death." In this issue, we are given an interesting perspective into what happened to Bruce Wayne after the death of his parents. Dick Grayson reflects on his time as Batman by saying how different it was to maintain Bruce's two personae. What he suggests is that both Batman and the public image of Bruce Wayne are masks that Bruce Wayne wears, and that both require work to stay up. After Bruce's parents were shot down in front of him, it seems like his identity disappeared. An angry boy, amorphous and ever changing, left Gotham City in order to learn how best to protect her. He returned with a mask, a banner for justice but also a dark avenger, and this Batman that he created became wed to Gotham, in sickness and in health until death do them part. But also, in order to protect the Batman and free him to do the most good for the sake of his bride, Bruce Wayne put on the mask of the playboy millionaire. He became exactly what everyone always expected a spoiled millionaire to become. Though he had found his destiny, it seems like any real identity was completely sublimated. He had no person any more. All he had was a spouse and a duty.

This pushes us directly into the question that ought to be asked, "Is Batman crazy?" If crazy is defined by acting against the status quo of society, Batman is certainly crazy. If crazy is defined as taking risks in order to accomplish something that, for all intents and purposes, can never be completely accomplished, then yes, Batman is crazy. If crazy is defined as a mental aberration, then we have an interesting discussion. Batman certainly could be crazy. All of the ingredients are in the right place in order to cause a mental instability. He witnessed the brutal murder of his parents. He left the rules and confines of society and trusted only the voices and images inside of his head (including a terrifying bat that has haunted him since childhood). He continues to risk his life on a nightly basis. He wears a costume and lives a life entirely composed of pretending. His second sidekick, Jason Todd, was murdered by The Joker. And on that note, Batman is surrounded by the criminally insane. He is not just kicking and punching them daily and bringing them back to Arkham Asylum. He engages in games with them, conversations. He is pushed by them. And in the end, there is a serious question of whether or not their insanity and criminality is merely an extension of his insanity. Would there have been a Joker if there had never been a Batman? Are they two sides of the same coin? (Yes, that was a blatant reference to Two-Face. Harvey Dent ought always to be thought of when it comes to Batman and insanity.)

In the end, perhaps we need only read Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, where it is suggested that insanity is just one bad day away. The Joker may not know who Batman is or what created him, but he does know that Batman had a bad day once.

Even if we decide that Batman is certainly insane, the discussion does not end there. There is now the question of whether Bruce Wayne merely suffers from psychological issues or whether there is something more, some metaphysical / spiritual entity in Gotham that has chosen him, that has haunted him and even possessed him. There are many sources that refer to some evil bat entity existing in the thoughts and dreams of residents of Gotham. The Arkham family, famous for making the Arkham Asylum in order to treat the criminally insane, have a taint of insanity in the blood, and they speak of some ancient bat beast. It is entirely possible that Arkham Asylum itself houses this spirit and others in much the same way that the Overlook hotel in The Shining housed so many psychic impressions. Scarecrow, the fearmonger scientist, has also been haunted by the bat, and if what I mentioned above is true, such is also the case for every villain Batman has ever sent to Arkham.

In the end, however, it is hard to tell whether Batman is insane or merely dedicated. I believe that sanity and insanity are always in tension in the mind of Batman. Neither truly takes complete hold over his mind. Both are needed. Both are also detriments. I want to believe that the good in Batman will win, and I believe that it has time and again, but I also do not believe that the issue will ever be settled.

If you still want to be Batman, then you had better be ready to have your loved ones taken from you and to be haunted, either by memories or by real ghosts, for the entirety of your life. Perhaps you may not be affected for your entire life. After all, it seems that the new 52's Batman has turned over a new leaf, but at the same time he is already completely broken. It is unlikely that he can gain any personal advantage from changing his life at this point. Of course, I believe that this change is not for the sake of Bruce Wayne. It is for the sake of trying to give Damian Wayne a better life than Bruce Wayne enjoyed. Damian was an orphan too, once, after Bruce Wayne was "killed." But that's the cool thing about comic books. Bruce Wayne / Batman is back, and he has a second chance at life. He is a broken man trying to unbreak the world. It's foolish and admirable, and it is ultimately doomed. And that is who you'll have to be if you're going to be Batman.

In the end, the reason that you can't be Batman is because you want to be Batman. In order to be Batman you have to have tragedy thrust upon you, against your will. You have to exist in a state of mental disrepair that pushes you into believing that you either become Batman or you become The Joker. You are the lesser of two evils, and you exist for a purpose. You do not get to have a life, but you are necessary for the sake of the lives of others. If these things happen to you, I feel sorry for you. It looks like you can be Batman. May God have mercy on your soul.

The New DCU: September 14, 2011 - A Simulblog

The following is a simulblog with Chad P. of Political Jesus, Josh Toulouse of Fat Train, and Arthur of Arthur the Lesser. You ought to be forewarned: there will be spoilers.

Chad's article, "Savage Nerdery: Week Two of DC's new 52: Simulblog Reviews" can be read here.

Josh's article, "The New DCU: Sept 14, 2011 A Simulblog" can be read here.

Arthur's article, "Sill Not Quite a Simulblog" can be read here.

This week's list of number ones was just as numerous as the previous week, with Batman and Robin #1, Batwoman #1, Deathstroke #1, Demon Knights #1, Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1, Green Lantern #1, Grifter #1, Legion Lost #1, Mister Terrific #1, Red Lanterns #1, Resurrection Man #1, Suicide Squad #1, and Superboy #1. Another similarity between this week and last week is that I intend to tackle a couple of interesting trends in the re-construction of the DC universe that have popped up this week rather than doing individual reviews. Again, that does not mean that I don't want to talk about the individual issues. I read them all, so by all means, let's talk. In the comments section, we shall discuss everything and anything, and you don't have to be a member of this simulblog community to ring in.

It is my observation this week that while the old DCU focused on Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman as their top three heroes, the new DCU has officially changed its focus to Batman, Superman and Green Lantern. On DC's home page for The New 52, the 52 comics are divided first into three families, the Superman family, the Batman family, and the Green Lantern family, and then into four larger groups, the Justice League, The Dark, The Edge, and Young Justice. There are four Super-titles, eleven Bat-titles, and four Lantern-titles. Wonder Woman does have her own comic book, but it doesn't come out until next week. Wonder Woman was not featured in Justice League #1 and even though there was a perfect place for her in Swamp Thing #1, we instead saw Superman, Batman and Aquaman. The only references that we can trace to Wonder Woman is that of a woman named Exoristos in Demon Knights #1 who appears to be an Amazon from Themyscira and a possible appearance of Wonder Girl at the end of Superboy #1. Rather than having a family of comics featuring Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, and Wonder Girl, the entire Wonder story is confined to one title listed under the Justice League heading.

Another thing worth noting about the various families is that there is a fairly strong emphasis on family in these comics. In Batman and Robin #1 the title characters are father and son, embracing their family tree and their interpersonal relationships difficultly ("You were easier to look up to when you weren't around." - Damian), and possibly making the same mistakes (Did the story remind you of the Joker's backstory just a little bit? I have half of a mind to believe that Damian may have just created his own arch-nemesis.). Furthermore, there is a mysterious villain wiping out members of the extended Bat-family, the Batman, Inc. heroes from around the world, starting with a Muscovite Batman who looks like a mix between Azrael, Bane and Man-Bat. In Batwoman #1, Kate Kane is joined by her cousin Bette Kane, and though part of the focus on this book was enough costume change scenes to make a 1980s Dazzler book seem sane, the other part was devoted to the tragedy surrounding Kate's sister. And let's not forget last week's Batgirl #1 where Barbara Gordon is considered the brightest of the Bat family, Batwing #1 which is inevitably going to tie into the Bat-hunt of Batman and Robin #1, Detective Comics #1 (I'm so glad that Alfred is real in modern-day Batman and Robin. The possibility that he was dead and replaced by a holograph in Detective Comics was frightening.), and Damian's teasing of all the other Robins.

Regarding the Super-family, we meet a boy who is a clone of both Superman and some human DNA donor in Superboy #1. While much of the audience can probably guess that the human donor is Lex Luthor, part of me wonders if the negative qualities described aren't also qualities we might find in Lois Lane from time to time. Regardless, the question of Superboy's parentage is a serious issue in this first story arc. And though neither Green Lantern #1 nor Red Lanterns #1 focused on the Green Lantern family we'd expect - Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and possibly even Alan Scott - there is a similar sense of cohesion, of a family defined sometimes by opposition and enmity. Sometimes a family member has to deal with the fact that he/she doesn't trust another family member to do the right thing. Through the Bat-family, Super-family and Lantern-family, the new DCU is developing a really interesting emphasis on family being more than just an easy method of categorization.

If I had to give a name to this particular week of the New 52, it would not be "Family Week." I think it would be something closer to "Anger Management" week. Though Batman and Robin #1 deals with a murderer who is trying to erase all of Batman, Inc., and some thieves dealing with some dangerous chemicals, the theme of the issue is that Bruce Wayne is taking responsibility for his son and attempting to turn into a Brighter Knight. Rather than obsessing over death, he wishes to ponder life. Rather than fear, he wishes to value hope. Of course, Damian is not going to have any of this. Batman and Robin continues the reversal of roles between Batman and Robin that we saw when Dick Grayson was Batman. Whereas the original combinations featured a dark Batman with a bright Robin, Bruce Wayne attempts to be a bright Batman to his son the dark Robin.

While Batwoman #1, Deathstroke #1, Demon Knights #1, Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1, Grifter #1, Resurrection Man #1, Suicide Squad #1, and Superboy #1 all feature characters dealing with their darkness and rage and the potential for redemption, it might be that Green Lantern #1 and Red Lanterns #1 take the cake in this category. Rather than following Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Green Lantern #1 purports itself to be a Sinestro book. And we're not talking about the Sinestro who was originally chosen by the Green Lantern Corps before the time of Hal Jordan. This is the Sinestro who was chosen by the Green Lantern Corps to wear Hal Jordan's ring after Jordan was booted from the Corps. He is the same one who committed atrocity upon atrocity and who lead his own Sinestro Corps in the hopes of destroying the Green Lantern Corps. But now that Sinestro has rejoined the Corps, he seems willing to do the right thing. He even kills a member of the Sinestro Corps, a former ally. When he appears to Hal Jordan in order to give him his ring back, he almost seems frightened of how the Guardians' decision to have faith in him has changed him. Red Lanterns #1 follows the struggles of Atrocitus who is attempting to get his groove back after the passionate anger that used to fuel him has begun to wane. By the end of the issue, we see that Atrocitus has decided to become a kind of righteous avenger, his rage fueled by injustice and his victims all victimizers. Of course, there are two twists. First, it is going to be hella difficult to get the rest of the Red Lantern Corps behind this decision, and second, a young man on Earth is beginning to head down the path that Atrocitus once walked toward rage and he's going to need a mentor.

Finally, I think that we need to talk about this Mystery Woman who keeps popping up. She was there at Victor's football game in Justice League #1 and apparently she showed up in Flashpoint #1, which I didn't read. Chad has mentioned that some people are calling her the Time Trapper, and I've read that there are some calling her Red Raven. There is mention that she can be found in every single first issue of the New 52. I opened Demon Knights #1 as a test case, mainly because I love the art, but found myself confounded by the multitude of women wearing hoods in that book. When I opened up Superboy #1, I was not expecting to have an easy time finding her, but sure enough, she was there. I feel a little like there is pie on my face because I didn't notice this character a single time until I opened up my comic books and looked specifically for her.

So, who is the Mystery Woman? Is this who Superboy describes as "someone else, no, something"? No doubt the Mystery Woman is meant to tie together these comics and provide an upcoming bridge between stories. But what will that crossover look like? We've already got a Grifter comic, and rumor has it that the redheaded woman in Superboy #1 is Caitlin Fairchild from Gen 13. While many people are probably digging through their DC back issues and trying to explain this woman away as some kind of Monitor or variation on Raven, maybe the answer actually lies in former Image/Wildstorm properties. Keep your eyes open. This is bound to turn into something significant.

As for this week's picks, I am definitely going to keep reading Batman and Robin, Batwoman, Demon Knights, Green Lantern, Red Lanterns, and Superboy. I'm going to give Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. and Resurrection Man at least one more issue despite the fact that I disliked Frankenstein's art and am a little shaky about how much I care about the character of Resurrection Man. As for the comics I'll be happy never to read again (or, at least, not until they get a new creative team or an interesting arc), their names are Deathstroke, Grifter, Legion Lost, Mister Terrific (I wanted to like this comic, but found it impossible to connect to the main character and his compressed back story), and Suicide Squad (a sexy cover of Harley Quinn does not a good read make, but it is a fantastic cover; part of me thought that they'd take the team on more of a Suicide Girls, hot punk-goth girls, path - that was not the case).

Tune in next week for Batman #1, Birds of Prey #1, Blue Beetle #1, Captain Atom #1, Catwoman #1, DC Universe Presents #1, Green Lantern Corps #1, Legion of Super-Heroes #1, Nightwing #1, Red Hood and the Outlaws #1, Supergirl #1, and Wonder Woman #1. Until then read Arthur's article, Josh's article, and Chad's article, and leave some comments here.