tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post6433965387541745129..comments2024-03-09T05:53:59.542-05:00Comments on Oz and Ends: Can Batman Change the World for the Better?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-5213655975688994872010-10-20T14:37:50.145-05:002010-10-20T14:37:50.145-05:00Okay, an alternative interpretation! By “alternati...Okay, an alternative interpretation! By “alternative” I mean that most Batman fans on the ’net appear to believe that Damian is shown rescuing Terry as a baby. <br /><br />I think there’s a little ambiguity, and of course comic-book physics and biology and alternative futures produce a lot of wiggle room. So how do you read the later pages of that issue?J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-55181858690086578082010-10-20T14:30:05.943-05:002010-10-20T14:30:05.943-05:00Wait. I'm pretty sure the baby in 700 isn'...Wait. I'm pretty sure the baby in 700 isn't Terry?taterpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11678456457309288693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-62407275598507079512010-10-13T23:01:23.579-05:002010-10-13T23:01:23.579-05:00No one has yet suggested that the magazines show M...No one has yet suggested that the magazines show Max Roboto coming about <i>because</i> of what Dick Grayson does as Batman. I’m saying they show that villain, and the dismal future in which he appears, coming about <i>despite</i> how Dick Grayson behaves as a different sort of Batman. <br /><br />Of course it’s possible that the future shown in <i>Batman</i>, #666 and 700, and now apparently in an issue of <i>Superman/Batman</i>, can turn out to be one of many alternative futures. In fact, storytelling almost requires outcomes to be open to ensure that characters’ choices matter. <br /><br />Nevertheless, when everyone’s so excited about seeing a “nice Batman,” it would be more reassuring if that Batman were linked to a better future than what the “canonical” magazines are showing.<br /><br />Furthermore, adult Damian’s final encounters with Max Roboto and the Jokerzombie police now appear to be intimately tied to his rescue of baby Terry, and thus to the comics version of <i>Batman Beyond</i> (which is working through its own Dick Grayson issues, of course). Again, it’s always possible for DC to create a different future. But that’s not what the magazines show now. It’s all bound up together, and there’s a grim stretch ahead.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-87450815512201705222010-10-13T19:47:20.758-05:002010-10-13T19:47:20.758-05:00Morrison showed how easily it is to undo such thin...Morrison showed how easily it is to undo such things in his X-Men run, by showing the pivotal moment which would change one future into another and then having something change the outcome of that moment. He changed a future where the X-Men split up and the world fell apart, to one where they didn't, simply by having Cyclops say "Yes" instead of "No" at a pivotal juncture. (Phoenix was involved, but the principle applies)<br /><br />All that needs to happen here is for a younger Damian to somehow see the damage that his future self would cause, and decide to take the TRUE heroic path, and sacrifice himself to prevent that future from happening. That would also show that he truly had learned something from Dick, the most important lessons of heroism; putting others first, and making whatever sacrifices are necessary, no matter the personal cost. Though I suspect that Bruce returning through time-travel might be more likely to be involved in destroying the timeline which might have happened if he hadn't returned.<br /><br />Also, it seems a bit much to automatically lay any "blame" for Max Roboto on Dick, it may have been something that DAMIAN did after Dick was gone which sent him down the path to villainhood, or it most likely was nothing to do with Dick or Damian, and so it would have happened anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-43258517703924681092010-10-10T22:14:54.017-05:002010-10-10T22:14:54.017-05:00I'm not sure if you read GM's X-men run, b...I'm not sure if you read GM's X-men run, but the next authors on the book took it rampantly and aggressively away from the directions Morrison had established. You never can tell what fans and publishers will welcome.taterpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11678456457309288693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-57706508641466437522010-10-10T19:55:29.044-05:002010-10-10T19:55:29.044-05:00Since Grant Morrison’s Batman and Batman and Robin...Since Grant Morrison’s <i>Batman</i> and <i>Batman and Robin</i> issues are considered “in continuity” (unlike <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>), his colleagues and successors will be expected to stay reasonably close to what he’s written. Expected by whom? Readers first of all, and then editors trying to please those readers. I’m not sure, however, whether the future of Damian as Batman that we’ve seen in <i>Batman</i>, #666 and 700, and a couple of other places is now official or simply one possibility.<br /><br />DC often offers glimpses of potential futures or alternate futures (as in “Titans of Tomorrow” and <i>Robin 3000</i>). There’s a “canonical” future including the Legion of Super-Heroes—but there have been at least three versions of that future, as the company recently acknowledged. <br /><br />When I write about Dick Grayson’s future, however, I’m not writing just about a particular future, but more about what Dick represents as the DC Universe’s oldest and most famous symbol of growing up. If life doesn’t get better for Dick Grayson, then symbolically it doesn’t get better, period.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-30446931845105812012010-10-10T19:02:33.127-05:002010-10-10T19:02:33.127-05:00Yes, since The Dark Knight Returns or so, there’s ...Yes, since <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> or so, there’s a meme that Batman actually makes Gotham worse by attracting crazy criminals. So the good Bruce does for some people is outweighed or at least balanced by the greater harm others cause. (Of course, Batman wasn’t responsible for the earthquake, contagion, and other catastrophes that befell the city.)<br /><br />In the case of Dick and Officer Bailey, however, I sensed his fans being excited about this nicer kind of Batman. Is he thus also a better Batman? In this specific case, Dick’s niceness doesn’t appear to lead to a better outcome, alas.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-45689810234673665802010-10-10T18:56:13.697-05:002010-10-10T18:56:13.697-05:00Scott Snyder, who is taking over Detective (Let us...Scott Snyder, who is taking over Detective (Let us note, this is the actual birthplace of Batman), has said Gotham will change to reflect the new Batman. Which doesn't mean, a nicer, happier Gotham, just one that presents challenges more suited to nearly-beating one.<br /><br />And to play realsies... Morrison can't stay in charge of the Batchise forever. No future is worth worrying about.taterpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11678456457309288693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28103455.post-85109518644955703942010-10-10T18:02:58.589-05:002010-10-10T18:02:58.589-05:00According to most canon, though, Bruce doesn't...According to most canon, though, Bruce doesn't "change the world for the better" either. It's really common nowadays for people to point out that Bruce seems to make things worse too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com