Gotham Season 4, Episode 1. Leaving Jim Gordon without warning. This is it. This is the true beginning of Batman.
BATMAN #36
“SUPERFRIENDS” part one! Batman and Superman. For so many years they’ve
fought together for justice. Sometimes, they’ve even fought each other.
Now, from the creators who broke your heart in “The Ballad of Kite Man”
comes a look at how the flaws of each frightens the other and how the
hope in each inspires the other. Don’t miss this two-part event that
everyone will be talking about as the relationship between these two men
is forever changed.
On Sale Date: December 6, 2017
BATMAN #37
“SUPERFRIENDS” part two! The stunning conclusion to the two-part story.
Torn apart by betrayal, Batman and Superman try to find a way back to
friendship, to trust. Both understand that the future of the DCU depends
on this relationship; both understand that without the help of the
other, their lives will fall apart. And yet, one is still the spoiled
rich boy, and the other is still the naive farm boy. Men from two worlds
confront each other and try to see the hope behind the madness.
On Sale Date: December 20, 2017
So, I was checking out the official DC Comics website (to, you know, estimate how much money I’d have to save up for upcoming Rebirth stuff) and found that THE SUPER BROMANCE LIVES ON.
And I just really wanted to share it with ya’ll. Hahaha.
Imagine: one actor, four Robins…
French actor and model Gaspard Ulliel as (clockwise from top left) Dick, Jason, Tim, and (grown-up) Damian.
*The search for the trident of Poseidon* Oh, it’s with Arthur Curry.
*Henry Turner shows up* Ooooh… More like, Dick Grayson…
*Henry says he wants to save his dad* Oh, Bruce must be stuck in some alternate dimension again and Dick’s doing his best to find him. Such a persistent son.
*Jack Sparrow gets into trouble* If Jack were a Batboy, he’d definitely be Jason Todd.
*Henry and Corina (?) banter* She’s kind of like Babs: relies a lot on logic and science… Dick’s more likely to believe in the supernatural…
*Henry meets Jack* Oh, oh! Nightwing and Red Hood team-up pirate AU!
I’m posting this halfway into the movie.
So, yeah… I may sort of kind of maybe have a DC/Batfamily, er, fixation.
Wow, so… I posted this a while back.
And I just read the news that Brenton Thwaites has been cast as live-action Dick Grayson/Nightwing.
In. One. Panel? (I’m desperately assuming!) *heart racing*
After all this time! I’ve missed them all together like this so much!
Preview for Batman #33 (October 2017).
Oh, I’m so sorry! I stand corrected. Remember how I said “desperately assuming”? @lukefox pointed out that Tim isn’t in the panel, but Duke.
Actually, I thought Tim’s jacket’s being chewed on by (is that… ?) Ace, Dick’s sitting on the couch, and Jason’s sitting across him. Buuut, I guess it’s more, Jason’s jacket (Makes sense, now that I think of it… I mean, leather jacket…) and Duke sitting across (explains the curls and the facial features).
And that’s fine with me, too. These four boys are really fun to see together, too. (I mean, Batman #16? Batburger was awesome.)
I just wanted Tim back with them so bad, I guess. I love seeing Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian sharing panels.
THEN, I freakin’ remembered (and this is why @lukefox is so correct about correcting me), Tim’s still stuck! “A Lonely Place of Living”, finale, comes out in November, and this issue comes out in October.
So, sorry, everyone! The operational term was “desperately”.
The four main Robins having very different origin stories, antagonizing each other (almost to literal death) at one point or another, then eventually uniting because of their deep sense of love for and loyalty to Bruce, their mission to save as many innocent lives as they can, and, of course, to each other (whether they admit it or not).
They have so little and so much in common that it makes for such an interesting dynamic every time they share panels. (Regardless of how “horrible” the writing seems.)
So, just a disclaimer, Jason Todd isn’t actually in the issue, but it does revolve around him. He hasn’t come back as Red Hood just yet.
Let’s just say that it’s reminiscent of the period immediately after his death when Bruce Wayne was noticeably more broody and brutal in his anti-crime spree than usual. Back then, the Bat Family was only composed of Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and a persistent young Tim Drake “auditioning” for a membership. This time around, their family has grown somewhat, and includes Cassandra Cain as Batgirl and Stephanie Brown as Spoiler.
Backstory (spoilers ahead): A new drug called G.H.D. is circulating the Gotham streets, killing some citizens, including a young female. Batman tracks down the supplier and throws him through a window several stories off the ground. Batgirl swoops in to catch the man, and Batman gets more information out of him through what his does best – instilling fear.
“How you hurt him. You were punishing him.”
After the bust, Cass calls Bruce out on his… unusual behavior.
That look on Bruce’s face in the third panel below… You just know that he can’t argue with her observation.
“It’s always personal.”
That cool detachment Bruce has? That wall he built around himself? All of it is meant to keep his mission from being compromised. His mission to protect his family, his friends, innocent lives. That’s the form of affection he’s developed over years of trauma and obsessive discipline to equip himself for this mission.
So, if he tries to shut down Steph’s aspiration to be a vigilante? It’s personal. If he tries to keep a brash young lady from jumping headfirst into the field without a parachute – the same way a fifteen-year-old boy once did? It’s personal. And, if you think he’s an unreasonable grumpy old man for doing it, he won’t fault you for begrudging him. (He’ll care, sure, but he won’t show it.)
“It’s strange. How he stops seeing them… the scars.”
This issue is actually entitled “Scarification”, and it seems that the next set of panels explains why. It’s probably this day, out of all the days in the year, that reminds him why his scars matter. Why everything seems to matter more.
“If this is about what today is, then… just know that I’m here if you need… to talk.”
I love how much the Batkids understand Bruce. Even if they know that it’s, more often than not, futile to appeal to him on an emotional level, they’ll keep trying anyway, knowing that he secretly needs them.
“Happy birthday, kid.”
Bruce harasses one more criminal before the set of panels below. He finally tracks down the supplier and makes him choose between taking his own lethal drug or jail time. (Guess which one he picks?)
It’s these last two scenes that gives the story its story. Bruce always has difficulty with expressing emotion, so it shouldn’t surprise us that sometimes it comes out as aggression.
On the day that reminds him of the son he lost to the thing they do, with another teenager wanting to be part of it all… must be extra hard, huh?
“For some of us there is no going back.”
This was a simple, but sweet tribute to Jason. A reminder that Bruce loved loves him and knew him well. That in his memory, Bruce is trying to keep from making the same mistakes.
(And, it was bittersweet how Cass “met” Jason for the first time like that… It gets better in the New 52′s Batman and Robin Eternal, though!)
Reblogging. Hope I’m not too late for Jay’s birthday week. 🙂
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