It's the Great Eggplant, Stephanie Brown!

[ebailey140]

A little Halloween fanart. Plus, for those questioning why Batman would train people to help with his mission (the Batman Inc. concept), an explanation from Bruce, himself, from close to a decade ago.



From CrimsonEscapist. DA page here...

http://crimsonescapist.deviantart.com/





And, from Robin #92...

Comments

[aelflar]

I want the Batmobile dropping me home too! And yes, I get the concept (and like it too). You can`t expect something like Batman`s Mission to be a one-man/one-lifetime kind of thing.

And poor Timmy! Who would give you a rock? :(

[ebailey140]

This is a Robin and Batgirl friendly place, but we all know those Batfans who insist Bruce must be a grimdark loner, that the help somehow "devalues" Batman, etc.

[aelflar]

Ugh. I don`t subscribe to that. It`s not particularly realistic either. If I went on an intensive training program, then made up a suitable persona and took to the streets, I can guarantee you I`ll make some bitter enemies, but also some fine friends as well. Nobody who inspires people as much as Batman does could ever hope to remain a loner.

(that also explains why Tim got a rock hehe)

[irrelevant]

we all know those Batfans who insist Bruce must be a grimdark loner, that the help somehow "devalues" Batman, etc

*blinkblink* I guess I'm damn lucky I've never run into those types, although it's not hard to see that some comics *writers* share the opinion. But seriously, WTF? Robin's been with Batman since, uh, 'Tec Comics #38? Which was around the same time the first issue of Batman came out. Robin's been around forever, and that grim dark loner BS has always pissed me off. Sheesh.

[cloud_wolf]

Just go to the CBR forums, I remember this superlong thread about why Robin made Batman suck. :/
Actually, a lot of the people there are starting to like Robin, if only because a lot of them are Morrison stans who love Dick and Damian.

[mcity]

http://kundor.org/pub/batman-alignment.jpg
Lawful Neutral.

[psychopathicus_rex]

So this is basically saying that Batman is ALL these things?

[mcity]

Depending on the writer, yes. The portion relevant to this discussion is under "Lawful Neutral". Here's one for Doctor Who; http://kunou.livejournal.com/279171.html

[psychopathicus_rex]

Boy, I have GOT to catch up on my Dr. Who. For someone who considers himself a fan, I can comment on distressingly little of that.
Personally, I think any long-running character with any degree of complexity basically shifts between the alignments as the situation demands. They may tend to stick to one end of the scale - a true-blue hero is unlikely to slide into the evil side of the spectrum very often, for instance, and a dastardly villain only rarely makes it to good - but everyone, fictional or not, has all these alignments inside themselves, and a character that never shows half of them, even if only for brief moments, is a poorly written character. When written properly, I would say Batman should focus on the middle tier, while flirting with the top and bottom.

[ebailey140]

I'd guess Cass gave him the rock, having heard of rock candy and getting confused, those learning curves, and all... Or, maybe Tim was being a dick to Steph, and Cass expressed her displeasure. :)

[omgwtflolbbqbye]

I always liked the idea that Batman knows his 'war on crime'/ 'the mission' is ultimately a futile one. You can't eliminate evil entirely, you simply hold it back for as long as you can.

However, Bat's real contribution to the world will be the children he saved from a life worst than his, and mentored to be better people than him and fight on for justice and goodness; Dick would be the prime example I guess.

[jarodrussell]

In many ways, Batman's mission isn't dissimilar to a super-villain's obsession to destroy his heroic nemesis. They both know they'll fail, but it's still a worse fate not to try.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I don't think the point was ever to eliminate evil entirely - that's a cosmic impossibility - it was to protect people against it as much as he personally could.

[lieut_kettch]

Who'd give Tim a rock? Damian, most likely.

[icon_uk]

Or Jason

[aelflar]

Also, for a moment I thought the Batmobile had horns. Or some strange hands. XD

[blackruzsa]

*giggle*

[retro_nouveau]

I think Bruce would definitely put some time and resources toward anyone he thought would be serious and would have potential. He would regret that no one is as paranoid borderline psychotic dedicated as he is. But he knows that they'll continue whether he helps them or tries to suppress them, so he might as well boost their chances where he can -- not to mention having command and control versus having to deal with a loose cannon. He doesn't have to lose any sleep over whatever happens after that because he never goes looking for recruits.

Ugh. Less seriousness ... "I hope I haven't done anything to harm your ... relationship" = "I'm so jealous that Tim hooked up with a crimefighter, while I got stuck with a sticky-fingered safecracker." XD

[essaybee]

I always like these sorts of moments where Bats lets his guard down a bit. No matter how grim and cold he may be, he still has a big heart and genuinely cares about those around him. Without that heart, he'd just be a vigilante thug instead of the hero he is.

[psychopathicus_rex]

This is a random thought, but am I the only one who kinda wonders whether Bats ever gets stopped by traffic cops while he's driving the Batmobile? I mean, I know he has a general sort of understanding with the Gotham PD - as long as he helps them out, they'll pretty much leave him alone - but still, he drives FAST in that thing. I don't think I've ever seen a depiction of the Batmobile in action where it wasn't roaring along at full speed, jets blasting out behind it like a horizontal rocket - and this is in the CITY, with traffic and so forth to deal with. There have to have been at least a few hotshot rookie traffic cops who've pulled him over for speeding. I wonder how that went.

Rookie: *through loudspeaker* Sir, pull over to the side of the road, please!

The Batmobile screeches to a halt and pulls over to the side of the freeway. The cop walks over to it.

Rookie: Sir, do you know how fast you were going back there?

Batman: *from the shadows* 289 MPH.

Rookie: You... DO know. I see. You do realize that's 214 miles over the current speed limit in this area?

Batman: Yes.

Rookie: And why, may I ask, were you going 214 miles over the speed limit? Some emergency, is there? Your wife giving birth? Kid's got a broken leg?

Batman: The Joker has been sighted robbing the International Clown Wig Emporium.

Rookie: Has he, now? Well, I don't see how that excuses you driving like a bat out of hell in a... vehicle like this. A vehicle, by the way, which does not appear to have any license plates, and, unless I'm mistaken, clearly violates the fire safety laws. And is that a... good lord... is that a nuclear turbine on the hood there?

Batman: A miniature one, yes.

Rookie: License and registration?

Batman: None.

Rookie: OK, that's it. You are driving an unlicensed vehicle over the speed limit, without a license and violating who-knows-how-many public safety laws in the process. You are under arrest; get out of the car and put your hands up.

*Batman gets out of the car*

You... have... the... *realizes who he's talking to, pales visibly* Oh, CRAP. Y-y-y-y-y-you're...

Batman: Yes.

Rookie: Um... sorry?

Batman: Accepted. *gets back in the Batmobile and drives off*

Rookie: OK, heart, you can start beating again.

[mcity]

lol

I was wondering about parking the other day myself. It's a huge, customized car. No matter what alley you park it in, someone is going to come along and try and steal the hubcaps. Or take a video and post it on YouTube.

[psychopathicus_rex]

It's been mentioned fairly often that the Batmobile has a number of highly efficient security systems in it, so your average hubcap-snatcher would probably be scared away by an electric shock. As for a YouTube video - well, there are a number of different Batmobiles in the Batcave, and at least some of them have the capacity to disguise themselves as a more or less regular car - I'd imagine that Bats leaves them in disguise mode when parked. (Anyway, given that the Batmobile must be seen by people fairly often anyway, it's likely that some DCU Bat-fans have customized their rides to look similar to it, so there wouldn't be any actual proof that a YouTube video was actually of the REAL Batmobile, or just some souped-up Jaguar with bat-fins on the back.)

[teamrodent]

I feel sorry for the sad sack who accidentally scratches the paint.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Jim Dennings is up late working. Suddenly, a dark shape blackens the window. He looks up and gasps.

'B-B-Batman! What are you...? I didn't do anything!'

*Batman looms over him*

'But I didn't! I swear! Really!'

*Batman continues to loom*

'No, really! I'm an honest man! I've never hurt a soul! Those parking tickets have all been paid! I only cheated on my income tax ONCE, and that was years ago! Please... please! I'M AN HONEST MAN, I SWEAR!'

*Batman speaks*

'You owe me fifty dollars.'

'...what?'

'You... scratched... my... CAR.'

*gulps* 'YOUR car?'

'Yes. Fifty dollars worth of damage you did. Pay up.'

*rummages in wallet* 'OK, all right, just a sec... Uh, here you go... That was YOUR car?'

'Yes.'

'The long, black one with the customized fins and the jets on the back.'

'Yes.'

'Uh, just for the record, you had it parked so it took up one-and-a-half parking spaces, and it was on a dark night under a broken lamppost, so you can't really blame me for...'

*Batman looms*

'...I'll be more careful in the future.'

'You do that.' *turns to leave*

'Uh, nice car.'

'Thanks.' *swoops away*

'The one time I DON'T get a parking ticket, and Batman shows up. I am JINXED.'