Batman Inc. #7 preview

[sherkahn]

Newsarama has the preview of #7, and it starts off in a place extremely different (but just as dangerous) as Gotham City. Where it's not the shadows and the claustraphobia of towering spires, but the hazy light and the bleak emptiness that rule.

How will the Batman fare here?

*Fair warning, not for the faint of heart.






Last page is a punch in the gut for me, don't know about you guys.

About the hero thing:

Sometimes it's saving the planet, sometimes it's saving the big city, sometimes it's saving the girl.

But sometimes it's the small fights, to curb the human chaos from overtaking good people.
To do what you can for your community.

Man-of-Bats does not have the glamour nor the wealth to show for it, but I give the guy as much respect and brass to do the super-hero-costume thing, because it's small victories that make life better every day, and the losses hurt that much more.

I like how this guy is *part* of the community, one of the people. Not hiding in plain sight, but the opposite. Not only do they talk to Man-of-Bats, but they know him and respect him as a full grown adult walking around in costume (with his son, no less, under his wing). They take the man and what he represents seriously.

Comments

[rordulum]

Why do Native American characters in comic books always dress like this?

[aaron_bourque]

Surely not because it's fun. It has to be because it's racially insensitive.

[star_of_airdrie]

Racially insensitive or a tribute with the head dress?

And with the pants, that would make my chaps insensitive...

[aaron_bourque]

Meh. I've actually met a couple of native Americans who occasionally wear the headdress, even though it's not historically accurate for their own tribe. Because it really is fun.

[sherkahn]

Care to elaborate?

[espanolbot]

Presumably they mean either the feathered headress, or the regular people's clothes. The first one is because the costume was from the Fifties, the second one because they don't have much money or something.

[sherkahn]

b) Regular people's clothes.
I have to agree about the lack of funds, or that their neighbors are so far away they don't care what they wear. Your social status is not going to change in a small community with a neighbor at least a mile away....
I was actually shocked that 1st guy was wearing a sweatshirt. But I see the remote in his hands and note he's playing video games, so he must have money for electricity and air conditioning, and must be chilly in there in an arid and hot climate.

a) the head dress and pants. It's a culture thing and possibly symbolic. While its not the standard leggings and tights on the spandex community, the outfit may have cultural roots, symbolizing tribal characteristics that transcend time (50's, 60's, 20's 1800s.. that kind of thing) as well as role. This person wearing these clothes is supposed to represent something more-than-a-mere-man to this culture. He's not going to wear an executive power suit, a mad scientist frock or spandex.

[rordulum]

I mean, why does almost any Native American character get depicted wearing the sort of feather war bonnet that was, in reality, only worn by a handful of Plains tribes. And even then, it was usually only for ceremonial occasions.

Now if this guy is Sioux (which seems likely, as it's one of the tribes that most people have heard of) or Cheyenne, then he can at least claim it is part of his heritage. But still, wearing it as part of a vigilante getup is less than respectful of that heritage.

Those feathers aren't just a nifty way of decorating a man's head, they're each supposed to mean something, to signify an act of bravery or honour that this man has been recognised for,

And for the many, many tribes that never wore such things, it's meaningless. Why not give him a mohawk hairstyle or bonnet, given that they were by far the most common amongst Native Americans across the continent.

I just find it incredibly lazy by writers and artists, that they seem to think, 'hmm, this guy is Native American, how can we make people recognise that? Oh, I know, a feathery hat! Like the ones from the cowboy movies.'

Anyway, apart from that, it does seem to be a pretty dark story, and might have some interesting things to say about the way many Native Americans live, now. In poverty and squalor.

[sherkahn]

Man-of-Bats IS of Sioux descent. His clothing is right, for his people. Its not over the top, but more practical compared to elaborate clothing from the other Native American nations. The war bonnet he wears is not the formal one for chiefs, but a sacred one representing his honor and courage.

About the feathers: William Eagle is a highly respected man in his community. While not the chief, nor law enforcement or formal doctor (as understood in Western terms), he is a accomplished healer and protector. He's earned the feathers.

[sigmund_droid]

Well said Sherkahn

[arbre_rieur]

What s/he said.

[salinea]

which ones? There are a lot of Native Americans in those pages; most seem to wear stuff like T shirts (including Superman logo-ed T shirts) and jeans and shorts and sweaters.

[shadowpsykie]

li'm not quite sure where you are gettng at...

Do you mean like man of bats? or like the residents of the reservation?

if you mean man of bats, its because he is embracing the sterotype in order to turn it into something better. (really there is a lot more to it than that. but that would take me pages to explain, this was the simplest answer)

if you are talking about the residents, well in the poorer reservations, thats how they dress.