Marc Guggenheim asks "Why *would* Batman join the Justice League"

[starwolf_oakley]

In a Newsarama interview, Marc Guggenheim says an upcoming BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL story arc will cover why Batman became a superhero, or at least took on the "trappings" of a superhero, including joining the Justice League.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marc-guggenhiem-batman-confidential-100901.html



Guggenheim: I had always been intrigued by the notion of why a character like Batman joins the Justice League.

I'm of the opinion that, if you didn't have Batman being such a big commercial success, he wouldn't be a member of the Justice League. He's on that team because of marketing. But his nature is to be a loner. He's not the type to join a team.

So I get a lot of ideas from having a question like that and trying to answer it. So I tried to come up with a story that would help me explain to myself why Batman would join a team of superheroes.

Either Julius Schwartz or Gardner Fox thought "We shouldn't have Superman and Batman in the Justice League *too* often because we don't want to overexpose them." I can't remember specifically who thought that. It's almost a charmingly naive idea, thinking "Two series for each character should be enough."

Hopefully, Guggenheim will have a better reason for Batman to join the JLA than "to spy on them." Brad Meltzer's JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #0 had Batman uncertain about the whole idea, but wanted to join just to prove to Superman he wasn't afraid of doing it.

True, Batman surrounded himself with like-minded individuals, but it was not the same as joining an established team. Plus there's his tendency to use people like tools in his war on crime, or just make sure they keep out of trouble.

From the criminally underrated WORLD'S FINEST 10-part miniseries:

http://pics.livejournal.com/starwolf_oakley/pic/003b6phb/s640x480




From the JLA YEAR ONE series:

Comments

[retro_nouveau]

Meh. Of course he would join. He might be a paranoid control freak, but he would respect anyone who was active in trying to make the world a better place. He would recognize the benefits of cooperation, maximizing complementary strengths and compensating for individual weaknesses. He would want to be involved so that he would at the very least be aware of what's going on without having to resort to spying on and potentially antagonizing them. He would be loathe to have to depend on anyone else, but he would definitely engage where it advances prospects for his mission.

[starwolf_oakley]

He might be a paranoid control freak, but he would respect anyone who was active in trying to make the world a better place.

Indeed. Which is why the "Batman is an asshole to other superheroes" aspect of his character really bugs me.