For the monthly meme

[bewareofgeek]

My favorite Bat-family scene of recent years:

Comments

[dragontail]

*applauds*

I tell you, with how down I'm feeling about modern comics right now (I seem to have descended into "grumpy old fan" malaise), this theme couldn't have come 'round at a better time.

[hybrid2]

Not whole family...

[lieut_kettch]

Hear, hear. Where's Bruce's only daughter?

[janegray]

His daughter and the second son.

[espanolbot]

Busy running her own franchise that encompasses numerous countries and territories, and being a homocidal nutcase who I believe was in jail at this point, respectively.

[janegray]

The point isn't that Cassandra and Jason weren't there: as you said, they had very good reason not to be. The point is that Bruce explicitly said "the whole family."

If for whatever perfectly justifiable reason your sibling can't make it to a family reunion, that's not a problem, but would you really see nothing wrong with your father saying "it's good to see the whole family here!"

[autohobbs]

Not whole family indeed. None of the girls are there, or Jason. :(

[philippos42]

The whole non-killed-off-and-resurrected-due-to-changing-editorial-policy family?

Wait, Bruce and Alfred are there. Huh.

Well, it's this again. (Russian nesting dolls!)

[thosefew]

So, when Damian's earphone is plucked out, what song faintly emanates from it?

[zapbiffpow]

Yeah, Bat-Family preferred music has always been something for me to think about. I suppose Bruce fancies the old, classical stuff, while Dick, Steph, and Jason go for more modern fare.

Babs, Tim, Cass, and Damian, though, I can't place. Lord knows what Alfred likes.

[silverhammerman]

For Alfred, I feel like he'd know enough about and appreciate the classic enough to chide the young'uns for their musical choices, but then again you just know that every once in a while he'd make a seemingly out of nowhere reference or be the one to tell the rest of the gang about the latest cool new underground sensation.
Alfred can't be pinned down, he's an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a wry sense of humor.

[magusfool]

IIRC, there was an issue of either Teen Titans or Robin which stated that Tim Drake worships the Clash and Joe Strummer. So, he's probably into classic punk and New Wave, maybe some of that early 80's ska revival as well. That all seems about right.

I'd actually bet on Steph being into classic rock and progressive stuff. My guess is that Cass listens to new-agey/ambient/psychedelic/trancey type stuff. Like Shpongle or some such thing. I'll bet Dick is not actually all that much of a hardcore music fan, but has an ipod full of tracks from various eras, with a smattering of some of what's currently trendy. And Babs likes all of the sfuff you'd hear at the Lillith Fair... you know, Ani DiFranco, or Fiona Apple, or Cheryl Crow... that kind of stuff. And Damien I can hear listening to that angsty washed-out over-produced kind of metal like Trapt, Thrice or Linkin Park that 10-14 year old angry kids listen to.

And I can certainly see Alfred jamming along to some 40's bebop, like Parker or Monk (or any of that heroine-fueled highly improvisational kinds of jazz).

(Edit: Oh, and I'd bet Bruce actually skips over the classical period, preferring the pre-classical baroque (Bach) stuff and the post-classical romantic period (Wagner and Dvorak). Most of the classical stuff is really major keyish. That is not Bruce.

[lieut_kettch]

I remember that Bruce and Tim bonded over being fans of The Clash, while Alfred remarked about how ashamed he is that his country was the source of what he calls "noise."

[icon_uk]

Something loud and heavy, so he doesn't have to hear all the emotional family guff, especially from Drake, at a guess.

[marghammerman]

Everything in Batman's house is so... big... from the walk-in fridge to the wall-sized tv to the overstuffed individual movie seating. I guess that's fine... At any rate, seems like a fun place to hang despite the "rich, guilty dad overcompensating for the fact that he only has the kids one weekend a month" vibe.

[wake_the_dragon]

I'm a bit torn on this.

On one hand, it's a really sweet scene with the five of them all watching the Mark of Zorro, aind I liked Bruce's thoughts on the movie and his parents.

On the other hand, it's not the whole family which makes me a little sad.

[ladydouji]

My headcanon is that Jason and Cass were invited, but both declined for whatever reason, but both are there hiding just out of view and Bruce damn well knows it.

[kurenai_tenka]

Well, Jason was in jail so that'd take a bit of effort that he probably wouldn't want to make. Less of an excuse for Cass not being there. :(

[icon_uk]

In my headcanon Cass is out of town, possibly abroad. Or else, as mentioned above, wants to be there, and is hiding in the shadows because she's shy amongst so many people. (Bruce, Dick and Alfred, who would have made sure to leave some milk-shake in the blender so she could help herself surreptitiously, would know she's there of course, but not the others)

Jason is watching, but on the roof, after hacking the video feed from the TV.

Steph and Babs are, and I know this may be sacrelige to say so but it's how I view it, not members of the family in the same way, sowhilst they would have been made welcome would perhaps have felt it not quite right to be there, or else are out with Cass having a girls night out involving a male strip club and tequila slammers.

[ladydouji]

I feel the same way about Steph and Babs. I see Babs as a cool Aunt to the Robins, and Steph as a cousin. I guess the main difference is I don't think either of them have ever actually lived IN the manor and been raised by Bruce and Alfred.

FAP

[captainbellman]

That is all.

Re: FAP

[lieut_kettch]

I imagined a counterpart scene with Babs, Zinda, Helena, Dinah, Steph and Cass. Only this time Babs is spreading jam on toast making SCHLIICK SCHLICK sounds.

[bradygirl_12]

Perfect choice! I love Movie Night stuff. :)

Seeing domestic moments always makes the characters more real. :)

[indy2012]

This is very sweet, but I just can't stand it being a boy's club. Babs should have been here.

And I know that she would have been the only one that wasn't adopted or fathered by Bruce, but the idea that "true" family can only be defined on those terms is archaic and excludes so many family structures that consist of fictive kin.

[filthysize]

Here's another way to look at it: Babs has her own family. No matter how close she is to the Waynes, she'll always be a Gordon first, as she should be. The people here, on the other hand, have no one else left (can't really count Talia, can you?).

Also, given her sexual relationship with Dick, it would be a little awkward for her to be considered one of Bruce's kids too.

[indy2012]

Don't know. Still think it's a narrow way to look at family. She doesn't have to be considered one of Bruce's kids.

[onceaskrull]

I agree. I've always thought of the "Batfamily" as just that, a family. Legal and biological ties aren't a requirement. Besides, family membership isn't (or doesn't have to be) mutually exclusive; people can and do belong to multiple families.

[indy2012]

And I'd always imagined being a member of the Bat-Family bred a similar camaraderie found between firefighters or soldiers -- not relationships that could be defined by adoption papers or biology, but by a shared background involving mutual concern and respect for one another punctuated by pain, loss, sacrifice, and triumphs.

[filthysize]

But that's exactly why it's okay for Babs not to be there. You can have more than one family, like onceaskrull said. Surely these guys also have teammates they share the kind of relationship you're talking about. Dick and the Titans, for instance. You don't see them there, either.

Bruce is watching Mark of Zorro to honor his parents. This moment is not about the Batfamily, it's about the Wayne family, with Bruce being a parental figure. Babs is simply not a part of that.

[onceaskrull]

Yeah, I'll echo others here. I like this scene, but that "the whole family" speech bubble kinda stings.

Their choice of seating bothers me--couldn't they have a couch (not just because I wish there could be cuddling)? They might as well have trooped down to Bruce's private theater a la Bill Murray.

But I love Tim's popcorn face.

[bewareofgeek]

While I understand the reaction to the absence of several characters, there's something about this scene that just gets to me. Maybe that it's one of the few times we've seen Bruce when he's not "The Playboy" OR "The Bat", in YEARS.

Who knows... maybe the next movie night, Cass brought over "ENTER THE DRAGON". :D

[icon_uk]

You might like to add our special tag to your post to make sure it's highlighted! :)

theme: stories that make you go "awwww!"