Dark Days - The Forge #1

[history79]

The Batcave:

Comments

[locuatico]

what?

[goattoucher]

....What?

[mastermahan]

Halo's costume just screams "black-ops", doesn't it?

[beyondthefringe]

It's amazing that they could come up with something like that that makes me long for her original, understated, outfit.

[icon_uk]

I loved the original Halo costume, none of her other's have been nearly as cool

[shadowpsykie]

is this about Nth metal? is the idea that all these other metals (electrum, Dionesum. Amazonian Steel, the helm and trident) are all connected to Nth Metal?

also... what is he doing with the helm, the trident, and the Bracers?

looks like.... we need a Question, for this answer...

[starwolf_oakley]

also... what is he doing with the helm, the trident, and the Bracers?

Those are holographic recreations of Dr. Fate's helmet, Arthur's trident, Diana's bracelets, etc. Batman probably asked each of them for a few hours to study each artifact.

"I'd like to study that for a bit, so I can put you down like a rabid dog if necessary."
"Nabu finds this amusing, Bruce Wayne. Here you go."
(No, I don't know if Nabu *talks* to Dr. Fate or *is* Dr. Fate. Shut up.)

[scorntx]

It depends on the continuity.
Sometimes Nabu just advises Dr. Fate, sometimes Dr. Fate's just wearing his helmet, and sometimes Nabu completely hijacks the wielder's body and never gives it back.

Oh, and sometimes using the helmet at all drives whoever's holding it insane, and Nabu does nothing to help with this.

[thanekos]

And then someone punched the Joker in the head and he got a head injury that left him unconscious for all of this and no one had to suffer the kind of frustration headaches that seem to come whenever the Joker ends up in anything shared-universe.

(Yeah, Snyder's said the Joker's going to be Batman's " Greek chorus " in this, and he does write him entertainingly. But still, I can dream of my best possible outcome.)

[captainbellman]

Still waiting for a resolution on that "Three Jokers" thing...

[scorntx]

Well, apparently "Endgame" Joker's been sitting in Batman's basement writing numbers on the walls.
...
... can't help but feel this revelation is a little underwhelming.

(Is the other other Joker sitting around in Commissioner Gordon's attic knitting?)

[mastermahan]

Hell, forget resolution. How much continuation has there been of that story? It only started a year ago.

[thanekos]

Yeah, but just imagine another round of the Bat-books being slaved to a big Joker storyline shortly out of the relaunch gates.

That doesn't bear thinking about at all.

[icon_uk]

You mean like "The War of Jokes and Riddles"?

[thanekos]

That's at least coming after a few stories've been fully told.

(Plus, it looks like it's going to be treating the Riddler with at least as much menace as the Joker..)

[icon_uk]

Oh great, another Batvillain becomes nothing more than a walking death machine with a gimmick.... There HAS to be more to a villain than bodycount for me to give a dman.

[laughing_tree]

It's Tom King writing, so I'd say it's a given that there will be.

[glprime]

Right? Jesus...

[icon_uk]

Is there any way it could be better than THIS take on things? :)

[tigerkaya]

I'm a amazed Deadshot or any super mercenary in DC hasn't killed Joker given the numerous grudges he's racked. Hell why hasn't Jason killed him yet he talks big about how weak Batman is by showing compassion yet I see no holes in Joker.

[goattoucher]

He's the only character in comics with as much plot armor as Batman himself. It undermines the characters and the stories they are involved in, IMO.

[tigerkaya]

Honestly, I think Batman and his mythos work best in a self contained universe.
At least self contained Batman is back to being written as a street level hero without having massive contingency pulled out of his ass every 5 seconds.

And Joker can have the excuse to being a murderer without questions raised as to why he hasn't been Magoged to death by other supers.

[goattoucher]

I agree entirely. In the golden Age, the different superhero stories -were- self contained. Ironically, it was DC that first introduced the idea of a shared universe for their company's characters.

The problem DC has (and I can sympathize, to a certain extent) is that Batman is the single most valuable intellectual property in comics by a wide margin. They more they rub Batman on everything, the more money they make. Sure, they can tell more realistic Justice League stories without having to make up reasons why a street level hero is -crucial- to the resolution of global/interplanetary/universal scale conflicts, but those stories would not sell as many comics. DC is hardly alone in sacrificing artistic merit for marketing concerns. The company exists to make money, not art.

But, as a consumer, I am not interested in those stories. It would seem that those who share my opinion are in the minority, however.

[tigerkaya]

And that's why I can never be a fan of DC, what's the use in reading other DC heroes comics when you have Batman always being reffered to as the pinnacle of everything and the "the man for every scenario to defeat his friends!"

It's as if no matter what other heroes achieve they always seem overshadowed by Batman's achievements. It's a problem that several writers have abused for to long.

[goattoucher]

What aggravates me is how these heroes are highly effective in their own stories, but when you put them in a story next to Batman, they are bunglers who could not find their asses with both hands, and who -certainly- could not solve problems without their precious powers.

Only Wonder Woman and Superman are immune to this, and this is largely because they constantly defer to his judgement.

Green Lantern is the Ur-example of this: Hal and Kyle (the white guys) are regularly shown as idiots compared to Batman. He never made John look like a fool, though (and Guy has -always- been played as a bit of a moron. That's his established character).

The point is that, in order to tell an effective JL story that includes Batman, you not only have to elevate Batman, you also have to bring the other heroes down a peg or two. I -really- dislike it, particularly because I have an affection for street level characters and the more human stories they tell. Street level Batman is still a bit much, but there is a logic to his world that is consistent. Plucking him out of that to go fight Darkseid and then plopping him back down in Gotham and have us view characters like The Riddler as Hush are genuine threats to him after he has dodged Omega Beams is jarring.

[locuatico]

He keeps The Bat busy. more than any other gotham villain. why would you want to give the world's greatest detective more free time on their hands?

[tigerkaya]

Honestly Joker has stopped being funny after Injustice and every depiction in comics involves him being a chimp with a chain gun. He's outlived his relevance and I'm okay with DC killing off. Unless they can give him more variety of plot other than massacres.

[locuatico]

I agree that they need to retire the character for a while. My question is WHY would the villains want to kill Joker when he is the best at keeping Batman in Gotham?

[tigerkaya]

Not villains super mercenaries. Let's admit chances are Joker probably killed a wealthy family member and that family would pay said mercenary enough money to retire. Deadshot, Deathstroke, Merlyn, Cheshire and any other mercenary would jump at that mountain of money to kill Joker.