Batman #117

[cyberghostface]

 

Comments

[thanekos]

Four pages for this kind of denouement is exactly what work-for-hire projects deserve.

[deh_tommy]

What’s that supposed to mean? You’re only allowed to post four pages of a comic that’s less than a month old.

[alliterator]

What a weirdly cynical thing to say. Not just because four pages is the limit for any new issue, but also because most of the things posted here are work for hire. Being work for hire doesn't mean it deserve any less than if it was creator owned.

[tinygaylaura]

I really loved the above scene so I don't understand the criticism here

[thanekos]

Of course not - and it's not at all a bad sequence, in between Tynion's writing and Jiminez's art.

But " Look at these individual acts of good - Gotham City as a collective might not need your drastic action after all! " is exceptionally trite - and that triteness is worth commenting on, considering that this is one of the last things Tynion did at DC before pivoting to creator-owned work.

This is the Batman run that also had " Joker War ", a Batman vs. Joker story where the Joker manipulates everyone to screw with Batman - hardly an original concept. Looking at this run through a cynical lens isn't undue - there really doesn't seem to be anything to it beyond " whip up a few new intellectual properties " and " do the kind of stories with Batman that fandom consensus would agree is A Batman Story, because we need to counterbalance the last run ".

Again, the sequence here is mechanically competent - but the mechanical part of it is obvious enough to comment on.

[lego_joker]

I say this in equal parts agreement and scorn - but "original concept" is a damn rare thing in any era of Batman (which is perhaps fitting, since the franchise literally began as a Shadow ripoff). Even the deliberately ~ExPeRiMeNtAl~ stuff like King's run more often than not cycles back to a handful of well-worn imagery and plot-lines.

[janegray]

I wish I could still believe that leaking somebody's atrocities could in any way damage their career. Especially if they are right-wing politicians or cops.

At this point it feels like believing in Santa.

[tinygaylaura]

That's why I'm less than surprised that that disgusting piece of garbage Nakano is still mayor

It's really starting to look like Gotham would have been better off if they'd just elected Cobblepott back in Batman Returns. He'd still have been the least corrupt mayor the city had ever had

[janegray]

This brings back one of my favourite scenes ever. Paraphrasing because I'm far away from home and can't check the actual quote, but it was something like this.

Starscream: "I've lied, cheated, stolen, murdered... And I'm STILL the best ruler Cybertron has ever had! I did not enslave an entire caste of people, I did not plunge our race into a neverending war, I did not destroy our homeworld. History will remember me, at worst, as a step in the right direction."

[blues32]

Has Starscream ever been ruler long enough to achieve any of these things?

[janegray]

He was ruler for a year or so, and in the middle of an extremely chaotic period full of extremely important events (the Decepticon-Autobot peace, the return of the Neutrals, the discovery of the colonies, the formation of the new government and its rules, the annexation of Earth, the return of Sentinel Prime and his army, Unicron, and more).

Given that background, it was plenty enough time to really fuck up. But Starscream was actually quite decent. And in the end the only reason he lasted such a short time is that he willingly conceded for the greater good.

[tinygaylaura]

I mean

For a relative value of decent

"Never did a genocide and hasn't owned slaves" is a pretty low bar

[blues32]

Decepticons are just NOT a pleasant faction. I mean, "deception" is in their name.

[tinygaylaura]

Tho some of the Decepticons in IDW 1.0 were decent people on the whole

Owing to the fact that the Decepticons in that continuity at least started out with noble goals and good intentions as a rebellion against the fascism and oppression of the Senate so plenty of good 'bots joined up

Unfortunately Megatron kind of went more than a little mad with power and basically decided to replace the tyranny of the Senate with the Tyranny of Megatron and the Decepticons just went down a darker and darker path over the next four million years of horror

[tinygaylaura]

Kind of says a lot about Cybertron in that continuity that the second best leader it ever had was STARSCREAM

[akodo_rokku]

Starscream was a terrible soldier, but an EXCELLENT politician.

[tinygaylaura]

He's self interested, egotistical, manipulative and deceitful

If he was human he'd be president by now!

[cainofdreaming]

Yeah, he's so disappointed in himself for trusting Saint... while still letting Hugo Strange run rampant.

[tinygaylaura]

He made sure to give Hugo Strange a political pardon when he was afraid he might turn states evidence on him

[blues32]

Eh. I feel that, when said atrocities lead to LITERAL fear sweeping through a city, people are far less inclined to forgive, no matter how much money that person has. Terror...REAL terror...is an experience most would pay good money to never feel again and they wouldn't be pleased with the one who caused that terror to begin with. In a way, Scarecrow was right. Surviving this fear will, at least for a brief time, change people.

[iamrman]

I only read this issue for the Harley and Ivy reconciliation.

[tinygaylaura]

That was my favorite part of the issue too

Seeing Ivy back to her old self and seeing her and Harley getting back together as a couple?

*Chefs Kiss*

And we're going to be getting to see lots of cuteness with the two of them as a couple over in Harley's ongoing. It makes me so happy that after years of certain...elements...at DC standing in the way of Ivy and Harley being together, now that those individuals who will remain nameless are thankfully no longer in any position of creative control at DC we're now getting the Harley/Ivy content in canon that we deserve to have :)

[iamrman]

I wanted to like Harley’s ongoing, but I just couldn't get in to the art style.

[tinygaylaura]

I enjoy it myself, I'm sorry that the art style isn't to your liking

[iamrman]

I do love the comic book based on the Harley Quinn animated series though. Harley and Ivy going on a road trip and being cute and gay. Yes. Especially the most recent issue where they kicked Hush's ass.

[tinygaylaura]

Cute gay ladies in love beating up Hush is excellent content :)

[stubbleupdate]

Do you mean Rossmo or Max Sarin on the TV show comic?

[iamrman]

Rossmo. I love the art style in the tv show comic.

[akodo_rokku]

Okay but I love love LOVE when Batman just speaks openly and earnestly with someone in pain. It's good when they remember that Batman is ultimately a hopeful venture.

[tinygaylaura]

Agreed

My favorite thing about Tynion's writing of Batman is that he writes him like a person. Not as some infallible Bat-god whose better than everyone else because he's The Goddamn Batman or like some barely human lunatic full of rage who acts like an asshole to everyone all the time and barely seems to comprehend any emotion besides DAAAAARRRKKNNEEEESSSSS NOOOOO PAAARREEENNNTTTTSSSS

[icon_uk]

Bingo!

[wizardru]

I still think the best description of Batman is someone who got so hurt when his parents were murdered in front of him that he declared war on CRIME itself and vowed to work that no one would ever experience his pain again, if he could work his will upon the world. A hopeful venture, indeed. Batman is about fighting crime and protecting the innocent. He is someone saddled with pain who wants to do whatever he can to helps other with pain. It's why his rogue's gallery is filled to the brim with people who aren't necessarily evil, just HURT. It's why he works constantly to help people like Two-Face, Clayface and other villians whose name doesn't contain the word 'face'. He wants to take away their pain.

I like it when writers remember that.

[rainspirit]

This makes me happy. Miracle Molly is a great foil, and it's nice to see that the way to defeat her plans is some good ol' Bat-compassion and insight. It'll be cool to see what she gets up to.