Posted by Chris on Sep 8, 2011 in
Culture 
My first recollection of Batman is reruns of the Adam West camp on cable. When I was about 9 years old, my mom left me in a library, where I was totally overwhelmed whe I happened upon Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Later that year, I followed closely as Doomsday fought Superman to the death, and Bane broke the Batman.
I waited in line to have my copies of the Reign of the Supermen signed. I was the same age as Tim Drake when he became Robin. I watched the kid with the bowl cut and sunglasses grow into Connor Kent. Over the years, there have been universe wide Infinite Crises, Justice League Identity Crises, and a new Krypton. In Gotham alone, there has been a contagion, an earthquake, a No Man’s Land, massive War Games, a dead Robin coming back with a vengeance, a new Batman, two new Batgirls, a son of Batman, and a worldwide army of Batmen.
It’s been a good ride.
DC has decided to completely reboot their universe, starting with 52 new number one issues.
Superman is new to Metropolis, wears jeans, can get hurt, and is a bit of a political radical. Bruce Wayne is again Batman, and Joker ismore brutal than ever. Swamp Thing is back and occassionally hangs out with Superman. The Justice League is just getting to know each other.
Then there’s some you wouldn’t expect, like the epic Stormwatch, which gives Martian Manhunter a clandestine team of Doctor Who-like universe-savers. Animal Man looks really intense. There’s Batwing, a Batman devotee protecting Africa. And there’s a lot more.
It’s hard to say goodbye to 50 years of continuity and the characters that I grew up with. My biggest disappointment is not knowing how so many stories would end. Superman has disavowed America, Tim Drake
was burnt out on being Robin, and Batman had a psychotic son to deal with. We’ll never see where those stories would end. But that was also part of the problem. Writers had to
deal with a shared fiction universe that was collaspsing under its own weight.
But you can tell that there is a new energy. The writers seem excited, and the artwork seems fresh. It’s an opportunity for DC to tell really great stories, for kids and adults. It almost makes me feel 9 years old again.
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Tags: Animal Man, Batman, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, comic books, DC, doctor who, Frank Miller, Martian Manhunter, Robin, Stormwatch, Superman, Tim Drake
Posted by Chris on Jan 25, 2011 in
Culture,
Life 
On the outset, there doesn’t seem to be much to the Green Hornet. The TV series would probably be forgotten, except that it was the first appearance of Bruce Lee in the US. Seth Rogen makes sure the newest movie is fun, but it’s also forgetable.
Conceptually, it’s an unapologetic rip off of Batman. However, there are two points of difference that set Green Hornet apart form Batman and other superheroes, which serve as leadership lessons.
1. The Green Hornet is a Jerk. It kind of takes a bit of a meglomaniac to become a masked vigilante. Rogen’s Green Hornet is unapologetically self obsessed. I’m not suggesting that good leaders should be self absorbed, but they must know who they are and stick to it.
2. The Green Hornet doesn’t mind being mistaken for a bad guy. A lot of time is wasted trying to justify one’s past actions. The Green Hornet knows from the beginning that he and Cato will be taken for bad guys. He uses that to his advantage. If point number one is true, point number two is unavoidable. Do what you have to do as a leader. Expect to be demonized in the process.
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Tags: Batman, Comics, Green Hornet
Posted by Chris on Jan 21, 2011 in
Culture My first introduction to Batman was reruns of the 1960s Adam West cheeztravangza. Then in fourth grade I wandered into a All C’s Comics to find this:
A dinosaur, a jacked-up lucha libre, and the Batman in a very vulnerable position. It was unthinkable. I was hooked, and I’ve been reading Batman ever since.
But when I when news hit Wednesday that Ann Hathaway would be playing Selina Kyle and Tom Hardy would be playing Bane, I was more than a little scared. The only thing worse than the last time Bane appeared in a movie was when Halle Berry put on the leather. I really don’t understand the whole Ann Hathaway thing, and I am worried about how the over the top villain created by Kelley Jone’s demonic cover work would translate to film.
But if anyone can do it, it’s Christopher Nolan. He finally breathed life into the Ra’s al Ghul, made the Scarecrow truly frightening, and made us all forget any Joker besides Heath Ledger. So how can Nolan do it again, without repeating the travesty of the last superhero trilogy to end?
1. Deal with addiction. The story of Bane is a story of obsession and the addictive power of the super steroid, venom. Selina Kyle herself is addicted to thrill of crime. Nolan hasn’t shied away from dark issues, and a picture of the destructive power of addiction would fit right in.
2. Break the Bat. Knightfall told the story of the breaking of the Bat. Bane created absolute chaos in Batman’s life, and then left him alive, but broken. If Nolan brings in this element, he’ll show something no superhero movie has done: a mortal, vulnerable hero.
3. Leave him broken. Nolan has promised us that this will be the end of his Batman story. What a better way to end this definitive view of Batman than by leaving Bruce Wayne in his wheelchair. That doesn’t mean that Bane has to win. But it forces the audience to ask “is it worth it?” Imagine if the story of the world’s greatest vigilante ended with a denunciation of the myth of redemptive violence.
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What Kind of (Bat)Man Will You Be?
Why Batman is Better than Superman
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Tags: Bane, Batman, Catwoman, Christopher Nolan, movies, Tom Hardy
Posted by Chris on Aug 23, 2010 in
Life 
The world’s greatest comic book character, Batman, is going through a bit of a reboot. DC claims that the story of Bruce Wayne has reached an end, and now the cape and cowl fall to the original Robin, Dick Grayson.
The new Adventures of Batman and Robin has the punchy-ness of a 1970s cartoon, with all the grit of a post-911 world. Much of the story revolves around the development of Grayson, trying to figure out who he is, and what it means to be Batman. This is the same “Holy Gee, Batman!” Robin, the former circus performer whose big mouth could sometimes be as much trouble as The Penguin.
He struggles to get used to wearing a cape, and can’t make the groveled Batman voice. He’s also charged with taking care of the new Robin, Damian Wayne, the product of a tryst between Bruce Wayne of Talia al’Ghul. Damian was raised without a father by the league of assassins, knows no respect and no mercy.
The story ends with Grayson deciding it’s okay for him to smile under the mask. The only way he can do his job, is to find his own way of being a man.
It’s a story simple enough for a comic book, but so true that everyone must face it. We all grow up with expectations of our parents, heroes we wish to emulate, and social rules we learned as children. While these are all helpful, they can also trap us. We become a hallow imitation of others, or are driven by goals that do not fit our souls. At some point, we all have to decide what kind of Batman we’re going to be.
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Tags: Batman, Bruce Wayne, comic books, Damian Wayne, DC, DC Comics, Dick Grayson, Robin
Posted by Chris on Jan 17, 2008 in
Culture Superman, has always been the flagship superhero for America. The alien baby rescued from Krypton, was raised with small town values and gifted with unimaginable powers. He uses his powers to rescue cats from trees, catch crashing airplanes and stop alien invasions. He is motivated only by a deep conviction that he should do good for his fellow man. He has a deep humility that is always willing to use his abilities for the good of others. And despite his extraterrestrial heritage, Superman seems more human, more American, than we are.
Based on his background alone, one might think that Bruce Wayne would seem to be more of an alien than Clark Kent. He’s a trust fund baby who has never had to work a day in his life. He spends his time running in circles that the average person only encounters glimpses of in the paparazzi magazines at grocery stores. But underneath the thousand dollar suits and million dollar sports cars is a truly human story.
When Bruce was a little boy, his parents took him to see a Zorro movie. As they were leaving, walking down a dark alleyway, a stick-up man lost his cool, and shot Bruce’s mom and dad in front of his eyes. Like so many, Bruce’s story starts in tragedy. But it doesn’t end there. He leverages his wealth to allow him to travel the world training in martial arts. He uses his business connections to create electronic tools that give him the research powers of a one man CSI team and the resources of a top secret military platoon. Motivated by a deeply personal desire to see no one else suffer the way he has, Bruce Wayne transforms himself in to the Batman, the world’s greatest detective, the Dark Knight.
Superman is larger than life. It’s not just his abilities; it’s his completely unmotivated selflessness. What makes Superman wake up in the morning? Why does he even care about humans? And it’s not even a fair fight. Unless you’re in the secret club that knows about the dangers of Kryptonite and lead, you don’t stand a chance.
Batman’s story is a human story, and it’s not just because he was born on planet earth. Like so many of us, Batman’s life has been shaped by tragedy. Like so few of us, Batman has overcome his background. Batman stands among the few and the proud, like the members of A.A. or holocaust survivors. The tragedy in their lives has given them a keen awareness of the pain their world, and a deep desire to make a difference.
Superman is the person we know we can never be, and it’s not just because he can fly. Batman is the kind of person we want to be. We want to overcome, to truly put the past. We all want to look at what has happened to us and say “I am better off because of it.” Superman wins fights because no one can compete with him. Batman wins fights because he has spent his own fortune creating an arsenal, because he tirelessly trains his body, because he can think his way out of any situation.
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Tags: Batman
My first recollection of Batman is reruns of the Adam West camp on cable. When I was about 9 years old, my mom left me in a library, where I was totally overwhelmed whe I happened upon Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Later that year, I followed closely as Doomsday fought Superman to the death, and Bane broke the Batman.
