Hypothetical questions for anyone who likes Batman

[stevelabny]

The major difference with Knightfall and Death of Superman is that it was blatantly obvious that they were both gimmicks. Both times, the characters were being replaced by brand new characters. (yes, I know Azrael had a mini first, 4 issues don't count)

Same thing when Kyle replaced Hal as Green Lantern, Kyle was invented purely to take Hal's place and that's why so many people wouldn't give him a chance.

But Wally? Wally stuck because he has been around for as long as everyone else. He was a real character who had proven himself worthy of the Flash suit. He replaced Barry almost 20 years ago. Now HE is the Flash on the JLU cartoon.

I don't want gimmick replacements to boost sales for four issues.

I want natural story evolution, where eventually characters die, retire, turn evil, or stay on as a mentor to the next generation.

Natural story evolution raises the drama and makes an audience get attached to the characters. It leads to better stories. And only with better stories and making the fans CARE again can the comic industry ever raise sales.

 

[JoeBlank]

I'm one of those who used to buy comics but does not anymore. I'm not sure where they lost me. Admittedly, price is a big part of it, and so is gaming. With 3.x, I became more active in gaming and it hit me that I could buy 8 or 10 comics that I would read in a couple of hours and then put in a box or, for the same price, I could buy a new RPG book or two that I might use in a game, and get hours of enjoyment from.

I told myself I would switch from monthly comics to trade paperbacks, but I only pick up one or two of those a year now.

Having heard very little about what is going on at DC, where can I read more? And what comics would I need to pick up for a couple of months to maybe get on board and give this event a chance?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Same thing when Kyle replaced Hal as Green Lantern, Kyle was invented purely to take Hal's place and that's why so many people wouldn't give him a chance.

Of course, it worked just fine for Barry Allen and Hal Jordan.

People didn't give Kyle a chance because one moment Hal was fine (in a boring dyfunctional ubermensch sort of way) and the next moment he was nutso. Told better, and Kyle with a better outfit (i.e. no crabface), it would have been fine.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Having heard very little about what is going on at DC, where can I read more? And what comics would I need to pick up for a couple of months to maybe get on board and give this event a chance?

The news archives at http://www.ComicBookResources.com/ do a good job explaining it all.

 

[WayneLigon]

Actually DC themselves has an excellent resource: Crisis Counseling, where they post the important bits of the arc so you don't have to go nuts buying a bunch of crossovers to understand what's being done. It ties it all together in a nice little package.

 

[JoeBlank]

The news archives at http://www.ComicBookResources.com/ do a good job explaining it all.

I tried there, but did not find a decent summary all in one place.

This site did a good job: http://comics.ign.com/articles/598/598330p1.html

Maybe I'll pick up the first issue of Infinite Crisis and see what all the hubbub is about.

 

[Particle_Man]

I do not believe that Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, or the Joker will die permanently. I also doubt that anyone else will replace Bruce Wayne as Batman. They are simply too iconic as they are.

 

[frankthedm]

Not a comic book reader. B:tAS fan in my youth.

1. Batman kills the Joker. Fed up with the thousands of deaths, and the revolving door on Arkham, Batman finally crosses the line he swore he never would. Where does he go from here? And how does the rest of the DC Universe deal with him now?

Bats would either; start killing lots of villians, commit himself to Arkham or possibly Ra's might try to win over bats and succeed this time.

2. Bruce Wayne dies. On-panel. And DC insists they are going to stick with it. It is the end of a major crossover, and has major repercussions in the DCU. Dick Grayson takes up the mantle and becomes the new Batman. Batman's murderer will have to be dealt with by Dick or Tim or the hero community.

DC is killing themselves if they do this. I cannot see it happening.

3. Bruce chooses to retire. He still passes the mantle on to Dick, but in this situation Bruce is alive and always in the background of every Batman story.

Batman is mentally ill and it would take brain damage on a lobotomy scale for him to quit permenantly. I could see bats loosing a part of his memory, becoming a private detective / gumshoe and eventually "re-discovering his identity" over a story arc though.

 

[mojo1701]

Batman is mentally ill and it would take brain damage on a lobotomy scale for him to quit permenantly. I could see bats loosing a part of his memory, becoming a private detective / gumshoe and eventually "re-discovering his identity" over a story arc though.

I like it. How much to the rights for that story?






j/k. I don't have any money to do so.

 

[ddvmor]

B:tAS fan in my youth.

In your youth? Lordy, it wasn't that long ago was it???

The Bat titles could do with a shake up, in my opinion. I've read 'em for years, and they're getting pretty stale. No Man's Land had the potential to shake it up big time, but a few month's later, everything was back to normal. The Wargames storyline, similarly, had potential but turned out to be a bit... rubbish.

What would happen if Bats and company left Gotham for a year? Would it all go to hell or would it carry on much as before? If that's what they hope to explore with this whole 'One year later' thing, I welcome it. Not sure I'd be happy with killing off Bruce, but he could do with a nice major event that readust his attiude a bit. He's like someone's dad at the moment!