The Fate of Batman

[Tom Foolery]

After 35 years, DC finally released the alternate version of Batman #428 where Jason Todd’s fate was decided by voters.
The book is 98% essentially the same as the original comic. The first half of the book is exactly the same, right up to the page Batman finds Robin’s body and checks for a pulse.
The iconic page of Batman holding Robin’s body is replaced with a smiling Batman yelling “He’s alive!”
Then the book returns to the previous original art, but a few of the captions have been altered where Bruce is referring to Shiela Haywood’s body instead of Jason’s. It is Shiela’s body at the funeral.
Then there is a page where Jason is in the hospital and Dick offers to help Bruce track down Joker, but he refuses. I’m not sure if this is just an extra page or it replaced a different page. I’d have to go check.
The rest of the issue is the same as the original where Joker taunts Batman with a message, and then Superman shows up to inform him that Iran has a new UN Ambassador.
It’s still cool to have it finally published after all these years.

[Tom Foolery]

In his efforts to combat the Failsafe/Zur en arhh A.I. Batman that’s running around Gotham, Bruce debuts a new batman costume in this week’s issue. And it’s fucking ugly and stupid. Fucking two-tone cowl? What are those tongue depressors/ballpoint pens hanging down in front of his crotch? He’s gonna get jabbed in the sternum and/or his junk if he does any basic athletic maneuver.

https://comicbook.com/dc/news/dc-batman ... -spoilers/

[Diabolical]

Found my copies of Detective Comics 604-607.

[vynsane]

In his efforts to combat the Failsafe/Zur en arhh A.I. Batman that’s running around Gotham, Bruce debuts a new batman costume in this week’s issue. And it’s fucking ugly and stupid. Fucking two-tone cowl? What are those tongue depressors/ballpoint pens hanging down in front of his crotch? He’s gonna get jabbed in the sternum and/or his junk if he does any basic athletic maneuver.

https://comicbook.com/dc/news/dc-batman ... -spoilers/

still better than Azrael Batman...

[anarky]

still better than Azrael Batman...

At least that was intentional, as it was a lunatic cosplaying Batman. This is Batman dressing like he was dropped on his head repeatedly as an infant.

[Tom Foolery]

In a back issue of Legends of the Dark Knight I’m reading, Batman casually mentioned to J’onn J’onzz that his birthday is Oct 7th.

I looked it up to see if that’s actually Bruce’s canonical birthday, and there are several dates mentioned. April 7th and Feb 19th being the two most cited dates.
So Batman could’ve been lying to a telepath about his birthday, or the Editors at DC are fucking incompetent poseurs who don’t care about doing their jobs and only got hired based on their fellatio skills.

You decide.

[Tom Foolery]

Batman is getting a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

While he’s the first superhero to get one, he’s not the first fictional character to receive one. Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, the Simpsons, the Muppets, Snoopy, and Shrek have also got stars.

First off, Batman got one before Superman?
And second, Shrek got one before either of them?? What kind of bullshit is that?

[vynsane]

And second, Shrek got one before either of them?? What kind of bullshit is that?

not sure how they are decided upon, but i'd wager some are offered based on merit, and some are available as a thank you for a generous donation.

[anarky]

Isn't the Walk of Fame really just BS and based entirely on who pays a hefty fee? I'm going to guess Dreamworks bought Shrek a star to promote one of the shittier Shrek movies.

[Tom Foolery]

Absolute Batman 1 dropped today.

Bruce’s dad died during a trip to the zoo, but his mom is still alive. They weren’t bIllionaires this time around, just civil servants living in crime alley. Bruce goes to college on scholarship and learns all his skills in school, not traipsing around the world. Then he gets various jobs around Gotham, at the water dept; as an electrician, interning at city hall, etc. Now he’s a civil engineer, helping build skyscrapers and whatnot. Basically he’s familiar with the workings of his city. He bulks up at Waylon’s gym. Like ridiculously bulking up. His head looks like a grape on a bodybuilders body, but yet he’s fast and lithe and agile like a gymnast!! His Bat-symbol comes off and turns into a battle-axe.
Jim Gordon is the Mayor, Bullock is the police commissioner. Alfred Pennyworth is some mysterious intel operative sent to keep an eye on Gotham and the criminal gang of zoo-based masks that are killing indiscriminately. He was pulled off his last assignment in Singapore tracking a billionaire who’s so rich he doesn’t ever have to use his real name, and who never ever laughs at anything. That’s why they call him Joker…

I had several hard eye-rolls at several absurd plot points, but it’s basically just basic Batman tropes tossed in a blender and poured back out. But rather than being an interesting storyline on its own merits, its just gonna be a steady stream of “here’s what we changed!” moments. Is that sustainable? Waylon name dropped Oz, Selina, and others as friends of Bruce that they have a regular poker game with. It’s gonna be that kinda shit. Just like every other Elseworlds style alt universe.

[Tom Foolery]

Zdarsky’s underwhelming run on Batman is finally coming to an end.
And he’s being replaced with Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee returning to do a sequel to Hush! Hush 2!!!

[anarky]

Hush 2: Twice the foreshadowing for some huge development that never happens!

[Tom Foolery]

Hush 2: Twice the foreshadowing for some huge development that never happens!

Haha. I was just thinking about how they turned the obvious red herring into the actual twist in the last one.
Perhaps that’s why they waited 22 years to do a sequel. So that people would have time to forget.

[anarky]

I remember talking with the comic shop proprietor about this series, how it was so well done how the story subtly implies this is all in Bruce's head as he's on the operating table, how every single character is Batman's mental caricature of them, and the villain is going to be Jason because his greatest foe is his own failure, and Tommy is clearly an imaginary friend from Bruce's childhood brought back to the forefront to "guide" him through this sort of vision quest....

Yeah, the story we thought was being set up was so much better than the actual "no, this really is a jealous childhood friend and Matt Hagen somehow returned from the fucking dead with no explanation because who the fuck is editing this shit?"