The Nirvana song was distracting but of the batman movies the 2022 is so far the most fun IMO. The plot is basically about neoliberal corruption with politicians, cops and organized crime all in cahoots; the Batman's inability to do anything about it; and the only tangible objection to it coming from fascist psychos. It's basically "the future without the left" which is depressing but you get fun riddles and good action sequences.
What passes for the left is a doe-eyed electoralist who has no hope of changing anything. If they keep her around next movie the only credible move would be to make her corrupt or get assassinated. If they wanted to be very literal they'd get her recalled by a campaign of real-estate investors and police unions, but they will never mention those.
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If there's a future batman director with any courage they'd pick up Poison Ivy next. The recent trend of batman villains have been to be psychos but to make some points, even if the director didn't mean it. Given that Riddler left Gotham under water in this movie Ivy seems to be the logical choice and is going make good points whether they want her to or not.
The batman (2022) was a good
ripoffof sevenThe Clooney one in question was also fantastically cheesy. It had stuff like the bat-credit card and all the ice puns.
I tried watching the latest one and once that nirvana song started playing I just couldn’t go on
oh man that sounds awesome, actually. i'm pirating it
It's funny because Mr. Freeze is basically doing the same thing as Batman most of the time, trying to avenge the loss of a loved one
It's just that he goes directly after the things that are in his way instead of whaling on street toughs
Mr. Freeze is a Republican and Poison Ivy is an anprim so it's actually right-wing infighting
I would love to see a version of Batman who is just blatantly fucking insane. Like he never sleeps, prays to his parents' graves every night, talks to a bust of his father like Hamlet, etc. Really show what a psychopath who beats the shit out of homeless people would be like.
You could even add a scene where he beats up some asthmatic so badly they end up in a coma and his family pulls the plug, causing Batman to go on a mental breakdown where he contemplates suicide. Also it should be set in like the 40s or 50s.
There's a comic run that's basically that called White Knight. I haven't read it, but from what I remember from hearing about it is that (spoilers in case anyone wants to read it)
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Batman is getting more and more violent and erratic as time goes on, eventually catching the Joker in a car chase that nearly kills multiple bystanders, who gives up and decides to let Batman take him to Arkham. Instead, Batman forces the joker to swallow a bottle of pills that Joker has in full view of the public and on camera, which puts him in the hospital. Joker wakes up apparently cured and not the joker anymore, but aware of what Batman did, so he wins a legal case with the help of lawyer Harley against the Gotham police for not interfering and runs for Gotham city council on the platform of stopping Batman by helping the poor of Gotham, and it's discovered that Bruce Wayne's billionaire buddies are directly profiting from Batman by buying up all the property he destroys for cheap
I don't know much else, how good it is, or how it ends. I just remember hearing about the plot and finding it interesting. I might give it a read if I see it around.
I've heard of this but didn't know what it was about. Sounds really interesting
It has since come out as a paperback of the same name. I couldn't find a digital copy of it online, though.
There's a newer run called Curse of the White Knight, and White Night Presents: Harley Quinn, both also available in paperback.
Awesome, I'll have to check it out. Batman: Imposter is a new series which focuses on Batman's questionable sanity as well.
I would love to see a version of Batman who is just blatantly fucking insane. Like he never sleeps, prays to his parents’ graves every night, talks to a bust of his father like Hamlet, etc. Really show what a psychopath who beats the shit out of homeless people would be like.
this is basically what rorschach is. problem is, rorschach is poor (of course)
There's two Batman analogues in Watchman - Rorschach, who is driven to depravity by desperation and self-delusion, and Owlman, who just sort of fucks around from a position of privilege and squanders his enormous wealth chasing clout and pussy.
True, but I think Batman has a more skewed sense of duty, ala his no kill rule. I also think the fact he studied for like a decade across the world could introduce interesting concepts of mysticism (whether Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, etc.) Also, Batman has countless storylines to adapt, where Rorschach has 1.
I mean Rorschach doesn't have a no kill rule, doesn't have a strong connection to his parents, never traveled across the world learning how to be good at everything, isn't rich, doesn't have a roster of villains, has a different personality, isn't based in a gothic hellhole like Gotham, and doesn't have countless storylines to adapt. The only thing that'd be similar is that they are insane, and most Batman depictions already make him slightly insane (Batman: Imposter is a recent one which delves into his sanity).
I would love to see a version of Batman who is just blatantly fucking insane.
https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Alternative_versions_of_Batman#Alternative_universes_in_modern_continuity
The Kingdom Come limited series depicts a Batman who, ravaged by years of fighting crime, uses an exoskeleton to keep himself together and keeps the peace on the streets of Gotham using remote-controlled robots. He is late middle-aged and wears an eerie grin. It is no longer a secret that he is Bruce Wayne and is referred to as the "Batman" even when he appears in civilian guise. This alternative Batman resides on Earth-22
A kind of Late Stage Batman that crops up in a few other subsequent iterations as well. A man so obsessed with fighting crime that he becomes the de facto tyrant king of Gotham City.
I remember seeing a few panels of that a while ago, but I didn't know it was playing into the "Batman who lost his way idea," though I think most of Kingdom Come focuses on that theme
ya, Bats has always been quite p r o b l e m a t i c especially after the neolib turn of the late 70s into the 80s (and most everyone getting wooshed by some of the better writers of that time)
haven't read Batman comics, but I did watch a video talking about this new comic written by John Ridley (screenplay writer for 12 Years A Slave etc) that seems to be trying to do at least some interesting things with the franchise, it's called "Next Batman"
the video covers all the reactionary fundamentals of Batman in the first minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvcsfw8j4eM
unfortunately I doubt this will take over the franchise to any great degree
unfortunately I doubt this will take over the franchise to any great degree
Sounds based. Batman is Batman though and they won't change the formula for the same reason you'll never see Bond changed from a bourgeoise state actor.
ya, it sounds like some pretty inspired writing from the video's description, but you're right about it not being 'on brand' for Bats as understood by the vast majority of the fans
Oh wow I totally forgot about this guy, used to watch his channel before I became a full blown commie. Cool to see he's got good takes.
Batman is a little better in comics, because they also show him addressing the root cause of crime sometimes. But darker more dramatic bloodshows sell better to our reactionary culture, so that's what gets emphasized. And if he ever fixes Gotham's problems they have nothing to write.
Batman is a little better in comics, because they also show him addressing the root cause of crime sometimes.
So he's just looking at a photo of himself?
I made a comment on reddit once that was something like "How intelligent can Batman really be if he can't figure out billionaires create poverty, and poverty creates crime. He is the problem." I got DM's for days from angry nerds.
It makes sense he thinks "everyone is bought out by the mob. I can't be bought out. Therefore I'll fight the mob." If he did a little material analysis to realize the wealthy are the problem, and started a protracted gothamites war, that would solve everything for good.
