I miss this Batman...

[Caivu]

King has been doing humor but its not quite as "on the nail" as the scene in the OP. Alot of it has been visual or just embedded in the action. Head-butting Bane, for instance.

I didn't read that as funny. King's humor is pretty dry, when it happens.

[CoffeeCup]

I'd save a lot of money every month if Batman was still like that.

[Frontier]

Balanced Batman is the best Batman.

Agreed.

I didn't read that as funny. King's humor is pretty dry, when it happens.

Well, even the darker and grittier versions of Batman tend to have a dry sense of humor .

[Jon-El]

I loved Miller's DARK KNIGHT when it came out but never expected it to redefine the character the way it did. I prefer the Batman that came before. My absolute favorite version.

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[Great O.G.U.F.O.O.L.]

Even in DKR Bruce exhibited bits of humor.

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As a version though my favorite is BTAS before the change in visuals, pretty much Bronze Age but with even better stories (IMO).

[Comic Book Addict]

Balanced Batman is the best Batman.

Agreed and I think King is doing a good job of capturing that.

[Anthony Shaw]

I loved Miller's DARK KNIGHT when it came out but never expected it to redefine the character the way it did. I prefer the Batman that came before. My absolute favorite version.

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Classic Englehart & Rogers!

[sunofdarkchild]

That's a strange thing to say when he helmed the greatest comedic capeshow of all time.

Although the joke was that he didn't realize how ridiculous and funny all the things he did and said were.

[nonsense man]

Bruce sense of humor should be as a somewhat sarcastic straight man when they show it. Similar to how Raven is on Teen Titans go

[Mr. White]

Just re-read Ten Nights of the Beast.
I miss that kind of (grounded) Batman and Batman stories.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Can you imagine Batman doing something like this today?



Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

You mean, Bats wearing his trunks on the outside? Well, Superman is returning to that old school costume trope, so, one can only hope.

[CryNotWolf]

Yeah I miss that old Batman. He felt much more human then. Which is ironic, considering what he is now is due to writers like Waid, Johns, Dixon, etc. trying to "humanize" him.

He used to be pragmatic, now he's paranoid. He used to be laconic, now he's antisocial. Once he was stoic, now he's incredibly temperamental. He used to be emotionally guarded, now he flip flops between complete mess and apathetic detachment. He used to be serious-minded and disciplined, now he's just a completely humorless robot. He used to be trustworthy and admirable, now he's all-too-often a lying and scheming prick who seems like he's only tolerated because he's Batman.

Now I understand and respect his character development that came about with the death of Jason, but Bruce Wayne as we know him today...it's just complete flanderization. I suppose DC doesn't really care how their flagship character is portrayed as long as he continues to sell.

[Barbatos666]

I dont think Johns has had enough influence on Batman to permanently alter his characterization like that. Frankly the same applies to Waid. Not seeing Dixon being responsible either.

Miller, Rucka and Snyder are more to blame for all that.

[CryNotWolf]

I dont think Johns has had enough influence on Batman to permanently alter his characterization like that. Frankly the same applies to Waid. Not seeing Dixon being responsible either.

Miller, Rucka and Snyder are more to blame for all that.

Then you're sorely mistaken. Miller didn't really change how Batman was written in main continuity that drastically. Not immediately, at least. Batman comics took on a darker tone post-Crisis, definitely, but go read Starlin's Batman, or Grant's 'Tec both of which were before Dixon started his multi-hundred issue stranglehold on the Batman mythos. Their Batman was still very much a likeable person. Very O'neil-esque. Same with like the first 50 issues of LotDK. Barely anybody remembers Rucka's Batman material, I remember his run seeming like it was more about yawn-inducing Sasha Bordeaux than it was about Batman.

And Snyder? He was just continuing the trend that had already been set by other writers. And he's certainly not what I'd call influential to the character. Much of his work was just him trying to hit beats that Morrison had already hit before with the character.

Waid and Johns are both largely responsible for Batman's association with the Justice League and other respected heroes being tantamount to him being a guy who constantly schemes, mistrusts, and patronizes his peers. Stuff like Johns' Justice League, his Green Lantern, and most notably Infinite Crisis. Waid's Justice League run and his Flash run. Most of the stuff Dixon wrote, too. I mean just go read his Nightwing run. The Year One arc alone was detrimental to the character.

Another huge culprit is Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, which basically painted Batman as a legitimate psychopath.

[Barbatos666]

Then you're sorely mistaken. Miller didn't really change how Batman was written in main continuity that drastically. Not immediately, at least. Batman comics took on a darker tone post-Crisis, definitely, but go read Starlin's Batman, or Grant's 'Tec both of which were before Dixon started his multi-hundred issue stranglehold on the Batman mythos. Their Batman was still very much a likeable person. Very O'neil-esque. Same with like the first 50 issues of LotDK. Barely anybody remembers Rucka's Batman material, I remember his run seeming like it was more about yawn-inducing Sasha Bordeaux than it was about Batman.

And Snyder? He was just continuing the trend that had already been set by other writers. And he's certainly not what I'd call influential to the character. Much of his work was just him trying to hit beats that Morrison had already hit before with the character.

Waid and Johns are both largely responsible for Batman's association with the Justice League and other respected heroes being tantamount to him being a guy who constantly schemes, mistrusts, and patronizes his peers. Stuff like Johns' Justice League, his Green Lantern, and most notably Infinite Crisis. Waid's Justice League run and his Flash run. Most of the stuff Dixon wrote, too. I mean just go read his Nightwing run. The Year One arc alone was detrimental to the character.

Another huge culprit is Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, which basically painted Batman as a legitimate psychopath.

Influence takes time, I think Miller directly influenced the Rucka/Brubaker work which came at the same time as Tower of Babel and then you had OMAC Project also by Rucka very quickly after that which tied to Johns Infinite Crisis. So what you blame on Johns and Waid traces back to Rucka/Brubaker which in turn traces to Miller. Also Brubaker and Rucka controlled Batman and Tec while also controlling Gotham Central and Catwoman. So you're seriously underestimating their influence. It was Morrison who terminated that era.

When it comes to Dixon you ignore the fact that Dixon never had full control of the character. He was writing the character along side Alan Grant on Shadow of the Bat and Moench on Batman and under a powerful editor like O'Neal. Plus there was LOTDK by rotating writers. Dixon influenced Robin, BOP and Nightwing. Dixon even loves the 60's show which O'Neal hated.So here you're overestimating him. I sincerely doubt his Nightwing Year One became the basis of Batman's characterization. That's a huge stretch. His recent attempt at Batman in Conquest was one of the better depictions of Batman in a while, certainly not temperamental or a mess.

Infact temperamental, wordy and abrasive are firmly Snyder's contributions.

Johns didn't define Batman's attitude towards the League or his place on the team. Morrison and Timm did that. Johns Batman was a harmless loser and joke and that's only when Johns bothered to give him some panel time.

Also Starlin isn't the angel you're making him out to be, his Batman actually killed KGBeast. His work went from one extreme to another. DITF for instance is the same story that killed Jason Todd and also featured Joker getting blessings from the Ayatollah.