Do you have any feelings on Leslie Thomkins?

[Chubistian]

I like her in some Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis Tec issues I've read and in No Man's Land. I think she should be an old woman that can reach Bruce's inner fears and insecurities
I haven't read War Games

[John Venus]

I like Leslie Tompkins. I like the fact that Bruce has a 'mom' and that she is less enabling of him than Alfred is. I like that she is the medic and that Alfred isn't doing everything. Plus the romantic connection with Alfred. I think character was tainted by War Games plus writers leaning too hard on her being a pacifist. Added that to that she apparently caught the Aunt May syndrome of becoming younger and hotter every subsequent year. My other issue is that it feels like writers seem to think it has to be either Leslie or Lucius. If we get one, we usually don't get the other. Why can't it be Alfred (the butler), Leslie (the medic) and Lucius (the tech)?

[K. Jones]

Depicted as too young. She doesn't have to be soooooo old like her initial depictions, the whole like, Aunt May thing. But she shouldn't look 30 when she's the same age as Bruce's mom, more or less. I feel like comics artists can't draw middle-aged people! There, I said it! Shade thrown. Accept my challenge, every comics artist ever!

Leslie is cool as a contrast to Batman - a character who is out on the street every night doing the actual labor of healing the city when he's out there punching costumed crooks, a person who is aware of his secrets, and best still, not "connected" to him in any way that would draw heat. Which is why like 15 of the last 20 times she's shown up in a story have been bad ideas for stories. As a citizen of Gotham she's got to understand that while she's dramatically opposed to violence, there's a real special breed of Gonzo Criminal in that town that require a little bit of special circumstance.

[Tsukiakari1203]

I like Leslie for the most part but I'd be lying if I said I didn't still have a bit of a grudge against her for War Games. I like the concept she introduced, as a medical professional who offers help to everyone, good and bad. I like that Bruce, for as secretive as he is, has someone outside of his circle of heroes that he trusts with his identity. But....man War Games was...something lol

my thoughts exactly! I do like her being Bruce's godmother though

[phonogram12]

I like her. Considering I thought War Games was a terrible crossover for so many more reasons than it's treatment of her, I'm more than happy to write that one off.

My favorite iterations of her were from Batman Year 2 and Full Circle, BTAS, and Catwoman when Ed Brubaker was on the book.

[Tsukiakari1203]

War Games/War Crimes - where Bruce, Steph, and Leslie all came out looking absolutely horrible. And written for no other reason than the shocking death of Robin (again!). Plus, Steph got a raw deal in the issues leading up to it to have her grab the idiot ball for the sake of the plot (and again, Bruce was terrible to her and to Tim). As, really, Jason kinda got a violent streak to set up the plot for when he got killed. Terrible story idea altogether.

Actually Bill Willingham (aka the dude who killed Steph) has a video about his role in War Games, really interesting watch. It's called "I Killed Stephanie Brown"

[Spencermalley935]

Depicted as too young. She doesn't have to be soooooo old like her initial depictions, the whole like, Aunt May thing. But she shouldn't look 30 when she's the same age as Bruce's mom, more or less. I feel like comics artists can't draw middle-aged people! There, I said it! Shade thrown. Accept my challenge, every comics artist ever!

Leslie is cool as a contrast to Batman - a character who is out on the street every night doing the actual labor of healing the city when he's out there punching costumed crooks, a person who is aware of his secrets, and best still, not "connected" to him in any way that would draw heat. Which is why like 15 of the last 20 times she's shown up in a story have been bad ideas for stories. As a citizen of Gotham she's got to understand that while she's dramatically opposed to violence, there's a real special breed of Gonzo Criminal in that town that require a little bit of special circumstance.

The Problem is that she never does. Instead she just naively acts as though love and compassion are the answer to everything.

[Tsukiakari1203]

If you're building a cohesive and connected universe within a family of titles in a city I think it makes more sense to have certain characters bounce between titles and interact with other characters. It's not like Selina didn't have her own supporting cast on-top of that anyways, what with Holly, her girlfriend, and Slam (or Batman when he periodically appeared).

Selina also has Maggie, the Calabrese cousins, Kitrina (BRING HER BACK), Eiko, and tech person whose name I forget

[Tsukiakari1203]

I like Leslie Tompkins. I like the fact that Bruce has a 'mom' and that she is less enabling of him than Alfred is. I like that she is the medic and that Alfred isn't doing everything. Plus the romantic connection with Alfred. I think character was tainted by War Games plus writers leaning too hard on her being a pacifist. Added that to that she apparently caught the Aunt May syndrome of becoming younger and hotter every subsequent year. My other issue is that it feels like writers seem to think it has to be either Leslie or Lucius. If we get one, we usually don't get the other. Why can't it be Alfred (the butler), Leslie (the medic) and Lucius (the tech)?

and Gordon (the police)

[The Cool Thatguy]

War Games/War Crimes - where Bruce, Steph, and Leslie all came out looking absolutely horrible. And written for no other reason than the shocking death of Robin (again!). Plus, Steph got a raw deal in the issues leading up to it to have her grab the idiot ball for the sake of the plot (and again, Bruce was terrible to her and to Tim). As, really, Jason kinda got a violent streak to set up the plot for when he got killed. Terrible story idea altogether.

Dragging Leslie through the mud, IMO, was done to absolve Black Mask who'd just been installed as the crimelord of Gotham. Batman looks the fool if the guy who killed his sidekick stays on top, so they had to pin it on someone else.

[Tsukiakari1203]

Dragging Leslie through the mud, IMO, was done to absolve Black Mask who'd just been installed as the crimelord of Gotham. Batman looks the fool if the guy who killed his sidekick stays on top, so they had to pin it on someone else.

It's terrible and I hate it

[The Cool Thatguy]

It's terrible and I hate it

No argument there. Slinging mud on Leslie just to keep Black Mask on top for a few months was not worth it by any measure. Short term thinking doing long term damage

[Tsukiakari1203]

No argument there. Slinging mud on Leslie just to keep Black Mask on top for a few months was not worth it by any measure. Short term thinking doing long term damage

War Games was a hot mess

[Restingvoice]

Dragging Leslie through the mud, IMO, was done to absolve Black Mask who'd just been installed as the crimelord of Gotham. Batman looks the fool if the guy who killed his sidekick stays on top, so they had to pin it on someone else.

Wait how does that work? Even if he didn't kill her, he still kidnap and tortured her, so what happened on that front? Besides, taking down a crime lord isn't easy. You can beat him up but keeping him in prison is another matter. Gotta have good evidence and lawyer too. So they don't need to pin it on anything, he's gonna get out anyway.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Wait how does that work? Even if he didn't kill her, he still kidnap and tortured her, so what happened on that front? Besides, taking down a crime lord isn't easy. You can beat him up but keeping him in prison is another matter. Gotta have good evidence and lawyer too. So they don't need to pin it on anything, he's gonna get out anyway.

Eh, its comics.

Given that its Black Mask, who should be in jail already, bringing him down shouldn't have been an issue. Wilson Fisk, he ain't.

But he needed to stay in play for Red Hood and Batman to kick around