Batman #125 Preview

[Frontier]

I want Bruce to get his company back.

[XJlock]

I want Bruce to get his company back.

As well as the rest of his fortune. If someone like Lex Luthor get to keep all of his money, why should the rest of Bruce's wealth be held "hostage" by the Fox family.

[Kevin Street]

Tom King made me dislike Batman, and James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez made me like him again. But not enough to stick around for Joker War. And now here we are with another new beginning, this time by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez... and it's good! It's a genuinely good comic. This story was surprising and pleasing.

First off all the art is amazing. I'm so glad Jimenez has stayed on, because he's only gotten better since those early days. His art style doesn't look as cyberpunk-ish as it did before, but it's still expressive and cinematic, just in a new grittier way. And his facial expressions are really good. When Batman is driving Robin to the hospital, and he starts to remember when he had to strip the Robin uniform off Jason's dead body... Wow. There's so many exceptional moments in this book that Jimenez suffuses with emotion (and Tomeu Morey suffuses with color) and they all land.

And Chip Zdarsky has written a great first issue. I liked his Justice League miniseries well enough, but this is a level above that in terms of quality. You get the sense that his Batman is trying to be a Morrison-esque "Bat God," but it's all getting to be a bit too much for him. There's some interesting exchanges here, like when Tim tries to console Bruce on the loss of his friend and Batman is like "I suppose you could call him a friend. He helped me cement Bruce Wayne's playboy status." Because Batman doesn't have friends, Tim. The mission is all that matters, the damned mission. Even you're a "soldier" to him, and if it wasn't for the Mission he'd totally have visited you in the hospital. Totally.

I like it, and then there's a backup story also by Zdarsky! It's the first backup story I actually enjoyed since they started putting them in the books.

[exile001]

While this was a decent comic, Zdarsky really knows how to construct an issue, there was more I disliked than liked as a Batman comic. I think this might quickly devolve into something similar to Tynion's run.

I'm giving Zdarsky the first arc, as I usually love their work, but very wary so far.

Failsafe is apparently Bruce-created drone that activates under certain situations. I am not a fan of Batman creating OMAC or robots or infinte clones of himself or whatever to take over Gotham. I shouldn't have to say this but BATMAN IS NOT A DICTATOR!!! His end game is not to rule Gotham with an iron fist.

It might be a cute play on HARDAC from BTAS but still isn't my vision of Batman.

Tim, a fully trained Robin, being caught by a lucky shot doesn't do Tim (or his fans) any favours. Batman has a ton of underlings, do this to a new or less trained character.

HATED the Selina scene. It was so unnecessary. As awfully as it was done under Tynion, they were apart and nothing more needed to be said. This just felt like a shot at those of us who enjoy the pairing.

Didn't really like the Penguin stuff, either*. It was totally out of character and I am not a fan of killing an established big-name villain out of nowhere to push the latest threat. If it turns out to be a ruse then fine, you "got" me, but really there are more creative ways to go about it or use a lesser character.

*for Penguin. As a basis for another villain there's nothing wrong with it, I just question the choice of Oswald.

Also, why is super angry Batman back?

Tom King's entire run was Bruce dealing with all that and moving forward to be a stable, dare I say happy, Batman. Bruce was left in the place (most of us on this board say we want him) where he was past his parent's death, past the anger and sadness and was moving on to be a more emotionally stable, compassionate and productive Batman. While we were never fully going back to a previous Batman era, I'd hoped we could get a middle ground back where he pretended to be more violent/dangerous in order to scare criminals but actually was in complete control.

Tynion's Batman had no character other than reacting (usually with fists) to the latest drug or explosion.

Tamaki's Batman actually showed human compassion and a determination to save lives. A Batman who cared about the people he was trying to save and treated his allies with consideration and (god forbid) respect. It was like Batman has a mission to make Gotham a better place rather than just angrily rampaging about until he punches out the latest supervillain (most like Joker or Scarecrow for the billionth time) who set it on fire. Y'know, pre-Scott Snyder Batman.

I'd hoped to at least get back to a Dixon or Rucka style Batman. I'm bored of the angry, reactionary crazy Batman.

[exile001]

Also, to those wishing for Bruce's preposterous wealth to return, he never needed to be one of the world's richest men (and wasn't until relatively recently). That was just layering in another unnecessary power fantasy. Bruce can be one of the richest men in Gotham, to finance Batman and get Bruce invited to parties where he may learn of more crime. Preferably also using his wealth to finance the Wayne Foundation which actually improves Gotham with social programs and such.

He doesn't need to be one of the world's riches men and it added nothing when he was.

[Triniking1234]

Also, to those wishing for Bruce's preposterous wealth to return, he never needed to be one of the world's richest men (and wasn't until relatively recently). That was just layering in another unnecessary power fantasy. Bruce can be one of the richest men in Gotham, to finance Batman and get Bruce invited to parties where he may learn of more crime. Preferably also using his wealth to finance the Wayne Foundation which actually improves Gotham with social programs and such.

He doesn't need to be one of the world's riches men and it added nothing when he was.

The ridiculous money is the reasoning for all the ridiculous nonsense he was able to do. He can't make crap outta thin air like the Green Lanterns or Zatanna.

If they're gonna defund Bruce, just defund everyone including the villains like Lex, Slade, Ollie, etc.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

The ridiculous money is the reasoning for all the ridiculous nonsense he was able to do. He can't make crap outta thin air like the Green Lanterns or Zatanna.

If they're gonna defund Bruce, just defund everyone including the villains like Lex, Slade, Ollie, etc.

This, it would cost a tremendous amount to fund Batman and his allies. I'm ready to go back to the house and the real came myself.

[HsssH]

According to google there are around 2800 billionaires in the world, I don't think there is anything wrong with Bruce being one of them. He just doesn't have to be in Top 1000.

[Frontier]

While this was a decent comic, Zdarsky really knows how to construct an issue, there was more I disliked than liked as a Batman comic. I think this might quickly devolve into something similar to Tynion's run.

I'm giving Zdarsky the first arc, as I usually love their work, but very wary so far.

Failsafe is apparently Bruce-created drone that activates under certain situations. I am not a fan of Batman creating OMAC or robots or infinte clones of himself or whatever to take over Gotham. I shouldn't have to say this but BATMAN IS NOT A DICTATOR!!! His end game is not to rule Gotham with an iron fist.

It might be a cute play on HARDAC from BTAS but still isn't my vision of Batman.

Tim, a fully trained Robin, being caught by a lucky shot doesn't do Tim (or his fans) any favours. Batman has a ton of underlings, do this to a new or less trained character.

HATED the Selina scene. It was so unnecessary. As awfully as it was done under Tynion, they were apart and nothing more needed to be said. This just felt like a shot at those of us who enjoy the pairing.

Didn't really like the Penguin stuff, either*. It was totally out of character and I am not a fan of killing an established big-name villain out of nowhere to push the latest threat. If it turns out to be a ruse then fine, you "got" me, but really there are more creative ways to go about it or use a lesser character.

*for Penguin. As a basis for another villain there's nothing wrong with it, I just question the choice of Oswald.

Also, why is super angry Batman back?

Tom King's entire run was Bruce dealing with all that and moving forward to be a stable, dare I say happy, Batman. Bruce was left in the place (most of us on this board say we want him) where he was past his parent's death, past the anger and sadness and was moving on to be a more emotionally stable, compassionate and productive Batman. While we were never fully going back to a previous Batman era, I'd hoped we could get a middle ground back where he pretended to be more violent/dangerous in order to scare criminals but actually was in complete control.

Tynion's Batman had no character other than reacting (usually with fists) to the latest drug or explosion.

Tamaki's Batman actually showed human compassion and a determination to save lives. A Batman who cared about the people he was trying to save and treated his allies with consideration and (god forbid) respect. It was like Batman has a mission to make Gotham a better place rather than just angrily rampaging about until he punches out the latest supervillain (most like Joker or Scarecrow for the billionth time) who set it on fire. Y'know, pre-Scott Snyder Batman.

I'd hoped to at least get back to a Dixon or Rucka style Batman. I'm bored of the angry, reactionary crazy Batman.

I mean, Batman always goes back to factory settings of being super serious and angry practically every run where he thinks he's overcome it.

It's unfortunate but it's basically how things work these days.

[Kevin Street]

I'd hoped to at least get back to a Dixon or Rucka style Batman. I'm bored of the angry, reactionary crazy Batman.

You know, I agree with you. Those were great eras. I'm not quite as familiar with Dixon's Batman as Rucka's, but I take your meaning as you'd like to get back to an era where the stories mattered most, and a writer's entire run wasn't about trying to make a lasting mark on an 80 year old character. I'd like that too.

[exile001]

The ridiculous money is the reasoning for all the ridiculous nonsense he was able to do. He can't make crap outta thin air like the Green Lanterns or Zatanna.

Bruce doesn't need that much, though. He has a big company through which to funnel his toys, etc, that's where the leap of logic already exists. He needs to be relatively wealthy to explain the bespoke car, plane and other Bat-paraphernalia, but doesn't have to also be one of the world's richest men, that's all I'm saying.

Unless you like him having personalised Bat-rockets that fly around the world and the like, but then we have fundamentally different views on Batman.

If they're gonna defund Bruce, just defund everyone including the villains like Lex, Slade, Ollie, etc.

Villains should have the upper hand on the hero, though. It's why the hero winning matters. It's storytelling 101.

Lex's thing is that he is the smartest man in the world and one of the richest, which gives him a level of immunity against Superman. I'm actually okay with Lex not being one of the richest, either, but at least it makes sense with him as the mountain he needs to overcome is so great (especially in the eras where Superman is super intelligent and uses all his Kryptonian science).

When Bruce's thing is that he is the smartest man in the world and one of the richest and also the best at everything, no matter how sad he is about his dead parents, it's harder to see him as anything but a hobbyist because his beat is one city and the stakes are (or used to be) so much lower.

Ollie has been defunded about 20 times, but even then I don't think he's ever been one of the world's richest people.

I'm ready to go back to the house and the real came myself.

Oh, absolutely! This is the classic set up for a reason.

I look forward to Bruce trying to find ONE person to manage, clean, cook, et cetera, while also providing support to a gang of heroes. Pretty sure Alfred was super powered but didn't tell Bruce so as not to damage his ego.

[Triniking1234]

Bruce doesn't need that much, though. He has a big company through which to funnel his toys, etc, that's where the leap of logic already exists. He needs to be relatively wealthy to explain the bespoke car, plane and other Bat-paraphernalia, but doesn't have to also be one of the world's richest men, that's all I'm saying.

Unless you like him having personalised Bat-rockets that fly around the world and the like, but then we have fundamentally different views on Batman.



Villains should have the upper hand on the hero, though. It's why the hero winning matters. It's storytelling 101.

Lex's thing is that he is the smartest man in the world and one of the richest, which gives him a level of immunity against Superman. I'm actually okay with Lex not being one of the richest, either, but at least it makes sense with him as the mountain he needs to overcome is so great (especially in the eras where Superman is super intelligent and uses all his Kryptonian science).

When Bruce's thing is that he is the smartest man in the world and one of the richest and also the best at everything, no matter how sad he is about his dead parents, it's harder to see him as anything but a hobbyist because his beat is one city and the stakes are (or used to be) so much lower.

Ollie has been defunded about 20 times, but even then I don't think he's ever been one of the world's richest people.

You're okay with Lex being one of the richest men in the world because he's the villain but the hero shouldn't be rich even though in world both civilian identities of the characters have access to the same resources. Just sounds hypocritical.

You also acknowledge that Bruce needs the resources from his company to be a superhero but if he's too rich, it's a problem. Honestly, writers keep writing Bruce as if he still has limitless money but then they try to remind you that he doesn't. DC needs to make up their mind.

[Coco Loco]

Also, to those wishing for Bruce's preposterous wealth to return, he never needed to be one of the world's richest men (and wasn't until relatively recently). That was just layering in another unnecessary power fantasy. Bruce can be one of the richest men in Gotham, to finance Batman and get Bruce invited to parties where he may learn of more crime. Preferably also using his wealth to finance the Wayne Foundation which actually improves Gotham with social programs and such.

He doesn't need to be one of the world's riches men and it added nothing when he was.

Totally agreed with this. For much of his history Bruce was wealthy and a prominent Gotham citizen but did not have unlimited resources, and was not an international celebrity. That started to change in the 90’s and got to the point of being absurd. Contrast Batman ‘89 - where Alexander Knox and Vicki Vale have heard of him but don’t know what he looks like - to Batman Begins where “the world is too small for someone like Bruce Wayne to disappear.”

[MajorHoy]

. . . For much of his history Bruce was wealthy and a prominent Gotham citizen but did not have unlimited resources, and was not an international celebrity. That started to change in the 90’s and got to the point of being absurd. Contrast Batman ‘89 - where Alexander Knox and Vicki Vale have heard of him but don’t know what he looks like - to Batman Begins where “the world is too small for someone like Bruce Wayne to disappear.”

Even back before the '90s Bruce was "known". But as for increase exposure and recognition since then, you also had the rise of personal computers / the internet, more "reality TV" = cough! cough! = etc.

Hell, would the Kardashians be as well-known and influential back in the 90s as they've become in the present day?

[Coco Loco]

Even back before the '90s Bruce was "known". But as for increase exposure and recognition since then, you also had the rise of personal computers / the internet, more "reality TV" = cough! cough! = etc.

Hell, would the Kardashians be as well-known and influential back in the 90s as they've become in the present day?

Not sure. No doubt the internet has played a role in their rise to fame, but even pre-internet we had people like Hugh Hefner or Donald Trump who were essentially famous for being rich and famous. My personal preference is for Bruce not to be SO wealthy that he would be in the reality TV realm. It’s still quite possible to be wealthy and involved in one’s community without being an international celebrity.