Curmudgeon's Corner -- Bat-Character We Hate and Why We Hate 'Em

[oasis1313]

Life-sized inflatable Dick Grayson dolls. DC could make a fortune.

[byrd156]

Life-sized inflatable Dick Grayson dolls. DC could make a fortune.

That's probably the weirdest thing I've heard all day.

[oasis1313]

Who is the most Batgod/Batjerk character after Bruce? Would it be Cass?

[Kid A]

Who is the most Batgod/Batjerk character after Bruce? Would it be Cass?

You obviously never read Red Robin if you're asking this.

[RubberLotus]

Has anyone said Batman himself yet? In any case, Batman himself.

Bruce is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the Bat-mythos, but I don't find him that interesting in and of himself. His presence ought to be maintained & acknowledged in stories, but quite frankly, so many writers have gotten into his head that it's borderline impossible to make him a compelling protagonist anymore. That's not even getting into the fact that because he's the main character in a serial work of fiction, he's the least likely to undergo any meaningful change or development. Even the DCAU suffered from this.

On the Joker... I have to agree that the non-comics media have a better average of not-terrible stories, but all the genuine home runs (The Laughing Fish, TKJ, Going Sane, Fool's Errand, Deathstroke #58, Auteurism, etc.) still belong to the comics.

[oasis1313]

You obviously never read Red Robin if you're asking this.

I try to avoid Red Robin if I can. Is he a full-fledged Batgod now?

[phonogram12]

I try to avoid Red Robin if I can. Is he a full-fledged Batgod now?

I think that was Damien. You know, with the assassin training since birth, master engineer bit.

[Kid A]

No, a huge point of Damian's character is that his overconfidence/arrogance bites him back in the ass, as seen in Morrison's B&R, and his own death in Inc.

[Spiralblue]

The Joker has become a pretty bland character since KJ; and his appearances become increasingly more repellant. It's at the point where the fact that someone hasn't killed him as of yet doesn't make sense in story. Obviously DC never will because they want to sell Imaginext figures to 4 year olds while having the skinless faced crazy running around in the funny pages.

[oasis1313]

No, a huge point of Damian's character is that his overconfidence/arrogance bites him back in the ass, as seen in Morrison's B&R, and his own death in Inc.

I think that Talia, like some moms, was always telling Damian how special, wonderful, magnificent, omnipowerful, etc etc etc he was, and then--living with his Dad--Damian learned some hard truths about the real world. Those times when he lost his bluster and actually acted his (very, very young) age were endearing. I think there are many years' worth of stories Damian has left in him. I particularly want a Batman 666 with an adult Damian.

[phonogram12]

No, a huge point of Damian's character is that his overconfidence/arrogance bites him back in the ass, as seen in Morrison's B&R, and his own death in Inc.

Like I said, I could never stand Morrison's take on his own creation. Dini and Tomasi were the closest he ever got to being likable. Either way, I'm not going to be disappointed either way if he never comes back.

[The Red Monk]

Also, just to add to my previous post, I've always found Tim Drake's parents weirdly annoying. That's why I didn't mind their deaths too much. Sure, it was the catalyst for turning Tim into yet another broody Gotham vigilante, but at least they were gone.

[quinnzel]

Right now, the character I dislike the most is Joker's Daughter. Just... no. They're trying way too hard and I've tried to give her a chance, but... naw bro.

I've also really never been a huge fan of Ra's Al Ghul or Talia. I've always found Talia kind of annoying, and I don't know, Ra's has just never really been all that interesting to me. I wouldn't say I hate either of them, but I'm not a fan.

[exile001]

Babs as Oracle: Yeah, I went there. They wrung too much angst from the Killing Joke, too much revisionist history to make her time as Batgirl seem like a stepping stone to her greater destiny as Oracle, and I just generally found her barely more pleasant than Bruce at his worst.

Arggghhh! Right through the heart! Ha ha.

I love Oracle, only version of Babs I like, but I totally get your points.

"Hate" is an almost laughably strong word

We're just having a little fun here. Lighten up.

[manduck37]

Oh, I can't resist jumping in on a thread like this. It's just too much fun. So to start off:

Robin. All of them, the entire concept. The fact that DC decided to put a fun little kid into Batman so that kids could connect to the books still strikes me as one of the all time worst comic ideas. Granted, all the Robins have their varying levels of success, but the concept is still terrible. There are plenty of wildly popular bad ideas, like reality television. You have Batman, who is a dark character in a noir world (a lot of the time, not all the time thanks to the Silver Age) suddenly saddled with this kid who wears a bright costume and does acrobatics or whatever that Robin's schtick is. Just get rid of the Robin concept already. Let it die with the rest of the Silver Age ridiculousness. Not to mention that it looks really bad for Bruce that two of them have been killed already and he's had several of them in just a few years.

Damian Wayne: Boring one note character and that one note is annoying. He started off an obnoxious brad and died the same way. I actually enjoyed the Inc issue where he died as I knew it would be a long time before I had to endure him in any Batman comics. Even not reading B&R, he still popped up in other titles and all I could do was roll my eyes. Good riddance.

The Joker: The Joker used to be fun and crazy. Now he's a run of the mill serial killer. Swap him out with Leatherface and there is no differnece. Joker used to have style. Now he's bland and over played. He became a shock value gimmic and that's a real shame.

Morrison's Talia: I found Talia so much more interesting when she was torn between her feelings for Bruce and her loyalty to her father. The fact that she and Bruce really cared about each other added a lot to their dynamic. What were they both to do about their love for each other? That underlying temptation for the two of them was great. Then she became a cartoonish supervillian with no redeeming qualities. I found myself wondering how Bruce could ever love a woman that irredeemably evil rather than enjoying the drama of them struggling with their feelings and loyalties. Talia lost everything unique about her to become a generic terrorist in a ninja cult. I loved seeing the tough and dangerous woman who grappled with her feelings, like Bruce grappled with his. That's all gone now.

Man, I feel like I can finally vent my annoyances at some characters in the Bat line. Feels good...