Yeah, I can see that given how they rely on Beware the Orient and Dragon Lady cliches.
Plus I'd be rather hard pressed to name a Ra's story I've liked made in the last few...decades by this point.
In a vacuum there can be interesting stories done with it, yes, but I think in general it's just used to make some of his villains seem deeper than they really are by relying on "the mentally ill are menace to us" stereotypes. Especially since also Arkham is pretty much a shorthand for supervillain prison these days rather than a psychiatry ward.
And I'm pretty sure by this point that most of Bats' villains have probably committed crimes that cross state lines so even the argument "Gotham, or the state Gotham's in, doesn't have the death penalty" probably doesn't even hold up.
Big Belly Burger is the number 1 fastfood chain in DC's America. Does that count for anything?they don't have fictional American countries where people are fat and eat burgers all day.
But with Damians Family background it would probaly not such a good idea to play the diversity angle up to much.
And like I said it would also really be in line with how Ras and the LoA were portrait in the past, and how and where Damian was raised.
Btw. I find it wired that for some reason people seem to always forget that both Damian and Cass are actually half Caucasian, and don't really have and arabic/asian cultural background, which makes them both not exactly the best options for representation.
On the contrary, I think the Al Ghul's are a perfect example of how you can do POC villains.
Ras is not rooted in any specific Asian or Middle Eastern culture nor is he a representative of one. He is often cast as sympathetic because his ultimate goal is to save the world from us but he goes about it in the worst way possible. His motives are goals are his own.
I think Bruce should be the arbiter for who gets to wear the bat symbol. Now I'm not saying that he should get to decide who becomes a crime fighting vigilantly, he has no say in that. But he most definitely should have a say in who slaps a bat symbol on their chest and claim to represent it. Also did the mantle of Batman needs to end with Bruce, Batman should just be a "thing" that had a finite span, no need for it to continue on after him. The mantle of Batman should not be something that anyone can just claim, it cheapens and devalues it.
I can agree with that. He owns the Batsymbol, but he doesn't own Gotham. I also am in very much in agreement with not passing the mantle. Indeed, it's a person, not a title to me (same for most heroes - not a fan of legacies). And, in-universe, it's insulting to other heroes the greatest thing they can ever do is step into a senior heroes boots. That they could never make their names as great or respected or valued. That their greatest worth comes from being heir to that other person's title instead of all the other actions they achieved under their own.
Last edited by Tzigone; 02-24-2021 at 05:24 AM.
Those that truly understand what Batman is would not want to be Batman. Dick Grayson is one of the few persons to understand it. And its the reason why Bruce would trust Dick the most to be a good Batman.
Last edited by prepmaster; 02-24-2021 at 05:52 AM.
Being Batman does not correlate much with pursuing personal goals. The secret identity combined with a growing number of enemies alone are a problem, not mentioning other sacrifice one has to be willing to make as Batman. Batman is the most feared figure to criminals in Gotham.
Last edited by prepmaster; 02-24-2021 at 07:54 AM.
That doesn't make him any different than any other hero (with a secret identity), IMO. I also strongly disagree that heroes shouldn't be able to pursue personal goals. I'm getting kind of tired of "being a hero is a soul-sucking calling that destroys your life" and would much prefer the older idea that, while not without its sacrifices, being a hero is a net positive in the lives of most of them. That's its something fulfilling instead of destructive for the majority who engage in it (and all who do so long-term, because I need to want the hero to be hero in order to enjoy reading, and I can't when it's nothing but a long, slow drive inevitably ending in misery and destroying the life of the hero).
Last edited by Tzigone; 02-24-2021 at 08:29 AM.
Batman is a different kind of hero. He is not an ordinary hero that saves lives. He is the kind of hero that instills fear onto criminals.
A soldier does not go to the frontline and brings his family with him.
Batman understands the pain of losing loved ones and does not want others become close to him and suffer from the same pain of seeing him go down.
This is why Batman struggles between his love life and crime fighting career. He just cant allow others to suffer from the same trauma he is suffering from.
Last edited by prepmaster; 02-24-2021 at 09:21 AM.