Please, keep Jason the hell away of this. Snyder simply cant write a satisfying mega crossover to save his life.
Please, keep Jason the hell away of this. Snyder simply cant write a satisfying mega crossover to save his life.
Its gonna be a big event. I believe Snyder said at NYCC that Superman was going to be a big part of the arc as well. Supes will be joined by the Bat Family and whoever else he wants to include, hope to heck this will be good. And affordable. Also, will this be a 6 issue arc, or one of those 11 part stories, he likes to write?
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
But I've noticed some want his endings to solve everything or radically change Batman comics. Some hate Snyder's love of lingering mystery and his lack of desire to ruin Batman comics with huge developments.
If you're referring to everyone hoping for Joker to die at the end of Death of the Family, I disagree, I was the one person who was happy Snyder avoided that. I thought that had a good ending. Court of Owls had a good ending, I'm glad he didn't settle the brother angle (even though now I don't even care about the answer because Lincoln has been a boring loser since his first defeat). Didn't read Z.Year. Seems many liked Endgame's ending...I did, but wanted that arc to be longer. I liked Superheavy's ending.
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”
If we go arc by arc, I could list the things I don't like and analyze them - but it's kinda irrelevant, because whenever I think of a Scott Snyder ending of any arc (except The Black Mirror - which also ends on a partially unresolved note), I am deeply, deeply unsatisfied. I just don't enjoy the way he's ended almost any story I've read by him. I've enjoyed parts of endings, like Jim Gordon's part of Superheavy, but the endings as a whole - it goes beyond just "not killing Joker" (well, of course he didn't - I never expected it, no matter how much I might want it.) It's that fundamentally, the deepest need/desire/conflict of the main characters I care about are either completely unanswered, or they are left significantly more unhappy than the beginning of the arc. I don't expect happy endings in Gotham - but I do expect that Batman's mission be affirmed. I just don't get that sense from almost any of Snyder's arcs.
I'm mostly in a minority, I know. But I just wanted to put in my own reaction to Snyder's books - they're very engaging, often heartbreakingly so, but I don't much like to read them, because I know the endings will leave me feeling completely disappointed.
"We're the same thing, you and I. We're both lies that eventually became the truth." Lara Notsil, Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command, Aaron Allston
"All that is not eternal is eternally out of date." C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
"There's room in our line of work for hope, too." Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown Wiki, My Batman Universe Reviews, Stephanie Brown Discord
You explain your problem with the endings well, I know what you mean at least. He doesn't much end in a "rah-rah" way for Batman/main hero, the villain(s) leave some lingering mark and/or Bruce/the hero seems perhaps more unhappy than the beginning (but certainly more happy than mid-arc when everything is going to hell). But I do think Snyder overall affirms Batman's mission (that without Batman, bye bye Gotham), just perhaps more subtly and maybe not in the very last pages of an arc...he knows he's writing discrete arcs in a larger run where maybe you save happier endings for the end of the run. When New 52 started, I think DC line wide was looking for darker edgier material and Snyder sorta did the direct opposite a lot of Morrison's more colorful conventionally happy ending kinda stuff (B&R's ending was the bat trio downing Hurt (and Darkseid) and Bruce learned he's always had help, he's never been alone), so I think we have to consider that Snyder was what DC was looking for. But I think also Snyder's endings are kinda his fundamental view of Batman: That Batman is the only person who can do this brutal work and it comes with terrible costs that only relentlessly sane and disciplined Bruce and his unit can handle. Anyone else would have been broken by the hungry city, only Bruce can tame the darkness and loss and the physical trials and tribulations, only Bruce and the Batfam can shoulder the heavy burden of protecting Gotham.
All in all I think Snyder would say he's so hard on Batman and his life and his mission with all the mysteries (life has its sometimes nagging existential mysteries) and unhappiness precisely to drive home how indispensable Batman is and how positive and heroic Bruce and Dick and Jim are. Bright rarer lights in Gotham. Batman is like the thing keeping Gotham from the relentless abyss that's always trying to swallow it. Some might say comics function to keep us positive and hopeful amid the harsh darkness of the real world. Snyder plays up the harshness and darkness to drive home how we can all still triumph even over all that, all the bleakness we may feel around us.
Last edited by JBatmanFan05; 10-31-2016 at 01:38 PM.
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”
This! It's exactly what makes Snyder'a endings work! I don't need things wrapped up in a neat package. I just don't. I very much love the types of endings that may answer one question but open up a bunch of others (in all fiction). That's good story telling. Not every ending needs to completely resolve everything. It's too safe.
Also, I've always left this alone, but as a fellow Snyder lover and a person who thinks Year One is without a doubt the reigning champion of Batman comics, I think you owe it to yourself to at least give Zero Year a shot. I just look at it as a parallel universe type scenario. Especially now that it's confirmed that there's 'Ten Years Gone' (that should be Rebirth's theme song. Haha) and that most likely the pre flashpoint characters and the new 52 characters are the same (speculation; not fact). I think being as big of a fan of Snyder's as you are, that you may actually enjoy ZY no matter how much you dislike that it replaced YO as an origin. Not trying to twist your arm, though. Hahah
Last edited by Maxpower00044; 10-31-2016 at 02:18 PM.
"The more 'realistic' superheroes become the less believable they are." - David Mazzucchelli
I missed this tweet exchange before but looks like Snyder's latest Joker entry will be coming, and with Lee Bermejo, which should be crazy awesome:
Scott Snyder @Ssnyder1835 Oct 27
going to try to do it in all star with Lee Bermejo
Juan Alonso Jr @JuanAlonso382
@Ssnyder1835 @Ssnyder1835 If DC let's you do your Joker story after All Star (and I pray they do) what artist would you like to work with in that arc?
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”