King Batman Run: Analysis and Enjoyment Thread

[Chubistian]

What do you think will be revealed? I mean, other than "Bane is going to RULE Gotham!!!!"



I think there is a deliberate parallel there!

I think mostly things concerning Thomas Wayne, but I think we're still owned answers about the whole Gotham siblings deal. I would want that by the start of City of Bane, at least we know more about Bane's cabal and just for how much time all this has been going on (everything seems to be pointing out to issue #1).

My theories are that Skeets' time travel abilities plus Psycho Pirate knowledge of the various continuities is how Bane found out and brought in Thomas Wayne, saving him mere moments before the whole Flashpoint timeline was erased (again). Thomas wants Bruce to stop being Batman, but I'm not yet sure how Bane convinced him to be part of his plan. I wonder if Bane had anything to do with Booster Gold's nervous breakdown (with some help of Skeets and/or Psycho Pirate)---I excuse myself if that is not the correct name of what happened to BG. I'm pretty ignorant about psychology besides some superficial knowledge

Riddler and Joker were convinced after I Am Bane, but Hugo Strange has been with Bane since the beggining. Personally, I like how the original idea of Bane and Strange cooperating so the first could get Psycho Pirate and the second the Venom formula worked, but I don't know if that will be the final version. I guess the limitation of the Gotham siblings' powers was deliberate so they wouldn't become a menace as superheroes with unlimited power. Still, I think more should be going on in that aspect that a Venom derivative. I'm not a fan of Venom being capable of everything after alterning or adding some elements

Interview where King talks about what is coming up: https://www.newsarama.com/44769-tom-...ards-bane.html

Great interview. I'm eager to see part 2

[Pohzee]

I personally think that we will get more answers about Thomas Wayne’s motivations and involvement in The Fall and the Fallen.

[Chubistian]

I personally think that we will get more answers about Thomas Wayne’s motivations and involvement in The Fall and the Fallen.

Yes, me too. I was saying my expectations about everything before City Of Bane but I didn't make myself clear. If we talk just about #69, I think it will be more about Batman "escaping" or being release from the Knightmares world that about answers

[millernumber1]

Yes, me too. I was saying my expectations about everything before City Of Bane but I didn't make myself clear. If we talk just about #69, I think it will be more about Batman "escaping" or being release from the Knightmares world that about answers

I think it'll definitely be some answers about the dreams themselves, if not necessarily about what's happening outside of the dreams.

[Chubistian]

I think it'll definitely be some answers about the dreams themselves, if not necessarily about what's happening outside of the dreams.

That would be cool! I wonder how Knightmares will feel with a read on one sit, skipping the dreadful The Price

[Scott Taylor]

I personally think that we will get more answers about Thomas Wayne’s motivations and involvement in The Fall and the Fallen.

Yah, King says that in the interview. He also mentions that Thomas Wayne's notion of not wanting Bruce to be Batman is at the heart of things. Plus that Batman's main question to answer in the entire run is whether his love for Catwoman can be put above his vow to his dead parents. They are one in the same question - can anything stop him from being Batman? - Bane, his dad, his girlfriend, etc.

[millernumber1]

Yah, King says that in the interview. He also mentions that Thomas Wayne's notion of not wanting Bruce to be Batman is at the heart of things. Plus that Batman's main question to answer in the entire run is whether his love for Catwoman can be put above his vow to his dead parents. They are one in the same question - can anything stop him from being Batman? - Bane, his dad, his girlfriend, etc.

I would flip the question (and I hope King does, too) - does being Batman mean that you have to be dead, that you have to stay immature and traumatized forever?

[Inversed]

I think mostly things concerning Thomas Wayne, but I think we're still owned answers about the whole Gotham siblings deal. I would want that by the start of City of Bane, at least we know more about Bane's cabal and just for how much time all this has been going on (everything seems to be pointing out to issue #1).

My theories are that Skeets' time travel abilities plus Psycho Pirate knowledge of the various continuities is how Bane found out and brought in Thomas Wayne, saving him mere moments before the whole Flashpoint timeline was erased (again). Thomas wants Bruce to stop being Batman, but I'm not yet sure how Bane convinced him to be part of his plan. I wonder if Bane had anything to do with Booster Gold's nervous breakdown (with some help of Skeets and/or Psycho Pirate)---I excuse myself if that is not the correct name of what happened to BG. I'm pretty ignorant about psychology besides some superficial knowledge

Riddler and Joker were convinced after I Am Bane, but Hugo Strange has been with Bane since the beggining. Personally, I like how the original idea of Bane and Strange cooperating so the first could get Psycho Pirate and the second the Venom formula worked, but I don't know if that will be the final version. I guess the limitation of the Gotham siblings' powers was deliberate so they wouldn't become a menace as superheroes with unlimited power. Still, I think more should be going on in that aspect that a Venom derivative. I'm not a fan of Venom being capable of everything after alterning or adding some elements

You explaining it like that, with just Bane and Hugo Strange working together at first does make the most sense. Implying that Gotham and Gotham Girl was his Plan A for breaking Batman, and it wasn't until after he got locked up that he decided to take advantage of the proposal for his Plan B.

Going back and reading through the I Am trilogy, there are too many instances, namely the one's involving Bane alone and reacting to the events going on, that seem to imply that Batman reclaiming the Psycho Pirate on his island wasn't part of the plan. We see him reacting very angrily and irrationally, and see how his rampage in I Am Bane is handled. This is especially prevalent in the Arkham Asylum fight, which straight up shows he wasn't in control of the place yet, including how he's fighting with important people in his 'cabal' like Scarecrow and Riddler.

I think it makes sense that Bane would have the resources and skills to take control of the Asylum from the inside, and bring all of these other villains together to help manipulate a new ultimate scheme, much more than the explanation that every single thing, including his capture, was part of one master plan.

Like it has been heavy theorized that thanks to the Holly connection, Bane was the one who made her kill all the people, knowing Selina would take the blame, and that Batman would help her, and so it's predicted that Bane was trying to push them together so they can be a true couple, just so he can ruin it and break him even more, which to me honestly doesn't make a whole lot of sense. That would rely on ALOT of four dimensional chess on Bane's part to know that these events will definitely be what makes Batman to propose.

[millernumber1]

You explaining it like that, with just Bane and Hugo Strange working together at first does make the most sense. Implying that Gotham and Gotham Girl was his Plan A for breaking Batman, and it wasn't until after he got locked up that he decided to take advantage of the proposal for his Plan B.

Going back and reading through the I Am trilogy, there are too many instances, namely the one's involving Bane alone and reacting to the events going on, that seem to imply that Batman reclaiming the Psycho Pirate on his island wasn't part of the plan. We see him reacting very angrily and irrationally, and see how his rampage in I Am Bane is handled. This is especially prevalent in the Arkham Asylum fight, which straight up shows he wasn't in control of the place yet, including how he's fighting with important people in his 'cabal' like Scarecrow and Riddler.

I think it makes sense that Bane would have the resources and skills to take control of the Asylum from the inside, and bring all of these other villains together to help manipulate a new ultimate scheme, much more than the explanation that every single thing, including his capture, was part of one master plan.

Like it has been heavy theorized that thanks to the Holly connection, Bane was the one who made her kill all the people, knowing Selina would take the blame, and that Batman would help her, and so it's predicted that Bane was trying to push them together so they can be a true couple, just so he can ruin it and break him even more, which to me honestly doesn't make a whole lot of sense. That would rely on ALOT of four dimensional chess on Bane's part to know that these events will definitely be what makes Batman to propose.

I don't know if you have to say that Bane had everything planned out - I think you can say that he put a lot of different plans in motion as contingencies, and wove them together as Batman reacted to form an increasingly complex web.

I know some people don't like the idea that Bane's been planning since before the run started, but I think it's a fun idea, and makes more sense to me, since I don't really like the I Am trilogy that much, and I think it works better if Batman is already reacting to Bane's plan.

[Scott Taylor]

I would flip the question (and I hope King does, too) - does being Batman mean that you have to be dead, that you have to stay immature and traumatized forever?

That too. Though hopefully it won't broach the territory of whether or not Batman is insane. I'd just rather not go through that whole thing again.

[Inversed]

I don't know if you have to say that Bane had everything planned out - I think you can say that he put a lot of different plans in motion as contingencies, and wove them together as Batman reacted to form an increasingly complex web.

I know some people don't like the idea that Bane's been planning since before the run started, but I think it's a fun idea, and makes more sense to me, since I don't really like the I Am trilogy that much, and I think it works better if Batman is already reacting to Bane's plan.

Just for me personally, I've never been a fan of when everything that happens to a character, no matter how elaborate, has all been "according to plan", because it can make the manipulator feel too powerful/their actions too contrived, and it removes some of the agency of the other characters being effected. It's all about balance, manipulation can be good, just need the right amount of set up and plausibility.

That's why I think the idea of Bane trying to break Batman emotionally right from the beginning does make sense, and it also makes sense that he would be able to concoct a backup plan after his first falls through, I just hope it isn't revealed that his entire plan revolved around him losing and getting captured (which also like I mentioned, wouldn't make sense considering what we see in story, so if they are sticking very closely to their continuity, this hopefully isn't the route they're taking).

I would flip the question (and I hope King does, too) - does being Batman mean that you have to be dead, that you have to stay immature and traumatized forever?

I wonder if it could also be referring to that the Batman of before, with the whole "obsession" of the vow, is dead, and a new Batman rises from it, with a new purpose, outlook on life, and goal to achieve.

[millernumber1]

Just for me personally, I've never been a fan of when everything that happens to a character, no matter how elaborate, has all been "according to plan", because it can make the manipulator feel too powerful/their actions too contrived, and it removes some of the agency of the other characters being effected. It's all about balance, manipulation can be good, just need the right amount of set up and plausibility.

That's why I think the idea of Bane trying to break Batman emotionally right from the beginning does make sense, and it also makes sense that he would be able to concoct a backup plan after his first falls through, I just hope it isn't revealed that his entire plan revolved around him losing and getting captured (which also like I mentioned, wouldn't make sense considering what we see in story, so if they are sticking very closely to their continuity, this hopefully isn't the route they're taking).

I wonder if it could also be referring to that the Batman of before, with the whole "obsession" of the vow, is dead, and a new Batman rises from it, with a new purpose, outlook on life, and goal to achieve.

Part two of the interview is up!

https://www.newsarama.com/44793-batm...y-of-bane.html

I agree that if everything is by a human plan, it's silly. It's why I stopped enjoying Sherlock or the second RDJ Sherlock Holmes movie - everything just got too silly planned. But I think Bane having a ton of contingencies - a ton of irons in the fire, a ton of lines in the water, and waiting to see how they paid off, and then putting them all together - I think that's more realistic.

I do think King's actually going to kill Batman off more than just what happened in #50, though. Otherwise, it's just a cheat.

[Chubistian]

So it seems we're going to get a lot of answers with the next arc, that's super cool!

Okay, here goes a theory for the fun of it: Everything is as it seemed just untill the end of I Am Bane. Bane was happy with Psycho Pirate, there weren't any second intentions to his deal with Hugo Strange. Batman takes that happiness from Bane and yaddayadda. So, we have Bane about to kill Batman, but he realizes that to kill him is to end his misery, exactly like in Knightfall when he decided to rather break his back. So Bane choses to be defeated, he open his guard, knowing that he's going to start a plan that will finish with Batman broken in every aspect, that that's the minimum the Bat deserves after taking the only thing that he truly wanted. And so Bane starts finding things and getting into contact with whoever he needs to ensure that his enemy will fall.

[Inversed]

Part two of the interview is up!

https://www.newsarama.com/44793-batm...y-of-bane.html

I do think King's actually going to kill Batman off more than just what happened in #50, though. Otherwise, it's just a cheat.

As he put it, 50-75 is supposed to be his lowest point, so I think we are in for some kind of redemption, though of course also gonna expect some kind of pain he's gotta deal with.

The only disappointing thing about that interview is that I guess it means Joelle Jones and Lee Weeks aren't gonna be doing anymore story arcs for the final quarter of the series. I will imagine we'll probably see them as guests in 100 or in the epilogue, but its a shame because I would love to see them do one more story in this.

[millernumber1]

As he put it, 50-75 is supposed to be his lowest point, so I think we are in for some kind of redemption, though of course also gonna expect some kind of pain he's gotta deal with.

The only disappointing thing about that interview is that I guess it means Joelle Jones and Lee Weeks aren't gonna be doing anymore story arcs for the final quarter of the series. I will imagine we'll probably see them as guests in 100 or in the epilogue, but its a shame because I would love to see them do one more story in this.

Well, we know Fornes and Janin are on Fall and the Fallen (and hooray for Fornes!) Daniel is doing at least some of City of Bane...but honestly, I don't think Daniel can do all 8. I'm betting that Clay Mann will do at least one of those for Kite Man, as the interview hints, and I bet Weeks will come back at some point, either during City of Bane or during the 23 issues (83-105) that follow. I wouldn't be surprised if Weeks actually drew all of 105, in Porky's, with Batman and Kite-Man drinking together, as King keeps promising.