Honestly? I'd just put a memo out to all the writers to forget everyone in a costume not named Bruce, Dick, or Barbara for like five years, see which characters the fans clamor the loudest for, and then bring back only two more.
But the bat family is to big, I see people coming up with directions for characters and that's good and all butt there's a problem. There's not enough books for all these different directions. Its not going be 10 bat solos out at the same time. Most of them will have to on a team or be supporting cast in anothers book, that'll make it very hard for all of them to get the spotlight fans what or most willl just be in and out of limbo like now.
Word. He needs to go.
I would get rid of Duke, Harper, and Batwing for sure. Damian can stay with the TT, Tim with YJ. Or I'd go Damian is Robin to Dicks fixed Nightwing and Tim is Robin to Batman. I would return Barbara to Oracle and Cass to Batgirl. Steph would be around as Spoiler, but probably paired with Tim. Azrael I would pull out of the family and put him back closer to his roots. He was far more interesting when he killed then just another Batclone.
Pulls: Batman, Detective Comics, SiKtC, Catwoman, Nightwing, Titans, Godzilla, Wonder Woman, Batman & Robin, Brave and the Bold, No/One, Kill your Darlings, and Deviant.
My runs: Batman #230-, and Detective #420-
lol, I was thinking more along the lines of making fun of him for being a sour puss.
He did though, and he even said as much in interviews when he was asked why he killed Damian. It was editorial that decided Damian was too popular to leave dead.
That would be interesting!
1. Damien never happened
2. Tim is Robin.
No more Batman-associated and/or Gotham-based heroes... I swear with the amount of heroes running around in Gotham, it should have the least amount of crime in the whole world... Ship off some of the heroes to other cities as agents of Bat... "graduated" Robins should each have their own city and/or team and not be in Gotham much. Whoever is Batman's Robin, make him be the one in Gotham the most. I assume it would be Damian as he is the youngest and needs to be interacting with and raised by "daddy" more.
Jason is already pretty well set-up with Outlaws. Bring Bizarro and Artemis back, keep the current squad...
I do want Tim to eventually "retire" or take a more Oracle-like approach to crime-fighting as originally that is what he wanted and I think it was something that set him apart from the rest, but too early for him to retire... Would be nice to see him be trying to keep a normal life in addition to crimefighting even now though...
I would have Barbara go back to being Oracle tbh (still healed) and leading the Birds of Prey (including Spoiler and Huntress) from another city. Cass as Batgirl can regularly make appearences there too.
No more Bat-god and psycho/dark Bat.... no more "Bruce Wayne's real identity is Batman" crap. Bruce Wayne is a human being and has a heart - let him show it. It is not a "weakness" if he does. And really I get that losing his parents at such a young age has been traumatic and it has left its scars & he does have to deal with psychos all the time which takes its toll yada yada... but Bruce is a grown-up who has had many people enter his life who has shown him love and friendship, he needs to have "healed" a bit by now where he isn't so dark and grim and comes off as nothing more than one big mean crime-fighting machine who is prone to shutting everyone out or rage fits - it really just makes him come off boring and weak and unrelatable. As part of this, if we need to have such a large bat-family, make USE of it by having them interact more & and I mean quality interactions that goes beyond Bruce ordering people around and being a jerk...
No sidekicks for Nightwing... I am all for him having more interactions with Bat family, and want writers to make use of the special bond between him and Damian -seeing them involved in each other's stories from time to time would be great- but I feel Nightwing should not be tied down with a sidekick and it is too much a mirror of Batman for more liking and plays into the "Batman-lite" thing. Nightwing is Dick being free to do whatever he wants, on his own. Besides I feel his solo should remain his solo and should not turn into "Nightwing & ...". he has his solo hijacked by a bunch of people right now anyway, I (and he) need time to heal from that...
Yes! No More Bat-God!!!!!
Pretty much where I'm at. Bruce, Dick, Babs and a Robin (Damian being my preferred option) are all I need for the core group, with Kate and Bette off doing their own thing. Kate shouldn't be Bruce's cousin anymore either.
I would even be fine with going with the TNBA set up with Batgirl being Batman's main partner (sans the romantic/sexual aspect) while Dick isn't a regular presence in Gotham. And with Damian, more often than not, being with Dick.
The other thing to consider is that Gotham City has a population in the millions, and its infrastructure is mostly rotted out and crumbling. Can one man save everyone? Would he force out help when obviously he's stretched too thin to do it all himself. People don't have it good there--lots of crime, lots of poverty. I think Batman needs all the help he can get with that town; the Family should formalize their activities more. For example, a short-lived plot device in the 70's that went nowhere was Bruce's VIP work--his Victims Incorporated Program. Why not put the compassionate Dick Grayson as responsible for following up for these families and giving them the support AND justice they've been denied by the corrupt city government? I could see Babs or Kate running for the City Council, trying to work from within. Jason might be that Plan B guy, or perhaps the black sheep who disdains the others' methods but isn't biddable or stoppable? Damian could do good for the kids in Gotham City; they could see that a kid CAN make a difference. I question if the Bats could take their own roles within The Family Business.
Last edited by oasis1313; 03-14-2019 at 07:15 PM.
What if Gotham becomes the largest city in the world?
Would this change how big is too big for the bat-family?
Mega fan of: Helena Bertinelli (pre-52), Batwoman, Birds of Prey, Guardians of the Galaxy, Secret Six
Fan of: Batman, Cassandra Cain, Wonder Woman, Silk, Stephanie Brown, Captain America, Hellcat, Renee Montoya, Gotham Central, King Shark
Quasi-Fan of: Aquaman, Midnighter, Superman, Catwoman, Nightwing, Green Arrow, Squadron Supreme, Red Hood
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Team Cap (both Rogers and Danvers)
No, the number of available books decides what is too big.
Right now we've got Bats in limbo because there's no room for them in the publishing line. How many Bats are too many? When you can't fit them all into a book each month. And that's where we're at.
If DC were to do a Gotham Knights type Bat-team-up book again like Detective was for a while, that would fix the problem. But without a "catch-all" title like that? What's the point of all these heroes if half of them aren't going to show up anywhere?
Last edited by Ascended; 03-14-2019 at 07:57 PM.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.