Well, I think part of what forms these characters as who they are is their relationship with Batman and each other, and how they find their own niche and adventures within that family circle. I don't think there's a pressing need for them to branch out but I'm also a fan of the Post-Crisis, 90's, Batfamily that was very centered and connected with each other.
If anything the Batfamily concept has been underutilized and underplayed, at least in an organic way whereas otherwise it just gets shoved in forcefully during big storylines without feeling as earned as it should be.
Well, in-universe the only think keeping Joker breathing is their no-kill rule and the fact that he seemingly cannot die.
Hi , actually I agree with you. Many in the " Batfamily " can not stand on their own. Pretty much only Grayson when written properly and Babs/Oracle. I do like Babs having the option to be Batgirl and or Oracle. I have always liked the Oracle character and Nightwing.
BATMAN: THE DETECTIVE #1, NIGHTWING #79 and CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER SONS #1 only for me. Not liking the flagship books, Batman and Detective Comics.
Batman avoided getting caught by the police in his early years. The police were never the main antagonists in the same vein that the Magistrate is gonna be. Batman's villains are colorful gimmicky villains with their own personalities and have their own goons already, not this mayor with the police force.
Last edited by prepmaster; 04-06-2021 at 02:40 AM.
Batman beat the hell out of that SWAT team. And the Magistrate seems (from someone not reading the Future State books, just keeping up sort of through articles, so could be wrong) seems more like some kind of quasi-fascist sci-fi police force than real world type cops. But if it is a more Batman vs cops thing, seems pretty relevant.
Oh don't get me wrong, I love those stories you listed. They're some of my favorites and I wish we still had ongoings of the Year One era as I much prefer it to current Batman.
But as a franchise, I think that the line as a whole looks pretty good right now. The titles for the other Batman characters haven't had this level of creators or ideas since the DCYou's Grayson, R:SoB, and Batgirl of Burnside. Before that, that last real period of exciting ideas for the whole line was nearly a decade ago. So I'm looking forward to whats in the works.
It's the Dynamic Duo! Batman and Robin!... and Red Robin and Red Hood and Nightwing and Batwoman and Batgirl and Orphan and Spoiler and Bluebird and Lark and Gotham Girl and Talon and Batwing and Huntress and Azreal and Flamebird and Batcow?
Since when could just anybody do what we trained to do? It makes it all dumb instead of special. Like it doesn't matter anymore.
-Dick Grayson (Batman Inc.)
He's right you know. Most villains are their most effective only when against their hero.
Joker shouldn't give people like Diana and Clark as much trouble as Bruce and likewise I think Bruce would have an easier time with Lex because of his corporate backing and financial reserves offering him a way to challenge Luthor's entrenched power in ways a poor reporter or strongman scientist cannot.
Joker is so effective because he's tailored to work around Bruce. I'm pretty sure if Black Adam got involved it would be the Joker's last punchline.
This of course is assuming heroes don't job to up the villain's cred, which of course will happen to sell more books, but if the heroes are allowed to be as competent as the villains, yeah, they will not hold against other heroes.
Far be it from me to defend the Joker but this is also in context of Cheetah and Luthor breaking into the Fortress and Bat-Cave, so unlike most instances involving Batman writers jobbing out other DC characters because of their insecurities like Injustice there's actually a fair trade off here.