So, this past week Gotham
revealed the central mystery around its new villain Theo Galavan. The “big reveal” of was that Galavan
was actually a radical revision of the Batman supporting hero Azrael and the
Order of Saint Dumas, now reimagined as a disgraced Gotham family returning to
seek revenge on the Waynes. It’s a
pretty dumb idea that got me thinking about how much I hate Gotham, but also how much I love Azrael
and Batman’s extended roster of fellow heroes. Batman has one of the largest rosters of supporting heroes
out there and the idea of Batman working alongside other heroes has been
furrowed into the character almost since the beginning. As much as people like to believe
Batman is a deadly lone squirrel he’s definitely a pack animal, as best demonstrated
by the major success enjoyed by both the Bat Family comic line and the Brave and the Bold comics and shows that
paired him with fellow heroes. So,
this is your full spectrum look at the Batman Family in all their shades,
shames, and successes.
Bat Mite comes to us from a relatively strange time for
family dynamics in superhero books: 1959.
Appearing well after the introduction of standard Bat Family members
like Robin, Batwoman, and even Ace the Bat Hound Bat Mite was the first and
really only attempt DC ever made to wed the wholesomeness of ‘50s hero family
dynamics with the emerging whimsical whackiness of the ‘60s. Bat Mite’s origin is that he’s a
hyper-imp from the 5th dimension, the same place as Mr. Mxyzptlk
from the Superman mythos, the difference being that Bat Mite is a huge fan of
Batman and is desperate to use his omnipotent powers to help the caped
crusader. Though his origin is on
key with the weird science tales of the ‘50s his more whimsical nature is more
at home in the ‘60s and his habit of causing more shenanigans than he solved
made him more of a menace than an aid to Batman. DC soon settled into the dynamic of using the hero family
set-up to create teen heroes like Batgirl and Supergirl while Batmite fell into
disrepute and obscurity, appearing briefly and bizarrely in Grant Morrison’s
Batman run as the last vestiges of reason in Batman’s eroding
consciousness.
I mentioned just now that Batwoman had been created as a
product of the ‘50s, the reason for that has to do with the infamous book Seduction of the Innocent. The ignominious cultural critique
alleged that Batman and Robin were meant to portray a gay relationship that
would lead young men into a life of homosexual behavior. It was absolute hog swill and balderdash
but the book sent ripples causing DC to create a female counterpart for Batman
to fall in love with, enter Batwoman.
However, the Batwoman that is my favorite supporting character is the
modern re-invention of the character from the acclaimed maxi-series 52. This Batwoman was devised as a sort of reversal of fortunes
on the original’s real world baggage as even though the original Batwoman
proved to be a relatively fun character she never escaped the shadow of homophobia
that colored her creation. The
modern Batwoman was re-imagined to be Kate Kane, an ass kicking lesbian who,
after being kicked out of the army under the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” period,
took her skills to the streets of Gotham, battling a death cult of crime that
had infested the city. Aside from
being one of the most prominent LGBT heroes of the modern era this new Batwoman
is also specifically written to have a Jewish heritage, making her a perfect
storm of awesome character traits.
After Batman’s original sidekick Dick Grayson left the role
of Robin he got a second partner named Jason Todd. Where Dick was a rambunctious but lovable circus youth Jason
was more troubled, an orphaned teen who’d spent several years living on the
streets before Batman found him and brought him on as the new Robin. Jason eventually met a brutal end when
the Joker beat him to death in a very well regarded event called Death in the Family, and then things
went wrong. Around 30 years later
Jason returned from death thanks to Multiversal shenanigans that are frankly
too idiotic to really get into. Now
returned from the grave Jason took it upon himself to become the vigilante he
always felt Batman should’ve been, a violent murderous psychopath who guns down
villains as the Red Hood. When
Jason first returned I actually liked the character because the comics were
smart enough to keep him as an antagonist for Batman rather than a quasi-ally
like he is now.
However, the character gained major popularity as a troubled
anti-hero thanks to the animated film Under
the Red Hood, which was essentially a streamlined and sanitized version of
the story that recast Jason as a misunderstood violent murderer. Since then he’s become essentially the
Batman universe’s version of Venom, the slick, cool, edgy version of Batman
without any of the earnestness or beliefs that might make him less
extreme. Even though he’s become a
massively popular character I just can’t stand him for this main reason,
especially since no writer has ever seemed genuinely interested in the Red Hood. If he appears in a story, 9 times out
of 10 it’s because the writers wanted a bump in the sales and to soullessly
pander instead of trying to tell an interesting or compelling story with the
character. He’s essentially the
most shallow and unappealing parts of Batman and the Punisher combined into one
boring red package.
In case you’ve never heard of her before, Oracle started
life as Barbara Gordon, the second Batgirl. The original Batgirl had been a thoroughly undeveloped hero
who first appeared for the sole purpose of giving Robin a female love interest
in the same manner as Batwoman.
However, this version of Batgirl had essentially no identity or
personality so when the Adam West TV Show introduced their own Batgirl as
commissioner Gordon’s daughter she proved so popular the comics integrated her
into continuity. Barbara proved
thoroughly popular and lasted for a long time as a key member of the Batman
Family, however as DC entered the ‘80s and decide to break ties with its
lighter, friendly roots one of the demands was that most of Batman’s family
baggage was to be removed the equation.
Enter the story The Killing Joke,
in which the Joker shot and paralyzed Barbara Gordon from the waste down in one
of the most brutal and graphic sequences ever published in a mainstream
comic. In a lesser world that’s
where the story would’ve ended, but thankfully we live in an amazing world
because the loss of her legs only ended up a temporary time out for Barbara
Gordon.
It had been established in Barbara’s ‘70s comic series that
she was a librarian and something of a techy so as the ‘90s dawned and the
computer era came upon she re-emerged into the Batman mythos and superhero
scene overall as Oracle, a computer hacker of amazing caliber. As Oracle Barbara ran her own team of
crime fighters known as the Birds of Prey and provided logistical support to
Batman and all of his allies, eventually becoming a member of the Justice
League of America. Oracle is
easily the best member of the Batman family and honestly one of the best
superheroes ever created. Her
story of personal strength and growth through adversity is one of the most well
written and inspiring I’ve seen in the medium overall, even improving on the
classic Batman myth of strength from tragedy. What’s more I love that she’s a differently abled hero who
isn’t being buoyed by superpowers.
Heroes like Daredevil or Professor Xavier are also differently abled but
they’ve always had the added benefit of super powers that grant them abilities
far beyond normal people, with Oracle all she has is her intelligence and
experience and that’s all she needs to be a member of the greatest superhero
force on the planet. Oracle is a
brilliant story of rising from the ashes of personal tragedy to become stronger
than ever.
Azrael is a weird character to say the least. Specifically I’m talking about
Jean-Paul Valley, the first Azrael from the ‘90s. Valley was the latest in a long family line of Azraels, holy
warriors over the order of St. Dumas, a freaky religious cult that worshipped a
crusader knight of the same name.
In recent times under the Michael Lane Azrael most folks know from the Arkham City and Arkham Knight games the order has become simply a force for evil
but back in the ‘90s they were more of an ambiguous force. They fought evil with deadly tactics
but at the same time they were still fighting for a sense of justice. That idea of trying to do good while
laboring under a history of violence and madness is why I love the original
Azrael so much. His whole
character was always that he desperatedly wanted to use his training and
technology to fight evil but was constantly caught between wanting to fight
evil and becoming consumed by the brainwashing forced upon him by the Order and
his father. It was an interesting
dynamic and very compelling; especially with how often Jean-Paul’s sense of
reality would give way to the cult’s hallucinations and brainwashing. Jean-Paul is a lot like the diametric
opposite of Red Hood, in that both characters are protégés of Batman who
struggle with a streak of violent retribution. The big difference is that where Red Hood is all about
wallowing in excess violence and his own failures Azrael is all about
struggling to do good in spite of his own history and failures.
Orpheus is a character that could be charitably described as
a good idea at the wrong time.
Armed with an experimental stealth suit and fight-dance training he came
to Gotham with the plans to
clean-up the streets as the city’s premiere black superhero. Unfortunately for him no one really
cared about his comic in 2001, partially because this was right at the time
Batman was developing a fairly massive roster of allies but also because Mr.
Terrific, who had very similar powers, had already been established for 4 years
as part of the Justice Society of America. Given his lack of mainstream popularity the character faded
into obscurity until the 2005 Batman event comic War Games where DC killed him as part of an effort to cull the
extended Batman supporting cast.
Most of early 2000s Batman is pretty disappointing and rightfully
forgotten now like Bruce Wayne Fugitive
or police Commissioner Atkins but Orpheus is one of the few things from that
era that deserves a comeback. From
the outset his costume and power set are both really cool but more than that he
was right; Gotham does need a premiere black superhero. More and more lately people have been
rightfully pointing out how sketchy the optics are of super rich Bruce Wayne
going out to beat up poor people because he’s sad so adding a character like
Orpheus, whose whole identity was about community crime fighting, would be a
great way to shake things up.
Dick Grayson is easily the 2nd most important
character in the Batman mythos so the fact that he’s the most beloved member of
the Batman family should come as exactly no surprise to anyone. What is surprising and fairly
impressive about Dick Grayson is how much he’s been allowed to grow and develop
as a character. Most of the time
in comics heroes are forced to remain static, both in terms of maintaining the
same identity and status quo and in terms of visually remaining the same age
forever. Dick Grayson is one of
the few heroes for whom that wasn’t the case, he grew up, going from Robin to Nightwing
and eventually dawning the mantle of Batman. Additionally his relationships were also allowed to develop
and change as well. We’ve
essentially grown-up with Grayson and that development has only made him a more
beloved character, though what’s always made him a hallmark of fan love in the
Batman mythos is his sense of humor.
In my review of Batman:
The Brave and the Bold I mentioned how the idea that Batman is a lone wolf
hero was essentially a myth, that Batman has always had help. Not only does Dick Grayson fly in the
face of that popular myth he also breaks up the myth that Batman and his
universe need to be deathly serious and dark. Grayson has always been the lighter side of the Batman
equation, bringing a sense of fun and levity to, what is otherwise a thoroughly
dark and brooding continuity of overt seriousness. Over time this emphasis was relatively drained out of the
Batman/Robin dynamic as the Jason Todd Robin proved more brooding and
rebellious than fun and Tim Drake was basically just an adult in a child’s
body. However, Dick Grayson never
outgrew his sense of lightness and humor, so when he took up the mantle of
Batman for a time he maintained a lighter tone, which with amazing
results. People tend to forget
that Batman himself is actually a pretty jokey character, usually indulging in
a thoroughly sarcastic sense and dry cutting humor, so it’s not as if humor is
some alien concept to the Batman mythos.
Since then Grayson returned to his role as Nightwing and, more recently,
became a super spy under the codename of just “Grayson.” That last one is actually a direct
result of the character’s enduring popularity as DC editorial has planned to
kill Grayson off no less than 3 different times but every time fan outcry has
been so pronounced they had to relent and change their plans.
Okay time for the characters too awesome to fit into the
above categories starting with The Spectre. The Spectre was originally a supernatural hero from the ‘40s
created by Jerry Siegel after he got mugged while walking home. Siegel was so shaken and angry from the
experience that he made up the character of the Spectre as a vengeful ghost cop
who used his spectral powers to do some terrifying superheroics. The character proved popular, mainly
because he was one of the few ‘40s superheroes who was at all influenced by the
classic pulp characters of the ‘30s as well as enjoying a slightly more mature
tone of story given his origin involved being murdered so as to return to life
as a ghost. After several retcons
and re-appearances it was eventually decided the Spectre was the spirit of
vengeance, a living embodiment of God’s justice. This mainly came out of his ‘70s comic series as horror
comics were coming back into style back then.
This was also the time that writers decided to resituate the
Spectre’s base of operations to Gotham City, giving him the new back-story of a
murdered Gotham cop who soul has become bound to the spirit of vengeance. Since then Spectre’s had a number of
different hosts including James Corrigan, a re-imagining of his original
identity and the only version of the character to appear in live action on the Constantine TV show, Green Lantern Hal
Jordan, who tried to emphasize redemption rather than retribution, and my
personal favorite Crispus Allen, another Gotham detective from Greg Rucka’s
acclaimed Gotham Central comic. Currently Spectre is still meeting out
vengeance in Gotham city in the soon-to-be-cancelled comic Gotham by Midnight in which he, as James Corrigan, runs an entire
paranormal department of the Gotham City police department.
Batman Inc. is one of the coolest ideas of the entire Batman
mythos while also one of the dopiest.
Back in 2008 Batman was involved in a major DC Comics event called Final Crisis, an amazing comic I’ll
probably review somewhere down the line.
As part of the climax and fallout of that event Batman ended up lost in
time, which is the incident that led to Dick Grayson taking over as Batman. However, while Bruce was lost through
time he caught a glimpse of a dark and devastated future and even though he
wasn’t sure how it happened he knew he had to prevent it. So, to defend the world against
whatever was coming he went about building himself an army of Batmen drawn from
the silver age concept of the Club of Heroes. The Club of Heroes was a one-off silver age story about a
group of crime fighters from around the world who were all inspired by Batman
to become heroes in their own right.
Now, Batman called upon his former associates and new heroes
to become Batman Incorporated, a ring of Batmen around the world, each one
outfitted with batcaves and technology to fight a new kind of threat, from
Japan to Argentina and Australia to Africa. The idea even expanded beyond the physical world to a war of
culture, ideology, and economics with Bruce developing his own version of the
Internet patrolled by Oracle and building an army of Ro-Bats to help him. It eventually came to light that the
enemy he was preparing for was Talia Al Ghul, seeking revenge on Batman for
“corrupting” their son Damian with actual moral values and such. It’s a dynamite story that forms a
beautiful contrast between the ugly, petty emotions that can arise from toxic
relationships and how those emotions are manifested in a world of doomsday
weapons and super powers.
Next Week: something super.
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