My rant about Batman writers

 My rant about Batman writers 

 

Intro: In case you're wondering, No! I don't plan on doing this for other comic book characters. When I write about comic book characters, I already expressed my overall issues with them that could affect the writing or my ability to enjoy their stories. For example, it's hard to get into the Flash and Hulk comics because of how powerful they are. It's hard to get into the Punisher comics because of how narrow-minded he is in dealing with the villains. It's hard to get into Wonder Woman comics because the writers don't know what to do with her. 

When it comes to Batman, the writers did things with the Batman lore over the years that bugs me. Another reason why I'm doing this is because the Batman Kool-Aid is stronger than my addiction to Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a kid. Find me ten reaction videos where people are annoyed that they're getting another LEGO Batman game if you don't believe me. Where's the hashtag give us a LEGO Justice League game?!? Warning! If you haven't read Batman comics from the past 25 years, don't read this post. 

I don't know about you, but the quality of Batman comics from the 2000s until now has been a rollercoaster for me. Part of the reason is because there isn't one writer that I enjoy reading most of his or her work. Since No Man's Land, the year-long stories are not up to par. (The same thing goes for the crossover comics.) We have War Games, Murderer/Fugitive, and I'll talk about the rest later. War Games is a mess, and Murderer/Fugitive wouldn't last a year if Bruce/Batman was proactive. (Also, Shadow of the Bat #55 did this story better.) 

 

If there were a Mount Rushmore of Batman writers, it would be Chuck Dixon, Paul Dini, Alan Grant, and I can't think of a fourth person. ( I was going to pick the late Dennis O' Neil, but his run has some goofiness to them.) The only problem I have with Paul Dini is that I don't agree with keeping Nora Freeze dead because keeping her alive makes Mr. Freeze more sympathetic. Greg Rucka is one of the worst Batman writers; like I said, he doubles down on Batman's worst traits, and it was all for nothing. 

Jeph Loeb is an overrated Batman writer. I'm surprised that The Long Halloween and Hush are popular Batman stories because we don't know who the Holiday killer is, and Dark Victory is a retread of its predecessor, but with a few changes. Hush is underwhelming. What's the point of the Riddler knowing Bruce is Batman if it has no payoff? Dead Reckoning from Detective Comics issues 777 to 782 is a better mystery than this. (It's a shame that it didn't get reprinted in trade paperback, but I digress.) I'm also indifferent to the character Hush. Thankfully, Paul Dini fixed that with Heart of Hush and Streets of Gotham. Mr. Loeb hasn't given us a good Batman mystery; to be fair, that genre has lost its novelty. Hush 2 and The Last Halloween make him look worse as a writer. Do I really have to comment on how bad Hush 2 is? Plus, I want to put him in the most painful submission hold for doing Bane dirty. The Last Halloween may be better, but he should have left that series alone. 

Judd Winick is an underrated Batman writer. I say that because he didn't get a fair run with the character. He only wrote two Batman stories; they are Under the Red Hood and As the Crow Files. Both of those stories were undermined by the crossover event at the time. I would like to see him get another run at Batman instead of Grant Morrison. Or write stories for other Batman characters. What he did with Dick Grayson in Batman: Long Shadow is decent, and I can't comment on what he did with Catwoman.  

  

Let's start with Scott Snyder; his run on Batman didn't do it for me. The only thing he wrote I like was Zero Year. That story shows that the Riddler can be a big threat and pays homage to three other Batman stories. I have mixed feelings about the Court of Owls saga. I like the idea of a secret organization that knows everything and everyone in the city; however, making it a part of Batman lore oversimplifies things. I mean, having them behind the crimes in Gotham or playing a role in Bruce's parents being murdered takes away any complexity in Bruce/Batman's efforts in saving the city from itself. Also, the Talons are far-fetched for this group. No writer has capitalized on how much of a threat they can be, as far as I know. 

I don't like the direction he took with the Joker in Endgame. I don't care about Batman Eternals; that story is about a series of events that are orchestrated by one person. That story had already been told twice, and Eternals didn't break any new ground. I couldn't get into the absolute Batman because the character models turn me off. The way Bane easily beat Batman in their first encounter annoys me because that's what I was expecting from Ra's al Ghul. Why is he called the Demon's head if he's not going to live up to that title? I'm still waiting for a Batman version of Wrath of Khan. Going back to Bane, I like what Scott Snyder has done with the character. I just wish this were done in the new 52 instead of this. 

Tim King's run was disappointing; I mean, I expected more from a former CIA Officer. I will say this; I like that his run has an overall story, and that story did a better job at what the Hush story tried to do. As far as having events in the story lead up to something. When the build-up to your main story is better than the main story, something is wrong. The war between Jokes and Riddles could have been better if A it didn't happen in Batman's early years, and B the conflict between The Joker and the Riddler wasn't lame. Tom King wrote three things I like; they are Cold Days, I am Bane, and Gotham Year One. Cold Days is a Batman version of 12 Angry Men, I am Bane made Bane scary, and Gotham Year One is what the Gotham series should have been. City of Bane could have been better if he was behind everything and only had Batman characters. Also, what's the point of killing off Alfred in that story if it does little to nothing for Bruce/Batman as a character? 

Chip Zdarsky's run is far-fetched, ridiculous, and retreads what was done before with no rhyme or reason. The first story, ARC, is a response to the Tower of Babel, as far as what is Batman's plan to stop himself from going rogue? His response is to create an A.I. called failsafe. I like the irony behind this story, but we didn't need it for two reasons. First of all, Nightwing and Black Bat can beat him in hand-to-hand combat. Tim Drake can rival his detective skills, and Oracle can heck his tech. Second, it makes Batman look stupid. I mean, whatever lesson he suppose to gain from this story, he should have learned in the Tower of Babel. Really, he should have learn this is War Games because that story is about a contingency plan they blow up in his face. Also, in that story, Batman fell from space and landed on Earth. I know you have to suspend your disbelief with comics, but there's a limit. 

Towards the end of his next story, Batman meets different versions of himself. This was fun, but everything around it wasn't. Do I really have to comment on Joker year one? I enjoyed his last story ARC, called The Dying City. That story is about Batman solving a murder that turns into a conspiracy. I just wish that story didn't make Jim Gordon and Thomas Wayne look bad. I also like the first story he wrote in Batman Urban Legends because it was a nice follow-up to Under the Red Hood. Chip Zdarsky could have been a better Batman writer if he had focused on writing street-level stories for the character and hadn't played with past events.

  

Grant Morrison's run is polarizing. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what he tried to do as far as bringing elements from the Gold and Silver ages to modern comics. However, the end result ranges from being clever to messy. Also, you can't read a random story in his run without knowing what happened beforehand. ( Grant, that's a problem I have with comic books in general, but I digress.) Another thing that hurt his run is that Batman is OP with the contingency plans. 

 This is one of the reasons why Batman is hard to write; whenever he's in a dire situation, fans won't take it seriously because they know or suspect that he planned for it. 

I blame Mark Waid, the writer of Tower of Babel, for this. Ever since that story, the fans took Batman having contingency plans and ran with it. I hate to burst their bubble, but when it comes to prep time, he's not better than Dr. Doom. If Samurai Jack can make fun of how ridiculous and frustrating prep time is, why can't you see the problem with it? 

This run starts with Batman and Son, where we are introduced to the second most annoying character in the Batman mythos, Damian Wayne. Yes! I know Damian has become less insufferable over the years thanks to Peter J. Tomasi's and Joshua Williamson's run of Batman and Robin, but you know what they say about first impressions. Plus, he's not in any good stories to help us appreciate his growth. Peter J Tomasi's run, jump the shark, and Joshua Williamson's run is a mixed bag for me. I'm interested in the latest story because Bruce and Damian are finally in a good place in their relationship.  

Batman and Son was OK, but the direct-to-video movie was better. After that story and before R.I.P., everything else in between ranges from OK to meh. My gripe with R.I.P. is that the Black Glove didn't make the best first impression. Part of the reason is that we don't learn anything about the leader, Dr. Hurt, until toward the end of his run. Also, before R.I.P., the Black Glove had Batman dead to rights, and they blew it. The return of Bruce Wayne had a fun concept of Bruce traveling through different time periods, but the story around it can be confusing. Overall, Grant Morrison's run didn't impress me. 

Tom Taylor has only written two stories so far and is in the middle of his third. I don't care about the first story for two reasons. First of all, it plays with Batman's origin. Second, it explores his no-kill rule for the millionth time. That's another thing that hurts Batman stories is the no-kill rule fatigue. If you're not going to have Batman kill someone or let someone die, then don't explore his no-kill rule again. I'm also tired of people ending up dead after learning the hero's identity trope. I like the second story because it can work as a satire of Batman. The current story looks like a rehash of Contagion and Fear for Sale. 

That's the problem with comic books in general; when you write stories for a character that's been around for a long time, you tend to recycle stories that's been done before. 

The writer of Detective Comics before Tom Taylor had Batman fight against supernatural villains, which I find off-putting. Those villains are too powerful for him. We didn't need Joker Wars and Fear State. The Joker doesn't care whose under the mask, why should that matter now? We already have a story of Scarecrow pumping the city with fear gas; why do we need another one? I have nothing to say about Jace Fox as Batman because I think it's funny. How can DC give us Black Batman when Black men are too busy being Robin? 

For twenty-five years now, Batman writers haven't been batting a thousand. There are two recent Batman stories that I enjoy; they are Batman and Robin: Year One and Batman: Dark Patterns. Batman and Robin: Year One focuses on Bruce and Dick going through the growing pains in and out of costume, which is the heart of the story. The only complaint I have with that story is how Dick Grayson is depicted; he reminds me of Jason Todd at times. Also, that story went in a direction with Clayface that I've been wanting to see for years, that is, making its own version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Batman: Dark Patterns focuses on Batman being a detective. 

The only suggestion I have from the writers is that they need to be more creative with Batman's rogues gallery, other than killing them off, making them anti-heroes, or being second fiddle to the Joker. For example, the first mystery in Batman: Dark Patterns could've worked as a Hush Story. Really, that's what he should have done to the Joker in Hush 2. I would like to see more stories of Hugo Strange playing mind games with Bruce/Batman or turning the Bat-family against him. If you can't do anything new with Man-Bat and Mr. Freeze other than doubling down on what Paul Dini did with him in Batman TAS, then leave them alone. Heck, they don't use the villains Paul Dini introduced in the streets of Gotham. 

They also need to cut the fat with Batman's allies. Killing off Alfred and demoting Jim Gordon is not what I had in mind. I mean, get rid of Batwoman, Batwing, Bluebird, the Signal. Seriously, with Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin having their own series. Plus, Birds of Prey and The Outsiders, Batman can have his own Bat-verse ( Don't even think about Hollywood.) With that said, I would like to see Leslie Thompkins fill in Alfred's role. Also, how did Cassandra Cain go from Batgirl to Black Bat to Orphan? 

That's all I have to say about this topic for now.