I don’t like the modern Paranoid Batman. You know, the guy who doesn’t trust anybody despite being on at least three teams at any one time. One of them is the “Batman Family”, which keeps getting messed up because some writer comes along assuming Batman has to be a broody loner because of his trauma. Trauma has ruined the DC Universe, or rather how poorly it’s used to make formerly great characters weak or rage machines. I went over that with Billy Batson and Kara recently. One of the things that made me a DC fan over a Marvel fan was how well the heroes got along. I mean…my introduction had them calling themselves Superfriends, and then I see comics with even Batman and Superman getting along when they first met, unlike more recent versions at least as far back as The New Batman Superman Adventures if not earlier. It just frustrates me to no end as someone who is practically an isolated loner and yet I have friends.
In an attempt to “justify” his paranoia we have Batman stumbling upon certain Justice League members, catching them brainwashing a villain because he raped Elongated Man’s wife, and them wiping his mind. That’s the kind of garbage that started with you-know-who and continues now that he’s gone because many of the same writers he brought in are still there, still destroying the characters. When his memory came back in a story that had nothing to do with these events narratively and was just there to grimdark the DC Universe, he goes nuts and creates Brother Eye, formerly an example of “Big Brother” in another reality, which goes nuts and tries to destroy the world. Originally it was supposed to keep heroes in check, an extension of his growing paranoia. I hate this, too.
You know what I don’t hate? Batman having contingency plans for the heroes.
That also gets treated as part of his broody loner paranoid act, but when you think about it that’s not accurate. The “Tower Of Babel” storyline, in which Ra’s Al Ghul (Vandal Savage for some reason in the animated adaptation, not that Ra’s is known for caring about anyone in the Justice League besides Batman) learns of Batman’s plans, gives them a lethal twist, and tries to bump off the League. If that’s what you’re focused on then you really aren’t getting how important having such plans are to crimefighting, especially in a world where heroes have fallen (alternate continuities aside), villains share those powers, and mind control–and sometimes just body control are totally things that happen. It’s not that the plans exist, it’s that it’s done so poorly.
No shade to the plans themselves. One of the YouTube channels I follow is Multiversal Wisdom, a channel that uses AI voices (and recently images) to show Batman coming up with plans for characters across the multiverse. Not only DC. AI Batman takes on anime characters, live-action character, and video games characters with no link to the DC Universe as well as characters from his own dimension, which borrows from different DC adaptations over the years as part of his lore. That’s excluding something like Absolute Batman, which strays so far from DC norms even post-DiDio that the writer (who isn’t AI to my knowledge) uses to commentate on those alternate takes on Batman. He’s trying a few other things in that vein recently to keep the channel and creativity fresh, which is a good thing. No, my problem is how they use those plans to further push Bruce away from everyone friend and ally alike. And yet he’s made friends with the Riddler, Clayface, and Killer Croc plus his longtime romance with Catwoman. I don’t get it…but then I actually believe in heroes fighting villains.
The thing is Batman is right when he says that contingency plans against even his allies are necessary. Superman’s been a victim of mind control or brainwashing. One time Wonder Woman had to kill the one responsible. Other times, dealing with Poison Ivy’s control had him attacking Batman. Even in Superfriends he developed amnesia in one episode, with the bad guys of the planet he was on convincing him he was the evil Black Knight and helping them take over until that version of Batman came up with a risky plan to snap him out of it. Flash has made mistakes. Sometimes heroes are tricked. And we have seen heroes fall, though of course the big ones (the ones that DC makes money from) will rarely become evil unless they’re looking to replace them. Ask Hal Jordan. There’s also magical beings in the DCU, including those that possess the bodies of the heroes.
Let’s also not forget that villains often share the same powers. Superman has the Phantom Zone criminals and Bizarro. Not every Amazon is among the heroes. Sinestro and Reverse Flash exist. They aren’t going to let Batman get close enough to uncover their weaknesses, but because the heroes share powers and weaknesses, Batman can use them as a starting point. He needs something to help him if Zod comes forward. Sure, he’s more vicious with military training, and has less morals than Superman so there’s no mind control to break, but it at least gives him a starting point. Knowing how he’d stop Flash gives him something to work with against Reverse Flash.
The clip up there also shows he’s not against anyone doing that against him. Batman has studied many martial arts techniques. Not only fighting moves; Bruce also learned mental techniques, pressure points, various forms of science (and he’s not overpowered why?), inane trivia, and has been studying magic since it has become a factor in his superhero life. He also knows, under a good writer, who to call for help when he needs it, which was the basis of my commentary on how to use the Bat-Family narratively. In the adaptation he calls the League “damn fools” for not coming up with a plan to deal with him should he go rouge. Batman’s own plan is the League itself, knowing that they could take him down if they had to. He does trust them to only do so if he’s really gone rogue. To him it’s not a breach of trust, it’s a way to be prepared if Poison Ivy, whose powers include controlling people’s minds, gets a hold of them. He’s probably more concerned about that rather than his Superman going the “Injustice” or “Justice Lords” routes.
My only concern is that Multiversal Wisdom and the other YouTube channels I know cover this idea is that so many of them focus on Batman defeating heroes of other realties. As I keep saying, I’d rather see heroes fighting villains. I’m more interested in seeing Batman’s contingency plans against villains. What about characters who have Superman’s powers but no “Kryptonite” to break out? One of the reasons I like Multiversal Wisdom is that he doesn’t just come up with contingency plans. I could have broken the text wall with his video on beating Homelander (check here if you’re curious) but I chose how he’d reform Homelander. I love this idea, that Batman isn’t just stopping enemies but trying to find ways to reform them. This is the same guy who hires ex-cons so they won’t go back to the life if they actually want to leave it. Some of the methods he comes up with are a bit cruel even to the villains, but the fact that he has the goal of redeeming villains is the Batman I know.
I want to see more of Batman learning how to defeat villains than heroes, but being able to restrain allies should they go rogue or, more likely, be taken control of by a Poison Ivy or Maxwell Lord is also a solid plan. That’s not paranoia, that’s common sense. Batman being a strategist is in keeping with his character and in my Bat Family roles article that was Batman’s job as the all-purpose leader, strategy. I may not have emphasised that in the article but I probably should have. It’s something that Nightwing and Batwoman can also bring to the table, the former having trained with Bruce since he was a kid and the latter having military training that also made her the instructor in my scenario. By focusing on the heroes you push the “paranoid brooding loner” bit, but it’s still important to have those plans. Everyone should be focusing on defeating their villains and I would love to see more of Batman figuring out how to stop bad guys. This may include incapacitating the hero long enough to free them from evil influence. I’d also like to see plans to undo those influences. I want that to be the focus, but not a replacement. In the end it’s what Batman can bring to the team. It might not be comfortable, but it is necessary.
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