(no subject)

[trinityvixen]

I'm feeling near to 50% better than yesterday, and that's on no drugs today other than advil for a headache. Hallelujah. If I had to be sickly as long as feiran or the guy who gave me the drugs yesterday were, I'd have called in sick today. I had an elevated temperature last night, not severe enough to worry about, but enough to give me chills. I slept really well, all things considered, which is no doubt why I am so refreshed today.

And I'm back to being able to concentrate on what I read, which is why this comment from Pandagon nearly made me hack up my lung when laughter turned into spasmodic coughing:

As Scripture says, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

"What scripture is that? The Gospel According to Spiderman? Maybe I’m looking in the wrong translations, but I can’t find that in the online Bibles at the BibleGateway."

Heeh. Gospel according to Spidey. Probably a lot friendlier than the actual gospel. Thou shalt make snarky comments when delivering final blows to thy opponents. Thou shalt deal with thy angst in as public a setting as possible. Thou shalt give J. Jonah Jameson a coronary when thou revealest thy secret identity to the world.

Heee!

Tonight is Superman Returns, which I'm quite looking forward to. It helps to have been saturated with the Big Guy of late. I watched the episode "Knight Time" of the Superman Animated Series last night, and that will never get old. If you haven't seen it, let me know, I'll get the DVD into your hands. It's the episode that proves why a Batman v Superman real-person movie just wouldn't ever work: they don't belong in each other's cities, and no neutral third city would have the emotional appeal. That's not to say that World's Finest wasn't fun (Cheeky Monkey Batman! SO MUCH LOVE!), just that I think the darker tone of cinema Batman and the more artsy/campy/cutesy Superman just wouldn't ever mesh.

And "Knight Time"....gah. Superman having to deal with Batman's rogue gallery of villains? Priceless. Makes the last-act appearance by a Superman villain completely ridiculous. Batman has better villains. You know why? Because Batman is better than Superman.

There! I said it! Again!

Comments

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

The Wikipedia entry is about as good as it gets on the Web, unfortunately. The most important difference is the revenge angle in the Batman mythology. Batman is avenging his slain parents; previous masked avengers fought crime out of boredom or public-spiritedness.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't think it is about revenge with Batman. The most important aspect of the origin story is that the murderer was never caught, isn't it? I mean, they've revised this several times, but last I heard, that was the official line. With no criminal to blame and bear the brunt of revenge, Bruce's need for it is dissipated into a general hatred of the criminal element. At the same time, he understands there is a fine line between policing that element and joining it, and I think he's stayed (for the most part) on the right side of that line. Some of the darkest adaptations of the Batman have even kept him from crossing over and making it personal to an unforgiveable degree.

Is he motivated by the deaths? Yes. Is it solely about revenge? I would argue not. Is it even mostly about revenge or 50/50? Mmm, still not convinced. One thing I thought that many of the Batman animated series got right (as did Batman Begins) is the fact that, well entitled as he is, Bruce is essentially spoiled in the classic sense such that he believes he is the right disinterested party to elevate, educate, and police the inferiors. Bruce is very arrogant in his assumption that only he--or those trained by him (look at his intolerance for the Huntress)--are able to effect the changes needed to keep Gotham safe and running. And he manages to overlook the fact that a lot of the good he does is undone by the characters that are so fixated on him, they cause other people to suffer just to duel with the Batman (hence the sizeable rogues' gallery).

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

Well, it depends on the version of Batman to some extent. In the very first origin story (Detective Comics, 1940), the young Bruce Wayne prays to God: "And I swear by the spirits of my parents to avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals." (Of course no 10-year old would ever talk like this...) Now today, when characterization is much more sophisticated (or, less charitably, when superheroes like to mope around a lot) I suspect Batman's motivations are much more complex.