Top 5 Reasons Batman is Awesome on Batman Day

  Today is Batman Day! A day to celebrate that dark knight, the world's greatest detective you love! Or at least you should love Batman, I hope so! First let me thank Bill Finger and Bob Kane for creating Batman, without you both we'd never have the cultural icon that means so much to all of us this past 76 years and counting!  

  Now to honor Batman on Batman day, I created a top five reasons why I think Batman is awesome. 

  Let's begin...  

1. He is 100% Human

  While most heroes are aliens, or humans who gain magical powers, get some sore of radiation sickness, or are born mutants, Batman is 100% human. He might have lots of money, know a ridiculous amount of hand to hand combat moves, and have lots of toys, but he is human. In most comic book stories when he comes face to face with aliens or even the big old boy in blue, he almost always is shown to be the human side of the conflict, and overcomes the threat and wins. Comics have always recognized that his humanity is almost his super strength. He represents all of us when he faces odds that would be against a normal human from over coming, and he over comes those odds every time!

2. He has the Greatest Villains

  I can't think of any other comic book hero that has the most well known villains than Batman does. While it is true that we are living in a Comic Book Golden Age with the movie industry having a comic book movie premiering every 3 months or so, Batman still has the most villains that could be named by the average person.  Why is that? He has had countless TV shows, Movies, and other media made about him. But I think one of the major reasons someone on the street could name at least three Batman villains if you asked them is because these villains speak to our culture. Joker that smiling clown of crime is probably one of the most well known of Batman's villains. Many of the rouge's gallery top villains such as Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, Joker, and Penguin have been with Batman since almost the beginning. Catwoman was created to be Batman's Irene Adler and as such has always been a romantic interest, with the elephant in the relationship of her being a thief. Batman's first arch nemesis is still well known to comic book individuals but not as mainstream as the rest of the rouge's is Hugo Strange. He is Batman's first villain to make the first re-appearance in the comics. It's interesting how all these villains started out. I could go on and on how each one had interesting origins within the mythos and I could probably write a whole post just about one of Batman's villains.

  The point being is that Batman's villains speak on a whole level of our cultural "mind". Joker represents the evil that a mere man can do, the unspeakable violence anyone could achieve. Catwoman represents thievery and selfish gains. Riddler represents a cultural ego and always wanting to be on top. Penguin represents greed and lust for power. Harley Quinn, a newer villain, represents the many people who just want to be loved and cherished and often suffers abuse for that love and affection. All the major villains represents something within our own culture that speaks to us on a deeper human level. They represent how maybe good intentions could lead to a darker path if left unchecked, and obsessed over.  Each one brings out something in Batman, and adds to his mythos and character. Without his many enemies Batman probably would not achieve the level of reception within our culture and popularity.

3. His Story is Tragic, and in Essence a Modern Shakespearean Story

  Since his Origin story was printed Batman has always been a story of tragedy. The mindset of Batman was born out of a young boy who lost his parents at too young of an age, and in the most horrific way possible. From there we see a young man obsessed with righting the one wrong he could never fix, by trying to prevent that from ever happening in his current day city. However, after his heroic journey starts and it seems he finally is able to take down the mobs and other criminals within his parent's city, he has to face the problematic effects of his actions. The insane individuals come out of the woodwork to challenge him. Joker might not have existed if it wasn't for Batman. The story evolves into a tragedy of a man who wanted to right wrongs, only to cause greater problems than the ones he fixed. Whether Batman or the reader faces this truth or not,  it still is in mythos. A small boy who grew up to be a man in a bat suit fighting evil that is still too great at times to bare.

4. His Allies are Awesome

 Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Ace the Bat-Hound, Huntress, Catwoman, and Gordon are just a few well known Batman allies. Each one is special to fans in different ways. Mostly because although Batman is some rich, white, strong guy, he isn't as relatable as say Robin. Robin often is the kid sidekick, someone a kid would want to be if Batman was rule. They often go through real life problems in the comics and you get to watch them grow into other super hero roles as the years go on. Batman is on his 4th Robin, the newest is his biological son. The other Robins have all grown into super hero roles that they forged on their own. Oracle who was Batgirl before the New 52 reboot was a paraplegic after being paralyzed by Joker, was very relatable. She took her weakness and made it a strength, but also faced real life issues of what it is like to lose the ability to walk and run, and how to face it. Every single ally of Batman's has something to admire and appreciate. I haven't kept track but I believe his might be the biggest "family" in the DC universe, and there is a reason for it. They are all very human and face very human issues.

5.The World's Greatest Detective in American Culture 

He's our American version of Sherlock Holmes. In the old 1966 TV show, The Animated Series, and even the comics themselves, Batman has often shown to be a detective at heart. He has to solve some criminal case, or some new caper that effected the city of Gotham. In fact Batman started out in a Detective Comics issue, as a showcased Superhero like detective. That's where his origins lie, and he would eventually take over the entire issue as his first starring comic. When I think of the Dark Knight series by Nolan I don't really regard it as a true Batman series, because it always missed this part of Batman. He didn't solve any cases or crimes, or did any detective work in those films. Honestly, Batman does do a lot of detective work when he has to solve crimes by new villains or link Joker Toxin to where Joker might be located as his hide out. Batman always will figure out who is behind the crime because he is the world's greatest detective. Even Ra's Al Ghul calls him that when they first meet in the comics.


  Well That's my Top 5 Reasons Batman is awesome for today. It was a quick post, and I feel like I can write more and more why Batman is awesome and about his rouges' gallery and allies. I think I will write more on them at a later date. Anyways, thank you very much for reading. Have a happy Batman day to you, and....

Happy Batman Day to Batman! 

-Bordon

Top 5 Reasons I loved Gotham last Season

Watch the Villains Teaser for Season 2 of Gotham Above

  Gotham Season 2 Premieres next week Monday September 21st on Fox. I'm very excited for the new season to air! So I thought it would be great to make a post of the top 5 reasons I loved Gotham last season. 

  I should also note that this post will contain spoilers from Gotham Season One so you have been warned! 

1. Gordon and Harvey Bullock get the Limelight

  For this dynamic duo think of The Odd Couple meets Dragnet. At least that's what I think the writers told Fox when they brought up having Harvey and Gordon to be the lead characters on the show. Harvey Bullock is a very interesting character from the Batman Mythos so it was great to see him be a lead on Gotham. He got some spotlight in the Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990's but since then he has been a side character, showing up in The Dark Knight movie to say a few lines but was never named in the movie. He's a pretty great Gumshoe detective, not a white knight, and often is the grey character on the police force. Not too surprising in any medium Harvy is in her is often the comic relief as well. Donal Logue plays him on screen really well and is in my mind the perfect Harvey.

  The Partnership with Gordon is spot on what I thought it would be as well in the show. Ben McKenzie brings a great presence on screen as Gordon, a detective who almost cares too much about his job. I did think there would be more moments mirroring the old Dragnet show, take the partners from there and make them more extreme opposites. However I never expected Gotham to copy Dragnet as a basic cop show does not fit the Batman universe and would bore audiences quickly, even if some fans believe there is too much Rouge's Gallery already featured in the Pre-Batman Gotham universe. At first the season had it's dynamic duo seem cheesy but as the show got its legs going and the actors learned to play off one another this team really took off. Gordon might be taking on the Batman mantle of his own in this universe's future with how much he keeps resembling Batman's mantra as the show goes on, in the comics he currently is Batman. It still is nice to have a Gordon and Harvey centric show and I can't wait to see what they both face this coming season. Maybe Harvey Dent? 

2. We get to see Bruce become Batman

  We usually have the origin story down pretty well of the Batman Mythos, some random dude starts mugging Bruce and his parents after the are walking out of a movie or opera, things get tense and both Bruce's parents end up dead. Sometimes the killer is Joker, Joe Chill, or an unknown. That's about it for Batman's back story in the mainstream Movie/TV universes. Usually it just flashes forward to present day Batman, or an older Bruce just before he gets into the cowl like in Batman Begins. In Gotham however, the show starts off with Bruce's parents dying pretty quickly, and the rest of the season we start to see Bruce growing this Batman persona inside himself. Sometimes he lets his emotions get the best of him in the show, and other times we see this tactical fighter coming into fruition. It's awesome to see Bruce learn from Alfred, sometimes Gordon, or other people he starts to look up to in the show. It will be great next season to see Bruce train some more, maybe find a tutor to learn more fighting moves from too. Also, I love Sean Pertwee who plays Alfred in this show, but how often do you have a butler that is also the son of a Time Lord?! 

3. Dr. Thompkins

  Dr. Leslie Thompkins has been part of the Batman Mythos for quite awhile. Other than being in an episode or two of the Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990's there hasn't been a lot of her seen in the mainstream media. In the comics she runs a clinic (sometimes the clinic is in Martha Wayne's name) right outside Crime Alley where Batman's parents were murdered. Often Bruce visits her when he or someone else gets injured, or during his yearly visit after his anniversary visit to the place where Batman was born, where his parents died. Leslie also was notable in the comics for being the mother figure to Bruce after Martha died. She comforted him a lot during the first few years after the incident, and in some universes was there the night of the incident to comfort him.  In Gotham though Leslie hasn't been shown to comfort Bruce at all. I expected she would be visiting him through out the first season after Alfred caught Bruce hurting and challenging himself, that Alfred would take him to Leslie to possibly cure the PTSD Bruce has after the shooting. This never happens. Instead we see Leslie date Gordon. It's not really a bad thing in my mind, she is a far better character and better looking actress than Barbara is in this universe. In some ways the actress and how the character is played reminds me of Louis in the old 1990's series Louis and Clark, a Superman TV show. She's strong willed, attractive, and smart, sometimes too smart for Gordon. Is she a strong lead yet? Not quite. But I love having Leslie getting the Limelight in a Batman show. I've always pictured her dating Alfred in the comics which they often hinted at, but in the TV show, her relationship with Gordon is awesome, even if Alfred loses his love interest. She is younger in this version anyways. 

  What I would like for her to do in Season Two, would be to help Bruce with his lost, have a few scenes where he comes to her and maybe even tells her how he is training himself and such. In the comics she often was close to Thomas Wayne so it would be interesting if she did have a relationship of some kind with the late Mr. Wayne. Show the relationship she will develop with Bruce in the future as a healer and surrogate mother. Also, more dates with Gordon, and please do NOT break them up for him to get back with the wacko Barbara. 

4. The Villains

  Getting to see the rouge's gallery young, or youngish is awesome. Gotham starts off showing you the big main four Batman villains Penguin, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Riddler. A possible Joker does indeed show up in the first season, and is heavily hinted to be coming back next season but mainly season one focused on the former main four. 

Ivy

Not like Poison Ivy yet.

  Poison Ivy didn't get a lot of character growth the last season. Other than showing her love of plants right away, she mostly had stuff happen to her and that's it. She had her dad get killed by cops. Her mother I think committed succeed so she is an orphan now. Which I think that's why she got the name Ivy Pepper in this universe I bet this season she will be adopted and called Pamela Isley. Anyways, she mostly ran into Catwoman the rest of the season, and was pretty awkward on screen. Probably the weakest villain in the season but still interesting to see how she interacts with Bruce and Selina as kids. Hopefully the coming up season things get a bit better for her and she goes through some character growth. 

Riddler

Good day! 

  Riddler had surprising character growth towards the finale of the season. During the start we meet the quirky Edward Nygma who loves riddles and puzzles. In this universe it was interesting to have him working for the police department as one of their Forensic Scientists. He's a pretty nice guy in the beginning of the season if a bit weird. But after some bullying and his crush getting hurt by her drunk boyfriend who is on the force. Riddler gets a little too protective and ends up doing the unthinkable. That was probably the hardest thing to watch this last season, but it did birth the Riddler inside him. It will be interesting to see if this season he does fight the law, or if he keeps working with the police but does bad things on the side without them finding out. 

Catwoman

Someday you will have a kid and she will be Huntress after you both die. 

  Catwoman was a fun romantic interest for Bruce this season and a thorn in Gordon's side. She witnesses the Wayne's murder which sets her on the path to asking help from Gordon, and eventually meeting Bruce Wayne. She taught Bruce some skills he will use later in life during some of their adventures last season. One of the major moments last season is when she saves Bruce from doing the unthinkable, by doing it herself. Which goes against Catwoman as in most versions she does not kill which is why Bruce is often able to love her. In this universe though it might not be a big deal to him as he was battling with the desire to do it himself. The guy she killed had almost killed Alfred earlier and was threatening to kill Bruce and Alfred for good in the future, so it was one sure way to stop him. Either way it will be interesting to see where Catwoman goes next season and if she will still be on good terms with Bruce. 

Penguin

Yes, I am going to steal the show! 

  Penguin stole the show last season. Robin Lord Taylor did an amazing job at capturing a young Oswald Cobblepot. I think that's the one thing all Batman fans agreed on with the show was that he did an amazing job and was worth watching. We see Cobblepot in the first episode has this lowly henchman of Fish, who is willing to betray her at a moments notice so he can take her place. She is the one to give him his infamous alias, and he hates it at first. Stuff happens and she finds out, he ends up almost getting killed by Gordon, who helps fake Cobblepot's death. That is all how the first part of the season starts up. Gordon seems to have tricked Falcone and Fish into thinking he's a killer, and Penguin can start planning his revenge in secret. Then as we get to the mid-season finale we find out that Penguin had been planning this all along with Falcone in order to weed out the bigger threat to Falcone, Fish and her friends who want to dethrone him so to speak. Of course at the end of the season Penguin betrays Falcone as well and after a lot of stuff happens he some how ends up on top of the mafia family tree. It's a great achievement for him, but much like owning the nightclub in the earlier half of the season, this might be a job too big for Penguin to handle. It will be interesting to see what he goes through this season, if anything at all happens to him that is. 

MAJOR Spoiler Warning Below!

5. It became its own universe and did its own thing 

  Like her or hate her, Fish Mooney was a big character for season one of Gotham, and an original character to the universe. The show set up pretty early that she would lose to Penguin her turf and gang at one point in the future and it didn't take very long for that to happen in the season after a failed attempt to take out Falcone was her main undoing. But her story didn't stop there, she met up with Dollmaker in the second half of the season, and made it out with a new eye for her trouble and a new gang of loyal followers. Her arch ends with shooting Sal Maroni in the face after he taunts her in the finale, changing the game of the whole origin of Two-Face and Gotham. Without Sal around, who will throw acid on the young District Attorney? Fish Mooney's fate at the end of the first season was that she was thrown off a building into Gotham Harbor to presumably swim with the fishes. Is she dead for good? We don't know, we do know she is no longer a show runner, but that doesn't mean she won't show up as a side character later. 

  As for the rest of the show it builds Gordon to almost being Batman in this universe. He is taking on a lot of Batman's rouges before Batman shows up. And often takes on the police force and goes above and beyond the call of duty. I almost wonder if a major twist in the show will be Gordon becomes Batman before Bruce gets a chance but I don't think audiences would enjoy that. Either way it is fun to see new tales of origins for all the classic Batman characters, Sal Maroni's death is a huge change and twist for this universe from other Batman mythos and it will be interesting to see where the show goes from here on out. 

  The first season of Gotham was a wild ride for me. It was great to watch as a Batman fan, I enjoyed seeing this new universe get it's foot on the ground and I am excited to see where the show goes from here. Last season's finale seemed to kick start a divergence from the normal Batman mythos and it will be interesting to see where everything goes. 

  Remember to watch the first episode of season two of Gotham which premieres Monday September 21st on Fox! Thanks for reading! 

-Bordon 

New Joker Lawn Decor Releases for the Scary Season!

Knife may not be included per Think Geek product description

  Think Geek just released images of the New 52 Joker lawn decor that you can order right now at ThinkGeek.com. This Joker is based on the Scott Snyder storyline "The Death of a Family"  Joker in the New 52 universe. If you can't tell from the above image in the New 52 universe Joker had cut off his face and disappeared for awhile. This is the look he took on when he came back to take on Batman and the rest of the Bat Family in "The Death of a Family" story-arch. I always thought this version of Joker reminded me Michael Myers and I guess Think Geek thought so too. I should also say "The Death of a Family" story-arch should not be confused with "A Death in the Family" story-arch in which Joker kills Jason Todd, the second Robin. I say this because Think Geek has both story-arch names in their description at the time of this posting.

  Somehow I doubt my wife would want me to buy this lawn decor, and thankfully, this version of Joker is my least favorite of any universe so I will happily pass on it.

  Although I think it would be very funny to get it for a family member as a practical joke and stick it under their bed. Why? So when they look under their bed they would find this staring back at them.

I think sticking this under any family member's bed might be "The Death of a Family" indeed. 

Anyways, if Joker is not in your taste this upcoming Halloween there is always the original inspiration for your lawn to consider, a Zombie.

I should note Joker turned 75 this year. Happy 75 years Joker!

-Bordon 


Joker Lawn Decor can be found at Think Geek or by clicking here.

Images were obtained from Think Geek.