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[Strider311]

[Edit: I’ve added the Arkham Series as another option, as I think that best describes my favorite style of Batman. ]


I consider myself a massive Batman fan, across the movies, games and comics. That said, I’ve always felt like Batman was at its best when it didn’t involve the more “fantastic” supernatural or alien elements. Basically, once the rest of the Justice League or Darkseid or Brainiac etc show up, it just doesn’t work for me.

For me, Batman is best when it is strictly contained to his rogues gallery and Bat-family associates. Smaller, darker more grounded stories.

My question to you is.. what is the general consensus on this? Are you a fan of the entire DC gang together fighting aliens and demons? Or is Batman best when contained to more “realistic“, grounded stories?

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

I remember Batman vs Predator

Liked it a lot when I was a kid

I dunno what Batman is "best Batman." I kinda love it all.

 

[Nymphae]

I find the DK trilogy intensely boring and over-serious. Why so serious indeed. I have a lot more fun with the first 4 Batman movies personally. But yeah I could see the appeal in a more Bat focused approach vs. the JLA and kookier comic elements. I like detective Batman.

 

[ipukespiders]

I only liked the Dark Knight Trilogy.

 

[Bolivar687]

While the Batman self-contained universe is obviously mostly gritty noire, there are fantastical elements in there, too, including the first and third entries in the Nolan trilogy. I love that stuff, but I love me some broader DC shenanigans as well.

Batman v Superman is also my favorite film of the 21st century.

 

[EviLore]

(Moved to off-topic)

 

[JordanN]

Where does this put Killer Croc & Baby doll? Both?

Batman was always about fighting whatever freaks are out there. Doesn't matter if it was human or alien. A hyper billionaire, trained by Ninjas with overpowered gadgets means he's above human level.

 

[Pagusas]

Batman is best when he's alone, and the only superhero in the world. Just like Iron Man to me, or Superman. They all fall apart when you add other super heros to the mix.

My favorite batman stories are ones that dive into his mind and reasons for doing things

 

[Shadowplay1979]

I consider myself a massive Batman fan, across the movies, games and comics. That said, I’ve always felt like Batman was at its best when it didn’t involve the more “fantastic” supernatural or alien elements. Basically, once the rest of the Justice League or Darkseid or Brainiac etc show up, it just doesn’t work for me.

For me, Batman is best when it is strictly contained to his rogues gallery and Bat-family associates. Smaller, darker more grounded stories.

My question to you is.. what is the general consensus on this? Are you a fan of the entire DC gang together fighting aliens and demons? Or is Batman best when contained to more “realistic“, grounded stories?

I agree completely. Batman is like Robinhood, everyone has their own interpretation of the mythos. I do not like superheroes or DC or any of that stuff in general...I like the batman universe by itself.

The main issue is one you start introducing the fantastic elements, once you introduce superman...who is basically a god., suddenlya detective who slinks around a night beating up criminals, a vigilante...becomes obsolete. YOu get diminishing returns of the universe they are bound to.

Batman for me has always been more about the mythos, the shadow detective that comes out at night and people talk about him, they dont know if hes real or not. they dont know if hes human..he doesnt show up at charity balls dressed as batman to get the key to the city..he is a shadow.

I actually made an ( unfinished) personal project in Unreal on how i interpret Batman..it was based off Michael Goldens work from the 80s.

 

[triplestation]

i agree

keeping batman in the "real world" simply makes sense

he's like jason bourne/john wick

imagine those guys fighting aliens

it becomes lulzy

 

[Strider311]

Where does this put Killer Croc & Baby doll? Both?

Batman was always about fighting whatever freaks are out there. Doesn't matter if it was human or alien. A hyper billionaire, trained by Ninjas with overpowered gadgets means he's above human level.

Freaks like Killer Croc are one thing (I love Croc.) But I have to draw the line at demons, vampires and alien warlords. It just doesn't fit with Batman for me.

 

[Doom85]

I say both, but also portray Batman within reason. In the Justice League, dude should be focused on forming strategies, coordinating attacks, and against most enemies that pose a threat to the Justice League of all people, he can really only provide a distraction. Batman v Superman actually handled it right, with all Batman being able to do against Doomsday was get his attention every now and then while Superman and Wonder Woman actually were the ones inflicting damage to it.

Write Batman, not Batgod. For example, as much as I love the DCAU, Batman knocking out Sinestro with a Batarang was one of the must fucking idiotic things I've ever seen in terms of superhero power scaling. Sinestro wouldn't even flinch from that shit.

 

[GV82]

Why not both? I knew of Batman being British - as this Camp 60’s show, though I watched it & enjoyed it & laughed at it & the animated show from the early days too the 60’s or 70’s one, so I always found Batman to be a bit goofy, until Batman 89 though it had mostly Dark serious tone, it had a few light moments with the Joker, then I used to watch the 90’s Animated & that was better again.

And I love the Nolan films, so I mostly love the real down to earth Batman, but I learned later on in Comics that oh he has indeed been fighting other worldly beings, which I wasn’t sure of whether I liked but began to accept & when you start putting the Justice League together anyway you have Superman & Wonder Woman & then that’s when grounded Batman ends, the moment you introduce those characters.

It’s almost like 2 separate Batmen, you can either have the grounded down to earth one like the films ending with Dark Knight Rises & stick to those types of stories or you begin other worldly Batman, I know those movies are‘t th most compelling argument but you only need look at the Animated Justice League stuff & other DC Animated films & you can enjoy it all, well I can.

I grew up on Dredd in my teens who is kind of our British “Anti-hero” who is Human a bit like Batman & your supposed to hate him not cheer him on, when they introduced the Supernatural beings The Dark Judges they just worked as far as I’m concerned, Judge Death is to Dredd what the Joker is to Batman, if it somehow works there & fits then I don’t see why Batman can’t meet the Supernatural villains which would be just as cool, I get it though on film it can look kind of silly/goofy or downright stupid.

 

[Tell_men]

I remember Batman vs Predator

Liked it a lot when I was a kid

I dunno what Batman is "best Batman." I kinda love it all.

Batman: Dead End is all you need.

 

[DeafTourette]

I mean... Batman has foes like Man-Bat (the Harley Quinn version is HILARIOUS!), Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Clayface... Solomon Grundy.

Any of those are fantastical enemies and most of them would likely kill him (or give Supes a run for his money like Grundy)... How is that different from demons and aliens?

 

[Tell_men]

I mean... Batman has foes like Man-Bat (the Harley Quinn version is HILARIOUS!), Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Clayface... Solomon Grundy.

Any of those are fantastical enemies and most of them would likely kill him (or give Supes a run for his money like Grundy)... How is that different from demons and aliens?

My favorites are the Riddler and Ra’s al Ghul.

 

[Strider311]

I mean... Batman has foes like Man-Bat (the Harley Quinn version is HILARIOUS!), Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Clayface... Solomon Grundy.

Any of those are fantastical enemies and most of them would likely kill him (or give Supes a run for his money like Grundy)... How is that different from demons and aliens?

You are right in that they are fantastical. But they still work with Batman's self-contained universe. Freaks, mutants, etc... They work, at least for me. But as Shadowplay1979 mentioned above, once Superman and aliens show up... Batman starts to become more and more out of place and obsolete.

 

[Tell_men]

You are right in that they are fantastical. But they still work with Batman's self-contained universe. Freaks, mutants, etc... They work, at least for me. But as Shadowplay1979 mentioned above, once Superman and aliens show up... Batman starts to become more and more out of place and obsolete.

Batman vs. an alien: “Your mother’s name is Martha? So is mine.”

 

[Rockondevil]

I’ve been a comic reader since before I can remember and have watched anything and everything Batman.

I enjoy JL but I prefer Batman with his villains. Comics I prefer solely Batman, animated/movie I’m happy for either.

However I didn’t really like TDK trilogy all that much because it was trying to make Batman too realistic and not at heart what he is, a comic character that isn’t real.
None of the villains I found were done particularly well in that trilogy, though that isn’t to say the other versions have necessarily been perfect.

 

[Stilton Disco]

I voted both, but their should be a third option for 'Fighting other Urban Legends'.

It's the original pulpy mad science and weird crime thriller stuff I like best. At his heart Batman is as much a mad scientist as he is master detective, and it's when going up against those myths and monsters, whether it be alligators in the sewer (Killer Croc), fairy tale lunatics and monsters (Solomon Grundy, Mad Hater), killer clowns (Joker, Harley Quinn), mad scientists turned monsters (Mr Freeze, Man-Bat, Poison Ivy), secret ninjas (Ras and the League of Assassins) or the other assorted weird shit you'd find in a Goosebumps book that make up 99% of his rogues gallery, that he's most entertaining.

Fighting alien invasions, angry gods and full on superhumans that would give Flash or Superman a hard time gets a bit silly, but it's no less dumb to have a super genius that dresses up as a giant bat spending all his time chasing rapists, thieves and murderers, because that's just normal pllice work.

Batman is at his best when you could swap him out for Mulder and Scully and end up with a great episide of the X Files.

 

[triplestation]

Batman is at his best when you could swap him out for Mulder and Scully and end up with a great episide of the X Files.

fucken perfection

 

[Stiflers Mom]

I remember reading a Batman comic book where the mad hatter had stolen an aardvark.
That was nice and grounded.

 

[Doom85]

but it's no less dumb to have a super genius that dresses up as a giant bat spending all his time chasing rapists, thieves and murderers, because that's just normal pllice work.

To be fair, in most Batman continuities when Bruce first returns to Gotham Jim Gordon is practically the only moral cop in town. Everyone else is either on a criminal's payroll (usually Carmine Falcone) or just apathetic. So it makes sense that Batman spends time dealing with these sorts of criminals. It doesn't take long from the more iconic criminals to show up like Joker or Riddler who are all generally too clever (and have a lot of luck) for the cops to take down. This gradual escalation of threat is interesting because it often raises the question in the Batman mythos if Batman's appearance in Gotham ended up further unhinging already unstable individuals (probably some issues with that psychiatric analysis, but one doesn't read Batman for accuracy in that department. For example, Two-Face is NOT how dissociative identity disorder works from my understanding).

Also, to me Batman's motivation (at least when it's written well) is that he wants to do everything within his power to prevent what happened to him as a child to ever happen to anyone else. So he's always going to be on active duty looking for any possible crime if it means he can prevent an innocent from being hurt or killed. The police force, even when Gordon gets their act together, will never be enough in his eyes. It's why to me the only time Bruce could ever possibly retire peacefully is if someone else takes on the mantle for him.

The superhero whose focus on personal heroics DOES fall apart if you think about is Peter Parker. "Hey, I invented web shooters, a non-lethal weapon that's extremely effective at instantly immobilizing anyone! Huh, you think the police could use something like this? All of them having access to such a powerful non-lethal weapon would make them even more effective, and also prevent any needless deaths in the event of a misunderstanding. But wait, what if the criminals get a hold of it? Then.....they would just web up the person they were robbing instead of shooting them. That....sounds better. Oh my god, Uncle Ben would still be alive if his attacker had a web shooter! And patenting this would solve all my money problems! What am I waiting for?!"

In this more logical version, Peter Parker went on to become a successful millionaire scientist who due to not being a superhero could spend far more time focusing on even more groundbreaking inventions to improve the quality of life for everyone while the police became far more effective at their job, and deaths caused by criminals plummeted due to criminals realizing the web shooters were just as effective as guns plus if they're arrested they won't be charged for murder.

Ironically the Raimi films fixed all of this by just making the webs one of his powers, but then the fans just had to whine about it.....

 

[Whataborman]

Growing up in the 80s my first exposure to Batman was either reruns of the 60s TV show or Justice League cartoons so I've always thought Batman was best when the writers didn't take the character too seriously.

Blue and grey costume, Robin at his side, downplaying the "my parents were murdered in front of me" angle of the character is the best Batman as far as I'm concerned.

I also think Burton Batman is better than Nolan. Nolan was too grounded in reality for my tastes.

 

[Strider311]

I voted both, but their should be a third option for 'Fighting other Urban Legends'.

It's the original pulpy mad science and weird crime thriller stuff I like best. At his heart Batman is as much a mad scientist as he is master detective, and it's when going up against those myths and monsters, whether it be alligators in the sewer (Killer Croc), fairy tale lunatics and monsters (Solomon Grundy, Mad Hater), killer clowns (Joker, Harley Quinn), mad scientists turned monsters (Mr Freeze, Man-Bat, Poison Ivy), secret ninjas (Ras and the League of Assassins) or the other assorted weird shit you'd find in a Goosebumps book that make up 99% of his rogues gallery, that he's most entertaining.

Fighting alien invasions, angry gods and full on superhumans that would give Flash or Superman a hard time gets a bit silly, but it's no less dumb to have a super genius that dresses up as a giant bat spending all his time chasing rapists, thieves and murderers, because that's just normal pllice work.

Batman is at his best when you could swap him out for Mulder and Scully and end up with a great episide of the X Files.

I think this is the best description for the style of Batman I like best. Disconnected from the rest of the DC/JL but still in the pulp weird crime area. The Arkham Series setting, perhaps? I think I’ll add it as an option.

 

[Husky]

The "both" option is for cowards.
I prefer when Batman exists in his own world, one that's made more grounded than the shared universe. Same with Spider-Man. It does make the presence of supervillains in just that one city a bit odd though.

 

[LegendOfKage]

"Without supernatural and/or alien villains/heroes."

"When fighting aliens and demons with his Justice League underoo club!"

"Why can’t we have both?"


This reminded me of something.

 

[teezzy]

Bruce Wayne is a dynamic character. Half the fun is the lunacy of a man dressing up like a bat to stalk criminals in the middle of the night. Batman's biggest appeal is that he doesn't have any superpowers. He's an insanely wealthy man who utilizes his fiscal advantage, in addition to his troubled past, to personally take on the scum of the streets as a vigilante with keen detective skills.

Ultimately, the more grounded the stories are, the more I'm akin to enjoy them. I dig the comics more than anything else.

 

[GymWolf]

about the new batman movie, i heard that pattinson is not going into the gym at all to put some muscles on his skinny ass, lol what a cunt.

 

[Dacon]

I love Batman, and I honestly prefer the more fantastical tales, but I enjoy most of them when they are well written.