Ship Manifesto: Batman/Wonder Woman
Aug. 17th, 2005 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seldearBatman/Wonder Woman - Justice League
This essay comes with a disclaimer.
I read a review of one of my Justice League fanfics by a Batclan fan, who noted that the Bruce Wayne/Batman we are shown in the JL continuum is slightly different to the Bruce Wayne/Batman shown in the Batman series.
In his own comic book series, Batman is displayed as dysfunctional and practically incapable of relationships. It's the conflict between the distance he needs to keep in order to be Batman and the assistance he needs in order to do what Batman does - keep Gotham free of crime.
By contrast, the Justice League focuses on Batman as 'the man with the plan'. It's Bats who is the provider of solutions and the one who keeps everything together in the League. Sure, he foments his own dissidences with his suspicion and his paranoia, but his role is primarily as juxtaposition and foil for the metahumans of the League: it is, in the end, the wholly human one - and the one who stands on the edge of everything - who keeps it together.
I got into the DC superheroes via Justice League, not the Batcomics, so this is my disclaimer.
The Batman I'm writing for and from is from Justice League comics/series: a man who's got his issues, but who shows a degree of competence that is perhaps so much a part of his modus operandi that it's often overlooked in his own series. He isn't necessarily gentler, kinder, or more squishy than the Batman from the Batcomics/series, but the greater focus on his competence and less on his dysfunctionality gives a very different viewpoint to the character.
Disclaimer ended.
It's more usual to pair Wonder Woman with Superman, with the angle that they're both metahuman, super-strong, and more or less immortal. I seriously have trouble imagining this pairing - possibly because Supes is so two-dimensional to me. Plus the whole 'he married Lois Lane' thing - at least in comics. I have issues with adultery, even if people claim to be 'soul mates' or any such crap. It might also very well be a function of only really seeing them in the Justice League series, but Batman and Wonder Woman have such greater depth and issues in their characterisation, the conflicts that make them as they are.
My interest in Bruce/Diana chiefly comes from the JL animated series, where they played up a Batman/Wonder Woman dynamic. In that story, Diana arrived from the island of Themiscyra to fight against the Imperiex and stayed in 'Man's World', intrigued by its ways and wonders.
Once again, this was one of those pairings that I needed to be hit over the head with instead of seeing from the start. It wasn't until the second season episode 'Maid of Honour' that I went 'Ooh, this looks interesting!'
In 'Maid of Honour', Diana and Bruce interact as Diana and Bruce during a party in Paris that is gatecrashed by some rebels seeking to kidnap the Kasnian princess. My favourite part of this episode is when the rebels crash into the ballroom. Up until this point, Bruce and Diana are dancing - Bruce having rescued her from the attentions of the press - and as the intrusion occurs, they simultaneously excuse themselves and head in separate directions, intending to intervene as Batman and Wonder Woman.
Of course, Diana, unburdened by a secret identity, simply tears off the lower half of her skirt and begins dealing with the problem. And Bruce, realising that Wonder Woman is on the case, pauses by a table and has himself a snack without bothering to switch to Batman at all. It's a lovely moment of mingled humour and action and while it might not ring true to Batclan fans who say that Batman would never just entrust this situation to someone else, it seems appropriate in the context of Bats' competence at what he does and his recognition of competence in others.
As Batman and Wonder Woman interact through the episode the question arises as to whether Diana has any idea that her rescuer at the party in Paris is also her team-mate, and by the end of the episode, it's shown that she has worked it out on her own - even if Bats is continuing to deny everything.
The thing I like with Batman and Wonder Woman is that they're very different and very alike. He's a cynical human, she's an idealistic inhuman, but they're both warriors - one in the night and one in the light. The discipline that Wonder Woman puts herself through as part of her Amazon culture is much the same as the rigourous training that Batman undergoes to keep himself fit for the fight, and I see that as a point of respect between them - naturally mitigated by her attitude towards men, and his attitude towards metas.
A number of people point out that Batman never kills and suggest that he would never date anyone who would kill - even in execution or necessity. I disagree. Batman works with many other people, not all of whom have kept their hands wholly clean throughout the years. If he will work with them then, being human, somewhere along the way he will come to feel affection for them. That affection won't manifest in hugs and smoochies, perhaps, but it will be an attachment nevertheless.
Even among those he works with in the Batclan, Batman cares for them as much as he is able, and gives the best of himself to them - which is love, even if it's not fluffy, cutesy, or squee. From what I've read, I can see him giving as much of himself as he can to a woman he respects, even if he doesn't always trust her judgement. The difficulty then presents itself as to whether she'd be content with what she had.
Does Diana have issues with his secrecy and his paranoia? Sure she does! But I don't see that stopping her from caring. She's even got parental issues of her own: an approving/disapproving mother - let's not even go into the 'who is her father' question that the Justice League Unlimited series brings up. Relationships? Well, this girl did come from an island full of women who disdainfully refer to the world beyond their island as 'Man's World' - in the early Season One episode 'Fury', one of her fellow Amazons has infected the men of Man's World with a virus, and she watches as the women of the planet all work together and is reminded of how good things were back home.
Essentially, this is one of those relationships comprised of two people who have enough issues to give a platoon of psychologists a field day. She might have less issues than he does - or hers are just better hidden; but they have a mutual respect and attraction in the TV series that manifests quite delightfully in their occasional exchanges and their work together.
I see Bruce giving as much of himself (both Bruce Wayne and Batman) to Diana as he is able, and her accepting him as far as he is willing to go. Not conflict-free, certainly not easy, but worth fighting for.
Two warriors: one human, one meta. He fights in the dark with a mask on his face, she battles in the light with no subterfuge at all. He is the epitome of possibility in the human race, and she is the epitome of her own race's possibilities. And yet, for all their differences, they are warriors twain, disciplined and fierce in their duty, passionate about what they believe, whether they show it openly or keep it hidden.
So, yeah, shoot me. I like them.
--
Faith and Wes are next, in all their dysfunctional glory.
This essay comes with a disclaimer.
I read a review of one of my Justice League fanfics by a Batclan fan, who noted that the Bruce Wayne/Batman we are shown in the JL continuum is slightly different to the Bruce Wayne/Batman shown in the Batman series.
In his own comic book series, Batman is displayed as dysfunctional and practically incapable of relationships. It's the conflict between the distance he needs to keep in order to be Batman and the assistance he needs in order to do what Batman does - keep Gotham free of crime.
By contrast, the Justice League focuses on Batman as 'the man with the plan'. It's Bats who is the provider of solutions and the one who keeps everything together in the League. Sure, he foments his own dissidences with his suspicion and his paranoia, but his role is primarily as juxtaposition and foil for the metahumans of the League: it is, in the end, the wholly human one - and the one who stands on the edge of everything - who keeps it together.
I got into the DC superheroes via Justice League, not the Batcomics, so this is my disclaimer.
The Batman I'm writing for and from is from Justice League comics/series: a man who's got his issues, but who shows a degree of competence that is perhaps so much a part of his modus operandi that it's often overlooked in his own series. He isn't necessarily gentler, kinder, or more squishy than the Batman from the Batcomics/series, but the greater focus on his competence and less on his dysfunctionality gives a very different viewpoint to the character.
Disclaimer ended.
It's more usual to pair Wonder Woman with Superman, with the angle that they're both metahuman, super-strong, and more or less immortal. I seriously have trouble imagining this pairing - possibly because Supes is so two-dimensional to me. Plus the whole 'he married Lois Lane' thing - at least in comics. I have issues with adultery, even if people claim to be 'soul mates' or any such crap. It might also very well be a function of only really seeing them in the Justice League series, but Batman and Wonder Woman have such greater depth and issues in their characterisation, the conflicts that make them as they are.
My interest in Bruce/Diana chiefly comes from the JL animated series, where they played up a Batman/Wonder Woman dynamic. In that story, Diana arrived from the island of Themiscyra to fight against the Imperiex and stayed in 'Man's World', intrigued by its ways and wonders.
Once again, this was one of those pairings that I needed to be hit over the head with instead of seeing from the start. It wasn't until the second season episode 'Maid of Honour' that I went 'Ooh, this looks interesting!'
In 'Maid of Honour', Diana and Bruce interact as Diana and Bruce during a party in Paris that is gatecrashed by some rebels seeking to kidnap the Kasnian princess. My favourite part of this episode is when the rebels crash into the ballroom. Up until this point, Bruce and Diana are dancing - Bruce having rescued her from the attentions of the press - and as the intrusion occurs, they simultaneously excuse themselves and head in separate directions, intending to intervene as Batman and Wonder Woman.
Of course, Diana, unburdened by a secret identity, simply tears off the lower half of her skirt and begins dealing with the problem. And Bruce, realising that Wonder Woman is on the case, pauses by a table and has himself a snack without bothering to switch to Batman at all. It's a lovely moment of mingled humour and action and while it might not ring true to Batclan fans who say that Batman would never just entrust this situation to someone else, it seems appropriate in the context of Bats' competence at what he does and his recognition of competence in others.
As Batman and Wonder Woman interact through the episode the question arises as to whether Diana has any idea that her rescuer at the party in Paris is also her team-mate, and by the end of the episode, it's shown that she has worked it out on her own - even if Bats is continuing to deny everything.
The thing I like with Batman and Wonder Woman is that they're very different and very alike. He's a cynical human, she's an idealistic inhuman, but they're both warriors - one in the night and one in the light. The discipline that Wonder Woman puts herself through as part of her Amazon culture is much the same as the rigourous training that Batman undergoes to keep himself fit for the fight, and I see that as a point of respect between them - naturally mitigated by her attitude towards men, and his attitude towards metas.
A number of people point out that Batman never kills and suggest that he would never date anyone who would kill - even in execution or necessity. I disagree. Batman works with many other people, not all of whom have kept their hands wholly clean throughout the years. If he will work with them then, being human, somewhere along the way he will come to feel affection for them. That affection won't manifest in hugs and smoochies, perhaps, but it will be an attachment nevertheless.
Even among those he works with in the Batclan, Batman cares for them as much as he is able, and gives the best of himself to them - which is love, even if it's not fluffy, cutesy, or squee. From what I've read, I can see him giving as much of himself as he can to a woman he respects, even if he doesn't always trust her judgement. The difficulty then presents itself as to whether she'd be content with what she had.
Does Diana have issues with his secrecy and his paranoia? Sure she does! But I don't see that stopping her from caring. She's even got parental issues of her own: an approving/disapproving mother - let's not even go into the 'who is her father' question that the Justice League Unlimited series brings up. Relationships? Well, this girl did come from an island full of women who disdainfully refer to the world beyond their island as 'Man's World' - in the early Season One episode 'Fury', one of her fellow Amazons has infected the men of Man's World with a virus, and she watches as the women of the planet all work together and is reminded of how good things were back home.
Essentially, this is one of those relationships comprised of two people who have enough issues to give a platoon of psychologists a field day. She might have less issues than he does - or hers are just better hidden; but they have a mutual respect and attraction in the TV series that manifests quite delightfully in their occasional exchanges and their work together.
I see Bruce giving as much of himself (both Bruce Wayne and Batman) to Diana as he is able, and her accepting him as far as he is willing to go. Not conflict-free, certainly not easy, but worth fighting for.
Two warriors: one human, one meta. He fights in the dark with a mask on his face, she battles in the light with no subterfuge at all. He is the epitome of possibility in the human race, and she is the epitome of her own race's possibilities. And yet, for all their differences, they are warriors twain, disciplined and fierce in their duty, passionate about what they believe, whether they show it openly or keep it hidden.
So, yeah, shoot me. I like them.
--
Faith and Wes are next, in all their dysfunctional glory.
