Battle for the Cowl Conclusion
My random thoughts about BftC 3, Jason-centric.
Good discussions are raging, especially in no_scans daily, and most of them contain lots and lots of "wtf, Tony Daniels." Maybe I just went into this arc with way lower expectations than everybody else, but things could be way worse. I expected to be disappointed and maybe a little outraged, when instead I'm kind of interested in where the Robins' characterizations are headed.
They didn't completely assassinate Jason's character, which it seemed like Tony Daniels was going to do for awhile. (Yeah, he actually said "At this point he [Jason] is beyond the point of no return in terms of ever being considered even remotely a hero." Which pissed me off, as someone who doesn't like to believe in black and white hat heroes.) But far from making Jason completely irredeemable, they've just shoved him further down the angst macht evil path. Which he's been on for awhile, now anyway.
Now there's the whole issue of what Bruce was talking about in his final message to Jason... as if there isn't enough already in Jason's past to pick from, it seems like they're introducing something new. Which begs the question: what single childhood event could be worse than everything he's gone through since then combined (murder, resurrection, amnesia, abandonment, more homelessness, &c)? Or maybe the event isn't supposed to be the worst thing that ever happened to him, but the first really bad thing that set the tone for the rest of his life, which I find... slightly more plausible, I suppose. From Bruce's message, he's referring to a specific event of set of events that happened during Jason's childhood, before he was Robin. ...Is there any way, given what we know of Jason's past, that it could not be some kind of sexual abuse? Given Jason's life on the streets I think everybody assumed he went through some fights, maybe some physical abuse as a kid, but he cultivated his strength and generally gave as good as he got. Plus Jason was never secretive about his former life; he would throw it in people's faces like a weapon or talk matter-of-fact-ly about it because it's just the way things were for him. I... could see sexual abuse being the exception to that, especially if it happened really early/first, or his parents were somehow involved in it.
People have also pointed out that Jason made an appearance when Winick was writing Green Arrow in which he suggested that he knew what Mia's life had been like a lot better than Ollie (her father-figure). Mia was a street-kid, but she also worked as a child prostitute for awhile, so maybe they're choosing to make more explicit what was already hinted at in cannon. Not only would this give him a connection with Mia, but also, surprisingly enough, with Dick, who has been wallowing in some pretty serious angst as Nightwing, especially after he allowed a villain to get shot and then was raped, but that didn't really get resolved at all because Editorial Fiat dictated that Bludhaven was due for destruction. But the point is, Dick and Jason potentially have more in common than they realize, if they were both sexually assaulted.
Yeah yeah, the writers focusing in on one childhood incident and ignoring all the recently-inflicted angst is a poor choice, but I'm a sucker for dragging shit up out of people's pasts. I also have yet to see male sexual assault/rape treated with anything approaching seriousness by DC, and I'm curious if this is going to be it. I kind of hope it is, since I already assumed Jason had been through pretty much everything anyway.
I find Bruce's suggestion that Jason get therapy... amusing. Too little too late much, Bruce? Besides, the idea of any member of the Batfamily getting therapy is nuts. What would Jason even say? That he was a street kid who got trained as a Bat then was killed by a psychotic clown while searching out his birth mother, but then was resurrected with amnesia only to find out that the Batfamily had not avenged his death and in forcing Batman to try and do so his father-figure chose to give him a Batarang to the jugular instead? Too funny. They have opened the door, though, to a way Jason can be reconciled with the family despite everything he has done, and while he rejects it in this issue ("I'd rather DIE" and falls off a bridge), who knows what'll happen in the future.
Damian as Robin = Boo. Dick as Batman = could be cool. Tim as... Red Robin? I love Tim, so they'd best have something awesome in store for him. I loved his little "I owe you one, Bruce" before he passes out from blood loss.
Good discussions are raging, especially in no_scans daily, and most of them contain lots and lots of "wtf, Tony Daniels." Maybe I just went into this arc with way lower expectations than everybody else, but things could be way worse. I expected to be disappointed and maybe a little outraged, when instead I'm kind of interested in where the Robins' characterizations are headed.
They didn't completely assassinate Jason's character, which it seemed like Tony Daniels was going to do for awhile. (Yeah, he actually said "At this point he [Jason] is beyond the point of no return in terms of ever being considered even remotely a hero." Which pissed me off, as someone who doesn't like to believe in black and white hat heroes.) But far from making Jason completely irredeemable, they've just shoved him further down the angst macht evil path. Which he's been on for awhile, now anyway.
Now there's the whole issue of what Bruce was talking about in his final message to Jason... as if there isn't enough already in Jason's past to pick from, it seems like they're introducing something new. Which begs the question: what single childhood event could be worse than everything he's gone through since then combined (murder, resurrection, amnesia, abandonment, more homelessness, &c)? Or maybe the event isn't supposed to be the worst thing that ever happened to him, but the first really bad thing that set the tone for the rest of his life, which I find... slightly more plausible, I suppose. From Bruce's message, he's referring to a specific event of set of events that happened during Jason's childhood, before he was Robin. ...Is there any way, given what we know of Jason's past, that it could not be some kind of sexual abuse? Given Jason's life on the streets I think everybody assumed he went through some fights, maybe some physical abuse as a kid, but he cultivated his strength and generally gave as good as he got. Plus Jason was never secretive about his former life; he would throw it in people's faces like a weapon or talk matter-of-fact-ly about it because it's just the way things were for him. I... could see sexual abuse being the exception to that, especially if it happened really early/first, or his parents were somehow involved in it.
People have also pointed out that Jason made an appearance when Winick was writing Green Arrow in which he suggested that he knew what Mia's life had been like a lot better than Ollie (her father-figure). Mia was a street-kid, but she also worked as a child prostitute for awhile, so maybe they're choosing to make more explicit what was already hinted at in cannon. Not only would this give him a connection with Mia, but also, surprisingly enough, with Dick, who has been wallowing in some pretty serious angst as Nightwing, especially after he allowed a villain to get shot and then was raped, but that didn't really get resolved at all because Editorial Fiat dictated that Bludhaven was due for destruction. But the point is, Dick and Jason potentially have more in common than they realize, if they were both sexually assaulted.
Yeah yeah, the writers focusing in on one childhood incident and ignoring all the recently-inflicted angst is a poor choice, but I'm a sucker for dragging shit up out of people's pasts. I also have yet to see male sexual assault/rape treated with anything approaching seriousness by DC, and I'm curious if this is going to be it. I kind of hope it is, since I already assumed Jason had been through pretty much everything anyway.
I find Bruce's suggestion that Jason get therapy... amusing. Too little too late much, Bruce? Besides, the idea of any member of the Batfamily getting therapy is nuts. What would Jason even say? That he was a street kid who got trained as a Bat then was killed by a psychotic clown while searching out his birth mother, but then was resurrected with amnesia only to find out that the Batfamily had not avenged his death and in forcing Batman to try and do so his father-figure chose to give him a Batarang to the jugular instead? Too funny. They have opened the door, though, to a way Jason can be reconciled with the family despite everything he has done, and while he rejects it in this issue ("I'd rather DIE" and falls off a bridge), who knows what'll happen in the future.
Damian as Robin = Boo. Dick as Batman = could be cool. Tim as... Red Robin? I love Tim, so they'd best have something awesome in store for him. I loved his little "I owe you one, Bruce" before he passes out from blood loss.