Why Telltale is the definitive Batman?!

Batman! easily DC’s most popular character, his logo can be seen on wide-eyed children’s backpacks and cynical Generation X-ers alike. The character has changed to the tastes of audiences through out the decades. Batman has been the aspiring fascist dictator of Frank Miller’s comics. The apologist for the patriot act in Nolan trilogy and the stoic champion for justice with Kevin Conroy’s voice for DC Animated Universe. The erudite backroom brawler of the Adam West series and the overdramatic showman of the Burton films. He’s made puns while written by Neal Adams and insisted he works alone in the 90’s whilst being in The Justice League.

Batman doesn’t have a personality anymore, every reader’s Batman is different. Fans ascribe a personality to Bruce Wayne, cherry-picking the media and actions they want for “their Batman” because of this creative teams can create a ripple through the Bat-community with their decisions writing the character, one example would be Bruce Timm whose idea of Batman is god’s gift to women and the only member of the Justice League who can save the day on their own. Timm wrote a prequel to Batman Beyond where he revealed that the Bat-family broke apart because Barbara Gordon and Bruce Wayne were having an affair leaving Dick Grayson feeling dejected. Some fans think it’s creepy that a man in his early 40’s was having an affair with a 19 year old, some dislike that Bruce Wayne could be such a lying manipulator and others think it’s just awesome that Batman shags so much. 

The truth about Batman is that he’s a Mary Sue, but this only seems to be brought up as a problem when it’s a female character. Batman isn’t just a Mary Sue he’s the Mariest Sue to ever Mary a Sue. Everything comes easily to him, quantum mechanics he can learn that in a night he’s in tip-top physical condition. He can even be such a jerk that he can commit acts of child abuse (yes actually think about what he did to Jason Todd) but still be allowed in the super boy-scouts floating clubhouse in space.  

Now these are all usually problems with a character, no consistency and creepy creative teams drooling over them so hard you suspect they need to wear his cowl to get an erection. Telltales format of game actually makes these a strength because you can’t make a choice thats out of character for him, and you can make him whatever kind of Batman you want. There are of course limitations to this you can’t choose between Burton’s Art-Deco Gotham or Dick Sprang’s Gotham where every factory has a giant fully functioning version of what they make on the roof. You’re also limited in how much you want to work alone as Batman because you can’t drop in Robin to help you punch criminals. You also can’t pick which villains you want in each storyline so you have to stick with the obnoxious pseudo marxist Penguin the developers created. But your character of Bruce Wayne is exactly as Brutal or Merciful as you choose. You can have him try to seduce as many reporters as you like, have him distrust Jim Gordon and be as rude to Alfred as you like as the story unfolds.  

The philosophy of Legion (according to K Ben on Comics)

I have nothing but respect for Wisecrack, in fact I would even site them as an influence on my style of blogging (other video essayists I would honour in the way being Nerdsync and Lindsay Ellis). But they recently published a video on the TV show Legion looking for the core philosophy of the series, and I think they missed this so I thought I would write a piece all about what I believe the shows message was.

So what is the Philosophy of FX’s Legion; that hatred and cruelty create more hatred and cruelty so be kind. Which I think is suspiciously like the philosophy of The X-men, funny that it’s almost like they’re connected. 

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Why did you open this if you haven’t watched the show?

Legion is the story of David Haller, recovery drug-addict, misdiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic and unreliable narrator. When the series opens David is in an asylum being tortured by Lenny and crushing on Syd, both of whom at this point may or may not exist as David is the only person in the asylum who they talk to. By the second episode of the series David has been recruited into a para-military mutant team with Syd (now confirmed to be a real woman), and as the first season wraps up we find out than Lenny is actually the Shadow-king a powerful mutant wanting revenge on David’s father (at this point implied but not confirmed to be Professor Charles Xavier) for defeating him in psychic combat when David was still a baby. Over the first two seasons David grows to be a better person and even by the end of the second season he has defeated the Shadow-king in an astral duel choreographed to Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, and at the moment David is winning in the duel is the verse that includes “If I swallow anything evil” and “If I shiver give me a blanket” both of which being admissions of wanting help. The second series wasn’t all happy sailing for David as a future version of Syd told of how he would bring about the apocalypse, this sowing seeds of distrust towards David which lead them to believe without question that he raped Syd, ignoring completely that the Shadow-king an immensely powerful and manipulative telepath capable to creating illusions could’ve faked this to get revenge.

At the beginning of the 3rd season, the Not X-men have teamed up with the Shadow-King to stop David who has started a cult full of lost hippies that get high of the bottled love pheromone he produces with his mind. The Not X-men then try to stop David and he has them all join him in a version of What’s so Funny about Peace, Love and Understanding by Elvis Costello (this is of course somewhat hypocritical of David as from being hounded by the “Heroes” he vaporised all of his cult and his ex-girlfriend). The remaining episodes are mostly about David trying to travel back in time to prevent his life going wrong, which we know could be successful or fail miserable as Episode 14 which was part of Season 2 also showed alternate version of David one of which he was a business man who used his telepathy to get ahead and another timeline he was a homeless drug addict. 

After being vaporised Syd’s mind is now found on the Astral Plane (a world that exists purely as thought and metaphor) but now as a baby and is given a second childhood raised by two other lost minds acting as her parents. They also take in another lost girl who gets seduced away from their fairy tale lifestyle by the Big Bad wolf, a psychic entity who can be best described as an edge-lord. The kind of guy who makes an unfunny racist joke and thinks it’s the best joke ever because it will offend “libtards”. He is of course defeated in a Rap Battle by her adopted father who defeats him with a verse about how “puppies aren’t afraid of me” and “he gets more hugs than hate mail” with the finishing blow of “I sleep well at night knowing people love me, can you say that”. 

The final episodes of Legion have David in the past, on the days when his father met Amahl Farouk (better known as the Shadow King) and trying to ensure his father defeats him in a way that won’t allow him to escape. Of course the Not X-men and present time Amahl Farouk make it to this time as well. Syd and another member of their team protect Baby David and his mother, because during her time in the Astral Plane Syd has realised that Baby David is innocent. Whilst still believing current David might be a lost cause but that baby has done nothing wrong, his future isn’t determined. The Telepaths duel, David and Past Amahl Farouk duel with all their powers, but Charles and Future Farouk sit down and talk. Charles and Future Amahl reach an agreement, so David’s life will not be destroyed. The Shadow King shows his past self psychically his future and he realises not even he should be that cruel. David and his mother sings Mother by Pink Floyd but with it recontextualised. To be about how she will protect her son rather than how she will stifle him with paranoia. 

We end with the versions of Syd and David that we knew ceasing to exist and being erased so that new better ones can take their place, a rebirth and this time for David without somebody trying to make him miserable.

Of course Legion could also just be a story, to quote the first season “there are two sorts of stories, those created to keep us safe… and those created to teach empathy” but even with what it says about the nature of stories, empathy is a form of kindness.

But even if I’m wrong about Noah Hawley’s series, I got a positive message from the show and loved the story he told so I’m better off being wrong on this one.