#I'm having a genuine crisis almost to the level of whatever the fuck I had going on in 2020/2021

[septimus-heap]

Having a bad day :(

#sep talks #would elaborate but I'm too tired. That is part of it ngl. I'm so tired all the time #no energy for anything that isn't school. Barely enough energy for school #actually that's a lie. Not enough energy for school. I can't do homework bc I'm too tired #barely awake enough most of the time to remember to eat #I'm ill rn so that's not helping #I want to lie down and sleep for 1 million years and never ever have to get up. But unfortunately I Do have to get up #my throat hurts my head hurts I'm so so tired my feet hurt bc my shoes don't fit right my joints hurt bc of god knows what #I'm having a genuine crisis almost to the level of whatever the fuck I had going on in 2020/2021 #I have no plans for the future I have no plans for the present I'm too tired to even consider it #I need to deal with some school stuff but I really really really do not want to have to #I knew school made me tired and depressed but this is i think worse than its ever been before #and idk how to fix it. I need the qualifications #I can't quit. I don't know if I can carry on. Hell on earth. Idk why I'm so tired I wish I could fix it #but I'm too tired to call the doctors

[lananiscorner]

Hello! I saw your post on Batman and Robin Eternal. May I ask what made Batman and Robin Eternal really bad? I'm a newcomer to the fandom, and I thought I found it pretty good. I'd just like to see what's made it so bad in what seems to be the majority of the fandom.

Thanks for your ask, praetorlutetia.

Oh god... where do I start? Please keep in mind that I have only read the first three issues, but here is what I’ve seen so far:

1) Mischaracterizations: If you never read any of the post Crisis comics, then this will likely be less of an issue for you, but some of the main characters here have become caricatures of their former selves. Dick Grayson, who has almost 80 years of character development, has essentially been reduced to “sexy spy”. The comic flat out tells us so on the second page of issue 1. Jason, who was originally one of the most compassionate characters in Batman lore and a friend to all women and children has become this weird frat bro dude. Steph, who was once a flawed, but talented, extremely driven and determined girl from Gotham’s slums, who had a kid at age 16 from her douche ex who ghosted her, has been reduced to “kiss me, sexy Batman” airhead levels. It’s painful.

For the record: I am trying very, very hard to divorce my knowledge of the Post Crisis characters from my current reading experience and to look at New 52 Jason as a completely different person from Post Crisis Jason, but the truth is: even doing that, even just taking B&RE Jason at face value, I do not like this character, outside of a few of his quibs, which is a shame, because Jason Todd (his Arkham version specifically) is what got me into the Batman franchise.

2) For a book that’s called “Batman & Robin Eternal” there’s too damn little Batman & Robin. We get former Robins, but no Batman. The person who is currently holding the title of Robin, Damian, is not even in the damn book (at least not yet - again, I’m on issue 3). This is especially egregious since we didn’t really get to see the first three Robins as Robins in New 52. Jason started as Red Hood. Dick started as Nightwing, Tim as Red Robin. This book could have been an amazing opportunity to show us their origin stories and adventures with Batman, but instead it’s dealing with everything BUT Batman & Robin.

3) This book, like many in the New 52, essentially has “cross-marketing ads” in it. Like... in issue 2 or 3 Dick mentions that his agent partner is a cannibal. My brain went “What? When did that happen?” and lo and behold there’s a narration box telling me to read “Grayson#whatever. No. No, I won’t. I am not interested in "Grayson”. I am reading B&RE for Cass. And that dialogue wasn’t even relevant to the plot. The fact that Poppy is a cannibal was not relevant to the issue. It was just thrown in there to market another book and stuff like that just pisses me off.

4) The blatantly sexist and ableist dialogue. This ties into 1) and it really grated on me when I read that book, even though I am far from being a SJW. Things like “Kiss me, sexy Batman” or Dick telling the boys to watch over the girls while he goes and save the day all James Bond macho style or Tim treating Cass like an infant just because she cannot speak. Stuff like that should not be coming out of the mouths of any of our heroes, at least not without someone pointing out how wrong it is and yet here it’s presented as if these are genuinely funny or good things. No. No they are not.

5) The fucking fear gas flashbacks from Dick. Maybe there is going to be a payoff twelve issues down the line, but right now they just feel incredibly disruptive. If you are going to put flashbacks in a book, put them at the very beginning or the very end of the issue, but if you’re dropping them in the middle, they’d better be tied into what’s happening. Right now, they are not. Ironically, this is the only time we actually get to see Batman & Robin, so I wish I could say I liked these, but I genuinely found them annoying. It’s like you’re watching a B list horror movie and suddenly there’s 30 seconds of Sherlock Holmes. Like... Sherlock Holmes is good, but what the fuck was that doing in my B movie horror? For flashbacks done right, see Batman: Gates Of Gotham. That book was good.

So these are my gripes so far. Like I said, I am three issues into this, but I have been warned that it gets worse. I am trying to be as fair to this book as I can, but it keeps on getting worse for me with every issue.

#asks #praetorlutetia #Batman & Robin Eternal #why I don't like it