All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder and the latest Brubaker/Rucka/Lark Daredevil arc make for somewhat of an odd comparison—Brubaker’s writing has been hailed as a masterful follow-up to Bendis and Maleev’s groundbreaking run on the character, while fans are somewhat at a loss to describe just what Frank Miller is attempting to do with ASBAR; it would seem that the Goddamn Batman(tm) is a parody of a style that Frank Miller himself made popular with his reinvention of Batman in The Dark Knight Returns.
Putting aside Daredevil for a second, I’d like to give ASBAR a little bit more credit than that. One internet commentator on PopCultureShock (link) makes the claim, and I wholeheartedly agree, that “The Goddamn” Batman is actually a faithful interpretation of the character as he exists within the insane Miller-verse that spans between Year One and The Dark Knight Returns. Indeed, a detective genius who dresses up as a bat to scare criminals could do nothing but lose of his grip on reality somewhat—after all, doing things like naming your car “The batmobile” is, as Robin describes, a little “queer.” By drafting Robin into his “war on crime,” Batman provides himself with some way to connect his twisted, crimefighting existence with the rest of the world (This, I think, is the purpose of the Goddamn Justice League—to show his relationship with the outside world). What’s more, Miller is pointing out that batman would have to be insane to subject a 12 year old boy to a life of crimefighting—indeed, what kind of person would think that putting a kid up against the villains of Gotham city is anything resembling good idea? While I don’t know where the series is going exactly, it seems fair enough to speculate that that’s where it’s headed.
This is where the latest issues of Daredevil comes in (issue 107). After depressing arc after depressing arc, culminating in his (latest) love interest going insane, Matt Murdock seems to have lots a grip on reality. The opening scene in which he violently beats two thugs with the same brutality as the Goddamn Batman:
ASBAR 05 p. 17
Daredevil 107
Confronted by both Luke Cage and Dakota North, Matt is asked to defend Ben Donovan, who “confessed” to the murder of three kids, which it’s fairly obvious he didn’t do (Bru and crew are hitting classic crime drama beats, which is one of the reasons I like Bendis/Brubaker Daredevil so much—it’s not a superhero book insomuch as it’s a crime book, but that’s another post). Dakota admits to Matt that she’s giving him this assignment to get his life back on track, culminating in the final page of the issue:
The Dialgoue
Donovan: You’re…You’re matt Murdock. What do You Want?
Matt: I want to be your Lawyer, Ben…I want to save your life.
Here, Matt isn’t just speaking to Donovan, but to himself as well. Indeed, being a lawyer is one of the things that keeps him grounded in reality in the face of his insane super-hero life, and, at least, since Brubaker and Crew took over, he’s somewhat given up on being a lawyer, and his abandonment of the law practice is, as this issue makes very clear, one of the causes behind is slipping sanity.
However, while Matt’s non-tights vocation is thematically connected to his super-heroism (i.e., fighting crime by day, fighting crime by night), Batman’s grounding in reality is simply another aspect of his superheroism. Indeed, this aspect of the two characters is one of the big differences between Marvel and DC in general: While Marvel characters have things that ground them outside being a superhero, DC character’s more human elements are either minor or integrated as a larger part of their superheroic identity—Superman’s Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are constant rescuees, pretty much everyone in Batman’s life is connected to his war on crime somehow, etc. You rarely see DC characters’ “outside” lives intruding on their superheroism the way you see Daredevil chasing a case both in and out of the courtroom, or watch Spider-Man taking pictures of his latest supervillian fight for the Daily Bugle, or have Tony Stark’s alcoholism become a driving force behind the character’s development; Martian Manhunter never had a story arc entitled “Demon in a Doublestuff,” The “humanizing” character traits DC characters possess are always secondary to their heroic personalities, no matter which side they fall on the pseudo-freudian “which identity is the mask” dilemma.
Indeed, I would posit that this is the reason why DC characters are so mythic in comparison to Marvel characters. Batman, Superman and Wonder woman are gods of modern mythology, while Spider-Man, Thor, and the Iron Man are simply pop culture icons. Indeed, the two Marvel characters that seem just as mythic as DC’s big three—Captain America and Wolverine—are simply the exceptions that prove the rule. Both characters represent something larger than their own individual: Captain America represents the overwhelming power of American patriotism and Wolverine represents the conflicts of whether to embrace or reject one’s animal nature—and many of the stories that are written about them play up these characteristics. Referring to Miller again, though this time with Claremont, Wolverine’s reimagining as Bushido warrior is simply another extension of that battle against one’s own animal nature. To be sure, many of the “classic” stories that feature both Cap and Wolvie refer to their mythic identities rather than use them alongside, say, a plot about you’re best friend’s insane dad throwing your girlfriend off a bridge, and you accidentally snapping her neck.
Following this idea, I would posit that this is precisely what separates Marvel fans (such as myself) from DC fans—Marvel fans will say that Marvel characters are better because they are “more realistic”, or, more tellingly “more human”, while DC fans see Marvel characters as “uninspiring”, “too flawed” or “not super-heroic enough.” Indeed, what it comes down to is whether someone wants to read about a person or a god. I’ve always preferred stories about people to mythology, and thus, I’ve chosen to Make Mine Marvel 75% of the time. However, there’s still room on my pull list for Detective Comics, All-Star Superman, or the latest crisis, because sometimes it’s simply nice to watch mythology unfold within the pages of a comic book.
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