The Catwoman - Gotham's Protector · 5:21pm Jan 28th, 2014
My latest attempt at ramping up my writing speed is that I think that, from now on, I'm just going to write whatever comes to mind, whenever it comes to mind, so as to get it out of my head immediately rather than wasting time debating whether I should write it or work on more serious stuff. The following is the result of that.
So, Catwoman once had an Elseworlds comic, Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham, wherein Selina Kyle was basically Batman - but sexed-up - and Batman was a psychotic killer, like Owlman but without the intelligence. It...was...awful, awful enough that Linkara reviewed it in his Atop the Fourth Wall series. However, one thing stuck out to me - that Linkara didn't think that the concept could work at all, since Catwoman wouldn't really be all that different from Batman.
Well, that might be true, but that doesn't mean that such an Elseworlds tale couldn't nevertheless have been good had it been executed right.
I've been bouncing the idea around in my head for awhile, and between yesterday and today I finally typed up my own thoughts on the matter for The Catwoman: Gotham's Protector. The title needs some work, but, still. Tell me what you think. It'll be in the comments below.
THE CATWOMAN: GOTHAM'S PROTECTOR
An Elseworlds wherein Catwoman is a hero and Batman has become a Punisher-like villain that Catwoman needs to stop, though he isn’t the focus of the story. The following is conceptualized around a 6-issue run.
PONT OF DIVERGENCE
The chemical plant fight between the Batman and the Red Hood (AKA Joker before the scarring). Red Hood manages to drag both himself and the Batman into the chemical vat when he falls. Both the Batman and Red Hood are chemically scarred, Red Hood becoming Joker (as per normal) while the Batman seemingly remains sane, though he can’t go out in public as Bruce Wayne anymore and instead secludes himself completely within Wayne Manor when not fighting crime.
Without any “normal” contact with the outside world as Bruce, the Batman becomes 100% dedicated to crime-fighting. He also becomes much more brutal and ruthless. While he still will not directly take a life, he does have the “but I don’t have to save you” thing that I hated from Batman Begins, and is relatively okay with collateral damage. So basically he's Burton/Schumacher films Batman.
The Joker is still at large as well. He’s still very obsessed with the Batman, but unlike in the normal DC universe, Joker definitely hates the Batman and wants him dead for the chemical scarring thing and also because this Batman just doesn’t seem to be as fun.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Selina Kyle: The Cat, a world-renowned thief who was born in Gotham but got out as soon as she could. Generally avoids violence and mayhem in her actions. Selina becomes Catwoman in order to clean up Gotham after learning just how bad her old hometown has become.
Dick Grayson: Age 12. In this universe, after his parents were killed he went to a foster home (not Wayne), but a bad one, and so instead ran away and lived on the streets as a thief-acrobat. His injury in a grudge match between the Batman and the Joker is what pushes Selina to take up the mantle of the Cat.
The Batman: Bruce Wayne. Badly scarred by chemicals such that his physical appearance is much like the Joker’s - white skin, red lips, green hair. He doesn’t have the rictus grin, however. The Batman still fights crime, but he’s more or less like the Punisher. He won’t deliberately kill, but he’s shockingly uncaring about things like collateral damage.
The Joker: Basically the same as in the normal universe; the biggest change is that he positively hates the Batman rather than the twisted relationship they have in the original timeline.
James Gordon: Police captain. Wants to clean up Gotham but has no idea how to do it in any way that will make a difference. Does not have any kind of relationship with the Batman here - he views him as just one more criminal. For that matter, he doesn’t like the Cat, either.
Gillian B. Loeb: Police Commissioner on the payroll of the Falcone crime family (but who takes bribes from just about every criminal overlord on the side as well). Corrupt in the extreme. Has been threatened by the Batman, and wants him arrested (read: dead), and swiftly decides he doesn’t like Catwoman either. Is catching a lot of flak for his city turning into a circus of masked villains and vigilantes.
Harvey Dent: District Attorney, elected some months ago. Determined to curb crime in Gotham much like Gordon, but the sheer pervasiveness of corruption stymies his efforts.
Edward Nigma: Private Investigator. With the Batman being much less sporting and much more violent, he thinks of the Batman as just a crass brute. Ed himself is a complete jerk, but isn’t (very) crooked.
Oswald Cobblepot: The Penguin! Crime lord. Relatively benign as these things go, he’s trustworthy, but still a ruthless villain. So, in other words, he’s just like the normal timeline.
Black Mask: Mostly as normal; he became a crime boss as he did in the comics, though obviously Bruce Wayne couldn’t play a part in his rise to power.
Mr. Zsasz: As normal; he’s a mob hitter with a thing for cutting himself to keep a tally of those he’s killed.
OTHER BATMAN VILLAINS
Cameos, for the most part; they don’t play any major roles other than to be punched by Catwoman or something.
CATWOMAN’S COSTUME
There’s nothing wrong with her costume looking sexy; if Batman can show off his deltoids and pecks and whatnot, then Catwoman’s allowed to flaunt her curves. Having said that, she’s trying to be not just a thief, but a combatant in this story, so she’s gonna want meaningful armor and a functional costume. Her costume can be form-fitting but she should still probably have some armor over her forearms, chest (no boob socks!), shins, and shoulders. Color scheme should be black and red.
Catwoman will keep her whip; it’s iconic to her, and I actually like the justification of “if I’m disarmed, then at least the guy who disarmed me probably won’t know how to use it against me.” She’ll have a utility belt as well, and some stylish night-vision goggles. She can wear boots or shoes (I favor shoes), but no matter what, NO STILETTOS, combat or otherwise. Seriously, there is no justification for ANYONE, hero or villain, sane or batshit crazy, to knowingly go into combat wearing high-heels.
Weapons of choice include her whip and claws in her gloves with maybe some hidden “claws” in her boots that can be extended as either a weapon or to aid in climbing. Her utility belt can include a grapple-line (no, her whip isn’t that magic, though she does use it to grab stuff on occasion), some minor smoke bombs for quick escapes, and other basic equipment. She may be able to steal all sorts of money, but she doesn’t have Wayne Enterprises with which to bury her tracks, so her arsenal is going to be smaller than the Batman’s.
Catwoman’s costume needs to hide her face even when her goggles aren’t worn; she’s trying to be a masked vigilante, after all. Maybe a scarf? She won’t be wearing a cape and I imagine her hair is tucked away (or just short), so she needs something that can billow dramatically in the wind. This is a comic, after all; practicality should give way in some areas to the cool factor. Plus it gets cold in Gotham at night.
If I had to define its overall look, my first instinct is to say “WWII pilot meets ninja.”
TRAITS
Catwoman is a combatant that favors agility over force and brute strength. She tries to strike from hiding and makes good use of smoke pellets, shadows, and the fact that she has IR goggles, something that most folk don’t carry around. She uses her whip to disarm bad guys and trip them up, but she’s fully capable of laying a smackdown on anyone who comes at her – when a bunch of mooks charge her, though, she tries to dodge and escape rather than fight, though. Like the Batman, Catwoman won’t kill, but unlike the Batman she doesn’t have an aversion to guns. She doesn’t carry one herself but is more than willing to use her whip to grab one and then use it to shoot a mook in the leg or arm.
Catwoman isn’t a detective. For that, she’ll be relying on aid from Ed Nigma, Private Investigator – AKA, the Riddler if he didn’t turn to a life of crime. She’s still plenty smart and savvy, though. In the modern world, being a thief requires tech knowledge to overcome electronic locks, hack computers, etc. She has that knowledge.
Catwoman is still a thief even as she’s trying to clean up Gotham. She frequently steals from her enemies or while out on patrol, but never from those who can’t afford it, and often donates to charities.
VEHICLES
Motorcycle. It’s not the cat-cycle, it’s just a motorcycle, albeit a top-of-the-line one. She doesn’t have a Catmobile. Catwoman is also going to live in downtown Gotham (where most of the Bad Stuff goes down, or nearby, anyway), so she doesn’t need to drive as much anyway.
1. YEAR ONE
Gotham is a horrible place to grow up. For a brief moment things looked like they were getting better (when Batman first showed up), but the Batman quickly seemed to become just the first of a series of costumed supervillains. At the start of the story, Gotham is more of a cesspool than ever.
Selina Kyle is a thief, the Cat, who came to Gotham (her hometown) looking for an easy score. She didn’t expect it to have become quite as bad as the stories made it out to be, but in fact it is, and that’s terrible. She resolves to just steal the McGuffin she was after and get out. Her contact in Gotham, who has been scouting the museum where she planned to steal the McGuffin, is Dick Grayson (age 12), who has lived on the street and turned to crime ever since his family was murdered. Selina is at first reluctant to team up with Dick (all their previous conversations were over Skype or something; point is that she didn’t know he was just a kid), since he’s just a kid, but he’s cased the museum inside and out and so she decides to just go with it. After all, it’s just a quick in-and-out and after the kid can retire from crime. What’s the worst that could happen?
(NOTE: Selina at this point has “a” catwoman costume, but it’s just a basic body glove, utility belt, and mask. Dick has his own costume that should be a darker version of his acrobat uniform, complete with cape. Both can snipe at each other’s uniforms ‘cause I think it’d be fun).
While breaking into the museum to steal a McGuffin, Selina and Dick find that they’re not the only ones there to steal the McGuffin. The Joker is also there, as well as the Batman, who’s hunting him down. Selina and Dick quickly realize that there’s a grudge match going on and try to make a quick escape, but get stuck in the crossfire as the police show up. During the fight, with Selina trying to get the McGuffin from the Joker, Dick is injured - badly - by one of the Batman’s weapons. Batman doesn’t care that much other than getting angry that the Joker “made” him hurt an innocent bystander; he has no concern for Dick himself.
Selina abandons trying to get the McGuffin and gets Dick outside as the Joker and the Batman both make their escape. She is trying to get Dick help from the police, but is tasered and beaten by the cops, and blacks out.
Selina wakes up in jail. She has no prior criminal record so they can’t ID her. Escaping fairly easily, Selina makes her way to Gotham General Hospital, where she finds that Dick is in bad shape but stable - however his lower spine was shattered, so he’ll never walk again. He’s also likely to go to Juvie since his records ARE on file. Dick wakes up with Selina there as she’s apologizing, and he tells her that it isn’t her fault; this is just what Gotham is like these days. He actually doesn’t mind the idea of Juvie since it’ll keep him off the streets and out of a bad foster home.
Selina leaves with those words echoing in her head. She decides that she doesn’t like Gotham City very much, but if it’s a place where madmen like the Joker and the Batman can have a grudge match that harms an innocent kid, then it’s a place that needs cleaning up. Gotham City is infested to its very core with rats - it needs a Cat to come in and clean house.
2. THE CAT-WOMAN
The issue begins several months later, with a major drug deal being interrupted by Catwoman in her new outfit, with internal monologue detailing exactly where she found or stole each piece of equipment (remember that Selina doesn’t have Wayne Enterprises to embezzle, so everything she wears or uses should be accounted for as something that a thief - albeit an exceptional one - could acquire). Catwoman isn’t like Batman; she won’t engage groups of mooks at a time, but instead deals with them one by one from the shadows until we finally get to see her in full before the last terrified mook, whom she lets go while nearly verbatim quoting Michael Keaton from first Burton “Batman” movie. (“Please don’t kill me!” “I’m not going to kill you. I want you to tell your friends about me.” “WHAT ARE YOU?” “I’m the Cat.”) She leaves just as the police show up, though she wonders what the cops are doing there since SHE certainly didn’t call them.
Meanwhile, during daylight hours, Selina has moved into Gotham proper, taking a condo downtown paid for via ill-gotten gains. It’s made clear that she’s still perfectly okay with being a thief; in fact, she stole all the money from the drug deal that she stopped last night. Her apartment has all kinds of cats, of course. She is a bit annoyed with a newspaper she reads, wherein a) her stopping the drug deal is relegated to a back page, and b) she’s identified as “the Cat-woman” rather than just “The Cat.”
(NOTE: this is planned to be the only real acknowledgement of the fact that Selina is a Strong Independent Woman; I think women’s equality causes are better helped by just showing women doing whatever they like with no special commentary about how “they’re just as good as any man” or whatever. Having said that, this is just too cute a joke to pass up).
At police headquarters, Captain James Gordon adds yet another masked menace to the distressingly large list that Gotham has. He internally monologues a bit about how this Cat may not have seriously injured any of the mooks she stopped the previous night, but she still took all the drug money: she’s just a thief with a gimmick, nothing more. He suspects (correctly) that she is the thief from the museum heist that ended with Dick Grayson in traction, though the cops still don’t have any positive ID on Selina, and the whole thing is a pretty low priority anyway.
Over the course of the next few nights, Catwoman deals with other crimes. She notes, though, that whenever she deals with a big crime - major drug deal, gun smuggling, breaking into a brothel, whatever - the police always seem to miraculously show up not long after. It doesn’t take a genius to realize the reason why: the Bad Guys are actually calling the cops themselves. This clues the Cat into just how corrupt the Gotham PD really is. She also finds herself the target of a hit, with Mr. Zsasz luring her into a trap to try and kill her. She overcomes Zsasz, though it’s her first serious fight and does leave her injured. Zsasz is subdued, but Catwoman wants wants to know who put the hit on her. Zsasz isn’t talking, so Catwoman decides to take a different tack. She pretends to hold him hostage in a basement, but lets him escape; however, as Selina Kyle, she hired Edward Nigma, P.I., to investigate Zsasz and see if he can figure out who Zsasz is working for.
3. CROSSING A BLACK CAT
Ed Nigma puts together that Selina is the Catwoman pretty easily, but decides not to do anything with the knowledge for now in case it’s useful later; besides, Catwoman is paying him pretty nicely. His investigations into Zsasz narrow down the list of suspected crime bosses who want Selina out of the way to two: Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin (though not to his face), and Roman Sionis, AKA Black Mask.
Catwoman goes after Cobblepot first, figuring that the rotund crime boss is easy pickings. Turns out he’s not, and indeed expected Catwoman, whom he quickly has surrounded and trapped by his goons in one of his drug dens. Cobblepot and Catwoman have some verbal sparring for a little bit, with Catwoman fishing for information about whether or not he sent Zsasz after her. After finally admitting that it’s “not his style” to hire lunatics like Zsasz when anyone with a gun can do the job just as well, he is about to order Catwoman be shot, when she smiles a little. Cobblepot asks why, Catwoman just says that the cops always seem to show up at just the right time in this town, but for once it’s going to work in her favor – as the cops indeed burst in to Cobblepot’s place, thanks to the fact that she tipped them off that she was going to be there (she didn’t mention Cobblepot because she figures that they wouldn’t raid to go after someone who might be paying them – but her? She’s been making waves).
Cobblepot surrenders to the cops – he knows he can bribe his way out inside of a week – while Catwoman escapes, though not before being sighted by Captain Gordon. As she is escaping, however, she runs into the Batman. The Batman knows that Catwoman is the same thief as from the museum robbery a few months ago, but doesn’t know anything more than that (she didn’t take off her mask during the robbery). Catwoman, meanwhile, remembers how the Batman’s actions crippled Dick Grayson, and in anger she attacks him. The fight rages across Gotham’s rooftops, with Catwoman making good use of the terrain and her whip to fight back. The Batman gives much better than he gets for most of the fight, though, and the entire time goes through a “criminal scum” speech (highlighting how Catwoman’s still stealing, for example). Catwoman, however, eventually lands a lucky blow that stuns him; she ties him up and tears off his cowl, revealing the chemically-scarred Bruce Wayne beneath, whom she recognizes from tabloids, etc. She’s shocked at the sight, and the Batman uses her surprise to escape via Batmobile.
Catwoman goes to find Nigma to see what he can learn about Bruce Wayne, but when she reaches him, she finds that he’s been shot and is bleeding out. Trying to help him, Catwoman is ambushed by a bunch of thugs led by Mr. Zsasz, back for round 2 (and who noticed Nigma tailing him). Catwoman is still recovering from her fight with Batman. The issue ends with Catwoman stabbed by Zsasz, as Nigma passes out from blood loss, and Zsasz looking triumphant.
4. HUSH
Issue begins Zsasz looming over Catwoman, ready to land a killing blow. Just as he’s about to, though, he’s shot through the stomach – Nigma reveals that he was faking just how badly he was wounded, though he is in fact dying and could Catwoman take him to a hospital now, please? Catwoman takes both Nigma and Zsasz to the nearest hospital via motorcycle (Zsasz tied to the front with her whip like a trophy and loosely bandaged to stem the bleeding; he’s unconscious), and on the way there she reveals to Nigma that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Nigma all but goes into shock over the fact that he didn’t see it sooner, and asks what Selina is going to do about it.
Our next scene is several hours later. Catwoman dropped Nigma off at the nearest hospital and then booked it to Wayne Manor, which looks all gothic n’ spooky n’ shit. Sneaking in, she finds that the manor seems to have almost become a museum to Thomas and Martha Wayne, culminating, near an old grandfather clock, in a newspaper clipping of their murder and the fact that Bruce was left an orphan. While investigating the place, the grandfather clock swings open and Alfred steps out, carrying a tray with a half-eaten meal on it; Catwoman appears before him. Alfred is surprised at first, but then admits that he knew that one day Master Bruce’s crusade against the evils of Gotham would catch up to him and grabs a shotgun to protect Bruce, though he only threatens her with it, he doesn’t open fire.
Catwoman says that she isn’t here to fight, though, just talk, and convinces Alfred to let her down into the Batcave (leading her at gunpoint). It’s much like in the normal continuity, but doesn’t have nearly as many trophies, and is also just as obviously the product of a crazy person. The Batman is at his Bat-Computer, trying to figure out the identity of Catwoman, and is working through several alias of Selina’s. Catwoman arrives just as the Batman has figured out that it’s Selina Kyle.
Alfred announces Catwoman’s presence, and Batman at first shuts down a moment at the fact that his inner sanctum has been penetrated, before going into a crazy paranoia mode that makes both Catwoman and Alfred wince. Catwoman puts together Batman’s origin story via what she saw in the mansion upstairs, and Batman – with a little prodding from Alfred – fills in the rest, about the chemical scarring, the Joker, and how his crusade to retake Gotham from crime has seemed to backfire with the rise of masked villains, name-dropping a bunch.
Catwoman interrupts him during his litany, saying that he can add one more super villain to his list – the Batman. She produces a newspaper clipping of Dick Grayson in the hospital with a broken back, and says she carries it around with her to remind her what she’s doing, who she’s doing it for – and the monsters she’s trying to stop. She name-drops a number of criminals that Batman caused the deaths of, even if he didn’t kill them directly.
The Batman doesn’t seem to react to the newspaper other than to call her stupid for carrying around something that could lead back to someone she cares about, and orders her to leave. Alfred escorts her out, but once up top in the mansion he comments that there’s a chance that Catwoman may have gotten through to the Batman, at least a little, and basically Alfred gives Catwoman his blessing to go on trying to fight crime in Gotham.
5. NINE LIVES
Deciding to leave Batman alone for the moment, Catwoman takes a few nights to heal up. As Selina, she goes to check up on Dick Grayson, who’s recovered from his injuries somewhat but is wheelchair-bound and in a Juvenile lockup for his part in numerous crimes (including the museum break-in). Despite being a former trapeze artist, for whom paraplegia should break him, Dick seems to be in fairly good spirits, especially as it’s shown that Selina has stopped by numerous times in the past. Dick reveals that he’s taking the time to study while in Juvie, and basically it’s strongly implied that he’s gonna try and become the Oracle of this AU.
Several nights later, Catwoman is once again on the prowl, going after Black Mask this time. Tracking him down to his lair, Catwoman finds that Black Mask is holding a meeting of several of Gotham’s masked villains. Here’s a shot to show off some of the less renowned of Batman’s rogues gallery, though it can be implied that in this universe they’re serious hitters –Amygdala, Bag O’Bones, King Snake, and Spellbinder, though some regulars like Firefly and Scarecrow mixed in as well. As Catwoman listens in on the meeting via skylight, she learns that Black Mask has put a hit on her – five million bucks to whoever can produce her or her identifiable corpse.
Of course, now she’s warned about them. A few nights later, Black Mask’s in his office again, when all of the baddies are dropped down through the skylight, tied up and having been throttled. Standing on the roof, Catwoman asks for her five million. Black Mask doesn’t attack, though he does have goons, and instead admits that he’s impressed with the Catwoman and asks does the usual “join me” spiel – and also makes sure to point out that he owns half of Gotham’s PD and courts, so there’s no way that she can do anything permanent to him unless she’s willing to kill him, and he knows that she doesn’t have that in her.
Catwoman takes on Mask and his goons, however. She breaks both of Black Mask’s arms and legs, and she admits that, yeah, she won’t kill – but cripple for life? She’s fine with that. She tells Black Mask to spread the word that Gotham isn’t a criminal playground anymore. Also, as she’s leaving, she takes his mask – her first trophy – as well as something valuable that Black Mask had on display (a diamond or something). After she leaves, however, the Joker arrives on the scene and kills a helpless Black Mask via joker gas, and takes Black Mask’s gang as his own.
The next day, Selina learns about Black Mask’s death via reading about Roman Sionis’ death and the rictus grin that he had been sporting when found. Realizing her mistake, she goes to Nigma as Catwoman for help. Nigma reveals that he knows Catwoman’s identity, but doesn’t quite understand why he should keep it secret until Catwoman promises him a couple million dollars to keep hush-hush so that he won’t have to be a P.I. anymore. However, she needs his help in figuring out why the Joker would kill Black Mask. Nigma’s response is that it should really be obvious – the Joker’s been taking advantage of the chaos that Catwoman’s being sewing in the criminal underworld, elevating himself to become the big crime boss of Gotham, and he probably has something special planned. Catwoman thinks this over on the rooftop, which is when Batman shows up and says he knows what Joker is planning.
6. THE CAT AND THE BAT
The Batman reveals that the Joker has been using his new criminal empire, created with the accidental help of Catwoman, to spread drums of some kind of chemical all over Gotham. Batman reveals that it’s Joker gas, and though Batman has found several caches of the stuff, he has no idea how many more are scattered throughout Gotham. He needs to find the Joker and stop him. When Catwoman asks why he’s telling her this, the Batman admits that he’s pretty sure that he’s going to need someone to stop him when he finally does catch up to the Joker.
Catwoman agrees to work with the Batman for the moment, and the two track down the Joker’s location, a water treatment plant. The Joker is expecting Batman and has thrown him a surprise “party,” namely, a bunch of faceless goons. He’s also been expecting Catwoman, and reveals Dick Grayson, tied up and over a piranha pool (the Joker remembers Dick from the museum and knows that Catwoman is the same thief from there, but doesn't know Catwoman's secret identity).
Catwoman and the Batman take on the Joker’s goons; during the fight, Catwoman tells Batman to go for the Joker while she rescues Dick. They split off, and Catwoman manages to save Dick from the piranhas and get him to safety before heading off after the Batman and the Joker.
Despite the Batman’s earlier statements, he’s gone more than a little crazy during his fight with the Joker, and the two are once again duking it out with no regard for their surroundings, just fueled by their mutual loathing. Batman in particular has lost sight of the entire reason why they’re there – stopping the Joker gas. She manages to find the control hub for the gas and realizes that he doesn’t intend to release it as a gas, but rather into Gotham’s water supply. Working quickly, she manages to stop the venom from being distributed and alerts the police to the problem, before taking off after the Batman.
Batman has finally one-upped the Joker (he is a better fighter, after all) and has the Joker at his mercy, and has even produced a gun to finish the Clown Prince of Crime off with, stating that for the first “and only” time, he’s going to break his “no killing” rule. Catwoman gets the gun with her whip, however, and has a little speech about how he’s full of shit, he crossed his “no killing” line years ago when he started deciding that he doesn’t have to save everyone, name-dropping the same criminals that he let die from Issue 4 and saying that all killing the Joker would do, would be finally admitting it – and becoming no different from the Joker at all. Batman has an “Oh God what have I become” moment and surrenders to Catwoman, who cuffs him and the Joker both. The Joker looks at Catwoman and says something to the effect of “hey, that was pretty cool, you’re kind of fun, maybe we can do this again some time,” to which Catwoman kicks him in the face. We then see Catwoman delivering both the Batman and the Joker to Captain Gordon, while she's perched on top of a lamppost. Gordon says that if she’s expecting a thank-you, she’s going to be waiting a long time. She doesn't say anything as she leaves.
The dénouement has Catwoman first dealing with Ed Nigma, who says that as long as Selina keeps him rich, she won’t have to worry about him spoiling her secret identity. Selina says that she knows she won’t have to, and reveals that she’s done some digging and turned up some blackmail material about Nigma of her own. She’ll keep paying him, but if she goes down, she’s taking him with her.
The final part of the comic is Dick leaving Juvie and going into a foster home. At first it looks like he’s going to be fostered by Selina, but she points out that she’d probably make a terrible foster mother, since she’s out all night, sleeps away the day, and, oh yeah, is a criminal thief-vigilante called the Catwoman. Asking who’ll be fostering him then, Selina takes him to a house in one of the few nice parts of Gotham’s suburbs, which she reveals she bought for someone who could really use someone to look after so that he can feel like he managed to save someone – Alfred Pennysworth.
Our last page of the comic is Catwoman running across Gotham’s rooftops. She’s hobbled the Penguin somewhat, the Black Mask is gone, the Joker and the Batman are both in Arkham, but Gotham City is still in a bad way. It needs a protector of the innocent. Stopping over an ally and looking down and seeing a kid and his parents that are about to get mugged at gunpoint, Catwoman leaps into action.
Okay, that's that. Tell me what you think.
Few things I disagree with or simply question:
1) Why is Dick Grayson in juvie?
2) Court of Owls plot to indoctrinate him notwithstanding, chances are that Dick would have been given over to Mr. Haly or one of the other circus folk, reason being that those kinds of people are generally like family and Bruce probably got him because he could provide a more stable life for the kid, so far as they know.
I'm also going to go ahead and assume that Ed is in it, initial at first, for the money and didn't grow a heart for helping others until after he a while when he started doing it.
I agree that she'd end up jury rigging most of her stuff. It's amazing what you can do with a hard ware store, after all.
Also, Dick's family is always moving due to being in the circus. Even if he was in town at the moment, why would he be helping a thief like that? How would he know how to contact her? Chances are that, if you're more willing to up the ages, Jason Todd would be a better choice. Your dislike of him notwithstanding (need to stop using that word as often as I do), he was always a fledgling anti-hero from the onset of Crisis on Infinite Earth's, so this type of thing seems more up his ally than Dick Grayson without going OOC on your idea for this particular Elseworld story.
I also think that shoes would be best and that she could always add a thin plate of metal to her shins, backed up by kevlar.
That's all I have to saw about this, at least for right now.
EDIT: Read it top to bottom, which explains the "Dick in juvie" thing, although still not why he was going OOC in the first place.
I'm not a big superhero comics fan, but... yeah, I can see that working.
Also, I've got this mental image of a comic page, in the style of Mike Mignola or Sin City-era Frank Miller, stark black and white shapes, showing Catwoman silhouetted against the moon on some roof, with her goggles and a flowing red scarf breaking up the black figure.
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He's been living as a thief on the streets. With Bruce in no condition nor having any desire to foster anyone, he didn't get adopted by Batman, so in this continuity went to a foster home that was kinda' terrible and decided to run out instead.
His crimes are pretty minor, anyway; it's just a set-up to give Selina a reason to become a vigilante hero.
I don't know, any number of possible ways involving the criminal underworld. Maybe the whole thing was initially set up by Cobblepot or some other crime lord, or something. Stranger things have happened in comic books, and a little leeway here or there can be expected in an Elseworlds tale.
I don't want to use Jason Todd for this; while I actually don't mind him prior to his resurrection, the age thing is actually the deciding factor here. Otherwise I actually would have just gone with Kitrina Falcone.
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But that still leaves the entirety of Haly's Circus, right? Chances are that if Bruce didn't take him in, then one of them would have. Again, they're like family to each other, Mr. Haly to Dick especially.
So maybe elaborate more on that, then.
One way you could explain it is that Dick Grayson ran away from the circus in his grief. That, at least, has some bearing on actual psychology. He could have been sent a foster home because of it or just stayed out of sight long enough for the circus to actually need to move on. Despite what they all want to, that would be what's best for the business and might be what was needed to happen.
Set up is everything, Man. And if the set up has wholes in it, then the whole story may collapse.
1768476
The trick is that, with this being conceptualized as just a six-issue run (and knowing what I do of the comic industry, that would probably be cut down to a 4-issue run), space is at a premium. Frankly issues 2, 5, and 6 I think might be running long already, so some things will just have be left to reader assumption.
(unless this proved popular enough for a sequel series, which can then fill in some holes)
1768487 nothing a little internal monologue can't fix. If nothing else, you could switch the perspective of one of the comics to Dick Grayson's (age:12). That way, everything still happens the way it needs to and we get some much needed exposition.
I think it would be more interesting if Batman wasn't terribly scarred - if he just went his own harsher way. Batman is already on the line as it is, it wouldn't have taken much early on to push him.
I like this. Not too sure about the Batman being scarred like the Joker, but as a whole the thing works.
The only thing I really disagree with is Batman being disfigured exactly as the Joker. I get that they were in the exact same accident situation, but unless you want to play up the 'two sides of the same coin' angle - which, if I understand it correctly, you're actually downplaying instead - it's a wasted connection. I think it would be more appropriate if it somehow gave him more animalistic features, giving him that 'I'm no longer a man, I'm a creature of the night' motivation.
I like how you're establishing different levels of villainy for the crooks, establishing that they're not all the same and does not play nice with each other. Gives them more character, and makes them useful for more than killing off to show how big and bad the big bad guy is.
I think Nygma should continue being a Private Investigator, even if he gets to be rich enough to not need the money, because canonically he took up that career to manage his obsession with riddles without having to be a criminal. You could argue that he lacks his psychological issues in this continuity, but that feels like such a waste of an interesting character trait.
Good job. I agree, sometimes it's good to just sit down and write out those ideas you have bouncing around in your head, whether it's good or bad, and whether it's something interesting or just a silly idea, like Rainbow Dash's ongoing feud against her nemesis, the Canterhorn.
I see Catwoman working more directly against big players like corrupt government, corporate avarice, anti-progressive fanatics, and the like to help reform Gotham's social problems. Working with residents groups rather than the police, a progressive mayor rather than the comissioner, and using agencies like Wikileaks since she doen not have the Wayne corporate might to back up her agendas. She uses espionage, blackmail, subtrefuge, and if necessary, violence. More of a Robin Hood type character but with a modern take.
In that context Batman would more or less be Judge Dredd without the guns and killing. Kind of an analogy for the massively unsuccessful wars on crime, drugs, and "dangerous" freedoms. He would still be a hero, only "bad" due to his intolerance and heavy handed single solution approach to literally fight crime.
It's a very "canon" way of depicting an alternate version of them.
1769104
Agreed, though if this were to become an ongoing thing then I think that I'd actually have Nigma gradually transform into a crime lord in his own right, jumping into the holes that Catwoman is leaving while operating through a number of false leads and identities. Eventually the Riddler is nearly fully realized, but he faces a most perplexing riddle - much of what he's accomplished is thanks to Selina, so how can he keep advancing as a crime lord without Catwoman, and without Catwoman dragging him down with her?
But for that to happen, it would have to be more than a six-issue miniseries which, again, is all that this is conceptualized as.
Possible, but I don't know why the chemical would work on him differently than it does on the Joker.
1769145
Exactly. Not that she has any problem with the few good cops, lawyers, etc. that do exist, like Dent and Gordon. She just won't ever be able to directly operate with them.
Heh. If there were a second six-issue miniseries, Dent would be a recurring character and it'd be full of incidences where he is almost horribly scarred, but manages to avoid it each time, until the last panel...where someone accidentally damages half of his lucky two-faced coin. But Dent himself is fine.
With this series ending with him (voluntarily) locked up in Arkham, I can actually see him as almost become a (somewhat more benevolent) Hannibal Lecter type that Selina occasionally goes to for aid (especially once Nigma starts coming into his own as the Riddler).
In a fully realized universe (rather than a six-issue miniseries run), he'd of course have to escape Arkham at some point for some contrived reason.
1768397
static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/7/73434/2502511-3382609306-shut_.jpg
1768402
Crippling seems a little cruel for any protagonist to do, especially one in a super hero universe.
1768413
I reiterate:
fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/188/d/2/shut_up_and_take_my_money_by_mcsadat-d56cn0o.jpg
1768413
This could be work in a far larger way. Imagine: In a world where all the core Justice Leage members are evil, and all the their arch nemesis are good! Who could have thought of something like that!
...shut up...
I've always wanted to see what the justice league would look like if it was made up of good versions of their acrh nemesis. Think about how great a team that would be.
Lex Luther: Thet one in charge of this whole operation. Also bank rolls the league
Slade: The Batman of the team
Catwoman; Duh
Cheeta: The Rookie
Sinistro: The only Sane Man. He and Hal Jordon were friends before Hal went to the Dark Side...of course that was before the Dark Times...before the Parralax...
The Trickster: The Pinkie Pie.
Black Manta: The Teams Big Brother.
1769195
I don't see Batman being locked up. He is still loved. He saves lives. Hundreds of them. He arrests criminals and undermines syndicates.
I see as more of him being who he is in the comics but with severe tunnel vision and black and white morality, focused on the perpetrators of street crime, the majority of which are symptoms rather than the illness itself. He represents the righteous anger of the victims, but anger truly never solves problems. Solving problems saves more lives in the long run but takes time, and Batman refuses to indulge the patience that would allow any more children to end up victims of violence.
He and Catwoman would clash due to some of her espionage and stealing back money stolen from needy people, but would not truly be enemies until she discovered he is Bruce Wayne, the one man in Gotham who could instigate total city-wide reform and rapidly eliminate most of the criminal element he combats without violence, but he refuses because he just wants to punish criminals who victimize individuals instead of criminals who victimize society, and refuses to understand that through inaction he is one of them.
1769500
Batman does it all the time. Watch how he fights - he's more than willing to put people in traction for months and leave them with years of recovery, or even lifelong injuries. He just won't kill or, if he can help it, permanently disfigure (by cutting off a hand or something).
It's actually been mentioned in the actual comics that a lot of low-level crime is starting to leave Gotham and go to other cities like Metropolis. After all, Superman rarely gets involved in low-level crime, leaving it in the quite capable hands of the Metropolis PD. But when he does get involved, he doesn't ever have to hurt anybody. He just super-speed takes the guns away, vandalizes a lamppost to tie up the bad guys, waits around for the cops to show up, and then tells the criminals not to do it again while recommending a therapist or something to help them turn their lives around.
Batman? Batman is ultimately just a normal guy who could be killed by any mook with a gun. So he has to treat everyone as dangerous and respond accordingly, by taking them out as quickly as possible. "As quickly as possible" usually involves hospital stays for months at a time by the time Batman is done.
1769615
Only problem is that the core premise of this isn't that Batman is evil, only more ruthless. And Catwoman is notably altruistic anyway. She's an anti-villain already.
If I were to extend this over to Superman, for example, I wouldn't redeem Lex Luthor at all, any more than I tried to redeem the Joker above. And I wouldn't make Superman evil, just unwilling to use his powers on a large scale and adopt a public persona - he'd keep his altruism to hidden acts whenever possible, as he's afraid of being discovered.
His dog Krypto, on the other hand - being a dog - has no problems with doing open heroics! And it doesn't help that Clark hasn't the heart to punish him whenever he's been "bad" (i.e., saved countless lives). He says he won't give Krypto any treats anymore if he keeps doing that, but then Krypto just wags his tail and barks and rolls over, and Clark is utterly helpless and Krypto gets a treat and called a good boy anyway.
(That is actually one of the things I'd like to have had in the background - a TV mention Krypto the Super-dog doing some kind of heroics and the reporter wondering about his mysterious origins. Another background event would be Themyscira's ongoing attempts to join the UN and help provide a "model society" for the modern world despite accusations of being man-haters).
1769795
Batman does land people in the hospital, but he doesn't go out of his way to cripple people; its just what happens.
Dick Grayson (Age 12) - Let's just hope he doesn't end up in a foster home run by some guy named Crazy Steve that forces him to eat rats.
Overall an interesting story, I'd certainly consider picking it up if it were a real comic.
Of course what we should do is convince you to do a crossover 'replacing' the various cast with ponies and then you can write it and post it here. Rarity could be Selina, Blueblood could be Bruce, Pinkie could be the Joker...
You apparently haven't seen the review of Guardian of Gotham #2, Lewis basically admitted that others had informed him the potential behind parts of the premise. That's just the rambling of a nitpicker.
Seems interesting and rather well thought out... Now SUMMON THE FAN ARTISTS TO MAKE IT A REALITY!
Hmmm...
The idea does have some promise, and you do line out how things go pretty well, but is one thing I have to take issue with: the importance of Batman and the Joker. I understand that it's supposed to be an AU and all that, but it feels like the narrative places far too much emphasis on those two. And for that matter, having Batman scarred in the same accident as the Joker just feels tacked on. It's still better than making him into a murdering psychopath like the comic did, but nevertheless, using the two in that way detracts from what things should be about: Catwoman becoming Gotham's protector.
1769833
Well, it's also supposed to be a threat as much as anything. There's a comic, I can't remember which one nor find a clip, but there's a comic wherein a random goon has taken some lady hostage with a gun to her head when Batman shows up, threatening to shoot her if Batman doesn't let him go and saying there's nothing Batman could possibly do to stop him from shooting the hostage.
Batman agrees that there's nothing he could do, but he then proceeds to describe in exquisite detail what he'll do to the mugger if he does kill the hostage. As I recall we don't even hear what Batman says, we just see three panels of the mugger's face looking increasingly horrified at whatever it is that Batman's describing. Next scene, we see the mugger's surrendered without a fight.
Catwoman's supposed to be doing a similar thing with Black Mask there; he'll get over the broken arms and legs, but she's threatening to do all kinds of worse if he doesn't get the message.
1770482
It probably won't surprise you to learn that our continual back-and-forth over Twilight played no small part in the way I handled Batman up there, specifically in being careful to not make him come across as too villainous, but rather more misguided, and definitely not beyond help.
I do still think that half the fun of doing any AU is finding out what the normal characters are up to in the AU, and I just rather like the idea of an innocent getting caught in the crossfire of a villain/vigilante grudge match. I suppose an equal argument, though, could be made to not have the Batman at all in this first outing and save him for a potential sequel series.
So. If it were mandated to me that Batman and the Joker had to be excised, I'd need at least one masked villain to get into the initial robbery himself, injure Dick, and prompt Selina to take up crimefighting,
Hmm...first thought as an alternative is Firebug. Doesn't matter too much which one; all we need is a guy who wants to blow up the museum.
Climax would have to be rewritten too, but I could cobble something together if I had to. I don't want Black Mask to be the "final boss," as I just don't think he has quite the scale necessary to fill that role since he is, ultimately, just a guy in a mask looking to be a crime lord, his ambition stops there.
Scarecrow, maybe...
Alternatively the whole thing could be rewritten and the Riddler could be involved as the "puppetmaster" behind all the big crime lords in Gotham while he himself masquerades as a mere private investigator; or else uses her to remove his competition...
1770217
The "Dick Grayson, Age 12" comments are largely a nod to the fact that this Batman is acting in no small way like Crazy Steve, and also contrasting the fact that Selina points out quite rightly in the last issue that the life of a vigilante is no place for a kid and a masked vigilante in Gotham isn't going to be in an ideal parenting position.
Though I'd keep such commentary to a single joke or two in the comic itself, and a vaguely implied one at that.
1770683
Trust me, you do not want that comparison.
That isn't surprising. The original comic is basically what people imagine the Lunaverse to be (and in the case of one or two stories, what it ended up exactly doing): blatant fanservice and making the original hero(es) insane and evil to make the new hero(es) look better.
That said, this is why I think the Batman-Joker stuff really detracts from the story, especially in regards to him holding Joker at gunpoint. If this happened with the actual Batman comics, it would be a chilling and horrifying moment...but it would also be completely understandable considering that the Joker is such a monster that the only reason any villain will team up with him is because of what he'll do if you don't invite him to your team. (And quite often, he does it anyway.)
The message seems to be that Batman is ultimately crossing the line, and in the case of the AU, to show that he truly isn't like who he usually is. But given how he could essentially save thousands of lives (and prevented just as many deaths) if he had just shot the Joker, threw the gun aside, and continued punching crooks for the rest of his life, it actually makes this universe superior to the other one just by showing him willing to finish the clown off.
And for that matter, why does every piece of Batman-related media have to eventually cycle back to the Joker? I used to love the guy, but... (SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT)
Arkham Origins had a great idea using Black Mask as Batman's starter Big Bad. The scheme with the assassins was right up his alley, he was a big enough criminal power to give Batman a legitimate challenge, and his schemes were far more mundane and straightforward than Joker. But then you find out that the real villain...was the Joker disguised as Black Mask. And the real one? You get to take him down...in a completely optional sidequest that has no bearing on the main story. Meanwhile, the narrative once again becomes all about Batman and his relationship to the Joker.
I was pissed. The fact that so much of Black Mask's portion is just a copy of that game makes it even worse.
This ties into the above bitching about Arkham Origins.
About two-thirds of the way through, you get to play a Joker-narrated recap of the events of The Killing Joke, including the part where the Red Hood falls into the chemicals. A way to actually make it work to the game's credit and still get in everyone's precious Batman-Joker crap is to just turn that into an actual event in the game. While Batman's dealing with the assassins, Alfred calls him up to tell him that there's been a break-in at the Ace Chemicals plant, and that he might want to look into that in case it's one of his targets. When he gets there, he finds some goons harassing a scrawny little guy wearing a big red dome that makes it impossible to see.
Batman goes down, beats up the thugs, and approaches what he thinks might be their leader. (This ties in perfectly with the idea of this Batman having far less experience, i.e. not being able to recognize a patsy like this.) But because of the hood's distortion effect, all the Red Hood sees is a big demon walking up to him. He panics, slips into a loose railing, and plummets into the chemicals. Batman's disheartened a bit by not being able to save the guy, but still, there's no way he could have survived.
Everything mostly proceeds as normal, only with Black Mask in place of the Joker. After the final battle with Bane, Batman saves Gordon, stops Mask, and leaves. After the credits, though, we see the Red Hood washed up on the bank of the chemical pool, gasping and coughing in agony. He pulls off the hood, looks into the liquid, and sees his disfigured face. He then starts laughing louder and louder as the screen fades.
So what does this have to do with your idea? As I said, Black Mask can work as the first major Big Bad. He's not a serious fighter, sure, but he's also a criminal mastermind. Just inflate his power to the point where hes' the real one running much of Gotham's criminal families, make the assassination attempts a larger part of the story, and have the finale be about Selina defeating what should be the ultimate mob boss, only to realize that without any central leadership, the families are going to start falling into disarray and the chaos will begin to increase. Gotham will still need a protector after all.
As for Batman, there are other directions you could take him that wouldn't interfere too much. You could just have Bruce Wayne as a sort-of minor background character. His parents didn't die in an alley, he never became Batman, and now he's just a socialite Selina sometimes runs into. If you want to set him up as becoming Batman, then you could have him perhaps reading a newspaper or watching a story about Selina triumphing against Black Mask, which gives him an idea...
Just a couple of suggestions.
1770799
Yikes; I'd be pissed too. Although to answer your question as to why everything cycles back to the Joker - money, dear boy. The Joker sells.
Still, that was a wrong move on their part.
Hmm...not a bad idea, but on the other hand I would want to end the six-issue series on a relatively high note, since theoretically it could be all there is. Hence ending the way it did - Gotham still has a lot of cleanup needed, but at least a little, and noteable, progress was made.
(There's also the thing that I'm just not that pushed on Black Mask - well, that's not true, I do like him, but he isn't really "iconic" to me. I didn't grow up reading many of the comic books, I grew up watching the animated TV show and the movies, where Black Mask never showed up. So, even though he's been around since before I was born (he showed up in 1985, I was born in 1987), he just doesn't resonate with me the way Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, or even villains like Clayface, Ventriloquist, or Mad Hatter do, and of course I want the final villain of the series to be a character that resonates with me)
Still, I do agree that the climax probably needs a rewrite, and Batman and Joker should be excised in favor of some other villain.
Only potential problem I see here is that without his parents dying, he has no reason to go around the world and train; without that, he's a rich boy with toys; and if that's all he is, then he's a less sci-fi Iron Man. Only in Gotham, that's likely to get him shot in the face at best, and turn him into Anarky at worst.
(I don't like Anarky)
That. Was. Awesome!
Seriously, if you ever write this please send me a link it sounds awesome, and so well thought out.
That's a good strategy and one I try to use myself, it's fun and stops the ideas from bouncing around in one's head. Beside, it's good practice. Plus it saves losing the story idea to the abyss where the 'magic' can never be reclaimed even if the bare bones can.
Poor Selina though, she seems to have trouble with this whole secret identity business doesn't she?
'if' you did want something to separate batman and joker, batmans outfit could have led to a different dis figuration, like melting it onto his face or something to that affect. Besides that though, a 'hero' and villain who hate one another causing problems city wide because of grudge matches sounds awesome! And totally suits this sort of idea.
Selina works well as a would be hero and protector and her motives make sense, it's not just 'seeing' the problem that brings it out, she just wants to get out of this depressing place. But when someone she knows, someone with a face, that of a child as well, gets hurt in such a way, that's bound to bring about deeper introspection.
I like that she still sticks to stealing and would have a different set of allies and problems to face and not being wealthy adds some wonderful complications to her fights. Though she's not the only none powered none rich super hero. So glad you avoided combat stilettos.
I love her using the police as well, in her match with Penguin and being willing to break hard and fast rules in a calculated manner. She has the set up to be a fascinating protagonist.
Kinda reminds me of an idea, one of many, I had where certain characters were swapped out with others to be heroes, though I used Nigma (Similar though different to yours) and Bane in sad idea.
The final confrontation 'might' need some work, maybe it's just the action lover in me speaking but solving the problem by talking down the villain/semi-villain whatever batman was at that point, doesn't seem to have the same... Weight, maybe?
I still like it and if it was well written, with good suspence on the poison problem, then it would work great. Plus her needing Nigma, and Batmans help at first kind of works, shes new to this and to Gotham, it could even be highlighted 'later' or during, that she gets better but in a person's first try they are liable to stumble.
The ending with Grayson and Alfred was great as well.
Though, a thought occurs, as sweet, well kind of bittersweet for for Alfred, as the ending is. Doesn't that mean Grayson is in huge danger form the Joker?
1771072
Well, to be fair, Selina's actually quite wealthy thanks to, y'know, stealing stuff. The difference is that she can't, say, order 10,000 Caterangs or something, because she'd have to buy it herself, and that would raise some eyebrows and have people wondering why Selina Kyle, independently wealthy diva, needs 10,000 Caterangs. Whereas Batman can make all his purchases through Wayne Enterprises and bury any unusual purchases in the expenses of a large, multinational corporation.
By the same token, as independently well-off as she is thanks to her thievery, she isn't on the same level as Batman wherein she can acquire a supercomputer or a cat plane.
1771101
Probably, but no more so than any other individual he's targeted in the main continuity.
1771428
I don't know, if Joker targeted him once to get at Catwomen, wouldn't he do so again? He's not exactly against pulling the same joke twice.
Excellent point on the money, though that is mroe or less what I was saying, there are other none powered super heroes who aren't obscenely wealthy corporate owners.
1771434
True enough, but Catwoman's options are rather limited in that regard anyway, as the Joker has demonstrated in the past that he's willing to literally cross oceans to get to people. Though I suppose Catwoman doesn't know that.
It can be a source of tension whenever Joker escapes.
1771437
Good point there, beyond putting him in witness protection and sending him far away there's not much she could do. She'll just need to put him in a stretcher every time he escapes.
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There is precisely one reason why I visit 4chan, and that reason is this: Anon Delivers.
i61.tinypic.com/1y4z1i.png
It's not quite what I was going for, but it's a more than decent start. I think I'll try and use this as a base to try and draw Catwoman myself - though I'll bet it'll turn out horrible - or else show this around to serve as a base for further mods.
1771841
That outfit is great, but it's missing the most important part.
TEH BOOB SOXS.
...Oh wait, I forgot you were trying to make this good.
Am I the only one who notices that the name "Anon" shows up in this fandom so often?
1771956
It's short for Anonymous. As in, any random person you meet on the Internet without a name (which is the default state of affairs on 4Chan).
1771841
That's pretty fantastic, actually. Classy, non-sexualized.
1771841
Very nice. Certainly a heck of a lot better than some of the Godawful outfits Selena's been put in. Especially the Guardian of Gotham one itself.
As for removing Bats and the Joker like some of the others have suggested, I'm wondering if it's possible to just remove Joker and have Bats become more uncaring through some other reason.
Ooo.... perhaps have the Joker not even be created at all. Instead Batman saves Red Hood but ends up taking the chemical bath himself as a result.
I feel depressed.
Been on TGWTG in the past few days?
Remember JewWario?
Suicide.
1772565
That sucks...
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So on a more cheery note, I got another concept art for this Catwoman:
oi62.tinypic.com/2s8ohea.jpg
We're gonna call this one the "Metal Gear" pass.
I'm actually having the artist for the first image go another round with it, plundering the image above where she likes. The result should be awesome.
1774773 that's actually cool. Not really the thing that Selina usually goes for, but for missions where she may need to forgo some speed for armor, I can see it.
1774773
Yeah, the first one was better, but I'll be curious to see if they can adapt anything interesting.
1771841
img8.joyreactor.cc/pics/post/%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0-Batman-shut-up-and-take-my-money-442898.jpeg