Mixing and matching

[klwilliams]

After aikido tonight (where I got my shodan certificate and passport), Sensei and a couple of other students and I sat around discussing superheroes. We had a long discussion about the Superman, Lois, and Lana, and I pointed out that Superman, Hawkman, and to some extent Green Arrow and Wonder Woman were the only heroes (we stuck to DC) that had relationships. I posited that what Bruce Wayne gave up to be Batman was the part of him that could form a stable emotional relationship with a woman, and Sensei said that Batman was pure anima, and a relationship of that sort would tame him. I guess it's easier to write about a superhero, fantasy hero, or starship captain if they don't have pesky wives or kids at home wanting them to take out the garbage. (Which is one thing that made Lone Wolf and Cub interesting.)

Comments

or villians...

[learnteach.livejournal.com]

but pre-existing relationships in DC stayed...wait, are Fantastic Four DC? No...But Lex Luthor didn't have any relationships either.

[metageek.livejournal.com]

I posited that what Bruce Wayne gave up to be Batman was the part of him that could form a stable emotional relationship with a woman

That's one way to look at it. Bruce Wayne was crippled, emotionally, by the murder of his parents; and part of that damage was an inability to form normal relationships. Oh, and I'm sure it didn't help that he hit puberty with servants instead of parents (he inherited wealth, right?).

Besides, ask yourself this: would a sane man dress up as a bat and beat up criminals, rather than, say, using his wealth to fund law enforcement? And what sane woman would want to date somebody so unstable?

Time for me to reread The Dark Knight Returns, and The Killing Joke.

I guess it's easier to write about a superhero, fantasy hero, or starship captain if they don't have pesky wives or kids at home wanting them to take out the garbage.

And it's easier to keep the fanboys interested in the heroine's anatomy if the hero isn't in the way.