There is a very good reason why The Dark Knight is my favourite movie. Every single character is perfect - Alfred is fantastic, Gordon is fantastic, Bruce/Batman is great (though he could do with a strepsil) and the Joker is obviously the second most brilliant portrayal after Mark Hammill. Part of that is due to the actors - Michael Cane? Gary Oldman? Christian Bale? Heath "Why So Serious" Ledger? EVERYONE pulls it off spectacularly. And another part of that is due to the characters themselves - the conception and, in some specific cases, reinvention of them, makes them all fantastic. The Dark Knight Rises is the movie I most look forward to, with the Avengers taking second place - so DC and Marvel have both topped my must-see lists.
And the reason for my rage is not the idea of including Batgirl. Far from it, in fact - I think it makes more sense to start the Bat Family with Batgirl than it does to bring Robin into the frame. Let me explain.
I have some major problems with the idea of Robin. As Frank Miller has demonstrated all too clearly, adopting a kid whose parents were murdered in front of him and then dressing him up in bright colours and teaching him to fight crime is child abuse. There's no metaphor or simile or analogue or comparison there - it is child abuse! I can therefore more than understand why Dick Grayson left Batman to make a life of his own elsewhere. I also can't understand why Batman, rebounding from dumping/being dumped by Robin, picks a kid trying to jack the fucking batmobile as his replacement. Why? I mean, okay, the kid has issues and could use a father figure in his life, but The Goddamn Batman is not that figure! His eventual death at the hands of the Joker is almost a given! It does lead to Batman's reevaluation of the entire concept of a Robin (no duh!), but he lets Tim Drake take up the mantle. Yes, Drake is a far better Robin - he's a lot smarter, and doesn't come with the whole "MY PARENTS ARE DEEEAAAAAAD!" schtick. Until suddenly he does. He's more interesting - he doesn't start out with special abilities, and he doesn't do it because his parents were killed, like Grayson. And he certainly doesn't do it just because Batman decided to get over his last ex-Robin. He decides himself he wants to do it. His parents die when he's already Robin. When he leaves, he creates his own identity, Red Robin, like Nightwing did. And then we get the most recent Robin, Damian Wayne, son of The Goddamn Batman and the daughter of a centuries-old terrorist/cult leader with an apocalyptic goal for the world, who beats Tim Drake and becomes Robin because he's jealous that the adopted son gets more attention than the "real" son. If that doesn't come loaded with family issues, then my name is Rainbow Dash and I hate flying. When Batman lets Grayson assume the mantle of Batman, Dick chooses Damian to be Robin - and in a twist, it's not because Drake wasn't good enough, it was because he was too good, and Damian needed a mentor figure so he didn't go out and murder the population of Blackgate. Damian is a trained assassin, and he's killed - he's also a resentful brat. When Bruce returned, Damian stayed - and now the circle is complete, and Father and Son patrol Gotham as Batman and Robin. There have only been two female Robins - the non-canon Carrie Kelly, and Stephanie Brown who promptly got killed off.
This is a psychologists field day, and it should make Gordon put his hands in his face and cry. As any cop will tell you, involving kids and violence in any way is never a good idea. You can argue to me that he trusted them to do the job, that they were mature for their age, or super-smart, or skilled enough, but Jason Todd is the number one example of why Robin is a terrible idea - he's tortured and murdered by the Joker to get to Batman.
On the other hand, Batgirl is the antithesis of this idea. And not just because she is a woman.
Bruce Wayne doesn't adopt her, or become a mentor at all, at least initially. He tries to discourage her, because he doubts she's up to it. It doesn't stop him kitting out ten year olds in hot pants and a domino mask, but hey, no gender double standard here or anything. She does what she does on her own, with only indirect help from Batman and Robin. And she does it well. She's old enough that she can make the choice herself - and she does make the choice. It's not forced on her. She's the daughter of the Police Commissioner for Gotham, James Gordon. Obviously she must have some desire to see justice done to the people who elude the law. And she's good at it - despite all expectations, I've realised that I really like the idea of Batgirl.
Even when she's shot by the Joker and becomes Oracle, she still escapes the distaste I hold for the idea of Robin. She's in a wheelchair. Okay. So she gives up fighting crime with her fists. What does she do instead? The creates entire teams of superheroes to do the job, creates a vast intelligence network that would give the NSA a collective heart attack, and becomes an information broker. When Gotham's destroyed by an earthquake, her building is left standing - not to mention packed with enough food to feed a battalion, which she barters for information and goods. And she still keeps up a relationship with Dick, now Nightwing.
Wheelchair or not, this is a badass character!
Helena Bertinelli briefly takes over, but find's she just doesn't fit the role. Because, of course, Batman tells her she isn't good enough. And he kind of has a point - she fails to stop HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE attacking and taking over MANY CITY BLOCKS. Obviously one person should be able to take this in their stride. Poor Huntress. She's succeeded by the equally badass Cassandra Cain. I've only read her No Man's Land appearances, but I really liked her. She's a precursor of a sort to Damian Wayne - raised as a weapon, and now operating as a superhero. Except she's less of a brat. Also, she doesn't speak. She already seems like a better character already! But despite her handicap, she still gets plenty of characterisation - the fact that she really does love the man who trained her to kill, and he loves her, the horror she feels at what she was raised to do, and her rejection of it. Damian still doesn't see why he can't just outright murder the motherfuckers. Cassandra knows that killing is the easy option, and makes you no better than the criminals you fight.
I haven't read any of Stephanie Brown's tenure as Batgirl, but I'm disappointed they made Cassandra hand in her cowl. A mute Batgirl who rises above her disability and is probably one of the best fighters in the world? How is that not awesome? But I guess she's up to it - she's the daughter of villain Cluemaster who took him down as Spoiler to protect her mum, and she was Robin for a while. Until she died. Don't worry, she got better. And it's an even worse copout when the writers decide to simply retcon Oracle's disability as a temporary thing - NO! No, no, no! This is a character who's agonised over the fact that she can never walk or run again, never swing from rooftop to gargoyle, who has some pathos! WEAK!
The fact that I care enough about the concept of Batgirl to feel angry at this surprised me. I am a heterosexual male, and proud of the fact. Shouldn't I sympathise with one of the Robins? Or Batman? Hell, even Alfred? Aren't characters like Batgirl just there to show comic book fans that there isn't just one gender? Yes, I love the character of Batman - a man who embraces to the darkness in men's hearts to fight it. He's aided by his faithful butler/adoptive father Alfred, who stoically watches his foster son descend into this dark place, but tries to support him. But then he basically fields child soldiers - kind of a dick move, Batman. But the concept of Batgirl arises by itself, and, yes, it started as the need to introduce a token female equivalent - but it's developed a life of it's own.
And now my feeling on introducing Batgirl into the Nolanverse - I would be okay with it!
There's this image that adds fuel to the fire of speculation. There's already plenty of rumours out there - that the Riddler will still appear. That Talia al Ghul will team up with Bane. That Dick Grayson will appear. That Bane kills Batman, who passes the torch to Batgirl. Of all the rumours that could turn out to be true at this point, I would pick the appearance of Batgirl as the one I want - Talia is pretty much a given at this point. I think they'd probably save someone like the Riddler for the next movie, since a character with some public presence would better counter the absence of Nolan. I'd love to see someone like Freeze done well, to reverse the damage Joel Schumacher's film did to him, but it's probably not going to happen any time soon, or in a better way than Batman: The Animated Series did the idea. And Robin...see above. But Batgirl, I can see happening, and in a way similar to her comics history - that she starts out on her own, Batman tries to get her out of his niche, and earns his reluctant acceptance. It could be done truly great. Robin is a more troublesome character to introduce, but Batgirl can work!
And here is why I raged when I read the rumour of Cyrus' audition: I really don't like her.
I don't mean that I hate Miley Cyrus with a rage that burns with the heat of a thousand suns. I'm sure she's an okay person. What I hate is her public persona as a celebrity - I do not like modern pop, and she symbolises it for me. She even has her own show - Hannah Montana, where she basically plays herself as a celebrity. Again, I don't like pop music in general, and I'm sure she's got fans who feel she deserves the attention. But the very idea of casting a pop star Disney actress as BATGIRL just galls me. Forget pulling Oracle back into action, this would just be a cop-out of unimaginable proportions! Treat the character with dignity, please! What we don't need:
It's been done before - casting a celebrity with a big name to draw attention. When was the last time it produced a good film? And, for that matter, The Dark Knight Rises doesn't need the attention - before it was announced it's prologue would be attacked to the new Mission Impossible, the latter film's ticket sales were 4% of the total. Afterward? 15%.
Also: Party in the USA. Need I say more?
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