Timothy
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Post by Timothy on Feb 26, 2007 17:37:22 GMT -5
In the Batman Returns Comic Book Influences thread, I listed possible influences that have more to do with characterization and general actions, rather than visual similarities between comic and film. I've been thinking recently that, yes, there are visual similarities between comic and film in Begins, but I'm curious about people's views on comparing more of the comic book text to the actual film, which is what I sought to do in the Returns thread. Examples: Would you say that Begins is true to the characterization of Bruce in The Man Who Falls? The interactions between Batman and Scarecrow true to Haunted Knight's story, "Fears"? The characterization of Ra's as presented in the 70s? We could go anywhere, but I thought we could start expanding discussion. I thought that, in terms of Ra's, the characterization was excellent (although not "perfect", but that's subjective at any rate). I felt that Ra's was portrayed as a man bent on achieving his own goals, as well as being an excellent master at deception, what with the whole "dual identities" sub-plot.
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Jack Napier
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Post by Jack Napier on Jun 13, 2007 16:53:11 GMT -5
Found some possibilities out of reading Shaman, the first arc from Legends of the Dark Knight, by Dennis O'Neil.
A few visual similarities - the snowy mountain cliffs with the mentor, the threat of death from the cliffs, the old man who provides medical attention in his shack. Also, some story similarities with the character of Tom Woodley, who encountered Bruce in the mountains earlier and was believed to have fallen to his death from the cliffs, but actually survived and received medical attention from the same old man who treated Bruce Wayne. Woodley then returns to Gotham under a "new identity" and eventually attacks Bruce Wayne- whom he knows is Batman- in his home.
There's also a cool part in the scene where Batman first appears. A thug fires wildly until he's out of bullets and then looks around and asks, "Where'd he go?" before Batman- from behind him- attacks him. Very similar to the "Where are you?!" scene at the docks in Batman Begins.
Another part I found intriguing was this scene that takes place when Bruce returns to Wayne Manor: ALFRED: How long will we be staying this time? Long enough to get our bags unpacked? BRUCE: I'm back for good. Travels are done. At least for the foreseeable future. I'm ready to begin.
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Timothy
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Post by Timothy on Jun 14, 2007 12:44:28 GMT -5
I completely forgot about "Shaman", although, I thought it was a great TPB. Cool references, Jack!
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Timothy
Men of Steel
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Post by Timothy on Jul 2, 2007 13:18:19 GMT -5
Do you guys remember the "Zero Hour" event from the 1990's? Well, I was reading Detective Comics #0 yesterday, and I came across "Year One"/ Batman Begins esque segments involving Bruce stealing Wayne Enterprises property, converting a military (in this case, police cruiser) vehicle into a batmobile, and creating his batarangs.
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Jack Napier
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Post by Jack Napier on Jul 2, 2007 13:43:11 GMT -5
I've never read it, but I heard about it. The backgrounds on the Batcave and Batman's arsenal are detailed in Beatty's Ultimate Guide to Batman, so I figured it had to come from somewhere in the comics. When I heard about DC #0, I assumed that was the comic that the info came from.
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Timothy
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Post by Timothy on Jul 2, 2007 17:53:37 GMT -5
It's a great find if you get a chance to grab a copy at a convention or shop; well worth the time
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Jack Napier
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Post by Jack Napier on Jul 6, 2007 2:39:12 GMT -5
I was reading Batman In The Fifties and came across something interesting. "The Batmobile of 1950!"- Detective Comics #156- features a Batmobile that has the rocket tubes in the fenders- much like what the live action Batmobiles have from the 1960s til today's. It provides "bursts of tremendous speed for short distances." During a chase scene in the comic, the villains blow out a bridge, hoping it'll force the Batmobile to fall off into the cliff. Batman, however, turns on the rocket tubes to cross without needing to use the bridge. "Twin jets of flame flash out with thunderclap force-- and the miracle car of the Dynamic Duo literally flies through the air!"
The Batmobile lands on the other side and continues.
Perhaps this is why the Tumbler in the movie was originally built as a "bridging vehicle"?
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Timothy
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Post by Timothy on Jul 12, 2007 13:43:44 GMT -5
That could make sense... Every time I think of the "bridging vehicle" thing, I remember one of the comments from that Cracked. Com Top 5 Batmen article about how "Yeah, a bridging vehicle to cross rivers... in the desert... "
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Jack Napier
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Post by Jack Napier on Jul 12, 2007 16:31:55 GMT -5
^ That's probably my favorite part of the whole article, hahaha. I've lately been noticing that Batman Begins seems to have influenced the comics as well. I've heard that they've incorporated the idea that Joe Chill was captured before Bruce became Batman (though I don't think they had anything about Bruce Wayne wanting revenge on him). Some of the Scarecrow illustrations I've seen resemble the film's in that the costume is merely a burlap mask with a noose around it. They even had a bald Victor Zsasz that I had mistaken as an influence earlier in this thread. In the latest issue of Batman Confidential, they even have a version of the Tumbler and a possible means of incorporating it into the regular Batman continuity: www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Batman/Confidential/07/CONFo7_04.htmlNot to mention that several suspect that they gave the Joker the scarred smile to coincide with The Dark Knight's Joker.
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Timothy
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Post by Timothy on Jul 13, 2007 16:10:15 GMT -5
My hypothesis would be that, in an attempt to bring new readers in who may be confused that comics and films were once separate from each other, DC has begun to create hybrids to tie these two mediums together.
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