I'm Reading Your Stuff: General News and Discussion Thread

[BatLobster]

Going back to the superfan focus groups. I think one of the issues with comic book characters in general is that there is no end. Which is inconsistent with film in that there should be an end to your main character or at least closure.

I'll be honest, I think the Nolan series worked because it told a story and there was closure. This resonated with audiences.

Now with batman I think having an ending could also mean he never stops being batman, but with all movies, you need to have a compelling main character. The difficulty is, Batman has such great villains that you lose focus on batman. That's why, for me at least, when I hear Reeves talk about keeping the focus on Bruce Wayne/batman, I feel like he will deliver something special. Because of that I don't care if he changes certain things like not using cobblepot and shortening it to Cobb.

The problem is, you have some fans that just want this stuff to continue with no ending and that's when the story telling gets boring. If you know everything that happens and no stakes exist, what's the point.

Luckily, it seems Reeves is pretty well-positioned with the whole toxic fandom thing. It seems like a pretty small subset of the most diehard Snyder fans that loudly hate on his version. The first movie and The Penguin so far have all been pretty well-received and have seemingly avoided stirring up any huge controversy.

I feel like there's this sort of interesting thing with the Batman franchise where if you make something darker that manages to connect enough with the mainstream, there's a level of satiation of all the edgelords out there that kind of neutralizes a lot of the areas a toxic backlash might arise from. A "serious Batman movie" is kind of the original form of comic book nerds feeling validated by something that respects the source material. It's why Batman 89 was so widely embraced by fans despite it taking some pretty big liberties at times. Which I think actually set a helpful precedent for the franchise that gives creators some cover when adapting. And just the fact that there being so many different versions of Batman in pop culture is a thing.

 

[routhman]

If Harvey’s in Pt. II and scarred by Penguin, then that’d be a great way to launch Arkham on HBO. With Harvey Dent as it’s newest patient…

He slowly descends into madness (setting up a Dark Victory-inspired Pt III) while in the Asylum, marked by group sessions with other notable patients: Joker, Riddler, Professor Pyg, Firefly, Scarecrow, and Victor Fries, the latter still grappling with the death of his wife after society/Wayne Enterprises stood in his way.

Jeremiah Arkham (Bruce’s uncle) runs the Asylum with his protege Dr. Harleen Quinzel. In some adaptation of Mad Love, Quinzel will help orchestrate an escape that allows Joker, Two Face, and all of the patients back into the streets of Gotham City for Batman (and Catwoman, Gordon, Alfred, and Robin) to face in Pt III.

How is Harvey in Arkham to begin with if he hasn’t yet descended into madness?

 

[C Prometheus]

If Harvey’s in Pt. II and scarred by Penguin, then that’d be a great way to launch Arkham on HBO. With Harvey Dent as it’s newest patient…

He slowly descends into madness (setting up a Dark Victory-inspired Pt III) while in the Asylum, marked by group sessions with other notable patients: Joker, Riddler, Professor Pyg, Firefly, Scarecrow, and Victor Fries, the latter still grappling with the death of his wife after society/Wayne Enterprises stood in his way.

Jeremiah Arkham (Bruce’s uncle) runs the Asylum with his protege Dr. Harleen Quinzel. In some adaptation of Mad Love, Quinzel will help orchestrate an escape that allows Joker, Two Face, and all of the patients back into the streets of Gotham City for Batman (and Catwoman, Gordon, Alfred, and Robin) to face in Pt III.

I actually think Harvey won't be scarred during Part 2. Remember, Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark did recently allude to the idea of a Harvey Dent-focused legal drama potentially being the next mini-series to come out. My bet is we meet Harvey in Part 2 and explore his time as DA more in-depth during the spinoff show and have that culminate with Oz scarring Harvey near the end of the show and that leading us to Two-Face in Dark Victory mode at the start of Part 3.

 

[BobJM]

How is Harvey in Arkham to begin with if he hasn’t yet descended into madness?

Probably didn't phrase it right; good call. I was thinking that, in the State's eyes, Harvey's crazy enough to be committed. But, the Two Face persona becomes fully realized due to the less-than-ethical practices Jeremiah Arkham is subjecting his patients too.

 

[BobJM]

I actually think Harvey won't be scarred during Part 2. Remember, Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark did recently allude to the idea of a Harvey Dent-focused legal drama potentially being the next mini-series to come out. My bet is we meet Harvey in Part 2 and explore his time as DA more in-depth during the spinoff show and have that culminate with Oz scarring Harvey near the end of the show and that leading us to Two-Face in Dark Victory mode at the start of Part 3.

Not a bad take but then I'd rather have Harvey Dent as a supporting role / antagonist in The Penguin Season 2. I haven't seen The Sopranos but The Wire always did a good job intercutting between the criminals on the drug trade side & law enforcement / politicians... and, of course, where the lines blur.

Then, simultaneously with The Penguin S2 between Pt II and III, The Catwoman would air, thereby setting up her return to Gotham (hopefully dealing with characters like Roman Sionins, Slam Bradley, Leslie Thompkins, Holly Robinson, etc.).

 

[Boom]

Soooooo...

The Penguin Ep. 3 spoilers:

Spoiler

Mad Hatter? Poison Ivy? Hugo Strange? Or just that rando psychiatrist from Ep. 2?

 

[WayneMB]

I wouldn't be surprised if we get a Reevesverse Fall season. Part 2 casting news, first plot crumbs, and on top of that, with Penguin being such a hit, I could see them announcing the next spin-off tv series.

 

[solidsnake86]

I wouldn't be surprised if we get a Reevesverse Fall season. Part 2 casting news, first plot crumbs, and on top of that, with Penguin being such a hit, I could see them announcing the next spin-off tv series.

Especially what happened with the Joker 2 I think they want some good news to take the attention away from that box office disaster but I think it will be closer toward the end of the show.

 

[TheSmoothKnight]

I agree! Hopefully we will get something in November after The Penguin. It would be the smart play to keep the positive momentum rolling.

 

[DeadlyWest]

So your boy went somewhere pretty cool last week in London. There was a Batman exhibition there with real props in celebration of the 85th anniversary, which had real props from all the movies. Figured y'all would agree that this stuff is just cool as hell.

I'd be lying if being face to face with the full suit didn't get me a little misty eyed given how much Battinson means to me



.

 

[Mindreaper21]

Soooooo...

The Penguin Ep. 3 spoilers:

Spoiler

Mad Hatter? Poison Ivy? Hugo Strange? Or just that rando psychiatrist from Ep. 2?

Spoiler

More than likely it’s just a rando, but I seriously hope that it’s Hatter that invented the drug. It’s the whole mushrooms/Wonderland thing.

Hugo could be the one giving the drugs to the patients. Not really much of a Hugo Strange guy, but I’d definitely be down if this is how he comes into the mix.

I don’t see Ivy being involved in drugs. A botanist that’s also a hit woman would be very interesting though.

 

[BobJM]

I still think it's Mr. Bloom. Not ripped from the comic panels, necessarily, but an adapted version to fit into Reeves' saga.

The guy's name is Trey Bloom -- seemed very much like a wink & a nod to me

 

[Moore Designs]

Have not seen the Batman yet. Is it better than the Dark Knight Rises?

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I still think it's Mr. Bloom. Not ripped from the comic panels, necessarily, but an adapted version to fit into Reeves' saga.

The guy's name is Trey Bloom -- seemed very much like a wink & a nod to me

I caught that too! That'd be a fun cut.

 

[WatchProtect]

Seeing how great Penguin is doing I hope we end up getting Arkham and GCPD again. Or even a mash-up.

Really hope Flanagan's Clayface ends up being Reeves-Verse. Wonder which of his regulars it could end up being.

 

[Boom]

I want Keoghan Joker I don't even care about this Joker fatigue noise.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

There seems to be an impish ****stirrer quality of Keoghan that I think would be a lot of fun to see him bounce off different villains and of course Batman, having fun because he kind of gets what makes everyone tick.

 

[BobJM]

I’d take a Joker-led Arkham series with Keoghan too.

 

[DarkKnight88]

I want Keoghan Joker I don't even care about this Joker fatigue noise.

I’ll be honest that I hated what I saw of his Joker in that deleted scene. I hope for whatever they do, he changes up his interpretation in the sequel, or at least tweaks it.

 

[J.Drangal]

Personally, I didn't dislike Keoghan's Joker, but I think I enjoyed the scene he appeared in, its concept, atmosphere and execution, more than the character himself (even if it's all closely linked in the end...).
There was something a bit childlike about his voice and demeanor making him a sort of cruel and grotesque-looking kid, which isn't a bad direction at all. But I also think it's the kind of take that's at risk to quickly fall into cliché...

So I'm in “wait and see” mode here, but still rather confident.
If anything, the Penguin has already given me a big dose of optimism for the future!


I'll add this though: It occurred to me that what we could see (and guess) of Keoghan's Joker make-up might also have suited the decaying face of a Basil Karlo... and now, I can't get the idea out of my head. 😅

 

[Rick190293]

IMO Keoghan's Joker visual is too 'try hard' for the sake of being shocking. Felt a little bit forced. His act was fine, and I wish Reeves explores him in the future, but without the 'disease' aspect. I think it's time we see a more flamboyant live action Joker done right, but seeing how different Riddler was from his comic looks, I doubt it.

 

[solidsnake86]

If Joker ends up being a side character in the movies, I would like to see more of him in a show.

It would also be years away so by then the joker 2 noise will be done and if he has an appearance in the sequel (especially if it's well received) it will definitely be highly anticipated.

I'm at the point where I would honestly love to see the rumoured Mike Flanagan clayface being part of the reevesverse.

Seeing the quality of the penguin gets me excited and if Reeves wants to do it, this is the best possible scenario for fans of this universe.

 

[TheSmoothKnight]

I hope they tweak The Joker’s looks. Hopefully they’re not handcuffed with that visual just because they released the deleted scene.

 

[The Shape]

I hope they tweak The Joker’s looks. Hopefully they’re not handcuffed with that visual just because they released the deleted scene.

I still think releasing that deleted scene and seemingly treating it as canon was a mistake.

 

[Mindreaper21]

I agree that Joker’s look is a bit too much. Making him look more like a zombie is less terrifying to me than a more traditional looking Joker. I really hope they pull back and go for more of a vampire look with blotchy skin and severe acne scars. I don’t think the deleted scene is really official, so there’s an opportunity for change.