My Bat-education...

Hi doodz & doodettes, The Secret Guardian's refining is still progressing, as is the Sequel (possible title: The fabric of fate) but for this entry, I'd like to mention my new found bat-education...

Thanks to some very talented writers I can see where Bruce Timm and friends found their inspiration for the unspoken romance between Batman and Wonder Woman. 

Trinity part 3 comes to mind - the scene in which Batman and Superman follow Wonder Woman back to Themyscira after she was fatally injured and jumped in Rà's al Ghul's Lazarus pit to save her life.  Batman and Superman come after her as they were worried.  Batman finds her first as she is bathing in a brooke...

Enchanted, he steals a kiss from her as she is dressed in nothing more than a towel (Themyscirans have towels?) and gets punched in the jaw for his troubles.  Later, Wonder Woman who has figured out Batman is Bruce Wayne tracks him down to Wayne Manor and says "I promise, I won't hit you!"

Agreed it can be argued that Wonder Woman seems to have a bit of a crush on Superman at first, but as the story progresses, her respect for the Bat grows, and she saves his life from Bizzaro towards the end of the story.

See a pattern?  In the Justice League / Unlimited context, Diana figuring out Batman is Bruce Wayne all by herself, the growing respect turning into fondness, the kiss(es), the unspoken attraction...I won't say it's taken litterally from Trinity, but one can safely assume the writers for Justice League/Unlimited took a few cues from that third part.  Oh yes, and the theme of the rogue Amazon (named Artemis in Trinity) was also paraphrased in a few episodes of Justice League.

And Wonder Woman being the badass (very buff as my beloved Rina would say) Amazon...very evident in Trinity, she's tough, strong, muscular, anyone in his right mind wouldn't mess with her.  Yet, there is an undeniable charm about her, that Batman can't resist.

My Bat-education continues as I've found many other graphic novels featuring Batman, from the inventive fantasy ones (Batman as a Green Lantern, Batman by Gaslight in which he tangles with Jack the Ripper) to the turning point ones in Batman's timeline - The Killing Joke, Death in the Family (which I found in a bargain bin believe it or not!) Death and the Maidens (Rà's comes back a lot!)...

Many, many of them to read.  The various writers' sometimes conflicting points of views  - Catwoman as a reformed criminal on Batman's side, in love with Batman but indifferent to Bruce Wayne - a twist on Lois Lane/Superman dynamics, Huntress as a love interest, etc - introduce new angles Bob Kane wouldn't have necessarily thought of, and it keeps the Batman character fresh.

And they'r a welcome break as I sometimes enter a writers' block!

Ciao for now my friends!