I am confused about batman./bruce's relationship with Dick and Timmy.Now the problem is, we know he obviously cares for them, that why he took the two under his care and is fatherly towards them.Well fatherly as in a bat-fatherly way if u know what i mean. BUt then again, he made them both dress in tights, jump off buildings, chasing demented people.You don't do that to people you care about.Batman does that himself but has expressed aknowledgement of the dangers of the job.It isn't fair for him to expose his "kids" to teh danger every night. He does so,does that mean he doesn't care for the two as much as the common belief that he does?
Eh...You can think of it this way. Fathers often want their sons to grow up to be like them. It's obvious Bruce thinks he's got the skills and capabilities of training new "Batmans." Just like he was a disciple before, his masters probably wanted Bruce to become like them once he grew up. Oftentimes, if you're a hunter and you know it's dangerous, you would still want your kid to become like you. I bet Steve Irwin wants to train his kid to be future Crocodile Hunters. You're proud to mold someone that would follow your teachings. Companionship, the same goals and ideals, and trust are very powerful things and I'm sure Batman reflects on these things whenever he's training a new Robin or taking Batgirl out on a "hunt."
In addition, some times Batman is just letting his disciples strike their own path. Dick's parents were killed, Batgirl was a cop's daughter, Jason had a rage, and Tim WANTED to be Robin. In helping them, Bruce is just supporting their cause and channeling their energy to something worthwhile. Therefore, even though Bruce regrets it from time to time, having them fight alongside of him leaves no doubt in my mind that he loves them dearly.
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To the best of my knowledge, the only team-member Batman ever recruited was Jason Todd: in Dark Victory, Batman only intends to help Dick Grayson avenge his parents--Dick is the one who wanted a lasting partnership; Tim Drake became Robin over Batman's objections; Barbera Gordon became Batgirl completely on her own initiative; Cassandra was recruited by Oracle, not Batman; Jean Paul was trained as Azrail by the Order of Sain Dumas; Huntress has nothing to do with Batman; Stephanie Brown became Spoiler to get back at her dad ... I might have missed some, but I think that pretty much covers the main ones. Batman may lead Gotham's superheroes, but he's not responsible for most of them.
Besides, I don't think he has much of a choice--he fired Dick from the post of Robin, and we know how that turned out.
He was reported as saying that he wasn't in the JLA story "Obsideon Age." But he also said he was proud of Nightwing, and Nightwing confessed in his miniseries that he felt privilaged to have been raised by Bruce, so evidently, he doesn't think there was anything wrong with the way Batman raised him.
__________________ "Men curse the Communist Party, but eventually it may release them. If hell were endless, then God would be worse than our Secret Police."--Pastor Valentin
Last edited by Gregory on Jun 15th, 2004 at 04:09 AM
ROTJ covered this; the Robins and Batgirl were perverse mantles because mentors are not supposed to simply recreate themselves. The Joker taunts Bruce Wayne by forcing Tim Drake into a miniature Joker template which brings up the question; is Batman then really comparable to the Joker?
The idea is even worse as Bruce is not proud of what he has become so forming a pack of stupid children into his image would necessitate their taking on the hurts he himself has sustained therefore it is necessary to damage them So the Joker made Robin resemble himself after his disfigurement...
Not in the comics; there, Timmy's father is alive; he did not take in Timmy in the same way he took in Dick.
Personally, I don't care. In real life, it would be irrisponsible to put a child in danger like that, but guess what Batman isn't.
__________________ "Men curse the Communist Party, but eventually it may release them. If hell were endless, then God would be worse than our Secret Police."--Pastor Valentin