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SPOILERS follow forBatman # 50
funny script fans often argue that the movies should simply mime the original comics , but Tom King’sBatmanrun has exhibit just why that ’s not the casing . King ’s current run is becoming the stuff of legend ; he has a recondite understanding of Batman ’s personality and identity , and as such has dug into the Dark Knight ’s excruciate mind like few writer before him . This week’sBatman#50 brings to a closing a long - running storyline in which Batman and Catwoman were engaged to be married .
The issue end in tragedy , with Catwoman bend to the inevitable and jilting Batman at the rooftop . Her disputation is a heartbreakingly unproblematic one ; if Bruce Wayne ever truly becomes well-chosen , then he will cease to be Batman . In tie him , Selina would adventure really destroying everything Batman is , and everything he stand for . It ’s the same logicthe Joker presented to Catwomanlast effect , but this time it ’s propounded by a friend - albeit one with dark intent of her own . Selina tell apart the truth of it , and chooses to go her own way .
There ’s more than a kernel of truth in it . But the most captivating part of this chronicle is that it utter to the very nature of the laughable book culture medium - and to one affair that will inescapably intend the picture show will outgrow the funnies .
Marvel’s Famous ‘Illusion of Change’
Back in the ' 60s , Marvel ’s Stan Lee came up with the concept known as " the Illusion of Change . " Lee realize that every successful comic Holy Scripture superhero act upon because the writer has carefully work out their character , has built a firm lowly cast , and has make a uniform world in which they function . by nature , superhero stories will pose risks to this ; they may jeopardize to break the hero ’s character , they may jeopardise his secondary cast , or they may transfer the entire world in which she lives . But make these change too dramatic would damage the brand . It would risk damaging the core ideas that make the hero a success . Writer Peter David illustrated it onhis blogusing the example of Peter Parker :
" Over the days , Stan and Steve ( and later John ) put him through changes . But when you get down to it , they meet the construct of illusional change . Peter run from gamey schooling to college … but he was still a scholarly person . Betty Brant and Liz Allen founder way of life to Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson , and scourge Flash Thompson stepped by for nemesis Harry Osborn . Otherwise , though , he was somewhat much the same guy . Sure , he got a motorcycle , which was the ultimate in cool … but he wound up having to sell it , thereby bringing the money problems back to the head . It was organic evolution , but 360 degrees ’ worth . Same former Spider - Man , same old Peter Parker , same old job at the core . "
In 1987 , Marvel Comics married Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson . They then expend the next decade prove to break them up again , convinced they ’d change Spider - Man ’s brand name too much by allowing his character to grow . This at last led to the ( in)famous " One More Day " plot , in which Peter made a passel with Mephisto that wiped his marriage out of persistence .
Catwoman ’s entire chain of logical system really rests upon the nature of comics . Were Batman to ever find felicity , he would be exchange as a character - and changed forever . Short of an ludicrous plot twist ( say , an ridiculous plenty with DC ’s combining weight of Mephisto ) , there ’d be no going back on this . The Batman comic book franchise would be changed perfectly . And that ’s something DC Comics , as a publishing firm , would be extremely wary of .
As a event , to astute comic book fan the heartbreaking end of Batman ’s date is no existent surprise . No doubt the Dark Knight will now grow inwards once again , becoming a haunted , brooding figure . It ’s the perfectly on - make elbow room to end this story .
Page 2 of 2:Why The Movies Have To Abandon Old Thinking
The Movies Have to Abandon This
But here ’s the grab ; the " Illusion of Change " only works in the comics . It ca n’t possibly work in the movies - at least not while both Marvel and DC are pore on share cinematic universes . Because the nature of these universes is , quite simply , change . Take the example of Tom Holland ; Marvel initially toyed with the idea of basing the solo Spider - Man movies ontheHarry Pottermodel , with each film set in a unlike year of Peter Parker ’s life . That would allow the studio apartment to keep Spider - Man in schooling for as long as possible , invalidate changing the brand too much . But it could n’t possibly work , because it would lock down the timeline of the intact MCU .
Next year’sAvengers 4will be another here and now of change . It ’s by and large consider at least two of the major Avengers are finally bowing out of the MCU ; Robert Downey Jr. ’s Iron Man and Chris Evans ’s Captain America . The departure of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers completely commute the shape of the MCU . In truth , it ’s all chance for a simple , out - of - universe reason ; the actors know that it ’s time to move on . In comics , a new artist just picks up where the old one forget off , and the stories stay . In the movies , recasting popular persona like these two headline Avengers is a severe game .
Related : Kevin Feige On Recasting The Avengers In The MCU
The point of all this is that change is actually bake into the very idea of a share cinematic universe . If Spider - Man did n’t be as part of the wider MCU , then Marvel would be free to follow the Harry Potter model . If Ben Affleck ’s Batman was n’t part of a across-the-board shared universe , he could be recast with informality , and DC could just reboot the dealership and tell another story in which the Dark Knight dueled the Joker . But because these film live in a share world , the studios are actually curb ; they ca n’t easily bring up franchises , and they ca n’t discount continuity altogether .
Characters will inevitably change and grow , actors will age and depart , and continuity established in one motion-picture show will set the timeline of another . The " Illusion of Change " - an thought that ’s so crucial to most innovative strip - simply can not be a long - lasting part of a apportion cinematic universe .
What Comes Next For Batman & Catwoman
But where does this leave Batman ? Is Tom King ’s run destine to only fetch brokenheartedness to the Dark Knight , or will DC actually earmark the character to shift and grow ? It ’s really too soon to say ; it ’s no concurrence Catwoman ’s logical system verbalise to the heart of the comic record spiritualist . Rather , that ’s testimonial to King ’s wiz as a author , and it suggest he ’s still work on a prospicient - terminus narrative that will turn this entire rule on its head .
The bold comic book writers , the ones who truly leave a mark on the entire genre , are those who choose to disregard Stan Lee ’s " Illusion of Change . " They ’re writers like Grant Morrison and Gerry Conway , who dare to pop off major characters , to launch new family relationship , and to empty the dependable and comfy status quo . King has deal toTwitterto promise that his storey is n’t over . " Batman 50 is not the end , " he wrote . " This is a 100 offspring chronicle documenting and celebrating the love life of Batman and Catwoman . " That comment means we ’re only at the halfway mark in King ’s storey , and the final stage is yet to be told .
Perhaps it ’s time for the comical al-Qur’an spiritualist to grow up and become more like the films . Perhaps it really is time for Batman to be happy .
More:15 Superheroes And Villains You Didn’t Know Were Married
Batman#50is available now fromDC ComicsandComiXology .
