every new comic book day i feel more and more like the dissatisfied spouse in a failing stock image marriage

does bernard know that tim is robin in current canon? the panel of him asking robin to tell tim he wants to finish their date confuses me

So like, nothing in canon has specifically said he knows, so presumably he doesn't.

But it's not unreasonable to assume that like... Bernard could have figured it out. The way he speaks to Tim in the scene you're talking about:

(Batman: Urban Legends #6)

Could easily be taken as either:

Bernard does not know Tim is Robin. Bernard is saying this to Robin because he knows Robin will be able to make it out of the fight- he's Robin. And since Bernard had been literally in the middle of dinner with Tim when he was captured, he doesn't want to leave Tim with no closure if he doesn't make it out of this. He wants Tim to know that it was intended as a date from his perspective- because ya know based on Tim's POV that wasn't established beforehand. He also wants Tim to know he'd helped him realize things about himself (presumably that he is Not Straight). With this interpretation, presumably those are the sorts of things Bernard would have broached later in their dinner had it not been interrupted, or at least that he wanted to tell Tim at some point- but this life or death situation made him rush to get it out to whoever would listen and be able to tell Tim so at the very least he'd know.

or

Bernard has realized Tim is Robin, likely he figured it out when Tim saved him moments earlier since he saw him up close. Bernard says what he says to directly communicate his feelings to Tim in case he doesn't make it out of the situation- But he phrases it the way he does because he knows Tim's got a secret identity that Bernard is definitely not supposed to know about, plus there's other people (the Chaos Monsters and the other kidnapped kids) around.

Now, in the following story with them, with the way Tim phrases things very vaguely when talking about going to see Dick for help dealing with Bruce, it seems very much so the case that Tim does not think Bernard is aware of him being Robin.

(Batman: Urban Legends #10)

So it seems like if Bernard does know, he has not told Tim that he knows- Tim is still in 'keep Robin things on the dl' mode.

Personally I think Bernard having figured it out on his own and just continuing to keep Tim's secret, waiting for Tim to tell him or something, is a really fun concept. It's different from how Tim's other relationships have been in the past- because I mean Ari and Zo never found out, Steph and Cassie both met him as Robin so thats a whole different thing, Tam had walked in on him bleeding out and put the dots together but he knew she knew right away... so having Bernard's situation be 'he figured it out on his own but Tim who's supposed to be such a great detective hasn't figured out he knows' would be FUN especially with Bernard's old established conspiracy theory interest from the Robin run. Just think it'd be neat! But really, who knows what the case will be in canon, that's something we kinda just gotta wait and see with.

‘Spirit World,’ ‘The Vigil’ and ‘City Boy’ spin out of Lazarus Planet in May

DC will launch three new series featuring Asian heroes and creators during Asian American Pacific Islander Month.

Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1 - “City Boy” (2023)

written by Greg Pak art by Minkyu Jung & Sunny Gho

I don't know if this makes sense but Tim was Bruce’s therapy child in the more traditional sense; the kid that was there for emotional support and didn't mind being yelled at or hurt because he was there to fix Batman, and Bruce was eventually dragged out of the grave he was digging for himself because of it. But Tim was Dick's therapy kid in a different sense; Dick dragged himself out of his rut for Tim, not just because of him. Dick got better because he wanted to be a hero Tim would be proud of, would be proud to call his brother, but Bruce got better because of Tim’s continous pushing and forcing him to become better. The difference is miniscule but so so important to distinguish them and why Tim considered Dick his brother far before he considered Bruce his father, even excluding the pre-existing hero-worship and stalker tendencies Tim had (has) wherever Dick was concerned. Dick refused to let himself rely on Tim any more than Tim forced him to while Bruce didn't.

AN ASK GOT DELETED. 

AH. 

So, said the ask: what are your ideas for jai and irey?

answer: 

So - it is interesting because I do have issues how to word this, but: for me, Jai and Irey are good place to explore how much Wally's character has grown from the conservative mindset he was in. They are from an interracial family.

Jai especially - because of more noticeable his features are in comparison with Irey, which a fact that is more consistent in artworks with them (recently...). Of course, with DC's track record, I have doubts it would be handled well, so it is just an idea with nuance that would cool to explore but ultimately I don't trust DC to explore.

But, outside of that - I agree with the last post I reblogged on them. It would be interesting to look at the idea of someone to essentially be the contingency plan for the speedsters.

I also like the idea of Jai being kind no matter what - he has this ability but he is relentlessly kind - just like his family. (I don't like the idea of him becoming a villain).

For Irey, I would think it is interesting to explore her speed and push it past speed itself?

I don't know how to explain this: but think about the concept of inner time. Speedsters always have this inner time - of course they do, they run faster than average humans, yet they can slow down to match - this time that goes fast and slow depending what it is going on. A happy event goes by faster than a sad event. It would be interesting if Irey somehow taps into that and develops some form of empath power.

It would also be cool if somehow she can just make the world around her go faster. Like she just ages Earth itself to a 1,000 years. Not necessarily time travel - but actually genuine aging and life going as fast she experiences. (Darker note: her aging someone until they are practically old age). I do think that her being the speediest in probably in the universe in the future would be cool, though.

Anyway - I have a lot of thoughts, and some of those don't really make sense now, so I am sorry if I don't answer your question properly.

what kind of powers would you give jai west?

Oh easy. I would give Jai his father's ability to siphon speed from objects/people, his father's ability to briefly pause time and I'd make him unmoored from time like his father.

What this does is it makes Jai the accountabilibuddy.

It makes Jai the Buffy to the speedsters.

By making Jai unmoored from time, you are giving him an immunity from timeline changes and the ability to know when a speedster is fucking with time. If a speedster wants to get rid of Jai they can't just go back in time and kill him as an infant or something. He's completely immune from any and all timeline changes. And let's say a speedster changes the timeline so that they are the king of the world now. Jai would essentially go to sleep in one timeline and wake up in another. He'd be perfectly aware of what changed.

The ability to siphon speed from people and objects gives Jai a buffer zone. Think 'The Turtle' but instead of an area where time moves slower, Jai would make an area surrounding him where kinetic energy gets absorbed. That means that the speedsters can't power through it. They can't throw objects at him or shoot him. He has a bubble around him protecting him from harm.

As for very briefly pausing time I think that should be the hardest thing for Jai to do and it should only be used in extreme circumstances. Also I think he should only be able to hold it for five minutes and then he'll pass out afterwards.

You've basically got a race of immortal, reality bending demigods and the only people who can keep them in check are themselves. Jai is a speedster but I want him to be a highly specialized speedster. He's the check and balance. He's the counterweight. The speedster hunter. He's an apex predator designed to take them out if need be.

But he isn't a supervillain. He's a really great guy and everyone is super proud of him. He maintains the timeline and he's more of a spy/covert operative than a hero but he does good work.

I just really like the idea that Irey is supposed to grow up to be the most powerful speedster that has ever existed and Jai is the only one who could ever take her out. It's like the speedforce gave an unprecedented amount of power to a child and then created a twin solely as a 'plan b: break glass in emergencies' contingency.

The Flash x One Piece By Jo Cheol-Hong (Mi-Gyeung)

Otho & Osul are gonna fun characters. I can’t wait to see how they fit into the SuperFam and their relationships with the other characters like Clark, Lois, and Jon. (as well as their development!) 

Great to know: to Bernard, Robin is also a carrier pigeon

Me after reading your posts trying to explain the flashes are fucking gods:

I mean just the parallels alone of Barry, Wally and Bart being chosen to be the vessels for actual literal gods, gods who canonically override the free will and mind of their host, but instead of being overridden they merge together in a way that has never been seen before (although the gods do try to take full control):

And then they all won. Against actual literal gods, Barry, Wally and Bart won their power struggles. They remained themselves. They kept their personalities. Sure they had an insane amount of godly power and sure that changed things a little bit but they were still them:

And then they kicked the god's asses! They sent them packing! Barry killed death, Wally overrode Dr. Manhattan and the Mobius Chair's power/control, and Bart put the genie back into the bottle. And they did it of their own free will!

And the thing is: Barry, Wally and Bart were chosen for a reason. They're good vessels. They're immortal, ageless beings of immense power who already don't adhere to the rules of reality, time and/or space. They can handle vast amounts of energy without dying. They're the perfect vessel for a god because they already are gods.

Why else could they fight the possession of actual gods and win? Why else would they keep their free will when no one else had?

They all think it's love: Barry's love for Iris allowed him to fight back, Wally's love for his family allowed him to remain himself, Bart's love for Max allowed him to remain in control. And they aren't wrong, their love for their friends and family has always been what grounds them and keeps them... human.

And that's the thing, isn't it? They've shown time and time again that they have immense out of control power and love has always been their way of keeping it under wraps and staying human. The Speedforce is limitless in its power and they have to actively restrict how much power it gives them out of fear that it will strip away their humanity.

So when faced with being all powerful gods, all three of them know how to negate that. They know how to stay human. They know how to channel their love. They know how to limit their own power.

At the end of the day Barry was more powerful than Death, Bart was more powerful than Bedlam and Wally was more powerful than the Mobius Chair and Dr. Manhattan combined. They might not like to call themselves gods and they might like to cling to the illusion of being human, but they are in no way mortal.

I'm adding this to the list of 'fucked up things the speedsters have done because they refuse to kill'

Vibrating an immortal person into a nuclear reactor to be in 'eternal agony' is somehow not the worst thing a speedster has done. It's not even the worst thing Wally has done. It's up there though.

they're very special to me

DC: Here's Thad Thawne, he's evil and twisted and Bart’s most deadly nemesis!

Literally everyone who read Mercury Falling: lol. Wrong.

I've been thinking about this and I think that Judy Garrick could be the perfect parallel for Bart.

Picture this, a young preteen Judy Garrick shows up in the modern era. She's brash, she's inexperienced, she's uninhibited. She's just a kid trying to fit in and figure it all out and trying to have fun along the way.

And then you have Bart. He's older, he's wiser. He isn't the kid he used to be. He's grown in so many ways. He's entering young adulthood. He's trying so hard to forge his own path in life while balancing the family legacy. He desperately wants respect but not at the cost of having fun.

Suddenly, Bart's faced with a time displaced little kid. A time displaced little kid, who insists she isn't a kid, with the last name of his mentor. Bart's face to face with a walking reminder of everything he worked so hard to grow past and he's trying so hard to keep this kid alive out of respect for Jay but there's also some resentment there that Judy is Jay's real family. Not Bart.

Judy of course wants nothing to do with Bart. Who is this guy trying to tell her not to jump on power lines? Why did Jay say that she had to listen to him? It's so unfair. All he ever does is tell her to stay behind him. She knows how to fight, thank you very much.

The parallels. You gotta think about the parallels.

(*also to preemptively combat this, no I'm not ignoring Max but we can acknowledge Bart's father-son relationship with Jay without discrediting his father-son relationship with Max. Bart has two dads.)

The Flash #787 - “Time to Shine!” (2022)

written by Jeremy Adams art by Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan, & Jeromy Cox