breakfast, sweet, and soft - for the harlivy drabble prompts!
Breakfast in a strange affair. Well, strange by their acquaintancesâ standards, anyway.
Ivy is an early riser, the sort of person who will situate herself under the skylight the instant sunlight starts to filter through the glass. Sheâll usually sit there with a book or a few papers on the latest advances in psychopharmacology or genetic manipulation. The snowstorm yesterday has covered most of the ceiling, though, and so thatâs moot today morning. So itâs either eat people food or use the simulated natural lights that Harley so thoughtfully got her.
Ivy got out of bed, tucked the covers tighter around Harley and heads out to get a pot of tea started. She gets the water boiling and holds out her hand for a few nearby flowers to drop their petals into. Thanking them, Ivy brews a nice steaming cup and sits down with her latest read.
Two hours later, she hears Harley waking up.
Harley is not an early riser. If there is no heist to be executed or plans to be carried out, itâs usually closer to lunchtime than breakfast when she finally rolls out of bed. She will clatter around for a few minutes, brushing her teeth and fixing her hair a little. Then sheâll finally show up for breakfast.
The hunger hits Ivy just as Harley turns on the sink. She gets up and makes her way to the fruit trees tucked away in a nice warm corner. Winters arenât good for most of her plants, but she makes do. Sheâs in the mood for oranges this morning and the tree is more than willing to oblige. Holding a fruit in each hand, she sits down at the table and begins to peel. The fresh smell of citrus hits her nose and she sighs. Fresh fruit was hard to source ethically in the dead of winter (transporting oranges from Florida to Gotham was an exercise in emissions), but that was one of the perks of her particular power set.
She hears Harleyâs voice before she sees her, the blonde shouting âGood morning!â before launching into a stream of conversation. Ivy smiles and keeps eating.
âOooh. I want a piece!â Warm arms circle her shoulders as Harley pops up at her side, mouth open like an expectant seal. Ivy smirked and put a piece on her tongue. The thank you was muffled by chewing. The instant she finished swallowing, Harley starts talking again, rattling through the cupboards and minifridge to find her own breakfast.
Ivy would never admit this out loud, but there are times when Harley reminds her of a white noise machine. All those rapid, excited words merge into one long stream of soothing reassurance that, after all these years, Ivy doesnât have to be alone any longer. Sheâs never been very good at dealing with people, but Harley brings out the best in her â the human side of her.
Harley knows Ivy isnât paying proper attention right now. But itâs nice to be able to chatter on and on and on and on and not worry about getting hit upside the head for it. She has a lot of ideas rattling around in her head and talking helps get some of them out. Right now, sheâs ranting about ethics of NBCâs Hannibal. Clayface has a thing for the main actor (Harleyâs isnât sure whether itâs because of his acting chops, his looks, or both), and after learning exactly what Harleyâs job used to be before the whole villain thing, he had been insisting that she join him in his latest rewatch. It hadnât been hard to put him off for a while, but yesterdayâs snowstorm meant that she didnât really have anything to do last night. Or anyone (Harley was very proud of her girlfriendâs brilliant mind and long, long list of publications. She was less pleased when Ivy was working on some time-dependent cell cultures and was not around when she needed an excuse to get out of Clayfaceâs latest weird pop culture fixation. King Shark was a shameless enabler and no help at all).
âIâve done my fair of somewhat unethical things,â That was an understatement. Listing them out would probably take an hour. Explaining them would take the better part of a day. âBut there are limits.â She grumbled, pouring in the milk. The psych part of the psychodrama had hit a little too close to home for her.
She was still scowling when she picked up her spoon and took the first bite.
Harley and Ivy smiled at the same time. Harley, because there was nothing better than crunchy Loot Frips in chocolate milk. Ivy, because she knew that the first bite of cereal would make Harley smile.
They were pretty certain no other villain in Gotham started their day with sugary cereal in even more sugary chocolate milk. Though if the rest of the Rogues could see what passed for Harleyâs breakfast, they might have been less puzzled by her behavior. That much sweet stuff could probably power a small engine. Or a hyperactive Harley Quinn.
Ivy scooted her chair closer to Harleyâs, close enough to touch. She felt her chest warm when her girlfriendâs smile somehow got even bigger. Her heart grew even warmer when she turned that word over in her head. Girlfriend. Getting rid of the space in between made all the difference.
Ivy could go without the sun for a day or two if it meant getting to bask in the light of her girlfriendâs smile.
âWhatâre you grinning about, Red?â Harley asked, her voice muffled around a mouthful of cereal. âRead somethinâ interestinâ?â
âI donât need to read an article to know that seeing you increases the amplitudes of the late positive potentials in my VTA.â Ivy quipped. It was probably the dorkiest line in the history of flirting.
Harley didnât miss a beat. âAww, youâre my nitroglycerin.â She pressed a hand to her heart in an affected swoon.
There were many perks to having a girlfriend as smart as you. Number three was flirting badly through biology.
âSpeaking of nitroglycerinâŠâ Harley began in that tone Ivy knew all too well. She cut Harley off with a kiss. It was gentle and affectionate. Ivy could taste the powdered sugar on Harleyâs soft lips.
âHey, Harls?â She began, resting her forehead against Harleyâs when they broke apart.
âYeah?â
âCan we just enjoy today? No blowing stuff up or planning bank robberies.â She gestured to the white outside. âI think the universe is telling us to take a day off.â
âSince when do you subscribe to theories of divine intervention?â
âSince five seconds ago.â
âHmm.â She pretended to consider Ivyâs offer, tapping one pale finger against her chin dramatically. âWhat else should I do if I canât plan explosive B&Es?â
âI have some ideas.â Ivy told her, smiling as she pulled Harley in for another kiss.
Ten minutes laterâŠ
Ivy and Harley were curled up on the couch under a mountain of blankets, eyes glued to the screen of their stolen TV, arms wrapped around each other. Theyâd nicked the hard drive with the movies on it from King Shark, and Ivy had put a giant mass of thorny vines around the bedroom door to keep them from being disturbed. Occasionally, one of them would lean over to readjust the blankets or give the other a soft kiss.
It was perfect.
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Batshipping masterpost
Sometimes asking yourself the question âwhat would it take for me to ship these two characters together?â helps you come up with really really good stories that you otherwise might never have thought of!Â
Very fun writing exercise. Do recommend.
ANYWAY. I like Batman, so I asked myself this question about him, and these were the results!Â
(Featuring:Â Catwoman, Riddler, Twoface, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Azrael, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Aquaman)
What would it take for me to ship Batman with that character? A few key ingredients:Â
If they are/were a villain, a redemption of sorts. A slow process of coming to terms and actively deciding âyeah, thatâs not who I am anymore.âÂ
A connection, a distinct moment where theyâre able to talk to Batman as more than just an old enemy or a League ally. A spark that generates interest in developing the relationship further.
An establishment of explicit trust. This usually comes in the form of Bruce revealing his identity to the other and trusting them (maybe tentatively at first, but even so) not to give it away.
An introduction to the kids. I am one hundred percent positive that this is, for the vast majority, not a voluntary action on Batmanâs part. But if you raise nine kids to be detectives, you canât expect to keep secrets from them for long! And once they know youâve been sleeping with that former villain, youâre going to have to justify that to them somehow.
Then the whole cycle starts again as the villain redeems themselves in the eyes of the kids and gains their trust and acceptance too. Good stuff.
Note: my interpretations of these characters are entirely my own and by no means do all of them line up with any sort of canon. I just sort of do whatever.Â
Also: some of the bullet points below address some of the mental health problems in the villains, so proceed at your own discretion.
Catwoman: I really like the Gotham tv showâs dynamic between Bruce and Selina, which is to say, they were childhood friends with an early attraction to one another, but had a falling out sometime around the very beginnings of Bruce actually becoming Batman. She spends a few years as a professional thief. He sends her to prison a few times. But eventually she settles down and opens up a casino or whatever, where she deals information under the table. Alfred and the kids know her these days as an ally rather than enemy. So itâs just a matter of her realizing that her attraction to Bruce is deeper than originally assumed, and that if she wants to be with him she has to really dedicate herself to that idea, and for him to realize that sheâs being serious and that he needs to prioritize spending time with her over obsessing over his work.
Bruce takes his mask off dramatically, saying something along the lines of âitâs me, Selinaâ and sheâs like âyeah I know.â âWhat?â âYou do this thing where you pace back and forth and nod your head up and down when youâre thinking. Never known anyone else who did that but Bruce Wayne.â â...Oh.â
Childhood friends interpretation is also great because Alfred already knows her and likes her. And she has all these embarrassing stories about 14 year old Bruce to share, which means that even the most resistant of the kids warm up to her right away.
Riddler: the first line in his Arkham file is that he has an obsessive need for attention. And Bruce KNOWS that. But it takes years for it to occur to him, incredibly sleep-deprived and staring down one of Edâs death traps that he really, really doesnât want to deal with today....what would happen if he just, yâknow, gives it to him? The attention that he wants? And the results are instantaneous. Itâs like the floodgates are open and Ed just canât stop talking. It starts out snide and derogatory, the same way he usually talks to Batman, but the longer it goes on the more it deteriorates into something oddly helpless and vulnerable. Bruce has been so used to cocky, swaggering Ed that it never really occurred to him that this was someone suffering, who needed help. So he sits down and does his best to convince Ed that heâs not going to take him in (how many times has he been sent to Arkham? And what good has it done him, really?) and they talk. He leaves out of necessity (bank robbery in progress, says Barbaraâs voice in his ear) but he goes back the next day, and again after that. Ed gets attention from Bruce without having to resort to crime to get it. Bruce gets a break from head busting and an outlet for some of the stale energy inside his head. They tell each other riddles and play strategy games and get to know each other, for real this time.
Ed stops worrying so much about proving that heâs smarter than Batman. Instead he channels all that energy into uncovering Bruceâs secret identity. Itâs just another one of their games. Bruce has kept that secret for a long time and heâs confident he can keep it up, but Edâs always alert waiting for him to slip up, to leave a clue
Option 1 for how he finds out: he sets up an elaborate trap, making it seem like heâs in danger and the only way to save him is for Bruce to take his mask off, so he does. Ed is outraged. âREALLY? BRUCE WAYNE? FUCKING REALLY?â he yells, dropping all pretense of being in danger. The robots he made for this setup drop like puppets with cut strings. Bruce gets ready to Fight.
Option 2: Some other villain reveals Bruceâs identity before he gets the chance (Arkhamverse style). Ed is outraged. âHOW DARE YOU LET ANYONE ELSE BUT ME DO THATâ he yells while Bruce tries his best to ignore him and focus on calling the JL to fix the whole situation somehow
Option 3: Bruce just tells him. Ed is outraged. âI WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO FIGURE IT OUT YOU IDIOTâ
The kids are Not Happy about Bruce dating Gothamâs Most Annoying Super Villain
Twoface: again I gotta go with the whole âthey were friends when they were younger and Bruce had a raging crush on himâ setup. Cause that adds a whole layer to Bruceâs part of the story, watching Harvey become Twoface and assuming responsibility for locking him up every time he gets out. One day something happens in Gotham- string of murders or something, itâs not important really what it is. Bruce goes after the person responsible and his trail leads him to Harvey. So he busts into the safe house, intending to intimidate anything Harvey knows out of him, and then throw him back in Blackgate. âOhohoho, noooooo, you got this all wrong,â Harvey says when he figures out what Batmanâs getting at. âThat motherfucker put a dozen of my men in the ground. This is personal. You want me to tell you what I know, youâre going to take me with you.â And Bruce agrees. Cause he knows Harveyâs got a certain moral code that he can be trusted to stick to, and itâs the most painless way of getting what he wants from him anyway. Working with Harvey is weird, though. He shoots a couple of goons going after Batman and gives him that lopsided smile, says âIâve got your back,â and suddenly Bruce is like 20 again and Harvey is bringing him a coffee, smiling. During their chase they have a dramatic rooftop showdown with whoever it is theyâre chasing. Bruce turns around just in time to see one of the thugs push Twoface over the edge. He gets caught up in the moment and practically screams, âHarvey!â Of course, heâs able to dramatically swoop in and save him, though itâs a pretty close call. When Harvey comes to he sits up and says quietly, âItâs been a long time since anyoneâs called my name like that, did we have that kind of relationship?â and Bruce panics and tries to brush it off as his imagination, but Harvey shakes his head and says âonce youâve seen it, you canât unsee it, man. Itâs you under there, isnât it, Bruce?â And it turns out that knowing Bruceâs real identity turned out to be exactly what Harvey needed. Cause he can identify some of the duality he feels about himself in Batman, now. They spend some more time together, talking some of that out, and it doesnât take long for Bruceâs crush to return en force.
Poison Ivy:Â He lets her go. He knew she was at that scene, and she knows he saw her, but he lets her go, cause it wasnât a big deal. No one died, relatively little property damage, and that jerk deserved it anyway. The next day thereâs a potted plant sitting on GCPDâs doorstep and they call Batman thinking it might be dangerous, but itâs just a lovely specimen of a rare flower, which he knows is her way of saying thanks. (He doesnât let the police know that, though. He just puts it in the back of the Batmobile and tells them itâs nothing he canât handle). He takes it home with him and treats it well. And she knows it, can kind of sense it, distantly. They have a few more run ins over the course of the next few months and they take it easy on each other, having this sort of mutually unspoken agreement. Eventually something happens for her to need to talk to Batman, so she digs her roots in deep and finds that flower...in the garden at Wayne Manor. She leaves a message for Batman and they meet up and talk about whatever she needed. She doesnât mention the Manor, so he asks about it. She just shrugs and mentions something about Bruce Wayneâs recent efforts in protecting the environment. âMaybe weâre not as different as I thought, after all.â They give each other more little presents from afar. One day she sees him hanging around (where she knows he knows she can see him), and drops by to talk. He offers her a ride home and ends up spending the night.
This one I think he owns up to before the kids can figure it out. Pamâs a good source of information, and if he was desperate heâd call her even with all of them watching. Theyâd all think heâd been bewitched, of course. Itâd take a while to convince them all otherwise.
Harley Quinn: all it takes is for him to get his first glimpse of the real her and decide that Joker victims need to stick together and help other Joker victims. After the breakup and the subsequent recovery, sheâs living free (albeit under Constant Surveillance) in Gotham, and he checks in every once in a while, just to make sure sheâs doing ok and not reverting to her previous, Joker-driven, rocket-fueled bad habits. One day thereâs an incident in her neighborhood- maybe someone was going after her and Bruce was there protecting her, or maybe it wasnât related to her at all. Regardless, itâs her who finds him after the explosion and takes him home and gives him first aid. Heâs groggy and panicky when he first wakes up in a strange place (not a hospital, not the cave) with an IV drip in his arm (heâs not in a hospital, where did that come from!). It gets worse when he realizes that his mask was blown right off his face in the blast. It gets SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE when Harley appears in his field of vision, waving around a tablet pulled up to Bruce Wayneïżœïżœïżœs wikipedia page, in full psychologist mode, ranting about how heâs been going about dealing with his childhood trauma All Wrong. But they talk, and she promises not to give his secret away. âWhat would I have to gain from that? Youâd stop coming to visit me then!â It takes a while for the two of them to figure out exactly whatâs going on between them but once theyâre both sure the othersâ intentions are good, they develop a good, strong relationship.
Bonus points if, at any point in the above time space, she walks up to him one day and hands him an unmarked usb drive. âWhatâs on this?â âMy daughter.â âWhat.â âMy daughter! Her location and everything about her.â âIs she...Jokerâs?â âI dunno. Could have been him or any one of a number of other guys. Mistah J threw some really wild parties. *shrug* The only part that really matters to me is that sheâs mine. And if anything ever happens to me, sheâll need someone to look out for her, yâknow?â âAnd thatâs me???â âWell, helping people in need is one of your compulsions, after all. Especially kids, or else you wouldnât have so many of your own.âÂ
I usually imagine Jason as one of the ones kind of sticking up for Batman, citing how crime has all but disappeared since he started sleeping with whatever particular villain and that who are they to police who Bruce shares his bed with anyway (BONUS bonus points if heâs just entering the early stages of coming to terms with his own bisexuality and never realized that Bruce was bi, too), but that wouldnât be the case with Harley. Heâd feel pretty hurt about that, I think. On the other hand: Dick has been around since Harleyâs debut on the scene, and has always thought of her as relatively harmless and even respected her to a degree, as a fellow acrobat, so heâs cool with her dating Bruce
Azrael: His JL team goes on hiatus for a little while, so he calls Bruce up like âuhhh, I donât really have much of anywhere else to go, so can I come back to Gotham for a while?â And Bruce tells him that theyâre actually experiencing a pretty calm stretch for a change, but yeah, he can come if he wants. At first heâs excited because heâs never been invited to the actual, og Batcave, but there really IS nothing going on. He meets Alfred, who offers him tea. He meets Steph and Tim, out of masks, lounging on the couch playing Street Fighter. They assure him that if literally anything happens, one of their gajillion alert systems will let them know. He goes off in search of Bruce, finds him sitting at the kitchen table making his way through a veritable mountain of paperwork. Eventually he admits that he doesnât really know what to do with himself in the downtime. âI usually try to use time like this to do things for Bruce Wayne, instead of for Batman,â Bruce explains. âYou should do something for Michael Lane, while you have the chance.â âBut...but...but Iâve been Azrael full-time for years now...â âAlright, well, what did you like to do before you were Azrael?â âUHH...â Before he can short-circuit too much trying to come up with an actual answer to that question, Bruce puts aside his paperwork and takes his arm. They get in the car and Bruce takes him to like a hobby shop or something. They buy model kits and a cookbook and some yarn (âone of the kids can teach youâ), and he promises that one of these days theyâll clear some space on the lawn to play football. Michael hasnât experienced this level of anyone caring for his well-being probably ever? and all he can do is stammer something about âis there anything I can do for Bruce Wayne in return?â âYou can keep me company while I file all my paperwork, I guess.â So he sits at the table across from Bruce and builds his little ATAT model kit feeling happier than he has in a long time. Bruce can tell that a little more attention would do him good, so they spend some more time hanging out which leads to having some deep conversations and building up feelings for each other, itâs all very cute
Right at the beginning of Michael developing his crush on Bruce he realizes that somethingâs different, but doesnât quite realize what it is, and his mind jumps to the worst case scenario right away. He locks himself in his room, calls Bruce at work, panicking, and says he thinks his St. Dumas brainwashed obsession with Bruce might be coming back. Bruce tells him to calm down, theyâll run some tests. All the tests come back negative, but Michael is visibly shaken, so Bruce offers for him to hang around Gotham a little longer so they can monitor him, which is what leads to his extended stay in Gotham
Mr. Freeze: One day something changes. One day the realization finally, finally clicks into place. Thereâs a huge floating JL base in the sky and aliens living on Earth and people coming back from the dead and healing from miraculous injuries and plagues all the time. If it was going to happen to him, it would have happened by now. Itâs over. Noraâs not coming back. That day he laces up his boots and loads his gun and walks over to the little diner on the corner and wrecks it. Batman gets the call, and obviously he knows that somethingâs different, this isnât Vicâs MO, but he goes anyway, of course. Vic blasts away at him with his freeze gun, wildly, recklessly, screaming and ranting the whole time. Bruce dodges out of view, and Vic transfers his aggressions to the nearest object in sight: a table. He blasts that thing in half, and then in half again, and keeps going until itâs nothing but splinters and heâs just standing there, gasping for breath. âVictor,â says Bruce from behind him, âtell me whatâs wrong.â âNoraâs dead,â Vic mumbles under his breath. Bruce comes around to face him and Vic is looking at him with THE SADDEST puppy dog eyes heâs ever seen. (I know what youâre thinking right now. âMr. Freeze canât do puppy dog eyes.â Youâre WRONG, Iâm telling you) âThatâs the first time Iâve ever said that out loud, I think... I d-donât...I donât know what to doâŠâ and Bruce is like, darn, I canât take this fool to jail. So he brings him back to his chilly lair instead and sits him down and talks him through it a little. Leaves him with a phone number to call if it gets real bad again, but makes the first call to check up on him later anyway. This one is a sloooow burn, it takes Vic MONTHS to get over Nora, couple weeks to realize he MIGHT? be developing feelings for Bruce, couple more weeks to wrestle with the guilt of that. Learning Bruceâs identity is the thing that really brings all of it to a head. Maybe thereâs an attempt on Bruce Wayneâs life and later that day Batman shows up with the same pattern of lacerations on his cheek, or broken leg, or whatever. Vicâs not an idiot. He can put two and two together. When Bruce finally takes off the helmet in front of him, itâs a huge relief. To be able to say âI know what itâs like to lose peopleâ and for Vic to know heâs not just talking about heroing. They get closer and closer from there. Their relationship is a weird one, with a lot of compromises to make, but they do the best they can.
The kids donât particularly mind Bruce going out with Vic. Heâs not so much a villain as he is just a guy whoâs been dealt a bad hand in life and done the best he could with it. But having around makes the already-cool cave soooo much colder, which isnât so fun.
Clayface: There hasnât been an incident with Clayface in years. Heâs older, little calmer, little more mature (I like the New 52 plotline of him joining Kateâs crime busting team, but this little scenario works even without that part thrown in). Still, when Bruce hears heâs back in town, he figures he should probably pay him a visit anyway. Just in case heâs planning something. But he goes to the address he was given, some apartment building in Kingston, opens the door, and finds Basil. Not Clayface, Basil Karlo, sitting in a chair by the window reading a paper. âHavenât seen that face on you in a while,â he says, still unsure if itâs a trick or not. âOh,â Basil shrugs, unsure if he should be worried about being tossed in jail again or not. âWell, itâs my face. The one Iâm most familiar with, takes the least amount of concentration to keep up with. I did make some changes, though, see? Few gray hairs, few lines on my face. Do I look older?â âYes. Itâs a good look.â He keeps checking in with him, cause you can never be too careful, and then because he actually starts to enjoy Basilâs company. Their relationship is one of the more light-hearted ones on this list. They get wine drunk and make out on the roof of the apartment building, very giggly.
âIf I learned anything at Arkham, itâs that there are some things that you know are wrong with you, but there are also things that are wrong with you that you arenât even aware of, and that you couldnât identify or fix even if you tried.â âOne of the psychologists told you that?â âNo. I shared a cell with Tetch for a few weeks. That dude is so much more messed up than you realize.â
Superman: Clark calls him up saying something about a mystery in Metropolis that has everyone stumped, and maybe the Worldâs Greatest Detective wouldnât mind helping him out? So Bruce drops by to lend him a hand. The âmysteryâ turns out to be a group of unfamiliar aliens whoâre out to get Superman (I donât care why. Maybe theyâre holding some kind of grudge, maybe theyâre bounty hunters, maybe they want to sell him off into space-gladiator slavery, whatever). These antagonistic aliens have been very careful in their preparations- theyâve done all the math, and come up with special weapons specifically designed to hit Superman hard enough to knock him out. But they didnât plan on Batman being there with him, which throws them off just enough that Superman is able to chase them off successfully. In the midst of that fight, though, Bruce takes a hit. A hit calculated for Superman. It breaks several of his ribs and punctures a lung. Clark panics, scoops him up and flies him to the nearest hospital at record speeds. Theyâre able to stabilize him at Metropolis, and then they send him back to the Watchtower for further treatment. When he wakes up heâs pretty disoriented and confused, but Clark (who had been listening for a change in his breathing and heartbeat from a couple rooms away) comes rushing in, ushering him back to bed and promising to explain everything. Bruce is woozy and wonky enough from whatever drugs they gave him that he lays back down and lets Clark hold his hand protectively without argument. He listens to Clarkâs explanation, mumbles something about calling Alfred, and promptly falls back asleep. Clark feels so guilty about his injury that he wonât leave his side for weeks, even following him back to Gotham once heâs well enough to leave the Watchtower.
âGod, when will they finally just kiss already,â Jason says, taking cover with the rest of the family in the cave. âI know, right,â says Steph while Tim, Cass, and Duke (and Alfred) all nod in agreement. âSHUT UP,â yells Damian, having a hard time adapting to the idea of his dad and his best friendâs dad getting together
Any Superbat is good Superbat but I enjoy it best in the context of âtheyâre old enough by now to be embarrassed about how angsty and competitive they were when they first met, and they both have huge extended families, and the rest of the JL has been watching them dance around each other for YEARS, JUST KISS ALREADY DAMMITâ
Wonder Woman: I donât usually imagine Bruce as a flustered kind of guy, but Wonder Woman is everything he wants to be when he grows up and he canât help it. Sheâs so effortlessly cool, calm, and collected. And sheâs a natural charmer, the public loves her. She always manages to come at things with a fresh perspective that has helped unstick his too-logical train of thought numerous times. She paid him a compliment once and he sat in the batmobile in the parking lot thinking about it for like twenty minutes. One day they get assigned to a League PR thing together that turns into an assassination attempt (surprising no one), but everything turns out ok. Minor damage to the surrounding buildings, a few people injured in the mass chaos, thatâs all. She goes looking for him after returning from talking to the local cops, and finds him with a toddler girl on his hip, holding hands with her six yo sister, helping them look for their parents. And she just has to stop and marvel for a minute at how soft his voice is??? How the toddler isnât even crying??? He bends down to hug the little girl bye after returning her to her fam and Diana almost has a heart attack. âI see that the gods have blessed you with an affinity for children of all ages,â she says. By the time he straightens back up heâs Batman again. âWhat do you mean by that?â âI can never get kids to warm up to me like that in situations like these...I always thought it was because I was just too big and imposing. How did you do it?â âOh. Well. You know. *gestures vaguely* You just gotta give them what they want.â âAnd what is that?â âSecurity. A promise of safety from an adult that they can trust.â She doesnât quite get it but she watches him, and talks to his sidekicks sometimes. It amazes her how much kindness and love are hidden under that mask of his. When he smiles from the heart he could melt glaciers. So she starts to press, just a little, just to see how heâll respond. And once she figures out exactly how flustered he can get, too, itâs all downhill from there.
Martian Manhunter:Â This one is literally one of the sweetest, most pure relationship dynamics I think Iâve ever written, which really caught me by surprise! The way I think of it is like this: When they first meet, Bruce is really, really uncomfortable with the idea of having Jâonn in his head, so Jâonn tries to keep telecommunication with him to a minimum. So when Bruce gets his attention during like a meeting or something and subtly lets him know he needs to talk, Jâonn knows it must be important. So he opens up a private channel and helps Bruce deal with whatever it is (I donât know exactly what that would be, only that itâd be some kind of sensitive topic best kept between the two of them). And over the course of that, all those one-on-one mind convos, Bruce starts to get used to talking like that with Jâonn. In return, while theyâre working together, he helps Jâonn get used to human physical contact. It starts with small things- handshakes, little pats on the shoulder- until Jâonn is comfortable returning them. One day Jâonn has a bad day and itâs Bruce that comes to find him, to comfort him. He doesnât really say anything, just puts his arms around Jâonn and holds him close. Most humans- and hell, even most Martians- wouldnât have done that for him. What else was Jâonn supposed to do but fall in love with him?
I really liked the scene in JL8 where Jâonn was trying to, like, share a memory with Bruce or something, and instead he ended up unintentionally stumbling into some of Bruceâs trauma memories, which freaked both of them out pretty badly. I think that little scene would fit quite nicely into this scenario. Bonus, if it happens in the really early days of the League, it doubles as the moment when Jâonn first learns Bruceâs secret identity.
Flash: Itâs been a longtime headcanon of mine that Barry is very active in the Central City community, not just as Flash, but as himself, too. Namely, he spends a good deal of his free time volunteering with the local homeless shelter slash food bank. I mean, come on, just by the very nature of his powers, is it any surprise that he has a vested interest in ending hunger in his community? One day he stops Bruce in the hall in the Watchtower, and clumsily explains that he needs to ask a favor. The shelter has been looking to expand their operations for some time, but right at the last second one of their backers pulled out. Theyâre short 7k for the payment on the property they needed to make tomorrow, and Barry didnât know where else to turn to get that much money that quickly. He promises to pay him back, somehow, eventually. Bruce cuts him a check right there for 10k, and tells him to consider it a gift. Later he even publicly endorses the program on social media, saying he thinks Gotham should implement something similar. Barry invites him down to see the building he paid for, so Bruce rolls up his sleeves and spends the day volunteering with him. Itâs a chance for both of them to see a side of the other that theyâve never seen before. Bruce watches Barry shine like a ray of sunshine, bringing light and laughter to a room full of people at their very lowest. Barry watches Bruce inspire trust and confidence in complete strangers, like magic. Not to mention, that smile- Barry tries not to use his powers out in the open if he can avoid it, but he discreetly flashes over to stop a tray or something from falling, and of course it doesnât escape Bruceâs notice. He grins at Barry from across the room and Barryâs heart fully stops for a second.
I like to think of Bruce as a little older than Barry. Just a little, just a few years. Just enough that Barry always feels like an inexperienced, incompetent baby in the face of The Batman
This one throws the kids for such a loop once they find out about it. âTHIS is what youâre attracted to, Bruce? THIS???â
Green Lantern: what I know about Hal is that heâs sassy. And what I know about Bruce is that if anyone he doesnât have the ability to tell to go to their room is sassy with him, he gets snippy. So he and Hal butt heads a lot. One day Hal is venting to Superman in like, an elevator or something about how Bruce just Doesnât Get It, Clark, He Doesnât Understand Me, and Clark says, âwell, Hal, can you honestly say that you understand him, either?â And suggests that maybe he should spend some more time actually getting to know Bruce before passing judgement. Hal takes that to mean âmaybe I should go to Gotham and spy on Batman for a dayâ. When he spots him doing his best to hide inconspicuously on a nearby rooftop, Bruce rolls his eyes and ignores him. Dick spots him too, though, and invites him to the cave in hopes that maybe theyâll be able to settle whatever their argument was about (Jason, Tim, and Steph break out the popcorn and get themselves front row seats for the Drama). But in the end, an up-close perspective was exactly what Hal needed to realize that there was more to Batman than had been meeting his eye. He watches Bruce juggle ten different comm feeds while giving a press conference AND directing his kidsâ efforts in the field at the same time, and he earns a new respect for Bruce. He gets where heâs coming from now, and why heâs always so cautious all the time. The guy has a lot to lose. So he mans up and apologizes. Bruce accepts the apology graciously, says he realizes that theyâre fundamentally different people but that he values Hal as a comrade and respects his prowess with the ring, and Hal is like, âah. We Are Friends Now.â He spends more of his time on Earth with Bruce, and along the way he trips and falls headlong into a debilitating crush on him. Like, a visibly obvious crush. Bruce finds it adorable.
Green Arrow: Bruce and Ollie get invited to the same billionaire shindig one day and neither of them can think of a good enough reason to not go. Ollieâs recovering from a bad ankle sprain, and Bruce hasnât slept in days, so instead of socializing with anyone else there they just sit in the corner and hang out with each other. Midway through the event Bruce closes his eyes and does this forceful little sigh through his nose. Ollie knows him well enough by now to know that small outward signs indicate big amounts of internal emotions with Bruce, and this is about as frustrated as heâs ever seen him out of mask. Normally his act is impenetrable. âWhat,â he asks, imagination running full speed ahead thinking about what might have happened, âwhatâs wrong?â âFirefly just broke out of prison,â Bruce growls, reaching for a refill of whatever heâs drinking. âWh- Wait, who?â âPyromaniac, serial arsonist in Gotham.â âHow exactly did you learn this?â (read: do you have some kind of spider sense I donât know about?) Bruce just gestures to his microscopic earpiece. Ollie offers, probably against his better judgement, to take a trip to Gotham and help catch Firefly. Bruce, barely able to see straight at that point (bad combination of sleeplessness and alcohol), accepts. So Ollie gets the full treatment, a trip to the cave and tea from Alfred and a haranguing from the kids and a trip to Blackgate with Firefly, even. In return he offers to have Bruce over in Star City sometime. Ollie is usually a little on edge around Bruce, but then he starts to see the real him and finds out that he does, in fact have a sense of humor. They have goofy adventures together and itâs all very cute
Aquaman: Arthur is hotheaded and when he gets in a Mood, the sight of Bruce and his stupid unmovable face just makes him angrier. But once during a mission, when Arthur is busy working himself into a panic, not knowing what to do, itâs Bruce that snaps him out of it. Grabs him by the shoulders and demands that he get a hold of himself. And itâs enough of a shock that it actually works- Bruce tells Arthur the plan, and Arthur does it without argument. No one is more surprised when it works than he is. He is SHOOK. Eventually he swallows his pride enough to go up to Batman and admit, âI think Iâm still too emotionally invested in this, can you help me?â Bruce agrees, of course. He does his best to explain how he always keeps his emotions in check, especially when lives are on the line. It occurs to Arthur to wonder what kind of toll that takes on a person. He decides that Bruce could probably use a little vacation of sorts, and invites him to spend a day with him in Atlantis. A day in the life of a king, if you will. Bruce rolls his eyes and agrees, just to play along, but he ends up really enjoying it. Yes, there are a dozen-odd irons in the fire waiting for him when he gets home, but this time he finds that he actually has the energy to deal with them for once. Which is a good enough excuse to go back and do it again, and spend more time with Arthur in the process.
Dami is usually super resistant to Bruce dating anyone, but he would be ok with Arthur, I think. Like, âyou bagged a king? Ok, respectâ
Extra notes:
I feel like a lot of my thoughts about Clayface and Martian Manhunter specifically could also apply to Killer Croc, too, in a way. I mean, heâs not EVIL. Heâs just never really been treated like a person, and so he embraced his image as Killer Croc instead of continuing to face that rejection. But if anyone can look past his exterior and see the needs of the man within, Bruce could. Feels a little weird to think about but maybe thereâs something there.
Polyshipping is GREAT may I interest you in some ot3s??? SuperWonderBat is one of the more obvious ones, and I love it (cause Diana gets to play with TWO flustered boys) but BatLanternFlash is also top tier. And then thereâs the villains! RiddleBatCat is one of my favorites! Also TwoRiddleBat and BruHarlIvy. The possibilities are endless!
I considered adding Lex and Slade to this post, but in the end I left them off. Cause itâs hard for me to see those as anything but weird, inherently unhealthy relationships. Theyâd make great black ships though : o
When talking about Bruce dating someone else from the JL, thereâs DOUBLE the kids to embarrass. Can you imagine youâre like, Roy Harper or something, somebodyâs sidekick, and you walk in and find BATMAN in bed with your mentor???? WILD
This post really got away from me, haha. Thanks for reading! Hit me up if you ever need someone to talk about Batshipping with (especially rarepairs, I got you fam)!
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My Thoughts on Batman: Hush (the animated movie)
The story arc Batman: Hush from 2002 was one of the first Batman comics I have ever read and it quickly became one of my all time favorites. I would have given everything to get an animated movie based on it!
Then the adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke came out and changed everything.
I had to take a closer look at recent DC animated movies and realized their glorious days had been over for a long time. I stopped wishing for an animated movie. One came out anyway. So was I wrong? Was this another loveless adaptation with stiff animation and unnecessary changes?
Right at the start, we see a closeup of Gordonâs hand and heâs wearing his wedding ring on his middle finger so... yup, Iâm sure DC invested a lot of money in the filmâs production...
Iâm gonna assume we all know the comicâs story. We know about BatCat giving their love a try, that Bruce reveals his identity to Selina, that Catwoman pushes Lois Lane off the Daily Planet to help Supes break free from Ivyâs control, how Bruceâs childhood friend Thomas Elliot is killed, how Clayface is mimicking Jason Todd which triggers Batman, that the new villain called Hush actually is Thomas Elliot who had teamed up with Riddler, that Riddler knows who Batman is, and that Batman breaks up with Catwoman because heâs still having trust issues.
Letâs just say the arc is PACKED with story and characters so it shouldnât be hard to make a movie out of it, right? Sure, I was expecting some changes because of its packed-ness. Not every single subplot and every single character would make the cut, I get it. However, I still wasnât prepared for what DC turned the story into.
So what were some of those changes and what did I think of them:
- replace Killer Croc with Bane. alright, more people know Bane, itâs fine
- replace Huntress with Batgirl. ugggggh, okayyy... more people know Batgirl. I feel bad that this choice removed Oracleâs existence but okay. she had one scene, you already had the character design from that godawful Killing Joke movie and not enough budget to make Huntress, I can see past this
- cut Leslie Thompkins. hmmm yessss okay, she wasnât that essential to the story, alright, I can live with it
- cut the entire involvement of the League of Assassins. Iâm not the biggest fan of Raâs al Ghul and co. so I didnât mind that they reduced it to one cameo of Lady Shiva. HOWEVER she is the worldâs best fighter! WHY NOT SHOW HER FIGHTING?! she could have been so much better but they chose to waste her for exposition purposes
- make Amanda Waller skinny. yes, they once again turned the baddest bitch into a skinny woman because we canât have fat people in a Batman movie, no one wants to fuck a fat Waller or jerk it over a fat Waller -__- just get over yourselves, DC you assholes!
- Robin was cut entirely. wow. just wow. why do DC hate Robin so much? I donât get it!
- the shit stain rape result popped up in one scene for absolutely no purpose except for poorly establishing a fucked up âcontinuityâ between all recent DC animated movies. something NO ONE in the fucking world wants or needs. just kill that little shit, he serves no purpose, he was annoying as fuck, he wasnât even created when the original story came out, fuck him, delete him, stop shoe horning him into every Batman-related thing, heâs useless
- cut the entire Jason Todd part. again, why the Robin hate?! it was one of the most emotional parts of the story, why cut it?!
- cut the BatCat scenes in the cave, including Alfred telling Selina that he thinks the world of her. no words except for âwhat a disappointmentâ
- change the entire ending and make it worse. S I G H
So Thomas Elliot was just a red herring for everyone whoâs read the comics. Instead of Hush having a personal connection to Bruce and having more complex reasons to kill him, we get Riddler who wants to kill him just because he can. Cool. But seriously, who thought that this would make a satisfying ending?!
Kidnap Catwoman, make her the damsel in distress, have Batman come save her, and kill the bad guy - sounds like a quality script to me...
But apart from the poorly written ending, I have a major problem with what the movie focuses on: the Batman x Catwoman romance.
A huge reason why I love the comic is the BatCat relationship. Itâs the first time, Batman kisses Catwoman back, itâs Bruce willingly revealing his secret to Selina to include her in his ENTIRE life and trust her with his life. We see them work together really well, we see how Selina loves Bruce but also doesnât give up her independence. Sheâs willing to be by his side but wonât turn into his sidekick or change into a to him more âconvenientâ version of herself. And most importantly, she understands and appreciates and loves Bruce for his moral code.
DC being DC, they of course only half-ass their biggest romance.
While I did enjoy the added BatCat footage like Bruce and Selina in bed (I LoVeD that Selina sounded like they had just had the wildest most erotic experience ever while she was still wearing a shirt and he was wearing his boxers and both Selina and Bruce looked stiff as boards o_O ), having breakfast together, sharing kisses, taking down thugs together, and just the entire pacing indicated that their relationship grew over a longer time period in comparison to the comic, the movie fucked up essential points which I wonât forgive.
Catwoman was portrayed as a murderous, reckless villain. Thereâs no way around it. It was HER who threw Lois off a building and Bats chided her for it (IN THE COMICS IT WAS HIS IDEA), he has to hold her back from scratching up a bad guyâs face, she cuts the line holding Riddler so he falls to his death (CATWOMAN ACTIVELY KILLS HERE), and in the end, she angrily accuses Bruce of being absolutely insane because he has a moral code to keep himself from becoming what heâs fighting against.
What the flying fuck?!
That ending pissed me off SO MUCH! In the comicâs story arc, Batman breaks it off due to trust issues and it did seem a bit rushed and irrational just to re-establish the comicsâ status quo of âBatman has to be singleâ but itâs a SO MUCH BETTER REASON than what the movie gives us! Catwoman has no problem with killing (one of the reasons I hate Nolanâs interpretation of her) and doesnât understand Bruce AT ALL, she doesnât get him as a person, she doesnât understand that he wants to SAVE and PROTECT. He sums it up quite well, if thereâs a chance to save someone, he has to at least try. Thatâs the hopeful Bruce we rarely see because DC fanboys are all about grim gritty edgy brutal.
And then they part on âmaybe weâll see things the same somedayâ a.k.a. Catwoman hopes that Batman will someday have NO problem with killing. Fuck. You.
So in this movie, Selina was a reckless murderess, a damsel in distress, and of course willing to change herself for a man and not for herself. Big round of applause for shitting on Catwoman.
Alright, done with my rant on story-related shit. What else was there?
Yes, the additional BatCat scenes were nice as well as the interaction between Catwoman and Nightwing. Just Nightwing in general was awesome. A true BatCat shipper.
The dialogues were bad. Best example is the post-sex one.
I canât say much about the music, it was so bland that I have already forgotten it.
The animation ranged from nice to fucking bad. They had clearly put more effort into the fighting scenes when the movements were fluid and smooth - and then you get back to stiff, dead characters and nothing moves on them except their mouths. I couldnât help but compare the shots to the comicâs pages: Superman and Poison Ivy, Joker on the trashcan, the big BatCat kiss - they all looked fucking ICONIC in the books but so boring and bland in the movie, with a color palette that covered mostly black and gray. There was absolutely nothing memorable about the adaptationâs look and style.
(also: yes, we totally needed ivy kissing catwoman so all the fanboys have jerk material again and harley quinnâs costume reveals her shoulders now? what a mUcH nEeDeEd change to the costume, yes, well done)
Also the pacing was weird, there were SO many awkward pauses in-between dialogues. I cringed way too often watching this.
Which brings me to the voice-acting. Did DC have so little faith in one of their most iconic stories that they didnât even bother to get Conroy + Hamill? I guess so. Once Upon a Time star Jennifer Morrison did a great job at being Catwoman, her voice was a really good choice! Also Sean Maher as Nightwing was a riot. Jason Spisak was a surprisingly good Joker as well as Hynden Walch as Harley Quinn - but how do you cast Tara Strong and NOT give her Harley?!
The biggest dud however was Jason OâMara again. He has no range at all, he keeps his voice as monotonous as possible ALL THE FRICKING TIME. Thereâs no Bruce Wayne voice, no Batman voice, he just grumbles everything without any emotions behind it.
Well, I guess that was it. I could go into more detail about every single thing they changed but I think this review is long enough as it is already. ;)
Would I recommend the animated adaptation of Batman: Hush? Maybe. To me, it was an expected letdown because DCâs animated movies are almost on the same very low level of the live-action movies nowadays, so if youâd ask me âshould I watch it?â, Iâd say âif you like BatCat, yes BUT read the comic first and donât expect too much from the movie.â
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Batman: Arkham City 3D Review
3D saves a PC game plagued with bugs and a missing DX11.
Chances are you know who Batman is. If not, heâs this dude who wears tights and likes to swing around tall buildings. Not to be confused with Spiderman, who also wears tights and likes to swing around tall buildings. Chances are you have also played Batman: Arkham Asylum and know the score. If not, Batman Arkham Asylum is a third-person action-adventure game based on that Batman guy. Batman: Arkham Asylum was developed by Rocksteady Studios and was released in 2009. It was a good year to be a Bat, and the game was met with rave reviews and its fair share of awards.
Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the successful Arkham Asylum. Arkham City is a maximum security prison for the nastiest criminals that Gotham City has to offer. As chance would have it, Bruce Wayne gets his ass tossed into Arkham City for opposing the new prisonâs existence, and is forced to go all âEscape from New Yorkâ. Within moments, Bruce manages to score his crime-fighting equipment and become his alter ego, Batman. We all watch TV, anything can be got in prison if you know the right people. I donât want to get all nuts with spoilers, so letâs sum up the story by saying that Catwoman drops in, Batman runs into an old flame, fails to get laid, Robin makes a brief appearance and Alfred is only a radio signal away. On âteam naughtyâ, Batman bumps into a load of our favorite baddies, including Harley Quinn (damn, sheâs annoying), Two-Face, Mr. Freeze (possibly the toughest boss fight of the game), The Joker, Penguin, Hugo Strange, Poison Ivy, Clayface and plenty more crazies.
Batman: Arkham City is a single-player game with the main storyline which sees Batman seeking a cure to a disease which could wipe out a superhero or two. In addition to the main story, you will regularly unlock side missions, which can either be completed right away or put aside for later. The side missions are just as good as those that are included in the main story, which makes for a lot of awesome added gameplay. In addition to the side missions, youâve got the Riddler to contend with. Cataloging and collecting Riddlerâs trophies is an addictive game within the game. Then there are the challenge maps, which make for some excellent mindless melee fun. Challenge maps are unlocked as you play through the game, and more are available in DLCs. There are three funky flavors to hone your Bat-skills with, including ranked leaderboard combat, timed campaigns, and custom rules.
Technical
In Arkham City, there is always a superhero around when people need one, in real life, there certainly was no superhero around to help me gain access to the game. First, you enter your key on Steam, then you enter your key for SecuRom (if youâre lucky it accepts it the first time; I was not lucky), then you have to tie it all together with Games for Windows Live. GFWL was the primary bottleneck. I spent an hour trying to log in to GFWL as it gave me some song and dance about needing to update. Like really, whatâs the point of this kind of layering? The games are going to get pirated all the same, and according to many, the reason the PC version of Arkham City was delayed was so that they could maximize sales from the console versions first.
When Batman: Arkham City has released just over two weeks ago, PC gamers were disappointed to find out that DX 11 was buggered. Upon launch, Rocksteady immediately recommended DX 9, as reports of DX 11 performance issues began making the rounds. People wondered how something like this, a selling point like DX 11, could have made it through testing and out the door for launch. It took a couple of weeks, but a DX 11 patch was finally released. The outcome was not really worth the wait, and many are still plagued with low FPS and game-breaking bugs. I consider myself one of the lucky, as I only spent about four hours dealing with crashes and bugs that would not allow me to proceed further in the game.
Arkham City comes with a built-in benchmark tool, so using both that and Fraps I grabbed some quick stats to share. Right before publishing this review a patch was released for Batman: Arkham City, which in part addresses the DX 11 issues. Running Alienware M17x laptop /w NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M and 6GB RAM / 3D Vision (not 3D Vision 2), at 1920 x 1080. Both DX 9 and DX 11 were run with all settings max, including detail level, tessellation, and PhysX.
The DX 11 patch seems to be hit and miss. For many people, it solved the issue of poor frames while running DX 11. For others, it buggered things up even more. For me, the patch DID improve FPS in DX 11, but oddly lowered frames with DX 9. Go figure.
On my system, the best settings for performance and aesthetics are DirectX 11 (very high) and PhysX set to âNormalâ, this works out perfectly both with and without 3D Vision enabled.
Combat
Combat in Arkham City is ridiculous, while also being ridiculously fun. Hereâs the ridiculous bit⊠there were very few times during the game that I needed any sort of strategy in order to win an encounter. A couple of bosses had an attack pattern that had to be learned in order to defeat them, but outside of that, you can literally finish the game by repeatedly hitting your left mouse button. In fact, I broke a mouse playing Arkham City. Yup, button-mashed it to death. While using special attacks makes combat more fun, it isnât actually necessary. Now for the ridiculously fun part⊠combat is an absolute joy to watch, and even if you donât have mad take-down skills, the simple act of punching, kicking and evading is wicked fun. That said, if you want to kick ass on the challenge maps then youâll need a bit more than button-mashing. The challenge maps are slightly more skill-based and if you want to rank then youâll have to use combos and special moves.
Sometimes I thought I preferred combat while playing as Catwoman because sheâs mean, lean and fast as hell. But after a while, Iâd sort of start missing the Bat. Both characters have their own missions, skills, and gadgets, but the character I really would have liked to play is Robin. While the Robin Bundle DLC will allow you to play the Boy Wonder, you will only be able to do so on challenge maps. Iâd rather be able to play him inside missions like you can with Catwoman. Sadly, Robinâs appearance in the game was very brief, and although he was looking buff, tough and not at all like the Robin we all grew up with, Batman simply bitched him out and told him to piss off. So that was that.
NVIDIA 3D Vision
One of my first experiences with 3D was seeing Friday The 13th Part 3 in 3D. I walked five miles through the snow with no shoes to see it at the theater. It was crap, but exciting at the same time, and it was the best we had. For the next quarter century, I would associate 3D with eye strain and headaches. Whenever I post about 3D Vision on VE3D the post is met with comments like âIâm too old for 3D, I donât need the eye strainâ or â3D gives me headachesâ. Exactly the things that I had always associated with it. Well, Toto, it looks like weâre not in Kansas anymore! This ainât grandmaâs 3D. Iâll admit that Iâve reached the age where reading glasses come in handy. I didnât have much interest in 3D. Mostly I was afraid to try it because I thought my head would explode. I guess I had read into the old school hype a bit too much. But I survived 3D, and am loving every second of it. Eye of the tiger baby, an eye of the tiger. Plus I look cool in the glasses.
Since I just recently began gaming in 3D, my experiences are limited. What I have noticed so far is that 3D Vision adds an extra layer of realism to games. 3D games come alive, giving you a greater feeling of actually being there. In Batman: Arkham City this is especially true, particularly when grappling around the city and using gadgets. Even cut scenes are great in 3D. All of the villains in Arkham City look amazing and force you to keep watching, even if you donât normally enjoy cut scenes. Graphics look sharper, and cleaner and flaws that you would see while out of 3D tend to get smoothed over. If I was to slap a number on Batman: Arkham City without 3D Vision, the game would land a 7/10 (70%). While Arkham City is a truly entertaining trip through the gutters of Gotham, the bugs and the graphic issues that the game shipped with are not acceptable. Waiting over two weeks for a half-assed patch is also not acceptable.
Because 3DV enhanced my Arkham City experience, Batman: Arkham City 3D is a 9/10 (90%), and worth its weight in guano.
What I Liked:
Gloom and doom atmosphere makes for some very immersive gameplay.
The story is actually interesting, youâll want to watch the cutscenes.
Both Batman and Catwoman show wear and tear in their costumes as the game go on.
Catwoman side-missions, it was fun to take a break from Batman and spend some time crawling on ceilings.
Challenge maps are a good workout and a nice change of pace, actually requiring some combat skill.
Voice acting is great.
I canât wait to get back in and collect more Riddler trophies.
Arkham City is totally engrossing, and the experience is even further enhanced when playing in 3D.
What I Didnât Like:
A three-layer activation process.
No side-missions for Robin.
Getting stuck to my Batarang on a block of ice for two hours.
Spending another two hours trying to figure out why I couldnât dive-bomb.
I would have loved to see Arkham City in the daylight.
A little too much traveling back and forth across the city.
Combat, while fun to watch, requires no skill.
Crashing during the closing cinematic.
Finishing the game before a DX 11 patch was released.
Trying to find a good tutorial on 3DV video rendering.
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