Holy Time Relativity, Batman! Has it been two weeks already since Ian and Steph’s last chat about the newest episodes of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures with #6-7? Well, it has, and in addition to the new episodes, there is a huge piece of news regarding the series! Ian and Steph once again chatted about their thoughts and feelings about everything.
Steph: IAN! It’s been two weeks and we have two new comics to cover and some BIG news about Batman: Wayne Family Adventures. I have to say, I really liked both of the comics, and I have so many questions to ask about the second one.
Did you like the Justice League Sale in the sixth episode, Favoritism?
Ian: I did! It helps that it’s the return of Steph after a few issues, and though her appearance is short, it’s very fun, and very in character! I thought the use of the wider cast made the single joke of the strip work a lot better than the just Bruce and Jason “robbery” strip a few weeks ago. Longtime fans of the Batfam will get a lot of jokes out of the choices each Bat-family member made of merch to wear – what were your favorite gags on that front?
Steph: Oh man, maybe you need to explain them to me! I think I don’t understand the nuances of each choice.
Ian: Sure! So Dick choosing Superman is a longstanding connection because of his use of “Nightwing”, a name from Kryptonian mythology, as his new superhero name
Steph: Oh yeah, I did know that.
Ian: They’ve also done several stories where you can really see Dick’s love of Superman come through, such as one of the Grayson Annuals
Steph: 💙
Ian: There’s a longstanding fandom meme about Jason being a feminist, so his choice of Wonder Woman workout pants was most likely a nod to that.
Babs wearing a Black Canary band t-shirt is clearly a Birds of Prey reference. I don’t think Duke has really interacted with any of the Flashes, so I think that was just a fun one to vary the stuff that the Batfam are wearing.
Steph, of course, picked Green Arrow to annoy Bruce most – I don’t think she ever has interacted with Ollie that much. Though she does love Dinah a lot.
Steph: I have to say, I love that the Black Canary Merch is just her singing as a rock star. That thought was fab.
Ian: Of course! One of the best ideas to happen to the character, I think.
Steph: I love that Steph picked GA over Bruce as her favorite because he was blonde. Even though Bruce points out they’re pretty much the same. I think what I liked most is that no matter how mature or serious you are, you’re still human, and the fact that Batman is none of his children’s favorite really bothers him. It’s very humanizing. What do you think Damian’s, Tim’s, or Cass’s might have been?
Ian: I think that Batman is actually more important to his kids that they’re willing to admit – but he does tend to hold them at arm’s length a lot, leading to them teasing him about it.
I’d say Damian probably went for Superman, for Jon, Tim might have gone anyone from his Teen Titans/Young Justice days (Superman and Wonder Woman and Flash being most likely), and Cass might very well have gone Batman.
Steph: I’d like to think that Cass would like Martian Manhunter. Because of his ability to literally read humans. I like your ideas for Tim, but I don’t see Damian loving anyone the way he loves Batman.
Ian: Oooh, good idea!
Steph: What were your thoughts on the second one, Vigilante Bingo?
Ian: This one was also crammed with in-jokes about the history, and reveals a bit about the continuity we’re dealing with. Again, the larger cast really gives the joke or gag-focused structure of the strip more depth and fun, I think. What do you think your favorite “bingo space” in the story was, and what additional spaces could you imagine them filling out?
Steph: I actually didn’t think the final gag in this one was that funny, but I loved the build-up to it. You’re right. It’s so filled with history. I think I liked the “trained by assassins” one. I had forgotten that Tim was trained by assassins, too!
I also loved the discussion about what counts as being killed or not.
How many Bingo squares would Steph had gotten based on the examples given?
Ian: The “pranking Batman” story I think probably should have been a bit more sharply written, and maybe given some flashbacks to add visual punch to it. But “the history” as our illustrious founder likes to say, was really fun to piece together.
Of the squares mentioned, Steph has definitely sent a supervillain to Arkham solo (Scarecrow in her Batgirl run), I don’t think she’s started a superhero team, though you could maybe argue that the team-up at the end of her Batgirl run might count, she’s DEFINITELY changed up her superhero name, she was not trained by assassins (though she was trained by Cass and Dinah, who were both trained by assassins), and it’s debatable about the “murdered and resurrected” one since the in-universe explanation for how she came back after War Games was a retcon that “she never truly died” – though I’d argue she probably flatlined and was resuscitated. She definitely counts as much as Dick and Tim do!
As for pranks, we haven’t really seen a lot of the Bat-fam play them on Batman, but I think Steph would fit into that square by personality for sure
Steph: For sure! What team did Damian start? Are they just thinking Teen Titans from Rebirth?
Ian: I think it was Teen Titans, yeah. He kidnapped all of them, so that’s technically starting one
Steph: I don’t think I read the first run of that, so I didn’t remember. Oh, Damian. What did Steph change her Superhero name from?
Ian: Spoiler to Robin to Batgirl
Steph: OH yeah! I can’t believe I forgot. I guess I always think of her as Spoiler when she wears purple.
Damian technically changed is his name from Robin to something else. I guess now he’s the sidekick formerly known as Robin and is still called Robin for lack of another name…Which doesn’t flow off the tongue.
Still no Selina! Or any romance really in this comic. I wonder if that’s not something they want to focus on.
I’m a little surprised Harley hasn’t shown up in any capacity. That’s seems like an easy crowd-pleaser. Maybe the creators don’t want to go for the sure-fire money grabs that DC has been doing lately.
Ian: Well, the hints in the mobile app seem to be that a romance is coming, since the next three episodes are part of an arc titled “Crush”! It seems to be starring Duke, and represents the first major serialization of content in the strip.
I have to wonder if DC is trying to save Harley and Superman and Wonder Woman for their own strips on Webtoons – seems like a brilliant idea. Speaking of which, what is your reaction to the big news you hinted at in your opening?
Steph: Ooooooooooh. I don’t know. I was excited to hear that a web series was being started of the comic, but my enthusiasm was squashed a bit when I realized it was live-action. I think that comics just look and feel better as cartoons. I think some of the magic is lost when it’s live-action. I do like the diversity of the actors I’ve seen so far. When three of your main characters are young white men with blue eyes and dark hair, it can get confusing. It’s going to be interesting to see other races play these characters. I remember when Gotham High made Bruce Chinese. People went nuts. I loved it…though that comic was NOT good.
I wonder if they’re just going to reshoot the comic or come up with new material.
Ian: I never tried Gotham High, more for plot-related reasons than anything else (the reviews and pieces I did read, including some skimming at the store) seemed to make it a story I just didn’t want to read. I think the casting is quite interesting, and I am excited if a bit worried. Kind of a weird reaction, I guess, because I’m glad that it’s an “official” (or at least officially sanctioned” film project, but nearly all of the cast are the type that participates more in the fan film/YouTube/Twitch streamlining content production side of the industry, which means it likely won’t have significant penetration of the fandom or other media culture. It also has very strange marketing – the strip itself is extremely joke and meme-based, but the ads seem to be trying for the super-serious (if silly) style of the Schumacher films, with focus on the “cool” costumes and action. I do love that Cass is being played by someone with a martial arts background!
Steph: I did notice that the one screenshot I’ve seen is very “low budget web show” but the trailer seemed like it targeted a completely different audience. (Editor’s Note: at the time this article is written the teaser trailer has been taken down) I wonder if it’s meant to be a juxtaposition, though. When they’re not being serious heroes that you love they’re a real life goofball family that you love. But they are both.
Ian: That could work. But I just think they should have a mix of that in the marketing.
Steph: For sure. It could lead to disappointment for some people. Like tricking people into watching a horror thriller by making half the promo material look like a RomCom. #RedEyeChangedMe
Ian: (Red Eye was a great film, but I’m glad I knew what kind of film it was before I watched it ) But that’s exactly what I’m worried about. I think a low-budget fan-film-style production is actually a decent medium for this webtoon adaptation, but marketing it like it’s an action thriller or normal superhero project is not a good idea if they want to keep people interested.
Steph: For sure. But that’s DC’s choice. We’ll have to wait and see, I guess. For me, it seemed like they wanted something to release with no actual footage from the show, and there’s only so much they could use, I guess. But I agree it’s a poor move for a comedy.
Ian: The production schedule must be incredibly tight, too, unless they allowed the filmmakers access to the strips before wide release. Since it’s supposed to start releasing in the next few weeks, I think
Steph: Oh, I just found more screen captures from the [news article]. It actually does look like they’ll incorporate some action stuff. Okay, I’m a little more excited. I think I was expecting something from “College Humor” and this looks a little bigger than that. Any closing thoughts before we break till next time?
Ian: I think these last two strips were back to the quality of the first three, and that makes me quite hopeful for the future of the strip. I hope that their first try at a longer than one-strip storyline goes well, and I look forward to reviewing them next time we meet!
Steph: Me too! Also, even if we don’t like the show, there’s always an audience for everything, and more people getting into Batman is never a bad thing!
Editor’s Note: You can find the Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #6-7 exclusively on the Webtoon platform.
