DC Comics is really trying its best to relegate great superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, into a parody of their former selves. In ‘Batman: Fortress’ #1 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson, we see a Batman that is depicted as being okay with lawlessness in Gotham, because it’s out of his purview of relevance. In Fortress, Gary Whitta has given Batman a social justice conscience, which is antithetical to Batman’s character. But this is not surprising, given DC Comics penchant for hiring liberal activists to write for their superheroes. We saw it with John Ridley in ‘Superman: Red and Blue’, we’ve seen it with Tom Taylor in ‘Superman: Son of Kal-El’, and Wonder Woman in ‘Dark Knights of Steel’. The one character you thought might be immune to the political shenanigans, has now been roped in by a writer that is a hardcore leftist and transplant from England. Batman is the only character DC Comics has left that actually consistently breaks the top 50 in comic books every month. Jim Lee should be ashamed of himself for allowing the backbone of DC Comics to be portrayed in this manner.
“Not My Job to Protect Their Profit Margins”
In the first issue of ‘Batman: Fortress’ #1, we see Batman being called to Gotham because of a global blackout that has taken out the energy grid, communications, and released all the inmates of Arkham Asylum. While patrolling the rooftops he witnesses looters and rioters, and burning buildings as a result of their actions. Batman socially decides that dealing with those looters and rioters is not of importance because the insurance will cover the damage to those buildings.
“Haven’t seen a night like this in a while. Last time it was this bad was with that damn fear gas in the water supply. Only so much I can do. Need to prioritize. Hunt the big fish. Protect the little fish.”
“These places all have insurance. Not my job to protect their profit margins. In my father’s day, the American Dream used to mean something. An honest wage for honest work. Food on the table. Liberty and justice for all. Now it’s an illusion, a carrot on a stick, attainable by a few, dangled just out of reach for everyone else.”
“A bigger TV. A faster car. Shiny objects to keep the masses distracted, while the world burns. You want to blame them for grabbing the carrot when the lights go out? Go ahead. But don’t look to me to stop them. That’s not why I do this.”
Can any Batman fan fathom this coming out of a superhero that has made it his life’s mission to bring justice to those that break the law? Never mind the actual looters breaking the laws and rioters burning down buildings, what about the innocent lives that are at risk because of those actions? The writer obviously has never read a Batman comic book, or done any research into the character, and is self serving his own political views.
Or maybe when gunmen keep murdering people with guns in a country that has by far the most guns we should also ask if guns are part of the problem. https://t.co/MCAZVoqvyK
— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) May 27, 2022
Another Activist Outsider Pushing a Political View
Gary Whitta has conveyed his SJW view point onto a character that is famously non-political. If anything Bruce Wayne/Batman would be more of a Libertarian or Conservative, but that’s not the point. Batman has never shown tendencies to one political ideology or another, and has cared about one thing…bringing criminals to justice. For Batman to stand by and watch as criminals loot local businesses, riot, and burn down buildings because it’s not a priority for him, is blasphemous to the character. It isn’t surprising, however, given Whitta’s political views. All you have to do is go to his Twitter feed and see how pro abortion, anti-gun, and anti-capitalist he is. Whitta is also a hypocrite in the very issue he has Batman saying that looters are not his concern, when earlier in the issue, he defends his own property against would be thieves. Bruce Wayne I’m sure has property insurance, so why not let the thieves have at it? Gary Whitta is just another comic book outsider pushing his political views onto a traditionally apolitical character.
Related: Drum Roll Please…
Unrecognizable Shells of Their Former Glorious Selves
When is DC Comics going to stop hiring these political activists who project their personal ideologies, onto traditionally apolitical characters. Sure we could infer where they leaned politically in the past through their various actions, but that was it…it was never overtly thrown in our faces. Sure there were characters like Green Arrow where you knew exactly where they stood politically, but those were exceptions, and not the rule. I never read an issue of Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman growing up, and thought, gee how politically conscience these characters were. I read them to escape into a world devoid of that crap, not to be reminded of it. Batman ignoring criminal activity right in front of him, Superman being a climate change activist, or Wonder Woman and the whole DC roster proclaiming their bisexuality, is not the DC Comics, traditional comic book fans grew up on. It’s no wonder DC Comics, and Marvel Comics as well for that matter, are both failing in sales and competent content. Jim Lee is the publisher and chief creative officer at DC Comics. He is arguably one of the most influential artists in the comic book genre of all time. He’s also a huge Batman fan, so why would Jim Lee allow this affront to the Batman character? Because Jim Lee, much like our President, is too weak to stand up for these characters, that are being transformed into unrecognizable shells of their once glorious selves.
