Batman is a jerk.

[@ericmiller93]

To me this is just like how Batman has this lone wolf reputation. When in actuality most good comics stress how much of a support system he’s always had. Whether it be Alfred, Robin, Leslie Tompkins, Catwoman, the rest of the Batfamily or so many others. Batman may brood on rooftops alone, but he couldn’t do what he does without all the amazing support he gets. Thinking of Batman as a lone wolf is just completely misunderstanding the character.

[@DarrenLeslieJr]

This ten thousands times.

[@CoOlKyUbI96]

Completely agree. Batman often times falls victim to that sort of thinking from writers and other creators

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

This is exactly why the Lego Batman Movie is the best on-screen depiction of Batman ever made

[@Numbabu]

@@halfmettlealchemist8076came here to say this, so take my commendation for saying it first.

[@primary2630]

Well he does still work alone alot

[@Cultofrank]

I miss when writers focused on Batmans humanity

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

I feel like they’ve started doing that - Batman’s compassion vs. his commitment to his crusade is a major theme on the current run of his comics, written by Chip Zdarsky. Plus, there’s always the Wayne Family Adventures webtoon if you just want wholesome Bat-Family stuff.

[@KiLlACaMrOn94]

Humanity in what way? Like compassion and other human traits or his abilities?

[@sonieofthewest]

@@KiLlACaMrOn94 I believe they ment the former

[@MarkyMark1221]

I haven’t read comics since rebirth but I feel the Batman (2022) did that

[@sonieofthewest]

By the way, can you please recommend some stories that show batman's humanity and make him at least slightly more likeable? Thank you in advance!!!!!!

[@LordNifty]

To me, the Tower of Babel storyline was a great example of how similar Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor can be in several ways, including in terms of mindset. Unfortunately, too many stories seem to forget that Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor are not the same person.

[@asura7915]

a story that highlights their similarities and diferences would be interesting

[@whaleping]

Lex Luthor put on Batman’s suit and tricked everyone 🤭

[@kerbalairforce8802]

I like how Luthor became president. I'd have loved to see him challenged by Bruce Wayne for the POTUS

[@spencersheahan9709]

That sums it up perfectly

[@DSan-kl2yc]

They aren't the same. Any similarities are superficial. This was the bad aspect of waid. Turning Batman from a skill character to having tech he just shouldn't, and couldn't.

[@RandomRamblings86]

I hate the way that Batman has become Flanderized into a badass who can beat anybody, is never wrong and cool because he is human among a team of gods.

[@tutumazibuko2510]

I wouldn't even mind this personally if they were at least CONSISTENT with it. Batman can make plans to take down everything and everyone but somehow can't deal with a fucking clown or sort out his cursed city

[@KiLlACaMrOn94]

@@tutumazibuko2510he 100% can. But making more villains that fans like seem to be too hard for these writers, so they’d rather make Batman incompetent and have the villains break out of Arkham as soon as Batman gets to the Batmobile.

[@electricfeverx976]

I think the LEGO Batman movie best shows how flanderised he's become in other media in just the opening fight alone. He's able to be a one man army against 99 percent of his rouges gallery with ease.

[@tutumazibuko2510]

@@KiLlACaMrOn94 Except no they can't. The problem with making his villains incompetent is that not only are his villains but so are the JL members. His contingencies, when used by him, shouldn't work in way whatsoever.

[@Temple277]

​@@tutumazibuko2510 Ehh.... If Superman exists hes not going to win over And over again, it would be a boring story. And not only that, but if u are someone like Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman then u wont win every fight, for example, Bane has broken Batmans back yet he came back with a badass story, doomsday has killed superman And yet supes was ressurected And came back, Wonder Woman has been defeated by villains such as Ares Cheetah And more And yet she stands up to back herself up. A great quote from Alfred from Batman begins says it the Best: "why do we fall sir? To learn how to pick ourselves up." And im not saying that Batman should win every fight cuz hes not a god after all, thats why i never liked Batman beating darkseid for example. But Even if Batman has been broken by Bane, Diana has been defeated by Ares, or Superman that has been killed by doomsday, they still can get up And fight for the Best of the world they live in. No matter who u loose against, even a human walking amongst gods can defeat them with a enough good plan that would work on them IF they would go Rouge. Batman has even a plan against himself if he would go too far, thats something that shouldnt be underestimated. Batman is a character that gets a Lot of hate nowadays, hes getting the hate for the same reason for example dr doom is getting praised, its Just a huge hypocricy in some people (not talking about you or anyone in this comments section Just saying overall). But in the end, Its The internet, 90% of People are toxic And are also haters (which again not talking about u And not talking about anyone on this comments section), And i hope that will change into a positive percentage rather then more bad, thats all i wanted to say about that.

[@SmallRoundDuck]

Kyle: Man I sure would hate being blind Batman: *scribbling on a post it* Noted

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

😂

[@rwg6357]

Tower of Babel is a classic case of MISSED THE DAMN POINT by the audience, then again it was the 90s where the general audience rejected morality for Cold unfeeling Pragmatism.

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

Accurate as hell lol

[@PizzaTime1983]

I don't get what u mean. Can u plaz eleborate?

[@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon]

I think an important part of the story is that both parties end up going to the extreme, Batman obviously by using personal information to make weapons against his friends, but also on how the league is completely unable to see past the incident and the posible utility of the countermeasures, like, there's this moment where Kyle mentions how, in spite of the breach in trust, the plans may have been useful against Hal Jordan when he became Parallax, but Flash runs up to him and tells him that "he has no right to speak of that".

[@WebbedManiac]

@@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon Except the League do see past it. Wonder Woman's argument against Batman is literally that she understands why it's necessary but she can no longer trust him. Then you have Martian Manhunter, Flash and Green Lantern who literally vote FOR Batman to stay. Superman only votes against him because he fears that him staying would only fracture the team's trust in each other even more. That's literally more than half of the League seeing Batman's way.

[@alberteinstein8862]

@@WebbedManiac Why can't she trust him tho? I never got that.

[@Tomwithnonumbers]

There needs to be more acknowledgement that Batman's plans in tower of babel weren't the most practical, efficient, humane backups. Often they focused on increasing suffering when simpler alternatives were available.

[@justno984]

Were simpler alternatives available tho?... remember this is a contingency for an extreme scenario where justice league (the earth's most powerful heroes) has gone rogue and is posing a threat to all of humanity... so I don't really have a problem with batman taking extreme measures for such an extreme circumstance in order to ensure their neutralization or even their killing if need be.

[@deathcon6261]

@@justno984 Green Lanterns are literally weak to the color yellow yet Batman chooses blinding Kyle.

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

@deathcon6261 tbf, Kyle’s ring didn’t have that weakness.

[@Adorni]

They were also creative and unique to Batman. The idea of creating a kryptonite that wouldn't _weaken_ Superman, but would make him so strong that he literally couldn't handle it was such a horrifying yet ingenious move. Meanwhile, what does JLA: Doom do when we get to Superman? "Have Metallo shoot him with a kryptonite bullet." Fantastic. Brilliant. Never been done before, especially in a previous film *three years ago.*

[@rynobehnke8289]

@@justno984 But here is the thing most scenarios in which the Justice League would turn evil would involve ether brainwashing or personality reshaping trauma. Like what are any of his plans gonna do if its Starro that takes over? Starro won't care for Clarks pain and just has a bigger gun now Starro has multi-vision and so would look right through his trick for Diana Starro is now in control so good luck archiving anything in brainwashing Kyle at this point And that is effectively the case for all of the plans. They be useless in all the most common situations for a hero to turn villain because they are based on personality weaknesses which won't work against mind control or through sudden trauma radically changed people. These plans are more so a "How to kill the justice League if I go Evil" than a "How to stop the justice league if they go evil"

[@nekoluxuria7721]

I honestly love wonder woman's point. She understands the needs for these contingency plans and still trusts batman. But she cannot forgive batman for not letting them know their existence, let alone the possibility. Its not that batman had contingency plans, its that they have been developed as they watched his back. And thats legitimately messed up when youve been watching your friends all this time and he made plan to throughly backstab you.

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

And Wonder Woman can hold her breath for a really long time . . .

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

All the Leaguers have something interesting to say about the situation, either during the vote or at other points in the comic, but going too deeply into them in the video would have involved spoilers and would have been a lengthy tangent. That lack of reaction was disappointing to see in the movie, and is what makes this adaptation so disappointing to me.

[@A-Rune-bear]

I mean, if they knew. What’s to stop them from learning to stop that plan? If they knew the plan’s existence, what’d to stop them from making a plan of their own to stop any possibility of the plans? Batman chooses facts over faith usually, and for these plans. Facts are mandatory.

[@GrimPrism]

@@A-Rune-bear I found it more him telling them that he has a contigency plan rather than telling them what are the contigency plans.

[@giosbizarreart9048]

@@A-Rune-bear Wonder Woman isn’t saying to tell them WHAT the plan is but she’s saying to just let them know they exist, thus enabling them to trust him with the details of them.

[@darkmask5933]

The worst thing about Tower of Babil was it started that meme that "Batman can beat anyone with prep time!"

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

Might I take a moment to highlight the first arc of Chip Zdarsky’s recent run on Batman, which asks the question, “We know that Batman has contingency plans for basically all of the Justice League members…but does he have one for himself?” It’s a genuinely thrilling and fascinating deconstruction of how Batman’s obsessive paranoia is his own greatest weakness that just destroys and alienates everyone else around him while also reaffirming that his true greatest strength comes from his humanity and his compassion for his friends and family. And it also has Batman surviving a fall from orbit like in Mission Impossible 6, so that’s pretty cool.

[@KiLlACaMrOn94]

😂😂👏🏽👏🏽

[@tutumazibuko2510]

But the reason why that run fails is because it concludes that Batman is the only one who can take on Batman. Everyone else suffers from Plot Induced Stupidity and Batman is now capable of doing shit no Peak Human would be capable of, such as falling from fuckin orbit and surviving thanks to his suit.

[@lordskeletor4558]

​@@tutumazibuko2510 batman failed as well and blasted into the next weird run

[@Temple277]

Batman has a plan for himself if he went Rouge as Well, it was explained bunch of times in different storylines. Just saying if someone wants the answer for the question if Batman has a plan for himself if he went Rouge as Well, which he does.

[@henrypeters5291]

@@tutumazibuko2510 While the jumping off the moon shit was stupid, at the end of the day, he could not beat failsafe. In fact we also know that failsafe did not fight every hero.

[@martinratagris]

I can't think of this comic and how it started the idea that Batman is the most dangerous member of the League wich was sort of canonised with Failsafe, a robot that Batman made to take himself out and could and did defeat all other heroes with ease. I deeply hate Failsafe and what it represents.

[@Namewriter]

Failsafe would be significantly better if the Justice League members could destroy it. Batman being saved by members of the League from his own failsafe would nearly tie into this paranoia being his downfall and trust in his teammates being something that could save his life.

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

@Namewriter It would also tie back into the original story, where the Justice League overcame the plans by helping each other.

[@WebbedManiac]

Well Failsafe literally represents the BatGod meme. It takes out every single hero because it's the "always prepared" meme version of Batman who can win against anyone. It's Bruce's paranoia coming back to haunt him. I like the fact that even Batman wasn't able to beat FailSafe. If he did then that would've been some bad writing and would've enforced the BatGod meme even more.

[@MasalaMan]

Had no idea the comic was that more nuanced and personal.

[@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon]

Mostly because it has the advantage of being part of an ongoing story line, the conflict between Batman and the league doesn't get resolved until a couple of arcs later, while the movie is self-contained and short.

[@INFERNO95]

The comic was a character driven story. The movie was a soulless cash grab.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

That’s because Mark Waid wrote Tower of Babel, and Mark Waid is the GOAT

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

The comic is quite focused on everyone’s reactions to the existence of the plans. Even Talia, who helps carry them out, is shocked at how far Batman went. Something I didn’t pick up on when I read the story several years ago-but that Wiki Tropes points out-is that beating the League of Shadows isn’t the climax of the story. It’s a climax, but the last five or six pages are dedicated to the expulsion vote. I really wish the movie had been like the comic. Instead it looks like a potentially interesting conflict is pushed to the side in favor of the fight with the Legion of Doom.

[@WebbedManiac]

@@halfmettlealchemist8076 Couldn't agree more.

[@excaliburknight1016]

I miss the Batman Who Cares. Who genuinely looked out for his villains and is actually trying to rehabilitate them, showing that he's willing to actually put work into his words, rather than just beat and lock em up. Literally, some of the League understand his pov, even Superman asked him to do what's necessary, but nah, gotta keep it a secret from my friends, while every other villain can steal it, be it Prometheus, Ra's Al Ghul, or Brother Eye.

[@danielshore1457]

Yeah it annoys me how people make the point batman is stupid because he doesn't use his wealth as Bruce Wayne to attack the direct cause of crime. Whereas in the best runs of Batman he not only cares about his villains and try to talk them down a bit, but as Bruce Wayne he funds charities and such to help people.

[@TrixTheClown]

I worked at Milestone Media. Dwayne was an awesome Human being and such a great story teller..It was wonderful knowing him and working underneath him foe something he built.

[@Bentons-Crib]

i wish more people understood that when batman is being portrayed as an anti-social paranoid dick it's supposed to be a bad thing

[@chickenshua100]

Like Tony Soprano and Walter White are role models.

[@meswil]

now tell ur vision of a more social batman, no sane normal person can be the batman the way he is, the loner dickish behavior on paper is character traits as he's fiction he'll remain the way he is , couse he's foundation for story.

[@d.n5287]

​@@meswil That vision already exists, JLA and JLU Batman, or any Batman that has the bat family. Death in the family only works because he isn't a loner, if he was a dickish loner, that story would not be a tragedy.

[@BrandonWhatTheF]

Hate it or love it, you can't lie. That artwork for the cover of Tower of Babel goes hard fr fr.

[@KiLlACaMrOn94]

‘Cept for Diana.

[@UnlimitedIvory]

​@@KiLlACaMrOn94 the art for her is also pretty good

[@Namewriter]

I would love to see a spiritual successor to Tower of Babel, with a more trusting and more emotionally intelligent Batman, who takes the cocnept of the League being his contingency against himself in a different extreme. Batman preparing not to defeat the league, but to save them when theyre taken out of the picture, when their weaknesses are used against them by a bad actor, or when they would otherwise be nullified by various effects sounds like it might make for a reconstruction of him, where what was a thing of fear and suspicion turns into a mixture of feelings of inadequacy and a sincere desire to make up for his own failings by providing ways to save them and keep them in the fight, able to continue helping save lives ajd fighting the bad guys, even when rendered as mortal as he is.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

The Batman show from 2004 actually had Superman defend Batman for having contingencies for other superheroes because Superman was once mind controlled to fight Batman. So he was using the contingencies to take down the villains who had stolen the League's powers. It used to help people. Not Stolen. Used for what they were actually made.

[@smerk3781]

You missed the entire point of the comic

[@wingedangel6030]

You know I'm surprised Batman doesn't have all this committed to memory considering all of the power he seems to get. I feel like having info of everyone's weaknesses was just asking for someone to take it. That said I think telling the others of the plan would make it moot because if they turn evil or get mind controlled, they're going to know about it and figure a way to counter it or make sure Batman doesn't have the means to do his plan. That said, I wish Batman wasn't treated so high and mighty about the plans like everyone else are bumbling fools.

[@theradionicrevival8068]

Yeah, but everyone knows having backup places to store your files. The whole ppint of the story is his contingencies are inherently flawed because of how they're rooted in paranoia and insecurity rather than actual logic The whole ppint of being on a team is that you'll never fully know what your allies will do, that's the hard part about trust, it's a leap of faith. And what better people to keep this information hidden than fucking superman, Wonder Woman, GL etc Having the info spread out to more living sources ups the chances of it getting stolen yeah, but it also significantly lowers the chances of everyone getting completely washed otherwise The flash can have batman a contingency for superman but what a villain can't count on, is how flash will intact such a contingency considering he isn't batman, nor does he half to write down how to ''act like himesekf'' in his own fight against an evil superman

[@donkylefernandez4680]

"Bruce is the mask" has had unforseen consequences

[@cliffbot638]

I've always hated that take on the character. "Bruce is the mask, Batman is who he really is." It takes away his humanity.

[@zemox2534]

​@@cliffbot638 I think you can blame writer like Frank Miller for the more grim take on batman. Future writers took the wrong lessons from DKR

[@thomasjohnson1885]

@@cliffbot638 I don't think that's true at all, it's people not being able to write complex characters

[@tjknight]

​@@cliffbot638same, much prefer the 3 identities take. The playboy billionaire, the criminal's worst nightmare, and Bruce. Who he chooses to be in front of others, both with or without a mask, and who he allows himself to be in private or when with close friends.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

@@tjknight as Bruce he would invest in technology to help the world. He definitely cares and even tries to maintain relationships with those around him. Like checking in on Jim Gordon and his family. Or celebrating Alfred's birthday. That's Bruce. He cares about others, especially those closest to him. He just plays up the playboy billionaire, that's the act.

[@countdeville4146]

There are a few things that annoy me about this entire thing. 1) Someone paranoid enough to make these kind of Contingencies would never keep them on any digital medium ever. 2) Why not make these plans for the bad guys as well? If you have a plan to take down GL in a super efficient way that permanently disables him why not also make a plan like that for INSERNT VILLAIN HERE? 3) Half of these plans would not work in the event that the league actually turned evil. 4) The league being a contingency for batman is BS. We just saw how effectivly batmans plans can be used to take down any member of the Justice League. Most of them only get out of their situations because Batman ends up helping.

[@AmbroseSimpson]

I've never understood how Batman can make plans for someone like Wonder Woman and yet forget to wear a mask every time Scarecrow uses fear gas for the 789th time.

[@countdeville4146]

@@AmbroseSimpson its called the plot force.

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

I generally agree with this but for what it’s worth, in the comic the League helps each other out without any aid from Batman. E.g. Aquaman gets J’Onn an Atlantean water suit so he can move around instead of staying in a tank. A few of the conditions inflicted by the plans wear off without interference, but almost everything is fixed because the League actively undoes the damage done to each other.

[@SubSero_]

@@AmbroseSimpson I don't remember in which continuity it was, but I do recall something about fear gas not being filtered properly through gas masks; that detail probably doesn't apply to all continuities though

[@aishi_rei]

Remember that Homelander guy? This is what happens if there’s no contingency plan. Contingency plan *ONLY* neutralizes Superheroes. Superheroes might turn into villains.

[@edfreak9001]

While I adore the DCAU and everything with roots in the Timmverse, one of the aspects that's come from it that I really don't care for is the "arrogant Bat-God" version of Batman. It's not from Batman TAS, he was always very human in that show, but Justice League requiring him to perform more outrageous feats on a regular basis as well as much less time to spend specifically with any one character due to juggling so many protagonists at any one time made him into this arrogant god that, while there's obviously an appeal there as many people like this version of batman a lot, he's really missing a lot of the "oomph" from the comics and even earlier DCAU materials. It's not a black mark on the series or anything, but maybe we could've had at least one episode touching a little more on Batman's psychology during the JL/Unlimited episode set just as a reminder to people... not that they never did it, revisiting it via things like these video essays have pointed out lots of little subtle humanizing moments he had during Justice League episodes, just could've maybe used one focus episode possibly.

[@WebbedManiac]

DCAU is where Batman dodging Omega Beams originates from and I despise that scene's existence

[@SlyScribeV]

This storyline is one of the catalysts for the Batman + Prep > Everyone meme, a meme that is taken way more seriously than people want to believe. Since then, it didn't matter how many times Batman lost, failed, was injured, or simply just wasn't the right man for the job. People still took him over anyone else and anything else. It's why he is considered the most unstoppable force in all of comics. Simply because he can stand up to anybody and find a way to beat them. And it damn near ruined the grand scheme of DC for over a decade.

[@rwg6357]

Hilariously for all the talk... Batman's plans FAILED. Most of the League members figured out how to counter them by themselves. DOOM muddles the issue by having Batman walk them through.

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

@rwg6357 The League actually helped each other counteract the plans.

[@WebbedManiac]

@@rwg6357 Yeah but the league was still incapacitated for a solid 30 minutes in the comic. That's still a big achievement. 30 minutes would be enough for a villain to kill the league so I wouldn't say the plans failed. The movie dumbs the League down and their excuse is "Well you see, Savage modified the plans so that they would kill, not just incapacitate and that's why the League couldn't get out." Edit: Also guess which version the general audience is more familiar with? The comic or the movie? That's right. Because more people have watched the movie, they genuinely believe that Batman solos the League, and the League is helpless without him.

[@ghoum56]

Love how you contrasted the movie and the comic. I haven't done either in a while, but I always felt like WW's speech in the movie was missing something and now I see why. Great vid, thank you!

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

I think everyone gets a moment like that. Much of the comic is about the reactions the League has to the existence of these plans, with the fallout lasting beyond the comics where Ra’s is stopped.

[@RedLeif1]

I've always thought of Batman saying that the Justice League was his contingency plan for himself as Batman's ultimate show of respect to the league. Batman trusts that if he were to ever become a villain, even with all his plans to use against the league, the league would ultimately win the fight in the long run. To me it's Batman admitting that he sees everyone in the league as on his level, despite everything that people in his world, and ours, might believe.

[@lvo9197]

Absolutely, and then the comics ruined it by creating a story where batman actually had an ai contingency plan for himself,that actually counters the league as well

[@DevitticusBellmont22]

​@@lvo9197Along with the Batman Who Laughs origin story.

[@braylon4125]

That would make sense for superman to say. But batman is a human among aliens and humans with powers. It's the League that allows him to be their equal, not the other way around.

[@vader1481]

I also took batman words as literally meaning trusting them to come up with a plan to take him out if he made one himself, obviously, he know how to counter it (pre failsafe not talking about that) so basically its up to the league to find a counter to Batman

[@mhelm0225]

​@@lvo9197that's what I hated about the whole "ai failsafe" thing. It implies Batman is so powerful (as a normal ass human), no one on earth can stand up to him. Also the Justice League isn't stupid, they would 100% be capable of taking an evil Batman probably easier than a lot of other villains they face.

[@xtra35cent]

I notice that batman has these very thorough and well thought out plans to incapacitate/nearly kill his friends/colleagues yet his villains still manage to harm and murder people by the dozen & as a Batman fan it makes me look at him differently

[@charcole400]

Tbf it’s gonna be a lot harder to fight Superman than it would be to fight the penguin

[@xtra35cent]

yes but my point is that justice league is less likely to do some crazy shit like his villains do on a nightly basis. Joker went as far as killing his sidekick in cold blood and crippling Batgirl and traumatizing her and tortured gordon and what does batman do? Just sends him back to Arkham like always. Meanwhile, he has a plan to nearly kill Superman(a very close friend of his) in case he gets mind controlled by poison ivy or some bs. That's some weird shit if you ask Me

[@Ares99999]

@@xtra35cent How is it weird? If Batman did that, then we'd see each villain ONCE, then never again. Eventually, Batman would have no enemies and would be pretty much doing nothing, making for a boring comic. So, please, tell me how you'd manage this.

[@xtra35cent]

@Ares99999 if batman did that then many people would be alive and not fucked up mentally. How many people's lives has joker alone ruined in all his years in gotham? Batman has a plan to use a radiation that's deadly to kryptonians on superman but all you give a guy who killed your adopted son is jail time in a jail he breaks out of all the time? You can't tell me that makes sense

[@WebbedManiac]

It's a lot easier to make plans for your friends rather than your enemies. Batman literally hangs out with the JL and they share their secrets and biggest fears with him (as demonstrated in the video by Kyle). Batman then uses these conversations to incapacitate them in his contingency plans. It's not like the Batman can hang out with the Joker or Mr Freeze having casual chit-chat, can he?

[@nicholas-jasonroache1526]

after reading the comic I had similar issues with the movie as you do and how the leaguers don't get the opportunity to properly express their views on the situation

[@tutumazibuko2510]

Another thing for for why JL Doom fails comes down to a simple question What was Bruce's plan if everyone INCLUDING him gets mind controlled or compromised?

[@electricfeverx976]

I think Implicitly Pretentious already said why Bruce did it in his essay, pride. Bruce is too proud to admit he was wrong and trusts too little in everyone else. So of course he wouldn't leave a plan to stop himself because "The Justice League is my contingency ".

[@tutumazibuko2510]

@@electricfeverx976 That just makes it even dumber lol. Anyone can take him down easier than taking down the Superpowered heroes. Batman being arrogant enough to believe The Justice League is contigency is just another roundabout way of saying that the only to take down Batman is if you had the entire JL do it. Bro really believes his own hype that much lol.

[@Rengokuo4o6]

​@@tutumazibuko2510How is it pride when it's common sense that you stated. If Batman is mind-controlled, any member of the league can beat him. If any member of the league is mind-controlled, then Batman is in trouble hence the plans. It is that simple. That is his idea.

[@rubiconprime1429]

I hate that final interaction between Batman and Superman in the movie so much. Superman is completely right in that Batman was arrogant enough to not make an actual contingency plan for himself. The answer of “the Justice league” is a bullshit answer he probably thought up on the spot. The entire movie revolves around the idea that Batman’s plans can pick off the Justice league one by one, which is exactly how an evil Batman would act, leaving the league incapable of acting as an effective check against him. Furthermore, the only reason the league were able to counteract Vandal’s plans were because they had to come up with their own plan for Batman that was imperfect, thus allowing Batman to beat each of his own plans. In conclusion, fuck you Bruce.

[@rubiconprime1429]

Also, Injustice is the logical extent of all this Bat-wankery taken to its logical conclusion. LoOk GuYs, BaTmYaN iS sO cOoL CuZ hE cAn BeAt SuPeRmAn In A fIgHt EvEn If SuPeRmAn Is TrYiNg To KiLl HiM A-aNd He’S nOt, AnD hE WoUlD nEvEr TuRn EvIl BeCaUsE oF lOsS bEcAuSe He Is So KeEeEwLlLlL! Also being kicked off the Justice league is not a punishment of any kind. We all know Bruce immediately made his own Justice league right afterwards with blackjack and hookers.

[@ektran4205]

he did make one for himself

[@rubiconprime1429]

@@ektran4205 according to the movie Batman’s contingency plan is “the Justice league” which as I said earlier, the entire movie spends its runtime showing is incapable.

[@Amazingfilms148]

​@@rubiconprime1429 Injustice feels like Batman's wet dream of a Bat Fanboys fantasy. Superman ruling the world is idiotic. Superman kills bad guys before who has killed his love ones. In the animated series, Superman almost killed Darkseid for Killing Dan Turpin but never rule the world. In Snyder verse, Superman kills Zod and he didn't turn into a diactor. Am I supposed to believe in a world that have a Lazarus Pit, Time Travel, and magic, Superman didn't try to relive his wife? He could have got John Constantine to do it. But nope, Superman kills Shazam, kill mutiple heroes, and break Batman's back. He got Alfred killed using Victor Zssaz. Nope, this is some Batgod or Batwanker fantasy.

[@JNun-pr8rh]

​@@Amazingfilms148 If I had a Nickel for everytime Ed Boon shafted the good-guy protagonist in order to shoe-in the wanked-up edgy fan favorite into the protag role i'd have two nickels. Which isnt much but its weird that it happened twice.

[@ianyoder2537]

Personally I'm not the biggest fan o batman he's just become so over saturated and the focus on him as a hero has kinda diluted him as a human. But one idea I had for him if I was writing DC comics is that Batman makes sure the other league members know that he has a plan for each of them and suggests they do the same at least for him. And if they say they will not he gives them a contingency for himself. A small signal device not unlike Jimmy Olson's watch, when pressed it will send a prerecorded message to one of his side kicks telling them that the worst has happened and Batman has gone rouge and must be stopped. Batman is paranoid to the extrema, but the first contingency plan he created was for himself. I also like to think that superman helped Batman with his own contingency giving him the most potent piece of Kryptonite he could find, from the very core of Krypton. Because he'd rather have it in the hands of his best friend than his worst enemy. Batman asks what will you do if I go rouge? You just gave me the ultimate weapon against you. Superman replies that I may not be able to stop you now, but Clark Kent might. "A full expose on the true identity of the Batman, to be released on a dead man trigger?" Batman askes "It's written, but it won't be released. Because if something where to happen to me, the the world will need you more than ever." Superman replies. And that's what surprises Batman, to know that after all of his paranoia and dangerous contingencies some one still trusts him.

[@dolfuny]

I'll be honest the batman with contingency plans thing is getting real annoying, like the recent failsafe storyline in the comics is just ugh. Also I feel like it's a major disservice to the league to not actually include their arguments against batman. Like I've seen the clip of batman quitting the league many times and the comments are always full of batman fanboys saying but batman's right and the league is dumb not realizing how much of an asshole batman was being and how much he absolutely doesn't deserve to fight with them anymore. Like I love batman but I feel like writers got to treat him more human rather than this badass that can't doing anything wrong

[@tutumazibuko2510]

What makes those comments even dumber is the claim that the Watchtower belongs solely to Batman and Bruce is the only dude in the league who's rich.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

While I respect your opinion, I personally came to the opposite conclusion on the Failsafe arc: mainly, that the whole point of the entire story arc was that Batman’s obsession with contingencies and general paranoia is ultimately wildly unhealthy and self-destructive, and that he needs to stop burying his emotions and start opening up/trusting others in order to truly become the hero that Gotham needs. It’s certainly not perfect by any means, but I still enjoyed what it was trying to do on that level.

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

Yeah, I don't understand those comment sections. Like whether you agree with the existence of contingencies is one thing, but how is one of your closest friends making a plan to kill you, without notifying you at all, OK? Someone you trust, someone whom you've shared your weaknesses with, and they take those weakness and exploit them. Yet despite that, because they're his friends and they believe in him, they give him a chance to explain himself and defend his actions, and Batman just storms of like a toddler. I just don't get how people watch that scene and are like "That's the Batgoat baby! He's never wrong!"

[@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon]

They can both be right, sure, Batman is a really bad teammate and self-destructive by being secretive about stolen personal information, but the league is always fighting mind control and alternative versions of themselves.

[@lweaver2988]

​​@@BeyondTrash-xe1vs because you don't just tell someone "hey I have a plan tailor made to neutralize you if you ever turn evil." Even without details, batman is now target number 1. Trust or not they should know how to beat a member gone rogue in a world where mind control powers are all over the place.

[@TheScrubExpress]

6:09 wow yeah her argument in the original story is *way* better.

[@anenemystand5582]

This akin to one day realizing your friend has secretly been storing every embrassing thing you've ever done, every fear, every insecurity and finding that out because someone else stole it and plastered it online for the world to see.

[@dekuboidonut4552]

Admittedly I get the comparison, but we and most others are normal people who probably can't singlehandedly do much harm to the world and everyone as individuals. The Justice League can literally be world ending levels of dangerous if left unchecked.

[@juniorjunior5884]

This wouldn't be as bad if more stories emphasized that Batman's plans can fail. His prep meme is his superpower now. Like a kid pulling out an "anything proof shield". I like the idea of him having these strategies, but there needs to be more about how flawed his strategies are. If his villains can hack and manipulate him in his home turf, then a league of powerful and intelligent beings with their own experience fighting against crafty villains can do the same. Just let Batman have his falls, it won't destroy his legacy. I'm tired of the Batman versus everyone thing, especially with Superman. Makes these two great heroes degrade into children having a dick measuring contest.

[@MadameTamma]

Can I just say how much I love your positivity, Leo Dryden? It's clear that the movie is not your cup of tea but instead of harping too heavily on it you try to find something worth while in it, and in the superhero fan community that's a rarity that gets a lot of appreciation from me

[@sporf_sporf]

There's another thing people overlook from this. They get excited with the idea that Batman can solo the League. These were contingency plans for if the League turned evil and they would work precisely once. All of hinged on the fact that none of them would likely think of of Batman as a potential threat if they suddenly turned evil. Now the very first act any of them would do under this circumstance is kill Batman before he realizes anything is amiss and can try anything. The whole Bat family is probably insta dead the moment Supes or Flash has a magical alignment shift. These were absolute worst case scenario plans that can no longer stop the worst case scenario because Raj used them first. It would have been interesting if they had explored that at least in an elsworlds.

[@typo_fenrir]

Congrats on getting ur voice back, and ofc another banger per usual

[@ToaArcan]

I never really bought the whole "My plan is the Justice League" thing. Like, does Bruce just think a hypothetical Evil Bruce wouldn't immediately use his contingencies against the League? Especially in the movie, a good portion of the League don't get out out the binds the Legion of Doom put them in on their own, they get out of them because of Batman's help. Help they wouldn't be receiving if it was Bruce himself doing it to them. In the "Bruce has gone evil and the League have to stop him" timeline, Bruce turns evil, deploys his contingencies, and the League all die. The events of the story demonstrate perfectly that Bruce's contingency plans, in the hands of a villain, are highly likely to result in the death of the League. And if that villain _is_ Bruce... then they're right fecked, aren't they? That and I've never been fond of the Batgod Wank that results from the Batfans insisting that making secret plans to murder all of your friends is smart and cool and healthy.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

One thing I appreciate about the current run on Batman (written by Chip Zdarsky, if you’re interested) is that its first arc is basically about “but what if Batman’s obsessive paranoia that causes him to make plans to kill everyone he knows was really fucked up and unhealthy for him, actually?”

[@theradionicrevival8068]

Right in the down under. 😔

[@Stargazer_Ley]

Superman's question is absurd anyway. What use would a contingency plan be if the person the plan is meant for knows it? What use would the plan be if Batman himself knew what it was? He'd know how to beat his own plan. On top of that if only one member at a time had been harmed then anyone could have stopped them easily. The problem was that Vandal (wisely) attacked everyone at once. Hell if Bane had actually just killed Bruce when he had the chance Batman couldn't have helped anyone. Any of the villians could have come up with those plans if they really tried they were simple well known weaknesses that most if not all of villians could have already known. (Not to mention Bane's failure just pissed Bruce off.)

[@alecLogan]

@@Stargazer_Ley Excepting that it’s not a foolish statement (which is effectively what it was, rather than a question), he at the very least needed to communicate _something_ about it to them. Deciding on his own that “if they don’t plan against me that’s _their_ problem” only goes as far as “okay. They didn’t. Now what, genius?” Because it smacks of (out of universe) being touted as “the best detective in the world” for so long has somehow made his character _dumber_ for it, rather than actually measuring up to the claim. Knowing there is ‘a’ contingency plan is not spilling all the details for it to the target involved, but having the self-restraint to not pry into it, and a decent understanding of oneself (and potential non-obvious strengths and weaknesses to target or prioritize if they did turn).

[@lweaver2988]

​@@alecLogan no they didn't need to know about it. Because the second they turn evil. The guy with the plan made specifically to neutralize them is now target number one. These contingencies still only work if batman can implement them before he's attacked by the super powered guy he's trying to beat.

[@gamesmash9859]

I've always disliked how the movie frames Batman as the one in the right. He never apologizes, and the league is never even given the opportunity to expel him because he "quits like a boss" 🙄🙄.

[@MistahJay7]

You completely missed the mark and point of the ending of the movie. I much prefer the movie cause it shows Neither Batman or the league is right or wrong. All a bunch of Grey

[@mikhaelgribkov4117]

@@MistahJay7 No, Batman is wrong for using trust to gain advantage only to fuck up so hard that villains used it for own gain. The book literally ends on Barbara questioning if he sees Bat-family as just means to the end and shared with them his plans just to isolate them in potential fallout. The entire 2000s Batman period with Brother Eye is his sociopathic bs being his main source of suffering, including himself.

[@MistahJay7]

@@mikhaelgribkov4117 Yea media literacy is dead

[@nkbujvytcygvujno6006]

I mean yeah, you can still read the movie that way but the criticism is valid too.

[@superspy1398]

​@MistahJay7 It doesn't tho. It shows Batman as being more correct than the Leauge. His Paranoia and cold hearted nature are on full display. And they aren't treated as bad, instead the Leauge is made to look dumb. And he doesn't even get to face a punishment. He quits before he can.

[@alexandragabitto2573]

Of course Wonder Woman is the main voice of reason. Diana literally did what Bruce does in Tower of Babel in JLA: A League of One and yet it’s clear throughout the latter that it pained her a lot to be doing what she does to the team. On top of that she wasn’t actually attempting to put them out of commission long term and I wish we could have seen that same nuance in Babel/the movie. Diana points out that what really matters is that although Batman may be a jerk, he’s also being a bad FRIEND which is much more important when fighting amongst a team. Why couldn’t they have a discussion about how Batman may have a support system to keep him from going completely nuts, but that that doesn’t mean he actually has the capacity to make friends? Both Clark and Diana in particular are clearly special to him; he respects them deeply for calling him out when the need arises and lowering themselves to his level in an effort to understand him. He’s shown his own form of affection for the league members in his own way like attempting to teach Clark how to fight in hand-to-hand combat in order for him to become an even better superhero when up against the likes of villains like Diana who are the entire package. Batman has become the ultimate edgy Gary-Stu and I for one am tired of it. 🙄

[@DJDarkDarsi]

God I forgot how passed over WWs reasoning for expulsion where...

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

Yeah as someone who's only very seen the movie, they did a HUGE disservice to her character caughting her dialogue short there. That's her most important character moment in the story, and Wonder Woman isn't some minor hero who should get her content cut for time. It's a shame.

[@GrapeCheckerBoard]

The comic does the expulsion much better. Instead of Batman walking off before a vote can start, he waits by himself while every member of the League makes a decision and gives their reasoning. You get Wonder Woman explaining that she can never trust Batman again, and you also get everyone from Plastic Man to Green Lantern giving their reasons for saying yes or no to expulsion. Batman’s fears of a mind controlled Justice League are also acknowledged, but those fears aren’t allowed to shut down criticism of Batman’s actions.

[@ryszakowy]

batman was right to have such plans but he did screw up it's difficult to stand at either side because you know batman is right, not because he's batman and shizz but because they have evil counterparts, villains of their race, mind control, diffferent universes and all but he didn't even mention that "i have a plan just in case" that's why league feels betrayed

[@danielcesar664]

Batman is a jerk but lets not pretend they dont get mind control every other day

[@godserena6059]

I think it’s mostly how Batman kept it to himself instead discussing this over with the league.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

@@godserena6059 Batman would literally rather almost die horribly alongside his closest friends than have a normal conversation with them about boundaries, -he’s just like me fr fr-

[@alphanoodle1877]

​@@godserena6059if someone planned a way to break your arm, and told you about it, if you did try to kill people you wouldn't let them break your arm would you?

[@godserena6059]

@@alphanoodle1877 Actually I’ll listen and have a little argument about it. But the fact he told me if that’s was the way to stop me then I’ll understand. Instead behind closed doors.

[@tutumazibuko2510]

What makes this stupid tho is the idea that everyone else would be mind controlled but somehow Batman wouldn't.

[@richardsphd]

My problem with Doom has always been that Batman's plans are completely idiotic. Let's take Superman for example. Batman's "plan" was either to just shoot Clark with a Kryptonite bullet, something that is both easier said than done and also makes the villains complete idiots for not thinking of it themselves, or to lure Superman out with the whole setpiece with the suicidal man and catching him off guard. The problem with this is that for it to work Superman needs to be a good guy. Meaning it can't be used a contingency. The same is true for every other JL member (except maybr Diana). They're all either "use their weakness on them" which, again, is easier said than done, or "exploit their heroism" which wouldn't work.

[@mhelm0225]

Tbf it's implied in the film that Vandal changed the plans to be more lethal against the league. The villains were probably the ones who set up the scenarios to take advantage of the heroes' good nature.

[@richardsphd]

@@mhelm0225 I don't really think that makes sense. If Savage really only took the "Kryptonite bullet" part of Batman's contingency and made an entirely new plan around it, then, uh, what was the point of stealing the contingecies? Was "use Kryptonite against Superman" too hard for Vandal to think of on his own? Even if you argue their weaknesses aren't public knowledge in this story, he has brought in a bunch of each superhero's villains for this exact purpose. I think Ma'alefa'ac would be aware of the fact Martians are weak to fire. And I don't really buy the whole "Savage changed them" thing either. They attack the heroes in ways way too personal for Vandal to think of on his own. Clark is attacked on the top of the Daily Planet. J'onn is tricked by his feelings of isolation, while in his civilian identity. Hal sees freaking Carol, his ex girlfriend, die. Also, if me personally were changing Batman's plan where he attaches a bomb to the Flash which only explodes when he stops running, I'd change it so the bomb goes off immediately. It's not like Vandal cares about civilians

[@tutumazibuko2510]

So in conclusion... Tower of Babel is way better than JL Doom. Batman is way better in the comic than the movie.

[@chrisdaily2077]

It is a shame because of how good Dwayne McDuffie's work normally is. I love how the comic uses Ra's Al Ghul as it makes sense since he would know Batman would have these plans plus it's cool that a Batman villain manages to fight the Justice League.

[@INFERNO95]

DC animation is obsessed whit batman Turing him into a Bat God.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

Mark Waid (writer of Tower of Babel) is one of the GOATS for a reason

[@WebbedManiac]

@@INFERNO95 I cannot stress how true this statement is. It all started with the DCAU's Justice League and JLU where Batman is the arrogant, jackass, but always right character. In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies comic, there's a whole sequence of how Future Old Superman comes back to the past and tries to kill Batman because he genuinely believes Batman to be a threat to the future, and there's literally nothing Batman can do against him. It isn't until present Superman helps out that Batman survives the encounter. That whole sequence is cut from the movie.

[@MistahJay7]

No Doom was better

[@colingallagher1648]

Batman’s compassion is my favorite part.

[@WebbedManiac]

You just explained why Justice League Doom always rubbed me the wrong way. I always thought, "That's it? Batman does his friends wrong, calls them a bunch of morons, they kick him out and all is well? No! The team should be way more broken up about how one of their own essentially backstabbed them." There's also the fact that the film doesn't establish why Batman came up with the contingencies other than "he saw the threats that a mind-controlled Justice League could pose in advance". Not to mention, none of the League has any genuine arguments against Batman, as shown by your Wonder Woman example. Tower of Babel solves all of these problems. Batman explains to Superman that he created the contingencies due to a prior body-swapping incident, not because he anticipated the future. The League is not helpless and can actually get back on their feet without Batman's help. Wonder Woman's argument makes the most sense, and the team is fractured in half DUE to Batman's actions. Batman actually has to get the League's trust back. He doesn't walk out of there like some sort of badass. Sidenote: I know DC would most likely never do it, since Batman is their golden goose, but I would like to see an Elseworld story where the events of Justice League Doom happen, but Batman is 10 minutes late in breaking out of the coffin. As a result, the entire League is dead and it's all Batman's fault. How would he cope knowing that his paranoia and lack of trust resulted in his friends and Earth's sole defence team dying?

[@MistahJay7]

It's quite sad how some of yall media literacy is down the drain if that's what you got out of the ending of the movie.

[@WebbedManiac]

@@MistahJay7 OK then. Explain it to me. IMO the comic is just better in every way.

[@aguywithalotofopinions412]

I find it pretty annoying when people idolize the loner cynical side of Batman, not realizing that it's almost always depicted as a flaw that prevents him from being happy

[@batsyishere]

I like that superheroes are mainstream nowadays since I'm a sucker for them, but the misinterpretation and mischaracterization that those one million movies made by white middle aged dudes who don't give a shit about Batman if he at least 'looks cool' is real damage that sometimes I'm sure will never be one hundred percent undone.

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

Absolutely agree, it's great that I can my love of superheros with practically anyone, but the flanderization of Batman is a tragedy.

[@Maikigai]

5:45 funny thing about this is Deku from MHA does exactly this. It isn’t to beat them, but to learn from them, however he does end up needing that information to beat some of them from time to time.

[@NORMAN728]

Tower of babel is a great story the backstory of why he did it came from a dark place. Since his fear happened in the past added weight to his reasoning. A darker betrayal was he tipping point.

[@Philibuster001]

I never understood why people defend the whole contingency thing. Of course it makes sense to have plans in case someone goes rogue, but it makes no sense at all for all of this information to be accessible to only one person. When Batman says "what if the justice league was mind controlled or turned evil" he doesnt imagine himself being part of it, in his eyes it would always be him versus the league. But what if it was someone like Green Lantern vs a mind controlled league that includes Batman? Hal would be fucked. The tower of babel story works to show Bruce being paranoid, but people decided to instead view it has him being logical and realistic, when in reality the "logical" thing to do would be to lay these contingencies out across the board, where every leaguer knows eachothers weaknesses. That way everyone would be prepared to deal with anyone who goes rogue.

[@colingallagher1648]

I always liked the comic more after I first saw the film as a kid. I’m glad the killing joke film came out later and I read the comic first though.

[@professorhal8098]

Ill say what i said before about the situation in Justice League Doom: I still believe Cyborg represents a great opportunity to be a contrasting duality against Vandal Savage, with one representing the future and the other representing the past.

[@zemox2534]

This is why I hate the modern depiction of Batman. He is a paranoid, self-righteous jerk, who manipulates his own family to achieve his goals, is never wrong, always has a back up plan in order to defeat some cosmic threat (and they always succeed), and shows no compassion to anyone.

[@MistahJay7]

Yall media literacy is just trash to understand it.

[@theirongiants]

Tower of Babel is a story of Batman learning to trust but that doesn't mean he shouldn't face consequences for his dishonesty should be punished. That is a thing that's the core element of the story, despite being the greatest detective in the world he doesn't realize anything until it's too late. The serious lack of dialogue in Doom is bizzarre. Batman should be shown as a paranoid asshole learning to trust. Instead of a perfect character. Batman's social awkwardness is not focused on enough. Batman should be confronted by his socially illiterate actions. Batman doesn't get punished for his mistakes enough, rather of others.

[@INFERNO95]

DCAU is why we have bat God today but the comic didn't help whit stories like this either.

[@HisShadow]

I always took the Tower of Babel as Batman simply not trusting anyone except for himself. The Justice League are less "friends" and more as assets that can help Batman with the mission but assets that must always have a leash that he can pull on. Like the Injustice film showed. The first time Batman ever met Cyborg he planted a virus on him to trigger the moment he stepped out of line. He can't trust anyone because no one else is him. Like Owlman said in Crisis on Two Earths that Batman only trusted himself to take down Owlman even though Superman probably would have been able to do it because he only trusts himself... Just like Owlman.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

Batman is like “I don’t have friends, I don’t trust anyone” and then proceeds to adopt every single homeless child on the planet lmao

[@theradionicrevival8068]

@@halfmettlealchemist8076 Heart skips a beat when asked to be his totally not friend’s godfather to his son Regularly hangs out with and consoles his not friends and family members when they’re feeling down Goes depressed, crazy or lonely when they’re gone for too long (or flat out die) etc

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

@@theradionicrevival8068 If there was a competition for the most emotionally-repressed man on Earth, Bruce Wayne would be too busy helicopter-parenting his extended family of traumatized ninja orphans to attend in person and would therefore not be eligible for nomination, but otherwise he would win by a landslide

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

Ngl, what you just wrote really makes Batman sound more like a villain.

[@HisShadow]

@@halfmettlealchemist8076 That's the sad thing. He brings these kids into this world because he truly thinks that's what they need to get over their trauma. Bruce Wayne wasn't able to get over the deaths of his parents. He could only cope in the world by becoming Batman, by becoming an instrument of vengence and warped justice. So he makes these kids like him and because they are like him he is able to trust them more that he does anyone else outside of Alfred who is the person Batman trusts more than anyone.

[@gabebraunstein8362]

I love your videos, every time I watch them I either start crying or get chills!

[@frozarburst6350]

Oh thank goodness somebody addressed this. DC and viewers seem to treat every hero like trash except for batman seeing him nearly being holier than thou, always knowing what to do and believing everyone to be capable of causing more harm than good. Really he isn't better than everyone else and he isn't any more dangerous than everyone in the room. He's paranoid, scared even.

[@tylerrusnak7736]

Found your channel a bit ago and been really enjoying your content!

[@aldogrof6700]

The reason why I hate modern day Batman is because he is a self-proclaimed savior who thinks he’s always right until it too late..his plans and his actions are always justified because he’s Batman and whenever he called out..then their too naive or hopeful as if those traits are bad things..modern Batman is the worst..and I Yh I think he’s ass… Even at the power of babel he didn’t he even apologize to his own friends & colleagues..like at no point did he realize that he was the one who created trust issues in the league to begin with.

[@electricfeverx976]

At least in Tower of Babel, it didn't paint him in the right light. Everyone in the league got to call him out, and Bruce was definitely ashamed of himself for what he did to his friends but couldn't admit to his own faults. He'd be admitting that his own paranoia, his mistrust in others, was wholly his own mistake and that he shouldn't have seen his friends as anything less than what they were.

[@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon]

Well, I mean, if a character is perfect, then there's no conflict...

[@Bored0720]

I just finished this movie like 4 hours ago and then you post this?! Talk about lucky timing 😂🥳

[@TheSuperboy_Prime]

In other words Batman is Scared of his Friends

[@irvincortes9808]

10/10 video ; 11/10 for somehow including Zuko

[@gaidencastro9706]

Your voice is back!

[@anlexaify]

This voices everything I found wrong with the film. It also doesn't help that the movie is a direct sequel to JL: Crisis on Two Earths, you know, the one where the Justice League meets it's parallel counterpart with people so similar to their own.

[@MatthewK122]

Kevin Conroy best Batman voice and Dwayne McDuffie best writer, both rip

[@clementine2234]

I've been watching JL animated series and jl unlimited because of you,thanks!

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

I remember the Batman show from 2004, Superman actually defended Batman having contingencies for other superheroes because he was mind controlled to fight Batman. The plans were actually used the way they were supposed to be without a villain stealing them. I miss that show.

[@bachpham6862]

I really like the Tower of Babel contigency plans. Not only they are custom made for each members, but it also relies on information that only a close, trusted figure in their life would get access to. The league gave Batman their trust and their vulnerabilities, because they want to be closer to him and work better with him. However, Batman reciprocated that with paranoia and secrecy, which betrays them on a personal level.

[@sahilhossain8204]

Lore of The Jerkface Contingency. Momentum 100

[@tigeroats913]

I love your videos man and I loved your previous video about Mr freeze I hope you do more videos like it

[@srstriker6420]

I really wonder what Hawkgirl’s weakness and if Batman did this in Starcrossed wouldn’t they kick both of them out?

[@samuellove9619]

I imagine JLU Hawkgirl could be taken out in a similar manner to JL Doom Wonder woman, she was always the most aggressive fighter of the league, otherwise disarming her of her mace and pinning her wings hinders her. I dont think JLU Batman would be willing pull a tower of babel, we saw in Starcrossed when he revealed Flash's identity, he reciprocated with his own. He does have a level of paranoia and preparedness as shown when he pulled kryptonite out of his belt for AMAZO, but it seemed like a more generalised "tool for every occasion" kind of preparedness rather than detailed plans.

[@dingleberry7593]

I always look forward to your videos. Your analyses are so interesting! Any chance you’ll do a video on All-Star Batman & Robin or Dark Knight III: The Master Race?

[@TheShockVox]

Justice League Doom and Crisis on Two Earths is a big reason why I find Young Justice season 3 and 4, but mainly 3, so hard to watch. The art style is so cool, and Young Justice season 1 and 2 being even remotely close to it as a kid’s tv show was amazing….then Season 3 happened.

[@sonieofthewest]

I haven't watched it yet and I'm not afraid of spoilers etc and also I'm very curious What happened in seasons 3 and 4?

[@orion0915]

I thought season 3 was still pretty solid. Season 4 then gets really good

[@ToaArcan]

@@sonieofthewest I think they're referring mainly to the art style shifting from being similar to these movies, to being more like the New 52 movies, which looked a lot worse.

[@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon]

I don't like them because they suck.

[@CormDaCrow]

Betamn saying his plan to stop the himself was the Justice League was always kinda dumb to me, because like, he knows all their weakness and if he turned evil he'd used them and wouldn't hold back

[@SmashPortal]

"He admits the plan for himself was... the League." I'm almost certain that was just him tiptoeing around revealing his weakness (which was described in his audio files, and which Bane used against him).

[@SmashPortal]

I empathize with Batman's choice to leave the League in Doom. Logically, his preemptive departure from the team means he wasn't ever voted out. This is a form of social manipulation in which you intentionally waive your right to self-representation to avoid further arguments and unproductive discussion. Essentially, his seat in the League wasn't worth the strain. If people want him gone, it's better to satisfy them immediately than to allow a vote. When people make a decision, they're less likely to change their mind than if they only _considered_ making a decision. If there was future discussion of him rejoining the League, he's more likely to be accepted again if no one officially voted against him.

[@Net.NobodyStu]

Love the content 💙

[@skittslol1407]

Miss when batman got scared of things or even cried.

[@justno984]

Did you watch the batman?... it came out literally last year.

[@tedxteddy]

I love dwane now more because now i know who is a writer when in past i didnt knew

[@nebulousprime]

6:15 PLEASE tell me what piano music that is?!

[@Gigas0101]

Bit of an odd question, have you done a video on Return of the Caped Crusader and/or Batman VS Two Face?

[@jaykubisanidiot8657]

Idk... I mean yeah I get why people say This story, the story where "Batman brings down the JL" as the one that Proves hes a neurotic, loner with deep mistrust and anger issues but like, Batman is at least killable with a bullet, I mean good luck assassin! But still..... As a mortal man I prefer No superpowers beings in my world, but if I Had to have them I wouldn't feel safe UNLESS there was someone who filled Bats role in the League... He's the Sword of Damocles, the One thing stopping the Unthinkable from happening if it happens... Who watches the watchers? They should do a book/movie/show about that concept!?;?;??;)

[@THATGuy5654]

Wouldn't Batman's contingency plans for the League be the same as his contingency plans for his villains? Ineffectually stick them in a cage and hope they don't escape?

[@Carlos-lq7ey]

I like your videos so much

[@YTstealthxknight]

The Man of Steel himself back at it again enlightening me to continue to keep trying 🔥💫

[@viniumdoistresdois2399]

what is the intro and outro song names???

[@coolguyfox4162]

Something That Was Changing Your Mind by The Paper Twins. They're both the same song! The first and second half just sound a bit different.

[@Hurtle885hu8bu]

Can we just acknowledge Bane’s costume in this movie? Neckline down to his pelvis, with a little strip across his nipples? Fabulous Buff Skullman.

[@jamesw2831]

This is the issue with short film adaptations of longer form comics. The Tower of Babel could have been adopted in a limited film series. But I’m not sure that was McDuffie’s image of this adaptation when he wrote it. In later adaptations, we see a Batman who tries to prevent others from being him.

[@xlro8f853]

Only Batman’s anti social ass would build a clubhouse then kick himself out of it.

[@Me99WXF]

Can I just say, your audio quality is so good. I listen to things at a low volume and some bad-quality audio makes it very hard to understand what someone is saying.

[@TK_Brainslug]

just because you bring the OG VAs doesn't mean shit if the story you tell is subpar

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

Yeah, it's really a shame because of the production quality of the movie is fantastic.

[@chino19963]

I honestly think grant Morrison’s run on batman kind of ruined him because grant was obsessed with the idea of batgod, and it also made a lot of Batman fans annoying as hell (and im a fan of Batman too)

[@doctorenvy9650]

the best thing about Batman is the fact he's a human among a team of extremely powerful heroes, and not only that, he's among the Big 3. What makes him special is the fact he's smart and clever, where the team is muscle he's the brains that can guide them. Making him a God like them just to make him seem badass (and feed the neck beards) ruins the main reason why hes so likeable, he can keep up with gods without being a god himself.

[@Rengokuo4o6]

Having contingencies just makes too much sense for a human that is regularly fighting crime for really powerful people. Sorry but if he didn't have these plans, he wouldn't be nearly as smart as you make him out to be. If he didn't have his plans, he'll just be Green Arrow.

[@mikehenry7056]

I wish he had included the sequel to this in the comic, what damage was done and what Batman and the other League members had to do to regain their trust in each other.

[@nosrin1988]

tower of babel is the source for justice league doom, still one of my favorite of the DC animated movies. It may not be as good as the book but what movie is? still, it was great!

[@dredgengam4610]

Even the Arkham series batman had more humanity than this... And he was a hardass, granted... One with a softer side when it came to his allies

[@mentalist7772]

Actually in Tower of Babel as well as the connected stories it's revealed why Batman created his contingencies in the first place. What started it was a story where Superman was put under the control of a villain afterwords Superman gave Batman a piece of Kryptonite and thus Batman had the idea. He is so close to the members of the League and they know him and his secrets so well that if any of them or all of the League was to go rogue or get controlled they would most likely have to kill them to stop them and if there is one thing Batman doesn't want it's to kill his friends so he came up with plans to take them down without killing them. However this was missed by most people sadly. So the real reason for these plans is not just fear but also love for his friends.

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

I agree with all of that, except at the end where you say "The real reason for the plans was love, not fear." While I believe love for friends certainly factored into creating the plans, fear is what held him back from being honest about their existence.

[@mentalist7772]

@@BeyondTrash-xe1vs I think you misread my last line I said the reason for the plans was not just fear but also love. Fear was definitely a large part in the creation of the plans but his love for his plans meant they were designed to take them down without killing them and causing non permanent damage.

[@zacharypatton6341]

Hey man, you make great videos, but this was one of your best. You’re getting better at this, on every level.

[@Amazingfilms148]

Let be honest, Batman was never a mentally sand person. He admits that himself. He says that Nightwing is a better person than him. Hell, he admits Superman is a better hero then him. It is funny how Batman can make Contingency plans for the League but not for a special someone that once for reality warping powers, cripple his friend's daughter, and kill his second son. But hey you expect someone who dressed like a bat, be in the cave all of the time, and have children fight along with him to be a normal person. Why you think in the DCAU, Batman ends up alone?

[@danielr.gallegos2873]

what is the song at 8:49