A Decision of Geeky Proportions [X-Men vs Batman]

I recently made a drastic life change.

Yes, that’s right, I’ve gone from collecting X-Men comics to Batman ones.  Marvel to DC.  I risk the wrath of fanboys everywhere.

There are a couple of reasons for this.  I came onboard with X-Men (and comics in general) about 5 years ago.  There was a big cross-over event going on written by Brian Michael Bendis.  It was thoroughly entertaining and I was hooked.  And I loved the big splashy-ness of X-men, the unrepentant afternoon soap qualities combined with fantastic action.  X-Men provide big stupid drama of all kinds in a completely loveable form.

And the line-up!  Wolverine is just frickin’ awesome no matter how many bad movies you put him in (I haven’t seen the Origins movie.  Yet…).  Cyclops is a perfect foil.  Beast (always my favorite) is just always cool, the total Mary-Jane character for every high-school nerd.  The ever-returning Jean Grey.  It goes on and on.

I read the Essential Collections, with Chris Claremont’s initial run on the book, which is magnificent.  Though now, for whatever reason, his stuff comes across as the rantings of a dribbling maniac, back then it was powerful stuff.  The original Dark Phoenix saga is powerful stuff.

The problem is, I don’t think it’s really been topped.  In over 20 years.  It stands there clearly marking–”this is about as good as it gets.”  The X-Men constantly teeter on the edge of greatness, they have the potential for greatness, but they seem mired in mediocrity.  Astonishing X-Men (currently penned by the genius Warren Ellis, previously by Joss Whedon) manages it from time to time, but that only comes out every 2 months.  6 issues a year.  That’s not enough to buy my loyalty.

So, I started two-timing the X-Men, and now the dumping procedure is complete.  Make mine DC.

I’ve gone for Batman for a couple of reasons.  Partly it’s due to the recent Batman reboot, with Bruce Wayne gone and a newbie stepping into the Dark Knight’s shoes.  It’s a good starting point to come in, and I love the new guy’s insecurities, the weaknesses, the flaws.  They’re fresh, and you can feel the freshness.

There’s also the fact the flagship title is written by Grant Morrison who was responsible for the best run of the X-Men this decade.  If he was still working on the X-Men I’d probably still be reading it.  Another writer is Paul Dini–one of the masterminds behind the original Batman cartoon which still ranks as some of the best TV around.

And I’ve always loved that Batman is a self-made man.  His only superpower is mega-wealth.  He wasn’t born with any abilities you and I don’t have.  Now, obviously, it is impossible to become Batman, but the fanboy part of me can pretend that it is theoretically possible, and I love that message.  Anybody, if they try, could be Batman.  How fucking empowering is that?

And finally, and probably, mostly, there is Gotham City.  How can you not love Gotham City?  New York seen through the fractured lens of madness.  More noir than any depiction of L.A. could ever be.  Home to more psychotics than you could shake a stick at,and shaking a stick ain’t that hard.  A city of endless shadows, of fathomless darkness.  It’s brilliant, and brutal, and it feels just like the sort of place heroes should be, down in the pits being damaged and damaging things right back.

So, yeah, I’m a convert.  Cape and cowl, people.  Cape and cowl.