The Watchtower as a "Line Item"

[Domino]

It's a sad day when the comic book explanation for the satellite 25 years ago is more plausible than the "line item" explanation we received. Back in the day, Superman, Hawkman, Green Lantern and the Flash built it from Kryptonian and Thanagarian technology. That still could have worked! Just substitute Hawkgirl for Hawkman. Ah well!

[Brian Cruz]

You're right, it's terribly implausible. The thing had it's own atmosphere. And a Starbucks! How can you hide that in a line item?

[Kal-el]

Did Bruce set up a little fund years back planning on the formation of the JL? The thing must have run into the trillions of dollars. And he didn't even join! What a generous fellow. Wonder if they have a pizza place or chinese food there?

[Calhoun07]

Or at least Quarks bar.

[Kal-el]

Originally posted by calhoun07
Or at least Quarks bar.

lol. I like it.

[Kal-el]

You know, that thing must have taken a long time to construct. I wonder how much time passed from when the aliens where defeated to the completion of the satellite. If it was a fairly lengthy amount of time, was Supes sitting around pondering the league the whiole time. I wonder if Lois helped him with the name Justice League?

...and it has that new Watchtower smell, too!

[James Harvey]

The sattellite was there before the aliens struck Earth. Why Batman had it there in the first place is beyond me. And the place HAS to be staffed, or else it wouldn't look so clean or have a nice little mocca maker in there somewheres. The lines of believaility were stretched extensively there, preferring the Kryponian/Thangarian technology explaination better. That thing is at least 10 stories big, how could you miss it?

[Maxie Zeus]

I can just see the Wayne Enterprises books:

Employee salaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $43,000,000
Office rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $56,600,000
Interest payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,000,000
Pine tree deodorizers
for Mr. Wayne's limo . . $678,543,890,543,222,000
Office supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,450,000

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by Dick Grayson
The sattellite was there before the aliens struck Earth. Why Batman had it there in the first place is beyond me. And the place HAS to be staffed, or else it wouldn't look so clean or have a nice little mocca maker in there somewheres.

That's thanks to Maritess (http://click.mp3.com/c/f_998/u_artists.mp3s.com/artists/15/rex_navarrete.html) , the maid of the Justice League!

[Toddman]

Originally posted by Kal-el
You know, that thing must have taken a long time to construct. I wonder how much time passed from when the aliens where defeated to the completion of the satellite. If it was a fairly lengthy amount of time, was Supes sitting around pondering the league the whiole time. I wonder if Lois helped him with the name Justice League?

...and it has that new Watchtower smell, too!

I guess the Watchtower was built and paid for the same way the cave, car, plane, and boat were. Batman probably just gave Alfred a Sears Craftsman tool set, shot him into orbit on a rocket, and said "Go to it!"

Toddman

[Kal-el]

Destruction of Wayne satellite installation in Metropolis: $100 million
Use of countless exploding Batarangs against alien invaders: $500 apiece
Construction of giant Watchtower in earth orbit for use by JL: $5 trillion
Convincing Wayne Enterprises shareholders that they'll see a profit: Priceless

For everything else, there's a line item in the Wayne Enterprises budget that can finance ANYTHING imaginable.

[The Guard]

Not that it matters, but I don't think that the Watchtower would cost trillions. Billions, maybe. But not trillions.

[JLU Dude]

Originally posted by Kal-el
Did Bruce set up a little fund years back planning on the formation of the JL? The thing must have run into the trillions of dollars. And he didn't even join! What a generous fellow. Wonder if they have a pizza place or chinese food there?

For the record, Batman did join.

[The Guard]

No he didn't. He told them to call when they needed him. Gotham is Batman's #1 priority. We saw a glimpse when J'onn remarked that Batman would only say he was busy when called...

[Samhaine]

Well, Batman's a reserve member. He joined, but he didn't join. If that makes sense.

[Calhoun07]

Originally posted by bloodone
Well, Batman's a reserve member. He joined, but he didn't join. If that makes sense.

He's the Weekend Warrior!

[Domino]

Originally posted by The Guard
Not that it matters, but I don't think that the Watchtower would cost trillions. Billions, maybe. But not trillions.

A space shuttle is a billion. That space station is a trillion, easily. Not that it matters is right. It's a cartoon!

[The Guard]

...do you know how much a trillion is? Am I to believe that the Watchtower cost more than a billion BILLION space shuttles?

[Joe Tully]

A trillion is 1000 billion. Million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion.

Unless you're British, their trillion is 10^18 rather than 10^12

[Batman 80]

Bruce is just loaded with heaps of cash.

[Joe Tully]

Personally, I viewed the "line item" as Bruce's attempt at deadpan humor. Though he probably would've had too much trouble paying for it out of his own pocket, now that I think about it. Maybe he helped pay for materials and the JL members helped build it. Supes, Flash and GL could help a lot, though they probably haven't had much experience building space stations. This is one of those things that I am just going to accept as "unexplained."

[Ed Liu]

Howdy all,

I'm going to swipe from _JLA_ (yet again...folks, when I say to get the _New World Order_ trade paperback and get hooked on Grant Morrison's JLA, I MEAN it! =8^). Batman just "happens" to have a spy satellite in orbit fully equipped with a super coffee machine, a trouble monitor that detects Bad Things happening throughout the world, and presumably heavy duty stealth technology so the US Military (or any bad guy with access to a healthy amount of cash) can't shoot it down?

He built the thing years before "Secret Origins" along with the Javelin-7, specifically so he could monitor the meta-human population more effectively. It would also give him a new command post in the event of any kind of meta-human war. He chose to "lend" it to the JL as a headquarters, since he (mostly) trusts them enough to assist him, and he also figures none of them are smart enough to figure out its REAL purpose. OK, maybe J'onn could pick that up from him 'cuz, well, J'onn reads minds, but Batman has a plan for that, too. He's also not telling them about the new "additions" to the satellite just in case the JL steps over boundaries (like, say, that nifty nerve gas that J'onn used against the aliens, which seemed to take out all the other members of the JL quickly and effectively).

-- Ed/Ace

[Domino]

Originally posted by Ace the Bathound
He built the thing years before "Secret Origins" along with the Javelin-7, specifically so he could monitor the meta-human population more effectively

-- Ed/Ace

Bet he's sorry he didn't wait, because now he could have gotten 0% financing on that trillion dollars because of the economic downturn caused by the alien invasion, as it probably crippled consumer confidence on a global scale. Ah well, maybe he can refinance.

[Karkull]

First off, Batman did join. He just needed to maintain the mystique about him.

Second, even if it was financed solely by Wayne it doesn't mean that he put it together himself. He may have paid for the tools, the raw materials, and helped assemble it; but the rest of the League may have helped put it together. Superman could have donated pieces of equipment from the Preserver's ship (which he used to create his Fortress of Solitude). Green Lantern is an architect who probably knows many things about space stations (and various alien techniques).

These elements probably helped keep the costs down.

[Kal-el]

Did Batman really join? It seems from what was said during the end of "Secret Origins" both sides could be argued.
Bats never did say that he is joining or that he isn't joining. There was no statement that could make it definite either way.
I my mind, he didn't join. He didn't say he would or didn't shake on it. He lent or built or whatevered the Watchtower to the JL. He said he'd help when it was needed. MM stated that "he'd just say he's busy" (or something to the effect). He's just not a joiner in my book.

[Samhaine]

Batman knows his limitations, and the abilities of the others in the league. By using this knowledge, he can determine whether or not he's actually needed in a situation. He's never really comfortable in the league, because he feels as if he should be fighting the good fight in Gotham, not in outer space.

[DisneyBoy]

Your theories about the team helping to build the Watchtower can't work because Flash and Green Lantern's lines ("very impressive, but what's it got to do with us?"- GL) clearly expressed that they were seeing the place for the first time. Ok, maybe Flash had helped but he just hadn't seen the Moca machine yet....though I doubt it. I think Bruce had it partially assembled over the years in case of some alien attack. After the events of "Secret Origins", he probably just had it finished and sent into orbit. Sure, it's probably really expensive, but if you have it built over several years using different crews and teams, people are less likely to notice that you're spending a trillion dollars in total. Let's not forget the ease with which the Brainiac-manipulated Bruce was able to get his staff to complete a Kryptonian rocket (how they created extinct technoloqy is anyone's guess!) only to send them home with no explaination. That guy's got power!

Oh, and I loved the jokes! From the pine-scented air freshionners to the "Priceless" comment! Keep it up! I laughed out loud!!! YOU ARE MY PROZAK (kidding!) :D :D :D :D :D :D

Oh, any idea what R+D stands for...nevermind: RESEARCH and DEVELOPMENT!

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by hot rod
Bruce is just loaded with heaps of cash.

Well, if it did cost a trillion, that means that Bruce (or his company, at least) is richer than Italy.

[Toddman]

Originally posted by DisneyBoy
Your theories about the team helping to build the Watchtower can't work because Flash and Green Lantern's lines ("very impressive, but what's it got to do with us?"- GL) clearly expressed that they were seeing the place for the first time. Ok, maybe Flash had helped but he just hadn't seen the Moca machine yet....though I doubt it. I think Bruce had it partially assembled over the years in case of some alien attack. After the events of "Secret Origins", he probably just had it finished and sent into orbit. Sure, it's probably really expensive, but if you have it built over several years using different crews and teams, people are less likely to notice that you're spending a trillion dollars in total. Let's not forget the ease with which the Brainiac-manipulated Bruce was able to get his staff to complete a Kryptonian rocket (how they created extinct technoloqy is anyone's guess!) only to send them home with no explaination. That guy's got pow

Okay, I know this was intended to be a bit of a tongue-in-cheek thread, and not that it really matters for my enjoyment of the show or anything, but NOW you've got me thinking. . .

Let's all remember that in the Animated Universe, astronauts have landed on Mars. I would assume then that the overall aerospace industry is much more prevelant in the JL's world than it is in our world. Like Disneyboy stated above, we already know that Wayne Aerospace can build an alien rocket in a relatively short amount of time with nobody outside of the company really noticing. (By the way, Disneyboy, don't forget that the engineers at Wayne Aerospace were using technology that Brainiac aquired before Krypton exploded.)

Heck, chances are that a lot of companies on the JL's earth have giant unused space stations in orbit. Maybe Donald Trump or Bill Gates or Lex Luthor have one, too. And it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for Bruce Wayne to find a way to finance things like his own secret underground headquarters and private fighter jet.

Besides, it beats having them all hang out in a cave outside Happy Harbor.

Toddman

[Karkull]

Or in the Batcave or the Fortress of Solitude.