Bruce Wayne TNBA vs. COMIC?

[BeyondGotham]

Not sure if this has been brought up or not. I like the comics. I do, I even like Spoiler :o The one thing I really hate... Bruce Wayne is a complete dork! WHY? I just don't get it. I don't remember him being like that a few years ago. When did he decided to be dumb? Didn't he leave Gotham when he was young to learn and to Train? But to the World, Bruce would have have been learning.

now I like TNBA Bruce. He is what I think Bruce Wayne should be like..

What does everyone else think???

[Matt-Man]

I would have to say TNBA... And grumpy and moody can a guy be and still be cool? Although I do like the comics' version I grew up on the animated Bruce Wayne and I must admit to liking him more.

[The Game]

I definetly prefer the TNBA version myself, but I pretty much prefer the animated version of everything! ;)

[Clark J. Kent]

As I often like to begin my posts, I would like to say that I'm not an avid reader of the Batman comics. I like to issue these disclaimers because I, personally, think people look like idiots when they post COMPLETELY inaccurate "facts" and write themselves off as educated on the matters discussed. I am not nearly that cocky. I will not pretend to be able to legitimately compare the comics Bruce to the NBA Bruce.

What I can say in complete certainly is that if the comics Bruce is anything like the Bruce from BTAS, I prefer him infinitely to the Bruce of NBA.

When the creators revamped the show in 1997, they said that everything else in Gotham would become lighter, so Batman would become darker. And that was fine by me, except it came at the cost of Bruce Wayne. Gone was the Bruce who had to consciously feign forgetfulness and fear, and laugh at jokes, and always be late, and flirt shamelessly with the airheads of Gotham's "High Society." The Bruce of NBA was, or may as well have been, Batman without the cape and cowl.

Unlike the BTAS Bruce, in his ugly brown suit, the Bruce of TNBA dressed sharply, never feigned ignorance or happiness, and never used the "Bruce Wayne" voice. In "Heart of Steel" of BTAS, we can actually hear Bruce Wayne become Batman, and it's almost chilling. :)

But that aloof, playboy voice is gone with the Bruce of TNBA.

And yes, you could argue that nobody's really ever heard Batman speak at any great lengths, but the point remains. He's so cold and intense that you might have to put two and two together at some point. Bruce in BTAS had a much better front.

I hope that made some sort of sense, especially considering that I assumed, for the sake of my argument, that the BTAS Bruce was like the comics Bruce you were originally speaking of.

[Matt-Man]

I totally agree. Good point you made. I am not the most avid reader of Batman comics, but I do read them when I get a chance. And like I said earlier I prefer the animated Bruce Wayne over the comics version. I grew up watching BTAS and TNBA and I have grown fond of them. :bosko:

[BeyondGotham]

I agree that the two versions on Bruce from teh Animated to the NBA was diffrent, and I like both versions. I think that TNBA Bruce was more dark, becasue he was hurt. After TAS Dick left and Bruce was hurt. So I can understand how he was diffrent.

I just don't understand how or why he was changed in the comics....

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Clark J. Kent
He's so cold and intense that you might have to put two and two together at some point. Bruce in BTAS had a much better front.

I don't think it's necessarily about the front. You're right, but I look at it from another point of view. The TNBA Bruce showed clearly that Bruce is the mask and that Batman is who he truly is. That's something I've always felt, and I greatly enjoyed seeing that in TNBA.

In terms of the facade Bruce puts on in public, I think we might have still seen that in TNBA. There weren't as many of the moments, but I think they were there. For instance, if I'm remembering correctly, when Bruce answered the phone call from Gordon in "Over the Edge." I'm positive he raised his voice a little, putting on a little of that jovial Bruce voice we've heard in the past. And in terms of the "airhead" company Bruce has often kept, remember that we saw him with one at the beginning of the Firefly episode. I don't believe they focussed on that aspect of Bruce much during the TNBA run, but it was there.

[BeastBoyWonder]

I like the BTAS Bruce better because he gave an air of lightheartedness around him that sharply contrasted the dark aura of Batman...it provided him cover, and gave insight on his character. I feel the TNBA Bruce hasn't done that, giving us the same personality for both Bruce and Batman.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by ragingdrummerboy
I like the BTAS Bruce better because he gave an air of lightheartedness around him that sharply contrasted the dark aura of Batman...

That's true. The problem for me was that he also had the lightheartedness in private. It was only when he had the Batsuit on that we saw the dark persona. That doesn't seem as realistic to me in comparison to TNBA. I understand the need for a cover, but when you see him acting like that when only Grayson or Alfred's around, it no longer appears to be about putting up a front.

For someone that's only familiar with Batman through BTAS, they'd think Batman was a complete act. It's not. I'm not faulting BTAS. It's just that the TNBA depiction of Bruce seems a little truer.

[kid_flash]

I really like the comic book version best. I dunno, there's a charm to how dumb and playboyish he is. I think it's a good way for Bruce to just let it out and have a bit of fun after all the darkness.

I always hated the TNBA Bruce Wayne, because it was pretty much just Batman with different clothes, with a few exceptions. BTAS Bruce was cool, though.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by DarkAngel

That's true. The problem for me was that he also had the lightheartedness in private. It was only when he had the Batsuit on that we saw the dark persona. That doesn't seem as realistic to me in comparison to TNBA. I understand the need for a cover, but when you see him acting like that when only Grayson or Alfred's around, it no longer appears to be about putting up a front.


I'm more for a bit of comprimise in the Batman/Bruce personality - they're both the real thing, and yet both acts. The Bruce Wayne act is overly goofy and playboyish - that's the act for the public. The Batman personality is overly dark and ominous, because he needs to scare the crap out of the criminals. The real Bruce would be right inbetween. I feel he'd be more lighthearted in private when he's with Alfred or Dick - they are his surrogate family afterall.

I feel the comics really show this the best, but the BTAS Bruce/Batman also came very close.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Clayface


I feel he'd be more lighthearted in private when he's with Alfred or Dick - they are his surrogate family afterall.

I've never got that impression from the comics. Bruce's cold personality is what ruined his relationship with Grayson. That's not to say that Bruce doesn't care about Dick, or Tim, or Alfred, or anyone else. It's just that Bruce doesn't know how to express himself that well. He's not a person that's easy to befriend. Bruce is just not a lighthearted individual. You're right that he needs to strike fear in criminals, making the Batman persona darker. But that persona is darker only in that in private there's nobody for him to scare. But that doesn't make him lighthearted.

You're right that a balance is needed between the two. We need to see the act he puts on as well as who he truly is. And I think that was present in TNBA, but just not in a balanced manner. It was clouded due to the lack of public situations in which to see Bruce put up that front. But when it comes to Bruce in private, I think TNBA was dead-on. We just needed to see more public situation for Wayne.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by DarkAngel

I've never got that impression from the comics. Bruce's cold personality is what ruined his relationship with Grayson. That's not to say that Bruce doesn't care about Dick, or Tim, or Alfred, or anyone else. It's just that Bruce doesn't know how to express himself that well. He's not a person that's easy to befriend. Bruce is just not a lighthearted individual.



If you look back at the 80's comics (those the are the ones I grew up on), they had, IMO, the best version of Bruce. True, Bruce isn't very good at expressing himself, but that doesn'tmean he's cold or withdrawn from people like Alfred and Dick in private. Yes, his attitude did cause a rif between himself and Dick, but that happens even with regular everyday people. It doesn't mean he was always cold and steely with people in private yet that's the impression I got from TNBA. They made him far too cold. I didn't mean that Bruce is a lighthearted individual, but that he would be more lighthearted than he was portrayed in TNBA. I feel that BTAS captured this more than TNBA.




You're right that he needs to strike fear in criminals, making the Batman persona darker. But that persona is darker only in that in private there's nobody for him to scare. But that doesn't make him lighthearted.



I don't agree. I dont' see Bruce as that cold and stern in his heart - if he was, you wouldn't have al the great stories of him and his soft spot for kids and the whole surrogate family. He's more of a lost, hurt child that puts up a wall to those around him - afraid he'll be hurt again like he was with the loss of his parents. That's what prevents him from becoming too terribly close to anyone. But it doesn't mean he'd be so stern and dark in his heart like TNBA presented him.




You're right that a balance is needed between the two. We need to see the act he puts on as well as who he truly is. And I think that was present in TNBA, but just not in a balanced manner. It was clouded due to the lack of public situations in which to see Bruce put up that front. But when it comes to Bruce in private, I think TNBA was dead-on. We just needed to see more public situation for Wayne.


But even in all the public situations that we saw him in, he was still that cold, steely-eyed individual. He never used the Bruce persona in public anymore, and that's the big complaint most people have with the way he was presented in TNBA.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Clayface



I don't agree. I dont' see Bruce as that cold and stern in his heart - if he was, you wouldn't have al the great stories of him and his soft spot for kids and the whole surrogate family. He's more of a lost, hurt child that puts up a wall to those around him - afraid he'll be hurt again like he was with the loss of his parents. That's what prevents him from becoming too terribly close to anyone. But it doesn't mean he'd be so stern and dark in his heart like TNBA presented him.




I'm not saying Bruce is cold in his heart, but that he comes across that way. Obviously he cares greatly about people. Otherwise he wouldn't be doing the things he does (Batman, for instance). It's the act of putting up that wall that makes him come across as a cold, steely person. Yes, rifts occur between people all the time. But in the case of Bruce and Dick, I'm saying that the personality Bruce emits is what drove Dick away. If he was a lighthearted person, he would have had no problem saying the things he needed to say to Dick. But he refused to do that. I don't mean that in the sense of being cold-hearted or mean-spirited. It's just that Bruce doesn't seem to be the type of person that can easily let out hims emotions. He locks them away within them.

In public, the lighthearted aspect is an act. In private, he's not lighthearted. Not because he's dark in his heart, but because it just doesn't come naturally to him. And while the lighthearted aspect is an act, Batman is not, because it stems from who he is and what he became in the years after his parents death. I agree that TNBA didn't show the lighthearted act to the degree it needed to. But the "in private" portrayal of Bruce was accurate. Given the pain that feels inside and what that's driven him to become (Batman), Bruce Wayne cannot be lighthearted. That doesn't fit with what he does and who he is. Again, when I say all this, I refer to the way he carries himself and don't mean to imply that he has a dark, cold, or mean heart.

[Clayface]

I think you and I just disagree on how much of a wall Bruce puts up in his "regular" life. I feel that TNBA showed him putting up too much of a wall in private - cutting himself off more than he really would. For me, the private Bruce in BTAS came closest to the level I see him reaching. I feel the "real" Bruce is more emotionally accessible than you do.

[Naraht]

My favorite representations of Bruce come from the novelizations of Knightfall & NML....

There we see the innerworkings of Bruce's mind, where he really makes Bruce the Billionaire Playboy and "relies" on Lucious Fox to do the corprate thinking for him. In Private, he's Batman...and while he doesn't talk much, he isn't..harsh I guess is the word, so long as everyone is on HIS page. He doesn't see the FUN in life, and that's his fatal flaw...he'd be a bit happier if he had some FUN once in a while.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by naraht
In Private, he's Batman...and while he doesn't talk much, he isn't..harsh I guess is the word, so long as everyone is on HIS page.

That's basically how I view him, though I may not have worded my thoughts effectively. If TNBA had been able to incorporate the billionaire playboy image, then I feel their portrayal would have been perfect. As it stands, I felt they did a great job of showing that Bruce is Batman in private. I felt the BTAS Bruce was too jovial in private.