I think Batman's more than a part timer now.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

Judging by his more active involvements with the League. I mean he was helping out against a powerful sorceror in "The Greatest Story Never Told" I think he's realziing how much more good he can do to the world by being a more active member of the League. I mean he helped found the new team and is one of the senior members. That already contracted something from Batman Beyond, that he never made it past part-timer.

[Fone Bone]

Judging by his more active involvements with the League. I mean he was helping out against a powerful sorceror in "The Greatest Story Never Told" I think he's realziing how much more good he can do to the world by being a more active member of the League. I mean he helped found the new team and is one of the senior members. That already contracted something from Batman Beyond, that he never made it past part-timer.

You mean contradicted?

I've seen nothing on JLU that says Batman doesn't only help when he wants. I've never seen him not set his own schedule on JL or JLU. If we had a scene that said "Oh Croc's escaped from Arkham; better put that meeting in the Watchtower on hold."

Are you implying Batman Beyond is not in continuity?

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

No, I was just adding that Batman certainly is around a lot for being a "parttimer" which is what they said in Batman Beyond and for the record I believe BB is a possible future so I have no problem with Batman being a full time member. My point here is that when Green Arrow says he doesn't belong with the League Batman says "Someone like you will keep us honest." A part timer would say "I'm only here parttime so I don't really care what you do"

[awh1978]

Are you implying Batman Beyond is not in continuity?

I'm pretty sure we'll have this little matter resolved by the end of the season: there's already been some spirited debate about this one.

As for Batman's involvement, in this series I haven't seen the distinction between part timer and full timer. It's not like Superman is constantly doing League business, and he's a full member. The only person who seems to lack solo activities is MM. My guess is that Bats is in the special position of having all the perks of being a senior/founding member of the League while also being able to pick and choose his missions. In addition, MM probably chooses not to call Batman unless he's critical to mission success.

[Fone Bone]

No, I was just adding that Batman certainly is around a lot for being a "parttimer" which is what they said in Batman Beyond and for the record I believe BB is a possible future so I have no problem with Batman being a full time member. My point here is that when Green Arrow says he doesn't belong with the League Batman says "Someone like you will keep us honest." A part timer would say "I'm only here parttime so I don't really care what you do"

But Batman DOES care whether he's a part-timer or not. He's not the most apathetic guy in the world.

And I think BB is cannon to the DCAU so I don't see the writers knocking it out with one line.

[Vin]

I think more than anything, that line in "The Call" was meant to be a mere throwaway line. "Batman was never really what you'd call a joiner" or something like that. That's true. Batman considers himself to be more of a loner, despite the fact that he surrounds himself with other superheroes and teammates.

I don't think that when that episode was created, Bruce Timm and co. thought they would be creating a Justice League series eventually and thus, it shouldn't be held to too greatly. Batman is as much a member of the league as anybody else, so I don't really think that one line should hold too much weight. Afterall, he did found the original Watchtower and possibly some of the newer satellites. He definitely has an invested interest in it.

[Simpler Simon]

More like the JL (and JLU) have had tons more adventures off-screen that Batman was never part of. It just happens that the ones he's in are the ones the creative team choose to show us.

Or Batman just likes to call himself a part-timer because he doesn't want to officially commit himself to anything the league does, in which case everyone else is humouring him about his so-called "part-time" status.

[BigFatHairyDeal]

Hi everyone,

I recall that in the episode "Hereafter," Batman hadn't "made it official." He was still a "part-timer" at that point. However, with all of his appearances in JLU thus far, he seems awfully busy with the League. I'm guessing for continuity's sake, he's still a part-timer, but it so happens that the events televised happen to be when Batman was volunteering his services.

I'm not the biggest fan of Batman as a Leaguer, so I personally wish he'd be less seen or heard. Don't get me wrong, I like Batman a lot when he's working in Gotham against his usual suspects, but Batman and a whole slew super-powered superheroes doesn't always make for the best match. Somewhat ironically, though, the current Superman/Batman run by Loeb is my favorite current comic arc.

[Nick K.]

Also that is what Warhawk said.. but how would he know definitely? He wasn't around... Batman may have left on bad terms and Supes and other Leaguers may have spread he wasn't a big contributor anyways. People, even heroes, by nature are cynical like that.

[DerekPowers]

well, i think thats kind of a technicality. not everything can line up perfectly, you know.

anyway, i think in season 1 he was definately portrayed as a part timer, but as the series progressed, things have changed, especailly now with jlu.

like, in season one they always showed batman in the batcave away from the league, and bats always kind of just showed up out of the blue, which was cool. one of the coolest scenes i think was in paradise lost when he just shows up out of the shadows and interogates that scientist guy.

also, in the enemy below, he kind of just appears out of the shadows to lend a hand. so i think they kind of had that 'part timer' thing in mind in season one. but he could still be a part timer. i mean, you gotta assume that he's off fighting crime in gotham for a good amount of time, so maybe we only get to see the adventures he's in. who knows.

i personally would like to see more of the mysterious batman again, the one that just appears out of the shadows and stuff. ah well.

and, on a side not, it IS awesome that by the end of this season, the whole 'is bb the real future of the dcau' debate will finally be put to rest. AND THOSE OF US WHO SAID ALL ALONG THAT IT IS WILL BE VICTORIOUS!!!! hehe, just joking ofcourse. peace.

[HelloKittyKat]

I think this "part-timer" business is just nonsense. In JLA Batman was supposed to be a part-timer as well but he was just as dedicated as anyone else, if not more so. And he has like four ongoing titles.

Simply put, people need to stop making Batman into a brooding, alienated, unlikeable jerk.

[Toddman]

Is Batman really contributing more time to the League now than he has in the past? Let's take a look...

After the formation of the group in "Secret Origins", Batman played a part in five of the League's first seven storylines from Season 1.

In Season 2, he showed up for five times again out of the first seven storylines.

In the first season of JLU, after the first seven storylines, Batman has showed up ....(anybody wanna guess?)....five times. And keep in mind that in one of those episodes ("Initiation") he wasn't even on an active mission with the team, and the appearance of all three characters from "FTMWHE" wasn't during official League business.

So really, one could argue that his participation in the third season of JL is actually less than the first two seasons.

Sure he helped set up the new team, but that's really no more than he did when he helped found the original team (a fact also mentioned in "The Call"), supplying them with a headquarters and transportation, right? And since he was still considered a part-timer in "Hereafter", it doesn't look like anything has changed for him since then.

Maybe the only difference between being a full-time member and being a part-time member is a dental plan.

...in season one they always showed batman in the batcave away from the league, and bats always kind of just showed up out of the blue, which was cool. one of the coolest scenes i think was in paradise lost when he just shows up out of the shadows and interogates that scientist guy.

also, in the enemy below, he kind of just appears out of the shadows to lend a hand. so i think they kind of had that 'part timer' thing in mind in season one.

I totally agree with that^! I'd much rather see Bats hanging out in the Batcave by himself rather than up in the Watchtower with the rest of the group. I will say though, that in addition to actually labeling him as a "part-timer" in Season 2, he also displayed some loner tendancies in "Secret Society" and seemed to be intentionally absent in "Eclipsed."

Toddman

[RAINMAN]

I think this "part-timer" business is just nonsense. In JLA Batman was supposed to be a part-timer as well but he was just as dedicated as anyone else, if not more so. And he has like four ongoing titles.

Simply put, people need to stop making Batman into a brooding, alienated, unlikeable jerk.

But he is. Look how he boss flash around. Look how he always give WW the cold shruder. At the end of kid stuff he killed the good mood of the ep by brienging up his bitterness. And you saw what he did to boster gold at the end of this past week ep. Falsh is right. Not even aquaman is no match for batman when acting like a jerk.

[HelloKittyKat]

But he is.

He doesn't have to be. Pretty much up until The Dark Knight Returns Batman was a very personable character. Even in Frank Miller's story he was a jerk pretty much because he had to be in order to make a difference. Look at BTAS episodes: he's very personable as Bruce Wayne and surprisingly sympathetic to his enemies. He's terse when the police are impeeding him from doing right.

Pretty much I'll just quote Dr. Mid-Nite from the JLA/JSA crossover when he confronted Batman:

"I see right through you. It's never been anger that drives you. It's hope. Hope for a better world."

[awh1978]

He doesn't have to be.

Bats isn't always a jerk, he just comes across as pure business most of the time. Which is as it should be, but there have been plenty of instances where you see his more human side. If he really is a jerk he wouldn't have visited Supes on his B-day. Ok, maybe he wanted to know where the fortress of solitude was, but I'm guessing he already knew. If the movie version of Lex Luthor could figure it out, so can Batman. Besides, he was awfully nice to Wonder Pig, even if he should have been smart enough to just leave her in the Batmobile.

[DerekPowers]

He doesn't have to be. Pretty much up until The Dark Knight Returns Batman was a very personable character. Even in Frank Miller's story he was a jerk pretty much because he had to be in order to make a difference. Look at BTAS episodes: he's very personable as Bruce Wayne and surprisingly sympathetic to his enemies. He's terse when the police are impeeding him from doing right.

Pretty much I'll just quote Dr. Mid-Nite from the JLA/JSA crossover when he confronted Batman:

"I see right through you. It's never been anger that drives you. It's hope. Hope for a better world."

i LOVE the dark and brooding batman. it much more, i dont know, real and tangable to me, you know. it makes him MORE human, imo.

[James]

He doesn't have to be. Pretty much up until The Dark Knight Returns Batman was a very personable character. Even in Frank Miller's story he was a jerk pretty much because he had to be in order to make a difference. Look at BTAS episodes: he's very personable as Bruce Wayne and surprisingly sympathetic to his enemies. He's terse when the police are impeeding him from doing right.

Pretty much I'll just quote Dr. Mid-Nite from the JLA/JSA crossover when he confronted Batman:

"I see right through you. It's never been anger that drives you. It's hope. Hope for a better world."

Batman? A jerk? No. He's human who has learnt, being a detective to see the world in a far more black and white way than most of us do. In the 80s Batman became a lot more inflexible as writers started to humanise the character and envisioned a character which was closer to the roots of his pain and the mandate of his mission. He became less superficial and more complex. He does care for people, it is the core of his quest, but he does it in a very logical and cold manner. If he's having a bad time, that manner becomes more apparent as he buries his feelings - feelings which simply get in the way of what he needs to do. Any quest - any war - to be any success requires as little emotion as possible - Bruce has taught himself to work that way, but unfortunately, his quest is tainted by the fact that he has a lot of emotions running deep which while surpressed, bubble to the surface on occasions and manfest. He's a mixed up character, but how he acts in the league is in character for Bruce Wayne. He works methodically and logically. In a situation when so many people depend on his, Batman becomes more cold and more logical. He doesn't stand for fools (Booster Gold) in such occasions.

Batman isn't full time in my opinion, but his ethos is to do anything he does to the best of his ability. If he helps the league he does just that, but I never feel the League is his top priority, Gotham is and that is why he's not a full time League member. He helps on HIS time, not theirs. That's not to say he doesn't help a lot, but not at the Leagues whim.

[mikestorm]

It's an interesting paradox.

Based on what we know of his personality and how we expect him to behave, fans would like to think he primarily does his own thing in Gotham, and lends a hand to the JL only when necessary.

However, the spotlight is off Gotham now ("The Batman" doesn't count and you know it!) yet Batman is easily the fan favorite. Nowadays the only way we'll see our beloved Kevin Conroy Bats is if he does partipate in JL missions.

So do we allow him to stay true to character with him only actively participating in a very small amount of episodes, or do we say the heck with what we expect him to do so we can get our weekly Bat fix?

[G. Wen]

Batman isn't a jerk, just introverted. That's his personality. When he's in so many League adventures, it takes away from his personality. I'm not saying he should give everyone the cold shoulder, but it would be more in character for him to do the behind the scenes League business, like investigations he can do on his own.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

But he is. Look how he boss flash around. Look how he always give WW the cold shruder. At the end of kid stuff he killed the good mood of the ep by brienging up his bitterness. And you saw what he did to boster gold at the end of this past week ep. Falsh is right. Not even aquaman is no match for batman when acting like a jerk.

What in all honesty do you have against Batman? That line in "Kid Stuff" was arguably the best part of the episode. As for Flash, he's immature that's why Batman has to be kinda rough with him.