LogFAQs > #899070210

Zeus posted...

While both Batman and Wolverine are brooding characters and they have some basic costume similarities, it always seemed like Spider-Man was the more natural choice since both heroes use pest animals as their motif, both are orphans with an elderly caregiver, both chose to take up crime-fighting specifically in relation to a criminal killing a family member, both are geniuses, both refrain from killing, etc.

I'll admit that there are a few knocks against Spidey, though, including the fact he can hold down stable romantic entanglements and that he's portrayed younger. And he's not a grimdark character.

I'd say the "grimdark" aspect is the main problem. Batman is very much the brooding, grim vigilante, while Peter is quite possibly one of the most upbeat and cheerful of Marvel's heroes (even in spite of all the shit that happens to him on a regular basis). Their worldviews are almost diametrically opposed.

This even shows in terms of how they handle their motivating backstory deaths. Batman is a character whose parents' deaths sort of broke him as a functional human being, and left him as an avenging angel who basically has to kick the shit out of crime to assuage his own despair, but Uncle Ben's death acted more as an inspirational moment for Peter, making his crimefighting less of a personal obsession and more a sense of duty (so much so that Peter himself has repeatedly acted as similar motivation to OTHER heroes in the Marvel universe - apparently, just TALKING about his uncle's death and quoting back "With great power etc etc" is one of the most motivational things any young hero can hear in Marvel's world).

In that sense, the ideal pairing for Batman would probably be the Punisher - but the only flaw there being Batman's unwillingness to kill conflicting with the Punisher's entire MO. But a Batman who is willing to kill or a Punisher who is smarter (basically Frank and Microchip combined into a single person) and willing to use theatricality to his advantage rather than just shooting every criminal he meets gives you the most logical hybrid.

(You could also theoretically fuse Batman with Moon Knight, but that would just leave you with Batman. *sick burn* And Moon Knight was never really that popular...)

Also worth noting - 90% of Peter's early problems and interactions stemmed almost entirely from just how poor he was, and how he needed to support Aunt May, while Batman can basically buy his way out of almost any problem if necessary (but has to juggle the conflicting problems of being a millionaire/billionaire playboy by day versus his nighttime shenanigans). Which means a hybrid of the two either gives you a Spider-Man without most of his classical interactions or dilemmas, or a Batman who has to work three day jobs to afford all of his gadgets.

Batman and Spider-Man contrast more than then compare, for the most part.

Which is part of why it made an interesting dynamic when the YouTube "Happy Hour" series basically cast Batman into a sort of cynical mentor role to the more optimistic and idealistic Spider-Man.


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