Catwoman short.

There were a few clips and images from this short that upset the comics internet.  My opinion is, if you accept the story premise then everything within this mini movie makes perfect sense.  Catwoman strips, yes.  But she is chasing some bad guys and they end up in a strip club.  In order to get their guards down Catwoman pretends to be a fellow stripper.  The henchmen even comment on this, “she looks like that Catwoman the papers are talking about”.  Why would a vigilante be stripping?  It must be some sort of tribute or costume and thus it makes perfect sense for the bad guys to relax and then be easily defeated.

The other odd part in the cartoon is the super hero physics.  Catwoman is highly trained and genetically gifted but underneath it all still human.  Remember that it is a comic and things are supposed to be over the top, but nothing is ridiculous.  Catwoman is skilled with her whip and she would use it to attack or to climb onto things.  Rough Cut is bigger than her, and his strength doesn’t seem out of the “street level hero” world that Catwoman is in.  He would be a dangerous adversary and she would have trouble with him.  But he’s not flying or shooting beams out of his eyes, or anything like that.  Rough Cut is strong, damn strong, but it is still a realistic villain for a realistic hero.

The intense destruction of the final battle was a little too accidental for my tastes.  Things fall or hook into place, without Catwoman directly putting the items into those places.  It was more lucky than heroic and annoyed me a bit.  However, that is such a small complaint on an otherwise action packed mini movie.

 

Batman Year One

I never saw this before in the graphic novel, and I will reread it soon, but this story is equally about James Gordon as it is about Batman.  Gordon’s arrival in Gotham City at the same time as Bruce Wayne returns after years of training.  Both men are trying to find their calling and define themselves as heroes in a corrupt town.  They both have triumphs and failures.  A woman’s life is influenced by the mere existence of each man.  I’ll even go so far as to say that both men could potentially be Batman if not for one flaw.

James Gordon is the star of the first half of this movie.  He is one of the biggest badasses ever seen on film.  He may look small, and the glasses/trench coat combination does nothing for him.  Then he takes out a Green Beret, and with ease.  This is not to say that either man finds things easy.  They both get their asses handed to them and are lucky to escape.  Batman and Gordon could have died in these early adventures and that would have been it for them.  Thankfully for both they are as sharp with their minds as they have been with their bodies.  Sometimes fighting back starts long before the fight has started.  Planning goes a long way to ensure victories for both men.

While Jim holds true to what he believes is right and wrong, and works within a system, Bruce fights crime and corruption his own way.  Again, the parallels between the two.  They both start small and work their ways up the ladder of injustice.  Crime is like a pyramid, there is always someone more powerful and making more money.  Unlike a pyramid though there is no solid foundation and each level will save their own asses or lives by selling out the person above them.  Bats and Gordon know this well and take down whole corporations of corruption one pawn at a time.

All that being said though, there is a reason that Batman succeeds where Gordon doesn’t.  It is the image of the bat.  He is myth, he is legend, he is not a man but a story that is whispered in the night by children trying to scare each other.  Gordon will always be just a man.  Whether its the costume, the gadgets or the bats (damn that’s a cool scene) Batman cant help but be larger than life.  While he influences Catwoman, she is still “just a human”.  There is a wink and a nod to Metropolis within this tale but no super beings are actually shown or mentioned.  As far as the people in Gotham City know, Batman is god.  A dark avenging shadowy god, but a god nonetheless with powers beyond any human capabilities.  Jim Gordon is still just a man.

And THAT is why he can never be Batman.  Despite great training and great detective skills and high high morals James Gordon is still a man.  A man with desires and a penis and sometimes that part of him leads to nothing but trouble.  Sure Bruce Wayne has Talia, or Selina, or Vicky Vale or any other woman’s name you would like to place on that list.  But never once does he come across as controlled by his sex drive or his emotions.  Sure, this is Year One, but Batman always has a plan.  Sex is seen as a pleasure, but not a necessity.  The man has trained himself to live without food, water and sleep.  He has damn sure learned to control any and all sexual desires.  Due to this, he doesn’t mess up, he doesn’t let lust get the best of him, and he doesn’t create a target.  Gordon messed up, and it effects his work, his marriage, and everyone around him.  He shows weakness, he shows a hole in his armor.

Never before have I seen this much, delved so deep into the classic Year One story.  Just as a means to open your eyes to a new way of thought this movie is worth a prominent spot on your DVD shelf.