Bat-rant probably of interest to the very few
There's not that many things comics can do to piss me off. Okay, maybe there's plenty, but I'm usually pretty forgiving and try to see the comics writer's pov about why they did things or put a good spin on it. There is, however, one thing that is a personal peeve that makes it unforgivable in my book.
Dear DC: Dick Grayson is my favorite character. When he was a small boy he took an oath pledging himself to Batman and Batman's fight. Even though he was a kid--perhaps all the more so because he was a kid--he took it really seriously. He still remembers every word and lives by the same vow as an adult. It was that kind of vow. Some people find that kind of thing silly and sort of medieval, but it's important to him. It's kind of a defining moment in his life. Probably *the* defining moment in his life.
Please some stealing it whenever you need a cheap awards scene for a new Batgirl, either new ones like Stephanie or retconned versions of Barbara Gordon. A vow is a personal commitment to dedicate your life to something bigger than yourself. It is not an graduation ceremony that proves you're good enough to wear a batsymbol because you've finished a hazing period. It's not a mark of girlpower that you're doing the same thing as one of the boys, or in the same place (without Batman actually knowing about it). It's telling me something momentous is happening by referring to a scene that was actually sort of momentous, which only invites me to compare them and see that the Stephanie is not dedicated to the same things in the same way as Dick Grayson was when he was a child. This is probably true of most moments that come to be really effective for a character--there's a reason that you can't randomly grab things from one person's backstory and assume they'll mean the same thing in someone else's life. Especially if it's a vow and a character mostly known for not recognizing authority and not taking things like that seriously. You just flip-flopped the whole meaning of the thing. We know she's not going to quit, because her character never quits because she personally enjoys what she's doing. It's a meta-reward to her of someone taking her seriously, not a scene of her taking them seriously or it seriously.
And in general, if you like the female characters to be independent and respected on their own merits, stop using the male characters as yardsticks by which you measure their progress (or provide an antagonist). Could you just not come up with a gesture that reflected their own very different issues (other than their issues with Batman?)? Or at least admit what their issues are? And that they have very little to do with dark caves and candlelit vows to fight crime and corruption? You can't affectionately describe the Batcave as the boy's clubhouse and then use it as a cathedral. It imo makes the female characters more like pale hanger-on to the male characters and less like independent characters with their own backstory.
Btw, just to show the contrast, you know that panel where Cass says she's loyal to "this" and points at the Bat-symbol? There's an example of creating an organically iconic moment that fits the new character. It means somewhat the same thing as Dick's vow, but naturally without words, and in a different context. It works for both because it was an honest expression of what they felt and wanted to promise. Without that it's just miming the scene with women.
In short, stop it.
Dear DC: Dick Grayson is my favorite character. When he was a small boy he took an oath pledging himself to Batman and Batman's fight. Even though he was a kid--perhaps all the more so because he was a kid--he took it really seriously. He still remembers every word and lives by the same vow as an adult. It was that kind of vow. Some people find that kind of thing silly and sort of medieval, but it's important to him. It's kind of a defining moment in his life. Probably *the* defining moment in his life.
Please some stealing it whenever you need a cheap awards scene for a new Batgirl, either new ones like Stephanie or retconned versions of Barbara Gordon. A vow is a personal commitment to dedicate your life to something bigger than yourself. It is not an graduation ceremony that proves you're good enough to wear a batsymbol because you've finished a hazing period. It's not a mark of girlpower that you're doing the same thing as one of the boys, or in the same place (without Batman actually knowing about it). It's telling me something momentous is happening by referring to a scene that was actually sort of momentous, which only invites me to compare them and see that the Stephanie is not dedicated to the same things in the same way as Dick Grayson was when he was a child. This is probably true of most moments that come to be really effective for a character--there's a reason that you can't randomly grab things from one person's backstory and assume they'll mean the same thing in someone else's life. Especially if it's a vow and a character mostly known for not recognizing authority and not taking things like that seriously. You just flip-flopped the whole meaning of the thing. We know she's not going to quit, because her character never quits because she personally enjoys what she's doing. It's a meta-reward to her of someone taking her seriously, not a scene of her taking them seriously or it seriously.
And in general, if you like the female characters to be independent and respected on their own merits, stop using the male characters as yardsticks by which you measure their progress (or provide an antagonist). Could you just not come up with a gesture that reflected their own very different issues (other than their issues with Batman?)? Or at least admit what their issues are? And that they have very little to do with dark caves and candlelit vows to fight crime and corruption? You can't affectionately describe the Batcave as the boy's clubhouse and then use it as a cathedral. It imo makes the female characters more like pale hanger-on to the male characters and less like independent characters with their own backstory.
Btw, just to show the contrast, you know that panel where Cass says she's loyal to "this" and points at the Bat-symbol? There's an example of creating an organically iconic moment that fits the new character. It means somewhat the same thing as Dick's vow, but naturally without words, and in a different context. It works for both because it was an honest expression of what they felt and wanted to promise. Without that it's just miming the scene with women.
In short, stop it.