Master Bruce — Roleplayer Guild

Gotham City, Elliot Memorial Hospital
12:15 PM

"Is his condition stable enough to give witness testimony?"

The doctor gave Captain Gordon an odd look, the kind that stated exactly what had become the expected response concerning any known prominent member of the five families of Gotham: don't push things that aren't your concern, or you'll wind up six feet beneath the harbor. But Gordon had been adamant about being able to speak with Maroni ever since he had arrived with the police detail that was assigned to protect the wounded mobster. Captain Flass of Gotham Central may have been on Salvatore's personal payroll, and it wasn't exactly a closed secret, but Gordon was able to claim jurisdiction on this through one fortunate loophole: thanks to a victim of the previous night's assault who had been pressed into talking in exchange for lenience, this was no longer a simple shooting case. This was a Batman case, and the Major Crimes Unit of Precinct 27 were specifically assigned to any and all sightings of the vigilante until capture. Gordon narrowed his eyes and folded his arms as he awaited the doctor's response. 

"I-I suppose, yes, the patient would be able to give you a statement once he's been transferred to a room following recovery. But I should warn you, the surgery to the ligament was extensive. It's likely that Mr. Maroni won't be able to walk without the aide of a cane for the rest of his life, so he may be a bit... distraught."

Gordon fought back a smirk, knowing it would seem unprofessional. 

"Well, I'll try and be delicate. Wouldn't want him to file a complaint with the Commissioner, would we?", Gordon sarcastically replied, turning to one of his officers at the door. "Valley, you're on guard. Radio me the moment that he's available. I'm going for a smoke."

The officer nodded as Gordon headed for the elevator. By the time that he had reached the nurse's station, his phone began to vibrate, prompting him to produce it from out of his front pocket. There were a few messages that he'd missed - primarily from his daughter Barbara, who wanted him to go on a grocery run - but there was one message that primarily piqued his interest. Comissioner Loeb had personally texted him fifteen minutes prior, sending a forboding message...

STAY WHERE YOU ARE, GORDON. HEADING TO YOU.

"Oh, Christ."

The Captain clenched the phone in his hands, wishing he'd thought to take his smoke break even earlier - to have potentially missed this undoubtedly unfortunate encounter to come. There was no denying that Gillian Loeb was a man of considerable influence within Gotham, and if you got on his good side, you would be treated very well for the rest of your career. Gordon had unfortunately made the mistake of trying to be an honest, law-abiding cop ever since he'd joined the force. And in Gotham City, that wasn't the sort of mentality that earned you points with the Commissioner. You were expected to play ball, or you'd find yourself on the receiving end of a billy club until you did. 

The only reason that Gordon had even been allowed to be promoted to Captain in the first place was because the press had gotten to him before Loeb could silence the troublesome Lieutenant for good, with reporters labelling him as a hero cop for personally capturing the infamous serial killer Joe Collins, 'The Burnside Butcher'. In truth, he'd happened upon Collins in the midst of a botched robbery, only managing to nab the collar through sheer luck - and at great expense, as it was during this incident that Gordon had tragically lost his wife in the ensuing shootout. 

Jim's loss had garnered public sympathy, however, essentially making him untouchable - and it was to Loeb's absolute frustration, who'd put on the public face of entrusting Gordon with turning the most corrupt precinct in Gotham around under a deserving leadership. Loeb even commenced the promotion with a speech that decorated Jim as one of Gotham's top officers. 

That entire story was false, of course, because what had actually happened felt more like a demotion - Jim had been made Captain of the only precinct in Gotham who wasn't on the take. Therefore, the one that was assigned the cases that went nowhere. The one that was horribly underfunded. The one that every cop that had been made scared for not accepting a bribe eventually wound up serving with, in mortal fear for their families lives. A professional dead end, so to speak, for a man that Loeb couldn't personally have removed. 

As luck would have it, though, that was precisely why Gordon's unit had been assigned to The Batman. Whenever traumatized witnesses had first come forth describing a literal demon leaping out of the skies and beating the living hell out of would-be muggers and thieves six months prior, Flass passed the case onto Precinct 27 with a laugh, thinking it to be a wild goose chase to keep the meddling Gordon out of his hair for at least a  couple of months. But the more that the so-called "Flying Mouse" had hit hard at the operations of the bigger gangs, and eventually the five families themselves, it became no secret that Flass had regretted giving the collar away. Batman was a threat to the entire operation that ensured Flass' livelihood, and Jim wasn't about to let that slip through his fingers. Not without a fight.

As the elevator doors opened, Gordon was greeted with a particularly flustered looking Commissioner Loeb. Practically shoving the Captain against the wall of the lobby, Loeb grit his teeth as he got directly into his subordinate's face.

"There you are, you interfering little shitstain..."

Gordon composed himself, but stared back, defiantly refusing to give into the Commissioner's abuse.

"Now just a minute, Gill. Before you even start with this, you and I both know that I have every right to be here. This is our case because you know exactly who attacked Maroni."

"I don't want to hear it, Gordon!", Loeb spit back, releasing the Captain from his grip. "I've been lenient with you on these... insubordination in the past, but you're stepping onto thin ice this time. And even your buddies at the Gotham Herald won't be able to save you if you keep this up. You know damn well that Maroni is off limits."

"And why is that, sir?", Jim asked, sneering. "Because he's a prominent citizen, or because he's a prominent contributor to your campaign for re-election?"

Loeb spun around, enraged, ready to strike the Captain for that comment. But Gordon was quick to acknowledge the oncoming doctors and nurses that were just returning from their lunch break, heading directly for the area and completely oblivious to Loeb's growing hostility. Knowing that he didn't want to cause a scene, he relented, lowering his tone of voice ever so slightly. 

"I'm going to ignore that for the moment, because you've caught me in a generous mood. But my generosity only extends so far, Captain. You'd be wise to remember that in the future."

Gordon began to walk past him. 

"Oh, I'm very aware. Now if we're done, I was just heading off prepare for writing up Maroni's statement. So if you don't mind..."

Immediately, Loeb grabbed him by the arm. 

"I do, actually. You didn't let me finish. When I said I was in a generous mood, I meant to say that I came here with a more tangible purpose than reminding you of who's in charge.", Loeb began, his venomous tone slipping into a whisper. "Clearly, that damn vigilante is proving too much of a task for your department to handle. Everyone in this city knows it the second that he lights up one of those giant floodlights in the sky, telegraphing your department's failure. You've been chasing smoke and mirrors for six months, and you still have nothing to show for it. That's why I'm giving the case to someone more qualified, so that this department might stand a chance of cleaning up your mess."

Gordon ripped his arm away. 

"Like hell you are. You'll need my department's cooperation if you want to strong-arm me away from this. Like it or not, we have the most extensive intel on The Batman in the entire city. Your boys wouldn't know where the hell to begin."

Loeb smiled. 

"Oh, I didn't say your department was completely off the case. I'm not a complete fool, James. I know what a nightmare of legal tape that would be to try and navigate. But seeing as you are no longer fit to lead the investigation, the precinct is going to be following the lead of a new head investigator that will report directly to me. Someone who will have authority over each and every one of you, able to keep your precinct in line in a way that you can't."

Gordon's eyebrow raised. 

"What in God's name are you talking about?"

"I believe, Captain, that your superior was referring to me..."

Turning around, Gordon was met with the outstretched hand of a stranger standing before him, dressed far from conspicuously. Jim's eyebrow raised high as he noticed the man's attire: dressed from head-to-toe in a slavishly pressed green three-piece suit, the individual looked directly into Gordon's eyes from behind a pair of tinted sunglasses, his face slightly obscured by the brimmed fedora that matched his suit. Gordon hesitantly shook the man's hand, causing the mysterious stranger to to smirk. 

"Edward Nashton, sir."

"I am something of a specialist on these matters."

Gordon quizzically glanced back. "'These' matters?"

"Oh, yes. I deal with extreme personalities, you see. Serial murderers, compulsive opportunists, anarchists in the making. Even the occasional costumed lunatic, of which your 'Batman' is far from the first. They all fancy themselves to be human riddles, ready to be solved. And I assure you that I am more than up to the challenge."

Loeb slapped Gordon on the shoulder, grinning. 

"You two will be seeing quite a bit of eachother, Gordon. Just remember that if he tells you to hop, you're to reply with 'how high'. Got me?"

The Captain narrowed his eyes as a clearly-pleased-with-himself Loeb headed down the hall, towards Maroni's intended room. Nashton watched Gordon's reaction carefully, as if he were scanning a book for information. 

"I take it that you're no fan of Commissioner Loeb."

"You're a regular world's greatest detective.", Gordon replied. "And what division are you from, exactly?"

Nashton lowered his glasses, smugly staring back. There was something off about the look in the man's eyes. As if they were there, but there was nothing - no empathy, no disgust, no genuine feeling at all behind them. 

"Let's just say that my direct superiors don't answer to any Mayor. They answer to the President. And that, I'm afraid, is all that I'm authorized to tell you at the moment."

Brandishing a walking cane, Nashton enthusiastically swung it upwards, so that it laid behind his neck. 

"Really, Captain Gordon, you look as though you're suffering from stress. Allow me to alleviate some of that by sparing you of any negative predilections of my intentions, here. Despite Loeb's wishes, I am in Gotham to be your primary weapon in capturing The Batman, and nothing more. I was once a profiler for the Coast City Police Department, but I turned that trade into something more malleable with the agency I'm currently under. If you wanted to see a collection of my greatest hits, I have a file waiting for you back at the precinct that is a perennial mile long."

Before Gordon could reply, Nashton walked past him and began to stroll towards the elevator, indicating that he should follow.

"So for now, I'll let you catch me up to speed. And only take over when I see fit to do so."

The Captain stared as the bizarre man, who seemed to revel in talking a mile a minute, turned around in the open elevator and awaited him. 

"To quote a classic, Captain... Shall we play a game?"

Gotham City, Financial District
1:45 PM

"Are you quite sure that you're up for this? I'm certain Mr. Dent would be more than happy to accomodate a rescheduling."

Alfred's worried tone aside, I have no reservations about meeting with Harvey for tonight's rally. Although I can't entirely say that I've fully bounced back from the disturbing imagery I was subjected to thanks to the lapsing of my own sense of reality, Bruce Wayne will nevertheless always have engagements that are more important than the whims of a brief psychological break. It's a lesson that I'm slowly learning the hard way, given it's not been easy to establish a more public version of myself that's willing to act in a manner befitting a man who could never do what I do at night, but the charade is starting to take effect. I just have to keep at it, and let everything else slip when in 'character'.

"No, Alfred. As much as I would love to miss a rally created with the express purpose of smearing my name in the public eye, we need this to happen. If I'm to be effective at what I do, The Batman has to be seen as an enemy of the law. And Harvey is my link into that world."

Alfred looks back at me through the rear-view mirror, questionably. 

"Right. And the point of this elaborate game of self-ostracization is what, again?"

I look back at him, sternly. 

"The police in Gotham aren't to be trusted. And that's because they're all complacent, waiting for men like Salvatore Maroni to wave a stack of money at them in order to let loose any moral obligation to protect the streets. If I turn Batman into public enemy number one, that enforces the idea that he's to be feared among the citizens. Which legitimizes the need for the police to fear him, aswell, if they're committed to playing the part of public servant."

With a scoff, Alfred makes his skepticism clear. 

"An interesting theory, lad, but I've got a better one. If Bruce Wayne is seen tarnishing the Batman in public, it furthers the dividing line in suspicion. They won't think you'd actually be crazy enough to devote time and resources into running a smear campaign against yourself."

I look back out at the passing city. 

"Well, it certainly doesn't hurt to cushion my alibi."

"And you're most certainly not crazy enough to actually think that this is going to do you anything but harm, either, one would hope. I was under the impression that the entire point of this crusade of your's was to appear as a symbol of hope for the city. Not a blight to be cursed at the very mention of."

"The public's never going to fully accept what I do, Alfred. And with good reason. I acknowledge the... extreme nature of what The Batman has to be.", I explain. "It's a dangerous thing to be putting myself against people like Falcone and Cobblepot, and the innocents that I'm trying to keep out of harm's way need to be separated from the very idea of supporting me even in a tangential way so that they're never put in the crosshairs for the sake of goading me. I'm not out to be anyone's hero. I'm just doing what needs to be done."

Though I can tell he wants to counter that, Alfred remains uncharacteristically silent. As he turns the corner leading onto the block to the District Attorney's office, where I'm meeting Harvey to discuss the plans for the Anti-Batman rally, my phone suddenly vibrates. I pull it out and answer, without checking who it is. Because I have a suspicion that I already know the answer.

"Bruce Wayne."

"Tell me you're not going to this ridiculous little show of Harvey's."

I sigh to myself, cursing the fact that I even picked up. 

"Nice to hear from you aswell, Selina."

"Oh, please. Skip the foreplay. If you were interested, you'd be the one to call. Most sane men do, anyway."

I smirk. 

"Wouldn't know anything about that. So what do you have against what Harvey's doing?"

"For one thing, it's a complete waste of taxpayer money. A stunt designed to invoke paranoia, and if Dent hasn't noticed, we're all teeming with that as is. Practically comes with the territory of living in this city."

"Well, first of all, it's not being funded by the taxpayers. I'm footing the bill on this."

"And you don't pay taxes? That isn't my point, Bruce.", Selina argues. "All of this false bravado is toxic for real issues that need to be tackled in Gotham. Engaging in a social event with the sole purpose of pointing out the obvious fact that some masked vigilante may not, infact, be the most stable individual in the world is far from where these idiots need to be lending their attention."

I nod as Alfred opens the door for me after parking, stepping out of the limousine myself. He's getting good at taking the cues for this whole 'Bruce Wayne's butler' act we've developed. I didn't even have to remind him, this time.

"I won't argue that there are more pressing concerns in the city than Batman, Selina, I just... think that he's a scary individual that needs to be dealt with. And a dangerous one, at that. Did you hear what he did to Salvatore Maroni?"

Her tone becomes more indignant. 

"Like Sal has ever been a saint. I'm honestly more pissed at the Bat-creep for not shooting him in the head instead of making him a cripple."

I pause, looking at the phone. 

"You don't mean that."

"And what if I do, Mr. Pacifist?", she asserts. "Look, I know that men like Maroni are generally part of the crowd you associate with these days - which, by the by, is not what I intended for you whenever I took your charity case of needing to mingle with Gotham's elite after you came waltzing back into town. But that doesn't change that whatever this 'Batman' is doing, he's doing it to the right people."

There's a bit of surprise in what I'm hearing, given that Selina is the daughter of the city's most notorious crimelord. But then again, she's never been exactly shy about how she feels about her father. Were it not for keeping up appearances and perhaps even some kind of blackmail that he has against her, I'm sure that she and Falcone would be estranged. I guess in some ways, she's playing as much of a part as I am. 

"Whatever the case may be, he's as much of a criminal as any of them. And the police aren't really doing anything about it, from the looks of things, so maybe it's up to the people to take charge. Harvey's passionate about bringing him in before he inspires imitators, and I'm inclined to agree with him. We can't have a city that thrives on vigilantism ontop of crime."

"You say that like it wouldn't be more interesting...", Selina murmurs. "But fine. I'll concede that maybe, just maybe the costumed freak needs to go before he starts giving people ideas. I've already heard horror stories about the people that Carmine has seen Oswald Cobblepot entertaining, lately. It's practically a masquerade ball down at that cheaply decorated nightclub of his."

I raise my eyebrow. 

Interesting. I didn't realize The Penguin was keeping colorful company.

"So you're saying you'll be there?"

"Jesus. You really can't do this without me, can you?", she replies, practically holding back laughter. "Fine. As usual, I'll come to your rescue and endow you with my sociable know-how. But you owe me. As much champagne as I can drink, on your tab, and I get to pick your suit for the Gotham Knight Gala. Deal?"

"I've seen your taste in fashion, and it's making me want to reconsider even going to that."

"Screw you, Wayne."

I smile as she hangs up. 

Sometimes it's the little things.

"Good news, Alfred. Turns out The Batman has at least one supporter."

@Master Bruce would your rank your opinions of Tom King, Scott Snyder and Grant Morrison?@Nightrunner

Oh, wow. My favorite kind of question! 

I'll start with Snyder, since he's my favorite of the three when it comes to Batman. Snyder's Batman arcs, particularly The Black Mirror, The Court Of Owls, Death Of The Family, and Zero Year, are among some of my favorite arcs in the entirety of Batmandom. He blends the larger-than-life conceptual stuff that I only wish I could pull off with the psychological study of Bruce Wayne type of storytelling that, again, I'm very goddamn envious of. It's taking the best of both worlds in terms of my preferred method of telling Bruce's story and mixing it in a blender. Snyder's work had such an impact on me that for a couple of years, I've been wanting to write my own fan-scripts for entire 13 episode seasons of a live action Batman television show that re-arranges his work so that it starts with a Zero Year inspired origin season, delves into the Court of Owls in the second, and has The Joker wreak havoc in the third. He's one of my favorite Batman writers ever, honestly, for his ideas alone. The only criticism I have is of his dialogue, which can be too wordy at best and too repetitious at worst (never try to play a drinking game where a Snyder-written character ends a sentence with "Dammit!"), and that his run ran out of steam a bit whenever he had Gordon take up the mantle. I appreciate trying new things, but he went a little far with Robo Bat-Cop. 

Grant Morrison, meanwhile, I have an immense love-hate relationship as far as Batman goes. His storytelling is absolutely incredible and he taught me so many things about the character's mythos that I never knew just by re-introducing them to the canon, such as the Zur-En-Arrh thing and the importance of the "Robin Dies At Midnight!" story from the Silver Age. There are quite a number of issues of his that I absolutely adore and cite as some of my favorites for the character, specifically "Joe Chill In Hell", which has Bruce remembering one of his earliest cases while in a coma that plays out like an episode of Twin Peaks. However, the hate part comes in whenever it comes to his actual characterization of Batman. He can be a little too out there and all over the place, at once playing Batman as the no-nonsense serious detective that he's been portrayed as for the majority of the modern era, but also really leaning heavily into the sillier aspects of the canon to create a more "rounded" portrayal that just comes off as inconsistent. His swan song with Batman, Incorporated honestly just read as Bruce doing his best Tony Stark impression, and I didn't really like that at all. Also, while I love a majority of what he did with the supporting cast, and I do really like Damian Wayne when written correctly, I never really liked how he made Talia a full-fledged villainess. She went too far down the rabbit hole and became too irredeemable, when the point of her character was always the conflict between her father and her love for Bruce. And lastly, the tone that he established with the stories that he told, even though they are meant to be way different from the Batman stories told since the 80's, got way too tiresome to keep up with near the end. I was so relieved when the book got relaunched with Snyder and that immediate feeling of tone from something like Batman: The Animated Series came back, because Morrison had made it a different, nigh incomprehensible animal for a long time. 

Tom King... Christ. This is where things get alot murkier, because King is probably one of the most celebrated Batman writers of recent memory that I just absolutely loathe for some parts. I was down with his run at first, but immediately noticed something was off whenever he started sprinkling in his own little affectations (My Bruce is never going to call Selina "Cat" because I find it so goddamn annoying) into the story and started trying to make it a bit too much of his own thing. I honestly gave up on the book after the second arc because I wasn't feeling it, and felt like he didn't really have a good voice for Bruce at all. Then the book turned around for me after his supremely dumb "War Of Jokes And Riddles" arc, which I despised. Once that was over, he started focusing more on Bruce's relationship with Catwoman, bringing the engagement thing to the forefront. Now, while I was resistant to Bruce and Selina ever settling down at first, eventually I started to really love the idea as King wrote it. He writes an amazing Selina Kyle, way moreso than Bruce, and she easily became the best character of his run whenever she had to tackle the realities of potentially being Batman's wife. For a long time, I've been of the opinion that Bruce would always put his work before everything and never fall in love, but I always had that spark of something that wanted him and Selina to just say "fuck it" and marry for the sake of throwing aside the tedious love affairs Bruce always gets into. Selina is his true love, and I wholeheartedly believe that Batman's gotten to a point where he can reconcile that and still be who he is. They've done the dance for too long not to be soulmates. But, King's handling of Bruce's character just still reads as a little too off-script for my liking, and his dialogue is insanely pretentious. Reading an issue of his Batman really kicks off my Writer's OCD, if that makes any sense. He just gets too far up his own ass sometimes, which was basically the entirety of the War Of Jokes And Riddles arc. 

But yeah. Snyder, Morrison, King. I wouldn't say those are my top three of the entirety of writers that have tackled the character. Paul Dini and Dennis O'Neil vastly outrank all three of them, for my money, and I have favorites like Chuck Dixon, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, and a few others that would probably round out my ideal list. But Snyder's up there, and Morrison's not too many notches behind him. King I'm alot more iffy on.

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