Tag: chaos

Holy fatcats! Absolute Batman is coming!

Come October 9, 2024, there will be a new Batman in the Gotham neighborhood: Absolute Batman. He is, well, different, and thus worthy of perusal.

Come October 9, 2024, it is said there will be a new Batman in the Gotham neighborhood: Absolute Batman. He is, well, different, and thus worthy of perusal. More so, because the rest of the DC Comics Trinity — Wonder Woman and Superman – will follow Batman into the new Absolute Universe later in October.

Kudos for DC Comics, writer Scott Snyder, artist Nick Dragotta, and colorist Frank Martin for plunging into what could be called a Batman for our times. Not that DC has been shy about creating some extreme versions of Batman for its Absolute Editions, but this new Absolute Batman feels like a totally inverted image of the prime Batman.

This Batman is not one of the multiple iterations of prime Batman. He is not the brooding Batman of the 1930s (hey, there was a depression then), or the lighter Batman & Robin exclamatory duo of the 1950s (war hero Eisenhower was presiding over a prosperous economy), or even the focused-on-justice-for-Mom-and-Dad Batman of 1989 (people were suffering through an economic slowdown again). This oh so different Batman is not even a figment of his own imagination, like in the 2022 Batman Unburied series.

The new Absolute Batman has shed all his original self, for real!

Batman’s wealthy parents Martha and Thomas Wayne were not killed by thugs, as they were in the prime Batman Universe. They are now very much alive and not at all wealthy. Dad is a teacher, and Mom works in the Mayor’s Office.

As it must follow, Bruce Wayne is not the billionaire owner of Wayne Enterprises, but an engineer (or construction worker per some previews). Thugs are not among his shunned and hunted adversaries, since he grew up with them in the heart of Gotham.

From the perspective of the new Absolute Batman, there are bigger fish to fry than thugs and petty crime bosses. His principal adversaries are the powerful within the established system, those (like the traditional Bruce Wayne?) who have the wealth and resources that most citizens of Gotham lack.

This Batman no longer represents a perceived established system that aims to bring order to Gotham. Absolute Batman’s modus operandi is not to bring order where chaos reigns, but to use disorder and chaos to destroy the established order he finds objectionable.

In an interview with Comicbook, Scott Snyder encapsulates the core of the new Batman,

“I don’t want to give too much away but one of the core concepts of the series is that in this world, Bruce will be the small chaos in the system and the villains will be more powerful, have more resources.”

“We want it to feel like Batman, yet brand new,” … “But the core idea, that he is the anarchy, not the system, and his adversaries are more systemic … “

One must assume the new Absolute Batman is a Batman for our times.

The world is not yet Gotham. But how are we doing in the orderly establishment departments, public or private? Everybody feel comfortable with Big Tech or Big Pharma? Is everybody confident with their own safety and the safety of their family in their homes, streets, schools? Everybody feel confident that on November 5th all will go smoothly?

If sincerely answered, responses to the above questions would be “not great” and “no.” The established establishment, public or private, has no credible plan to lower the unsustainable national debt, curb the power of monopolies, make effective public education available to all children, heal the minds of our youth (think teen suicides and school shootings), or end what is becoming universal dependence on public assistance or selective dependence on criminal endeavors (think gang membership and drug dealing).

In the absence of cogent planning and action, we get extreme gibberish — We will end inflation with price controls! I can end a war with a phone call! Medicare for all! We are being run by a bunch of cat ladies! This real-life twaddle feels like the equivalent of the new Absolute Batman’s hulking inelegant frame bringing chaos and calling it remedy. Meanwhile, believers of the twaddle could be compared to the new Absolute Bruce Wayne, who continues to live in Crime Alley among the thugs so he can learn from them how to fight the “fat cats.”

“This is Absolute Batman, going up against the fat cats, the one percenters, the ones who play the populace and make them dance, sacrificing them for their own purposes, and then making them blame each other. This Absolute Batman has been planning for a long time, staying in Gotham to learn rather than travelling the world and doing the kind of jobs that an eccentric billionaire trust fund kid would never do.” Bleedingcool.com, September 12, 2024.

It will be interesting to see if this inverted Batman sells.

Hopefully, DC Comics will succeed in engaging their readers in the new personality of Bruce Wayne and the new modus operandi of Absolute Batman. A quick look at Reddit>Comics, or any of the numerous comics forums will show that readers pay attention to the origins, motives and conscience of their Superheroes. Will they feel that Absolute Bruce Wayne is a bit too average? A bit too much a product of our times? A bit too obviously a diversity and inclusion justice warrior?

After all, today’s readers can too often find chaos and disorder in their own neighborhoods, schools, and sadly their own homes. Will they be interested in someone who – unlike prime Batman who aims for return to order — uses bursts of brute force to simply plow through adversaries? We shall see.

Picture: This is what Batman looked like back in 1939, when he first appeared in the comics. He was slim, agile, sophisticated. When Absolute Batman comes out in October, make comparisons. The picture is from article on CBR.com, Every Single Batman Suit & Costume, In Chronological Order, dated July 1, 2024.

Trump in Iowa – Bad news for elites

Former President Donald Trump received a landslide win in the Iowa caucus. As the chaos bringer, deep state foe, and beloved of “deplorables” and other hard-working folks, Trump is putting fear in the hearts of the elites.

U.S. former President Donald Trump easily won the Republican Iowa caucus on Tuesday. He has remained the leading Republican candidate throughout the campaigns. Meanwhile President Joe Biden’s approval ratings keep falling. By now, Trump — “unpresidential,” loved by “deplorables,” name caller, knee-high in legal troubles, and the bringer of chaos – he must be putting fear and trembling in the hearts of the elites (globalists, deepstaters, corporate cronies can be included).

You see, Trump is not a career politician. He does not need from the elites money or permission to take action. He looks pretty much like he is running for President only because he is peeved, annoyed, tired of the status quo. He is ready to rumble. Ready for some serious chaos that might upend the long march towards the capitalism with Chinese characteristics (i.e., cronyism) beloved of the elites.

A lot of Americans seem also ready to turn tides in several areas of both government and society. For example,

Relentless increase in size and scope of government agencies intent on micromanaging not only the country’s economy, but also the lives of the country’s people. For some people it might be difficult to believe the following paragraph did not come from the Babylon Bee.

“The Department of Commerce is developing the Business Diversity Principles (BDP) Initiative as part of its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan goal of promoting inclusive capitalism and equitable economic growth for all Americans.” U.S. Department of Commerce. Business Diversity Principles Initiative. December 22, 2023.

Unremitting increases in the already unsustainable national debt, currently of $34 trillion. As the media and other progressives revile Congress’ Freedom Caucus for fighting debt increases, voters wonder what the debt might do to their retirement funds, to their grandchildren’s economic well-being, to the country’s ability to keep borrowing to support massive spending.

“Public concern about federal spending is on the rise. In a new Pew Research Center survey about the public’s policy priorities, 57% of Americans cited reducing the budget deficit as a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year, up from 45% a year ago.” 5 Facts About the U.S. National Debt. Pew Research Center. February 14, 2023.

The overwhelming number of unauthorized U.S. border crossers have caused respected aphorism, like “we are a nation of immigrants,” to now sound hollow to an increasing number of Americans.

“Annually, illegal immigration now costs taxpayers billions of dollars a year. For instance, in states far away from the southern border like Illinois, that cost was $4.59 billion in 2022. That’s $930 per household. Every year.
The crisis now costs California $21.76 billion and Texas $8.88 billion annually in education, health care, law enforcement and criminal justice system costs, welfare expenditures, and more. Border states are often the subject of shocking reports of epidemics of violent attacks, taxpayers footing the bill for illegal aliens’ health care costs, and increased property destruction.” Shocking Cost of the Illegal Immigration Crisis to Americans. The Heritage Foundation. February 17, 2023.

The list can go on with several other ills either ignored, too entrenched, or welcomed by opportunists. Voters might be awakening to the possibility that great risk and major chaos are the only way to erase or at least ameliorate such ills. Any wonder Donald Trump is the contender to the reckoned with?

Halloween – Ah, the good old days

Celebrating the good old days at some point in everyone’s life is inevitable – like death and taxes. But, hey, Halloween was once fun. Not only for the little ones lusting after candy from the neighborhood, but also for the candy givers. How many kids came to your door this Halloween?

Do kids come to your door Trick or Treating on Halloween? Do you decorate your porch or window with ghosts and goblins? Or do you even buy Halloween candy? In so many neighborhoods, the answer is “no” these days.

Things have changed from the proverbial good old days.

The good old days. That’s when kids played outside until dark, usually unsupervised. That’s when kids decided on their own whether they were going to jump rope, play hide-and-seek, ride their bikes, or walk to the ice cream shop. Kids in the city cooled off at the fire hydrant, and kids in the suburbs drank from water hoses. And Halloween was time to amass bushels of candy from the neighborhood.

Then things changed.

Today, in some small towns kids still play outside, close to home — maybe they have a basketball hoop, maybe a soccer ball. And come dusk, chances are everybody goes inside.

For Halloween, some neighborhoods have developed supervised Halloween gatherings. Some neighborhoods have patrolled “Treat Trails.” But, the old tradition of kids just deciding on their own how they would roam the neighborhood collecting candy and compliments on their costumes is pretty much gone.

What happened?

Did people get mean or loony all of a sudden? Did government suddenly go berserk making up safety laws? Did the scourge of drugs, ripping up minds and soiling communities, turn our neighborhoods into battlefields. Did the bane of social media force itself upon vulnerable young minds, exchanging reality for mimicry?

Who knows.

Regardless. “Happy Halloween!!” Or should it now be the bromidic “Stay Safe.”

The Blurred Line Between Order & Chaos

A good article by Nathan Kreider posted on Being Libertarian says the “line between order and chaos is not as clear as many assume.” So true!

Chaos - CopyA good article by Nathan Kreider posted on Being Libertarian says the “line between order and chaos is not as clear as many assume.” The Just Vote No Blog recommends that article as means of dispelling a misconception on the nature of order and chaos.

Excerpt:

It is true, the laws by government can enforce order. But at the same time, there are many examples (continuously pointed out by libertarians) that certain laws can disrupt an already existing order, producing chaos. And when law becomes excessive, creating a needlessly bureaucratic mess, this is far more chaotic than a system with fewer, simpler laws.

Truer words were never spoken.  Read More of Nathan Kreider’s article.