A Dark Night in Denver

Before reading this, please be aware that my tone is meant to be respectful.  The situation that happened in Aurora, Colorado, is one of great tragedy, and one of disgust.  My thoughts and prayers go to the victims and their families.

I just finished watching an episode of Doc Zone from CBC all about conspiracy theories, and how it is human nature to try to make sense of the chaos, to seek patterns.  Once I heard of the situation currently unfolding, the grim similarities below came to mind...

For those of you unaware, there has been a sickening tragedy connected with The Dark Knight Rises - at a midnight premiere of the movie outside Denver, Colorado, a gunman entered a movie theatre and opened fire, killing 14 people, and injuring another 50.  He wore bulletproof gear, apparently a variety of weaponry, and had some sort of smoke bombs.

You cannot Google The Dark Knight Rises without coming across various news encounters of this event.  It will now be forever seared into the movie - much like the tragic death of Heath Ledger and The Dark Knight.


At this point, nobody knows the motives of the gunman.  In fact, it doesn't end there - upon capture, he mentioned something about "explosives" and his apartment building.  Police have vacated the building and are cautiously performing a sweep.

What bothers me the most is motive.  Why Batman?  Was it because it was a heroic movie?  Was it because of the actual hero himself?

Although Batman Begins shows the murder of the Waynes occur after leaving an opera, the traditional, comic book version actually occurs after Bruce and his parents leave a movie theatre, after viewing a movie featuring the masked caped hero, Zorro (which movie it is changes from tale to tale, and is for the most part irrelevant).

Once again, we have a life imitates art/art imitates life situation.  But I ask this: Was this the gunman's motive?

In M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable, a comic book themed movie, Bruce Willis learns he has some sort of super strength and invulnerability due to his encounters with tragedy.  And in Shyamalan's "What a twist!" moment, it is revealed that Samuel L. Jackson has orchestrated these events because he believed a hero like Willis existed in the world, and he was trying to inspire him by causing such tragedies.

Moreover, my much-beloved DC Animated Universe (consisting of Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Batman Beyond, etc) unleashed a surprise reveal during the first season of Justice League Unlimited, in an episode titled Epilogue.  Terry McGinnis, the Batman of the future, finds out Bruce Wayne - through genetic twists and machinations, not traditional intercourse - is his biological father.  Outraged, McGinnis locates the source to seek answers, and discovers that beyond nature, there was an intent to nurture this path by mimicking Bruce's past, and have Terry witness his parent's gruesome murder.  The only problem was the gunman couldn't pull the trigger, so to speak, and the plan was aborted.  Years later, however, fate intervened, and Terry's father was murdered by another party, igniting the flame within Terry in the end.

Bruce Wayne becomes Batman because of a tragedy.  Other stories mimic this idea.  Could somebody actually be that insane to try to inspire this event?

Do I really believe this is the cause?  No.  And would it actually make it any better?  Of course not.  Lives are lost, and people will mourn them all the same.

It's just during these tragic times, sometimes, you'd like to think there's more of a purpose than some random event, some coward with a gun, that can just upset these people's lives and cut them short - a theme Bruce deals with constantly.

In the end, whether or not there is some sort of sick motive or not, you cannot ignore the similarities.

Comic Names You Should Know: Kevin Conroy!

Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy IS Batman.  You should take my word for it.  I shouldn't have to write much more, but I will.

If you grew up watching Batman: The Animated Series every day like I did, Kevin Conroy shouldn't be unknown to you, unless you're the type that just likes watching things and ignoring the talent behind it.  If that's the case, well, it's time to give credit where credit is due.

As mentioned, Conroy got the role for Bruce Wayne/Batman starting with Batman: The Animated Series beginning in 1992, but then followed the character into The New Batman Adventures, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and played an aged Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond (though this show aired in real-time before JL & JLU).  He voiced Batman in the animated films Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.  He also voiced Batman's cameo appearances in Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and The Zeta Project.  Further, he voiced Batman in the video games The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Batman: Vengeance, and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.  All of these appearances as Batman are within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), making them all within the same continuity.  For a bunch of cartoons, that's awesome, and it's a testament to his dedication to the character.

Watch Conroy go double-time here as Batman meets an elderly Bruce Wayne in Justice League Unlimited:

But enough praise.  So I enjoyed a cartoon as a kid - I'm obviously biased.  Wrong, mon frere.

Check out Conroy's Batman chops on imdb.com - Conroy has voiced Batman in over 25 separate shows/movies/video games, in various Batman tales.  Outside of the DCAU, the demand from fanboys to continue to see Conroy portray Batman had Conroy voicing Batman in comic book adaptation DTV features such as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, and Justice League: Doom.

Outside of his prevalence in animation, perhaps Conroy is best known for his recent voice-acting work as Batman in DC Universe Online, or more likely, in the critically-acclaimed and best-selling games Batman: Arkham Asylum and its sequel, Batman: Arkham City.

What's the best way to indicate WB feels Kevin Conroy is the superior Batman?  Make a DTV feature bridging Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and have Conroy voice Batman instead of Christian Bale.  This feature is called Batman: Gotham Knight.  In fact, to rub it in, here's a video of Conroy and his disapproval of Bale's "rawr rawr rawr I'm Batman" voice:

What really made Conroy's depiction of Batman different than other past interpretations is the fact that Batman and Bruce Wayne have different voices (a concept Conroy came up with and implemented himself).  There's a definite distinction between the brooding tone of Batman and the light-hearted billionaire playboy.


It's because of Conroy's talent and dedication to the character (having first voiced Batman in 1992, twenty years ago) that comic book readers, myself included, hear Conroy's voice when Bruce Wayne/Batman carry dialogue.

Go on Netflix, rent an animated movie, or pick up your game controller - if it says "Batman" on it, it's likely Conroy you're going to hear.  If that's the case, you're in for a treat.  I'll leave you with one of his most iconic lines as the Caped Crusader: