Batman Vs. The Flash

My two favorite superheroes to read right now are Batman and the Flash, but for two entirely different reasons.

Batman I read for the character. Having read the best Batman stories out there (Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall, No Man's Land, etc.), I know that Batman has a style/characteristics that I enjoy. For the most part, that style and those characteristics carry through no matter the writer.

I like the Flash 80% because of the writer. Geoff Johns is doing incredible things with this book (I'll expand on that in a second). I tried to get into the Flash back in the day, but I was never that interested. Then over Christmas of '03, my friend Joe explained to me the storyline going on, and I had to pick it up. I have every issue since then.

Currently, both the Batman and Flash titles are tackling a similar concept: reinventing villains. One is a perfect example of how to do it. The other, a perfect example of how not to do it.




Detective Comics #185-189
"Riddle Me That"
Written by Shane McCarthy;
Art by Tommy Castillo and Rodney Ramos;
Covers by Sean Phillips

Oh, the Riddler. If brought into the real world, he's probably one of the stupidest ideas for a villain. Just as Seanbaby.

Now I love what they did with the Riddler during "Hush" (Don't tell anyone, but I haven't actually finished reading Hush. I've been doing it in installments while sitting around Borders. I just had the ending explained to me by my friend Joe). He was actually a mastermind in that one.

But even more importantly, I liked what happened to Riddler post "Hush." On the run in fearing for his life, Riddler goes to the realm of Poison Ivy for protection. She makes an attempt on his life as well, all the while explaining that none of the other batnemisi like him. He's not one of them. He isn't all that into crime or destruction. He's a joke.

Riddler escapes, though you wonder what he'll do with himself now. He was on the bring of greatness and then fell to the bottom of the barrel.

What he does with himself (according to the "Riddle Me That!" storyline) is get some plastic surgery and come back as a badass. A mental match for Batman. Out of nowhere. There's a bit of backstory to the Riddler getting a genius score on a developmental test as a child but his father thinks he's cheating. But that backstory is sped past at a lightning rate. More time spent on the secondary backstory of a man who finds the Riddler living on the street post "Hush" and takes him home to exploit his genius.

This story is just bad writing. They actually try to completely reinvent the character. It's a totally different Riddler. Give him a new look and a new way of speak. Even younger some how.

I wanted a beaten down Riddler. A Riddler that needs to prove himself. This Riddler has no more reason to be a criminal than the old version did. He just dresses in black now.





The Flash #218
"Heat Wave"
Written by Geoff Johns;
Art by Peter Snejbjerg;
Cover by Howard Porter and Livesay

Johns is taking the 70's cartoony rogues from Flash's history and making them cool. Batman has the best villains because for the most part, you can see the psychology behind them. Two-face has multiple personality disorder. Joker is a sociopath. Ra's Al Ghul is a meglomaniac.

Johns connects the villains of the Flash gallery with disorders of their own. He already made Mirror Master a coke fiend. In this issue, he turns Heat Wave into a pyromaniac. It seems like a simple concept. The character is based around fire, so he should be a pyromaniac. But Johns is a good writer, so when he writes a pyromaniac, you see what it's like to be a pyromaniac. There's one scene when a young Mick Rory accidentally sets fire to his farm home then watches as his family burns to death. He talks about wanting to do something, but just being in awe almost to the point of love in watching the flames. That's a pyromaniac.

Johns also shows Heat Wave interacting with other Flash Villains through the years. His personality is must like a flame. His continual conflict with Capitan Cold is elevated from a joke rivalry to a conflict of personalities. Captain Cold is made logical and calculating. Heat Wave's own personality is shown as random and emotional. In Geoff Johns' world, there's a reason that these two men picked their secret identities/weapons. A emotionless man might like the clean effectiveness of ice while an angry impulsive man would be more drawn to the powers of flame.

It all comes down to the why. Johns understands the why. Why people act the way they do. Shane McCarthy and his Riddler seem like the work of fan boys. Running off a "wouldn't it be cool" mentality.

I'll keep buying Batman. Like I said, I love the character. I just hope that someone who's as talented a writer as Geoff Johns picks up the duties with the Dark Knight.