(Hugo) Strange "Batman 3" rumors

Note: I figure there are a couple people interested in the new Batman film here who also don't read about_faces, which is where I usually now post all my Bat-fan stuff. Just trying to make your skimming easier, my non-comic-reading friends!



So, a couple weeks ago, I finally started a fan project wherein I looked at every single appearance of Hugo Strange, Batman's first arch-nemesis and Moriarty equivalent.

In my first post, I expressed my belief that one of Hugo's most famous appearances--1990's Batman: Prey, by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy, one of the best Batman stories ever--would make an absolutely perfect basis for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. Just pump up Catwoman's role as an origin, and boom, you have a great film that is pure Batman while not being in the shadow of Heath. Pure fantasy on my part, you understand. I figured and still do figure that Nolan wouldn't do that, because Prey and Hugo are just not well known to anyone but the most hardcore Bat-fans. Far as I know, I'm the only one to have this idea.

Literally days after I said that, rumors started popping up saying that Prey actually WILL be the basis for TDKR. In fact, aintitcool.com, which usually avoids most of the 99%-bogus sea of Bat-rumors, just ran a story today with a source claiming that it'll be Prey plus Clayface (wha? How the hell would that work? And Clayface? This guy is so rigid in his "realism" that he can't imagine using the frickin' Penguin, much less someone like Mr. Freeze! No way would he use Clayface unless it was original Basil Karlo without powers), which still sounds bogus to me.

But damn, this is nuts. Did I inadvertently start this rumor by someone reading that scans_daily post and spreading that idea around as truth? With s_d's readership of a couple thousand people, I suppose it's not beyond the realm of internet possibility. More likely, I probably wasn't the only one to remember that beloved but little-known (and long out-of-print!) storyline, and make the connection to Nolan's films. Or, just as likely, it's just a weird damn coincidence.

Tangent: Heh, Henchgirl's actually hoping that Hugo won't be in it. Not because she doesn't like Hugo, but because she fears it'll ruin the character in fandom, much like Spider-Man 2 ruined Doctor Octopus in fandom. Seriously, try to find anything about Otto, and it's all Movie!Otto. And while I absolutely adore Movie!Otto as one of the best takes on the character, these fans clearly have never and will never read a comic in their lives. You can't talk with them about anything, because the adapted version dominates and obliterates all stories that created it. It's very frustrating.

Either way, hopefully it'll encourage people to get interested in the character of Hugo Strange. If you'd like, please feel free to check out the three Hugo posts I've done so far on about_faces:

Part 1: The original Golden Age Hugo Strange trilogy, wherein his Moriarty influence is very apparent, and the character lays the foundation for subsequent villains like the Joker and Scarecrow later on.


Part 2: Hugo's return subplot in Strange Apparitions, one of the greatest Batman stories ever. It kills me that I had to edit out all the other great stuff from that whole story, including most of the Joker epic, "The Laughing Fish."


Part 3: the obscure Bronze Age classic, Interlude on Earth-Two, by Alan Brennert, a writer who I'm increasingly read to consider one of the best DC authors of all time, even though he only wrote nine stories, most of them just single issues. He deserves the Alan Moore treatment of getting a Complete DC Stories collection for tales like this one.


I have about seven more Hugo stories to come, particularly Prey. That's the greatest of those to come, but I have to work my way up, as every single Hugo story is directly influenced by the ones that preceded it. He's a character who seems to get dusted off and brought back only by the most hardcore, dedicated Batman writers, the ones who've read and clearly remembered his every single appearance, which I think speaks to what makes this character so great and essential to Batman.

So yeah. I don't think the Prey-for-Dark-Knight-Rises rumor is true, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. I've kind of liked Hugo as being a private joy shared by a handful of Batman fans and writers. But if they can do him justice, hell, maybe he'll finally get the status that geeks like me have known he's deserved for... well, seventy years.

the writer in (fetal, panicked, existential) repose

Now that I have that post out of my system, I'm increasingly feeling a sense that I'm spending too much time in fan-related things.

Man, would that I could be a professional fan, like Forrest J. Ackerman or somebody! Or hell, I wish I could be the Roger Ebert of comics, but for whatever reason, this industry and its fans scorn actual criticism. It's either "this is awesome!" or "this sucks!" with no thought in between.

As it is, I worry that I'm wasting time and energy on trivia, even if it's trivia about which I'm incredibly passionate. I love this shit. Love, love, love it, and I want others to love it too. But am I wasting my time celebrating the works of others rather than creating my own? My brother would say yes, he always has, but he's never been a fan of anything.

I suppose this could just be signs that I'm finally getting ready for Fringe season. After all, during my most stressed and exhausted times, all I wanted to do was talk about comic stuff. Makes sense I'd throw myself into it utterly in my downtime.

But I have other things I should be writing. Original works, things that might actually get published. I'm finally ready to get back to work on Johnny Go--for those of you who still remember Johnny Go--but the project still intimidates me. I don't want to force myself, because that does no good, but I can't just sit and wait to feel like writing, because professional writers all seem to say that doesn't work either.

The writer's block has been stronger than ever lately. I never used to get it! I always had something to write! It's still the case, but most of those "somethings" aren't something that I can publish. At least, not unless DC would let me. Man, I wish DC would let me.

I just keep reminding myself that I'm young, that most writers don't really write their great stuff until they're forty, at least. But the only times I ever feel like I'm expressing myself anymore is when I write about films or comics. I want to create, but too often, I've found myself able to only write a paragraph or two before I collapse into a shivering, screaming ball of neuroses. It's the classic "I suck, everything I do sucks, I have no real life experience compared to (fill in name of somebody I know), I have no imagination, no one cares, I should just die!" thing that I think most artists go through.

Even writing this here feels like a waste of time. Like procrastination. Like wankery. It's one reason why I've been so absent from LJ (that and real life in general). Maybe I should be channeling this energy into art, or maybe I need to drain the wound here so I can move on.

Either way, I'm sure one or two of you have insights into this, and ways you've gotten through 'em. Feel free to pass them along. Or not. I know, intellectually, that this too shall pass, and the drought will end, and that I will someday write again. Hell, I know I'm capable of it. I've written three full-length novels. I have to remember that. I just need to work through whatever's gumming up the works so I can get onto the fourth one, which will hopefully be the one I can actually publish.

So... how do I feel now? Cleansed? Dirty? Exhausted? Energized? Right now, I kinda just want a taco. That much, I know I can handle.