The Agatha Harkness Disney+ series, which has gone through so many name changes that I'm not sure what has been settled on, seems to be in a state of flux. Like many of their recent projects, Marvel has pushed back its airdate and are reportedly doing extensive reshoots. I really did enjoy Katherine Hahn in the role, so I hope that the final product is up to Marvels' standards - well, their standards from about four or five years ago, that is.
Bat WITCH?? ""Extra! Extra!! Batman declared a Witch!! Must BURN!! Extra! Extra!!""
ReplyDeleteThe bad guys would be losing their cookies from laughing so hard!!
but, Brain, would they really do a documentary on it?
The Bat-Witch?
ReplyDeleteFrom a Silver Age issue of World's Finest, with Superman being the person who says That he must burn, yes?
Yup
ReplyDeleteI remember a couple of B&B issues, from the early 1970's, where Batman's parents were supposed to have marginally been involved with the occult. The first story had them briefly come back to life long enough to thank their son for freeing them.* And the second story ended with Batman adopting a youngster named Roger Birnham, Jr. The son of an old family friend who'd married into a coven of witches... and whose identical twin brother Enoch had been like an evil Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteOf course, by the original Crisis On Infinite Earths, these rather contradictory stories had been editorially relegated to a parallel world called Earth-3A (or something like that).
*Great use of shadowing by the artist, as I recall!
One of the first--maybe THE first--Silver Age (1974, IIRC) WORLD'S FINEST story I read had Deadman along with the WF duo, and revealed that Batman had an older brother who had suffered brain damage as an infant in an accident, and been sent to an institution, before Bruce had been born.
ReplyDeleteThe story ended with Deadman commandeering the older brother and sneaking off.
Maybe that took place on Earth-3A, too? ^_^
"Bat-wich"? None for me, thanks...though I suppose I could wash it down with "bat-milk"...;)
ReplyDelete@Cary & Charlemagne: that particular pre-Crisis world was dubbed "Earth-B" (by the late, great Mark Gruenwald, I think) who ascribed all out-of-continuity Earth-One stories to it.
ReplyDeleteStriking cover. Agatha Harkness is a great character, and the way Ross places her in these covers makes for some intriguing scenarios. Here, it would make sense that the general public would believe that Batman relies on some sort of mystical or occult power to be a superhero. How else could he have triumphed in all those battles, and foiled all those criminal plots through the years? But that's not the case.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, when Bruce Wayne dons the cape and cowl of the Dark Knight, the Batman becomes a mortal who is mightier than Shazzam in some ways. Plus, he appears to have a spirit for vengeance that could rival even The Spectre's? The faith of heroic legends I suppose.
With over 500 entries so far, it makes sense that Ross would make good use of such a popular character. But with the Watcher/Ritchie Rich cover #4331 from 2-21-24, it was tempting for me to think that there IS a "Bat-verse" that underlies everything, and its "Batforce" grants power to all the various Caped Crusaders to win the day. But again, that would be cheating.
I gotta go, my red phone is ringing. Maybe in some way, we are all Batman.
Agatha is not Endora.Still,it could be interesting seeing her tutor Bruce the same way Zatara did as an escape artist. Bruce as a student now?Yeah,boss!
ReplyDeleteKen Roskos said...
ReplyDeleteStriking cover. Agatha Harkness is a great character, and the way Ross places her in these covers makes for some intriguing scenarios. Here, it would make sense that the general public would believe that Batman relies on some sort of mystical or occult power to be a superhero. How else could he have triumphed in all those battles, and foiled all those criminal plots through the years? But that's not the case.
And yet, when Bruce Wayne dons the cape and cowl of the Dark Knight, the Batman becomes a mortal who is mightier than Shazzam in some ways. Plus, he appears to have a spirit for vengeance that could rival even The Spectre's? The faith of heroic legends I suppose.
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There was a three-part story, IIRC spread across the Batman & Detective Comics titles, in which a Gotham-based author took advantage of Batman's secretiveness about his identity to write & have published a story [magazine article, or articles? book?] in which Batman was a demon collecting the souls of sinners. 1990s?
Good memory! Yes; the story-within-a-story was about a globe-trotting adventurer (spy/mercenary/etc.) named Simon Petrarch who became like a cross between Man-Bat and the Spectre. The magical hybridization occurring somewhere in the Himalayas!*
ReplyDelete*A nod to the backstory of The Shadow, perhaps?
Actually, i could see Bruce become a student for one reason...and being "taught" by Miss A. would be involved...
ReplyDeleteBruce cannot do magic, but she can help him learn how to disrupt spells, disrupt energy,"trap" it, reroute it, and so on. He doesn't believe in curses but he does know Spectre and others.
Agatha got a character recommendation from the FF on Bruce, plus her own knowledge of him. I think she would be willing to help him.
Detective Tobor said...
ReplyDeleteActually, i could see Bruce become a student for one reason...and being "taught" by Miss A. would be involved...
Bruce cannot do magic, but she can help him learn how to disrupt spells, disrupt energy,"trap" it, reroute it, and so on.
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Have you read a crossover fanfic called 'Child of the Storm', by Nimbus Llewelyn? Its initial concept was "Harry Potter meets the Avengers", with an earlier attempt by Odin at teaching Thor a bit of humility having been Thor's incarnation as a mortal as James Potter(!), but its scope has expanded somewhat: The Wayne family live in Chicago rather than in a city named Gotham, and a certain potentially-fatal mugging attempt was thwarted by a passer-by who happened to be not only a P.I. but a wizard as well... Harry Dresden. Bruce is now a teenager, and although he can't do magic he is learning the theory -- as well as detextive skills -- from Dresden.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8897431/1/Child-of-the-Storm
@Simreeve: Sounds promising!
ReplyDeleteNow we need a Cover with Agatha Harkness, Captain Boomerang (Digger Harkness), Jack Harkness (From Torchwood), Dirk Harkness (Star Wars Legends), and Horace Harkness (Honorverse)
ReplyDeleteA fun time at the Harkness family reunion as all of them are scoundrels to some degree or other.
And yes. I'm one of them too. The H in Marc H is for Harkness
Then, there's also Mina Harkness...and the Harkness Monster of Scotland.
ReplyDeleteInsert face-palm emoji here. :-(
ReplyDelete