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While comics have often been used as a form of escapism, there have been occasions where the medium has been used to comment on real-life issues. A very difficult task, sometimes DC has published stories that have been crafted in order to touch on these issues have been handled delicately and sometimes they have missed their mark.
There are many factors that need to be aligned when speaking on real-life issues and adapting them to comic book characters: sometimes these stories don’t fall in line with a hero’s motivations, sometimes they are not given enough attention, and sometimes these stories are used for simple shock value and provide no sort of discourse or productive material when confronting the issue.
10 Grace: Harley Quinn’s Abusive Relationship With The Joker
Harley Quinn has become one of DC’s most famous characters. First introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn has always been seen as an accessory to The Joker. First meeting the Joker as his psychotherapist in Arkham Asylum, Harley Quinn became manipulated by the Clown Prince of Crime and became his loyal follower.
The abusive relationship between Joker and Harley is well-documented, and so is Harley’s divergent path from the relationship. In recent years she’s fully renounced the Joker, striking out on her own and even allying herself with the Suicide Squad, Batman, and even the Justice League from time to time, proving that she truly is her own hero. Though some fans have romanticized the relationship, the comics have gone out of their way to show Harley rebuilding herself and her life after him and really emphasized the pain she went through at his hands.
9 Poor Taste: Batman And Gotham’s Wealth Inequality
There are many different stories dedicated to Batman’s efforts to bettering Gotham City. Having lived there his entire life, Bruce Wayne has committed his whole life to making his home an incredible place for everyone, ridding the city of its criminal underground but also improving the lives of its citizens.
That being said, despite Bruce Wayne’s unfathomable amount of wealth, his Fortune-500 company, and his superior connections both as Bruce Wayne and the Batman, Gotham City remains a desolate city. And while it shouldn’t be expected for Batman to fix the city’s problems on his own, in 6 decades of activity as the Batman, Bruce Wayne’s most significant contribution to his city has been jailing its citizens. It has been made very apparent that his infinite resources could be better invested in the city instead of all the things he needs to assault people in an armored bat-suit.
8 Grace: Red Hood’s PTSD Was Given The Proper Attention
Jason Todd, the second Robin, is known for his death at the hands of the Joker. His revival in the 2000s as the Red Hood shocked fans of all sorts, after Jason had placed in one of Ra’s Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pits. After his return, Jason was left with severe amounts of PTSD, along with a large amount of resentment and anger towards Batman that has yet to be resolved to this day.
The Red Hood is quite simply one of the most tortured, complicated, and interesting characters in Batman lore. His history with Bruce Wayne, as well as his status in the Bat-Family is so combative and intricate that it drives the character to new limits. Like most trauma, Jason’s road to recovery from his past isn’t linear, but he is a living testament to the damning effects of being Batman’s right hand.
7 Poor Taste: The Identity Crisis Used Assault As Shock Value
Brad Meltzer’s Identity Crisis challenged the Justice League in ways unlike any other. After Sue Dibny, wife to the Elongated Man, is mysteriously murdered, past members of the League reconvene to reveal a horrible secret: Years before, Sue had been assaulted by Dr. Light. When the League found him at the time, they decided to permanently tamper with his mind, and kept it a secret from the rest of the league, even going as far as brainwashing Batman.
The majority of Identity Crisis is based around the choices these Leaguers made to brainwash their friends and foes all in the name of protecting their loved ones. And as a result, something so horrible as the assault of Sue Dibny is simply used for shock value to move the plot along. A common problem in comics, the use of something so traumatic as assault as a plot device is never seen in good taste.
6 Grace: Batman’s Hatred of Guns
Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed in a horrible murder after being held at gunpoint by Joe Chill. As a 10-year-old boy, Bruce Wayne swore to avenge his parents, but he deliberately chose to never use a gun. And as Batman trained himself over the years in various forms of martial arts, intelligence, and stealth training in order to become a force to be reckoned with, he continued to enforce his no-tolerance “no guns” policy.
At the character’s core, is a message about wanting to keep the peace in his city, and he truly believes that firearms are unnecessary can only be used to instigate and aggravate situations and put lives on the line. A strong anti-gun message that is deeply rooted in DC’s most famous character.
5 Poor Taste: Heroes In Crisis and Mental Illness
Heroes In Crisis tried to display the damaging effect fighting crime has on the mental health of superheroes. Tom King’s story about Sanctuary, a refuge for heroes who need to treat their emotional and psychological scars quickly goes awry when all of the residents are killed by one of their own.
While the concept of Heroes In Crisis was very interesting, the pacing of the event didn’t appeal to many fans. With so many sub-plots happening like the mystery of the killer, Harley Quinn and Booster Gold’s dichotomy, as well as Lois Lane’s solo endeavors, with only 9 issues to tell the story Heroes In Crisis strayed further and further from the idea of the pain and trauma that superheroes experience and the resounding effect it has on them.
4 Grace: Speedy’s Drug Addiction
In Green Lantern #85 by Dennis O’Neil, the famous issue revealed that Green Arrow’s teen sidekick, Speedy, was harboring a heroin addiction. Disappointed and ashamed in his sidekick, Green Arrow cast him aside, leaving Roy on his own, with Oliver Queen’s absence in his life being one of the reasons he’d turned to drug abuse in the first place.
Eventually, Speedy kicked his addiction, thanks to help from Dinah Lance and his friends. He then delivers a powerful scolding of his mentor, criticizing him for turning his back on him, instead of being more open-minded and forgiving, and attacking the “symptoms instead of the disease.” Speedy’s advocation for drug rehab and the problems facing many youths in the country became a huge statement, and his recovery has come to define his character, making him a hero without having to throw a single punch.
3 Poor Taste: Nightwing’s Assault Was Unnecessary And Took Away From The Story
There are plenty of great things to be said about Chuck Dixon’s Nightwing run from the 90s. Nightwing establishing himself as Bludhaven’s protector, Greg Land’s fantastic artwork, and Nighwing chemistry with Barbara Gordon make the series incredibly entertaining. But in Nightwing’s fight against Blockbuster, the stakes of the situation have been taken too far.
Blockbuster managed to learn Nightwing’s secret identity and began attacking his personal life. Exhausted and constantly under siege, it began to take a toll on Nightwing’s mental state. Finally, after teaming up with the rogue vigilante Tarantula, Tarantula shot Blockbuster in the face. Left in shock, Nightwing went up to the roof of a building and began to spiral, but not before Tarantula joined him on the roof and assaulted him. A horrible and unnecessary addition to the story that only caused more trauma for Dick Grayson, the writers of the story eventually apologized for the scene decades after its publishing.
2 Grace: Jessica Cruz’s Anxiety Is Relatable And Well-Represented
The New 52 made many different continuity changes to the DC Universe, but it also introduced many new interesting and exciting characters. Along with characters such as The Crime Syndicate, William Cobb, and Bluebird were all interesting additions, but one of the best things to come out of the New 52 is the Green Lantern Jessica Cruz.
After escaping mobsters who murdered a whole group of her friends, Jessica Cruz developed crippling anxiety. She was then unwillingly possessed by the Ring of Volthoom, but eventually overcame the ring’s control, and became a full-fledged Green Lantern. Jessica’s struggles with anxiety has made her character arc incredibly relatable and rewarding for fans, bringing much-needed awareness to anxiety disorders that can be hard to diagnose.
1 Poor Taste: The Rise of Arsenal Threw Away All His Hard Work For A Dark Story Line
After Prometheus’s attack on the Justice League aboard the Watchtower, he cuts off the arm of Roy Harper, operating under the moniker of Red Arrow. Prometheus then blew up Star City, the home of Green and Red Arrow, inadvertently killing Roy’s daughter, Lian. After recovering from his decapitation, Harper descended into a deep depression, unable to properly practice archery again, alienating his friends and family, and even worse, relapsing into his drug addiction.
The problem with the story was the decision to throw away all the progress Roy had made to beat his addiction, raise his daughter, and become a valued member of the Justice League. Another sign of DC mistreating their valued legacy characters, this story would come to become a pattern in poor treatment towards the character of Roy Harper.
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