something i think about a lot in terms of wizbat is how, even though it takes until the last world in arc 3 for bat and the wizard to meet, they definitely know a certain amount about the other prior to that. but i’d argue to say that what they do know is rooted in mythos or mere talk
the wizard has seen the cave paintings and heard the legends detailing this bloodsucking, shapeshifting being of shadow. they’ve bested both his brothers and worked closely with his father, so they know the stock he’s coming from. they’ve seen the citizens of zanadu run and take cover just at the mention of the terrible bat, this harbinger of doom and chaos and a surefire sign of the end times
and on the flipside, you can’t tell me he hasn’t been watching the wizard throughout polaris and mirage. keeping tabs on them and their abilities as they throw rat and scorpion bloodied and beaten to the dirt like it’s nothing. knowing that they’re going to be coming for him next. being sort of, as this primordial being, floored by just how powerful they seem to be and what it could mean for his father’s plan
so by the time they meet face to face, all this weighty and fantastic information they’ve obtained about the other has given them a preconceived notion about what they’re walking into. just for it all to be blown out of the water entirely the more they actually learn about the other
