#dcxwc

"Why the roof?" "Tradition."

- Nightwing vol.2 #74

Made a little wc x dc thing, because the concept bewitched me. An attempt at the Samnee/Lopes style, because I want to draw like them when I grow up.

Now, obviously, White Collar is not in any way affiliated with any superhero franchise. The show takes place in a fairly grounded setting, without any supernatural elements. But that doesn't necessarily mean that superheroes don't exist there. Consider the following:

1. The many name-drops of characters from DC comics

Here's just a few instances:

Peter: "[...] A place called "Red Lantern". Where do I know that from?"

Jones: "Could be a club or a restaurant."

Neal: "Could be a sunburnt superhero."

Neal: "He's like Superman without his powers."

Sara: "Well, Clark Kent seems to be doing alright for himself. What now, Boy Wonder?"

Neal: "You're mixing your superheroes."

Also: Both Mozzie and Jones mention Commissioner Gordon and the "nananananananana Batman" theme song

Which could mean nothing. While the DC references never specify that they're about Characters From The Media and not real people, they very well could be. They could be just references to White Collar universe's pop culture, where superheroes are just characters from comics or movies. However:

2. There already are other popular superhero comic books in WC universe.

In one of the episodes, there's a guy who collects vintage superhero comics. Here are the most clearly visible ones that were framed on the wall:

And clearly these are meant to be a reference to DC comics: the titles include Atomic Captain (like DC's Captain Atom), Action Detective Squad (like DC's Action Comics and Detective Comics). The comics are this rich guy's most prized possessions, locked up in a super secure vault. Which means they're not off brand. They're WC universe's equivalent of DC comics.

So why wouldn't all references to superheroes the WC characters make also follow the convention of slightly changed names? Why not use the parodied version everywhere?

Well — the simplest explanation is if the characters are referencing real-life superheroes. Perhaps even the ones the in-universe comics are based on, and that they had to change names of for legal reasons. Ockham's Razor, check and mate.

3. "But Blue", you might say, "Sara mentions Clark Kent by name. How would she know Superman's secret identity if he was a real person in her world and not a character?"

Good question! And the answer is simple: in mainline comics Superman had his identity revealed to the world a couple of times. So it wouldn't be weird if the same thing happened in WC 'verse.

Same goes for the Batman theme song: considering the Titans got funding from their own merchandise, and that Batburger is a thing, there is no reason for the theme not to exist, whether officially affiliated with Batman or not.

Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super-heroes – The Man Who Falls

Shadow of the Bat #0

Bruce and Peter saying goodbye when Bruce is leaving the training, and Bruce thinking "dang, this guy actually cares about people, he could do so much good if he didn't have to work from inside the system"

From my perspective it went like this:

- was going through the Dick Grayson tag on AO3

- saw a bunch of crossover fics with a show I've never heard of, decided to watch at least a few episodes so I'd at least vaguely know what's going on before I'd read them

- immediately got hooked, binged all 6 seasons

- and while watching I was like: oh I completely understand why there's so many "Neal Caffrey is Dick Grayson" fics - because despite one being a non-violent criminal and the other a violent crime-fighter, they have so much in common! From the obvious things like looks and personality and sense of humor, and the more well known things like "dislikes guns but is very good at using them" or the escape artistry, to more obscure trivia like "can sing" or "can play guitar" or "is a good cook" or "likes dogs" or basically the same way they comfort scared kids by showing them tricks, and things that are well known for one but obscure for the other - like Dick being a pretty good artist and having interest in history and actually being a museum curator for a while, and Neal's affinity for jumping from very high places, and being able to diffuse bombs (why??? Neal why do you know how to diffuse bombs??? Neal-)

And the common themes like being a performer that constantly plays a role, and what impact that has on identity issues ("to be an artist you have to know who you are"/"I'm whoever you need me to be"); and the longing for approval from the mentor/like-a-brother/like-a-father/partner-in-crimefighting; and both Dick and Neal doing detective work, solving crimes; and the way they're more about justice than the law; and the way they like helping people; and their empathy and heart and-

And then I started to think about the implications of Dick Grayson having a Peter Burke - someone who narratively is meant to be able to really see and understand Neal; who is the voice of common sense when it comes to Neal blaming himself for things out of his control; who is an idealist that cares deeply about justice and people, who firmly believes in rehabilitation of criminals; who is so much like Bruce in that regard, but at the same time couldn't be more different, because he was never shaped by a tragedy the way Dick and Bruce were, and so, for all his empathy, could never truly understand what it was like; who cares about Neal very deeply, and isn't afraid to show it, and pays very close attention to Neal's well-being and reaches out first to offer comfort or an ear to listen if Neal wants to talk, even if he doesn't alway know the right thing to say; and -

And then I thought, I wonder how people constructed their wc x dc AUs. Because there are probably sooo many ways to shape circumstances that would turn someone like Dick Grayson into someone like Neal Caffrey, and that's so fun to think about! At what point would the universes need to diverge from how they originally were, what key details would need to be changed? Endless possibilities!

And I thought, wow, there's almost 2k White Collar x Batman fics, and it's not surprising at all, considering all of the above. There must be a number of fics that go deeply into this fascinating concept because there's so many directions the crossover could go. And the number

is 3.

Because most of the fics are written by people who've never even seen the show. And the majority of the Batman side is not about DC comics, but fanon. So you get a crossover between characters so deeply fanonized that the only recognizable thing about them is their name (and sometimes not even that, with how weirdly obsessed the fandom is with the hyphenation), and characters that the only thing the authors know about them is their name and vague occupation. So most of the time Neal is reduced to just dark-haired, blue-eyed smart guy, and there the similarities end. (And it's no wonder that in most wc x dc fics Neal isn't even a Bat with whom he has more than that in common.) And the rest of the WC cast is completely out of character - because the authors just guessed what the characters would be.