Ultimate Batman by FitMarshmellow
The main premise here is that this is a Bruce who never had an Alfred or some kind of guiding mentor after his parents' death. He was simply an angry soul in a tortured city. With no one to ground him in reality, it made the Batman persona not exactly darker than normal, but rather...
More pragmatic.
Bruce has no real notions of idealism. He has no strict moral code, he just has his mission: eradicate crime in Gotham City.He's not a murderer, but he isn't opposed to self-defense (as far as he knows). He isn't necessarily opposed to gun, yet he finds himself unable to use them. He is a pulp adventurer in a noir city that always seems to be in shades of gray.
That is until he meets a rough street-kid who dared to take the wheels of his car--Jason Todd. This is the story of two wounded children in a city that took everything away from them, learning to overcome their trauma and become more than their darkest fears. The concept is that we start in a Miller-Like Gotham: Dark, gritty, noir, but with Jason and Bruce working together, healing each other, you see Batman and Robin and Gotham go in a different direction.
Their mission going from "Eradicating Crime" to "Making Gotham the greatest city in the world."So, while we start off with a pragmatic Batman and a darker Robin, over time, they become their archetypical selves--their greatest selves, as Gotham goes from grayscale to popping with color.
We see a Jason shaped by his life on the streets, without parentage, without mentorship, who would like for nothing but to show the world that they don't matter as much as they made him feel like he doesn't matter.
He's angry, violent, he's... exactly like Bruce.
And Bruce sees that. And for the first time in his life since his parents' murder, Bruce takes the leap and lets a person into his heart. Jason is a problem child, of course. He quickly takes advantage of Bruce's extended absences in the night to sneak off and take on the 2-Gang much to Bruce's chagrin. Once Jason finds out he's Batman, he demands to be taken with him, to be trained. Bruce is extremely reluctant, but between him sneaking out while he can't be around and him being alongside him where he can keep watch...
Bruce makes a risky decision. And that's how The Dynamic Duo is born. Jason's suit in this universe is actually a gift from Kal. It is made of impenetrable Kryptonian fabric in order to give him a layer of protection while out in the field.
On a greater meta-textual level, this story is about childhood naiveté and how it's necessary to the superhero genre.This Batman does not become the Batman we know until he gets a child's perspective. Until he finally reopens the door to the grieving child in his heart and finally lets him free. He goes from a man hell-bent on punishing the evils of the world to a man dreaming of a better one and making it happen.
All because one day, in an alley, he saw a lost boy...And wasn't afraid to show him that he was loved.
So broad strokes: We gradually go from Frank Miller Batman to Adam West Batman in one story!
Now on the design front, Batman is wearing a relatively classic costume paired with a Dracula collar for extra flair.Jason's Robin costume is a mix of his debut suit with Robin OYL and Red Robin, to give him a pop color feel, while keeping him in line with the pulp noir feel.
And yes, Jason is the first (and hopefully only) Robin Bruce will have. In a way, we'll get to see how he would've turned out if he wasn't in Dick's shadow and wasn't taken from the world too soon.
A Jason that could actually heal from his rough upbringing.
Not my idea, Art and Pitch comes from here: https://x.com/FitMarshmellow/status/1772322750796865885
