~ Batman / Superman: World's Finest
I have so much to say about Alfred putting a tracker in 8 years old Bruce.
First, I don't know if it's the case in this continuity, but Bruce, when he was a child, went missing for a whole week trying to find the Court of Owls and if they were behind his parents' murder. Is this the event that led to Alfred putting a microchip in him? Because it would make Alfred a huge dick if he knew where Bruce was and wait a week before saving him.
Secondly, Bruce having a tracker means that when he went to travel the world on his own, Alfred knew exactly where he was, but never contacted him or anything. And I do understand why, he let Bruce some freedom, but also, I imagine it would be hard for Bruce to feel free with a tracker.
Thirdly, does Bruce know? When did he learned about it? I just mentioned his world tour, and I feel like he would have operated on himself to get it out if he knew, during that time.
Thirdly, I'm pissed. I'm pissed at DC and I'm pissed at the fans. Because DC is very much not portraying it as the awful thing it is (Alfred is painted as a loving father doing his best), when if it was Bruce doing it, they would. They literally have, as in the Titans show, Jason reveals to Dick that Bruce put a tracker in them (Jason knows but Dick doesn't, meaning he was not asked for his consent. Dick operates on himself with a knife in the bathroom to take out the tracker) For putting a tracker in Dick without his consent, Bruce is painted as a controlling asshole, because it is fucked up. But here, Alfred is given grace, which makes little sense because the batkids having trackers is acceptable because of who they are, vigilantes, but Bruce was a normal 8 years old. Rich and traumatized, but a normal child. Is it because it has become more and more popular for parents to put trackers on their children to "protect them"? (Weird behavior, btw) Or it is the continual sanism of DC toward Bruce, that he is "weird" so it's okay to treat him like this?
And the fans, they piss me off because I have seen most of them find it funny that Alfred put a tracker in 8 years old Bruce. "Lol, he's like a dog 😂" That's a child that you think it's funny to deshumanize, a traumatized grieving child. But if Bruce did it, it's another story. When the Titans show did it, they call Bruce an abusive parent immediately. Some fans have hc of Bruce putting trackers into the batkids without their consent, because Bruce is an controlling asshole to them. And some people have hc of the batfam having trackers because Bruce asked, with the whole explanation that they are vigilante, and Bruce isn't a bad person because he asked for their consent, and sometimes it's mutual (I have read a fic where Tim pushed for Bruce to get a tracker too because he didn't want to lose sight of where Bruce was ever again) What I'm saying is that, when fans come up with Bruce putting a tracker in his kids, they can easily see that it would be wrong for Bruce to do it without their consent, but the moment Alfred does the same to Bruce, who is not even a vigilante when he did it, it's funny and ok.