“ La grossolanità degli uomini del popolo nei paesi civili non deriva solamente dal fatto che essi sono ignoranti e poveri, ma anche dal fatto che, essendo in tali condizioni, sono quotidianamente in contatto con uomini istruiti e ricchi. La vista della loro sfortuna e della loro debolezza, ogni giorno contrastanti con il benessere e la potenza di qualche loro simile, eccita in loro la collera e il timore; essi sono irritati e umiliati dal senso della loro inferiorità. Tale stato d'animo ha la sua espressione nei costumi e nel linguaggio basso e insolente di questa gente. La verità di questo fatto si prova facilmente con l'osservazione: nei paesi aristocratici il popolo è più grossolano che altrove; nelle città opulente è più volgare che nelle campagne. Nei luoghi, insomma, ove si trovano uomini forti e ricchi, i deboli e i poveri hanno un senso di abbrutimento e, non avendo alcun mezzo per riconquistare l'eguaglianza, disperano di se stessi e perdono ogni dignità.
Questo dannoso effetto dell'ineguaglianza delle condizioni non si riscontra presso i selvaggi: gli indiani come sono tutti ignoranti e poveri, così sono tutti eguali e liberi. “
Alexis de Tocqueville, La democrazia in America, a cura di Giorgio Candeloro, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli (collana B.U.R. Saggi), 2005⁶ [1982], p. 37.
[ Edizione originale: De la démocratie en Amérique I-II, Librairie de Charles Gosselin, Paris; 1835, 1840 ]
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Flamebird Analysis: The odd treatment of Bette Kane and her history/experience
Batwoman (2011-2016) #1
Okay so first of all, Kate; rude much?
Second of all... was Flamebird's costume really that impractical? Especaially when compared to Kate's costume.
While admittedly Flamebird's original costume was not exactly the height of practicality...
(Although she still seemed quite capable of holding her own in it)
Beast Boy (2000) #2
However she later does in fact get a more practical outfit which she also kickass ass in.
Beast Boy (2000) #4
And we do know that its Flamebird's second (more practical-looking costume) which Kate burns, as Bette ends up suiting up in her aforementioned spare after Kate fires her...
Batwoman (2011-2016) #3
While I am admittedly not an expert on combat outfits; Flamebird's second costume to me seems like it walks a good line between aesthetic and practicality. It has plenty of flair and style to it, but also appears quite flexible and overall not really too drastically different from Kate's Batwoman costume in this regard (rather hypocritical of Kate to say "you need a uniform" while she wears a long wig for no apparent reason apart from style).
If anything...
The "uniform" which Kate gives Bette kinda strikes me as being less practical for the situation compared to the Flamebird costume which she burned. Like Bette's mask seems to be just a piece of fabric tied around her face, which certainly feels like it should be looser and not be as sleek and flexible as the Flamebird costume.
Building off this, from what I've seen and looked over so far, the treatment of Bette kinda feels like it has a weird... juxtaposition at times between what's getting told and what's being shown, I guess.
Like on one hand...
It's shown by both Bette's comments here and the existence of her old Flamebird costumes that she has been experience vigilante for sometime. Longer than Kate I think, if I'm understanding the timeline all correctly.
There seems to be this odd case of both having Kate and the narrative treat Bette as an inexperienced rookie... while also having Bette and the narrative establish Bette as having been a Teen Titan, who has fought Deathstroke and presumably has years of experience.
Even Kate's codename for Bette indicates a rookie status...
However despite the references to Bette's past career and capabilities, and Bette's protests of being more capable than Kate gives her credit for, and Kate also immediately feeling quite shitty at how harsh she was when firing Bette...
The narrative still, from what I understand, kinda vindicates Kate entirely by having Bette get brutalised to the point of falling into a coma immediately after she defies Kate by heading out as Flamebird after getting fired... so I guess Kate was right? I don't know.
Like I said, I just find all of this quite of a weird portrayal. I've been curious about Bette lately on account of her being the original Batgirl (or rather, Bat-Girl), which is a very iconic mantle to the general "Bat-Mythos" even if Bette herself is far less remembered.
I guess one thing I find especially strange is how this is from the first issues of Batwoman 2011... meaning that this was right at the start of the whole New 52 Reboot stuff and so they could've presumably just retconned Bette's experience to make her an actual rookie sidekick instead of this weird half-measure where they both establish her past experience as canon while also otherwise ignoring it.
There's other stuff which I could go over; such as Bette's coma, her stint as Hawkfire, her enrolling in West Point... all of which probably has room for more detailed specific analysis by someone more familiar with both Bette and also the Batwoman comics (I've only fairly recently started looking into this stuff out of curiosity as I work my way through learning more comic history).
So I'll skip to a more recent appearance by Bette in 2017...
Detective Comics (1937—Present) #967
This whole exchange feels once again like Kate ignoring Bette's history, experience and capabilities. Especially the whole "pass second year in the top 99th percentile of your class and maybe I'll put in a good word with you to Batman" thing. No one else needed be top of their class at West Point, or attend West Point at all, to be a superhero. And it just seems strange to have Bette getting forced down that specific road.
Like; going by publication history, Bette was considered part of the original Teen Titans team due to debuting in the 1960s-1970s period. In fact she joined the team before the likes of Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg (at least in terms of publication anyway).
While I'm not entirely certain how her current age placement in the roster, they did still at least establish her as being a Teen Titan who fought Deathstroke and so presumably in the same generation as Nightwing (even if possibly a bit younger) and other core members. The from what I understand the Titans are currently considered senior and experienced enough to be the current "top team" of the hero scene in canon.
So all together this adds up to, as I keep saying, a strange contrast between Bette's stated/implied history and how she gets treated by the narrative.
DC's Legion of Bloom (2023) #1
Last year Bette did make a return as Flamebird (not Hawkfire). Which could mean one of two things...
Kate finally acknowledged Bette as ready/worthy/experienced enough to go out on her own
Bette went screw it and decided she didn't need Bette's permission
Honestly kinda hopping the later cause it brings to mind a bit of the Beast Boy comic which I quite liked...
Beast Boy (2000) #3
Better gets a very stern reprimand from Nightwing (some she admires), and is told she's not cut out for this world and quits. This comes after she's spent most of her appearance in this run being kinda a comedic relief in the form of her repeated failures to bail Beast Boy outta jail (since she's never posted bail before and didn't know how)
But after this..?
Beast Boy (2000) #4
She comes back, with a new (more practical-looking, as I discussed before) costume and beats up several bad guys to help out Gar (who in turn really appreciates her arrival and assistance).
Batwoman (2011) #3
Making this post I've noticed an interesting similarity and contrast between Beast Boy and Batwoman comics in regards to Bette. Both times, Bette gets very sternly reprimanded and told she's not cut out to be a hero and ordered not to be one by someone she admires/values the opinion of.
Both times she defies them and goes out anyway, putting on the same costume both times in fact.
But while the Beast Boy comic portrays her as competent and capable, even having her involvement appreciated by Gar...
Meanwhile in Batwoman?
Batwoman (2011-2016) #4
Bette's defiance almost immediately ends with her horribly injured, and in turn accidentally helps the DEO work out Batwoman's identity.
Two events regarding the same character which that character reacts to in a similar manner but one ends with her vindicated and the other... very much not.
DC's Legion of Bloom (2023) #1
Moving back to Bette's recent appearance in DC's Legion of Bloom. West Point is 4-years in total, and when we last saw Bette she was on her second year at the latest. So with the nature of comic book time, I find it unlikely she'd already graduated.
Her return to Flamebird could also have something to do with Infinite Frontier (I don't fully understand how it works, but apparently everything's canon now again sort of?) re-canonising Bette's competence? That sounds like kinda an amusing thought tbh; multiverse shenanigans happen and Bette wakes up one morning feeling suddenly competent again. Good for her.
Anyway I hope this is a good sign for Bette's character. Even if she's unlikely to be a major player, would still be nice for her appearance to at least depict her as capable. Plus as I said, comic book time means if she does actually stick to West Point, then she'd unlikely to be graduating (and get allowed to be a vigilante) anytime soon. So at that point you might as well just let her go be rich and play tennis since its not like that's a route to her actually doing anything.
Bette seems pretty neat from what I've seen of her, so I wish her the best. Even if Legion of Bloom continues the running joke of her trying and failing to recreate Titans West.
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“You hint at politics, and strange summonses, and forget that we plebeians know nothing of these matters.”
—Virginia Woolf, The letters of Virginia Woolf
