nightwing (1995) #4 // the brave and the bold (1955) #83 // nightwing (1995) #1 // the new titans (1988) #57 // nightwing/huntress (1998) #1 // batman (1940) #21 // nightwing (1995) #4 // gotham knights (2000) #26// injustice gods among us year three (2014) #21 // death in the family: robin lives! (2024) #3 // outsiders (2003) #21 // batman (1940) #687 // nightwing (1996) #100 // batman (1940) #344

Batman #612 - Hush Chapter 5 by Jeph Loeb

Characters: Superman (controlled by Ivy), Batman

Some people argue that the blue Batsuit is more interesting and makes narrative sense if interpreted as an alternative design that Bruce made for not to scare the children. While I like the blue suit, one of the reasons I find the black one more interesting is precisely the opposite of the idea that the black batsuit scares children.

Batman, that intimidating, muscle-bound man dressed as a creature of darkness in the gloomy night of the world's most dangerous city, doesn't scare the children. Not at all.

But why would he? He's always such a kind gentleman to them.

Answer: Sometimes.

From my vague memory of the hundreds of Batman comics I've read, Bruce (depending on the writer; some never write him as being triggered while others do) is consistently triggered by the context, not necessarily just the gun.

(He spends the rest of the comic spiraling wheeee)

Certain writers will have him responding differently, but it seems that he is triggered pretty consistently involving any combination of at least two factors mirroring the event: gun + person he knows + child + alleyway + civilian mode.

Interestingly enough, he doesn't really care about being shot himself. He's afraid of not saving someone, whether he intimately cares about them or not.

Comics referenced are:

So often in fics, Bruce is painted as the one overanalyzing every potential outcome, hiding his romantic approaches behind layers of masks and secret identities, any denying himself a relationship on the smallest of technicalities—but it’s Clark who tried that for years.

So often in fics, Clark is written as the one to take the leap, to enter relationships with deep hope and trust and commitment—when Bruce has had his heart broken by this too many times in the past.

The way their relationships are commonly written mimic their modern friendship’s development—it is in no way out of character—but I would love to see more that is based on their romantic styles, not just platonic.

I firmly believe that Bruce is a romantic. Yes, he's often cold and calculating in his relationships, but that's never for lack of caring. In fact, if anything he cares too much: fiercely, pathologically. He cares about Gotham so much that he practically tortures himself in the name of protecting it. He cares about people so much that he's sworn never to kill, even criminals who've caused him immense and personal suffering, because he believes everyone deserves a second chance. He cares about his family so much that he will blow up his own relationships with them if he can convince himself its for their sake. In Batman: The Knight, Bruce tries to get rid of his love so he can be more efficient, more unfeeling, but in the end its his love that becomes his true strength.

Is any of this healthy? No, not really! He's deeply emotionally repressed and can't express any of these feelings in healthy ways. But the feeling is there. And I think in love he can be reckless and impulsive, when the feeling overwhelms him. Thus the proposal to Selina; thus his many entanglements with his rogues, especially Talia, which are pretty obviously Bad Ideas from a logical standpoint. But he loves, and sometimes he can't hold that back.

Meanwhile, Clark also loves deeply, but his love drives him in a different, nearly opposite way. Clark is warm and friendly, raised by emotionally supportive parents - but he's fundamentally not human. He's always kept the alien parts of himself hidden to keep himself and his family safe, keeping his powers under careful control. Because if he slipped up, he could hurt someone, out himself, destroy his ability to be among people without quite being one of them.

And this too is out of love. He loves people, and he loves humanity. But in many ways he expresses this by keeping himself at a polite distance. Unlike Bruce, he doesn't paint himself as a loner, but for much of his existence he has few friends; he's isolated from both humanity and his own culture in ways more profound than almost anyone else can understand; he has a Fortress of Solitude in a place few others can reach, which is his closest link to his heritage on Earth. Superman separates himself from humanity, and this bleeds into Clark Kent as well.