an arkham inmate

it's been really bugging me lately that both google and casual fans seem to believe the league is stationed in nanda parbat, because that is so very false (i mean, it was literally closed off to ra's after he desecrated it in the resurrection of ra's al ghul, lol), so i was thinking of alternative places for a league base.

batman - one bad day: ra's al ghul (2023)

so, the league is really meant to be mobile. the locations people usually cite, such as nanda parbat or infinity island, aren't actually places they stay. nanda parbat is notoriously difficult for everyone to get to, and infinity island was blown up, lol. i'm not a huge fan of the black citadel thing in tt'16 for that reason.

lately (as of talia's segment in the rogues anniversary giant), they've said the league stays in nepal, and i think that's a good idea, actually. so, my vote is for upper mustang: that way they can keep the secluded mountain region vibe without defying continuity. not necessarily lo manthang, but still in upper mustang as opposed to lower, so we get a rain shadow desert with snowy peaks that actually borders tibet, lol.

the problem: in trorag, ra's had a stronghold in tibet that was used to transport damian and co. to nanda parbat while making preparations for the resurrection, implying nanda parbat is nearby. however, while nanda parbat is meant to be in the himalayas, it's also a fictionalization of nanga parbat, which is in pakistan, and doesn't border tibet. it takes anywhere from five to ten days to get from lhasa to nanga parbat (so, i don't really get why they even put a compound there, lol). a flight from lhasa to kathmandu is about two hours, tho, so nepal would make more sense considering the flight talia, dick, tim, and alfred took to get there. either way, to me, it appears they've conflated the two locations.

the 'official' base of the league as per red hood and the outlaws is ‘eth alth'eban, but i don't think they specify a location beyond "desert in the arabian peninsula", and call me idealistic, but i think we can be a bit more specific than that…

all this to say, to me, nepal seems like a good place to station the league, and the himalayas is as good a place as any, but i'd like dc to be more specific if they want to commit to an area, because thus far it's only caused confusion. none of that arrowverse crap, which is almost certainly to blame for the common perception that nanda parbat is LOA H.Q., haha.

it’s never a good thing when huntress is thrust into the hands of someone who lacks 1.) prior knowledge of her and 2.) the desire to write her.

editorial mandates always spell misfortune for the huntress.

and the decision to not read any of her past appearances will lead to further mischaracterization. this approach may work for someone like jason todd, who dc has been struggling to find consistency with for quite some time now, but it doesn’t apply to helena bertinelli. her portrayals have been largely congruous, save for a few poor decisions throughout rebirth. nothing that would be fixed by entirely overhauling the status quo.

also, i want to add: helena is literally defined by her independence — at times, to a fault — and while she often strives for the approval of others, she is by no means grappling for the reassurance of someone like jason todd in order to function as an individual.

while i do agree, to some extent, with that final assertion, she’s most definitely not “at a loss”. she has her mission: protecting the vulnerable. she had her support system: the birds of prey, tim drake, etc. she’s continually stripped of those things and, as a result, reduced to the supporting role of men who lack consistency in their own characterization.

i don’t understand dc’s insistence to place her alongside jason. we very well may have seen her on the current birds of prey roster had she not already been “spoken for” per one of thompson’s responses. (disregarding thompson’s initial hesitation to include her, which i was disappointed by). this pattern leaves anyone tasked with writing helena unable to move forward. it’s repetitive stagnation due to narrative negligence, and it’s easily avoidable.

just for emphasis: the huntress as an alias was adopted to be a symbol of strength and resilience for helena to oppose those who enact violence on vulnerable populations — primarily the mob. felker martin is correct in that assessment, however, helena doesn’t lack the direction that jason does. it’s kind of ironic considering she would only lack direction due to appearances like these. her agency is yet again being undermined to uplift dc’s man of the week. that’s where my main frustration lies.

batman and robin (2023) #23

robin (2021) #1

i would be optimistic about a helena appearance in an ongoing title if it didn’t follow a concerning pattern of DC sticking her with men she has no business associating with.

it’s ridiculous that thompson was more than likely barred from adding helena to the current birds of prey roster for THIS.

helena has consistently been shoehorned into the role of a second-rate love interest to dc’s man of the week. one of THEEE representative feminist characters that dc has, and she’s continually underutilized to prop up controversial men. dick grayson (on two separate occasions, mind you), john constantine, and now jason todd…i’m sick of it.

it’s not at all reassuring that the women who appear alongside jason todd follow a similar pattern of poor application and depiction. (consider starfire and barbara gordon).

if helena can’t be on projects without having to relegate her to a supporting role, then just don’t fucking use her. i’m tired of seeing her mischaracterized and, at this point, bastardized whenever she’s made relevant to a storyline.

like, seriously. come on. being framed as a love interest for her ex’s younger brother. surely, we can do better than this?

here are my immediate thoughts (cross-posted from twt):

currently, damian doesn’t feel trusted or valued as an equal, resulting in him being drawn toward his own decided normalcy. found the repetition of “remarkable” / “unremarkable” interesting. makes for a distinct contrast between the ‘batman opposition’ and bruce himself being on the mental decline

after overhearing bruce’s view of damian remaining stagnant in his influences, of course he’s going to withdraw toward those who’ve said the direct opposite. i doubt this means he’s leaving the mantle permanently. he just wants to better understand himself as an individual rather than a product of his upbringing. this will probably touch on stuff that bvr missed the mark on.