No, I kind of doubt there’s a Marvel writer alive who wanted to do anything about the marriage. That decision was made by their EIC. Who, by the way, apparently likes MJ as a love interest too, but sees the decision to marry them as being one step too far. They’ll be back together within a couple of years, just…sans the finality of marriage.

It’s just that once you put the kid in a crimefighting role (even if it’s just as tech support), it can get into not-dark terrain.

Well, after watching Dark Knight, I don’t know that you can get any more darker. I mean, you can; but the remaining “marquee” villains don’t lend themselves for it, and they don’t get any darker than the Joker, anyways. Nolan could still bring back the Joker; but it has to be in a way that he can top himself and do something new with him. Otherwise, he would be repeating himself and he is the type who wants to chart new waters, progress the story and exceed expectations; not spend his life redoing the same film.

Plus, there’s also the issue that Bruce Wayne had reached an emotional dead end by the end of Dark Knight and he was dragging and buckling under the responsibility of being Gotham’s only hope.

Getting a new girlfriend to replace the emotions that he felt for Rachel and provide conflict, is kind of hack because the audience will see it as a clear plot device. The audience just doesn’t get as “emotionally invested” in that type of relationship anymore, because they know it won’t last & it will end the minute the movie ends.

(Vicky Vale, Catwoman and even Talia, they are all interchangeable… unlike say, Lois Lane and Clark Kent.)

And the point of that scene with Rachel’s letter at the end of the movie was that Bruce Wayne shouldn’t stop being Batman; so a better metaphor for that responsibility would be a Bat-family.

To Nolan’s psychological Batman (who used Exposure to cure himself of his phobia of bats); a Batgirl or a Robin would provide a much needed “emotional arc” for the main character to work through in the next film.

That is, Bruce could work through the darkness & hopelessness by “empowering” mirror images of his “shattered younger self”. Plus, having a family being thrust upon you is a better metaphor for the never ending need for a Batman than a new girlfriend. And unlike having a new girlfriend, being a Family Head is an unshakeable responsibility.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I’d rather have a movie with no Robin than have a bad one with him or Batgirl in it. But I feel that the best (and sometimes darker) Batman stories have had the sidekick element to them.

It’s needed because sooner or later you have to rein in the “Big Bad Dark Knight Batman” or he becomes an unsympathetic asshole. And if you go straight to Nightwing, you actually miss the best part, which is the character’s growth & mentoring.

Besides, as far as the Nightwing/Robin debate goes; the fact of the matter is simple… Nightwing is expendable. Robin isn’t. Nightwing was created in the late eighties, Robin has been around since the forties. Batman & Robin translate to Batman & Robin throughout the whole world. …outside of the Continental United States, Nightwing translates to “crap”. Not literally; but let me tell you that he has a different name in every country that I’ve ever visited, and they are all considered to be too long and too lame. So while we think he is “cool” …internationally speaking, he is considered a C-lister. I mean, his costume is just a black jumpsuit with a blue stripe, and if you step back for a second, you’ll realize that his name is too long and doesn’t really mean anything. No wonder his international appeal still ranks him right behind Electra Woman and Dyna-Girl .

Hell, that’s the main problem the Titans have as a movie property. Both Warner & DC are very gung-ho about having it made with Nightwing as the lead; but the current producer has had the rights since April 2003 and hasn’t been able to secure long-term financing (which often comes from outside the U.S.) I think that unless the movie is about Robin (sidekick to the Box Office Hot Batman) instead of Nightwing (who is not that well known outside the US, wasn’t in the Titans cartoon & needs an asterisk in order to explain who he is and where he came from) …it won’t get made. That’s just my opinion.

By the way, it’s not written in stone that Robin has to be Batman’s first sidekick. I think there’s a strong emotional story that can be told by having Barbara Gordon become Batgirl first, before Dick Grayson became Robin; and the strains that such a situation would put on the relationship between the Batman and his main ally; her father, Commissioner Gordon.

I mean, if Batman trains Robin, and he does well. Then you might feel that he knows what he is doing and decide to trust him with the safety of your daughter.

But if he trains your daughter, without permission; and she gets shot & paralyzed by the Joker. And then, after all that, he starts training another young kid; well… don’t you think you might have a problem with that?

I mean, wouldn’t such a conflict between two good characters, who are working together, compounded by Batman’s inability to explain his motivations, provide a lot of good fodder for the next couple of films?

The problem with a young Dick Grayson in the Nolan movies is that it’s kinda hard to put a child in a major supporting crimefighting role and not come across as at least a little cheesy.

Not saying you can’t have a kid in a serious, dark film. It’s just that once you put the kid in a crimefighting role (even if it’s just as tech support), it can get into not-dark terrain.

While Dick as Nightwing depicted as just a little younger, and a little more naive than than Bruce Wayne, sort of a “rookie cop”, could fit in easily. And I don’t know, Dick got older, while Bruce kept the same age. I don’t know how big is the age difference between them these days.

Nightwing has migrated to other media, so you’d need to erase a major property. The solo comic has run a lot of issues. That change is as entrenched as anything ever is in comics.

The Super Marriage, in contrast, is easy to erase. If they hit re-boot on the Man of Steel, then they’ll revert to the iconic version. In that case, Lois neither knows Clark is Superman, nor is married to him. It opens him up to other love interests, like Lana. Remember, “Smallville” is the longest running adaptation of any comic property. Ever.

Likewise, Jonathan Kent has met his maker both in the films and on TV to pretty good dramatic effect. I’d say that is the easiest death of an otherwise popular character available. You could see someone deciding it would be a “twist” to kill off Martha instead.

Like unmarried Superman, the Invisible Jet is a classic Wonder Woman element. If top talent ever went to that title with a pro-I.J. agenda, then it would change in a heart-beat.

Marvel doesn’t pour as much concrete into its foundations. Bucky being dead was to one fixed thing, so …

(Frank Miller has actually turned most people off Dick as Robin)

Frank Miller hasn’t turned me off of Dick Grayson as Robin, he’s turned me off to anything written by Frank Miller.

Wally wasn’t killed… Bart was killed

Oh, come on! That’s not fair!

You know it’s humanly impossible to make sense of Infinite Crisis! Let alone, issue #4!

(Besides… If he wasn’t about to die; he sure chose a hell of a time to take the family “vacation” to that horsie planet we’ve never heard of, but apparently all the Flashes visit every other week.)

It seems like Robin has no place in the Nolan version of Batman. Though I would argue that it could be possible to introduce Dick.

I was thinking something along those lines the other day. I mean, after seeing Dark Knight, I thought Nolan’s world was too hardcore for a Robin. But then I realized that the seeds are there; just like the seeds for that DK were planted in Batman Begins. By the end of DK, two issues had been raised with the whole Harvey Dent situation… first, there were a lot of trust issues & communication problems between Bats, Gordon & Dent. Batman kept Gordon & Dent in the dark. Gordon kept Batman & Dent in the dark also. And at the end of the day, nobody trusted anybody. The second issue that was raised & resolved was that Harvey wasn’t going assume the role of “Crime Crusader” …and as a result, Batman would have to go on & on… alone!

As a writer, I feel that the next logical step for the character would be to develop his own support structure. If it’s a Never Ending War on Crime he is fighting, then he’ll need soldiers, people he can trust, successors. If it’s loneliness he is fighting, he’ll need a family.

In any case, if Robin is ever introduced, I don’t expect him to be in the mold of Burt Ward or Chris O’Donnell. I think he’ll be younger, and mostly delegated to the role of observer & tech support. Just like Carrie Kelly was in Dark Knight Returns.

And to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Batgirl got introduced before Robin. Notice how a young Barbara Gordon was depicted in the movie, & yet never shown. But she was there, and she saw everything. And it’s just like a teenager to “not want Batman to be blamed for something he didn’t do”.

What’s the last significant change to a major character that you honestly do not believe will be reverted back in the future?

Well, I was thinking…

DC recently “un-killed” Wally West; so you wouldn’t think that they would go ahead and… “re-kill him, again.” Would you?

Similarly, as far as the whole “Dick Grayson in a serious movie” thing goes, I was thinking that maybe they could do the same thing by just jumping ahead several years and do the bit with Dick moving out & becoming Nightwing (or already having done so), without ever having to make another attempt at Robin stuff that’s never really been made to work on screen. Almost the same, but the character progression from the comics is hinted at having happened.

There are no fans clamoring for it, there are no “alternate universe” stories featuring Grayson as Robin that have been a hit (Frank Miller has actually turned most people off Dick as Robin), and more importantly of all: no one has ever adapted Robin well in live action movies/tv shows.

It seems like Robin has no place in the Nolan version of Batman. Though I would argue that it could be possible to introduce Dick as Nightwing right off the bat (no pun intended), and present him as just a little younger than Bruce Wayne, more of a experienced cop / junior cop dynamic that would not seem pedophiliac or silly.

For the record, according to the edition of the Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage that I have at work and to the 1993 Columbia Guide to Standard American English, “revert back” is acceptable, especially in informal usage or when referring to a series of reversions. I can’t speak as to whether the most recent editions of those pulications have reversed their stance on that matter, but by and large usage standards become less stringent over time, not more. If you’re not American, you’ll have to check your own country’s standards.

In superhero comics, if it happened between 5 years back and approx. 1975, it’s fully temporary. Most everything is up for grabs except for a very few popular things (X-Men, New Teen Titans, etc.) So I’ll go with Gwen Stacy’s death. That’s one modern writers (who are also fans) won’t WANT to undo, given their puppy love fascination for MJ.

So how soon before they undo stuff like the Lois/Clark marriage, or Dick Grayson as Nightwing, or Barbara Gordon as Oracle? Give it a few years.

Also, I definitely do not count the presence or absence of the yellow oval in Batman’s logo to be a true character change. As far as I’m concerned it’s just an option that’s either there or not on his various batsuits. I’d have no problem whatsoever with seeing him flip randomly from with to without from issue to issue, with a shot of the bat-wardrobe in the cave showing alternating versions hanging next to each other.

The only way I see the Clark-Lois marriage ever being undone is if DC does another complete reboot on Superman. I just can’t see DC publishing a divorced or widowed Man of Steel.

I doubt Hal Jordan will ever be turned evil again. He may get sidelined at some point, though.

I have trouble seeing Guy Gardner ever going back to his “Warrior” ID.

Power Girl will always be at least a DD cup.

I think Ma & Pa Kent are probably here to stay. And the Waynes will never be coming back to life.

Ben Reilly is never returning as Spider-Man.

And I don’t think R. J. Sterling will ever stop complaining about Curious Cat saying “revert back”.

Me, I hope it doesn’t happen anyway. Jean & Wolverine is just wrong.

Of course, also if the X-Men movies become the authority, Scott will become a whiny minor character and pretty much everyone else will be really boring.

Spider-Man won’t be single forever, of course, but I really don’t think they’ll undo OMD.