Then read issues of Batman Legends of the Dark Knight that cover Batman's early career. That's a grounded Batman,this is crap.

@entropy_aegis:

It isn't crap. It's good storytelling.

lol?

Anyway, I may get this just for the art. Just like I did for Vol 1. But...ehh, I must choose the better side of valor and resist supporting Johns writing Batman in anything besides JL (even then...).

Oh look at the pretty pictures that I'm going to look at!

Oh, I'm aware of that, but it's not a different take on Batman that I can get into. I dig alternate takes on characters most of the time, but I just wasn't feeling this one. I really enjoyed Superman Earth One, for instance. Even though it was a different take on the Superman myth, I didn't feel as if it betrayed the core of the character. Batman Earth One made Bruce responsible for the robbery and death of his parents, could barely beat a one legged Alfred in a fist fight, had not trained himself in preparation for going out and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and lost a physical encounter to Oswald Cobblepot. I'm all for different takes on a character, as long as the character still keeps the core essence and traits that made him/her appeal to me in the first place. That's why I liked In Darkest Knight, Red Rain, and TDKR.

For me, @muyjingo sums it up best:

If you enjoy this version of the character @captainmarvel4ever, more power to you! I'm glad there are people here that can get behind this interpretation, but for me, it's not Batman. As I said in my previous comment, maybe Johns will surprise me with some real growth for Bruce, but I'm not holding my breath. At least the art is awesome!

Didn't like the first one. Will give this one a shot though.

Interesting story but a really bad take on Batman.It's like he never learn the basic of anything that would be remotely useful in keeping him alive and just wings it every time.Hopefully it gets better this time around.

@captainmarvel4ever: People act like his take on Batman is revolutionary. It is not. He wants to "fix" Batman in DC. And he seems to have done a nice enough job, as long as we all understand that his idea of fixing a working character is castration.

His Batman was a legitimately stupid person. Not just crazy. Not just severely delusional. Not just revenge obsessed, with a no killing rule. Because...stupid. Not because of law and order, oh no.

He trashed Gordon into a wal life person, when people actually do what the comic book Gordon had done in real life all the time.

If you want to read a comic book that has a fascist and nihilistic view of human life, read any of John's work for the story. If you love action and art, look at the art.

And Snyder/Azarello are the best writers DC has right now.

Excited! The first one was really great!

@dr_cheesesteak: suit yourself

@senglord: Dude I get it now. I read it last night online because I just had to see what people were so pissed about. Now I know.

I thought it was because Bruce wasn't taking down alien mechas and ish with a bag of skittles or whatever it is you Batman people like.

But, it's because Bruce was a spoiled, obnoxious, arrogant btch. He was Damien without the wit and badass ninja skill.

I know you weren't speaking to me, but are you saying you do understand legitimately where some of us Bat fans are coming from when we say this isn't one of the greatest takes on Bruce Wayne?

You changed your avatar. Lego Batman is awesome. :)

I was REALLY not a fan of volume one so I have low expectations for volume two since Johns is writing it, but I'll be optimistic that part two will be better.

Earth 1 Batman Vol 1 was alright, not bad interesting to see Alfred being a former military guy that was cool

The mask in that shot reminds me of Injustice Batman a little bit.

The best thing about vol 1 was the art, the rest was bad (except Alfred I think he was cool). So I am going to buy Vol 2 hoping that it gets better.

@tikbaz: Yeah, the "Batman people" was a kind of reference to South Park. The Game of Thrones Black Friday episode, the whole, "Xbox People" thing.

But, yes I legitimately understand. Lol

@tikbaz:

Oh, cool my friend. I didn't pick up the reference since I don't watch South Park (please don't hate me) at all. I thought I detected sarcasm, but I wasn't really sure, that's why I asked. Sorry to inconvenience you. Carry on. :)

My daughter and I watch this video at least 80 kajillion times a day. She sings and dances along with it and everything!

@tikbaz: No inconvenience at all. :-)

i guess im alone in thinking this vol 1 was not that great. been loving superman earth 1 and titans was pretty good too, but i felt batman didn't live up to the hype

That is the first time I've seen this. It's even more infectious than the original!! >_<

Does Batman fall off of that train and or building in the next panel? No thank you, Johns.

will buy for realistic batman

Still a little reluctant to get into this Earth one series, but I agree with the other commenter who said they should pump these out more often. Waiting this long for Superman Earth One Vol 3 is painful

@guardiandevil83: Thank you.

For what it is worth, there we're several attempts in the 1990s at a more grounded and practical Batman in terms of his physical ability.

Alan Moore's TKJ also shows a reckless Batman.

Thrillkiller had a more emo Batman that was more supporting cast for the awesome Babs interpretation.

The Cult was considered the darkest and most human version of Batman. I have not read it because he was broken and conditioned to killing innocent people in weeks, Manchurian candidate style. I already read up on the limits of brainwashing, destroying the premise.

This combines stereotypes of rich children and the mentally ill. Stereotypes are needed to catalog information, as long as the source is legitimate. His sources seem to be sitcoms and high school dramas.

He could have just ripped of Nolan.

Probably,some law of physics will be cited as the reason,causing Johns lovers to exclaim "realism",meanwhile over at JL Lex Luthor continues to redefine physics itself,realism goes out of the window here,now it's "Lex is so smart".

Johns fans never cease to amaze me. All their talk of grounded,human and realistic applies only and SOLELY to Batman.

@entropy_aegis: Right! Batman is literally the only character people demand realism from. They hate this character so much, that they're willing to stand by and let Johns make a mockery of one of the most popular comic characters and sell it to them as a "story".

@sog7dc: There was no story. It was a six minute read. There was no character. We hear that Alfred was a marine. He tells the Wayne's they are stupid. The Waynes are idiotic. So, Alfred is a badass.

If you make a surgeon seem retarded to make your practical character strong, that is not building character. That is PIS. And two years for a six minute read is not enough plot to justify such low balling of the intelligences of the readership.

PS.

Scott Lobdell would be a better choice to write this. And Justice League.

Lobdell tells better story than John's ever has.

@senglord: That's certainly one way of interpreting it. I don't think you have it a chance. Also, I'd remind that it's an elseworld. It's intended to deviate from tradition. It's nice to see a Batman that's taken down a few pegs every once in a while. Honestly, with the current canon Batman books I don't see why so many of you have a problem with a non-canon book nerfing him a bit.

P.S.

Those last two statements are categorically false. Make a poll and let's see who the viners think is a better writer.

So is Earth One:Batman good? I've never read it but, I've herd mixed opinions from people saying its a good realistic Batman or useless Batman. I mean it sounds interesting and I am all for a realistic Batman but not a useless Batman.

@lxlgiftedlxl: Those people complaining are the fanboys who don't apply proper critical thinking, trust when I say you will love this story.

@entropy_aegis: Johns doesn't miss the point, this story breaks down what Batman really is. If anything it really shows who the true fans are, and who the people that just want style over substance.

@tikbaz: Those things are what's different in this take, but this book also keeps Batman's core intact, the ordinary man who goes above and beyond risking his own life in the name of justice. That is what Batman is truly about at the very core of his character, and while many things are different in this story, that remains.

@senglord: If he wanted to "Fix" Batman (and I'm fairly sure he does not believe he's "broken") he wouldn't do it in an out of continuity book.

I see what you're getting at, but Bruce Wayne isn't an ordinary man. He's supposed to be at the peak of human perfection and efficiency. He's supposed to be a nearly unequaled polymath; a peerless intellectual possessing a keen deductive perception with unrivaled skills. Fiercely determined; inhumanly driven. Strategic, tactical, and yet, ultimately still fallible. Basically, he's Steve Rogers minus the steroids in a physical sense, and T'challa in a mental sense.

Reading about an ordinary man fighting crime like Kick Ass, is fun, sure, but it's not Batman. At least it's not the version of the character that I appreciate. Even old, retired, grizzled past his prime Bruce Wayne can still knock heads with the best of them, while Earth One Bruce had to resort to sweep kicking Alfred's prosthetic leg from underneath him in order to score a knock down, not a k.o., but a knock down. And even then, all he did was win a fight with an old one legged man who was very much giving Bruce hell. Even other versions of Batman that I personally dislike, at the very least, possess a modicum of combat proficiency. ASBAR Batman and Kevin Smith's Batman come to mind. Alfred even tells him in the midst of their scuffle that he's "emotional, sloppy, and soft." He comments, "No guns? No recon? No tactics? Just a stupid Bat costume? A useless cape?" Batman was only able to stop the Birthday Boy after he had been stabbed in the leg, shot, and dropped through the floor of the old house they were fighting in, by wrapping his cape around his face and cutting his air supply off. Finally, he goes to take on Mayor Cobblepot, completely underestimates him (something Batman never does), and nearly dies for his efforts. Had it not been for Shotgun Packing Alfred (sounds like a 90's Kenner action figure), he certainly would have perished.

His parents would not have died had he not been such a petulant brat and mouthed off to the guy that he himself bumped into. The book clearly shows that the guy would have just kept walking, but then Bruce tells him that his parents are the richest people in Gotham. Shadowy Back Alley Bad Guy takes Bruce hostage at that point, demands shinnies from the Waynes, and then proceeds to slay them. Bruce kinda caused them to get killed. Wow. So now he's not becoming Batman so no other kid has to go through what he went through, he's becoming Batman to try to make up for his fatal mistake as a child.

Your comment mentioned going above and beyond risking his own life in the name of justice. After Bruce falls from missing a rooftop jump that some random hood could make but he couldn't, he gets out of the trash, sees what looks to be an Asian shop owner calling for help whilst being robbed by two thugs, and turns his back on him. He didn't risk his life at all. He didn't even try to help that shop owner. Not very heroic or just minded in my eyes. Very un-Batman, and far from capturing the core of the character.

You've been pretty decent and civil towards me while giving me your opinion of the story. I appreciate that, thank you. Hopefully I don't come off as some random internet @$$hole arguing with you, because that's not what I'm about. But for me, nearly useless guy in a Bat suit is not Batman, just Batman in name only. Again, if this type of Batman story is your thing, I sincerely hope you enjoy it, but I also hope you recognize that the individuals commenting negatively about it aren't necessarily fanboys who can't apply critical thinking and only want style over substance, but rather fans who want and would appreciate a more Batman-esque Batman. Someone who isn't so stupid that he drives Bruce Waynes car out on patrol while he's in costume. We'll respectfully have to agree to disagree with one another. I still do not have high hopes for volume 2, but I am still hoping Earth One was all set up, and Earth Two gives us a much more competent Batman that's learned from his past mistakes in the first volume.

Peace.

Pass.

@captainmarvel4ever: All right I'll give it a chance, hopefully I will love it.

Cool

It's crap,the art is pretty but that's all I can say,Johns breaks down Batman in to what he believes him to be,a useless pansy and moron who runs around in a Halloween costume thinking he can fight crime. The true heroes in Johns eyes are people like Alfred Pennyworth(in this story he takes Alfreds military past to a whole new level), the guys who use guns,aren't afraid to kill etc,Batman is just a retard living some fetish.

HAHAHAHAHA,substance in a Johns book? LMAO. This is the same guy whose been either writing events or stories that lead to events for years now,Sinestro is the only character in recent memory that was written with originality and substance.

Fixed it for ya.

@entropy_aegis: Thanks for the reply I shall take what you and Captain Marvel4Ever say in to account when reading Earth One.

The art is so good. It fits it well.

@entropy_aegis: Except their idea of 'realism' is isomorphic with 'idiotic'. Once that is understood, you can see the need to ruin Batman, Wonder Woman, and any other well written character in DC. Their lives in 'reality' must fit into the same categorical schema.

I just want to have some fun reading well constructed comics. I have never felt that engagement from johns work.

And now he has bogarted his way into the last Arkham game. I await the disaster.

They need Johns to come to Gotham. I'm not sayin I'm a big fan of him all the time but he knows how to do tv.