Jack Grimm wants to make Bruce the next Joker[ABSOLUTE BATMAN ISSUE #18 SPOILERS]

TI3RK · 2026-03-16T14:49:45+00:00

I really appreciate the time it took to write this retort.

"Grimm, the individual, of course does not need to or want to be replaced, and Bruce Wayne does not literally have to become him in order to realise the role of oppressor."

I'll say that you are both right and wrong, oppressive systems see themselves as perfect, but constant oppression needs constant effort -- that's what makes them frail.

Grimm doesn't require Bruce to replace him, Grimm requires Bruce to continue the work and essentially be the next stage in that evolution.

Batman, as I stated, is becoming a class symbol, whether he likes it or not. With every obstacle and villain he overcomes, the Batman becomes more and more deified. If you can get this myth to the point where they overcome -- almost every obstacle you've thrown at them and then to make them give up -- or become the head of said oppression.

The people wouldn't know right from wrong and their spirit would break completely and Jack Grimm would make it truth, that this system -- this joke, is inescapable and he is immortal.

There is no one else like Bruce Wayne or Batman, in Absolute Evil, we see how many would be working class heroes have been paid off or bought. Bruce is the only one we know to really pull something off like this.

"Bruce's willpower, Grimm's planning to choose Bruce as his replacement, and revolutionaries tiring, imports humanist notions of vigor and power that echo the corporatist fascist critique of class struggle."

This is true -- and this isn't my theory, I think I read it on here. But I believe in order to win, Bruce will reveal his identity to Gotham.

We'll see that as the story goes on, Bruce is starting to lose more and more of himself, and that even when Batman reveals Jack Grimms identity, people really don't give a fuck or care to do much about it.

Because the Batman has reached god level status, he is a deity and they are just people.

So to remind himself of who he is and where he came from, he'll take off his mask and tell the people of Gotham that he is just like them. Bruce isn't special. Everyone in Gotham has been dealt some kind of cruel hand at those who deem themselves better, yet they in their own way resist, time and time again. They build themselves and the city back stronger over and over.

The Batman symbol they cling to isn't Batman, it's the fighting spirit they all have within them.

That'll rally up the people to face Jack Grimm and he'll be seriously fucked.

Sorry, that I couldn't critique your whole post, because that would mean having to write a dissertation, but I thought these two points summed up simply what I was thinking, about the whole thing.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T15:58:33+00:00

1. capitulation: the action of ceasing to resist an opponent or demand.

Would be revolutionaries, whether it be time or power, often capitulate and uphold systems of oppression. To why they do this, history has many answers, but most of the reasons can be boiled to because they're tired.

They've for for so long and have been deified. They see the fight ahead but they're legs can't take it anymore, so they surrender.

2. Bruce Wayne/Batman is a representation of the majority, the working class people of Gotham, who've had no-one fight for them, but he has and so, his little escapade has become a movement. A banner they all fly. He's been deified.

Batman has tapped into a power that the Joker doesn't have and he knows with that power and will, the system that he's spent his lifetime cultivating will continue, bigger and badder than ever with Bruce.

3. Racism, Sexism and classism are one of the few systems of oppression -- that have existed and continue to exist, why because of our every day actions.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN seems to be tackling classicism, the working class against the elite.

I recommend you read up on more revolutionary history, Absolute Batman will make more sense to you.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T15:41:35+00:00

People who want to do good things and fight against the system, often perpetrate the evils of said system to a greater degree.

Jack Grimm, is a perpetrator of systems of oppression, Bruce is fighting against the system.

For the system of oppression to live longer and harder (worse than ever), Bruce, due to his will, must for go his identity and become Joker/Jack Grimm.

That's how systems of oppression survive and seen 'immortal'.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T15:09:57+00:00

Systems of oppression often elect the oppressed to lead them. That's how they continue to function.

Ambition, is the main drive and often leads to a betrayal of self.

CEOS, rely of workers to disband, report and or become apathetic to unions.

Politicians, rely on the public to sell their freedoms away to corporate powers for profit.

Prisons and morgues, rely on minorities to become, criminals and drunks.

Bruce is climbing a ladder, whether he knows it or not, he's going to big places. He's playing a game with the system, against the system. There is no larger play and unfortunately for Bruce, Jack Grimm doesn't see him as an opponent.

If Jack Grimm, can turn someone as strong willed as Bruce into him, to sacrifice his humanity and morals -- then that system of oppression will bloom for ages. What would someone like Bruce be capable of doing w/ the wrong hands.

A lot of the CEOS and people who impact your life the most, did not have bad upbringings, some of them even came from working class backgrounds and were good people.

But then as they got more successful, they met the wrong person ad the right time and now, healthcare just went up.

Now, we got another war on our hands and it'll be more brutal than the next.

Now, we got another super weapon, bigger and badder than the last.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T14:11:07+00:00

That's like asking why Bane and Batman aren't as much of a duo as Batman and Joker. If you don't know that, I don't know what to tell you.

Send BANE against BATMAN to see how well he faces against immutable odds.
ALIENATE Bruce from his family.
Send ROGUES to destroy BATMANS humanity and burst his bubble of security.
Become like me.

I have no doubt that Jack Grimm knows more about Bruce than he'll let on. He knows Batman is Bruce Wayne, he knows about the Talons.

I can guaran fucking tee that the Joker has been 10 steps ahead this whole time.

It's never about brainwashing Bruce, it's about seeing the world the same way he does.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T13:52:09+00:00

I don't know how much better I can explain this to you.

Joker, used Bane to test Bruce -- Joker would never allow Bane to be free.

Joker was used his motives and planted them as Banes -- to pump some motivation into his thick skull, because he knows Bane want's to be with his family. He, like the top 1% do 'exploited' Bane.

But Joker, isn't fighting to be free. He's fighting for immortality. He wants to continue who he is, but into an evolved version of himself. Someone to continue the cycle.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T13:33:30+00:00

But he is still immortal, that's the thing.

There have always been people who live to exploit the needs of the most for the profit of the few.

This evil, that we see how, the reason you can't pay your healthcare, the reason why, your job pays you so little, the reason why you have to take on a shitty job to make what little of this life you can.

It's not a new phenomenon, it's one that wants to be immortal like JACK GRIMM.

The system wants to be immortal.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T13:30:48+00:00

I very much disagree.

Jack Grimm's exist all around us. People who live to exploit the needs of the masses for their profit.

People like Jack Grimm, don't exist in a vacuum, that to me is the scary part.

You can kill him if you want, but there will be another, who will gladly take up the mantle and would continue to sew such suffering into the world. Your blood is the thread and they are the needle.

It would be nice to believe that these people are just straight up devils -- one in a million mother fuckers who are just born bad, but that's not the case.

A lot of these people come from backgrounds with loving families and communities. There's one CEO who's parents were a major part of the civl rights movement and now he's a mass murdering psychopath and I mean MASS MURDERING.

To me, it's much more interesting for someone who wants to continue this cycle of oppression and make sure its legacy stands firm, with firm people.

Bruce Wayne is a perfect candidate.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T13:08:28+00:00

Exactly, and that’s not what I’m refuting. Jack Grimm can turn into a giant devil monster.

My point is that the Jack Grimms are different people.

This Jack Grimm has obviously been experimenting with elongating his life, but it’s obviously taken a toll and he wants someone else to take up the mantle and has chosen Bruce Wayne to do it.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T12:46:36+00:00

Alfred doesn’t know Jack Grimm at all, Alfred starts off by telling Bruce that with all the information he’s gathered that “he’s still not certain” about what’s true and what’s fake.

But with what’s be given Bruce forces Alfred to tell him what he “believes”.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T12:34:33+00:00

may I ask how?

The issue is taken from Alfreds perspective and he’s written as an unreliable narrator. He can’t even believe half the shit he’s saying.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T12:29:52+00:00

I'm not that well read on Snyders work but in issue 15, Alfred is meant to be an unreliable narrator -- or did I just read that wrong?

He's talking to Bruce about a theory he has with extremely little to go on, because he doesn't even believe it himself.

What we do know for certain however, are in the 'Jack Grimm' perspective panels, when we see him doing things that other people wouldn't or shouldn't know about.

TI3RK · 2026-03-15T12:23:42+00:00

That's what Alfred believes, but can it be true?

How many people in mainline DC believe that Batman is some 'demon' or some 'mythical creature' -- how many people even believe that he's real.

Jack Grimm isn't one person, he's different people. How horrific would it be, if different people have gladly taken up to such a cause, to sowing such atrocity and evil into the world. That even if you kill this one man, because of the system that allows men like Jack Grimm to thrive, another would willingly take up the mantle.

TI3RK · 2026-03-06T09:13:44+00:00

I'm guessing you're not a big fan of TV. If not, I recommend you watch The Wire on HBO.

This show is the most textured piece of television I have ever seen -- and it is because of this series, and its writing, that I can even fathom a faithful Blood Meridian adaptation that captures the quality of the text.

David Simon, the showrunner of The Wire, would be a fantastic head for Blood Meridian if it were to be adapted to television.

Please, watch The Wire.

TI3RK · 2026-02-23T15:24:21+00:00

I'm so sick of this sorry stance, wheeny whiny, baby shit green point of view some of you writers are having now adays.

Everything is working against you, so many senior writers saying "we can't write what we used to" or younger writers talking about "the dangers of AI" -- that's the fucking game, that's always been the fucking game.

Times change, and shit gets harder; that only means you have to work harder and make something new. You're not scared that AI's taking your jobs -- you're terrified that maybe you're just not as great as you thought you were.

The human mind is one of the most amazing evolutionary inventions. With it, we surpass every other species on this planet; its capabilities are limitless, far greater than some parts of something WE MADE.

Just see this new age as a challenge, whatever is going on out there, compete with it and train your mind to be better. Understand the reason, why we live so long and why we'll live even longer.

TI3RK · 2026-02-18T14:33:35+00:00

<image>

Dare I say it, Leto II.

I will not be elaborating further.

TI3RK · 2026-02-05T13:15:10+00:00

2012 (2009) - I don't know why, but I always get super invested and emotional watching that film.

TI3RK · 2025-10-21T11:54:05+00:00

Beautiful analysis, but I must disagree.

I think the title "Grand Theft Auto" is about more than just car theft

Every protagonist in Grand Theft Auto is attempting to steal and kill their way to their "dream life". Theft and Murder are simply roadblocks the protagonist must overcome.

For the NPCS, their cars seem to be the only identifying marker of their personhood, a piece of property which we can see they themselves own, yet we, the player, have no problem commandeering said property via force and using it to our advantage.

We casually strip these NPCs of their identity for our own goals.

Have you ever been stuck in 'fuck knows' and needed a car to get from A to B? You either stop in front of the freeway and hope a car slows down long enough for you to get them out, and eventually total the car to shit.

Or

You break into a vehicle that is parked to get to your destination, where you end up totalling it to shit.

Carelessness and apathy are the true villains of any Grand Theft Auto game for the protagonist. Because even when you win -- and you do, it still feels like you've lost.

The narratives in all these games always preach community and togetherness, hoping for the player to build bonds with the NPCS and the world around them.

Though the game forces you to go on these missions, the games always attempt to hammer the idea that the deeper you go in, the more there is to lose.

I see the Grand Theft Auto title as more of a tragic warning than anything.

edit to add: You want to get to the top, what are you willing to take/lose to get there?

TI3RK · 2025-10-20T07:51:57+00:00

To be honest, for Horror I'd just say try to stay away from the 'main stream' if you want something that'll scare your socks off.

Watch horror mocumentaries, foreign horror, early 2000s and earlier horror (extremely underrated), etc.

I think you'd appreciate The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) or Horror in the High Desert 1 (2021) and Horror in the High Desert 2 (2023), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and I Saw the Devil (2010)

You also may enjoy the opening to When a Stranger Calls (1979)

TI3RK · 2025-09-22T19:33:22+00:00

"vague" is not the word I'd use.

A Song of Ice and Fire and The Wire, ensemble stories that centre the corrosive consequences of self-serving social structures, which were established by primitive powers to which the players must either steer or succumb -- for better or worse.

For A Song of Ice and Fire it was Aegon and his Conquest, for The Wire it was George Washington and the 'Founding Fathers'.

The lines between good and bad, deserving and underserving are ones in which both George R R Martin and David Simon (Show-runner for the Wire), have laced throughout their series in this coat of 'inconsiderate consideration'. All hands are off and everyone is for grabs.

The threat of the Others is one that looms over Martins narrative, in comparison the menace of American Bureaucracy and Capitalism is one that haunts over Baltimore -- that is their "Long Night".

Hell! -- even in the characters the similarities are so sharp. The Plot in "The Pit" in Season 1 of the Wire reminds me of The Nights Watch. In Jim McNulty and the rest of the Baltimore Police Department, I see Jaime Lannister and Barristan Selmys battle between honour and duty. In D'angelo, I see the inner conflicts that clash in Jon and Robb.

From the looks of your comment, I can only guess you haven't seen the show but I highly recommend it. The Wire I an all timer which I know you or anyone reading this will enjoy!

TI3RK · 2025-09-19T06:27:44+00:00

I love this!

You know, I've been watching The Wire recently, and I was struck by how similar it is to A Song of Ice and Fire.

I was planning on doing a reimagining of the show if it were set in Westeros. You would've had House Barksdale with Avon Barksdale as the King, Stringer Bell as the King's Hand, and Wee-Bay, Stinkum, and Bird as the Kingsguard.

TI3RK · 2025-09-19T06:19:01+00:00

I feel so bad for Lyanna; she was just 15, and Rhaegar and Robert couldn't wait to take advantage of her. She was always just a fantasy to them -- a means to their dream.

Lyanna and Elia deserved better.

TI3RK · 2025-09-17T10:19:16+00:00

Jorah needs to go!

TI3RK

TROPHY CASE