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It's always a balancing act, keeping a fictional universe realistic without making it mundane. But superheroes don't work "realistically", so you HAVE to accept some basic premises, like:
Magic exists.
So do aliens and gods.
The square-cube law is more like a "guideline"
And dressing up in a costume to fight crime is a rational decision.
Well... yeah, magic exists, but even someone on Batman's level doesn't see much of it. Gods, ditto. Most people living in Gotham are going to have as much direct experience of "aliens" (ie. Superman, really) as they do of tornados and tsunamis. A major superhero battle is going to register with them on the level of an earthquake crossed with a surprise appearance from Britney and Michael Jackson: powers beyond their level of comprehension, damage and danger they can only gape at or run from, coupled with celebrity sightings. For the most part, I imagine Superman is someone they read about in newspapers and see in public service broadcasts, or in clips of conferences with world leaders. Everyone probably knows someone who claims to have met him.
So, that's the "real" DC world as I'd see it for normal civilians. Not all that different, day by day, from ours. And that's the world Barbara Gordon lives in.
That isn't to nix what everyone's been saying, at all. It's more likely for Barbara (and any other non-powered hero) to choose to dress up and fight crime than it would be for a civilian in our world. The equivalent would be wanting to be a celebrity, in our universe. (Maybe you'd have lots of shows like Stan Lee's wannabe superhero competition.) For anyone bored and spoiled, or troubled and seeking attention, or disenfranchised and socially powerless, becoming a costumed villain or crimefighter would seem an obvious way forward.
But I don't think the existence of magic, gods and aliens in her universe means that we assume it'd be any easier for a young woman (or man) to train up from a normal civilian life as a cop's kid and student to a level where he or she can fight street crime. Batman can do it because he put all his money, energy and time into it. It's "unrealistic" to assume that Barbara can do the same job overnight, or with a few week's training ~ unrealistic as in inconsistent.
That's all I'm seeking in "my" version of this DCU ~ that it follows consistent principles. Superman, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman are uncanny, incomprehensible in their power and status. Batman is a normal guy who made himself incredible by devoting his life, talent and riches to it. You can accept those principles and build a consistent, coherent narrative world around them. It's not "realistic" (ie. men can fly) but it makes internal sense, and it has to follow its own rules. Batman can't suddenly shoot beams from his eyes. And Barbara can't suddenly be Batman.
I don't see this concept of the "consistent" DCU as boring or earth-bound. I see it as more of a productive challenge. If you accept that Barbara couldn't become a Batman-level vigilante just like "snap", then you have to find other things she could do, as suggested above. You have to find another milieu for her, and crimes she actually could deal with; and in doing that, you make her something different from Batman-lite-with-boobs. |
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