In the Marvel Universe, when a character is experiencing mental distress and wants professional help, they usually turn to Leonard Samson*. Who do the heroes in the DC Universe go to?
And don't give me that "Oh, DC heroes are perfectly well-adjusted and thus feel no need to discuss their inner turmoil with a professional" stuff. I'm sure it's true of some of them, but I'm not buying that all of them have their stuff together that well. I know that the younger heroes turn to their predecessors**, but that isn't always an option (say the predecessor is dead, ala Ted Kord), or perhaps they don't get along with their predecessor (generational gap or something). Where could/would one turn then?
I'm sure Batman has considerable knowledge of psychology, but I'm not sure how many heroes would feel comfortable talking to him, and I doubt he would have much patience for it anyway.
I'm guessing it was J'onn. He could probably use the old telepathy to help the person find the root of the problem, and he seemed like a pretty understanding guy, so he wouldn't mind spending a little time helping them. And he's assumed many identities over the years, so I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them was a psychologist.
You have any other ideas.
* Or, if they're desperate and/or stupid, Moonstone/Meteorite/Ms. Marvel. Whatever she's calling herself now. It's not advisable, though.
** When Kyle was first realizing he had a major power boost (when he originally became Ion), he talked to Alan Scott about that. Wally and Bart looking to Barry or Jay or Max, stuff like that.
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4 comments:
OK, I could be wrong (and I often am), but I seem to remember an issue of Justice League where someone was sent to J'onn for psychiatric counseling. I'd dive into the back-issues, but it's late.
Also, on the Marvel front, don't forget Dr. Druid, he is (well...was) a shrink.
You know if the Justice League has a psychiatrist actually on the team he's got to be almost criminally negligent.
I mean he's on a team with Batman! If there's a man who needs serious help from a shrink it's Bruce Wayne. Childhood trauma, practically every woman he falls in love with dies, plus he's got identity issues out the wazoo (how many times does he have internal debates over who the real person is, Batman or Bruce Wayne).
At least Samson isn't actually on a team's roster. He offers his services to his friends on the superteams, but doesn't see them practically every day.
jason: I know during Obsidian Age, Kyle asked J'onn to take a look inside his head and try and figure where his weird dreams were coming from, so there's another precedent.
Dr. Druid? Really? I had no idea. I figured he was just a 2nd-rate mystic that got played by Nebula into almost destroying the Avengers. Plus he helped Cap that time he became Cap-Wolf.
I'm not sure which of those would be more embarrassing, actually.
seangreyson: That's probably another good reason not to go to Batman, regardless of whatever expertise he might have. Because you couldn't help thinking, "Damn, this guy is a lot more screwed up than me, why am I listening to him?"
Nonsense, DC heroes are perfectly well-adjusted and thus have no need to discuss their inner turmoil with a professional.
Unlike Marvel Heroes, DC Heroes tend to be pretty sociable creatures. Therefore, there is always a handy shoulder to cry on somewhere, be it Batman giving a peptalk to Booster Gold, or Wonder Woman cheering the rest of them up. Heck,even Hitman managed to cheer Superman up, after he failed to save somebody and was feeling depressed.
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