Saturday, August 20, 2011

Should Have Left Him To The Bricks

You think the rest of the Six wish they'd left Bane to Junior, all those months ago? You remember, in the first arc, Bane had been captured by Junior. The team initially held a vote, and it was 3-1 against rescuing him. Then they fought off some loser villains, changed their minds, and went and got him.

What happens if the guys on the team (Scandal was the only vote in favor originally) stuck to their guns? They wouldn't have gone on this fruitless "destroy the Bat" mission, obviously. They might have struggled to survive that first mission. Bane helped turn the tide when he took Venom, but it's possible they could have made it otherwise. Scandal would be a concern, but even there I wonder if they'd need him. She did manage to sober up sufficiently for that first mission, and after that Jeanette would have been around to help. A friend isn't the same as a surrogate father, but it couldn't hurt.

Assuming they did survive swiping the "Get out of Hell" card, they would have abducted the wealthy Gothamites' kids, since Bane was the one who objected to committing such a crime in Gotham. Would they still turn against Smythe and his prison? Originally it was Scandal, Jeanette, and Bane who turned, and the others followed suit later. The two sides nearly came to blows when the odds between them were even. The guys probably let them take Artemis and leave out of friendship, but if Bane's not there, and Jeanette's checked out after dropping Wonder Woman, it'd just be Scandal against the other 3. Eh, she's an original member of the Six, they'd cut her slack.

I don't think there'd be a big, pointless brawl in Skartaris. No Bane means Jeanette's the only team member not interested in tracking down Catman. She might still gather some villains from her Rolodex to attack that fat guy on the yacht, and so she might get roped into that mess by Spy Smasher. Even so, if she's running the team, I think she and Scandal would forge a truce more readily. Bane seemed to be very set on conquering Skartaris, but I didn't get the impression Jeanette really cared one way or the other.

There's also the question of who takes Bane's slot. He was taking either Knockout or Harley Quinn's spot, and Harley had taken over from the Mad Hatter, who was Cheshire's replacement. Black Alice would still show up eventually, but I don't think Bane's death would accelerate her tracking down the team any. The roster seems to be moving between Bat-villains, so who's a good possibility? How about Killer Croc? Nobody does anything interesting with him anymore.

Ooh, I got it! Anarky! Catman said he hates that the heroes get to make the rules, and Anarky was originally someone who opposed Batman setting himself up as arbiter of law and order in Gotham. The Six are a group that ostensibly does anything for money, but you can't always figure how their involvement will alter things. A group like that, I could see Anarky trying to use them to his advantage.

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