Editing 1004: Batman

{{comic
| number    = 1004
| date      = January 16, 2012
| title     = Batman
| image     = batman.png
| titletext = I'm really worried Christopher Nolan will kill a man dressed like a bat in his next movie. (The man will be dressed like a bat, I mean. Christopher Nolan won't be, probably.)
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the comic book and movie character {{w|Batman}}, who is actually wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne, as we see on the left being referenced as "Master Wayne" by his butler Alfred. Batman, in contrast to {{w|Superman}} and other comic book heroes, has no superpowers. The name "Batman" suggests that he is a man who is part-bat, or has bat-like powers, but his only actual connection to bats is that he wears a bat-themed costume -- hence the description, "a man dressed like a bat." Thus, when Batman's connection to bats is made explicit, he loses a lot of his mystique.

The stick figure representations of Batman and his nemesis, the Joker, are shown from three different movie scenes of the Dark Knight Trilogy, the most recent ''Batman'' films at the time of this comic. The middle scene comes from ''{{w|Batman Begins}}'', whilst the two flanking scenes are from its sequel ''{{w|The Dark Knight}}''. In each scene the name "Batman" is substituted with the accurate but embarrassing description "a man dressed like a bat." In this way, [[Randall]] is pointing out that Batman commands a lot of respect and fear considering that all he is is a man in a costume.

Then in the title text, Randall expressess his fear that Christopher Nolan (the director/producer/writer of the latest Batman trilogy) will kill Batman off in the next movie (''{{w|Dark Knight Rises}}''). Of course, Randall substitutes for "Batman" as in the comic. This causes a grammatical ambiguity which Randall points out where the "dressed like a bat" could apply to the "man" or to Nolan. A similar ambiguity explicitly discussed in the title text of [[1087: Cirith Ungol]].

There have been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]], but this may have been the first.

==Transcript==
:[One panel, depicting three wavy circles. The one in the center is slightly larger, and the ones on either side are higher up. Their edges are touching.]

:[The left circle has Bruce Wayne in the foreground, with Alfred in the background.]
:Alfred: Know your limits, Master Wayne.
:Bruce: A man dressed like a bat ''has'' no limits.

:[The center circle has a close-up on Batman in his cowl.]
:Off-screen: ''What the hell are you?''
:Batman: I'm a man dressed like a bat.

:[In the right circle is The Joker.]
:Off-screen: ''What do you propose?''
:Joker: It"s simple &mdash; we kill a man dressed like a bat.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My Hobby: Whenever anyone says "Batman," I mentally replace it with "a man dressed like a bat."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Substitutions]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]