the vynsane asylum

There was a ton of shit in the 1990s. No doubt about that. Liefeld, Heroes Reborn, Liefeld, variant covers, Liefeld....

But I've noticed there seems to be a definite, almost hipster-like, need to hate anything from the 1990s. Even the good stuff.

One thing that I saw very prominently recently is Bane-bashing. I'll admit freely that his arc should have consisted of Vengeance of Bane/Prelude to Knightfall/Knightfall/Knightquest/Vengeance of Bane II, then gone in a completely different direction. Most of his appearances since have been kinda like Doomsday's--no one knows what to do with him, but they have to use him as a bad guy. (Never mind VOB2 had him mostly reforming, seeking out Batman to tell him he no longer had any beef, and seemingly being set up to be a new hero or anti-hero... and yet he's consistently a villain-of-the-month ever since.) There's no doubt that everything post-VOB2 is weak.

But people talk as if the whole concept and character are weak. Bane was, until the debut of the (incredibly different, tonally) Music Meister, the last great Batman villain. Someone (aside from the wackjob Hugo Strange) finally using his brains to figure out Batman's identity was long overdue, and to have a character who built on an earlier Batman story to best him entirely as an anti-Batman was great.

Bane's definitely better than Venom, who doesn't seem to get the same level of hate, but debuted in the 1980s.

Speaking of Doomsday, he should've had two appearances. His first two were actually quite good. Everything since is stupid. But people bash the Death of Superman, which was, if not deep, a great comic book slugfest. Design-wise, it was brilliant.

Of course, it's not entirely the 1990s. It's cool to hate Byrne, so people act like Man of Steel wasn't awesome. Guy may be a dick, but he can write and draw pretty damn well.

Agreed on all points. I've liked Bane since his first appearance in the VoB oneshot. Gail Simone has been using him well in Secret Six the last couple years. But the post-Knightfall stuff (where he discovered that blind douche third rate Robin villain KingSnake was his father, etc) was rubbish. Then they tried to attach him to RasAlGhul's clan and that didn't work well either.
Doomsday was a character designed for one purpose. And after that he should've been laid to rest. Now they're bringing him back yet again in a new crossover. But initially, for what he was intended, that's a great character and design. I was impressed they did him justice on Smallville a couple seasons ago.
John Byrne is an opinionated character who hasn't learned to bite his tongue. And he draws really well. I still prefer ManofSteel to the more recent Birthright, and even more more recent Secret Origin series.

Doomsday's second appearance was actually quite good, where Superman learns he was a brainless engine of destruction, but a brainless engine of destruction who sensed a Kryptonian on Earth and was geared on destroying Superman due to an instinctual hatred. And then destroyed by being sent to the end of time.

Bane should never have be a villain again after VOB2. Especially not a Batman villain. He made a point to track down Bats again and say, "Yeah, dude, we're cool. I should never have done what I did because I was never guilty of any crime. And I ain't on drugs any more."

I think thats where writers have a little leeway with Bane. Like a recovering alcoholic, every time he falls off the wagon and gets back on the Venom, he starts doing stupid, evil shit. I'm not agreeing that's a strong narrative tool for writers to be crutching with, but not everybody with the intent of quitting an addiction cold turkey like Bane did actually sticks to it. thats why I like his Secret Six stuff. He's got his own moral code, and thinks of himself as a goodguy, but still breaks backs and shit.

I have a strong feeling this is why people like to hate on Bane.

Ugh. Goddammit Joel Schumacher. So many reasons to hate you.


The 90s backlash might also stem from kids who started reading in the 2Ks, and only reading negative comments from old timers reminiscing about the 90s in a generally negative tone. Not having read anything from the 90s themselves, they just lump into one hazy piece of shit.

For me the 90s didn't get shitty until mid-decade. And truthfully, a lot of shitty stuff I've read between 1990 and 2010 came out in the 2000s. Hell, people treat the 80s with nostalgic reverance and that's got quite a bit of crap littered about it as well. Like Jose Delbo's art.

I figure Jose Delbo must once have drawn something good. He had to get his job somehow, right? I doubt he blew Jim Shooter.

Double post, Grimlock! You even here anymore? I need a BJ.

There's a piece just posted at CBR about Bane. It screwed up a major detail: Bane didn't so much set out to learn Batman's secret identity as he just deduced it the first time he saw Bruce Wayne. But it had some Secret Six pages, which looked pretty interesting.