Why, badassery is the measure by which a person's actions, demeanor, or very character is judged in order to be rightfully called a badass. And so, if we're going to be putting a number of badasses on display, we're going to have to establish one thing- though some may love a certain badass more than another, there can be no denial that all badasses are created equal. We will not engage in debate of who is more badass than who else (well, except if you REALLY want us to), because within their respective universes, these badasses are top gun- and if we tried to pit them against one another, there would be a nerdrage unlike the world has ever seen. So we will simply leave the exact level of badassery up for you to decide, though we will certainly play up the badass deeds these icons have achieved.
This is a list too great for one man to tackle alone, so we are a team of two-
Evan Baranowski, current college student, accomplished videogamer, comic, and movie fan. Often very selective and defensive of those who he calls badass, I'm is a large fan of Transformers and Marvel Comics, as well as an avid Nintendo fan. You probably won't see me covering a lot of badasses from Playstation or Xbox exclusive franchises... though I dabble.
And Josh Max, who can come and edit this post himself if he wants to have a little blurb about himself.
And here it is. "What Evan says goes double for me. We're also Transformers fans and pretty big into pop culture. I'm a bit more flexible than Evan on the term of 'badass' but I think everything we cover here will be accepted. And yes, that first sentence I wrote DOES insinuate that I'm a double college student. Which isn't true. So apparently I'm a liar sometimes. Just try to keep up. I promise you won't regret it."
Together, we will alternate posting daily about a badass of our choice, though I'm pretty sure we'll run out of ideas eventually. Which is why people like you, who are viewing this, should suggest badasses for us to chronicle, and we shall with flying colors... of... badassery. Look, I don't know, it's a blog about people who are awesome. I have an obligatory "badass" count that I have to fit into posts.
So without further adieu, I present the first installment of the Bad Ass Blog:
Throughout the history of fiction, there have been a number of characters. No, wait. That's a complete understatement. There have been a crapload of characters. Now, in every story of fictitious nature, you have a protagonist, antagonist, and several support characters, blah blah blah. However, once in a while, you'll be reading a book, watching a show, or playing a game, and you see someone just walk into a room and do something epic like snap a guy's neck with a piece of paper. That, my friends, is the badass. He represents everything that is awesome either by doing awesome things, saying awesome things, or just being the personification of awesome.
Need I say more?
Batman is the DC comics version of Wolverine- if you put him on the cover of something, it’s guaranteed to sell a buttload. Detective Comics featuring Batman? A million copies sold in the first day. Latest issue of the Justice League featuring Batman? Completely sold out. A Copy of A Tale of Two Cities with Batman crudely photoshopped onto the cover? That’s the best fuckin’ book you’ve ever bought. Batman is everything you’ve ever wanted to be, whether you like it or not. You’ve wanted to be a superhero? Batman does that without superpowers. You want to be a detective? Batman’s the best damn detective there is. You want to have shark-repellent?! BATMAN HAS SHARK REPELLENT.
Bruce Wayne, heir to Thomas Wayne’s fortunes, had his parents taken from him before his eyes one fateful night. After a long quest of discovery, Bruce decided to take the law into his own hands and strike fear into the hearts of those who would dare attempt the same act he was subjected to as a child. Hoping that he would truly be the embodiment of fear, Bruce donned the guise of a bat and used his money to design a suit and gear that matched. Thus, Batman was born.
Possessing some great technology, some nice bat-themed vehicles and gadgets, a little bit of gun and sword training, as well as some skills in hand-to-hand combat, Batman is a force to be reckoned with. Even though he’s used his fortune to his advantage in creating his arsenal, you need to be realistic- there’s no way some poor dude is going to become as effective as Batman in getting shit done. Batman is so cool because he solves crime, beats up villains, and says one-liners and all that other crap without even needing superpowers. How do you do that?! The dude has more conviction in what he’s doing than Jesus had in God- and that’s A LOT of conviction. Batman never gives up, and makes sure that evil gets their shit rocked on a daily basis.
It doesn’t matter what Batman you like- Adam West’s Batman, Tim Burton’s Batman, Batman from “The Animated Series”, or Batman from the comics, every Batman is special in his own Bat-rite. Hell, Batman is the shit when he’s being campy and using his many tools from his utility belt, or when he’s viciously taking down villains in the streets of Gotham. Oh, and I guess Batman is sort of cool when he stars in those two movies that came out recently. Any and every writer who has been blessed with the opportunity to write this character has tried, without fail, to make him as awesome and complex and weird and EPIC as they possibly can- well, almost every writer. We won't mention the Widening Gyre. But aside from that, Batman is just pure badass material. Imagine him saying or doing anything and you get those flashes of that grizzled, serious voice, that cape spreading wide. It's chilling.
Another awesome thing about Batman are all the psychopaths he takes on when he’s fighting crime. I mean, the guy has some of the most screwed up villains of all time, and it doesn’t surprise me that Batman is a little bit darker because of the villains he has faced. In fact, the darkness within Batman is one of the most interesting facets of his character. Though he is a twisted man who is haunted by his past, he has vowed to never kill, even though he has come close to doing so many times.
A lot of people appreciate Batman because, in the world of DC superheroes, a lot of the superpowered peeps are almost too good and too superpowered to be true. Meanwhile, Batman is the rough, gritty and realistic hero, far more down to Earth than say, Superman, who Batman once beat the shit out of by wearing a Kryptonite ring on his finger. You gotta have a lot of balls to beat up Superman.
Do you really need much more of an explanation? He’s BATMAN. A man running around in a bat-themed costume who still manages to be a total badass. Even if you’ve never read a comic book in your life you still know who this guy is. If that’s not worth a spot on this list, I don’t know who is.
Stay tuned. It's only gonna get better from here.
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