Silly Question Time: If you were Hired to Write a Batman Beyond Adaptation Would You Give Terry a New Love Interest?

[Thebestoftherest]

That is fair, I didn't think of that.

[Nealithi]

The circular logic of Dana is that no one really has an idea to write for her. So she is ignored, being ignored reinforces the point that no one really has ideas to write for her. Any new character developed for Terry then begs the question. "Why was none of this done for Dana?"

So let's look at Dana, what has Terry want to be with her and why does she want to be with Terry?
She knew Terry before he became Batman. She was a good (as in not involved in trouble) girl that saw something in Terry. Maybe the fact that as much trouble as he could get into, he also had a sense of justice to him. That heart of gold. She has something that Terry values besides simply being cute. She is loyal. For years she stays with Terry despite him standing her up for odd reasons. Even when her friends see her disappointed that he did not show up again and beg her that there are other guys out there. She looks forward to the one person that is committed to her. Just look at the scenes with her in Return of the Joker.

Dana is steadfast, loyal, and loving. Now, why is it she values Terry so much that the candle does not burn out? He tries to be there for her. He fights to be there for her even when others step in and try to distract him. Now you can show why Dana is like this one of two ways. Her parents are fiercely loyal to one another and she wants the same. Or one of her parents went out for milk and has not come home yet. Just another person leaving her behind. This is why she loves Terry.

How to 'fix' Dana. Do not make her a hero, villain, or damsel. She can be a person in distress without being a victim. I mean how many villains cause mass destruction? Terry can check she is okay after he stops the latest madman. Now give her a job. In highschool she does not need anything major. But maybe she is interested in technology or some other method to use her mind. I would say make her a lab technician for CSI. Yes basically Barry Allen's job. She may never see or know she is working on something related to a Batman case. But she might endup part of his 'detective' side. Because Terry is not as good as a detective as Bruce is. (He has his moments just not as many)

[Winter]

That is fair, I didn't think of that.

Eh, it's fine, like I said I do ship them myself and they're obviously a popular pairing in the fandom.

[Thebestoftherest]

[Winter]

The circular logic of Dana is that no one really has an idea to write for her. So she is ignored, being ignored reinforces the point that no one really has ideas to write for her. Any new character developed for Terry then begs the question. "Why was none of this done for Dana?"

I think the lack of interest for Dana is best shown in the one episode in the original series that actually focused on her, Rats.

It's honestly a pretty solid and creepy episode and is the only time in the series that actually gives Dana some focus. And what's the one thing everyone talks about in this episode, the fact that it is Dana's centered episode? The creepy and rather horrifying Ratboy? The depressing ending or Dana and Terry's relationship? Nope, the one thing everyone remembers about this episode, the only thing that had any lasting impact was the introduction of Mad Stan, who was created JUST to keep Terry from going on his date with Dana.

After this episode Dana goes back to her usual self while she and Terry continue their "Always missing a date with her" does not help. And REALLY not helping and the main reason I never got into Terry and Melanie, the fact that Terry cheated on Dana in Once Burned which may have included Terry and Melanie having sex we don't know. But even if they didn't Terry still kissed another girl AFTER lying to Dana about why he couldn't meet up with her.

And at the end when he goes back to Dana it almost comes off like he's just settling for her, that had things gone differently in this episode he would have dumped her for Melanie.

And that's what if feels like with the writers, there are these other characters they would rather see Terry with but they can't for whatever reason so they just settle on Dana and it once again it's been that way for 25 years.

I can't help but think of Jonah vs. Sam in Tomb Raider. It's obvious which character the writers are passionate about writing as Sam is given a great deal of development in the comics with many of them stating that they love writing about Sam and her relationship with Lara. By contrast Jonah is just the character that is there and seems to be there more because the higher ups demanded it because he's honestly not that popular in the fandom.

He's the only other character that has been in every game and he's had little to no character development, has regressed as a character more then anything and seems to be there more to give Lara someone to save and to screw up what she worked so hard to fix. After a decade the writers have done almost nothing with him and the two stories that gave him more focus was a filler arc in the comics that has no baring on the series as a whole and Shadow of the Tomb Raider where he spend most of the game being a useless tag-along who dooms the world for a 3d fucking time.

Which begs the question, who are these characters for? It's not the writers because they do what they can to get them out of the story at every opportunity. It's not the fans because their not that popular. And it's not for the story because they add nothing on a plot a character level. Like I said before Dana seems to be in this series because she's always been here, so she's just there.

[McAvoy]

You could make Dana as a girlfriend for a regular Joe type of Terry. An idea of what Terry would have if he wasn't Batman and perhaps something he still clings to even if it is boring. Introduce a couple of new characters too to show a different path Terry could take when it comes to relationships. He doesn't have to be closed off like Bruce but maybe he could venture into other types. Dangerous. Passionate. Mysterious. Tragic. Etc.

Dana being the boring safe option could always entice him though. You just have to make it more appealing though to the viewer.

That's actually not a bad idea but for me that does raise another issue I have with Dana and it's the same problem I have with Jake in Deep Space 9, Dana really only exists for Terry's character and has little going for her.

In the comics they tried to give Dana something by having her brother be a Joker fan boy, go crazy and tried to kill Terry. I remember really not liking this story and it was mostly because we had the opportunity to flesh out Dana and her character and they used it to further develop everyone BUT her. Dana's brother being a Jokerz is more about him then his sister and how Terry reacts to it.

When Max was created she was given her own interests and personal goals, and her backstory was fleshed out and developed in season 2. Melanie is the same, they did a more with her character in three episodes then they've done with Dana in, again, 25 years.

So while I like the idea of Dana showing a different path for Terry it doesn't seem like Dana is getting much out of this deal.

I am not a writer. I can come up with ideas. That's it. Also I never read any of the comics either so I can't speak about what goes on in there.

But saying that, sometimes characters are just supporting ones. Nothing more. Maybe that is what Dana really is. Maybe you could make her into a smart girl who eventually gets a job or jobs in the certain industries that Batman is actively combating. Like the almost everyday person that needs that job and Batman is ruining it for her.

[CharlesPhipps]

Personally, I'd first try to see, if Dana can be made interesting. I liked her design and the fact, that she wasn't a constant damsel in distress or roadblock (at least in the series). I also liked her more mature and laid back behaviour, compared to Terry's hot-headedness. There's potential for being a good foil there, but she just never got anything to do.

I admit if I was adapting it, I'd combined Dana with Ten.

It would fit well that, "Oh my gosh, my girlfriend had her own secret life I knew nothing about!"

[Winter]

I admit if I was adapting it, I'd combined Dana with Ten.

It would fit well that, "Oh my gosh, my girlfriend had her own secret life I knew nothing about!"

I don't know, still feels to much like Bruce and Selina which always bugged me but then again I'm still salty about the whole "Terry was secretly Bruce's son this whole time and destined to be Batman!" so anytime I see something that is so similar between the two my knee jerk reaction is to get annoyed. But ignoring that this doesn't feel like anything new for Batman.

Take a look at Dick when he became Batman the writers did their usual thing of having him still be in a relationship with Kori and Barbara, (are these two ever aware that's going on?) and that alone is a interesting angle as while Bruce has had a on again off again relationship with Diana for the most part his most notable love interests are villains with the most famous being Selina, Talia and Andrea. All are villains or at least anti-heroes to one degree or another while Dick's two most most notable love interests are both fellow heroes and people he's worked with.

And that leads to Terry with his most notable love interests being Jane Do and Catwoman 2.0 (before anyone says yes I know that there is a Catwoman in Batman Beyond comics but she's pretty forgettable and Melina is basically the same).

This is what drew me to Ellen Yin because she isn't like any love interests Bruce has ever had. I can't recall Bruce ever dating a by the books cop who started out as Anti-Batman but turned around to join him as an ally. While this would mostly be a repeat of Yin's relationship with Batman from The Batman the two never showed any signs that they had romantic feelings.

Yet this is similar to Bruce's relationship to Selina as the two are often on opposing sides yet the two often work together too. Have it where Yin isn't hired to hunt down Batman but is instead investigating the murder or Terry's father yet that doesn't make her an ally of Batman yet because the two aren't even friends yet. This then gives Terry an interesting relationship with her already, she is someone who is trying to find his father's killer yet he already knows who did it and is trying to get revenge.

The two work together in the end because they have the same enemies and both come to value one another. Yin sees the use of Batman because Gotham is still Gotham, one of the most courrupt Cities in the world and while there are good law enforcement like her and her DA friend Sam Young Gotham needs Batman. And Terry sees the value of working with her because he needs help from the law to take down Power's permanently as there's only so much Batman can really do.

This is a relationship similar between Batman and Gordon but with a more romantic angle to it and is pretty balanced as neither of them are calling the shots and the relationship is ultimately based on trust. Sure they hide things from one another at first but Yin thinks Terry is a regular civilian and detectives are NOT suppose to share details in an investigation which goes doubly for anyone related to the family of the murder victim. And Terry has to keep the secret of him being Batman even from his family because if anyone knew that they knew who Batman was those close to him would have a target the size of Russia on their back.

But once that is figured out the two are open with one another and even before that would be open to one another but things outside their work.

There's a lot of potential here and if given the chance I would do this myself and just drop Dana. Melanie could still be in the show and still have a romantic relationship with Terry before he and Yin start dating but I would have Yin and Terry be the end game.

[CharlesPhipps]

I don't know, still feels to much like Bruce and Selina which always bugged me but then again I'm still salty about the whole "Terry was secretly Bruce's son this whole time and destined to be Batman!"

I mean it's exactly Bruce and Selina but it's also the fact that they get a chance to actually explore the issue far more than the cat and (flying) mouse thing. They're people who still in high school, Dana may actually give up crime, and Terry may have to deal with the fallout of her knowing his identity. Their general lack of iconic status means there's a lot more consequences that can be explored here.

But really it all boils down to:

"Is this something that can generate interesting stories for the character?"