Chapter Text
When it comes to Batman and Guy Gardner in the period of Justice League International (1987-1989) and following Justice League America, the one punch scene is the moment that influenced the lore the most. And as much as this scene is iconic for a reason, I feel it overshadows everything else that happened between those two characters - to the point that their nuanced relationship is often reduced to simple animosity and nothing more.
On the first glance, it is easy to blame everything on Guy Gardner who was presented as an abrasive, crude and arrogant man that challenged Batman’s leadership at every turn, including a fistfight that led to the aforementioned one punch scene. The first issue of JLI alone showed that within a short time, Guy’s rude behavior got him in a fight with all already presented members of new-founded League
- a fight Batman ended quickly once showing up in League’s headquarters.
And that was just one of many examples of conflict between Green Lantern and fellow members of League with a great number of characters openly showing their dislike for Guy and wish to get rid of him (about which I will talk more soon). Which highlights that the beef between Batman and Gardner was not an isolated incident, but part of a bigger issue handicapping the team’s effort.
Considering how many characters were annoyed by Gardner’s behaviour, it’s easy to call him the black sheep of Justice League International. However, the comics from the start acknowledged that the conflict between Batman and Green Lantern is not just about the fight for leadership or different modus operandi, but that, at core, they are too alike.
Mr. Miracle: It’s pretty clear why Batman and Gardner are at each other’s throats – they’re two of one kind – and it’s a kind I’m not too thrilled with!
Furthermore, Mr. Miracle provided another important observation about the ongoing conflict between Guy and Batman:
Mr. Miracle: This is getting tiresome. If we don’t boot Gardner the hell out of here - and soon - Mister Miracle just might quit this outfit. Not that it’s all Guy’s fault. Batman seems to enjoy these infantile confrontations.
Similarly, Dr. Fate pointed out that Batman is not necessarily a team player himself
Batman: I don’t like your style, Fate. This is a team and we’ve got to work together as—
Dr.Fate: A lecture on teamwork from you, Batman? If I had a sense of humor… I would laugh.
and even Superman mentioned to be bothered by the way Batman is acting on his own
Superman: I think it’s a good idea, sir – and long overdue. They’re a good team. I have some problems with the way Batman operated on his own – but I have to admit he’s taken the League well in hand.
So although Guy is usually presented as the one challenging Batman, both men contributed to the tense relationship between them. Of course, a big part of the problem comes down to their different modus operandi, as Gardner is a hothead that acts first, thinks later while Batman likes to carefully plan his actions in advance, but the truth is, Guy and Bruce are just difficult men to work with, period. For example, both are stubborn, both have issues with taking orders from others (supported by the fact that they were ready to assume leadership without consulting that with the team), both can be rude and short-tempered and above all, they have similar independence streak and strong will to do what they think is right course of action, thus it is not wonder they clash a lot.
There are however two major reasons why despite such similar difficult behaviour the team prefers Batman over Green Lantern. First, Batman is a league of his own. Every hero heard about him and his effectiveness in their field of work. Batman commands respect even from enemy forces (i.e. KGB in Russia) and has set the expectations high, but there is not any other superhero they can really compare him to. Guy has this misfortune to be a second Green Lantern so naturally, everyone is comparing him to Hal Jordan and in result, if characters could pick one, they would choose the generally liked and respected Hal over bad tempered Guy. Something that for sure is a sore spot for Gardner.
The second, no less prominent matter is that as much as Batman is hard on literally everyone,
J'onn: I hope Marvel’s all right –
Batman: If he’s not… it’s his own fault.
J'onn: You’re too hard on him, Batman.
Batman: I’m hard on everyone.
Black Canary: Good point.
members of the Justice League - especially J’onn - can call him out on his behaviour. For example, we have Batman apologizing his team for being short-tempered
Batman: I’m sorry if I’ve been short-tempered. But those three nukebusters have me worried.
or
Maxwell Lord: Batman – your resistance is understandable – but misguided.These people are in awe of you. They wouldn’t dream of ordering the Justice League. Besides, you guys could cream any army of Earth!
Batman: I still don’t like it! We’re already being forced to accept two members we don’t want.
Black Canary: Members you don’t want!
Batman: Pardon?
Black Canary: Stop speaking for the League, Batman! I like the idea! I think most of us like it! If you want to be paranoid, go ahead – but leave the rest of us out of it.
J’onn: Although I wouldn’t use such harsh language, I’m in agreement with Canary. This is a good idea.
Batman: Right. As official U.N. liaison, you would agree..
J’onn: That was uncalled for.
Batman: You’re right, J’onn. And I apologize.
We have team leader J’onn calling Batman out on his stubborn and short-tempered behavior that ended with Batman following J'onn’s plan
and even Batman allowing himself to play along with Blue Beetle (who previously used Star Trek references while talking with Batman) and occasionally praising the other heroes for well done work (i.e. Booster Gold).
With Guy the matter is more complicated, because on one hand, he is prone to insult his fellow members, even threaten them (though Batman is guilty of that too) or get in screaming matches with them when arguing. On another hand, the team is much more hostile to Gardner than they are to Batman, which is especially highlighted by how often other heroes - both within League and outside - express their hopes to get rid of Garnder.
Fandom at large remembers the one punch scene, but seems to ignore that as much as Batman and Guy’s interaction was passive-aggressive, it was still pretty mild compared to how some heroes interacted with or thought about Guy. For example, the worst Batman called Gardner was “idiot”,
lacking maturity,
acting like an infant
and on one occasion told him to stop behaving like a mongrel (once Guy wanted to prove who between them is the top dog).
Meanwhile, we have examples of Guy being described as psychopath (by Hal Jordan)
Hal Jordan: Jealousy?! Mister – if you think that I’m jealous of that psychopath, then you don’t know the first thing about me! The League means a lot to me. More than you could ever hope to understand and I want –
Maxwell Lord: I’m afraid our time is up, Mr. Jordan. I’ve got several pressing appointments.
Hal Jordan: A lot’s riding on this big idea of yours, Lord – and you’re going to screw it up with Guy in the middle of things.
(Worth to mention that in the Green Lantern series (1990), Hal also called Guy a “brain-damaged thug”.)
or crudest, most moronic excuse for a human being
Kara/Power Girl: Gardner – you are the crudest, most moronic excuse for a human being that it has ever been my misfortune to encounter!
being warped, twisted, insufferable and in need of therapist (although Ice’s anger is justifiable considering how her date with Guy went)
Ice: You’re the one who needs therapist, you warped, twisted, insufferable –
or being brain-dead (Oberon)
or animal
Fire to Ice: Tora – don’t you dare to go after that animal!
In Batman’s defense, the accusation of behaving like a child and/or him being forced to “babysit morons” was also aimed at the whole team.
Even J’onn keeps referring to his teammates as “children” on several occasions.
Nonetheless, there is an important correlation to Guy being seen as an idiot and his self esteem that I think is not talked about enough. For those unfamiliar with Guy’s backstory, he suffered in the past a serious brain-damage. He was ultimately brought back from coma by Guardians but in a way that left him the arrogant, abrasive man he is now because it suited their purpose.
Hal Jordan: Master, Guy Gardner has beed damaged somehow by his years in a coma!
Guardian: Absolutely – but damaged in a manner which removes any doubts he might have about achieving his objectives! Whom would you choose to lead an assault on the moon of Qward?
The JLI/JLA comics series also mentioned from time to time that characters to some degree are aware of Guy’s brain injury and in-universe article (that thankfully wasn’t published in newspaper) even brings the fact he spent several years in catatonic state.
The most telling thing about Batman’s remarks having some influence over Guy comes from Guy Gardner: Warrior solo run in which during medal awarding ceremony, Gardner was daydreaming how his great heroic fight against villains was witnessed and admired by Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
The Trinity, I think, represented three aspects that Guy always struggled to be acknowledged for - seen as a true hero, being smart and a real man. Unsurprisingly, Batman represents the smartness and it this daydream of Guy, even envies Guy the “great mind”.
How much Batman was aware - or cared - about the weight of his remark is up to debate, however it should be noted that once Bruce handed the leadership on to J'onn, we could observe a drastic change in how those two characters interacted. For one, Guy was not anymore challenging Batman on every opportunity, as his “hostility” was moved on J’onn (and later on Superman, once he was in charge). Batman too was less prone to publicly comment on Gardner’s bad behavior. Thus we could say, once the problem of authority was removed, they were much more at ease in their own company.
This could be seen in Justice League of America #31, in which Batman first checked out with Guy on monitoring duty and soon after that alerted J’onn about a crisis situation.
As it turned out, Guy neglected his duty and instead of monitoring what was happening in the world, he played a computer game. There are still some passive-aggressive undertones to how they interacted, sure, but comparing Guy’s reaction to Batman’s critique as presented in the earliest issues, Gardner feels much more subdued and less hostile. Once Batman met J’onn however, he did not mention Guy’s screw up nor comment on J'onn’s interaction with Guy. Similarly, Guy didn’t feel threatened by Batman witnessing how it ended for him, even though some characters (like Blue Beetle) would definitely use such an opportunity to make fun of Gardner.
Another important example comes from Justice League of America #52, during the boxing match between Guy and Blue Beetle.
Once Guy attacked vilely from behind when Ted wasn’t paying attention and heavily injuring the man, J’onn and Fire, understandably, were very angry at Gardner. J’onn kicked Green Lantern out of the team with Fire promising to make sure Maxwell Lord will accept that decision. The only person trying to stand up for Guy despite all that happened was General Glory. Ice tried to talk with Gardner, but as she thought he should apologize, Guy lashed out on her. Batman surprisingly was shown to focus only on injured Ted - if something like that happened in the earliest stage of JLI, I think there would be a harsh reaction from him toward Guy.
This leads back to how majority of heroes want to get rid of Guy and how it contrasts with the relationship between Guy and Batman - a matter I will examine in the second part.