Ah, yes. Jean-Ponce something or the other. Let's be badman in a suit of mechanized armor. Stealthy!
Ok, well, that explains that, at least. I was a bit curious, as I recognized the others mention, such as Yves and Dominic, so when Azrael didn't pop up, my mind went into a spin.

>Oddly, it's also the name of Gargamel's cat on The Smurfs. I
>didn't know that at the time, not having been a Smurfs fan as a
>child.

So it is! I was such a fan, and have to say that, while the cat is trying to eat the smurfs, there is no evidence it was ever anything more than a cat being a cat, and so I felt sorry for him. Gargamel, on the other hand, just does it to be an evil bastard, as best I could tell.

...!
Gott's Leetle Feesh in Trousers!

I was also too old to watch the Smurfs when they first made it to TV, but I recall reading somewhere on the Net that the reason Gargamel was after them was that Smurfs -- or some part thereof -- were a key ingredient of the Philosopher's Stone. I don't know how canon that is -- nor have I ever really had any reason to care enough to confirm its canonicity -- but hey, there's a possible answer for you other than he's doing it solely for the evulz.

-- Bob
-------------------
My race is pacifist and does not believe in war. We kill only out of personal spite.

In fairness to Gargamel, his full name is "Gargamel the Evil Wizard". That implies certain contractual obligations. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

My attitude toward Jean-Paul Valley is much the same as Dave Barry's attitude toward Dwight Eisenhower. There's one of his books in which Barry rates Great Men in History, and "General Eisenhower" gets a much higher rating than "President Eisenhower" even though they were the same person.

In that vein, Jean-Paul as Azrael scores a lot higher in my personal estimation than Jean-Paul as Batman. The former is an interesting, occasionally even compelling character in the "tortured antihero whose fault it isn't, really" mold; the latter was a huge plotting mistake made in the middle of a series of huge plotting mistakes masquerading (successfully! that's the part that really frosts me) as an Event for marketing purposes.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

One of the writers involved in that claims that it was the response to years of "Why isn't Batman more brutal, like the Punisher?" The intent was to give the readers so much Punisher-style Batman that they would beg for Bruce to come back.

I'm not so sure I buy that line.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

The phrase 'And if you believe THAT, BOY do I have an offer for YOU!' comes to mind.

...!
Gott's Leetle Feesh in Trousers!