I made a post asking specifically for DC fans their opinions. The people who responded aren’t actual fans—they’re just people who think they are fans but have never picked up a comic in their life. My question is: why do non-fans try so hard to engage with real fans?? You aren’t a real fan of DC, Marvel, or anything superhero-related, so you don’t deserve to be in the fandom space.

I almost gave the benefit of the doubt, and was going to talk about people wanting to feel included or trying to connect with others. I thought you were talking about people that have never owned a tuba or heard one played coming in to give an opinion on a tuba. But then you go and talk about “real fans” like an idiot. The only thing that is required to be a “real fan” is to enjoy the thing and consider yourself a fan. If you only want the opinion of people that have read the same comic, then specify that exactly. You’ll still get other people chipping in, but at least you wouldn’t be gatekeeping. And how about this, instead of deriding these “fake fans” as you see them, how about you try to sell them on the thing you love and recruit them into enjoying it as well? “Oh, you think you enjoy tubas now? Just wait until you read this tuba story! You’ll love it!”

The people in my previous post have a problem with Batman being a billionaire and recruiting kids. If you were a real fan, you would suspend disbelief and realize it’s a fictional story. We watch Law & Order because they live in a world where cops actually care about victims, and we want to live in a world where cops are reformed and act like them. We are aware that it’s unrealistic, but we suspend disbelief. Batman being rich—same with Iron Man—is just a part of the character, so suspend disbelief. Robin and Batgirl have been a part of Batman lore for centuries. The reason I say they aren’t real fans is because they aren’t—they hop on the Batman bandwagon hate train because it’s popular. That’s it. They don’t have this same criticism for Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Emma Frost, Kate Bishop, Swordsman, Sunspot, and every other rich superhero. They don’t have a problem with the rest of the league that recruits children as sidekicks. If you don’t like Batman because he’s rich and has a sidekick, that’s fine—but extend that same level of dislike to every other rich superhero. That’s all—be consistent. If you are a real fan and have an issue with Batman, then I would have to assume this same argument applies to the characters I just mentioned. In Absolute Batman, Bruce isn’t rich—he’s a working-class construction worker. And for an “altering what-if” story, that’s fine. But you still have to explain some things, because him being “poor” plays no part in the story at all. He still has gadgets, a Batmobile, a dump truck, etc. He never struggles with money, and Martha is still alive. So again, please explain: how does he have all this equipment if he’s not wealthy? And why be Batman if his mom is alive? Please explain this.