Justice League's New Recruit Gets Batman to Do the Impossible
Batman just did the impossible with the Justice League's newest recruit, as he makes a revealing comment about her place on the team.
Warning! Spoilers for Justice League #74 by DC Comics
A young Justice League hero just received what few others have ever gotten from Batman, as the DC Comics hero just complimented Naomi. In Justice League #74 by DC Comics, after the Justice League teams up with the Justice League Dark to defeat Xandaoth, Batman goes out of his way to tell Naomi she did "an outstanding job" against the villain. He also revealed that in his eyes, she's earned her place in the Justice League.
Batman regularly works with young heroes, most notably his sidekick Robin. However, the DC Comics hero regularly draws the ire of the Robins and Alfred Pennyworth for his stoic, tough love approach with them. He often treats young heroes like soldiers necessary to fight crime and rarely offers them praise or compliments. That's not to say Batman doesn't ever offer support to the Robins or young heroes he fights alongside but rarely does he go out of his way to reiterate he's proud of them in an overly carrying manner. However, after watching Naomi take down a villain during the Justice League's latest mission, he offered some genuine praise to the hero.
In Justice League #74 by Brian Michael Bendis, Szymon Kudranski, Emanuela Lupacchino, Wade Von Grawbadger, Hi-Fi, and Josh Reed, Nabu channels Naomi and her powers to deliver a powerful strike against the Lord of Chaos, Xanadoth. In a team-up with the Justice League Dark, Naomi learns from Nabu her powers can magnify magic, allowing her to take down Xanadoth for good. Back at the Hall of Justice, Naomi prepares to apologize to Batman, fearing he will tell her she did something wrong. Instead, however, he ends up offering her a rare compliment for her first week as a Justice Leaguer.
Batman ends up telling Naomi she did "an outstanding job" and that in his eyes, she's earned a place with the Justice League. Even Hawkgirl and Black Canary are stunned by the compliment, as the former tells Naomi that Batman hasn't "said two words" to her in three months. Black Carnary tells Naomi that Green Arrow calls the "rarest of all bat-things" a "Bat-liment." Naomi can't help but fist pump after getting praise from one of the last heroes she'd expect it from.
There's a reason Naomi feared talking to Batman after the mission and feared she did something wrong - as the hero isn't one to shower his teammates with compliments, even when they take down such powerful threats as Xanadoth. However, Naomi got a rare "Bat-liment" from Batman after doing great in the team's latest mission, which is an excellent way to cap off the current Justice League run from DC Comics.