Batman Vs. Darth Vader, and my thoughts on that.

[EDIT january 21, 2012:  For the longest time I had no idea who the artist responsible for this painting was.  I have just recently discovered that his name is Dave Dorman.  I believe in giving credit to the artists of any respective work, so if you like this picture you should check out his site.]

Holy. Shit. Look at this picture. Are you done? No you're not. REALLY look at it. Click on that shit. Enlarge it, and behold it in all of its beauty and wonder. If you have spent even 30 full seconds gazing into this masterpiece then you will find yourself squarely in one of two camps with regards to the way you perceive it.

1. You see this painting for what it truly is. A glorious achievement in modern art, portraying two of the most influential characters in popular fiction. This piece displays our never ending violent rage against our fellow man, while simultaneously highlighting the very personal internal battle between good and evil that we all must face everyday of our lives.

2. You see it as drawing for nerds by nerds. Not really your cup of tea. And you are a terrible person!

Seriously, this picture essentially expresses how I look at the world as adeptly as any still image could. It captures the eye, sparks the imagination, answers questions, and even asks a few. I have watched numerous films, read countless comic books, and very few have thrilled me as much as this image.

Alright settle down. Settle down. I know you're excited but before you get too carried away, I would first like to draw your attention to hoW FREAKING AWESOME IT IS!!! I mean really, be honest now. What could possibly be more baddass than Darth Vader and the Batman locked in battle? In my opinion, it is entirely irrelevant whether or not you are a Star Wars or Batman fan. The image is striking and bold, and one can't help wonder how it ends. Right off the bat (no pun intended) you have Darth Vader literally standing ON fire, chest thrust out defiantly, Light saber in one hand, with the other reaching out ominously in what we can only assume to be a threatening gesture. Out of nowhere swings Batman holding on desperately to his life line, suspended over a certain fiery doom, and wielding... (wait for it)... a bat light saber! That's right the handle even has a bat motif! Do you understand what this means? Batman constructed his own fucking light saber! His Jedi skills are complete! HOLY SHIT!

As I stated earlier this picture both answers and asks questions. Now you may have thought I was just exaggerating, but in fact I was being utterly serious. Though I will concede that I have been known to embroider statements and facts in the past, so as to illicit a stronger response from my target audience, I feel now that with two of my favorite franchises involved, this is an inappropriate time for bullshit. What then, are the startling aforementioned insights and queries this single image offers? Allow me to enlighten you.

First, it answers the question; how awesome would a fight between Batman and Darth Vader be? Clearly it would be very cool. This revelation may seem trivial at best, but it is not so. You see, there's no Denying that Vader is one tough cookie. This is the same man that took Han Solo's gunfire in stride by simply sticking out his hand and CATCHING THE LAZER BLASTS! He can choke someone to death by making a simple gesture with his hand, and he doesn't even need to be in the SAME SHIP, never mind the same room! So in the past when I've considered a fight between him and Batman (yes I have put some thought into it, how do you think I found this picture in the first place?) I always felt that, utility belt or not, Darth really had an unfair advantage when you got right down to it. I honestly have no desire to see Batman forced grabbed and suspended in mid air, grasping at his neck in a futile attempt to breath, as Darth Vader calmly approaches and skewers him with his light saber. That would be both uninteresting and traumatizing. Obviously Vader still has the upper hand in this scenario (as the illustration clearly shows Darth Vader unfazed by FIRE!), but it has to be that way to an extent, because a fight where the hero is clearly stronger is just no fun. That would be like a fight between the Hulk and Gollum, which would just be stupid (geez). The point I'm trying to make here, is that despite heavy odds, Batman seems to be holding his own well enough to stop Vader from cutting his bat rope.

This of course leads to the questions. The image seems to take place on Mustafar which means somehow Batman has found his way into a galaxy far far away, and incidentally, the past. We'll just blame it on a spacial anomaly. Whatever. It is what it is. The question is, how the hell is Batman pulling this off? Are we meant to believe that in the Star Wars universe Batman has the force? Does he just have it naturally already as some latent ability he had no knowledge of beforehand? Or is his mental concentration and discipline so immaculate, that the force itself simply doesn't have an effect on him directly? I feel I should point out, however , that It doesn't really matter which one is the correct answer because no matter what, it only serves to make Batman THAT much cooler than he already is.

One more thing to note, is how appropriate it is for these two to be fighting. Many people have debated the results of a conflict between Darth Vader and Superman, arguing that being extreme opposites of each other somehow makes it more interesting. I disagree. Superman is good because he was brought up that way, his upbringing was relatively positive. Superman's battle with his dark side isn't nonexistent, but it's notably less prominent than Batman's. Both Darth Vader and Batman are constantly struggling between their good and bad (or light and dark) persona's, but whereas Vader gave into the dark side Batman chose to channel the same rage and anger that Vader feels into something good. It's symmetry I tell you!

At the end of the day this picture serves to highlight some of the greatest parts of my childhood. I just wish that instead of those crappy prequels or either of the Schumacher films, they had made this instead. Ah well, one can dream.

Anyhoo that's about all I have to say on that. Maybe next time I'll write about something that normal people can also appreciate.

Thanks for reading.

-Fenske

And so it begins. (an introduction to Fenskeland)

I must confess, I never would have pictured myself writing one of these. I have traditionally been in the camp of individuals that saw blogs as a form of narcissism; as something that's used to boost undeserving egos in their childish hunt for self gratification. So I'm either a hypocritical asshole, or a narcissistic asshole.

Seriously though, I've had my eyes opened somewhat, and my initial 'fresh-out-of-university-angry-and-cynical-about-anything-that-comes-my-way' has calmed down just a tad. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm still as disillusioned and emotionally tarnished as the next guy, but my disillusionment is now focused. Gone are the days of a young 20 year old boy who would rant and rave openly and with reckless abandon, throwing caution to the wind! Now I just rant and rave online where I can enjoy the relative anonymity that the internet provides, and yet still feel empowered by my freedom of speech and independent thinking. It's a brave new world... or something.

So yeah. As I was saying, I've had my eyes opened. I've come to understand that while the internet is still evil and likely plans to kill us all in the not-too-distant future, it can also be used for good. Not to get too soppy, the Internet can be a valuable tool entertain, educate, and express oneself. Ultimately we decide whether or not it's used appropriately. I see now that blogs can be a wonderful way to express thoughts and share ideas, whether it comes in the form of telling a joke, informing others of a discovery, or giving your opinion on something. To be sure there are a lot of shitty blogs, and even the good ones aren't for everybody. But I suppose that's why I'm here, to vent my thoughts and opinions to like minded people, be they a mere 2 or a whopping 100,000,000+.

With that out of the way, it's time for an introduction. My name is Fenske (Pronounced Fen-skee), and this is Fenskeland! Why am I here? What personal reasons did I decide to join this large community of internet bloggers? Well, I have just completed three years of training as an actor, and while that's all fine and dandy, being outside of school doesn't provide the same level of security and purpose, that a rigidly structured educational program does. And so here I am, with an agent and everything, and nothing to do at times. You see school makes sure you are always busy... too busy in fact; in real life you have to find things to do all by yourself. Shocking, I know.

It is an unfortunate fact, however, that as an actor there is not always work for you. And so I have had to actively seek other pursuits in the mean time. I have begun writing, I have gone back to fiddling around on the piano, I draw, and when I can, I make independent theatre with my friends. Writing has been a big one for me, and to date, it has typically fallen into one of two categories:

1. Working on screenplays, which means constantly warding off the temptation to check my facebook profile.

2. Going to a coffee shop with pencil and paper, and writing anything that comes to mind, which suffers from being impractical if I don't have the time to take off for such an endeavor.

This is where I create a third category. There are times I see or think things that don't really fit into traditional writing, or screenplay storytelling. I see Fenskeland as a chance to write down some of the stuff that rattles around in my head, so I can deal with them in the form of creative expression, instead of bottling it up and pacing back and forth for hours upon hours.

What sort of things will I write about? Good question! Let's pretend for a moment that you actually asked it. In all honestly, I can't say for certain. Whatever I feel like writing about, quite frankly. Knowing me, there's a good chance that comic books, sci fi, and anything that pertains to being a nerd will probably make its way in here more often than not. But it could be anything really, and it could be at any time. So be on the constant look out! ... or don't. Whatever floats your boat really. I do what I want, I suggest you do the same. Right now, I think I'm going to get some yogurt. I freaking love yogurt.

Thanks for reading

-Fenske