"My name is Bruce Wayne. And I don't really fit in here.
You see Gotham Prep is a school for gifted kids. Kids who have superpowers.
And I don't have any."
You see Gotham Prep is a school for gifted kids. Kids who have superpowers.
And I don't have any."
— Bruce Wayne
Bruce Wayne: Not Super is a 2023 comic by Stuart Gibbs (author of Spy School, Fun Jungle, and Moon Base Alpha).
In this world of the DC multiverse, all of the DC heroes and villains (all but a few of whom are Jerkasses regardless of their moral alignment in the main universe) are otherwise ordinary kids with superpowers who go to the same middle school. The sole normal student (as far as anyone knows) is Bruce Wayne, the son of the place's founder, who gets an All the Other Reindeer treatment and aspires to do something special despite his normal-ness, leading to him becoming a middle-school version of Batman (aided by his Only Friend, a younger kid named Dick Grayson and obstructed by a conflicted Alfred) as a young version of the Joker (who tricked his way into the school) begins to embark on a life of crime.
The story is Played for Laughs in comparison to normal Batman stories.
The comic contains the following tropes:
- Absurd Phobia: Here, Dick Grayson picks "Robin" as his alias because he is convinced that robins are scary after one of them pecked him.
- Adaptational Badass: A young Penguin, Selina Kyle, and Harley Quinn, who are generally Badass Normal characters, attend the school for kids with powers, indicating they have some powers here (although the definition of superpowers is more flexibile here, as Dick Grayson's gymnastic skills are considered a power).
- Adaptational Heroism: Oswald Cobblepot, Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Waylon Jones, Polka-Dot Man and several other comic villains are harmless (although not always benevolent) schoolkids here, although Bruce predicts that at least some of them will grow up to be evil.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Many of DC's heroes are shown to be jerks towards Bruce due to his lack of powers. Superman gets this especially, as he is portrayed as a Jerk Jock who frequently abuses his powers to embarrass and bully Bruce, a significant contrast from his usual All-Loving Hero persona in the mainline comics.
- Badass Bystander: Alfred finally gets onboard with helping Bruce after witnessing people being attacked by muggers on the street. As he leaves, it is shown that the victims have turned the tables and are beating the muggers up.
- Bat Signal: At the end of the book, Bruce gives Selina a bat-shaped rock to shine into the sky with a flashlight if she ever needs help. True to the Affectionate Parody nature of the comic, she points out that it will be useless in broad daylight or on cloudless nights, and Bruce sheepishly calls it a work in progress.
- Big Jerk on Campus: This version of Clark Kent uses his strength and speed to be a football star and pummel rival teams. He is also merciless to token normal kid Bruce during dodgeball, cheats on tests, and likes to use his x-ray vision to make Comedic Underwear Exposure announcements.
- Class Princess: Diana Prince is the most popular girl in school and, while she doesn't go out of her way to befriend Bruce, she is one of the few popular kids never to bully him, is a Cool Big Sis to her sister Donna, and has a couple of Heroic Bystander moments that cause her to consider forming something like the Justice League when she grows up.
- Failed a Spot Check: As Bruce decides to be a vigilante and makes a long speech about how he will fight injustice, it takes him over a panel to notice Jack Napier trying to rob Donna Prince right behind him.
- Failure Montage:
- After Bruce decides to make a costume based on a scary animal, the next couple pages show him in unthreatening and/or impractical animal costumes (like a cobra with no arm holes).
- A montage of Bruce testing the original bat gadgets shows things like him tasering himself or almost being hit by the first batarang coming back at him.
- Foil: Jack Napier and Bruce are the only normal kids in the school for kids with powers but are contrasted a lot. Bruce got in because his parents built the school and is mocked for having no powers. Jack conned his way in by faking the power to see ghosts. Jack wears bright colors, Bruce wears dark ones. Jack is a bully who wants to commit full-fledged crimes, while Bruce is a bullying victim who wants to fight crime.
- The Ghost: Stinkbomb Starkwell, a metahuman with flatulent powers, is only mentioned by Bruce and Donna Troy. He does not appear, and only its limited to showing his stink while the boys leave the restrooms in disgust.
- Gold Digger: Selina Kyle is initially friendly and encouraging to Bruce, but it is heavily impleid she is just interested in hanging out at a big mansion and she bails when she mistakenly thinks Bruce says it is smaller than she thought.
- The Reveal: The Sequel Hook at the end reveals that the sinister vice-principal, who has his Face Framed in Shadow earlier on, is Hugo Strange, that he knew Jack was conning his way into the school but let him, and wants Jack and Bane to help him do things like rob banks.
- Running Gag: People keep mistaking the bat costume for other animals like a badger or ferret.
- This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Zigzagged. Bruce watches Arthur Curry talk to some fish with his power and calls it a "meh" ability, but Arthur also trounces Bruce in a swimming race due to his hydrokinesis and extra strength.
Stay tuned for the further adventures of Badger Boy ...er, Batman!
