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What if...Batman came to the Philippines?

I have been a big comic book fan since I was little boy.  I remember going to Recto and Avenida to scour the comics sellers looking for new releases whether they were the Philippine re-prints or second hand original comic books.  The storylines or arcs that I like most are the what ifs (Marvel was famous for this one by creating alternate realities or timelines for their heroes,) the crossovers (Marvel and DC made crossovers between their characters and not only within their series the first one being Superman vs the Amazing Spider-man) and Superheroes facing real life characters (Superman vs Muhammad Ali.)

But one of my favorites then and until now is Batman.  He has no super powers, no mutations but he's got a very bright intellect and an expert fighter.  Remember, this blog used to be called "I am Batman" which is one of the famous quotes from the first Batman film and was also used in Batman Begins.  One of the funniest rendition was made by Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory :)


Batman has had a recent reboot due to DC Comics' New 52 and one of the titles in the Batman series is Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch.  Finch was awarded the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Artist in 2009.  And guess what comic book fans David Finch is coming to Manila this coming weekend.  Please see the link below for more details.


http://www.fullybookedonline.com/davidfinch/

Now back to Batman.  I was toying about this idea for years.  What if Batman was true and he came here to the Philippines?  How can he bring the armor/Bat suit with him?  Can he bring the Batmobile?  What situation can make him come here?  Who would he face? So I've come up with this original short story for my personal enjoyment which I would also like to share with you my friends.  Here is a story of Batman in the Philippines (being more fun than Gotham City, I suppose) and going toe to toe with one of the Philippines' famous personality (no, it's not Charice.)

 

BATMAN IN THE PHILIPPINES

Chapter 1

2:00am - A delivery truck is cruising along Quirino Avenue in Manila.  A batarang hits the front wheel, prompting the vehicle to a screeching halt. The driver and his companion were totally bewildered by their sudden predicament, when a gloved hand pulled the driver out from the vehicle.  Soon after, his companion was also pulled out through the passenger side door.  A few moments later, both men were already tied up on top of the truck.  Two police mobile patrol cars and a red sedan immediately surrounded the truck not long after.  Manila Police Director Reyes disembarks the sedan and immediately approached the Caped Crusader now sitting inside the opened van.

“Long way from Gotham City, eh Batman?” said Director Reyes. 

“Director, I didn’t have time to explain to you when we spoke over the phone earlier but I am glad you came here as requested.”  Batman replied

“What is the deal with this?” said Director Reyes as he eyes the contents of the van.  “This delivery of Worceracs had to be stopped. My sources indicate that this batch contains two times the potency of what is currently out in the market,” Batman further explained.

“Worceracs, this is the newest slimming supplement craze right now. A lot of people are believers and avid followers of this drug, claiming that they have lost up to forty pounds in two weeks.  It acts as an appetite suppressant while also known for making people sleep soundly.  Even my wife and my girlfriend use it.  It’s BFAD approved, all natural ingredients from plant sources, it comes out clean. Even the distributor from Cambodia, White Rabbit Industries checked out OK,” Reyes countered.

The Caped Crusader sees the potential of it turning into a long night. But he knows how to handle Reyes, he had surely dealt with an authority like him. “Cambodia is just the seventh country this drug passes through before it reaches the Philippines.  The paper trail and fund sources indicate that the main ingredient of Worceracs comes from a company based in Gotham City.  We got worried when we learned about a mass murder committed by a Muay Thai boxer in Thailand.  He killed seven people at the ringside in the middle of a fight with his bare hands with no recollection of what happened after.  A cultural dancer in Cambodia suddenly killed another performer and committed suicide during a performance.  One victim, a housewife in Cebu here in the Philippines was saved from a suicide attempt during Chinese New Year.  According to her, the food was alive and out to kill her.  We haven’t established what drove them to these extreme acts but the only thing that was known is that all of them are users of Worceracs.  And in all of these cases, the victims took more than four times the required dosage.”

“So it’s a hallucinogen?  Then write the BFAD if you have a complaint.” Reyes retorts.

“Not just a hallucinogen, Director., It contains a level dose of alarm pheromone, a kind fear toxin.  It stimulates a part of your brain, the Amygdala, which is why the appetite is suppressed.  However, this type of fear toxin is not metabolized in the body and builds up over time, which drive the victims to kill.  With this batch being delivered it would build up in the user’s body even faster. Alerting the BFAD would be too late.” He would have wanted to admonish the director some more but he knows he got to act, fast.

Reyes paused, seeming hesitant to agree with the World’s Greatest Detective.  But he thought of his girlfriend whom he has a boy, his favorite and only son.  “You’ve got twenty four hours Batman. That’s the only time I have to classify this little act of yours as a ‘misunderstanding.’  Otherwise if the market runs out of Worceracs it could spark a riot.”

“Actually Director, I think a riot is what the makers of Worceracs wants to happen.  I’ll keep you posted.”

With that Batman shoots a Bat-line to a nearby building and quickly disappears in the rooftops.

Chapter 2

At The Manila Hotel where Bruce Wayne is checked in under the pseudonym Brad Wurt, he quickly hatches out a plan.  “According to the delivery receipt, the truck is owned by a company with a warehouse south of the Metropolis.  Too bad, that I can’t fit the Batmobile inside the Wayne Enterprises jet.  I was just lucky that the travel Batsuit (a lite version of the Batsuit sans the armor) and the utility belt passed through Customs easily due to a ‘friendly’ Bureau of Immigrations personnel who escorted me through the terminal.  I must take one of the taxis outside the hotel then to avoid suspicion.”

Bruce walks out of the hotel carrying a backpack to Quirino Grandstand.  There he found a taxi lined up to one of the restaurants near the bay.  A man standing beside the taxi waived at him ”Ser! Taxi Ser!”  Bruce nodded and the man eagerly opened the taxi door for him. Bruce went onboard where the taxi driver was awakened from his slumber.  Meanwhile, the man is still standing there not closing the door just yet, seeming to wait for something.  The taxi driver barked at the man while holding out a five peso coin, “Eto, eto na. Di nyan alam ang kalakaran dito. (Here, here you go. He doesn’t know how things are done here.)”  With that the man slams the door shut accepting the coin and giving Bruce the eye.

“Where to, Sir?” asked the driver.

“Bring me to Muntinlupa.”

“Alabang, Sir?”

“No, before the Alabang Exit take the service road after Sucat Exit.”  Flashes of information being sorted in the speed of light are now in Bruce’s mind as he narrates the information that he got from the GPS.

“OK Sir, plus 100 pesos meter and toll fee OK?”

“No problem.”

“Do you want to pass by Burgos, Sir?  I know a place, plenty of young girls...”

“No, thanks., I’m in a hurry.”

“OK Sir but if you change your mind text me,” as the driver hands out a card bearing the driver’s cellphone number. “I’ll pass you by there, it’s along the way.”

Bruce just looks out the window and marvels at the beauty of the city as he thought to himself, “I have always admired this place from afar but I know that it also has a dark side.  Not like the stench and crime level of Gotham City though, but if the city falls into the wrong hands, it might turn out to be like one.  That could be the reason why the slimming products are being dumped here.  To create chaos.

If that happens, I wonder if it would create another Batman?  I often think it was Gotham which created me -  the crime, how my parents were killed.  But I can’t take that chance waiting for another hero to rise.  Surely, this place is home for a lot of heroes but somebody from Gotham wants to wreck havoc here and I feel responsible for what he intends to do. ”

Bruce’s daily ritual is to make his mind go to sleep while his body is awake.  He thinks about his parents and all of his friends who have died in Gotham City.  But before he can do it this time, the driver was already asking for money to pay the toll fee at the Sucat exit.  A few more minutes and they were parked at the gas station along the service road.

Bruce paid the taxi driver and proceeded on foot to the warehouse.  Inside he has assumed the identity of the Caped Crusader again.  He inspected the crates and boxes containing more Worceracs.  At the last pallet of stocks, he noticed a different crate containing a new product.  “Money Energy Drink,” it says on the label.  Although the logo is styled to make the letter “y” to lose its tail making it look more like the letter “v”.  He opened one box and saw that imprinted in the can is the image of a very popular world-boxing champion.  The can also mentions, “Explosive Energy, Makes You Stronger, Run Faster, Jump Higher.”

As Batman was trying to figure out the connection between Worceracs and Money, two armed thugs were already heading his way.  Batman being a master of hand-to-hand combat was able to dispose the two thugs easily.  A swift kick to the face knocks out one, while a precise punch to the heart immobilizes the other.   Batman then took one bottle of Money for testing.

When morning came Bruce proceeded to a local laboratory affiliated with Wayne Enterprises to check on the contents of Money.  It turns out that Money contains the drug Titan, a potent form of the Miralco Formula, the same drug that gives his nemesis Bane super strength.  However, this type of Titan also accumulates in the body like the fear toxin and would last longer unlike Bane’s Venom which needs to be injected continuously over time.  With the combination of fear toxin and Titan it could turn the user into a Hulking Madman. 

Bruce then investigated the activities of the boxing champ and his website stated that he would be at the Grand Ballroom of the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel that afternoon to launch the product and become the official endorser of Money Energy Drink.

With only minutes to spare Bruce went to EDSA Shangri-La Hotel with the Batsuit stowed in his backpack.  Something tells him he’s going to need it.

Chapter 3

At the hotel, Batman caught up in the middle of the press conference where the world champion is being swamped by questions from both the local and foreign press.

Reporter #1: So Champ, did they name the energy drink Money because it’s the nickname of your opponent?

Boxing champ: No, because that sounds like my name. (Laughter from the audience)

I should be the one to be called Money because I make more money than him.

Reporter #2: Do you really drink this stuff?

Boxing champ: Yes.

At that point, Dr. Jonathan Crane (in Gotham’s underworld, he is known as one of Batman’s villain, The Scarecrow) who was seated beside the champ interfered.

Dr Crane:  And not to mention Worceracs as well. A lot of Worceracs users have complained that they lack the energy during the day that is why we created Money Energy Drink in order to give the Worceracs users the Energy that they need.  By the way, Worceracs and Money will be sponsors in his upcoming fight in the new Gotham City Arena five months from now.

That was all that Batman needed to hear.  He sprang from the balcony down to the ballroom floor.  “That’s enough Scarecrow, you will not damage this man’s career.  Everyone! Please leave through the nearest exit!”  Most of the people were able to run except for a cameraman who was still diligently taking footage of what was happening.

But before the champ’s handlers were able to usher him out of the venue, Scarecrow was able to grab him by the neck and  aimed a syringe to his nape.  “Not a step closer Batman or he would get it.”

“I knew you are coming here, Batman.  When you pulled that stunt with my delivery van yesterday I figured that I might as well accelerate my plan.  I mean who needs to wait for five months when you and the champ can face off now.”  And with that, the Scarecrow injected the liquid in the syringe to the champ.  The champ dripped and rolled on the floor while his muscles increase in size and all his veins began to swell.  “That, Batman, is a concentrated dose of Worceracs and Money, all of the good stuff.” The Scarecrow then grabbed a ring bell, which is part of props and rang it, “Round 1 Batman, too bad it would also be your last.”

The champ instantly yelled and leapt towards Batman.  With his skills, Venom-enhanced brawn and new-found rage, he moves faster and stronger than anyone Batman has faced before.  A quick punch to Batman’s face missed him by a hairline. Batman can only back-off as he doesn’t want to harm the boxing champ.  Batman tried to stun the champ with Bat-darts, however, another charge hit Batman squarely on the jaw, throwing him a few meters away. Before the champ can throw another punch, Batman instinctively grabbed the ring bell and used it to shield him with the impending blow.  The bell rang and broke into pieces.  As if the champ was broken from a spell, he fell down and held his hand that was injured after punching the bell.  Batman quickly grabbed the cameraman’s noise canceling headphones and placed them on the champ.  “Don’t take this thing off.  The boxing bell sound is the trigger for the fear toxin.”  Batman then went to look for the Scarecrow but he had already fled.

Epilogue

Batman is now standing on top of PBCom Tower, overlooking the Makati skyline.

“The champ will be okay.  The broken hand would heal and the lab is now finding ways to flush out the fear toxin from his body.  His manager is not too glad about what happened since he can’t book fights for quite some time.  And he is now blaming me for it.  Despite the fact that I saved his ward’s life.”

“Worceracs is now pulled out of the market and users would be given the same treatment that the champ is getting.  All of the stocks of Worceracs and Money are now destroyed.  Scarecrow could still be here or probably went out through the country’s backdoor down south.  I’ll see him again in Gotham, probably. As for me, my jaw was likewise broken but would heal soon. Will lie low for a while but my stay here would be done.”

Batman gazed into the night sky, searching for the Bat signal.  Waiting for someone to call.  Hoping that someone would ask for help. Wishing to get that feeling of being wanted in a city that doesn’t seem to care that in their midst is the BATMAN.

THE END

Nokia 808 Pureview: Unbelievable 41 Megapixel Sensor Cameraphone!

Just a few hours ago word came out that Nokia launched the 808 Pureview which boast of a 41 Megapixel sensor in it's camera.  Now don't be swept by that statement so quickly.  The picture size would just still be around 5 megapixel but the good thing is it would create crisp pictures that even if at full zoom would still be a decent picture without any pixelization.  It can also take Full HD (1080p quality) videos that is currently unmatched by any camera phones.  The only downside at this point is an introduction of SDHC storage which can match up to what surely is a megabyte gobbling feature.

Here is the video from the Nokia YouTube page:

Watch This Space

I received something very exciting in the mail today.  Watch this space, my next post (late next week) would reveal the event and something that I have been meaning to do for quite some time.

Hint: This refers to the former name of this blog.

BW/DK

What is wrong with this picture part 2

You be the judge of this.  I would "offer" proofreading service perhaps?

Were open 24 hours??? - so now they are not.  Ah yes Thursdays to Sundays only.

Check out the "on the house freebies"  :)

And I guess the first thing that would be stolen is the security camera!

It's More Fun in the World of Charlie Brown

All I need is one more try
Gotta get that kite to fly
And I'm not the kind of guy
Who gives up easily
             - Charlie Brown
                From the Broadway musical comedy "You're a good Man Charlie Brown"

February 11, 2012 at Ma Maison Greenbelt - I just came from opening night of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Since last week the missus and the little girl has been egging me to buy tickets for us to watch. Honestly I've seen it before when I was younger (and about half a waistline smaller) via Repertory Phils' version with Raymond Lauchengco as Charlie Brown. Back then, I didn't really enjoyed the play. I mean I am a true Peanuts fan, I have the books and merchandise but my young mind can not appreciate these humans trying to be my beloved comics characters.  I basically enjoyed the cartoon special of the play much better which still included the songs from the musical.  But that was the old version, the one I saw in my youth was the 1967 off Broadway version.  I am glad that the one we saw is the 1999 Broadway revival version which includes the two great additional songs "My New Philosophy" and "Beethoven Day" where Kristin Chenoweth  had her Tony Award winning performance.

The play was very enjoyable both for somebody who have seen it before and for my daughter who is just beginning to appreciate Peanuts.  Never mind that the actor that played Charlie Brown - Robbie Guevara is already in his 40's (Charlie Brown really is a candidate for male pattern baldness anyway) but you have a stage full of talent right there that nobody can probably pull it off better with. Veterans like Franco Laurel (as Linus), Carla Guevara-Laforteza (Lucy), Sweet Plantado (Sally), Tonipet Gaba (Shroeder) and Lorenz Martinez (Snoopy).   Trivia: on the 1980's version by Repertory Phils, Snoopy was played by Bernardo Bernardo.

For me the revelation of the night is Tonipet Gaba - I have't seen him onstage prior to this play and I usually see him on TV doing children's shows like Art Angel, but boy can this guy sing!  I somehow notice though that the style and execution is a "faithful reproduction of the original' 1999 play (sorry, I have been watching too many Senate impeachment hearings.)  There are times that I close my eyes during the play and I can visualize Kristin Chenoweth performing there based on the videos I saw on Youtube.

But that didn't diminish the fact that this a good material to work on with great songs and overflowing with feel good moments particularly the song Happiness. Sounds familiar? Here's a few verses of the song to refresh your memory:

Happiness is morning and evening,

Daytime and night time too.

For happiness is anyone and anything at all

That’s loved by you.

Yes, it's that song.  it is probably the most famous of all Peanuts songs and has become a staple of kids audition pieces :)

I recommend for you to watch You're a Good Man Charlie Brown it runs every Saturday and Sunday until March 3 at the Carlos P Romulo Auditorium RCBC Plaza in Makati City.

Bring you kids they would love it, if you have none then bring the kid within you.

Jollibee buys into regional restaurant chain

Jollibee's global expansion is fever pitch with the inclusion of a 50% stake of SuperFoods Group SuperFoods Group owns and operates Highlands Coffee Shops in Vietnam, Highland Coffee Packaged Products and Hard Rock Café franchised stores in Macau, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.

Read the attached article from the Philippine Daily inquirer Jollibee buys into regional restaurant chain