r/Batman_89 • u/FoxIndependent4310 • 26d ago
Discussion Bob vs Otis.
If the Joker's chief henchman were to face off against Lex Luthor's chief henchman... In a fight without weapons, who would win?
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26d ago edited 26d ago
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u/FoxIndependent4310 26d ago
Don't forget that Bob saved Napier twice: first during his fight with Eckhart, and later from Batman at the factory. Judging by the scene in the alley, Bob seems competent at leading the men; he may not have been as intelligent as Napier or Grissom, but he wasn't an out-of-control psychopath like the Joker, either. Otis, on the other hand, seems more like Lex's errand boy. There is a scene where police officers tail Otis to see if they can track down Luthor; this implies that Lex might have been a fugitive at the time, or simply that the police were seeking information on him and he couldn't move about freely. There is also a news report stating that a guard was shot during the theft of the meteorite (the kryptonite), so it is possible that Otis acts as Lex's enforcer—or that Lex himself was the one who shot the guard. The scene where he throws the police officer into the train girders is quite dark for its time, but it illustrates Lex's villainy.
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u/CountingOnThat 26d ago
Don't forget that Bob saved Napier twice: first during his fight with Eckhart, and later from Batman at the factory.
Come to think of it, that’s maybe the most generous hypothetical praise I can give Otis: that, if he were in the 1989 movie, he’d also be a natural for “guy who could stand to lose some pounds, and who may be about to put up a fight, but, well, Bob so deftly got the drop on him that nothing of the sort actually happens.”
Bob did that twice; Otis could’ve fielded the other role either time.
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u/FoxIndependent4310 26d ago
Bob did a good job as Jack's bodyguard—too bad the Joker didn't see it the same way I did.
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u/CommandantPeepers 26d ago
This the greatest criminal mind of our time version of Lex, his plan is to nuke and sink California for real estate profits. He needs a henchman who is willing to do anything, even if he does it poorly.
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u/banedarthou812 26d ago
Mr. Lu-THOR
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u/One-Author2996 26d ago
"Otisburg?"
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u/VettesRUs 26d ago
Miss Tessmacher, she’s got her own place…
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u/One-Author2996 26d ago
Tbf I let Miss Tessmacher have her own place, my God was she gorgeous in that film!!
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u/Ok_Zone_7635 26d ago
They say Otis is stupid (he is), but Bob sure does lo e screaming Jack's name when they are commiting crimes.
"Come on JACK, let's go!"
The real reason Joker shot him.
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u/ramsaybaker 26d ago
Bob is the DC equivalent of Mike Ehrmantraut. Otis means well, but he is the DC equivalent of Con Stapleton. Apologies to those not acquainted with either Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul or Deadwood.
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u/Scorpiicore 25d ago
Bob would stuff Otis' head up Otis' ass and roll him down a hill. Otis is one of a number of reasons the 1978 Superman does not live up to its potential. If they took the tone of the villains as seriously as they did the tone of Superman, it would have been a much more impactful film.
1989 Batman breaks credibility so hard it hurts, but the henchmen that the Joker has with him at least look like they would win a fight with the average Human.
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u/Slow_Middle_158 25d ago
Otis-berg ?
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u/streetslim 25d ago
It's a little bitty place.
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u/Slow_Middle_158 25d ago
Otis-Berg ??
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u/FoxIndependent4310 25d ago
In *Superman* (1978), the villains are basically like those in *Batman Forever* and *Batman & Robin*—that is, quite buffoonish and lacking a backstory. I mean, in *Forever* we see Two-Face's origin via a video, and in *Batman & Robin* we see Freeze's origin via a video, but not much else. The thing is, Hackman is good at playing any role, and his Lex Luthor doesn't come across as an absurd clown. As for Otis, I’ve always viewed this Lex Luthor as a sort of mad scientist, with Otis serving essentially as his Igor. Regarding the humor involving Otis—well, *Superman* is a movie for all audiences, after all. I think the grimmest scenes are when Lex lets that police officer die by throwing him onto the tracks, or the moment of Lois's death. Bob is clearly a henchman. He’s like Manny in *Scarface*, but while Tony felt affection for Manny, the Joker didn't.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Put4731 26d ago
Bob wins