Did a 1986 Batman Comic Inspire the Aurora Shooter?

[MineralMan]

http://washingtonexaminer.com/was-the-batman-movie-shooting-imitated-from-scene-in-1986-comic/article/2502701

A page from that comic is at the link. In the comic, someone with red hair shoots up a movie theater. Seems like too much of a coincidence to me. I heard a radio host talk about this last night, and found this story this morning. See what you think.

Edit to add: I'm in no way blaming the comic for the shooting. I'm just saying it may have been part of the pattern of the shooting plan. I don't know. Comics don't cause people to do a mass shooting. Their minds do that.

[malaise]

1. There was a thread here yesterday with a photo of a James Holmes

at a porn site with red hair.

Very interesting

[MineralMan]

4. It might not be the Joker character at all,

but this obscure character from an old Batman "The Dark Knight Returns" comic. The movie theater shooting in that comic and the red hair of that character just seem too close to be a coincidence. Too many parallels. I know a lot of people collect comics, so it wouldn't be too odd for someone to have that issue. I'm not blaming the comic, of course. It's just maybe a peek into the shooter's mind.

[malaise]

9. Here's the thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=986381

[MineralMan]

10. I saw that yesterday, too.

Interesting. We leave so many traces of our lives online these days. In some cases, it helps to figure out cases like these. Very sad business, in every way.

[boxman15]

2. It might have.

Maybe not, who knows? If it did, I hope people remember that this guy was deranged and would've found a way to hurt others with or without those comics, movies, video games, whatever.

[MineralMan]

5. In not blaming the comic at all. I just found the parallels to that

story interesting. It's not comics or anything else that cause people to act out in a mass shooting. It's something in their mind. This parallel is just a factoid in the story, really.

[Chorophyll]

3. In 2012, you don't need a comic from 1986 inspire you to do a mass shooting.

You can base your mass shooting on the three zillion mass shootings that went before. All you need is unfettered access to guns and ammunition, procured with the tacit approval of your fellow citizens.

Sorry, but pop culture is not the issue, even if the shooter did read this particular comic.

[MineralMan]

6. The comic isn't the cause. It may be how the act was

patterned, though. It's just part of the story, if that's the case.

[Chorophyll]

15. Maybe.

I just don't think it matters. What would knowing that help at this point? The next mass shooter (and there will be one) might be pissed because his cornflakes were soggy. We've got an enormous problem in this country and it has to do with lack of health care (including mental health) and easy access to guns.

[MineralMan]

16. You're right, but details will be carefully studied, as

they are in every such case. This is just one of those details. So often, the shooter kills himself at the conclusion of the incident, and we don't learn the history. This time, the shooter did not do that, so this case will be closely studied in preparation for any trial that takes place. It's all information.

[Chorophyll]

17. I guess. I've read he's not really saying anything, though.

I can't help but remember the aftermath of the Columbine shooting. A news anchor felt it necessary to mention that one of the shooters was a fan of the band Rammstein. She was very outraged that this band sang in German.

No one bothered to point out that Rammstein is a German band, from, you know, Germany. And that they are not rightwingers.

But I guess if someone's about to snap, anything they see or read or listen to can help to goad them on.

By the way, this is an interesting conversation and I'm not actually trying to be argumentative. Just thinking aloud (on the internet.)

[MineralMan]

18. That's what I've heard, too,

although I listened to the press conferences, and they're keeping most information out of the media. Basically, I don't trust any information that appears in the immediate aftermath of situations like this. Too much speculating and guessing to follow.

In a couple of weeks, we'll know more, and by the time the case comes to trial, we'll have a pretty clear story. Remember all the nonsense that got discussed around the George Zimmerman case in the first week?

Things just get crazy right after these incidents. From the media to discussion groups like this one, there's more misinformation than information.

[Chorophyll]

19. Very true.

You'd think we'd figure this out after a while. Sigh.

[turtlerescue1]

7. The more that comes out, it sure looks like it.

There was way too much "forethought", as we all are learning. This was not an idiot by any means.

Is there a chance he intends to be a martyr? For a cause? He sure spent too much effort in all of this, and for a 24 year old, does he fit a sociopathic personality?

Six thousand rounds of ammunition? As The Joker!

Down the rabbit hole, stranger and stranger it gets.

[MineralMan]

12. I don't think he planned martyrdom.

He gave himself up to the police afterwards. In everyone case like this one, piecing together what went on before it happened takes a long time. It does nothing to mitigate the horror of the act, but may help to understand what the motivation was. It's going to be a long time before everything is known. Today, they're working on disarming the booby trap system he left in his apartment.

[HappyMe]

8. I don't know.

At this point, nobody knows.

Blaming comic books and movies is a bit weak. There are lots and lots of people that collect comic books, play role playing games, etc. that wouldn't hurt a fly.

I don't know if this guy just snapped, or if he was slowly sliding into madness. We'll find out in the weeks ahead.

[MineralMan]

11. I'm not blaming the comic book. I'm suggesting

that that particular story may have been involved in the pattern of actions here, and been model for the shooter in how to do what he did. Not the reason, just something that's connected to what happened.

[mucifer]

13. Batman comics have been around for decades

I would think most scenarios possible would be somewhere in the series. This is a 25 yo comic and holmes is 24yo. I think it's a coincidence.

[MineralMan]

14. It certainly could be a coincidence.

It could also be that the shooter was a Batman comic fan. I do not know the answer to that. The red hair and the movie theater, though are two pretty striking similarities. I'm sure this will be looked into during the investigation.