Age Gap

Let's visit again with Bob Rozakis, DC's "Answer Man," as he gives really brief answers to brief questions from DC readers in the back of DC books in the late 1970s.

Today's question comes from Justice League Of America #168 (1979):

Uhhh...are you sure about that?

That just strikes me as off, even given the wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey nature of aging and time compression in the comic book universes.

Let's look at it this way...this is after Barbara Gordon's time as a member of the U.S. Congress; in our universe, at least, you must be 25 to be a congressperson (but then again, this is DC--Prez, right??). So are we being told that Bruce Wayne is less than four years older than Barbara Gordon? Does that feel right, at all?

Another take--Dick Grayson was in college at this point. Since, at least in some versions, Dick was 8 when his parents were killed and he became Robin. If he left for college at 18 or 19, and Bruce is "under 30," does that mean Bruce became Dick's guardian when Bruce was only 18 or 19?? I mean, billionaire or not, who's going to give an unrelated young adult custody of a minor? Does it feel right, Bruce being fully established as Batman at 18 or 19?? And don't you see Bruce and Dick being farther apart in age--closer to a father/son than the older brother/younger brother this would require?

And overall, doesn't Batman just feel like he has to be older than 29??

So, sorry, Answer Man, we're not buying this particular answer.

Old course, post-Crisis, post-Zero Hour, post-Infinite Crisis, post-52, post-Final Crisis, post-whatever-the-hell-happened-to-Bruce-in-the-timestream-under Grant-Morrison, none of this is relevant anymore.

So, sorry to waste your time...