Batman is DC’s most popular character, and has been for a very long time. There was a time in the not so distant past that Batman was the only DC book that consistently sold in the top ten. The rise of the Absolute Universe has seen Batman fall from prominence, but it looks like that’s going to change in the coming months. While “H2SH” hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire, fans are getting excited for the new volume of Batman coming this fall, with longtime regular Batman artist Jorge Jimenez being joined by superstar writer Matt Fraction. New volumes of classic series are nothing new at this point, but there are problems with them, and I’m afraid that Batman will fall victim to those drawbacks.
A new volume of Batman, especially with creators of the caliber of Fraction and Jimenez, is always a cause of excitement but that excitement could be quickly tempered by the reality of the book. Batman has grown a lot as a character over the years, and there’s a chance that all of that growth will be forgotten when the new Batman series starts. We’ve already seen this in recent years, as massive developments from the Tom King Batman run have been pushed on the back burner for stories like “Joker War” or the Failsafe saga. Batman had a chance at growth, and I’m afraid we’re never getting back there.
Tom King’s Evolution of Batman Was the Best Thing to Happen to the Character
I’ve always felt like I’m in the minority, but I loved Tom King’s Batman run. Batman had been “Bat-God” — the version of the character who is better than everyone else and always wins — for a while before King took over the book. Instead of keeping that up — although we did get some Bat-God moments in King’s run — the writer instead focused on Batman as a character, digging into the psychology of the Caped Crusader. Go back and read “I Am Suicide”, a story where Batman realizes that his entire life so far has been a form of longform suicide. It’s an amazing moment that makes perfect sense given who Batman is. Has this ever been picked up on again. When most people think of King’s run, they usually think of the relationship between Batman and Catwoman. King built their relationship much better than anyone else had in years, showing just how well they fit together. One of the main reasons that people dislike King’s Batman run is because DC got cold feet about marrying the two characters, which was obviously where their relationship was going. This one decision has hurt the perception of King’s Batman run, with many readers blaming King himself for the plotline never getting paid off in the way that fans wanted.
After King left, DC basically ignored everything that he set up for the character. The relationship between Batman and Catwoman was completely gone — by the time Chip Zdarsky took over Batman, Catwoman had moved on and it didn’t seem to bother Batman very much. The psychological work that King did with the character was also gone. His growth as a character, the complexity that King added to Batman, was completely gone. Look at Batman since King left; what has been done with him a character? Sure, he lost his fortune for a while, but has he grown? Did Tynion, Williamson, Zdarsky, or Loeb actually do anything with Batman as a character? There’s a reason that the best Batman takes are the alternate universe ones; it’s because those takes allow Batman to grow as a character. DC is obsessed with keeping Batman static as much as possible, constantly ignoring all of the work that creators do to make the character more interesting. It’s honestly hard to be a Batman fan for any long period time, because you know that aspects of Batman you enjoyed are going to go away.
DC Needs to Stop Destroying All of Batman’s Character Development
I’m excited to see what Fraction and Jimenez are going to do with Batman. I think that most Batman fans feel the same way, but there’s a certain reticence. I remember getting done with King’s run on Batman and starting the next run. It felt like night and day. Tynion didn’t deal with the things that King set up, he moved on to his own story. In fact, Batman felt like a completely different character. This is what happens nearly every time a new creative team takes over Batman. It’s fine when you don’t like what come before, but when you did? There’s going to be disappointment.
Batman is a complex character and you can tell all kinds of stories using the character, from dark detective stories to psychological horror to straight up superhero tales. However, the way that DC keeps any growth away from the character has always made reading Batman longterm a problem. Hopefully, Fraction will find the best parts of Batman’s growth over the last few years and include it in his run. However, I don’t really expect that to happen, which is a huge problem.
What do you think about the future of Batman? Sound off in the comments below.
The post I’m Worried The Batman Reset Will Undo All the Character’s Emotional Development appeared first on ComicBook.com.
