Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Batman, james tynion iv

Alfred is Still Dead, and so is "Playboy" Bruce Wayne in James Tynion's Batman

Incoming Batman writer James Tynion IV has launched a new newsletter, and he's inviting people to subcribe with the promise of Batman news that can easily be turned into clickbait articles. Don't mind if we do, James. Don't mind if we do.

And delivering on that promise, Tynion posted the first of many future excerpts from his Batman "Big Ideas" document (think the Grant Morrison New X-Men pitch reprinted at the back of the trade paperback for E is for Extinction). Where does Tynion see Batman going in 2020? He opens with a mission statement.

Batman is an action horror superhero comic book.

Heading into 2020, THAT is our absolute True North. Every page of every issue should feel like an action horror superhero comic. The monsters should be deadly and frightening, and Batman should feel frightening in and of himself. The villains of Gotham fear him, and he is going to take that fear and wield it like a weapon to get his city back under control. Batman doesn't just show up in broad daylight to scare his villains, he uses tricks and shadows, and voice modulation to make it seem like he can be anywhere and everywhere at once.

But he'll also be a little like… the Immortal Hulk?

The scary thing with Batman, even to villains who have fought him over and over again across decades is that they KNOW that under his suit he is just a man. But still he seems to be impossible. You fire a dozen armor piercing rounds into his torso, and you still know by the time you race down the stairs to your getaway car, he's going to be there, ahead of you. And he is going to HURT you. They fear him because they can't, for the life of them, understand how he does it, which gives him this supernatural air. To the bad guys, Batman is like Michael Myers. He keeps getting up when it shouldn't be possible to get up anymore. How can you win against him? You'd have to be crazy to try.

Alfred is still dead.

Even Bruce Wayne is a figure of the shadows. He is a billionaire industrialist, but he is strange and a little reclusive. The last vestiges of his more conservative style would have gone out the window with the death of Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred laid out clothes for Bruce. With him, he would have dressed a bit more like his father. More sweater vests like the old money he is. Without Alfred, Bruce is pure practicality. He wears BLACK. So does Selina… They go to a different type of Gotham City gala. The Old Money Gotham is corrupt and broken. Instead, Bruce goes to the young money of the city to help finance its reconstruction.

And so is "Playboy" Bruce Wayne.

With Selina on his arm, the "Playboy" Bruce is dead. Every waking minute is dedicated to the rebuild of Gotham City, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. He is in control of every room he enters, and people are a little frightened of him. He is one of the richest people in the world, and he has experienced so much loss. But it's clear he's trying to make the city better. People admire him, because most people in his shoes would have LEFT Gotham a long time ago.

And he's going to make Gotham City Great Again.

He has just faced tremendous failure in the last year of story. He lost his City, and lost his way… But now that he's back, he has an almost manic intensity. He is going to FIX things. He's going to make it so nobody like Bane can ever do this to the city again.

The new age of Batman comics begins in January. Subscribe to the newsletter here.

BATMAN #86
NOV190411
(W) James TynionIV (A) Danny Miki (A/CA) Tony S. Daniel
It's a new day in Gotham City, but not the same old Batman. With Bane vanquished and one of his longtime allies gone, Batman has to start picking up the pieces and stepping up his game. Batman has a new plan for Gotham City, but he's not the only one. Deathstroke has returned as well, under a mysterious new contract that could change everything.
Beginning a whole new chapter in the life of the Dark Knight, the epic art team of Tony S. Daniel and Danny Miki are joined by new series writer James Tynion IV!
In Shops: Jan 08, 2020
SRP: $3.99

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