Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Batman, dc comics, fear state, gotham, gothamgossip

Gotham Gossip – Fear State, Poison Ivy and a Dead Batman

Published Tue, 10 Aug 2021 12:19:12 -0500

Last updated Fri, 12 Nov 2021 06:03:51 -0600

James Tynion IV wanted the Batman comic book line from DC Comics to reflect the Jonathan Hickman X-Men line, all interlinked, all moving forward with a creative lead, all singing from the same songsheet, and a destination in mind. Before he jumps ship of course. Well, in that case, just like Bar Sinister's Red Diamond, you need the Gotham Gossip…. and Bleeding Cool is happy to oblige. Some will be from comics published today, meant to be published this weekend, or published later this month. So turn on your spoiler warnings… now!

Jonathan Crane, The Scarecrow, is the hero of his own story. He aims to help society by delivering a shock to its system and that's what Fear State is. As we alluded to earlier, he aims to shock everyone, letting the population of Gotham be changed for the better, just like when Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, and he wants the credit!
The Joker is also the hero in his story, according to Punchline. He does what he does purely because he just wants Gotham to man up – just like Clownhunter has.
How can Poison Ivy be in two places at one? Readers of that Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy series may have a clue, and recently in Swamp Thing. Ivy is in Alleytown with Catwoman, rescued from being used as a drug source, but also as Queen Ivy in her own Eden with Harley Quinn, the Gardener, Mr Wyze and Miracle Molly. But what will happen when the two meet again?
With Queen Ivy growing a thick jungle underneath Gotham that's putting the entire city in imminent peril, will Harley restore Ivy's memory with Ivy II?
Simon Saint brings Magistrate program to Gotham, that made masked crime-fighting illegal in Future State, manipulating Mayor Christopher Nakano into approving his squadron of Peacekeepers to dispatch super-villains in brutal fashion.
The Magistrate has control over your phone, your internet, your TV your computer, and can mould the media and social media as they wish. Including turning it all off, or replacing it with their own advertorials.
Which won't go down well with Punchline – did you know she is running the Joker gang of clowns from her prison cell, courtesy of the mobile phone she mentions to Harper Row? Looks like they have some inefficient searches in that establishment.
What if Oracle was to tell you not to trust The Magistrate, sure, or the police, understandable in Gotham, as well as the government, but also Batman and the Batfamily – but only trust in you and yours? And afraid of everyone else? That's the Anti-Oracle, as appearing in Nightwing, spreading deliberate misinformation among the Bat-family
Future State gave us an Arkham Knight working against The Magistrate with her team of Arkham Knights. But wasn't she incarcerated in Arkham Asylum during A-Day?
Somehow she got out. Future State also showed us a world where Batman was believed to be dead. Might the idea of a dead Batman be enough to push Gotham into a Fear State?
And if people believe Batman is dead, because Anti-Oracle has told them, wouldn't that be an opportunity for The Next Batman to step up? And combat the very street-level violence provoked by the Anti-Oracle.
Huntress still has her psychic superpowers, making her rather distinct in the current Gotham gallery of good guys and bad guys.
While the Magistrate may be taking down mask-wearers in Gotham City, as in our own world, people wear masks for different reasons than to obscure their identity and avoid responsibility. Quite the opposite, even…