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SDCC: Alfred Pennyworth As An A.I. For Batman #1? The Gotham Panel

SDCC: Alfred Pennyworth As An A.I. For Batman #1? The Gotham Panel at San Diego Comic-Con with Matt Fraction

At the beginning of the month, Bleeding Cool ran a little gossip about the September launch of the new Batman #1 by Matt Fraction, Jorge Jimenez and Tomeu Morey, following on from Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair's Batman H2SH run, concluding with Batman #163. Even though that's only out at the end of October, by which time the new Batman volume will have had its first two issues out. So how did we do? Well we don't have the comic itself yet, but the Gotham panel at San Diego Comic-Con with Batman editor Rob Levin, Matt Fraction, Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Daniel Warren Johnson, Dan Jurgens, and Kyle Higgins onstage has just finished. And thanks to Jace Milam for being in the audience with a camera and a social media account!

Previously I said "that rather from following on from H2SH, it will follow on from the Chip Zdarsky run more… this Gotham, with Jim Gordon as a beat cop, Vandal Savage as Police Commissioner, and Arkham Tower still in play in Gotham City itself, is heading more to the worlds of Robocop, Judge Dredd and Blade Runner, satire and critique on policing in the modern city state. While also having a vigilante running around knocking heads." Matt Fraction on the panel talks about inheriting the status quo of Vandal Savage and the police department, and the "disturbingly militaristic" presence they'll have in Gotham. Look at this new preview page.

I said "The biggest difference is probably the way Gotham is portrayed, a rich mix of different neighbourhoods and areas, of wealth inequality, the good, areas, the bad areas, the parks, the city blocks, the underpasses, as distinct and separate personalities within the mass of Gotham. This is not new for Batman, but maybe there hasn't been quite as much of it." And Fraction says he has loved planning out locations in Gotham. Like this.

I said, "King Croc seems to have been going through some changes, according to the Arkham Towers files. Getting more monstrous?" Matt Fraction teased that  Killer Croc will evolve in a unique way. I said, "The only sop to H2SH seems to be an absence of the Batfamily from Gotham – though not all of them." Well, only Tim Drake is being shown in the previews and the upcoming solicits.

More controversially, I said, "Meanwhile Alfred Pennyworth has returned from the dead in the form of an A.I. – and yes, we have seen that before. This one seems to follow Batman around, hologram or hallucination? We will see. And who built it? Well, the solicit for Mister Terrific Year One #4 for August reads "Bruce Wayne arrives at his doorstep with an unexpected proposal."" Okay, so no news on who built him, but the panel preview does suggest that, doesn't it?

He's Batman's A.I. assistant in butler form it is looking like. Ask Jeeves? Batman #1 by Matt Fraction, Jorge Jimenez and Tomeu Morey is published on the 3rd of September 2025. And panel attendees got a pin as well.

DC Comics: Gotham City
Saturday July 26, 2025 12:30pm – 1:30pmPDT
Room 6DE
Walk the dark and gritty streets of the DC Universe with top DC comic book creators for news and surprises involving Batman and the other protectors of Gotham City. Moderated by DC group editor Rob Levin.

BATMAN #1
(W) Matt Fraction (A/CA) Jorge Jimenez
A BOLD NEW ERA OF BATMAN STARTS HERE! A new day dawns for the Dark Knight Detective as Eisner Award-winning writer Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen) joins forces with superstar artist Jorge Jimenez (Batman, Summer of Superman Special) for an unforgettable new era of Batman! The best superhero in comics gets a brand-new first issue to kick off this new era that will test Batman and Bruce Wayne like never before! $4.99 9/3/2025

MR TERRIFIC YEAR ONE #4 (OF 6) CVR A DAN MORA
(W) Al Letson (A) Valentine De Landro (CA) Dan Mora
GUEST-STARRING BRUCE WAYNE! Michael Holt's first outing as Mr. Terrific goes terribly awry, and he barely escapes with his life. But just as he's about to hang up the leather jacket for good after one single use…Bruce Wayne arrives at his doorstep with an unexpected proposal. But that's not the only surprise guest star…in the present, a mysterious young interloper rescues Mr. Terrific from a parademon onslaught! Retail: $3.99 8/27/202

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