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The Death Of A Toyman In Batman #131 (Batspoilers)

Published Tue, 03 Jan 2023 06:27:12 -0600

Last updated Tue, 10 Jan 2023 10:53:56 -0600

Upcoming solicitations for Batman reveal a back-up strip with Jon Kent and Tim Drake battling an "overpowered" Toyman in Gotham, while trying to find Batman from wherever he ended up. But today's Batman #131 puts a little wrinkle in that. Playing with… action figures? But how further does this go?

The Toyman was originally Winslow Percival Schott created by Don Cameron and Ed Dobrotka in Action Comics #64 in 1943, a Superman supervillain who used remote-controlled toys in his crimes. He was placed by Bud Cort in DC cartoons, Chris Gauthier in Smallville and in Supergirl by Henry Czerny. He has appeared briefly of late in the New 52, but not for some time. But now with Batman gone… shoved through dimensions by a mysterious supervillain gun…

…with Tim Drake correctly diagnosing something similar to what happened with Batman in the Batman RIP storyline…

… it's revealed that something very significant happened with Toyman. It has often been pointed out that he might make a better Batman villain than a Superman villain.

But wat was he doing in the earlier scene? Is he dead or not? Were those words a suicide note? What might his death have to do with Batman's disappearance?

BATMAN #131 CVR A JORGE JIMENEZ
(W) Chip Zdarsky (A) Mike Hawthorne, Adriano Di Benedetto (CA) Jorge Jimenez
Gotham City has never been darker or deadlier. And after Failsafe, there is no Batman to save it. Can the fractured ghost that roams the streets survive? Whatever happened to the man known as…Bruce Wayne?
Retail: $4.99 In-Store Date: 1/3/2023

BATMAN #132 CVR A JORGE JIMENEZ
(W) Chip Zdarsky (A) Mike Hawthorne, Adriano Di Benedetto (CA) Jorge Jimenez
The mean streets of Gotham City have gotten meaner as the likes of Harvey Dent and Killer Croc roam free, brutalizing the population. Where is Batman and why hasn't he responded to the cries of a city in peril?! Can Bruce Wayne find the answers before the mysterious Red Mask captures him? And in the backup story, Tim Drake's hunt for Batman continues. Will Metropolis's newest Superman, Jon Kent, be able to help the Boy Wonder with this Multiversal mystery, or will they both run afoul of an overpowered Toyman?!
Retail: $4.99In-Store Date: 2/7/2023

BATMAN #133
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
Art by MIKE HAWTHORNE and ADRIANO DI BENEDETTO
Cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
Backup art by MIGUEL MENDONCA
Variant cover by JOE QUESADA
Variant cover by STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU
1:25 variant cover by DERRICK CHEW
1:50 foil variant cover by STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/7/23
Everyone goes insane eventually. And then they belong to the terrifying Red Mask! But Gotham City has a new savior. He strikes from the shadows, exhumes the dead, and is known only as…the Batman.
And in our backup story, Tim Drake's search for Batman continues as he and Superman, Jon Kent, team up to stop the terror of the Toyman!

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