Bruce Wayne is leaving Gotham and heading abroad in Batman: The Dark Knight, a new miniseries just announced by DC Comics, but from what information has been released so far, it doesn't seem like he's going there for a relaxing vacation.
This new six-issue series from the creative team of Tom Taylor (DCeased, Suicide Squad) and Andy Kubert (Batman: The Dark Knight-The Master Race, Superman: Up in the Sky) will present readers with a weathered, aging Bruce Wayne, battered and worn from his countless run-ins with the various villains of the DC Universe. Some unknown tragedy has befallen the United Kingdom and it seems to somehow be related to Batman, prompting him to take a trip overseas to get to the bottom of the matter. There, he'll be going up against never-before-seen foes, with DC teasing new villains named Equilibrium and Gentleman Ghost to foil Batman's mission.
But Batman won't be alone. According to the series' announcement from DC, Batman will have at least one ally by his side throughout his adventures. Apparently, either Knight and/or Squire (basically the UK version of Batman and Robin, as seen in the pages of Batman Incorporated) will be aiding the World's Greatest Detective as he searches for clues and the meaning of the cryptic message "BATMAN 147" that was left at the scene of a fatal plane crash. Check out some of the preview pages DC provided below:
There's no dialogue in the preview pages, but in some way they still speak volumes, showing Bruce Wayne, bags packed, literally turning his back to Wayne Manor and what looks to be a burning Gotham City as the Bat-Signal beckons for his help in the background. What could possibly have happened that was so important Bruce had to abandon his city while it's seemingly in mid-peril? Batman also looks to have a new suit for his overseas trip, sporting what seems to be more like a bat-winged trench coat as well as goggles on the top of his cowl that don't look terribly dissimilar to the ones Ben Affleck's Batman wore in Batman v Superman's post-apocalyptic nightmare sequence.
The miniseries' seeds apparently were planted nearly a decade ago, according to Taylor. "I actually pitched a Batman idea to (editor) Ben Abernathy all the way back in 2012 and, nine years later, we were able to find a place for this in Batman: The Dark Knight," Taylor says. "The idea was about taking something away from Batman that no one's ever tried to take before. And from that, a new, unique Batman villain was born.” He added that this version of Bruce Wayne would be a "world-weary Batman."
"He's a bit older, he's a little slower, but he's efficient...While this is about an older Dark Knight, we also had an opportunity to flashback to his past, to see a younger Bruce Wayne in training in a way never expanded on before,” Taylor concluded.
Kubert said the story is like something he's never done before.
“This series is a different take on the character than I had done before,” said Kubert. “Every story that I have done with Batman has been different in tone, and the art takes on a life of its own as the story dictates. Batman and Son, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader and Dark Knight III-The Master Race along with Flashpoint Batman, had their own look and feel for that particular story. Batman: The Dark Knight is no different.”
DC's announcement raises countless questions and offers few answers, which will be sure to entice readers once Batman: The Dark Knight launches on April 13.
Source: DC Comics