Warning! Contains a preview for Batman #126
As seen in a new preview for Batman's new era, the meaning behind the 'Dark Knight' is changing (and it's not a good thing). While Bruce Wayne is known for his constant brooding and darkness as a vigilante dedicated to avenging the deaths of his parents, Batman has reached a significant all-time low in light of recent events. Even by normal Bat-standards, the Dark Knight has become so incredibly dark it's downright concerning.
It's no secret that Gotham City and its criminal elements have been throwing everything it has at Batman in recent years. Following Catwoman leaving Batman at the alter a few years ago, Bane subsequently murdered Bruce's surrogate father Alfred shortly after. Likewise, this led to the Joker War war where the Clown Prince of Crime stole nearly all of Bruce Wayne's fortune and assets to fuel a massive citywide takeover. Likewise, the major threats to Gotham have been generally non-stop with Bruce barely having time to breathe (not to mention his various family struggles). Most recently, Batman #125 featured the death of Penguin who staged events to frame Batman as his killer. Furthermore, Tim Drake's Robin was also shot in the neck and put in critical condition (giving Batman traumatic flashbacks to the death of Jason Todd).
Now, the new preview for Batman #126 from new writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Jorge Jimenez confirms that Batman is in a far darker place than the Dark Knight has ever been in before. While he's always had an underlying sense of hope that his crusade ultimately matters and is worthwhile, that optimism no longer seems to exist with all that's happened to Batman both recently and the resulting culmination of the last few years. Here are the preview pages and synopsis for the upcoming issue:
BATMAN #126- FAILSAFE, PART TWO
Batman has battled all manner of criminals, monsters, and super-villains, but nothing could have prepared him for what’s coming with Failsafe, an unstoppable foe that can outfight and outthink the Dark Knight—but could a dark connection to Batman’s past be the answer? In the backup, Catwoman is piecing together the lineage of one of Gotham’s most notorious criminal families...and it’s not for the faint of heart!
For any fan of Batman, this preview is extremely disheartening. Suffering from nightmares about Joker, feeling as though he can't marry Catwoman, wanting happiness for his family of allies but feeling as though he's robbed them of the chance, it's all extremely depressing. Batman can't even find the silver lining in Penguin's death given his resignation that someone else will simply step in to fill the vacuum. Believing that it's all pointless and unending, it's clear that someone needs to pull Bruce out of this major pit of darkness he's fallen into. While the Bat-Family has naturally been concerned about Bruce who's been spending all his time as Batman, perhaps it's time for a more intentional intervention.
Tragically giving the "Dark Knight" name an even darker meaning with this extremely pessimistic attitude, it's clear that Batman needs some serious help based on this new preview. In the meantime, it seems as though a new robot foe of his own creation has gone rogue (named Failsafe). The full Batman #126 releases on August 2nd.