Announced more than a year ago, Batman/Catwoman will reportedly delve deeper into the rocky romantic relationship between Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne. The story will feature three different timelines - one in the past that shows how the two originally fell in love, one in the future after Bruce has died, and one in the present, where both Batman and Catwoman must deal with the return of the Phantasm and interference from the Joker. Batman/Catwoman will build off of King’s Batman run, which ended with issue #85, but will be its own, separate series outside mainstream continuity.
The inclusion of the Phantasm in Batman/Catwoman will mark her first appearance in the mainstream DC Comic Universe. The character first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm as part of the DC Animated Universe. In the movie, the Phantasm is behind the murder of several mafia bosses in Gotham, which Batman investigates. It is eventually revealed that the Phantasm is actually Andrea Beaumont, Bruce’s former girlfriend whose parents were killed by the mob. While the events of the movie are not comics canon, Andrea and Bruce will still have a romantic history in Batman/Catwoman. This time, however, she comes to Gotham in search of her missing child, who she believes was taken by the Joker.
Ties to the beloved movie have only heightened anticipation for Tom King and Clay Mann’s Batman/Catwoman series, and the creators have taken to Twitter to excite fans even further, with series artist Clay Mann sharing a sinister teaser image for the series depicting none other than the Phantasm:
The image shows the Phantasm in the darkness of an apartment, the hand of their victim clawing at the window, where an arc of blood implies the attack that just finished. In fact, the arc of blood is fitting for the character, who has been depicted with a scythe-like prosthesis in prior media. But Batman/Catwoman is offering far more than a retread of the famous movie. Andrea having a child should make for an interesting twist, particularly if there’s any chance Bruce Wayne is the father. This would obviously be a serious blow to Bruce and Selina’s relationship, and it could mean that the Joker kidnapped the son of Batman without even realizing it.
Regardless, based on Mann's image, Andrea will be on the warpath once she arrives in Gotham. While writer Tom King shared a static version of the image, Mann's is animated, with the hand sliding down the window as “Carol of the Bells” plays in the background (with creation credited to babylonbuz), which ties into the series’ December debut. The Phantasm is one of DC’s darker characters, so it’s fitting that her first mainstream comic appearance is in a series from DC’s Black Label, which handles more mature content. With free rein within their own dedicated continuity, there's no telling what misery King and Mann intend the Phantasm to bring to Batman and Catwoman when she arrives on December 1.
Source: Clay Mann