One of the most surprising announcements of the new DC Studios line up movies and TV shows is the one of the new DCU Batman. Gunn’s video let the world know that a new Batman will is coming to the DC Universe in a movie titled The Brave And The Bold. In that movie, apparently, Batman will be a father to a young Damian Wayne, who also becomes Robin. While this is, definitely a choice to make, it leads me to wonder if this approach is a reaction to the other Batman franchise currently going on over at Warner Bros. Discovery. Read on for how I think this new DCU Batman is more of a reaction, than anything else.
James Gunn Separates The Batman(s)
Image via Warner Bros. Discovery.
Right off the bat in the announcement, James Gunn made it clear that Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, and Todd Phillips’ Joker movies are separate from the main DCU. Those will be Elseworld titles; out-of-canon stories taking place that don’t connect to the larger DC shared universe. Which is a much-needed clarification. Great!
Now, the main DCU Batman will be a version from Grant Morrison’s amazing comic book series that introduced the character of Damian Wayne. After a tumultuous relationship with Talia al’Ghul, Bruce Wayne learns that he fathered a son with her, Damian. With a newfound son back in his life, who then becomes Robin, it’s a challenge, unlike anything Batman has faced before. Fine. But that brings up some issues.
Is The New DCU Batman Skipping A Lot Of His Comic Book History?
Image via DC Comics.
Zack Snyder’s treatment and introduction of Batman in the old DCEU through Batman v. Superman got a lot of criticism. Mostly because he introduced a much older Batman with a lot of his comic book stories relegated to the character’s past. Fan’s felt cheated that they didn’t get to see those stories in live-action. In Snyder’s version anyways. His Batman was older, more experienced and spent significant years already as Batman before audiences ever met him. Which also means that one of the most famous DC Comics storylines, one that saw the second Robin, Jason Todd, murdered by the Joker, happened off-screen in this version.
Similarly, if the DCU Batman is getting introduced with Damian Wayne as the fifth Robin, this automatically means that we’re losing a lot of the character’s history with the previous Robins in this universe. Not to mention a lot of character development for this DCU Batman. However, I think it all makes sense when you consider that we are concurrently going to get another Batman, in the Matt Reeves Elseworld franchise.
The DCU Batman Could Be A Reaction To Reeves’ Batman
Image via Warner Bros. Animation.
Matt Reeves The Batman gave us a much younger Batman just coming into his own. So doing something similar with the DCU Batman would be repetitive and honestly, not that interesting. It would be watching two creators’ approaches to the same character, releasing at the same time. There would be unnecessary overlap and potential re-treading of the same material, even if the creators don’t discuss them beforehand.
But that’s why I think the DCU Batman is older and a father, adapted from the new 52 comic storylines. DC Comics New 52 also introduced the idea of a Bat Family. So the new DCU focusing on that element of Batman stories is a brilliant move. And it’s also the best of both worlds. Because, as the DCU progresses, its new Batman can move forward by focusing on the creation of the Bat family, while introducing established characters in this new DCU, like Nightwing, Red Robin, Jason Todd and potentially many more without the baggage of origin stories. Their introductions can happen through flashback stories or whatever framework the creators choose to construct.
While at the same time, Matt Reeves The Batman can move forward with a different take on how a younger Batman grows, the villains he meets, and potential Robins he might train— in a way that doesn’t step on the toes of the DCU Batman.
It’s like having your Bat-cake and eating it too.
Stay tuned here for more on the DCU Batman franchise as we find out.
What do you think of an older Batman being a dad in this new DCU? Does it waste stories that happened in Batman’s past? Or are you excited for new stories of this version moving forward? Let me know in the comments below.
