For the past year or so, Bruce Wayne’s been running around a ruined Gotham, sporting his best The Last of Us cosplay and establishing his New 52 origins in Snyder and Capullo’s ‘Zero Year’. Come this October, Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Batman are making their way back to the present day with ‘Endgame’.
The storyline, which begins in October’s “Batman” #35 will be a six-issue arc and though not many details have been released yet, the title and following quote from Snyder to CBR implies “Batman” #35 going to be a fun one.
“The next [arc] is only six issues, so it’s not a year-long, it’s not ‘Zero Year’ at all, but it’s definitely our most muscular, crazy colorful [arc] so far. In that way, this was a chance to take a breather. It does hint at stuff in ‘Arkham Manor’ and it catches you up, basically, on all the things that have happened between ‘Eternal’ to now. So if you need a primer on continuity — where Catwoman is, what happened to Batgirl, what’s going on with Jim Gordon — all that kind of stuff is going to be in this issue. It will remind you of continuity as it stands right now in the Batman world.”
Snyder’s description of ‘Endgame’ as their “most muscular, crazy colorful” story speaks to the growth that the main “Batman” title has seen lately. After the gruesome gore-fest that was ‘Death of the Family’, ‘Zero Year’ has hit a chord with fans for being a fun new take on the Caped Crusader’s origin that’s included stuff like a city overtaken by Poison Ivy’s vines, a post-apocalyptic society run by The Riddler, and Batman wearing a purple costume and riding a motorcycle. Also of note is Capullo’s growth as an artist on this title. Compare the cover to “Batman” #1 to the cover for #35 above and you’d be hard pressed to think they’re the same artist. Capullo’s experimentation with minimalism has produced some great covers and this is definitely one of them. Or maybe it’s a literal cover and Batman’s going to turn into a swarm of bats for six issues. DC failed to respond to my sub tweeting on the matter.
It’s also interesting to note how, due to ‘Zero Year’, the main “Batman” title has been out of the loop with all the developments going on in the Bat-Universe. Though I doubt many “Batman” readers haven’t been keeping up with the weekly “Batman: Eternal”, there’s surely more than a couple who just read the core “Batman” title and are going to feel shellshocked when #35 recaps events like Jim Gordon in jail or Dick Grayson “dying” and becoming a secret agent. You turn your back on comics for one year…
Plus, Tynion’s back to do a backup story with Snyder and Danny Miki! Always good to see those two around bat-territory.
‘Batman: Endgame” drops this October with issue #35 and though the title seems threatening, I wouldn’t buy the hype. There’s a second Batman title called “Eterneal” and Snyder and Capullo have been on a steady cruise I doubt they’d want to abandon. Either way, be sure to check out the solicitation below!
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
From the superstar creative team that brought you a new start to the Caped Crusader comes the story that could end him. Be there in October for the biggest, deadliest and most epic story yet from writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo — “Batman: Endgame” begins here!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
