In an interesting line-up of recent news tid-bits, the controversial visionary behind Man of Steel and Batman v Superman Zack Snyder has crowned Ben Affleck the "perfect Batman," we get our best look yet at Batman's costume in Titans via a behind-the-scenes video, actor Cameron Monaghan is teasing big things for Jeremiah/Proto-Joker in the final season of Gotham, CW's Green Arrow Stephen Amell puts a troll in his place on Instagram, and we have the cover and solicitation for the conclusion to DC Black Label's Batman: Damned, which promises to have Batman face his "worst nightmare."
News contents:
I. "My Perfect Batman" - Zack Snyder
II. Best Look Yet At Titans Batman
III. Stephen Amell Roasts Internet Troll
IV. The Joker Coming To Gotham?
V. Batman: Damned #3 (Of 3) Cover & Solicitation
I. "MY PERFECT BATMAN" - ZACK SNYDER
This first one is likely to be a point of contention among fans, since there was much controversy surrounding the Caped Crusader's willingness to violate his one rule in 2016's
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Set roughly
ten years after the murder of
Dick Grayson, the film showed
Batman (Ben Affleck) at a low point in his career, having abandoned his no-kill restriction and becoming more brutal than ever. This naturally led to criticisms from long-time comic readers, but nonetheless, the director Zack Snyder remains content with his version of the dark knight detective.
"I was transferring some photos from my old computer and came across this - not sure if I ever shared this one but it's cool -Leica monochrome 50mm... Ben is my perfect Batman"
II. BEST LOOK YET AT THE TITANS BATMAN
Speaking of Batman going lethal, the character made his debut as a Trigon-induced hallucination in the season finale of Titans. Dick Grayson spent the episode envisioning his former mentor going off the deep-end after the death of Commissioner James Gordon, killing his rogues gallery and any law enforcement agents that attempted to persue him. Unfortunately, Batman was only shown as a shadowy, silhouetted figure but thanks to some behind-the-scenes magic, we know what the Batman costume really looked like.
Very reminiscent of the suit worn by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's 1989
Batman film.
III. YOU HAVE FAILED THIS INSTAGRAM
On a more trivial note, an internet troll actually had the courage arrogance to challenge the Green Arrow on Instagram. Suffice to say, it didn't end well for him.
IV. THE JOKER COMING TO GOTHAM?
Fan favourite
Cameron Monaghan has just released statements to
ComicBook.com and
Comic Book Resources, dishing on what the final season of
Gotham holds for the Joker's precursor
Jeremiah Valeska and expressing his excitement for Season 5 Episode 7 (titled "Ace Chemicals"). It should be noted that showrunner John Stephens has shot down speculation that Jeremiah is the Joker himself, stating that
"Joker is somewhere out there, anonymous and unformed, in Gotham, and he's watching the actions of Jeremiah and Jerome and possibly even another one, adopting them as inspirations as the person he'll one day become." Of course, that doesn't make it any less interesting to see how his arc plays out and what role he plays in birthing the Clown Prince of Crime (who will most likely be played by the same actor).
About ACE Chemicals:
"It's obviously a huge landmark within the mythos and it is relating to Jeremiah. I don't want to say exactly what happens and how it goes down but it's really, really [frick]ing cool. I'm excited for it...
His plan succeeded. I think he's enjoying that and it's giving him a sense of ego and hubris. He has got a girlfriend now and he's more successful than he's ever been... I think that what's driving him right now and what his plan and what he's building is, he's always working or building something, is Bruce. Bruce is his special project. It's the one thing that's bothering him and nagging him because it's the one thing he didn't succeed at. That's what we see with him now is he's happyish but he's still unsatisfied because he needs to show Bruce how much he loves him, or his twisted version of love."
On his obsession with Bruce Wayne:
"He's continuing to do what he did in the last season, in that he's attacking him in extremely personal ways. You know, he wants to connect himself to Bruce and Bruce's history and his life, so he's going to be targeting things within what Bruce cares about to get to him, essentially."
V. THE FINAL ISSUE OF BATMAN: DAMNED
The first installment of the mini-series Batman: Damned kicked off DC Black Label (which publishes prestige standalone stories uninhibited by censorship), receiving a lot of attention for its use of nudity. This caused the publisher to completely rethink the imprint, as well as bringing forth a large number of delays. That being said, there's only one issue left and it is currently slated for a March 2019 release (the same day as the landmark Detective Comics #1000, in fact).
The stunning conclusion to the groundbreaking miniseries by the critically acclaimed team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo is here! Batman’s most baffling case brings him face to face with his worst nightmare in this highly anticipated finale!
Releases: March 27, 2019
US Price: $6.99