Batman 28: Surprise!

[espanolbot]

Updated with more scans and stuff
In an interview with DC's web series on youtube, Scott Snyder said that Batman 28 acts as an intermission in the current Batman Year Zero storyline, taking place in Batman's future/present in 2014. Essentially he said that the issue acts as a peak at the status quo in six months time, taking place within the main plot of Batman Eternal and acting, roughly, as issue 39.5 of that series.

Two things he mentioned: Harper Row has a superhero identity now, and Gotham has a surprising new kingpin of crime. In the following scans, we possibly see both of those things, plus a welcome return to the DCU...

Background, it's later this year, and Gotham is under lockdown after a biological weapon is detonated in the poorest part of the city. As the police and underworld crumbled, a new head of crime emerged: Selina Kyle.

She's not really on good terms with Batman anymore, but when Batman and the stungun-wielding Bluebird (Harper's new superhero codename) ask her for information on the plague, she shows them her best source of information on the subject.



"Sup?"

More scans up later, but the issue is avaliable from Comixology, go grab it if you can.

Oh yeah, and this is the video I got the above info from.

"Lego Movie + Scott Snyder Drops Batman Spoilers - DC All Access (202)" (Watch on YouTube)

An interesting interview with Scott Snyder over at CBR about the return of Steph and Selina's new role,
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=50862

And the Cass issue is addressed,
One of the other ex-Batgirl characters that fans have been clamoring for has been Cassandra Cain. Since now we have Stephanie Brown, does that also open the gates for Cass?

The first Tweets I got about the book were like, "We're so happy about Stephanie! Now can we get Cassandra back?" [Laughs] All I would say is that we definitely have ideas for Cassandra and we want to bring her back the right way. Sometimes it comes down to when DC thinks that's the right thing to do, and hopefully one of the stories we have in mind will bring her back in a way we're all happy with. I'd hope to -- I mean I love the character, I wrote her in "Gates Of Gotham" and had a blast.

Still kind of a non-answer, but considering the creators of Batman Eternal have said they're allowed to use any characters in the Batman Roster (hence Steph being allowed back into things) and Scott being a longtime fan of Cass, I think that we're closer to her reappearing now than we were this time last year, at least.

Comments

[arilou_skiff]

"Two things he mentioned: Harper Row has a superhero identity now, and Gotham has a surprising new kingpin of crime. In the following scans, we possibly see both of those things, plus a welcome return to the DCU..."

For a moment I read that as Steph being the new Kingpin of Crime.

[espanolbot]

Heh heh heh, that would explain what she and Cass had been doing for the past two years... But nah, it's Selina. :)

[shadowpsykie]

i hope it's selina trying to keep the gangs under control....

[darkknightjrk]

That's basically what it looks like--events during Eternal causes the traditional crime power structure to collapse and Selina is the one who picks up the pieces. Plus she does end up helping Batman with something that could save Gotham, so it's not like she's a complete heel now.

[icon_uk]

It's always the ones you least expect.

[lego_joker]

I am now inspired to write a fanfic about that...

[shadowpsykie]

go ahead, i am apparently the Slash fic guy in this group lol

[jaybee3]

"Steph being the new Kingpin of Crime"

That idea alone might have made the reboot worth it.

[kurenai_tenka]

I clicked because I thought the spoiler would be the Nightwing/Harper thing... but I'm pretty happy to be spoiled on this too. :D

[darkknightjrk]

They do clearly establish that she's not Nightwing--her costumed alias is "Bluebird."

[kurenai_tenka]

Oh really? Huh. Oh well, still pretty cool.

[espanolbot]

As suggested by Selina, after a bird her cat dumped on her pillow. :D

[shadowpsykie]

wait really?

[espanolbot]

Nah, my mistake. Updated the scans, see above.

[shadowpsykie]

oh hah

[junipepper]

Right. I'm sure the costume is just a coincidence.

Speaking of costumes, I do like Steph's.

[espanolbot]

Seems like a mix of her Batgirl and Spoiler costumes, I approve.

[shadowpsykie]

yeah it's a redesign i actually like completely (i'd love to see what she looks like with the mask... i hope it's a dominoe like i designed it :D

[red_menace]

This isn't fair. I was done with DC for over a year and they do this?

[ablackraptor]

EEEEYYYYY!!!!! =D

Is this Steph's full appearance in this issue or is there more, because if there's more, I'm definitely getting this.

[shingi70]

Nope this is her only apperwnce with the issue with a sizable the story starts in Batman Eternal on the page.

[shadowpsykie]

oh, i see what you did there... clever

[big_daddy_d]

I was just thinking the same thing.

[zapbiffpow]

Niiiice. She's back!

Can't wait for her to kick some Joker's Daughter butt. Or even Regular Joker butt.

[damar148]

I'd be happy if I wasn't mostly sure that:

A - They will just remember the worst of her and not the Steph we've come to love
B - She will die quickly and painfully.

[espanolbot]

Well Snyder is an established fan of both Cass and Steph (Gates of Gotham was originally going to star Cass as the main protagonist as she explored her newly adopted family's history, only for Editorial to nix that for a Dick and Damian headed emsemble story with Cass instead, and Harper Row was created due to Editorial's refusal to allow Cass to ccross over into the DCnU... though Harper is a great character in her own right, I will admit), and since he seems to be the main Bat Writer at the moment (and is nominally in charge of Batman Eternal, the series Steph will be co-starring in in April) I think that she should be getting a fair treatment...

...At least until they decide to forgive Lobdell and invite him to write her, or toss her to Geoff Johns to use as cannon fodder in one of his tedious crossover stories.

[icon_uk]

Gates of Gotham was originally going to star Cass as the main protagonist as she explored her newly adopted family's history, only for Editorial to nix that for a Dick and Damian headed emsemble story with Cass instead

Really? That does surprise me, since I can't see the plot working for a Cass led story. It's about the history of Gotham and it's powerful families, which makes sense with Dick and Damian (One raised by Bruce Wayne, the other his biological son). Cass' ties and apparent interest in Gotham are fairly minimal.

[mrstatham]

I suppose we might have seen a heavier emphasis on the Wayne family in that story had the idea gone ahead with Cass as the lead. As it is, the involvement of Hush - so soon after having his Bruce Wayne face ripped off - always seemed a little suspect and last-minute, to me.

[jaybee3]

My takeaway from Snyder's non-answer answer about Cass is that there is still someone at DC (Didio? I doubt it was the now-departed Mike Marts) who still does not want to see Cassandra back in print.

I mean Didio had issues with Stephanie (clearly) but he was the one who had her replace Cass as Batgirl (even if it was only a stopgap for what he really wanted - Babs back) and he was the one who promised "big plans" for Cass when they replaced her and Cass was/is the most successful solo Asian hero in DC's pantheon to date. There are more reasons to bring her back than not and yet....DC still want to hold off on it.

[jaybee3]

One of the reasons I didn't want to see Steph or Cass return (under the current Editorial regime at least) is because I thought they would be used as cannon fodder. I still am not completely shaken in that belief and that it will happen eventually.

[arilou_skiff]

"Spoiler"

I see what you did there.

[silverhammerman]

The artist probably could have chosen a better outfit for Selina to be wearing for the "No more sexy silliness" speech. She looks kind of over the top vampy, and it doesn't fit with with her mission statement.

Not sure about Bluebird/Harper Row carrying a gigantic tazer rifle, it looks more than a bit goofy, but interesting overall.

I look forward to Snyder spending the next 36 issues, all of them totally necessary, bringing us up to speed on this status quo.

[darkknightjrk]

"She looks kind of over the top vampy,"

That's...kind of who Selina Kyle is, though.

As for the 36 issues crack--it should be noted that Snyder's merely over-seeing and plotting the overall story, and co-writing the first "arc" with James Tyrion (which will introduce Steph). The rest will be a rotating set of writers including Tyrion, Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes, and Kyle Higgins, which I'm sure will keep things fresh.

[mrstatham]

Except she isn't saying 'no more sexy silliness', she's informing Batman that Catwoman is gone. That doesn't say Selina can't be sexy, and.. To be frank, she looks better here than she has since the new volume of her own book started.

Wanna talk feisty?

[big_daddy_d]

How about the look on Stephanie's face? It screams, "The moment I'm out of these ropes, I am gonna smack me a pussy!"

[jaybee3]

So a question to everyone: do you think is this confirmation that if and when we see Cassandra again in the Bat-books she will be an "all-new" character just like Stephanie supposedly is now?

Because that is so....no words to describe it. The idea that all four male Robins can retain most (if not all ) of their backstory and history with Bruce but the two former Batgirls (and only canon female Robin) can't is horrible. Especially since the idea there were 4 male Robins is much more convoluted in this timeline than Black Bat/Spoiler.

[big_daddy_d]

You actually raise a good point. I do hope at least Steph's history with Tim is still intact, because it does seem like from those scans that Bruce has never met her before.

In regards to Cassandra, thinking about it, I think unfortunately introducing her as brand new is the way they'll have to go. Shiva seems like she's the same age as Dick in current continuity but I might be wrong. Still considering how old Cass is supposed to be, she'll either have to be introduced as younger or she'll end up in Earth 2.

[darkknightjrk]

"I do hope at least Steph's history with Tim is still intact,"

Signs point to no, but I believe Tyrion has said that his portions will include a lot of Steph/Tim interactions, so while the original history isn't there, he's going to be rebuilding it.

[mrstatham]

At this point? I wouldn't want them to try and squish Cass in there. The compressed timeline's a mess enough, plus having to acknowledge a history for her at all means possibly having to acknowledge the complete and utter dork era she went through for several years. The same goes for Steph; I love her Batgirl run, but it only partly worked because they largely ignored War Games - And with the current regime at DC, I have zero faith in them not dredging that back up.

Four Robins is sure convoluted, adding Steph and Cass into the mix just makes it even more of a clusterfuck, surely? I'd rather they just treat them as new characters but retain the classic personalities for them.

[espanolbot]

Kind of hoping that with the soft reboot they clarify the "Four Robins At Once" thing, as it really seemed kind of stupid. Since Lobdell is leaving, and since he's the one that seems partially responsible for that retcon maybe they'll stagger the timeline a bit more?

[lego_joker]

Dustin Nguyen on art? Awesome. Selina as lady-gangboss? Also awesome. Steph back? Also also awesome.

Scott Snyder writing... I'll give it a tentative chance.

[crinos]

Wow, so after all the petty childishness of doing everything in their power to erase Steph from existence, to the point of even recoloring appearances of her in non Main universe works to make her Barbara and even recoloring fanart of her, they're bringing her back just like that?

This is leading to something horrible isn't it? I mean I can't imagine anything they can do to poor Steph than Black Mask with the power drill, but I'm sure they can, I'm sure they got something terrible planned for her.

[espanolbot]

Could give DC the benefit of the doubt to say that since BE is part of their 75th anniversary Batman celebrations... but I think that the creative staff like Tyrion and Snyder were just waiting for the "Eh, use whoever you want" approval that'd allow them to sneak her in.

[chrisdv]

even recoloring fanart of her

Wait, what? When did that happen?

[espanolbot]

There was meant to be someone dressed as Steph in Lil Gotham's Halloween issue, and allow the person was blonde in the initial previews when the issue was properly released they suddenly had a different hair colour.

[starwolf_oakley]

Given Dick Grayson now has Cassandra's "body reading" powers, I wonder if Stephanie has some kind of precognitive power, giving new meaning to "Spoiler."

Batman seems to have gotten over his "If Harper keeps trying to help me she will wind up dead" problem.

[espanolbot]

Well it seems that she's been getting some tutoring from Batman's other surviving sidekicks, so it's possible that she's slotted into the "I disapprove but will accept her help" role Steph used to inhabit.