DC Comics is changing, and the Bat-Family need to change with it. COVID-19 has challenged the comic book industry, resulting in mass layoffs and less willingness to take chances in a strained market. Solicitations for the months have shown multiple books being canceled in favor of consolidating bankable properties, but there's one such property fans of a certain bat-themed hero have been craving for a while: a Bat-Family focused book.
Bat-Family character books like Batgirl, Young Justice, and Teen Titans, are all wrapping up. Dick Grayson only recently regained his status after years as an amnesiac. Batwoman is also on the outs after gunning down Clayface, though she seems to be repairing connections with Batman during the Joker War. Alfred isn't around either, which has placed a major strain on the Bat-Family.
But there is some hope for fans of the Bat-Family. "Joker War," the ongoing storyline pulling at all Batman's ing cast, hints that Batman may be forced to fix his relationships to win his war against the Joker. In an interview with Screen Rant, writer James Tynion IV commented on the recent state of the Bat-Family:
I think we've been seeing this breaking of the family for a long time... I always want to be clear about what I'm promising here, because a lot of people associate me with a lot of of the Batman family, and would prefer that I put every single member of the Bat-Family in every single issue of Batman. That's what I did in my Detective Comics run, and I'm not necessarily planning on doing that here. But it is something I want... I want to heal some of the rifts in the Bat-Family in a way that helps create new stories, shifts some status quos. A robust Bat family is part of the Gotham City experience. And as we move into 2021 that is a key part of it. Some characters haven't had the spotlight in a bit, like Cassandra Cain. There are characters I deeply want to get a bigger spotlight, and you can start to see that on covers for Joker Warzone. We've got big Bat-Family plans, and we've got a big exciting ending. Batman #100 is a lot of fun. So stay tuned.
Tynion’s Detective Comics run was praised for the fun Bat-Family dynamics, showing an interplay that had been missing for years. Tynion reignited important relationships as well: Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain, who have not been seen together since the 2000s, Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown’s young love, and the sibling dynamics as seen in "The Trial of Batwoman." Similarly, the ongoing Batman: the Three Jokers promises a team-up between Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, and Jason Todd, and with "Joker War" seeming to have an endgame of bringing the Bat-Family back together, these stories may be enough to set the Bat-Family back on an even keel. Even if a dedicated Bat-Family book doesn't emerge this year, Tynion's comments offer some hope that 2021 may be the year of the bats.
