The New 52
In 2011, DC decided to relaunch their franchise by returning superhero storylines back to #1: a relaunch they named 'The New 52'. This included titles such as Action Comics (Superman) and Detective Comics (Batman) that had been categorised numerically since the 1930s. This move was to entice new readers, in hopes that changes made would draw them in by making the comics feel more accessible through this newfound entry point. But was this the case?
As a collector of the 2012-released British reprints - featuring three individual American-issued storylines within a single comic - I was a little behind in terms of storylines, as these were originally released in America in 2011. My collection has focused on Batman storylines primarily, collecting comics such as The Dark Knight, Batman, Batman: Arkham Unhinged, Batman Superman and most recently Justice League: Trinity Wars (form an orderly queue ladies). This alone suggests how the identity of Batman is fragmented and ill-defined within multiple storylines. Readers are expected to follow these individually whilst accepting them all at the same time, which is problematic to say the least.
I personally became interested in comics after reading Frank Miller's excellent and significant installment in the history of Batman, The Dark Knight Returns (1986). I realised how political comic books were, and how they represented the social mores of the time in which they were publicated. Along with video games, I began to study Comic book history in relation to film at University. Whilst I may not be able to flex the muscles of my comic book knowledge as extensively as others, it's fair to say that after this research I came to reach a fair understanding. It is easy for me to continue collecting by this point, as I was one of those readers they aimed to entice from the start of this revamp, and entice they did. But what can be said of the person who wishes to enter the world of superheroes at this point? I want to discuss here the difficulty that new readers can expect to face through thoughts and experiences I formed along my own journey. This is my origin.
As a collector of the 2012-released British reprints - featuring three individual American-issued storylines within a single comic - I was a little behind in terms of storylines, as these were originally released in America in 2011. My collection has focused on Batman storylines primarily, collecting comics such as The Dark Knight, Batman, Batman: Arkham Unhinged, Batman Superman and most recently Justice League: Trinity Wars (form an orderly queue ladies). This alone suggests how the identity of Batman is fragmented and ill-defined within multiple storylines. Readers are expected to follow these individually whilst accepting them all at the same time, which is problematic to say the least.
I personally became interested in comics after reading Frank Miller's excellent and significant installment in the history of Batman, The Dark Knight Returns (1986). I realised how political comic books were, and how they represented the social mores of the time in which they were publicated. Along with video games, I began to study Comic book history in relation to film at University. Whilst I may not be able to flex the muscles of my comic book knowledge as extensively as others, it's fair to say that after this research I came to reach a fair understanding. It is easy for me to continue collecting by this point, as I was one of those readers they aimed to entice from the start of this revamp, and entice they did. But what can be said of the person who wishes to enter the world of superheroes at this point? I want to discuss here the difficulty that new readers can expect to face through thoughts and experiences I formed along my own journey. This is my origin.
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3 & Xbox 360)
As a novice, I found Arkham Asylum was a good place to enter the Batman series from. I played this game in 2009 after hearing numerous positive reviews about the game. Whilst many superhero games prior to Arkham Asylum came across as flat and unadventurous, e.g certain Spiderman installments (i'm looking at you Spiderman 3), Hulk and Wolverine. Batman Arkham Asylum, for the most part, moved away from Nolan's film Batman Begins to form it's own unique standalone storyline. I say 'for the most part' as there are some elements of Nolan's Batman that seeped through to add to the gameplay elements of Arkham Asylum. I am referring to the smart cape designed by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and is operationally explained within the films. The origins of the smart cape are not explained within the game, as players are expected to understand it's function already, by having watched the film. Whilst it is a small point to make, the fact of it is that one Batman - from one entirely separate representation - is unconsciously merged within the player's experience through the representation of another. They are from two different universes as far as storylines are concerned, yet they are portrayed one and the same.
Arkham City
Arkham City
The reason for Arkham Asylum being a good entry point for new fans was its introduction to the many villains within Batman's current and previous encounters: some are introduced within the game, while others are given unlockable bios through the use of detective mode on objects that are directly linked to each particular villain, adding depth to their backstories. The portraits that accompany the bio's are true to the comic book representations, which helps to serve as an introduction to these characters and the bio's themselves are fairly informative. | This introductory element continued through to Arkham City but moved away from the written explanation/caricature to instead introduce them through optional side-missions that can be ignored by the player if they so desire. There were also moments within the storyline where Batman could witness these villains/characters for brief moments of time with the potential of missing them (characters such as Deadshot, Black Mask and Azrael), this added a further level of player participation within this introductory process. |
Arkham Origins
In 2013, a prequel to the franchise was released: Arkham Origins. This storyline is one of many 'Batman origin' storylines that already exist through films, comic books, and now videogames. Mentioning Batman Begins earlier helps to further prove the fragmented aspects of Batman at play here: a character whose history is constantly reset and redone by carrying elements across from separate examples into one confused 'whole'. Origins took this step further.
In 2013, a prequel to the franchise was released: Arkham Origins. This storyline is one of many 'Batman origin' storylines that already exist through films, comic books, and now videogames. Mentioning Batman Begins earlier helps to further prove the fragmented aspects of Batman at play here: a character whose history is constantly reset and redone by carrying elements across from separate examples into one confused 'whole'. Origins took this step further.
To focus on the downloadable content for this game, Initiation: a part of DLC made available to players who own Origins. Those who have seen Nolan's Batman Begins will be able to see direct relations between the film and the videogame franchise here in the trailer above: what once seemed separate now merges with Nolan's films that continued to gain popularity. Whilst the gameplay focused on within the trailer appears similar to scenes at the start of Begins - where Bruce Wayne (Batman's alter ego) trains with the league of shadows - there is differentiation through the presence of a character introduced in Origins, Shiva (seen at 1:00). It is as if the games now want to associate themselves with the successful portrayal of the Dark Knight, suggesting that many aspects of Nolans storyline are becoming established features of canonicity within Batman's currently 'accepted' timeline. This brings me on to the future and final release of the Origins franchise, Batman: Arkham Knight, that will be released at some point in the relatively near future.
The trailer for Arkham Knight (2014/15?) goes FAR beyond the release trailers for Arkham Asylum (2009), which - whilst basic - focused on aspects of gameplay where the player took down thugs and stalked them in detective mode. This trailer places more weight on narrative themes such as that of fatherhood, which again draws similarities to the Nolan films through Bruce Wayne's relationship with his father, the philanthropist Thomas Wayne. If you need further proof, just take a look at the Batmobile at 1:13 - it is almost exactly the same as the one featured in the film. Compare this to the Batmobile seen in Asylum, which appeared much less advanced and most importantly less militarised. The example now seen in Origins adheres to the 'realistic' combat ready urban example seen previously within Nolan's trilogy. The films and games are increasingly becoming one and the same through this future installment, taking aspects of one and adopting it into the other.
Arkham Unhinged: Issue 4 (British Reprint, April 2014)
The storyline of Batman Arkham is based on the video game franchise of a similar name, relating directly to the events leading up to the video game Arkham City (pictured below).
Four pages into this storyline, Dr. Hugo Strange (one of the villains within Arkham City) speculates on the fear Batman instills within inmates. Three panels are then shown which represent Batman differently based on DLC skins - that were released and made available for purchase - allowing players to change the appearance of Batman so that he more closely represented famous examples within his history. One panel shows Frank Miller's Batman, with the fat bat across his chest from The Dark Knight Returns; another shows the Batman from Batman Incorporated; whilst another depicts the futuristic Batman from Batman Beyond. The only consistency within these panels are the criminals Batman preys upon, who are very clearly centered within the universe of Arkham City through the themed gang related costumes they wear. The criminals recount these different versions of Batman in terms of his aesthetics, yet in each panel he performs similar actions, one of the criminals describes him as being different yet familiar. Here he is portraying different Batmen, yet they are all essentially the same character. | As aforementioned, Asylum was a good entry point to the comic book universe, therefore these unlock-able costumes should provide another way for players to be introduced to the history of the comic books and other formats Batman has appeared through. Yet, the three examples mentioned within these particular panels - where each criminal sees different Batmen - are directly linked to the DLC costume packs. By including the DLC costumes within the comic adaptation, this reinforces a level of authenticity to the DLC which had once merely been regarded in terms of their aesthetics, and did not affect the story. Here the criminal's descriptions of Batman could each potentially be accurate as it is possible for the player to wear each of these outfits. At the same time this encourages the adoption of a 'you must purchase this, or you are missing out' mindset to the gameplay, voiced by those using the videogame to create further profitable success. The history behind each unlock-able costume is meaningless to new players - there is a background, but it is not apparent to them. These costumes are almost primarily focused at those who understand the history behind them. This means that to understand what is available to them within the videogame, they must refer back to previous comics. The relationship between the Batman films and video games, applies too within the comics and video games. |
One Knight in Gotham, or is it?
Ultimately, I find that this theme of confused, converging history occurs a lot within Batman's 'New 52' storylines, where famous scenes from previous installments often find their way back within the current examples. These moments include Bane attempting to break Batman's back from Knightfall; the Joker wearing the Red hood seen in The Killing Joke; and the Death in the Family storyline that saw Jason Todd's demise, redone albeit differently than before. Whilst the Batmen within each of these moments are arguably different representations presented by different writers and illustrators, the 'present' Batman absorbs each of their aspects into his own - whilst due to multiple installments of the Batman series currently available - splits off into even more separate storylines. It's as if you must understand past storylines to fully understand what is being portrayed within current and future issues. Whilst The New 52 did not claim to be an official restart to gain new fans, they certainly seem to intimidate them by constantly throwing insider references at them in a way that is far less memorable and impressive to read. This is unfortunate and serves to only underplay these great moments that happened previously. When Bane went to break Batman's back in Knightfall, it came at the end of the first volume - the climax of a great number of issues which progressively built up towards one backbreaking point. However, in one of 'The New 52' comic installments: The Dark Knight, this moment is reduced to a mere 12 pages or so. New recruits to the world of superheroes are required to backtrack extensively before they can hope to progress, revisiting parts of Batman's - and other superheroes' - past that are both relevant and irrelevant to the currently accepted canonicity (Jason Todd, or Robin is no longer dead, but the moment he died is still perceived as an important moment). Whilst it can be true to say that you cannot have a future without a past, the present state of comic books means that it is becoming increasingly difficult for new readers to find a valid point of entry.
Ultimately, I find that this theme of confused, converging history occurs a lot within Batman's 'New 52' storylines, where famous scenes from previous installments often find their way back within the current examples. These moments include Bane attempting to break Batman's back from Knightfall; the Joker wearing the Red hood seen in The Killing Joke; and the Death in the Family storyline that saw Jason Todd's demise, redone albeit differently than before. Whilst the Batmen within each of these moments are arguably different representations presented by different writers and illustrators, the 'present' Batman absorbs each of their aspects into his own - whilst due to multiple installments of the Batman series currently available - splits off into even more separate storylines. It's as if you must understand past storylines to fully understand what is being portrayed within current and future issues. Whilst The New 52 did not claim to be an official restart to gain new fans, they certainly seem to intimidate them by constantly throwing insider references at them in a way that is far less memorable and impressive to read. This is unfortunate and serves to only underplay these great moments that happened previously. When Bane went to break Batman's back in Knightfall, it came at the end of the first volume - the climax of a great number of issues which progressively built up towards one backbreaking point. However, in one of 'The New 52' comic installments: The Dark Knight, this moment is reduced to a mere 12 pages or so. New recruits to the world of superheroes are required to backtrack extensively before they can hope to progress, revisiting parts of Batman's - and other superheroes' - past that are both relevant and irrelevant to the currently accepted canonicity (Jason Todd, or Robin is no longer dead, but the moment he died is still perceived as an important moment). Whilst it can be true to say that you cannot have a future without a past, the present state of comic books means that it is becoming increasingly difficult for new readers to find a valid point of entry.
Would You Kindly follow the Paused Thoughts twitter page!