The introduction of a new Batwing in April is building a bit of mystery. Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have hinted that the new Batwing may be a someone readers already know. In their recent interview with Comicosity, Palmiotti and Gray said that their vision of Batwing will tie closer to Batman Incorporated and the rest of the Batman Family.
Hints:
- Batwing will be a more international book than just Africa-based
- There is unfinished business in Africa
- Strong ties to Wayne Enterprises
- A different perspective than any other character wearing a Bat symbol
- The suit design will change and the modifications will make sense given who is in the suit
- The suit is not armour
- The secret identity is vital to the character, his superhero life and his personal life
- The reveal of the secret identity would be catastrophic to those around him
- A fresh start, but will not alienate current readers
- This character wanted to be part of Batman’s world, gets the chance, and “desperately doesn’t want to screw it up”
Place your bets!
A new character with a familiar tie
Odds 3 to 1
Palmiotti and Gray have been evasive and have spoken more about the sort of character that is under the Batwing mask, not so much the actual person. Much like Talon, this could be a character who ties tightly into the New 52 Bat mythos but has not been seen before.
Some obscure character you’ve sort of heard of but are not really familiar with
Odds 5 to 1
It’s a surprisingly crowded DCU given the grumbles of the vocal minority about “benched” characters. Batwing may well be a character we have some familiarity with but not a A-, B-, or even C-list name.
Terry McGinnis
Odds 5 to 1
The star of the successful and beloved series Batman Beyond, Terry is the favourite going into this — either a new version or even a time-jumped one. We have a few time travel elements turning up in the DCU after nearly two years of the Flashpoint breakwall halting trips up and down the timeline.
Kirk Langstrom
Odds 10 to 1
Man-Bat has been missing from the New 52 and we could see Kirk turn up with a removable Bat suit instead of the topless, winged version we have known.
Tim Drake
Odds 10 to 1
Tim is still running things in Teen Titans, but it might be time for the Red Robin to take a new role in the Batman Family.
John Blake
Odds 20 to 1
Robin John Blake from The Dark Knight Rises has been hinted at for introduction into the comic universe, as happened with our next candidate.
Renee Montoya
Odds 25 to 1
The lowest odds I’m giving a female character, Renee exists in the New 52 but has so far not been seen. She will need a new background as Renee was not the Question in the post-Flashpoint continuity.
Jason Bard
Odds 30 to 1
A bit on the obscure side, Jason was a Gotham private detective who most recently appeared for a while as Batman’s investigator in the One Year Later era.
Thomas Wayne Jr (Lincoln March)
Odds 40 to 1
Not seen since the end of Night of the Owls, Bruce’s brother (or is he?) would be a shocking twist.
Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown
Odds 50 to 1
Wally West
Odds 75 to 1
In the wishful thinking category, we have three benched characters with fan-bases desperate for any glimmer of hope that these characters will turn up in the New 52. A padded suit would of course be necessary for Cass or Steph.
Lucius Fox
Odds 60 to 1
Well known to the film audiences, Lucius would have to hit the gym pretty hard to be the body under that suit.
Robot
Odds 75 to 1
A way to tie one of the older or female characters in would be to have Batwing be a robot or android controlled by our hero. Lower stakes though, non-sentient robots aren’t crowd-pleasers.
Harper Row
Odds 80 to 1
Harper’s role has been growing and she is expected to be in a costume within a few months. This would be a surprising place for that costume though.
Alfred Pennyworth
Odds 100 to 1
My personal favourite long-shot. With the death of Damian, Alfred rededicates himself to the work of Batman Incorporated in a very hands-on way. (I tweeted Jimmy and got a non-denial “Hmmmmmm”)
Booster Gold
Odds 250 to 1
It looks like Palmiotti and Gray will be writing Booster in All Star Western, why not have him in both books?
Damian Wayne
Odds 500 to 1
Yes, he’s dead. But he could get better.
The new Batwing is introduced in Batwing #19 on April 3, 2013.
Other characters who have come up in Twitter conversations: John Paul Valley, Sasha Bordeaux, Squire (I don’t know who that is), and “that parkour Bats from France”
I haven’t actually read Batwing, but if these
guys white-wash one of the *only* Black male leads in a solo ongoing
title I may blow a fuze. It’s bad enough they’re trying to move the
character “beyond” Africa.
In my opinion the only people on these list that seem likely are Cassandra Cain and Lucius Fox. The writers kept using male pronouns, so unless they are intentionally throwing us off, it’s probably not Cass. Has Lucius been in the New 52? If not, they might make him younger, they’ve already done that with a ton of the DC characters. A new version of Terry McGinnis is an interesting idea. Hopefully, if they go with that, they make him both Black and from Africa, preferably the Republic of Congo.
It would be great if it was Dawn, a supporting character from Batwing who also fights crime in Tinasha. But she has the same problem as Cass, the writers using male pronouns in the interview.
Well, the Squire has already become the new Knight in Batman Incorporated #9, so she’s out.
Ultron?