Those who have been following Batman during James Tynion IV’s run on the series know that the fallout from Joker War had some effects on Bruce Wayne, most notably that he is not nearly as wealthy as he used to be. The Wayne fortune is now in the hands of Lucius Fox, and while Bruce still has money, he doesn’t have nearly the money he had before, nor the resources of Wayne Tech to compliment his fortune. That means he has to fix his Batmobile and can’t just 3D print another one as Fox so eloquently put it, and in his most recent newsletter, Tynion revealed why he decided to take some of Wayne’s wealth.
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Tynion revealed that it was about restoring some balance to Batman and the landscape in Gotham. “The richer he got, and the more tools he had, and the more he learns about each of his enemies, the more it feels like Batman should be able to take down literally any threat that comes in front of him in a matter of minutes,” Tynion wrote. “So, my theory was, let’s make it harder to be Batman.”
“First, let’s bring him back to being a less problematic kind of Wealthy,” Tynion said. “Bruce Wayne, Millionaire, rather than Bruce Wayne, Billionaire. He’s not so rich that he could effectively buy Gotham City and fix it overnight. There are a bunch of much wealthier people than him in the city trying to maintain their power and influence and Batman is from their world and fighting against them, he doesn’t have the ability to just buy and sell them and walk away.”
The new limits in resources and help also give Batman something to overcome and test his determination. “Batman remembers every day that it used to be easier than it is now, and he has to push himself to new levels because he will NOT give up on Gotham City or his mission,”
“If Batman is the most powerful force in Gotham – the richest man with the most resources whose best friend runs the Police Department – then all the stories you tell about Batman become deconstructionist stories about Batman effectively fighting himself, or stories about Batman deconstructing himself and his mission,” Tynion said. “There have been a lot of GREAT stories like that, but Batman came to exist because in a Gotham City without a Batman more children would become orphans and nobody else would do anything to stop it.”
Batman #106 hits comic stores onMarch 2nd, 2021.
What do you think of the changes to Batman? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things comics with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
