DC Introduces a Bunch of New Batman and Batwoman Variants

Over the years, DC’s Batman and Batwoman have been subject to a wide array of reinventions. The two mantles have been donned by many characters in some wildly different contexts — and in one of the publisher’s newest titles, a lot more iterations got added to the fray. Spoilers for Outsiders #3 from Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Robert Carey, Valentina Taddeo, and Tom Napolitano below! Only look if you want to know! 

The issue sees Luke Fox and Kate Kane / Batwoman continue their investigation throughout the DC Universe, which takes them through the catacombs of Batman’s mind. While there, Luke and Kate get separated — and each end up surrounded by different incarnations of Bat-themed superheroes. Luke gets stuck in a room with a number of Batman variants, including Batman Beyond, Flashpoint Batman, and Batman-Bane and Batman-Joker hybrids. Kate, similarly, ends up surrounded by different Batwoman variants, ranging from those with slightly-different costume designs, to a Batwoman-Joker hybrid, to Batwomen who appear to be part fish and part cat. Both of these settings forces them to reckon with Bruce’s impact on their lives.

What Is DC’s Outsiders About?

In Outsiders, following the fallout of DC’s Gotham War event, Kate Kane’s Batwoman and Luke Fox will become disillusioned with the idea of established superheroing methods. This will lead them on an exciting new journey, not of superheroism, but of archaeology, as this team-of-two delve deep into the history (and, in fact, many histories) of the DC Universe.

“What we saw with Luke and Kate was they are two characters who are ready to step outside of that framework,” Kelly explained in a previous interview with ScreenRant. “They’ve seen coming out of Gotham War, coming out of the shadow of the Bat in a very real way. They’re over it. They’ve seen the superheroes and how the superhero system functions: you put them in jail, they get back out… it’s just a giant circle. So how do we break that and the same way we break any criminal cycle is with empathy. Is with understanding the victims who are then, in turn, the perpetrators. How do we break that cycle? And that is what the Outsiders are really going to be about.

“And that’s the point of archaeology and history in the first place, is to better understand how these things have worked so that we can better understand how to move forward,” Lanzing echoed. “And so, yeah, we had several backup pitches, we really assumed that this book would never get greenlit, and they cut us off. Ben Abernathy cut us off halfway through the pitch and said, “Guys, you got it. It’s done. greenlit. Let’s go”. It’s a 12 issue Maxi-Series. They’re all 24-page one-shots that dive directly into some forgotten corner or genre or idea from the DC Universe and especially from the last decade of pop culture, and really try to look at that and understand what it means and how we can all carry it forward in our own lives and in the lives of these characters.”

What do you think of The Outsiders introducing all of these new Batmen and Batwomen? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Outsiders #3 is now available wherever comics are sold.