New Image Series Takes Shots at Batman (and It’s Hilarious)

A new comic series is calling Batman out — or rather, calling out two of the Dark Knight’s bigger controversies. In Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 from Juni Ba, the upcoming Image Comics title features hilarious nods to two of DC Comics’ more interesting controversies surrounding Batman, specifically the infamous “Death in the Family” storyline and a sex scene that DC wouldn’t allow Harley Quinn producers to include in the animated series’ third season. The references were spotted in a preview of Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1, due out March 5th (via Bleeding Cool) and are hilarious.

In the comic, there’s a sequence where the narration discusses the fate of the sidekick Monkey Girl, who “despite years as a faithful sidekick” ends up being best known for a story where she’s killed, resurrected, and comes back traumatized. It’s explained that the storyline was at the behest of the readers, who offered the character’s fate up for them to choose. While it’s a direct reference to DC Comics’ having readers vote on the fate of Jason Todd’s Robin for “A Death in the Family”, the reference in Monkey Meat doesn’t quite stop there. It goes on to reference another DC “controversy”, specifically the idea of a Batman/Catwoman sex scene in Harley Quinn in which Batman would have been performing oral sex on Catwoman — something DC firmly sad no to. How does that translate in Monkey Meat? Well, they ask “three fans” about why they voted to kill Monkey Girl with one responding “Now they can finally do what the fans want instead of the company keeping them from it. Like eat p*ssy.” You can check out the page for yourself below.

[RELATED: Harley Quinn Star Kaley Cuoco Reacts to Banned Batman Sex Scene]

The Batman Controversies, Explained (Briefly)

What makes the Monkey Meat: Summer Batch #1 “jabs” at these Batman controversies is that it provides a bit of commentary on how one thing is considered acceptable — specifically the death of Jason Todd — and the other is not. For those who may not be entirely familiar, here’s a brief breakdown of both controversies. “A Death in the Family” is a 1988 Batman storyline written by Jim Starlin with art by Jim Aparo. Considered one of the most important and iconic Batman storylines, the story sees the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, die at the hands of the Joker but it wasn’t merely a straightforward storyline. Instead, fans could call in on a 900 number to vote and, thus, determine Jason’s fate. Ultimately, the votes were not in Jason’s favor and he died. The character was later resurrected as the Red Hood, complete with a lot of trauma. The story was, even in its time, extremely controversial.

As for the Batman/Catwoman of it all, that controversy is a bit more recent. Back in 2021, Harley Quinn series co-creator Jason Halpern revealed that while they had been given a good bit of freedom by Warner Bros., there were some things they simply could not do, including a proposed sex scene between Batman and Catwoman.

“A perfect example of that is in this third season of Harley [when] we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman,’ Halpern said. “And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that,’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It’s hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.”

It’s the “selling toys” and capitalism/consumerism of it all that Monkey Meat seems to be poking at, with a character in the panel reacting to the idea that fans should dictate what characters can do: “Nah man! There’ kids characters!”

What Is Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 About?

A follow up to Monkey Meat: The First Batch, Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch brings readers back to vacation on Monkey Meat Island for “what promises to be an entertaining and gonzo escape. What could be more diverting than a vacation to a hellish west African fantasy island run by a corporation of questionable intent? Embark on a brand-new set of adventures to amuse (and mentally scar) the whole family! Exotic locations, debt-collecting forest witches, and a superhero monkey suing the corporation that owns him. All these and more await our guests.”

The five-issue series is written by, and features art by, Juni Ba. It is scheduled to be published by Image Comics on March 5th.

What do you think about Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 making a hilarious nod to some of DC Comics’ more interesting Batman controversies? Let us know in our comment section!