Batman Writer Tom King Confirms Return to Watchmen Mystery Coming Soon

Tom King’s run on Batman is quickly coming to an end with only six issues remaining before the finale of “City of Bane” in Batman #85 later this year, but before it’s all over the story will circle back to something that remains a bit of a mystery in the story — The Comedian’s iconic smiley-face button. King confirmed that Batman will be revisiting “The Button” in his run’s penultimate issue. Batman #84.

In two replies to fans on Twitter on Saturday, King confirmed that fans will be getting more about “The Button” right before the end, something that appears to be set as an explanation of how Flashpoint Batman ended up in the main universe. You can check out both of King’s tweets below.

As fans will recall, “The Button” was a four-issue crossover between Batman and The Flash in 2017. Co-written with Joshua Williamson, the story saw the two heroes investigate the discover of that iconic button inside the Batcave. The story was part of a larger buildup towards Doomsday Clock and, in part, saw Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne, who became Batman instead of Bruce Wayne who was killed in that timeline) reintroduced. In “The Button”, Thomas appears to die along with the rest of the Flashpoint universe, but later reappears as one of Bane’s main allies in King’s run. How he survives the destruction of the Flashpoint and makes into the mainstream universe isn’t revealed, but now fans know some sort of explanation is coming.

Confirmation that Batman will be revisiting “The Button” is just part of the exciting Batman-related news on Saturday. During Batman Day celebrations in New York, DC announced the new creative team taking over the title beginning with Batman #86 in January. Replacing King as writer on the series will be James Tynion IV. He will be joined by artist Tony S. Daniel, inker Danny Miki and colorist Tomeu Morey.

“I loved writing stories for [Batman] Eternal, Detective Comics, and even Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but my desire to tell a Batman story, one focusing solely on Bruce Wayne instead of an ensemble, is what drove me back to the Batcave,” Tynion said in a statement. “I want to dig deep into the Bat himself and tell an epic story that pushes him to his absolute limits. I want to tell a Batman story like the kinds I grew up loving, one that embraces the horror and gothic elegance of Gotham and dives deep into Batman’s greatest villains.”

Are you excited that King’s Batman will revisit “The Button”? Let us know in the comments below.