ScarletBatman

Batman stars in a total of 6 titles, two of which are not solo/buddy in nature. Wolverine (now) stars in a total of just 5, three of which are team books, and a fourth is a school book.

Batman doesn't feel over exposed because he's so focused in his own little world and does not appear in all (or even a majority) of the team books (to the extent that Wolverine does).

Maybe Final Crisis never happened?

Oops, I meant Crisis on Infinite Earths.

@FatihBATMAN said:

@ScarletBatman is all that in new 52, so all that has happened before that is non canon ? or just "good stories" ?

Yes.

Most of the info is gleaned from the titular character's solo comic (like Nightwing being 16, Tim not being Robin, Bruce and Jason having father/son moments, Huntress being the daughter of Earth 2's Bruce and Selina)). Stephanie has not been mentioned post-New 52 as far as I am aware, so I think she has been written out. The only real question mark is Damian, as his backstory is still a bit more obscure (read: has not been altered to fit the 5 year construct).

Damian is ten years old. Batman was the world's first super hero but no one knew it because he was a myth, a rumor at best. It wasn't until the Justice League that he was exposed as a super hero. He worked with Raz long before he became Batman, so Talia knew Bruce and knew she wanted his genetic material.

He never adopted Dick, rather Dick was a 16 and worked for Bruce part time. Sixteen is right at the age where you want a mentor but you quickly evolve into an adult who chafes under a tyrant's thumb, so it makes sense that Dick would leave.

Jason was adopted and had a father/son relationship for Bruce. He was probably killed not long after becoming Robin.

Drake's backstory has been completely changed. He was never Robin, rather "Red Robin." He adventured with Batman under that moniker before going off to found the Titans (after Dick picked Damian over him to be the new Batman's Robin).

Damian was probably a bit of a test tube baby, though he wouldn't need his development accelerated too much (unless the story of how he was conceived is still canon, in which case, yes he needs accelerated growth).

Stephanie Brown never happened.

Huntress is Bruce Wayne from Earth 2's daughter.

Barbara is the only oddity. She would have had to become Batgirl early (around the time of Dick) and paralyzed soon after that, to account for her being Oracle for such a long time (2-3 years IIRC) but still making a large enough splash as Batgirl to be well known.

There's not a lot of emotional resonance if Jason is the one who offs the Joker. He's the obvious choice, in fact he's the only member of the family that can do it without compromising who and what s/he is. That means there's no pay off or consequences if Jason is the man who does it. It has to be someone else, preferably someone who is either Bruce or has a very close relationship with him, like Dick or Damian. Of course, they could go for the big splash and have Barbara do it, goodness knows she has a reason to do it AND it is against her moral compass (therefore, interesting).

I still think, if the Joker has to die, Bruce will be the one who does it. He's the lead character in the story arc and it is his self-titled comic that is leading the charge, therefore, it makes the most sense for him to do it.

Of course, we could be looking at this all wrong. Maybe Bruce will have to choose between saving the Joker and saving a bat family member Maybe Bruce makes the wrong decision and saves the Joker. That could easily sunder the family.

Here's my end game prediction:

A big, crazy brawl occurs in Arkam. Alfred is murdered. The family tries in vain to defeat the Joker. Eventually Bruce will be forced to compromise his values to save his family... By killing the Joker. When the dust clears, the family is shocked and dismayed at what Bruce did. With Alfred dead, the glue that kept the family together through the tough times is gone. The family is sundered as the more idealistic members of the family break away. At the end of all things, Bruce is left with only Damian... And eventually Harper Row (who becomes a huge part of Bruce's life and, after a fashion, replaces Alfred in the Bat Cave).

They don't just have to show newbiness but they could show us how the batfamily grew and evolved over time. How long was Dick Robin? How quickly was Todd beaten to "death"? Is Stephanie Brown even alive? How did Barbra become Batgirl? Why did Drake take the moniker Red Robin rather than just Robin? When the hell did Bruce conceive Damian?

All of these questions could be showcased in a "Batman's Past" book.

Scott Snyder is a great writer who has crafted quite the hefty story arc with the Court of Owls. People who dislike his writing are the same people who complain endlessly about everything created by any one else. They are habitual haters.

I would love it if Marvel's double shipped books cost 3 bucks, rather than 4. Then I could actually keep pace with them.

Marvel and DC seem to have very different plans when it comes to their current line-up of comics. DC chose to pump out 52 different comics a month, where as Marvel is choosing to produce less comics but double ships the most successful/popular comics. We've seen how DC's product line up has fared over the last year - lots of titles have been canceled, with an equal number of new comics created to replace them. Marvel's new method isn't that different than before but now focuses more heavily on double shipping. How do you think Marvel's method compares to DC's? Which method do you think is superior? Is it better to produce a wider array of comics or is it better to focus in on the most popular comics, at the expense of diversity? How many titles do you think the market can actually sustain from a single company? Is double shipping a good plan, or is it stiffing the market? What about characters like Batman (and Wolverine) who are not necessarily double shipped but have so many titles we (the consumer) receive one (or more) comics starring them a week? Is it better to have as many characters starring in their own titles as possible or is the near weekly release of the same character better?