DC Comics released five pages from Batman #125.

The issue marks the beginning of a new creative team leading the title, writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Jorge Jiménez. The pages posted to DC Comics' blog show Batman dealing with a hostage situation and performing classic Dark Knight tactics, like appearing from the shadows, leaving criminals dangling from the side of a building and more. A shock from the pages is that Batman fails to save the hostages from the gunman, and that he just pulled the trigger. Someone else hired him.

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BATMAN #125

  • Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
  • Art and cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
  • Backup art by BELÉN ORTEGA
  • Variant covers by JIM LEE, SCOTT WILLIAMS, GABRIELE DELL’OTTO, INHYUK LEE, and FRANCESCO MATTINA
  • Acetate variant cover by SIMONE DI MEO A
  • 1:25 wraparound variant cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
  • 1:50 variant cover by JOCK
  • 1:125 variant cover by ALEX GARNER
  • 1:250 variant cover by CHIP ZDARSKY
  • 1:500 variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
  • $5.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $6.99 US (card stock)
  • ON SALE 7/5/22
  • Superstar writer Chip Zdarsky joins legendary artist Jorge Jimenez to define a new era in Batman!
  • Bruce Wayne is at a turning point, haunted by dreams of a dark future, while Gotham City billionaires are being gruesomely murdered. With the discovery of an archenemy’s involvement and a tragedy unfolding, the Dark Knight’s nightmares are just beginning.
  • “Failsafe” starts here.
  • And in the backup, there’s chaos in Gotham as the underworld fights over one of its crown jewels…and Selina Kyle is caught in the middle. Can she stop the bloodshed and maybe even make a little money in the process?

Zdarsky will take over the Batman title from writer Joshua Williamson after the end to Williamson's "Shadow War" event, a crossover between Batman, Robin and Deathstroke Inc. Many fans are excited for Zdarsky's take on the Dark Knight, being that he has already delivered a successful Daredevil run for Marvel Comics with artist Marco Checchetto, which was nominated for Best Continuing Series at the 2021 Eisner Awards. Meanwhile, Jiménez is already a fan-favorite DC Comics artist, returning to Batman after a hiatus following writer James Tynion IV's departure from the title after the "Fear State" event.

Jiménez and Zdarsky will kick off their first arc together with the introduction of a new villain for the Caped Crusader, Failsafe. According to the writer, the villain will act as Bruce Wayne's Doomsday, referencing the monstrous villain that killed Superman during the "Death of Superman" storyline from the '90s. Zdarsky said previously, "When DC approached me to write Batman, I immediately thought about things that could really challenge the character mentally, physically, and in terms of his relationships," continuing on to say that he is "really excited about where [he] could take the title."

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Therefore, it is possible that the gunman in the preview is actually working for Failsafe. The villain marks another deviation from Batman's typical rogues' gallery in comics. In recent years, instead of focusing solely on classic villains like Joker, Penguin, Riddler and more, the roster has expanded with the addition of characters like Punchline, Peacekeeper-01, Abyss and others. Batman also has newer allies now, like Ghost-Maker, who leads Batman Inc.

Batman #125 is written by Zdarsky with interior and main cover art by Jiménez, colors by Tomeu Morey and letters by VC's Clayton Cowles. Variant covers for the issue are contributed to by Zdarsky, Jiménez, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, Alex Garner, Francesco Mattina, Gabriele Dell'Otto, Jock, In-Hyuk Lee and Simone Di Meo. The issue goes on sale July 5 from DC Comics.

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Source: DC Comics