Writer Tom King built his 85-issue Batman run on Batman and Catwoman's relationship, a love story filled with ups and downs. His tenure on the book culminated in the couple's (unofficial) marriage and now, they are set to have a baby together. However, James Tynion IV -- who will follow King as the current writer of the Batman series -- will take a different approach to the dynamic duo.
In an interview with Comics Beat, Tynion revealed how his take on the Batman/Catwoman relationship will differ from Tom King's. "It’s difficult stepping into a run that has anchored itself on that relationship, especially knowing that there’s another comic coming down the road that will continue the ideas of that relationship and carry them forward in a way that Tom was looking at," Tynion said, referring to Tom King and Clay Mann's upcoming Batman/Catwoman #1.
"I definitely wanted to come at it from my own angle, which is why I wanted to explore the more villainous side of her," he explained. "Not so much in the present day, but specifically the fact that in the early days of Gotham, she was running around with characters like the Penguin and the Riddler and the Joker. The idea that she would have been a part of some of the big schemes in the beginning."
"Back when the stakes were a little bit different in Gotham. So it’s not like she did some deeply horrifying things that are going to shock Batman to his core, except for the fact that she still kept some of those things from him," he added.
What's more, Tynion went on to explain that his run will cater to both those who cared for the relationship and those who didn't. "Working with and around that relationship, which is one that I do deeply care for in the comics, and delivering something that the people who respond deeply and powerfully to that relationship as well as the readers who were not big fans of that relationship is a kind of fun two-step that I’ve been trying to dance in every issue of the book. To be perfectly blunt, I want to write a comic that both of those two camps love."
Tom King and Clay Mann's Batman/Catwoman #1 spins off right where Batman #85 left off. The issue was pushed back from its original release date. For the time being, no other date has been set.
Batman #89 by James Tynion IV, Carlo Pagulayan, Guillem March, Dammy Miki, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles is on sale now from DC Comics.