Tynion: Cassandra Cain is the key to this entire story, and it's such a huge honor to be able to bring her
back into continuity — and more than that, introduce her to a whole new generation of readers, because it's been a while, even in pre-"New 52" continuity, since Cassandra Cain was up front and center in the Batman line.This is a character who meant a lot to me growing up and is one of my favorite characters in the Batman mythos. Having the opportunity to introduce her in the same way we introduced Stephanie Brown as Spoiler is such a huge part of my excitement for this series.
We have something huge planned for her. She's not a small part of the story. She is key to this story.
The main characters in this story are Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain and Harper Row.
And then we have all of the Robins playing a huge part in the story.
But in terms of the emotional heart and the mystery, it really come down to those three.
Yes, because Jason, Tim and Damian can't possibly have emotional moments in this set up. I can't see how their reaction to Dick being alive isn't the center of the story. The fact he lied, did something very Bruce like and isn't in fact dead. Jason and Damian died and I'm sure they'd feel strongly about Dick faking it. I don't mind Cassandra being in this because it's about time. Harper being center doesn't feel right even if I'm wary about the writers characterizations for the other Robins.
Nrama: You mentioned a lot of characters, but one of the people in the two-page spread that Tony Daniel shared with us last week was Duke Thomas. And it looks like he's wearing a Robin costume, which could be a result of his We Are Robin role. He's also playing a role in Scott's Batman story. Does Duke play a role in the weekly too?
Tynion: Duke Thomas and the cast of We Are Robin will definitely be making an appearance. They'll be playing a role in this as the story moves forward.
They're not necessarily the core focus, but they are definitely playing a part. We wanted to cover every aspect of the Robin mythos as this story is moving forward. They're a crucial part of exploring this stage of Robin in the DCU.
I have zero interest in this and really wish it wasn't a thing. I just have a very clear idea what I think Robin should be and this group isn't it. Not unless Bruce has a split personality now, formed them and is planning on adopting them all.
Nrama: With Bruce Wayne out of the picture right now, I assume you're utilizing the character in flashbacks — as we see in the pages you're sharing — showing Bruce's history with this new character, "Mother." Is she the main villain in the story? In Batman Eternal, you turned the tables every once in awhile and readers weren't sure who the main villain was. Is it up front this time?
Tynion: We wanted to be a bit more upfront this time. And more than that, we wanted to try the hardest thing a person can do in the Batman mythos, which is create an A-list villain, create someone who is absolutely terrifying, and who can operate on a global scale in a way that grapples with Batman and the entire Batman family.
The heart of the story is that it's a balance between the past and the present. The idea that Bruce came face-to-face with Mother, many years ago, while he and Dick Grayson were off on a global adventure.
At the time, Dick thought that they were up against something much different than the actual case proved to be. And Bruce was protecting Dick from the actual threat, by keeping him out of the loop.
Now that she is returning in the present, and Bruce Wayne is not there to be able to tell them what happened all those years ago, that's one of the most dangerous things that can be happening. They are not going to know who to trust.
So it's another case of Bruce keeping important life saving information away from others which is going to blow up in their faces. Wonderful.
And when Cassandra Cain emerges, knowing something about this threat but not fully being able to tell them about that, that's going to be really exciting.
Mother is one of the scariest concepts I think I've ever had. And getting a chance to bring her to life in a story on this scale means a lot to me. I cannot wait to scare readers with her like she's scared me.
There are also characters that are connected to her and are operating around her.
Well at least someone else is around that knows what's going on although Bruce might not have known that. Not much to say about Cassandra since not much is revealed here. If this Mother is the figure with the white hair she reminds me a bit of Essence.
Nrama: The last weekly also had a situation where readers were part way into the story, then found out the regular Batman titles would jump forward to the end of the weekly before the weekly was finished. Can you describe where — or rather when — Batman and Robin Eternal falls within the Batman universe right now? With Bruce Wayne not being part of the story, it sound current. Will it catch up at the end? Will it be current then?
Tynion: Yeah. I mean, the goal is that this will take place within the current DCU. Key things are happening to all the characters, and the ramifications of it will spill out into the other books.
There are always little things that you don't expect, like I remember in the first Eternal, we shifted the beats a little bit forward to set up Catwoman and Arkham Manor when those books launched — to help bolster the line and make sure those pieces were grounded in what we were doing in Eternal.
Those moments, I'm sure, will happen again. But this book is designed to really unite the Bat-line. Those are always exciting conversations to have. We're all working together, and that's one of the benefits of having so many writers from the current Batman line involved in this book. There's no secret things happening elsewhere. We have the writers of Batman, Grayson, Midnighter and Catwoman sitting in the room with us as we plot this whole thing out.
I'm pretty sure it wouldn't connect with RHA beyond the costume change. Maybe I'm being a pessimist but there characterization of Jason wasn't spot on in the last series to say nothing of other characters.
But in terms of the emotional heart and the mystery, it really come down to those three.
Yes, because Jason, Tim and Damian can't possibly have emotional moments in this set up. I can't see how their reaction to Dick being alive isn't the center of the story. The fact he lied, did something very Bruce like and isn't in fact dead. Jason and Damian died and I'm sure they'd feel strongly about Dick faking it. I don't mind Cassandra being in this because it's about time. Harper being center doesn't feel right even if I'm wary about the writers characterizations for the other Robins.
Nrama: You mentioned a lot of characters, but one of the people in the two-page spread that Tony Daniel shared with us last week was Duke Thomas. And it looks like he's wearing a Robin costume, which could be a result of his We Are Robin role. He's also playing a role in Scott's Batman story. Does Duke play a role in the weekly too?
Tynion: Duke Thomas and the cast of We Are Robin will definitely be making an appearance. They'll be playing a role in this as the story moves forward.
They're not necessarily the core focus, but they are definitely playing a part. We wanted to cover every aspect of the Robin mythos as this story is moving forward. They're a crucial part of exploring this stage of Robin in the DCU.
I have zero interest in this and really wish it wasn't a thing. I just have a very clear idea what I think Robin should be and this group isn't it. Not unless Bruce has a split personality now, formed them and is planning on adopting them all.
Nrama: With Bruce Wayne out of the picture right now, I assume you're utilizing the character in flashbacks — as we see in the pages you're sharing — showing Bruce's history with this new character, "Mother." Is she the main villain in the story? In Batman Eternal, you turned the tables every once in awhile and readers weren't sure who the main villain was. Is it up front this time?
Tynion: We wanted to be a bit more upfront this time. And more than that, we wanted to try the hardest thing a person can do in the Batman mythos, which is create an A-list villain, create someone who is absolutely terrifying, and who can operate on a global scale in a way that grapples with Batman and the entire Batman family.
The heart of the story is that it's a balance between the past and the present. The idea that Bruce came face-to-face with Mother, many years ago, while he and Dick Grayson were off on a global adventure.
At the time, Dick thought that they were up against something much different than the actual case proved to be. And Bruce was protecting Dick from the actual threat, by keeping him out of the loop.
Now that she is returning in the present, and Bruce Wayne is not there to be able to tell them what happened all those years ago, that's one of the most dangerous things that can be happening. They are not going to know who to trust.
So it's another case of Bruce keeping important life saving information away from others which is going to blow up in their faces. Wonderful.
And when Cassandra Cain emerges, knowing something about this threat but not fully being able to tell them about that, that's going to be really exciting.
Mother is one of the scariest concepts I think I've ever had. And getting a chance to bring her to life in a story on this scale means a lot to me. I cannot wait to scare readers with her like she's scared me.
There are also characters that are connected to her and are operating around her.
Well at least someone else is around that knows what's going on although Bruce might not have known that. Not much to say about Cassandra since not much is revealed here. If this Mother is the figure with the white hair she reminds me a bit of Essence.
Nrama: The last weekly also had a situation where readers were part way into the story, then found out the regular Batman titles would jump forward to the end of the weekly before the weekly was finished. Can you describe where — or rather when — Batman and Robin Eternal falls within the Batman universe right now? With Bruce Wayne not being part of the story, it sound current. Will it catch up at the end? Will it be current then?
Tynion: Yeah. I mean, the goal is that this will take place within the current DCU. Key things are happening to all the characters, and the ramifications of it will spill out into the other books.
There are always little things that you don't expect, like I remember in the first Eternal, we shifted the beats a little bit forward to set up Catwoman and Arkham Manor when those books launched — to help bolster the line and make sure those pieces were grounded in what we were doing in Eternal.
Those moments, I'm sure, will happen again. But this book is designed to really unite the Bat-line. Those are always exciting conversations to have. We're all working together, and that's one of the benefits of having so many writers from the current Batman line involved in this book. There's no secret things happening elsewhere. We have the writers of Batman, Grayson, Midnighter and Catwoman sitting in the room with us as we plot this whole thing out.
I'm pretty sure it wouldn't connect with RHA beyond the costume change. Maybe I'm being a pessimist but there characterization of Jason wasn't spot on in the last series to say nothing of other characters.
I was moderately excited for this after Daniels' interview last week but this interviews have reminded me that is gonna be more of the same nonsense that Eternal was. Neither Tynion nor Snyder seem to have a proper understanding of the Robin legacy (and making Harper a major player is stupid) I may be a huge Jason fan but truth is, if there's a character that deserves the spotlight here is Damian. A huge part of his character arc was him becoming worthy of carrying the Robin legacy and eventually, Batman's so it says a lot of Tynion and Snyder that they rather shill their OC's than write the kid who DIED because he wanted to be worthy of the Robin name.
ReplyDeleteI do question Tynion having a grasp on Batman lore in general and characterzation-wise. It's harder to say with Snyder because he hardly does anything with any Robin besides Dick. I could see Harper as an ally not a potential Robin.
ReplyDeleteJasons' time as Robin always gets underplayed or treated like he was a horrible sidekick. I'd like to see that attempted retcon fully undone. Sure Damian deserves it but it feels more like a build up than them ignoring him. A big problem with these team ups is that they barely feel like a family. DC should work on that before they start trying to promote newer characters.