James Tynion IV Confirms Tom King's Batman/Catwoman Won't Affect Main Batman Continuity. What Does This Mean For Helena Wayne?

Earlier today, Newsarama confirmed the status quo of Tom King's upcoming Batman/Catwoman maxiseries as being 'outside the bounds of continuity' and won't impact James Tynion IV's own plans for Batman and Catwoman in his Batman run. When enquired about the status quo of Catwoman's pregnancy in the main Batman canon in an interview, Tynion had this to say:

Catwoman 80th Anniversary Special #1: 'Helena' Is Not The Love Letter To Helena Wayne Tom King Thinks It Is

Catwoman 80th Anniversary Special #1 dropped this week, and well...I found it a bit underwhelming compared to the other anniversary comics that came out this year. Namely, the #750 anniversary issues for Wonder Woman and The Flash that were genuinely great, and Robin 80th Anniversary Special #1, which was also a favourite. For the 80-year-old feline fatale, however...I lamentably only liked four stories out of the ten that were featured: 'Skin the Cat', 'The Catwoman of Earth', 'Addicted to Trouble', and 'The Art of Picking a Lock.' Out of the four, 'The Catwoman of Earth' was the closest I got to getting a pre-Crisis Catwoman story.

 

As much as I would love to talk about the four stories I did enjoy from the Catwoman anniversary special (and I'll probably do it as a Patreon exclusive), I'll instead be focusing this post on the Tom King and Mikel Janín 'Helena' story. I will not be reviewing the story itself since my thoughts on Tom King's take on Batman and Catwoman is already pretty well known. But I will focus on King's interpretation of Helena Wayne's origin.

Tom King’s Upcoming Batman/Catwoman Maxiseries From The Perspective Of A Helena Wayne Huntress Fan

It has been a wild week for me this week. Not just because AT&T removed DC co-publisher Dan DiDio from his position yesterday (seemingly as part of a restructuring effort to align DC with AT&T’s multimedia platform with more emphasis on franchising and branding), but also because Batman/Catwoman writer Tom King dropped another tease bomb this week that caused my Twitter feed to blow up.

Fire & Water Team-Up: Brave and the Bold #184

The Helena Wayne Huntress blog and podcast’s Diane joins Siskoid to cover Fire and Water Network Patreon poll Christmas winner, The Brave and the Bold #184 with Batman and the Earth-2 Huntress. It’s Mike Barr’s and Jim Aparo’s “The Batman’s Last Christmas!”, with lots of Crisis talk thrown in for good measure, because it’s what Christmas Eve is all about, isn’t it?

Listen to the Team-Up or subscribe to FW Team-Up on iTunes!

This episode can also be downloaded at the Fire & Water Podcast website.

Upcoming Huntress Collections, Multiverse Comics, And More!

DOLLAR COMICS: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1
Written by MARV WOLFMAN
Art by GEORGE PEREZ and DICK GIORDANO
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ and ALEX ROSS
Reprinting the first chapter of the 1980s classic CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS!
ON SALE 09.25.19
$1.00 US | 32 PAGES | FC

This December, Something Wicked This Way Comes...To The DC Multiverse!

It is now three days after Halloween, and literally just a day after the anniversary of Helena Wayne's historic debut as the Huntress in All-Star Comics #69 on 02 November 1977. A story Mark and I happily covered for both the Halloween season and her anniversary on the same week.

We now get to talk about another story of a more ghoulish nature for the upcoming Holiday season. An upcoming sequel of sorts to the epic multiversal adventure, Dark Nights Metal, that not only follows up on Bruce Wayne's journey to the Dark Multiverse, but reacquaints him with the normal DC Multiverse. The upcoming Batman Who Laughs miniseries by Metal writer Scott Snyder and his Wytches and Batman collaborator, Jock.

Can Bruce Wayne Be Happily Married To Selina Kyle And Still Be Good At What He Does?

It's been a little over a week now since Batman #50 came out and hopefully everyone reading this post has had a chance to read it. I didn't spoil the plot twist of Batman #50 in part because I wanted to give fans a chance to read the issue and judge the story for themselves, and in part because the plot twist centred around an age-old question that I felt deserved its own post.

If you still haven't Batman #50 and don't want to be spoiled, this is your turning back point as I can't progress with the rest of this post without discussing the plot twist that prevented the wedding from taking place.

Outside of Earth-2 Review: Batman #50 (Spoilers?)

Title: Batman #50
Story: The Wedding
Characters: Batman (Bruce Wayne), Catwoman (Selina Kyle)
Creators: Tom King (writer), Mikel Janín (artist)
Publication Date: 04 July 2018
Available In: Print | Digital

Summary: As Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle prepare for their big wedding day, the couple ruminate about their past history together--from their very first meeting to their present--and think about whether or not this next step is the right future for them. Can they truly be happy together? Will their happiness cost Gotham their guardian Dark Knight? Is it a sacrifice worth making? These are all the thoughts that run through the young couple's minds as they make their way down the aisle.

So You Like The Bronze Age BatCat Marriage, But How Do You Feel About The Rebirth Marriage?

Friends have been asking me to share my thoughts on the upcoming Rebirth marriage for quite some time now, but I have to admit this was not an easy post for me to write. The fact that this is my tenth draft on this topic should speak to my ambivalence about DC's decision to revisit an idea that was canon 40 years ago for a new generation of Batman and Catwoman fans.

Rebirth Second Year Anniversary and Helena Wayne's Future

Yesterday was the anniversary of DC Universe Rebirth #1, which marked the second year anniversary of the Rebirth initiative. Admittedly, I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed by the lack of progress on anything Justice Society related apart from certain members like Michael Holt, Kent Nelson, Carter Hall, and Kendra Saunders resurfacing within the last year.

The Original BatCat Marriage Part 04: Legacy

This final part of the original BatCat marriage discussion admittedly took longer to complete than I anticipated as there was more material to cover in this final post than in the first three posts. The bigger challenge was being able to condense all of the major developments of the Golden Age Batman and Catwoman legacy during the Bronze Age into one single post. This is also the reason this post took longer to see publication.

The Original BatCat Marriage Part 03: The Wedding

We have now talked about the early adventures of the Golden Age Batman and Catwoman and the decisions they later made regarding their respective futures. It is now time to get to the part of them tying the knot. But how do people outside of their immediate orbits feel about Bruce Wayne marrying the now famous, if not notorious Catwoman?

The Original BatCat Marriage Part 02: The Bronze Age

Having discussed Bruce and Selina's Golden Age history as originally written by creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane as well as various others, we now have a strong foundation for their characters. The Bruce Wayne Kane and Finger originally developed came from a dark place of tragedy and revenge, but still believed in people, which factored into how he related to Selina Kyle.

The Original BatCat Marriage Part 01: The Golden Age

It is getting closer to the wedding issue of Tom King's Batman run and it is both an exciting and frightening time for fans. It's an exciting time because this will be the first time that the modern versions of Bruce and Selina follow in the footsteps of their original Golden Age counterparts who were married by 1977. It's also a frightening time because of the unpredictable nature of DC's corporate culture, which often subjects their mainstream line of comics to reboots, resets, retcons, and sometimes status quo shaking storylines and events.

Parallel Realities? Missing Memories? All of the Above? Batman #44 Drops Some Clues

Tom King's Batman has been something of a wild ride in that its been looking to recover past history while at the same time telling new stories since the start of Rebirth in 2016. Though King has been doing his part to follow the standards set by DC president and CCO Geoff Johns for the Rebirth project, very little has been coming together in terms of continuity and (specifically) how the past and its various reboots fit into the current one.

Supposedly, Johns' own series, Doomsday Clock, is set to provide all the answers for all the various changes DC has undergone since its inception in 1938, right through Crisis on Infinite Earths and Flashpoint. However, given that the series is being released on a bimonthly schedule, it'll be a while before we see how any of these pieces will come together. We may, however, have gotten a hint in this week's Batman #44. Spoilers ahead!

Helena Wayne 40th Anniversary: The Brave and the Bold #184

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #184
Written by MIKE W. BARR
Art by JIM APARO
Cover by JIM APARO
Bruce Wayne's Christmas visit from Earth-2 Huntress Helena Wayne is ruined when, during a mission, he discovers that his father was a filthy criminal! After a crisis of conscience and deciding to give up being Batman, Huntress helps him dig up the truth and holiday cheer abounds! It's a heartwarming tale no matter WHAT world you're from.
MARCH 01 | RATED T | $0.60 | PRINT

Batman Annual #2: Prime Earth Helena Wayne Revealed?

My original plan today was to finish my write-up on America vs The Justice Society for Helena Wayne's 40th Anniversary celebration. But then, Batman Annual #2 by Tom King, Lee Weeks, and Michael Lark also came out today with an additional surprise. Naturally, fans curiously asked me all day today what I thought of today's surprise, which can only mean one thing: we got a glimpse of the Prime Earth Helena Wayne.

Helena Wayne 40th Anniversary: Crisis on Multiple Earths Vols. 5 & 6

CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS
Written by GERRY CONWAY
Art by DICK DILLIN
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ
The Justice League of America teams up with their heroic predecesors, The Justice Society of America, in this new collection featuring three adventures that have never been reprinted before. First, the two teams face the unexpected threat from someof DC's war and Western characters, including Jonah Hex and Enemy Ace. Then, the teams must find the traitor within their own ranks. And finally, the JLA and JSA join forces with The New Gods to stop the evil might of Darkseid. This classic crossover CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS VOL. 5 collects JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #159-160, #171-172, #183-185.
JUNE 04 | RATED T | $19.99 | PRINT | DIGITAL

Batman Proposes To Catwoman In Rebirth. What Could This Mean For Our Girl, Helena Wayne?

Last week, DC Comics did the unexpected. In the pages of Batman #24 by Tom King and David Finch, Bruce Wayne got down on one knee and proposed marriage to Selina Kyle with a ring using the same diamond she originally stole (in Batman #1 from 1940) that he later bought from the owner. It was a very significant moment in Bruce and Selina's present.

Road to Justice Society Rebirth: What We Know So Far, Week 03 (Spoilers Ahead)

We are on the penultimate chapter of "The Button" this week, and while I didn't expect any Justice Society or pre-Crisis Earth-2 reveals given that this is a Bruce and Thomas Wayne centric chapter, it does setup up for some big reveals for the final chapter. I would say the biggest tease at the conclusion of this week's chapter is--POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT--a revisit of the pre-Crisis DC Multiverse and we may finally see Doctor Manhattan at last.