'Gotham Knights': How DC Comics' 'Batman & Robin Eternal' saw sidekicks unite in a Batman-less world
The new 'Gotham Knights' video game, featuring four of Batman's most famous sidekicks, has gotten everyone talking. It's up to Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin to keep Gotham safe after the mysterious death of their mentor, Batman. The game will doubtless draw on several comic book runs for inspiration, and with the reveal of the appearance of the Court of Owls, many are turning to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's famous start to the New 52 with the 'Night of the Owls' storyline. However, there is another series that deserves a closer look as well, featuring Batman's sidekicks teaming up in a world without Batman: 'Batman & Robin Eternal'.
'Batman & Robin Eternal' was the sequel to the highly ambitious 'Batman Eternal', a weekly series set in Gotham that turned the whole city upside down and introduced several key figures to The New 52 DC Universe for the first time, including Spoiler, the introduction of Harper Row as Blue Bird, and the setting up of Catwoman as a new criminal kingpin. 'Batman & Robin Eternal' came out in 2016, with an impressive roster of writers who included James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Tim Seeley, Steve Orlando, Genevieve Valentine, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Ed Brisson, and a team of artists: Tony S Daniel, Paul Pelletier, Scot Eaton, Alvaro Martinez, Roge Antonio, Fernando Blanco, Fernando Pasarin, Christian Duce, Andrea Mutti, and Marcio Takara, with colors by Gabe Eltaeb. Like 'Batman Eternal' before it, the series came out weekly, which is what made the large team of artists and writers so necessary.
The story was set in a strange time for DC Comics. Dick Grayson was no longer Nightwing after his secret identity had been exposed to the world, he was operating as a secret agent for Spyral known only as Grayson. Harper Row had just taken up the mantle of Bluebird, and Batman had, in a climactic battle with the Joker, lost his memories of being Batman leaving only Bruce Wayne behind. While Bruce Wayne lived, Batman was, for all intents and purposes, dead, leaving his sidekicks behind to keep Gotham safe. The story went back and forth between two timelines, both exploring the same mystery of a shadowy organization that raised perfect, brainwashed young children who were bred to be the epitome of whatever their purchaser wanted and it was soon discovered that one of these children might have actually been purchased by Bruce Wayne to become his sidekicks after the death of Jason Todd.
There have been other times where Batman's "death" has led to his sidekicks stepping up. Grant Morrison's run on 'Batman & Robin' came just after Batman's apparent death in 'Final Crisis,' and saw Dick Grayson take on the Batman mantle. 'JLA: The Obsidian Age' saw Nightwing take Batman's spot as the leader of the Justice League after the original League was presumed dead after a trip to the past. Various alternate futures have also seen a take on a world beyond Batman, but 'Batman & Robin Eternal' is the story that gives Batman's sidekicks and proteges the most focus without turning them into another version of himself.
The series was notable for introducing the ultra-competent Cassandra Cain back to the DC Universe, who hadn't been seen since The New 52 reboot. It's also an especially relevant series in the light of one of the main features of 'Gotham Knights' -- the death of Batman. Though Bruce Wayne isn't technically dead in the series, he has no connection to any of his former sidekicks, and Batman had, at least at the time, forever been laid to rest. The series is one of the first to focus exclusively on Batman's sidekicks alone, and how they work together based on the legacy he left behind. It also asks some important questions about the nature of Batman's proteges: was Batman truly raising a family, or was he training his personal army of child soldiers?
With a 2021 release date, there is plenty of time to catch up on the comics that may have inspired 'Gotham Knights.' 'Batman & Robin Eternal' is a must-read for anyone who is as big a fan, or bigger, of those who aid Batman in his war against crime, and whoever wondered if there was more to the hero-sidekick relationship than meets the eye.
