The Identity of the New Batman Has Been Revealed [Spoilers]

The headline of this article is kind of a minor spoiler already, but DC itself let it out in its June solicitations; Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman #41 will feature a brand-new Batman who kind of looks like a robot with bunny ears carrying a giant handgun.

Who is this mysterious figure? Apparently, DC's Free Comic Book Day offering, Divergence #1, has the info, and word has spread across the comics Internet. Read on if you want to know, and plug your ears now if you would like to be surprised when the issue comes out May 2.

So here's the big reveal: It's Jim Gordon in a battlesuit.

According to IGN, "One of the stories included in Divergence #1 showcases a smoking, clean-shaven Gordon reluctantly agreeing to take control of this GCPD-sponsored battlesuit."

Gordon has already undergone some big changes of late, namely losing his job as commissioner in Batman Eternal. This would seem to be a further extension of his changing status in the wake of whatever's going to happen in the Joker-centric "Endgame" storyline.

This makes Gordon the sixth in-continuity new Batman in recent decades, by my count. Before him, we had Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael) taking up the mantle in the "Knightquest" story, Dick Grayson becoming Batman after Final Crisis, Damian Wayne taking up the mantle in an alternate future, and Thomas Wayne as Batman in Flashpoint. Terry McGinnis also shows up as Batman Beyond in Futures End.

The story in Batman #41 falls in line with what's happening with every major DC character post-Convergence, with new costumes and status quo changes in store for them all.

Of course, Gordon becoming a new Batman doesn't mean that Bruce Wayne is necessarily going anywhere. The past few years of Batman comics have proven that these stories can more than sustain multiple Bat-people running around, at least temporarily.