Has a new comic scheduled for May foreshadowed the ending of The Dark Knight Rises? CJ and Jennie take a look at World's Finest and the identity of Huntress...
Potentially big spoilers in here...
It's common knowledge by now that the third and final of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies will be set well into the caped crusader's career and feature Bane, the man who broke Bruce Wayne like a Lion Bar in the huge 90s comics crossover, Knightfall. Posters, teasers and trailers all point to an even bigger threat posed by Bane - the fall of Gotham City, a masterplan attempted by R'as al Ghul in Batman Begins, and long before, that led to the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
The death of Wayne's love interest from the first two films, Rachel Dawes, has left the catflap open for Batman's longtime comic book dalliance with Selina Kyle to once again transfer to celluloid. With Nolan wrapping up his bat-trilogy, could the costumed couple settle down and sire a litter of Waynes?
A big-name interview over at Newsarama has hinted at a yes.
Former President of DC Comics Paul Levitz went some way to accidentally confirming that Batman and Catwoman's child would return this year. It's now confirmed for May's upcoming addition to the New 52 line up, World's Finest. What do we mean by return?
The series will help reintroduce the concept of the parallel world of Earth-2, the original home to DC's pre-Second World War characters and their descendants. Levitz will substitute the traditional world's finest pairing of Superman and Batman with Clark Kent's Kryptonian cousin Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L, and Huntress, Helena Bertenelli.
Levitz surprised readers by admitting to Newsarama that, following last year's Flashpoint and the changes since New 52 began, Bertenelli would revert to her former pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths moniker of Helena Wayne - the daughter of Earth-2's Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. After so many years under a different name it seems highly coincidental this identity is making a comeback.
Revisiting abandoned storylines to tie-in with movie releases isn't something unheard of in comics. Spider-Man's black costume turned up in time for its cinematic premiere in Spider-Man 3, although drastically changed for the big screen. New 52's Action Comics has taken Superman back to his 1930s roots, perhaps in part to prepare audiences for the Nolan-produced Man Of Steel, due in 2013.
Huntress' identity was changed to Bertenelli after 1985's groundbreaking Crisis on Infinite Earths apparently streamlined DC's years of convoluted storylines and character variations. The non-Wayne version of Huntress was a crusading member of a mafia clan out for brutal vengeance who mellowed over the years. She became a popular member of the fan-favourite Birds of Prey series alongside the wheelchair-bound Oracle - the former Batgirl and daughter of Commissioner Gordon.
It isn't too much of a stretch of the imagination to picture Christian Bale's Wayne and Anne Hathaway's Kyle echoing the scenes of young Bruce and his parents from Batman Begins. The "Why do we fall?" line from Linus Roache's Thomas Wayne would complete the bat-cycle, add an extra meaning to the dodgy title and possibly cause a few tears to be shed by film fanboys and fangirls.
Is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman going to bring a happy ending to The Dark Knight Rises? The inclusion of the original Huntress in World's Finest is far from confirmation, but Levitz's reveal brings the possibility closer.
Newsarama
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