The following contains major spoilers for Batman: Beyond the White Knight #3, on sale now from DC Comics.
The latest issue of Batman: Beyond the White Knight features Bruce Wayne venturing off of the grid in a low-tech Batsuit -- and even going so far as to spraypaint the costume's iconic yellow logo black.
Issues #2 and 3 of Sean Gordon Murphy's alternate take on the Batman mythos see Bruce Wayne in his 60s escape from prison, spurred on by news that his family fortune has been abused by business magnate Derek Powers. Bruce donated his entire fortune to benefit Gotham City in the conclusion of Batman: Curse of the White Knight, but it was largely used by Powers to further his expanding business empire instead.
Following his escape, Bruce instantly becomes a wanted man and is chased across the streets and rooftops of an unfamiliar Neo-Gotham by a special tactics squad led by his former ward, Dick Grayson. Bruce's only companion is an artificial intelligence stemming from a microchip in his head that takes the voice of Jack Napier -- better known as the Joker. Despite a constant series of arguments with this inner voice, the former Dark Knight manages to make his way to one of his safehouses. There, he reveals an experimental Batsuit that he developed ahead of the Batman Beyond outfit. Earlier in the series, Derek Powers manipulated Terry McGinnis into stealing the Batman Beyond outfit from the ruins of the Batcave.
In the "Murphyverse," Bruce became increasingly disillusioned with his Batman identity and learned that he wasn't even a true Wayne descendent in the conclusion to Curse of the White Knight. Intent on defeating Powers without resorting to his old identity, Bruce paints over the logo on his newly-uncovered prototype suit, telling the Joker voice in his head: "...We're doing this without Batman."
Bruce's prototype suit lacks the bells and whistles of his previous costumes and is a far cry from the Beyond suit, which can turn invisible, fly and eavesdrop on conversations thanks to special sensors. Nevertheless, the suit's decidedly analog nature can serve Bruce well by cloaking him from Neo-Gotham's digital cameras and sensors. "The knife and Batarangs are made with ceramic," Bruce says. "The rest is graphene, rubber and leather. The idea is to gain an advantage by going low-tech."
Batman: Beyond the White Knight #3 comes from Murphy, Dave Stewart and AndWorld Design, with a variant cover by Dustin Nguyen. The issue is on sale now from DC.
Source: DC
