A dramatic trailer for writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Jorge Jiménez's Batman run has released.
Posted on YouTube by DC Comics, the trailer spotlights Jiménez's vivid artwork bringing Batman, his allies and villains to life, while saying that "The Dark Knight has a plan for everything, even death." The video promotes Batman #125, which will be the first issue of the new creative team's work on the title with the "Failsafe" arc. The arc is set to introduce a dangerous new villain for Bruce Wayne, but the trailer teases that some classic members of his rogues gallery will still be causing trouble in Gotham City.
The Penguin and Clayface are both shown in the trailer, as well as the Joker, though there are actually three Jokers present. While it is unclear if this is a reference to writer Geoff Johns and artist Jason Fabok's Batman: Three Jokers title, the artwork shows three different Clown Princes of Crime standing over the bodies of Robins Damian Wayne and Tim Drake, Nightwing/Dick Grayson and Catwoman/Selina Kyle. The Jokers do not appear to be the exact same ones from Three Jokers, being that the clown on the right seems to be plucked out of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) based on his dark wardrobe and slicked back hair. Since the other two look like the older and current iterations of the villain, it is possible that this is a vision of the Joker's past, present and future.
Despite these classic evildoers being in the trailer, the first arc from Zdarsky and Jiménez is set to introduce the villain Failsafe, whose appearance has not been revealed as of writing. Zdarsky has referred to the newcomer as Batman's Doomsday, a comparison to the hulking monster that killed the Man of Steel in the iconic "Death of Superman" storyline. According to the writer, when approaching Batman, he "thought about things that could really challenge the character mentally, physically, and in terms of his relationships."
DC released an early preview of Batman #125 a little less than two months before the book releases in July. The preview shows Batman and the Gotham City Police Department dealing with a hostage situation, and though the hero stops the gunman, he fails to save the hostages.
Batman #125 is written by Zdarsky with interior and main cover art by Jiménez, colors by Tomeu Morey and letters by Clayton Cowles. A Catwoman backup story features artwork from Belen Ortega. Variant covers for the issue are contributed to by artists Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, Alex Garner, Francesco Mattina, Gabriele Dell'Otto, Jock, In-Hyuk Lee and Simone Di Meo. The issue is set to go on sale July 5 from DC Comics.
Source: YouTube
