And they literally start the main Batman comic from the beginning ...
1.) How should/would they start BATMAN (next volume) #1?
2.) How long should/would they go on before introducing Richard Grayson pre-Robin?
And they literally start the main Batman comic from the beginning ...
1.) How should/would they start BATMAN (next volume) #1?
2.) How long should/would they go on before introducing Richard Grayson pre-Robin?
They should start with Alfred, Batman, Batgirl and Robin in issue #1.
We don't need another origin story. We don't need to be reintroduced to the classic supporting characters or the classic villains.
We want to read our heroes versus the (new & old) villains.
DC doesn't really have much Characters that sell books, a hard reboot would prevent them from using a lot of the characters, in some cases even for years, so I doubt that they would ever do that.
If they did, it would be stupid. They would be purposefully limiting themselves on what characters they could use. While those characters do have built in fanbases, they would be alienating fanbases of Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Cass, Stephanie, and others.
If they would really a clean Hard Reboot and start from the beginning they could imo not even have the Justice League book in the beginning.
If we ignore all that an have them really start from the beginning, in the Golden Age Robin was introduced a year after Batman, so I don't think it would take much longer.
They would have some Year One Type origin for Batman, then do a Joker Origin and have him fall into the Chemicals, then maybe Two Face and then Robin.
It depends on the story they wanna tell. A hard reboot doesn't have to start at Day 1 and Batman is popular enough so you can start him older.
Hell I'd skip bruce and go to Dick's tenure. Or just drop Dick and the others and do something else like what Telltale did.
Skip all of the retelling the past stuff. If you want a book that talks about the old days then just make one. Have everything else set at a point where all the pieces are on the table.
Rules are for lesser men, Charlie - Grand Pa Joe ~ Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory
At this stage, a hard reboot is looking more and more appealing.
Everyone in the cast is either directionless or horribly annoying (or both). This includes Bruce, the actual main character who should probably be a likable hero if this whole thing is to be worth a damn. With both the recent events and some of the pre-Flashpoint baggage like Murderer/Fugitive, War Games and OMAC, the modern Batman is beyond tainted at this point.
Put him out of his misery and put a better version in his place. It wouldn't be ideal for many, but nobody would claim being Robin again would be worse for Dick Grayson at this point than Ric. At least not with a straight face. And Batman and the Joker wouldn't be flanderized anymore and could actually be worth reading about again.
Very unlikely to happen, I know. Or if it does, it likely won't be executed well. But I can dream. Otherwise, the only upcoming Batman related things to look forward to are the new DCAU comic and The Batman.
I think restorative nostalgia is the number one issue with comic book fans.
A fine distinction between two types of Nostalgia:
Reflective Nostalgia allows us to savor our memories but accepts that they are in the past
Restorative Nostalgia pushes back against the here and now, keeping us stuck trying to relive our glory days.