Snyder and Capullo Talk Batman: Zero Year at Comic-Con

The Batman: Zero Year panel kicked off with writer Scott Snyder, artist Greg Capullo, inker Dan Miki, and Bat group editor Mike Marts.

Snyder began by explaining the genesis for them doing this Batman origin story. “DC came to us and said Batman hasn't had his origin explained in the New 52. Characters like Jim Gordon and Selina were changed so that Year One doesn't stand. This story will take place in a Gotham you've never seen before,” he said.

Originally, Snyder tried to make the New 52 origin fit Year One, but it didn't fit, so he decided “I'm going to go for it. I'm going to change it. Year One exists as a perfect Batman masterpiece, so instead I'm going to go 180 degrees, a way that's new and personal... If I'm going to do it, lets do the Red Hood and have them represent the fears of the city. Lets have his first challenge be in a post-apocalyptic Gotham with the city overgrown and Batman on a steam-powered motorcycle.”

Snyder spent a lot of time detailing the structure of Zero Year. He said it would be in three parts, with covers that represent the theme of each one. The first part asks the question, Why do you love Gotham? to Bruce. “His parents are killed there. He doesn't live there. What is it? Why does he protect this city?”

The second part has the Batman: Year Logo and is nearly all black, which represents Gotham in darkness and how both the city's bones and Batman's are resetting in the dark and becoming something new. It will ask the question, What does Bruce see in the dark?

The third part has a cover that is green to represent the overgrown city, and he teased that Poison Ivy may be making an appearance.

As for the villain, Snyder said, “The Riddler believes he's the smartest dude in the world. He's got degrees just for fun. He can see the design of things coming. I wanted to have a character who can see what's coming to give Batman a need to catch up.”

Snyder explained that a lot of writers don't use the Riddler because riddles are really hard to write. “Riddles are considered the highest form of warfare... Riddles are a test of worth, and if you fail you die. The Riddler is going to wage war against the city and Batman needs to be the one who is smart enough to answer the riddle,” he said

Capullo was enthused to be working with Miki again, who he first teamed with on Spawn. “He's the best inker I've ever had because he knew what was in my head,” Capullo said.

Capullo and Snyder went back and forth teasing that there would be a new suit and a new batmobile, but they'd be unlike anything that has come before.

“This is rebellious punk rock Batman. It's got layers and elegance beneath it, but we want it to be rock and roll in your face,” Snyder said.

Snyder said that in issue #24, the new suit will be featured. It will have a modernized, militant version of the Bob Kane design. Also, he will look different under the cowl than you might expect.

Capullo said that when redesigning the Batmobile, that he wanted to break form with it like the Tumbler from The Dark Knight movies, but wouldn't go into further detail so people would experience it for the first time themselves when they read the issue.

Snyder said he sometimes gets grief from fans for not telling any romantic stories for Bruce, but he stood by his stance that Bruce is Gotham-sexual.

To end the panel, Snyder emphasized how he wanted to give us a younger Batman with an edge. “What if Batman was 25 today and a badass? He's a rebel. What if the car is like a hot rod, colorful and different?”

Joshua writes for IGN. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, then you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN.

Gadgetwise Blog: When Superman and Batman Battle, You Need a Big Weapon

The “Injustice: Gods Among Us” Battle Edition includes the video game, three skins and a fight stick.

Accompanying the release on Tuesday of “Injustice: Gods Among Us,” the new fighting game from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, was a range of supporting products, including comic books, action figures, an album and a mobile app. One of the largest accessories is a fight stick that is included with the Battle Edition of the game.

A fight stick is hardly the agile combat weapon it sounds like; it’s basically a large, boxy game controller used by serious gamers for tournament play. It’s designed to mimic arcade-style game play, complete with a joy stick. It looks like a throwback to a more primitive era of video games, when Pac-Man was chomping ghosts on an Atari 2600 console.

But the “Injustice” fight stick has its advantages. First, it weighs a mere 3.5 pounds, light enough to rest on your lap. And it has a nonskid surface on the bottom, making it coffee table friendly (although it takes up a lot of real estate).

The biggest benefit, however, is the arrangement of the controls on the top. Eight oversize, illuminated buttons are clustered near the joystick, making them easy to reach with one hand.

The Battle Edition does not come with a manual, so thankfully the setup is intuitive. It has only a single 10-foot USB cable that connects directly to the console. I wish it included a wireless connection.

This was my first experience using a fight stick, but it made playing the game so much easier. Even with its ergonomic design, my Xbox controller was giving me tendonitis. With the fight stick on my lap, I could sit back on the couch and really enjoy the Mortal Combat-style battles among the superheroes and villains of the DC universe.

The “Injustice” Battle Edition is available exclusively at GameStop for $150 and is compatible with PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. Included with the fight stick are the “Injustice” video game and three downloadable skins for Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. I don’t know how much excitement the fight stick would garner among casual game players, especially at that price, but for serious gamers, bigger is better.

JLA, Batman Reboot Could Have Separate Batmen

Remember way back when Warner Bros. shut down the Justice League of America movie -- the version that would have been directed by George Miller and starred Armie Hammer as Batman and D.J. Cotrona as Superman -- because Christopher Nolan didn't want another Batman competing with his Dark Knight trilogy starring Christian Bale?

Well, Batman-on-Film says it has heard, via a longtime source, that the studio "has at least considered the possibility" of multiple Batmen, Supermen and Wonder Women onscreen.

The studio's already having LEGO Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) swing onto the screen in their new LEGO Movie, but this would be one actor playing Batman in the JLA movie and a different actor altogether playing the Dark Knight in a presumably tonally different Batman solo series/reboot. This would also presumably extend to Henry Cavill's Superman from Man of Steel as well.

Again, this is a rumor. Warners might nix it. Maybe it was just something some exec threw out there at a meeting that got mentioned elsewhere, etc. Or maybe it's their new road map, a way for the studio to have their cake and eat it, too. We shall see.

Sound off in the Comments below if you think the idea of multiple Batmen onscreen would confuse you as a filmgoer or be the coolest thing since the Joker killed a guy with a "magic trick."