Summary

Warning : Spoilers for Outsiders ( 2023 ) # 3 in the lead !

As the Outsiders continue to plumb the mysteries at the outer boundary of the DC Universe , they have stumbled into their most fourth - wall - breaking challenge yet , come face - to - face with DC ’s disabling dependance onBatman . While couch loosely as a job threatening the DC Omniverse , it ’s leisurely to connect the acid and see how this number is call out DC ’s very publication praxis .

InOutsiders ( 2023)#3 – by the originative squad of Jackson Lanzing , Collin Kelly , Robert Carey , and Valentina Taddeo – Luke Fox and Batwoman follow up on a foreign , trans - dimensional hint andfind themselves in ' Dimension Batman ' : the narrative nexus that draws in and propagates Batmen and Batman stories throughout the multiverse .

Outsiders Ward DC

As they essay to amount to term with this , they are interrupted by the Dark Multiverse’sDuke Thomas , who attempts to kill every Batman in sight . Decrying Batman as an ' infection , ' Thomas insist that the Batman narrative is like"a virus in the bleed … growing under the skin of write up until they ’re the only one left to tell . "

Jackson Lanzing , Collin Kelly , and Robert Carey come together for Outsiders # 1 , an amazing new series that dig deep into DC Universe chronicle .

Batman Has Overrun The DC Universe

On one layer , Outsiders#3 call out the proliferation of theBatmannarrative throughout the DC Universe , in a way saturating its storytelling:“the asocial genius , brimming with aspiration . And his hero … the countless child , crying in every darkened skittle alley . “This embrace not only Batwoman – who is called out as simply being female Batman – but dozens of other Italian sandwich who have find themselves entangled in Batman ’s viewing . The fact thatthere was ever aBatman Incorporatedto begin with shows just how dominant this narrative force has become in - universe , with figure after material body falling in line to put up Batman ’s symbol across the globe .

However , this criticism goes beyond in - universe concerns to direct accost how manyBatmanstories DC write at any given moment . Out of the forty - five active and upcoming series DC presently bring out ( as of the fourth dimension of writing ) , eighteen of them are about Batman , or case that immediately uprise from theBatmanfranchise . By contrast , the next most populous franchise , Superman , has a bare five claim , with most other franchises only date one , sometimes two active book . Batmantakes up the bulk of DC ’s publication efforts , causingconcern that other potential news report are being ignored , or passed over , in favor of the Dark Knight , leave to narrative bankruptcy .

DC Needs To Confront Its Over-Reliance On Batman Head On

It is rare for a laughable series to call out its newspaper publisher in this way , finding an in - macrocosm justification to criticise DC ’s real - life practices . Outsiders#3 even acknowledges that it is itself part of the problem , painting its feature of speech grapheme Luke Fox and Batwoman as ' Batman infected . ' Even Duke Thomas is as much a ware of the Batman narrative as the rest – more so , as this version of the character is tied to a great extent to theDark Nights : Death Metalevent , itself anotherBatman - related , multiverse - spanning crossover . Unfortunately for the Outsiders , this is not a problem they can fix , but they were at least able to place just how damagingBatmancan be to DC ’s wider universe .

Outsiders ( 2023)#3is useable now from DC Comics .

Source ( DC title analysis):League of Comic Geeks

A man with nuclear explosions going off behind him in The Far Side.

Outsiders # 3 ( 2023 )

Far Side, cowboys with hands in the air (foreground) Union soldier giving general

Featured Image: Luke Fox, Drummer, and Batwoman walk a twisting stairway; in the abyss to their right, Batman screams as bats fly all around him.

Outsiders #3, Luke Fox confronts the Metalverse’s Duke Thomas. Thomas wields a bloody axe/guitar, having already killed several versions of Batman, and claims that the Batman story is slowly taking over the multiverse until it’s the only story left.

Batman, Inc: Batman stands on rooftop with ten other heroes, all dressed in versions or derivatives of the Batsuit.

Outsiders #3, Duke Thomas appears and begins attacking Batmen from across the multiverse

Luke Fox, Batwoman, and Drummer walk through an M.C. Escher landscape of twisting, impossible staircases as Batman after Batman wanders through the spaces around them.

Batman