Yesterday we talked to James Tynion IV about what Jason Todd was up to during Zero Year. The idea was to explore Bruce Wayne's journey in becoming a crimefighter before he officially became Batman. That means the time period is about six years ago. The idea of other titles going back to that same period seemed a little odd considering the characters wouldn't have been in their superhero roles.
BATWING is a perfect example. Luke Fox, Lucius Fox's son, is the current Batwing. Rather than follow in his father's footsteps or continue his MMA fighting career, he became part of Batman's inner circle. Where would he have been six years ago?
We had the chance to exclusively get some answers from Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Here's the previously unreleased official solicit for BATWING #25:
BATWING #25
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by EDUARDO PANSICA and JULIO FERREIRA
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
On sale NOVEMBER 6 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
A BATMAN: ZERO YEAR tie-in! As Gotham City descends into chaos, young Luke Fox is the only one who can stop one of his classmates from causing more destruction—but he didn’t count on his friend being so… VENOMOUS!
Here's what Jimmy and Justin had to tell us:
Comic Vine: For Zero Month, can we assume your focus will be on a young Luke Fox?
Justin Gray: Of course, it gives some insight to who Luke is and how he possesses a heroic spirit.
Jimmy Palmiotti: The idea of this month of books gives us a real chance to introduce the reader to Luke at a young age ,and in doing this help the reader get to know the character even more than we have been showing in the series before. It’s a great opportunity.
CV: Would Luke be in his early days of high school?
JG: Yes I believe he is a senior at a private school at the time of the story and he'll be.
JP: Luke is in his last year of high school and about to step out into the world as his own man. We get to see how Luke interacts with those around him as well as look at the events that show him there is more to the world than the simple school activity around him.
CV: Luke started his MMA fighting around 16 (I believe). Will we see any of that in the issue?
JG: More than likely yes.
JP: You bet!
CV: Besides just being an issue with a young high school kid and any 'normal' problems he might have, will there be any bigger Batman-type problems or characters that will show up? Or is it 20 pages of Luke sitting in study hall?
JG: We're using this as an opportunity to introduce a young man that will eventually become a super villain so you will see some of that.
JP: The zero month gives us the chance to plant some seeds for future problems and at the same time connect with the young Luke and how he looks at this type of person without the wisdom an older Luke gains.
CV: Was there a sense of freedom in coming up with this flashback story or are there constraints because it's set in the very early days of the Batman Universe?
JG: A little of both, but mainly in the structure of how we wanted to tell the story. We would have preferred to work in a bookended fashion, but with something like this you need to play by the rules. It wasn't difficult; we just envisioned a different structure.
JP: Writers all have different styles on how to tell a story…but we worked with what we had and fashioned what we feel is a very interesting and very insightful story that does right by the theme presented. We want the readers to know and love Luke.
CV: Will any elements from this issue surface in an upcoming one?
JG: Yes.
JP: You bet.
CV: Will there by any possible run ins with a younger Dick Grayson or Tim Drake? Or would that be too coincidental?
JG: Since coming onboard Batwing we've been very focused on who he is and where he fits into the Bat family. Hopefully in the near future we'll be able to inject some familiar faces in the book.
Make sure you check out this week's BATWING #23 to see his fight with Lady Vic and be sure to pick up the Zero Year issue on November 6!