Batman’s New Video Game Team Up Didn’t Have to Be Like This

Comics have a protracted, convoluted, and wildly inconsistent historical past with licensed model crossovers. As of late, DC specifically has gone by way of this, delivering branded tie-ins that vary from engaged on absurdity alone, truly working as nice comics, or simply being absolute rubbish. But its newest crossover is likely to be worse than being comically dangerous: it’s simply uninteresting.

This week the writer launched Batman/Faze Clan #1—from Josh Trujillo, Scot Eaton, Norm Rapmund, Tony Aviña, and Josh Reed—a crew up between the World’s Greatest Detective and his myriad Batfamily allies and the titular FaZe Clan, the eSports group fielding groups for video video games starting from the likes of shooters akin to Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Counterstrike, to sporting video games like FIFA and Rocket League. It’s… properly, that instantly may not strike you as probably the most potential-laden of partnerships, however what follows is an entire nightmare of a comic book: the Riddler has developed his personal form of VR headset, the NygmaBox, that isn’t simply being scalped by resellers (step apart, PS5 and Xbox Series X, Gothamites have spoken!), however… brainwashing them and making them do crime. Much worse.

After Tim Drake makes the deadly mistake of telling Batman that the one solution to beat a Gamer is to work with one other Gamer, what follows is Batman travelling to the Hollywood HQ of FaZe Clan to recruit members Apex, Banks, Rain, and Temperrr to get themselves uploaded to the NygmaBox’s digital related world (don’t fear about it), beat digital avatars of Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery to gather cash (don’t fear about it), after which use the digital avatars of the brainwashed NygmaBox customers to stand up towards an enormous digital Riddler (do not fear about it).

It’s… properly, it’s not nice. For some motive, Oracle is ready to hack the NygmaBox system to remodel Apex, Banks, Rain, and Temperrr into powered-up digital avatars primarily based on RPG courses—a Tank, a Ranger, a Healer, and a Mage—which feels absurd provided that not one of the video games FaZe Clan are recognized for taking part in competitively are RPGs (Batman doesn’t even do digital weapons, maybe?). Each member is teamed up with a Batfamily member (the aforementioned Tim as Robin, plus Batwoman, Nightwing, and Batwing), who not solely don’t get hacked power-up updates—impolite, Barbara—however largely exist to face round being plot-stupid to permit their FaZe compatriot to do An Attack and save the day 4 instances in a row. Hell, for a Batman comedian Batman himself is surprisingly ineffective, largely simply hanging round with Oracle within the Bat Cave monitoring FaZe’s progress till every part simply ends. FaZe Clan goes again to being common outdated avid gamers, Riddler faces seemingly zero repercussion for being the gaming trade’s most extremely particular disruptor, and Batman apparently turns into mildly hooked on video video games.

But right here’s the factor: as unusual as a crew up between Batman and a bunch {of professional} avid gamers might sound on the floor, it didn’t need to be this manner. “People are trapped in a viiiideeeeeo gaaaaaaame and it’s up to gamers to help the duped heroes” is simply such a boring premise, and we’ve seen examples the place these types of branded tie-ins can actually work. DC’s crossover comics with KFC had no proper to be nearly as good as they had been, as a result of not solely did they lean into the inherent absurdity, however embraced it as a distinction to the absurdity of superhero comics typically, reworking Colonel Sanders right into a multiversal determine price of any of the writer’s Crisis occasions. Hell, even within the gaming area final yr we had the surprisingly incredible Batman/Fortnite sequence, which took the beloved battle-royale shooter’s structural premise and used it to strip down Batman as a personality to his core, exploring the very id of Batman as a logo and as an individual in some fascinating methods. Yes, actually, in a Fortnite comedian!

Maybe Batman may’ve needed to examine one thing at a event FaZe Clan performed at, hell perhaps it will get attacked by a cavalcade of Bat villains, and a few of the Batfamily occur to be in attendance as a result of, properly, a bunch of them are younger youngsters and younger youngsters are fascinated by watching streamers and eSports. Maybe one thing may’ve leaned on FaZe Clan’s gamers being good with computer systems and gone for a tech angle. I don’t know, DC Comics isn’t paying me to jot down the rattling factor. As for the artistic crew—who’ve all accomplished incredible comics work earlier than, a spotlight being Trujillo’s pleasant sports activities comedy Dodge City—this may need been a circumstance the place contractual obligations to no matter deal was made between DC and FaZe Clan may need made making an attempt to do one thing extra concerned past this primary premise infeasible. We don’t know, all we’re left with as readers is a bland, not even apparently absurd comedian the place the phrase “Gamer” seems each different sentence.

It didn’t need to be this uninteresting. But hey, it may have been worse: not less than it’s not as dangerous as teaming up with a weapons producer and having to again out on the final minute.

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