Batman, despite his movie reputation, is a character that doesn’t see many reboots within comics.
To date, the title has had a No. 1 issue four times, first, of course, in 1940, then in 2011, once more in 2016, and most recently in 2025.
The new No. 1 features Matt Fraction as writer, art from Jorge Jiménez, colors by Tomeu Morey, and letters by Clayton Cowles.
Similar to when a new Batman movie comes out with a new actor and a new take on the character, the most pressing question is always, is this necessary?
Do we truly need another Batman comic?
It is important to clarify that this “reboot” is not one in the traditional sense.
This No. 1 is largely cosmetic, meaning that everything canon prior still is.
Effectively, this new No. 1 just signifies, “Hey! You can start here!”
Now, circling back to the question of “do we need this?”
I do think a renumbering makes sense here, as the book has been stagnant for a while.
Since 2016, there have been runs by Tom King, James Tynion IV, and Chip Zdarsky, all huge names in comics.
Yet, all have been met with contested reception. These runs have all had their moments, but overall, they just existed.
For some, it’s good enough for Batman to always have a book on the stand. But I much prefer a strong, innovative book.
Does this new book seem to promise that?
Absolutely! I had high expectations going into this, being familiar with Fraction’s Hawkeye run and Jiménez’s art (he’s been drawing the book as the main artist since 2020.)
Additionally, Fraction has said this book would feature self-contained, one-and-done stories.
And still, with my expectations near-promising to set the book up for failure, it impressed me.
Without getting too into spoiler territory, the book focuses on Batman chasing down a mentally regressed Killer Croc.
At the start, he is jaded on the possibility for villains to reform, outright stating, “People never change. Not really.”
When Batman comes upon Croc, we don’t get an all-out brawl between the two (despite Batman being ready to throw down with electric bat-gauntlets).
Batman sits with Croc until the Arkham staff arrive to take him back to Arkham Tower (the Asylum was destroyed a few years ago), highlighting the often overlooked deeply compassionate side of Batman.
This was refreshing, because ultimately underlying Batman’s “no kill rule” is the hope that people can change and can reform.
Of course, he does not show it at the start of the issue, but I think this works to make Batman more realistic, showing that even he falters in his beliefs.
I have a ton of faith in this book to restore some quality to the series.
The one-and-done stories are reminiscent of how comics were back in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Jiménez’s art might be the best it has ever been in the book, and Batman’s compassion seemingly functions as a guiding tenet of this run.
If you have ever wanted to pick up a Batman comic, I think this is a great one to start with.
