After witnessing the conclusion to his now legendary run on Batman, many of us wondered if Scott Snyder had any gas left in the tank of his own Batmobile, but thankfully, he’s had quite the generous reserve as he’s consistently proven with All-Star Batman. Whether it be the barn-burner that was the opening arc with Two-Face or the one that followed featuring a variety of villains – the chapter focusing on Mr. Freeze was the series’ crowning achievement, in my opinion – we the readers have certainly been spoiled.
Originally, this title was slated for a run consisting of about a dozen issues or so, but the game plan has changed as Snyder has obviously tacked on several more installments. In all seriousness, though, is anybody going to complain?
Audibles called aside, one thing has remained as a constant: The series finale will be illustrated by Sean Murphy. In fact, Snyder recently spoke with Newsarama and hinted at what the concluding arc will consist of, along with dropping another bombshell:
“So, yeah… after this arc with All-Star Batman, when I get to the story with Sean – which is the one I’ve been kind of waiting to do for three years or more – that to me very well might be the last Batman story that I do proper Batman for a while. It’s sort of a capstone to a lot of things I’ve been thinking about with him over the years.
“It’s almost like a Mad Max Batman story in the future. It’s really nuts, but it connects the continuity. When we do that, I’d like to try to take the back-ups out, reduce the price and do it a little differently, depending on what shapes up with some of the editorial changes going on as well. That story is one I’ve been dying to do. So whatever format we wind up doing it in, I can’t wait.”
It’s understandable that one would want to step away from a character after spending nearly a decade writing for them, but do notice he said “proper Batman,” so maybe there’s some Justice League in his future or, fingers crossed, Batman Beyond. As for how many issues the current arc, “The First Ally,” will consist of, he confirmed the following:
“It’s five issues. I’m excited for people to read it. I think it’s one of the strongest stories I’ve done in Batman.”
All-Star Batman #10 is now available in comic shops. For more, be sure to check out our review.