WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Batman, now playing in theaters.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Matt Reeves’ The Batman was how Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) didn’t have Lucius Fox helping build his arsenal, per the Christopher Nolan movies, as well as many other comics and cartoons. In this film, Bruce Wayne adopted a DIY mentality in the cave beneath Wayne Tower, creating his weapons and rides, even without much help from Alfred.
However, seeing as this carved out a blank canvas for the Foxs and knowing how Gotham got decimated by Riddler’s bombs in the finale, there’s now an opportunity for DC’s Iron Man to arise, but with a social justice twist.
This is none other than Luke Fox, who has donned the Batwing mantle in the books. While David Zavimbe initially wore the mantle as a Batman from Africa in Batman Incorporated, when he resigned, Lucius made a robotic Bat-suit that Bruce bequeathed to Luke. Since then, he’s worked under Bruce before branching out to partner with Batwoman. He was a mash-up of Iron Man and Batman, helping protect Gotham and, when the call arose, the world.
In Reeves’ The Batman, though, there’s an opportunity for the Foxs to be used in the parts of Gotham where Black people and the marginalized and minorities have been left behind with the city ravaged due to flooding. Riddler spoke of forgotten kids like orphans in dilapidated areas, so an angle like this would fit this new filmverse perfectly. In addition, it speaks to society’s current problems with such neighborhoods in many countries, which don’t get attention or proper funds to rebuild.
Shawn Martinbrough’s Red Hood #51 from 2020 actually leaned into this when Jason Todd went back to the Hill — his old stomping grounds — to help people of color. It even had a vigilante gang running around to protect its own. These people hated Gotham for mistreating and forgetting them because they weren’t considered elite, so it’s easy to envision the Foxs as a tech-based, rich family wanting to do their best to reform these areas. Batwing could then become a symbol of hope and a social justice movement, inspiring people but also reminding them to leave the dirty work to him by keeping twisted individuals out.
There’s a power vacuum following Carmine Falcone’s death, so criminals like Penguin will be crawling all over Gotham, venturing to these parts. Not to mention white-collar tyrants and corrupt agents for groups like the Court of Owls would see these spots as primed for gentrification. This creates a need for not just a hero on the ground but an entrepreneur and captain of industry like Luke, mixing up a bit of his journey from the Batwoman TV series. This can also have him working on tech to better these communities and not keep them as grimy and grounded as other areas of the city.
It’d be a breath of fresh air away from the capitalist Waynes while speaking to how the Gotham Renewal Fund, drained by those of white privilege, would never trickle down to POC, no matter the tragedy. Selina Kyle also spoke about this problem of inequality, so The Batman universe is primed for a Black hero as opposed to a story revolving around the white savior complex Iron Man had. It’d be more genuine while adding nuance to the Foxes, transforming them from a supporting cast for Bruce’s war to a real force for change.
To see how a path is opened up for Batwing, The Batman is now in theaters.
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