DC Comics wanted to permanently replace the Batman character with a different, black Batman, but was told by retailers that the company should expect a sharp drop in sales, an industry insider reported.
The source spoke to Bounding into Comics under the condition of anonymity and alleged that a contingent of DC Comics made the bold suggestion at the 5G Initiative summit in 2021. The summit was a forum where the company discusses the future of its fifth generation of characters.
This was the same rollout that included a bisexual Superman and a black, female Green Lantern.
The group's alleged idea was to take Lucious Fox, Bruce Wayne's business manager, and permanently have the ongoing Batman titles feature the new, black Batman as the lead.
A portion of the company reportedly thought the character would add an extra layer of diversity to future Batman book lines.
However, Dan DiDio, the co-publisher, allegedly looked visibly stressed and felt like the changes in the new generation of characters were being forced on him.
The source claimed that retailers at the meeting were unimpressed, with one outright stating that publishers should expect an immediate drop in sales, to the tune of one-third their current levels. The explanation was that when comic book readers see a Batman title, they expect to see the character of Bruce Wayne.
DC Comics indeed went on to release "Future State: The Next Batman" book. While it cannot be confirmed that it was a direct result of the meeting, the new plotline was essentially the same, save for the new Batman being the allegedly proposed character's son.
"Tim Fox, son of Lucius Fox is taking the Bat-mantle in DC comics. Tim's Batman will be revealed in Future State: The Next Batman #2 comic on Jan 26, 2021," a DC fan page wrote in 2020.
The comic received average reviews and reportedly quickly changed directions.
"You have a lot of bad American comic book content. It's terrible," comic publisher Eric July told TheBlaze last year. "Between changing all of these characters, and you have this ridiculous kind of push for social justice, insulting the audience," he added.
July successfully published his own woke-free series, starting with "Isom #1" in 2022, which raised over $3.7 million dollars in a preorder after a stated goal of $100,000. Then "Isom #2" raked in nearly $1 million in preorders within the first 24 hours of its release.
There has yet to be a woke comic book remake that has been as successful as the traditional characters. Even the woke comic genre's most known character, Marvel's Miles Morales, the black teen Spiderman, does not sell nearly as well as the "Amazing Spider-Man." The latter routinely performs at the top of monthly comic book sales in the United States.
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