When James Gunn first announced his plans for the DCU, one of the first projects announced was a Batman film titled The Brave and the Bold. It has been three years since the announcement, and aside from a director (Andy Muschietti) and writer (Christina Hodgson) being attached (via THR), there has been no update on the DCU’s Dark Knight film. The reason appears to be the many delays to Matt Reeves’s The Batman: Part II, which was originally slated for a 2025 release but is now set for 2028.
Yet just because there is no DCU Batman yet, that doesn’t mean the shared universe hasn’t laid the groundwork for the character. In fact, with titles like Lanterns, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker, plus what Gunn has already revealed about The Brave and the Bold, audiences already know a great deal about this universe’s version of Batman. Here are the five biggest details that have been confirmed.
Why You Should Trust Me: I’ve been writing about entertainment for half a decade at various sites, using my deep knowledge of comic books and superhero adaptations to write informed, thoughtful articles that are easy for readers with no knowledge of the source material to understand. I’ve also covered James Gunn’s DCU for MovieWeb since it was first announced in January 2023.
The Bat-Signal Is Well Known
In the most recent episode of Lanterns, “Bad Optics”, Hal Jordan mentions Guy Gardner has put up a Lantern signal in Rushville to allow its citizens to summon him (which they never will, since they hate the Green Lantern). Jordan notes he “copied that Bat-fellow in Gotham.” This means Batman and the Bat-Signal are well known in the greater DCU, and the public knows the idea of a light flashing in the sky to summon a hero.
Batman Put Doctor Phosphorus Behind Bars (And Maybe More)
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Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/Clayface Warner Bros. -
HBO
There is still some debate about whether Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is in DCU canon; within the DCU, three Batman villains have appeared on-screen. This includes Clayface, White Rabbit, and Doctor Phosphorus, with signs from Janus Cosmetics hinting that the Roman Sionis/Black Mask exists in some form. White Rabbit appears to be a hero now, given she was seen auditioning for the Justice Gang in Peacemaker Season 2, while the upcoming Clayface movie could reveal he has encountered Batman. That means the only villain audiences know has faced off with Batman is Doctor Phosphorus.
Doctor Phosphorus, real name Alexander “Alex” Sartorius, murdered Gotham crime boss Rupert Thorne and took over his criminal empire after the mob boss killed the former scientist’s family and transformed him into his radioactive form. It is unclear how long Doctor Phosphorus operated as a crime boss in Gotham City, but Batman ultimately brought him down and imprisoned him in Belle Reve.
Batman Has Been Active for at Least a Decade (Maybe More)
With Hal Jordan’s line about the Bat-Signal taking place in 2026 and Doctor Phosphorus’s origin, we can build a potential timeline for how long Bruce Wayne has been operating as Batman. Hal Jordan’s 2026 reference could imply Batman has been operating as a vigilante in Gotham for at least a decade, possibly emerging shortly after Hal was imprisoned. However, Creature Commandos could imply Batman has been a known figure even before Lanterns‘ 2016-set mystery.
In Creature Commandos, Doctor Phosphorus says he has not been touched in “15 years.” Given that Creature Commandos takes place in 2024, the line implies he got his powers in 2009. Yet this doesn’t mean he encountered Batman immediately, as Gunn responded on Threads, saying, “It would be silly to assume Phosphorus met Batman the minute after he became Phosphorus.” That implies Phosphorus acted as a crime boss for some time before Batman apprehended him. This, along with Lanterns, creates a potential timeline of events.
If Phosphorus predated Batman’s debut, the earliest the Caped Crusader could exist in the DCU would be 2010, opening the door for Batman to be active in the early 2010s and a nearly 20-year crime fighter in the present-day DCU. If he didn’t become Batman until after 2016, he could be a relatively new hero in the DCU. But to keep things open for later stories, Gunn also added: “It wouldn’t even trust Phosphorus’s sense of time/proclivity for hyperbole.” That means any concrete dates for Batman won’t be in place until The Brave and the Bold comes out.
Batman Has a Son
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Batman and Damian Wayne Robin DC Comics -
Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin DC Comics -
Warner Bros. Animation
When James Gunn first announced The Brave and the Bold, he revealed the film would show Bruce Wayne training his son, Damian Wayne, to become Robin. This is a huge revelation for the movie, as introducing Damian means Bruce Wayne met and had a relationship with Talia al Ghul. It also means the DCU Batman has a history with the League of Assassins and its leader, Ra’s al Ghul. Bruce Wayne having a son old enough to be Robin implies either an older Batman or that Bruce Wayne and Talia were together when he was in his late teens or early 20s. Additionally, Damian Wayne being Robin suggests the existence of other Robins, which leads into the next big reveal.
Batman Is Not Working Alone
When Gunn announced The Brave and the Bold, he said it was “sort of the beginning of the Bat-family in the DCU.” While most live-action depictions of Batman show him as a solo hero, with Robin getting only occasional on-screen appearances, the comics feature Batman with a variety of sidekicks, partners, and allies. This includes multiple Robins and their later identities, such as Nightwing and Red Hood, as well as Batgirl, Batwoman, Spoiler, Batwing, Signal, and many more.
The Brave and the Bold introducing Damian Wayne as Robin does imply that at least Dick Grayson must have served as Batman’s sidekick for some time, and a phone call from Kerry Kane in Lanterns featuring the line, “Say hi to Barb for me,” has led many to speculate she was referring to Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl. With the DCU Batman well into his career as a crime fighter, he seems to have had plenty of time to train a few sidekicks, with Damian Wayne likely the latest to join the Bat-family.
