Meet "The Runaway" Before Batman, Gotham's Vigilante Protector

Long ago, before the age of the Bat, another masked hero was busy protecting the interests of the people, but otherwise very differently.

Warning: This contains SPOILERS for Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City

Batman and the Gotham Knights pull out all the stops as an investigation into a mysterious virus-like outbreak uncovers a link to a similar epidemic that occurred in Gotham nearly 200 years ago, and a masked vigilante is also on the city's sidelines. wandering in the shadows.

In Evan Narcisse and Abel's six-episode limited series Batman: Gotham Knights - The Gilded City, Gotham City is suddenly overwhelmed by so many people that they suddenly feel a strong urge to get them Something your heart desires, from food to fashion to designer sneakers. Deployed across the city for security, the Batman Family initially believed the Scarecrow was behind it, but had to reconsider their conclusion when they discovered that the Scarecrow was still imprisoned in Arkham. Little did they know, this wasn't the first time the disease had hit the city. Back in the mid-1800s, the city suffered a similarly bizarre outburst. While there was no Batman and Gotham Knights back then, the mystery was veiled by another crime-fighting vigilante known as The Fugitive.

The introduction of the Batman-like fledgling, an upstart protector of Gotham City from the pre-Civil War era, may have caught many fans off guard. This is because In fact, he's a new character introduced in the Batman canon primarily as a "vehicle for a special comic" that connects the series to the Gotham Knights video game storyline, which begins with the revelation that Batman is dead, depending on Gotham Knights - Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl and Robin fill the crime-fighting vacuum created by his absence. In fact, since this is an area that has been rarely explored before in the canon, it presents a huge opportunity for Narcissus and Abel to "frame" early Gotham history, and how it relates to Wayans and eventually Batman contact.

Gotham's 'Runaway' is Still Shrouded in Mystery

Since the series just premiered, not much is known about Runaway other than that he is a very skilled finger and willing to fight the system when racism is still legally supported. However, in an interview with Screen Rant, Narcisse outlined what he hopes to accomplish with Runaway in the Gotham Knights series. According to Narciss, while the Fugitive and Batman may have the same end goal of achieving justice, their methods are entirely different. While Batman has access to the wealth, power, and influence of Wayne's name, The runaways are not from the urban elite. Instead, he's from the same kind of people he and Batman usually put in jail. He knows them viscerally, whereas Batman only knows them tangentially.

As such, The Fugitive's perspective on fighting crime will be very different from Batman's, as will the strategies used to achieve crime reduction. Not only does this present an opportunity to provide an alternative example of how crime can be fought in Gotham, but it also begs the question of whether Batman's relentless "shoot first" philosophy is appropriate, or if The Runaways are kinder and gentler. method is the best. When it comes to the Gotham Knights video game, figuring out which is best can be the difference between winning and losing.

Next Up: Catwoman Is Officially From Cat Thief to Professional Wrestler