The Brave and the Bold is set to shake up Batman’s story for the DCU in some spectacular ways. While Batman is one of the most adapted superheroes to come from the pages of the comics, his story has largely remained the same.

Countless releases have shown a young Bruce Wayne losing his parents, and deciding to embark on a journey that sees him become the protector of Gotham. Some earlier iterations of this story were less serious, like Adam West’s Batman series from 1966, while later iterations embraced the darker side of the character.

However, the DCU timeline is set to shake things up in important and meaningful ways that have yet to be explored in live-action.

The DCU’s First Batman Movie Is Drastically Different To Every Previous Live-Action Batman Movie In 2 Major Ways

Rather than exploring Batman’s origin story, or picking up at the very start of his career, it appears The Brave and the Bold will follow a much more refined version of the hero, mirroring the DCU’s approach to Superman. With that, there are two central ways that this story will be different to earlier adaptations.

First, the story will reportedly see Batman working alongside a sidekick from the start. While the 1966 series and the Joel Schumacher movies also incorporated a version of Robin, the DCU’s Robin is set to be the biological son of Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, who is the fifth character to hold the mantle in the comics.

Second, the film is a Batman story set in the context of a wider universe. Even in movies where Batman has crossed paths with other heroes, such as in the DCEU, he hasn’t received a solo story, which sets the upcoming DC movie apart.

Why The Brave And The Bold’s Different Take On Batman Is Huge For The DCU

Like Spider-Man and Superman, the origin story of Batman has been explored several times over. Even in the case of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, the story follows a fairly inexperienced version of the Caped Crusader.

Setting up the character as someone who has been working in the shadows for some time not only means his story can be more innovative and creative compared to earlier adaptations, but also opens the door for the rest of the Bat Family, and Batman’s Rogues Gallery.

These extended parts of Batman’s story are some of the most exciting parts of the comics, and they have yet to be thoroughly explored on the big screen. But with the DCU’s approach, and The Brave and the Bold’s later setting, there is finally an opportunity to dig into Gotham in a way that has never been done before.