Warning: Spoilers for Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Ep. 6 ahead!
People love to buy apparel from their favorite fandoms, display figurines of beloved characters on their shelves, and tote around the latest superhero-themed bag, but the Webtoon Original Batman: Wayne Family Adventures just created merchandise fans didn’t know they needed. As the web-based comic explores the latest in Bat-Family dynamics, the rag-tag group of vigilantes find themselves donning the garb of their favorite Justice League heroes… and Batman is feeling a bit left out.
The Bat-Family is extremely popular in the world of DC comics and superheroes. Whether it be because of the strong pull and popularity of Batman, or the number of fans subsequent members of the Bat-Family have garnered over the years; his group of vigilantes is extremely loved. They’re also constantly being given opportunities to further explore their dynamics, relationships, and places within the Batman umbrella hierarchy. The most recent exploration of such is taking place in none other than a Webtoon comic by creator CRC Payne and inker Starbite. Fans are getting to see the family in a whole new light, and now, in whole new garb.
The newly released Batman: Wayne Family Adventures follows the Bat-Family in a modern, playful tale that allows readers to see their favorite characters like never before. The dark, gritty mood that normally shadows them at all times is shed for something more light and fun. This allows for a chapter in which Nightwing buys up a bunch of Justice League memorabilia during a sale and spends the day doling out his finds to the rest of the team. He makes sure that everyone gets a piece of their favorite heroes’ merchandise: Dick gives himself a Superman hoodie, Jason Todd gets Wonder Woman sweats, Duke Thomas gets Flash shoes, and Stephanie Brown gets a Green Arrow tumbler. Unfortunately for Batman, no one ends up repping him. So, while Bruce becomes exceedingly irritated by the lack of acknowledgment he’s getting from his own family, fans become exceedingly irritated by the fact that they have nowhere to buy any of the presented apparel in the real world.
Of course, there is already plenty of real-world merchandise for fans to get their hands on, but it’s undeniable that the products presented in this chapter, and in other Batman comics, are extremely retail worthy. CRC Payne and Starbite managed to bring readers extremely desirable stuff, but unless DC or one of their affiliates see’s its marketability in the real world, the comic version will continue to act as nothing more than a tease for what could be. It would truly be a shame if none of this made its way into stores because Jason’s Wonder Woman sweats are arguably some of the best superhero sweatpants ever made. They look comfortable, practical, and the design is beyond sleek. They scream Goddess of Truth without being obnoxious about it… except to Bruce. He obviously finds them extremely obnoxious, but that’s more a matter of pride than taste.
Leave it to the fictional world to create such desirable merchandise: bringing to fruition what fans need but can’t get their hands on. After seeing this, it seems like it would behoove DC to look into reaching out to fans, artists, and the likes to find their memorabilia. After all, it’s the fans that know what they want and would buy, so it seems like a logical step to consult them. Marvel consulted fans when electing their current X-Men team, so DC could definitely consult theirs to build their stock. More specifically, they should think about consulting the creators of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures because they’ve already proven their taste, as well as knowledge, in terms of what people want to buy.
