DC’s New 52 publishing initiative introduced a number of changes to existing characters, and Batman almost got a new origin for his name that would have added a surprising spin to his family history. In a recent oral history of the New 52, writer Paul Cornell, who penned Demon Knights during that era, revealed the book almost had a Batman-type character who would likely have played a telling part in the Wayne family tree.
In September of 2011, in an attempt to boost lagging sales, DC used the Flashpoint event to relaunch their comic book universe. That month saw the debut of the New 52 – 52 first issues that would mark a new beginning for the DC Universe. Existing books were cancelled, and many new ones launched. In crafting the first wave of titles for the New 52, the company shot for diversity in terms of their offerings. There were war comics, such as Men of War, western comics such as Weird Western Tales, and horror titles, such as I…Vampire. One such title, called Demon Knights, sought to give DC a ‘Swords and Sorcery’ type team starring some familiar faces.
Speaking to Polygon, Demon Knights writer Paul Cornell explained that his original concept for the book was a “medieval Justice League.” The characters Cornell and his collaborators initially drew up fit this description: the book featured a Green Lantern, incarnations of Hawkman and Hawkwoman as well as a champion of Shazam. Cornell went on to explain that another “cheeky” character was “Matthew Wain, a cart-maker who became someone very like Batman.” Unfortunately, Matthew Wain and Cornell’s vision for a medieval Justice League never came to pass due to editorial interference and unexpected issues charting a course for the initiative as a whole. Demon Knights would eventually run for two years, starring more villainous characters such as Etrigan, Madame Xanadu, and Vandal Savage.
Not only would Matthew Wain have been Demon Knights‘ equivalent of Batman, there is a good possibility he would have been an ancestor of Bruce Wayne as well, given the similarities in their last names. In medieval times, wagon makers such as Matthew Wain – likely named for his profession as a wainwright – would have been far below the station of the modern-day Wayne family. DC Comics have traditionally depicted the Wayne name as synonymous with wealth and privilege, so Demon Knights would have at least hinted that the family actually takes its name from a thoroughly salt of the earth profession. The Wayne name, emblazoned across the tower that stands over Gotham, would have been given humble origins, and the series could even have played with the idea that Bruce’s lineage as Batman goes back further than his family’s wealth.
Matthew Wain could also have strengthened the connection between the various eras of DC’s history, showing Batman in the present day and a vigilante ancestor in the distant past. The idea of a medieval Justice League finally came to pass late last year during the Endless Winter event, which saw a proto-Justice League rally around Hippolyta and Black Adam to stop a great evil, and fans will get to see a medieval-style Batman (albeit one in much better standing) in the upcoming Dark Knights of Steel. However, Paul Cornell pitched a similar idea almost a decade earlier and would have given readers a fascinating new origin for Batman‘s name that would likely have poked a little fun at what it has means to be a Wayne in modern-day Gotham.
