It was revealed during a DC FanDome panel on Saturday that Academy Award winner John Ridley will helm a four-issue Batman miniseries featuring art by Nick Derington. A new Batman comic isn’t necessarily the biggest news in the world, but what Ridley had to say about his version of the Caped Crusader is what had ears perking up.
“A big part of my life has been around, Batman—has been around people who choose to do better. And even if some of that is just wish fulfillment, you know, it is part of what we want our young people, kids, to believe in: that everybody can be part of the process. And for a long time, as was said, you know, for those of us who are outside of the prevailing culture, it didn’t matter the race of Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman. We just identified with the idea of trying to be the fabric of an environment that was better,” Ridley said during the panel. “I think it’s a pretty safe bet that I’m writing Batman…. It’s probably a little better than a 47 percent chance he’s going to be a person of color. That’s what I would say.”