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Good news for fans of a Batman who knows how to smile — February 2026 sees the release of a new edition of Batman Universe, the miniseries by Brian Michael Bendis and Nick Derrington in which the Caped Crusader travels the DC Universe in search of an object of unexpected power… running into everyone from the Joker and Green Lantern to Jonah Hex and immortal caveman Vandal Savage in the process. It’s a fun story that celebrates how ridiculous the DCU can be — and because of that very reason, it’s a favorite of new Batman writer Matt Fraction.

Fraction actually provides the introduction to the new edition of Batman Universe, officially entitled Batman: Universe Deluxe Edition, due out February 2026. At Rose City Comic Con 2025, he explained why he got involved with the reissue of the book.

“Part of the reason I wanted to write the introduction for the Batman Universe collection, and why I so genuinely loved that book was, it was a reminder to me — just as a fan and a reader in a kind of era of Batman where everything was just, like, so huge, and earth-shatteringly big, and heavy and dark and operatic — that the character can also love dinosaurs, you know?” Fraction said. “Brian's book was just such a contrast to where the median Batman, the average, was at that moment. But they're both still Batman.”

Fraction continued, saying that he loved Brian Michael Bendis’s version of the character because “he’s capable of wonder and joy, and it's not all little, tiny victories, like, ‘Well, the hospital burned down, but I saved this one kid,' or whatever. I want a character that, like, knows it's awesome to be Batman! That was important to me. He's a person who's capable of joy and feeling wonder and love, and understands what a kind of privileged perspective he has being Batman in the DC Universe.”

Batman: Universe Deluxe Edition will be released February 10, 2026. The first issue of Matt Fraction’s Batman series with Jorge Jiménez is available now.

He is vengeance, he is the night, he is... one of Popverse's favorite subjects. Learn how to do a Dark Knight movie marathon right with our Batman movie guide, and for the true World's Greatest Detectives out there, dive deep into the heart of Gotham City by getting to know Batman with Popverse. Here are some of our latest Batman stories:

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