Okay, I’m nervous.

Do I think King is going to turn Batman into a homicidal madman? No, not really. But I always worry when creators say stuff like this. It makes me feel that they’re about to do something scandalous. They want people talking and what better way to get people buzzing than controversy or something drastic? King is a good writer but I can also see how he could get high on the idea of changing the character for the rest of time. That idea would get me going too. But be careful! Some things are sacred, Tom! Don’t get too carried away!

This is when I need to take the advice that so many people told me in my youth: shut up.

I don’t mean this in a mean way. I am not trying to lessen the importance of Batman to me and to many other die-hard fans. My only intention is to remind myself that in the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t matter. And I don’t mean in the grand scheme of the world and the myriad problems it’s currently suffering from. I mean in the grand scheme of all things Batman. Everyone needs to just calm down. What one writer does or does not do with the character doesn’t change him at the end of the day, it doesn’t vastly transform him no matter what people say. Tom King can do whatever he damn well pleases with Batman and I (and many others) will still care deeply for the character. Only one person has the ability to make me dislike Batman: me.

Now that’s not to say I would be happy-go-lucky if King does attempt something radical like making Batman or killer or something akin to that. It just means that my love for Batman is much larger than a single comic book story arc. It’s also bigger than Snyder’s Batman V Superman or Jared Leto’s Joker or even if they ended up casting Carrot Top as Batman tomorrow. An icon like Batman is bigger than all of that. He has persevered through numerous once-in-a-generation events billed as something earth-shattering and revolutionary. And he’s still here. And he’s still my hero. And that isn’t changing any time soon.