The writer of Batman comics has a bodyguard at San Diego Comic-Con, thanks to death threats he received after Batman #50 released. Some fans were so upset about that issue that they issued threats to writer Tom King after reading its big plot twist.
The following contains spoilers for Batman #50.
In the Batman comic books, Batman proposed to long-time love interest Catwoman. Issues after that focused on double dates with Superman and Lois Lane, Catwoman stealing her wedding dress and Batman figuring out how to break the news to his friends. Fans grew excited about the upcoming nuptials with each issue. Batman #50 was the final arc of that story, but things didn’t entirely go according to what some fans wanted. In that issue, Catwoman decides that a happy Batman is not Batman at all and she leaves Bruce at the altar. That plot twist proved a divisive one for Batman fans.
Apparently, some fans took their anger way too far and issued death threats to writer Tom King, who wrote the issue. DC took those threats seriously, and King currently has a bodyguard at Comic-Con. King tweeted a photo of him and his bodyguard, mentioning the threats:
DC faced so much outrage over the release of Batman #50 that it decided to make the issue fully returnable. This was after retailers began expressing concern over fans coming into stores and demanding refunds. Not only that, but retailers also worried that the negative attitudes would leak over to further issues, including the new Catwoman title, which acted as a follow-up to the story.
While a Batman and Catwoman wedding might work in the movies, comic books have a long history of something called “the illusion of change.” In comics, superheroes often get the opportunity to experience significant life changes, but in the end, they cannot change too much because writers reason that they would no longer have the same qualities that fans fell in love with in the first place. A wedding between Batman and Catwoman could shake up Batman’s world too much, mainly painting writers into a corner for future stories about the character.
Although it is okay for fans not to like how the story went, it is not alright for them to issue death threats to the creator. In the end, creators owe fans nothing but a good story, and King delivered it. Even if it wasn’t the story that they wanted, fans need to learn to respect the creative process and understand that those stories don’t and never will belong to them.
More: Why Did DC Just Spoil Batman & Catwoman’s Wedding?
Source: Tom King
