I am having trouble understanding New 52 canon. I was reading the 0 issues of Batman, Batman and Robin, and Detective Comics. It appears that they have changed the Batman timeline and some things don't make sense. I will just list a couple of examples. In the new timeline Bruce Wayne arrives in Gotham City and becomes Batman 7 years before current canon. Damian Wayne is 10 years old. Bruce Wayne didn't meet Talia until after he was already Batman. Also, in the new timeline Batman takes on Dick Grayson as Robin 5 years before previous canon. Considering that Dick and Tim were both Robin until they were 18, I don't see how Batman could go through all three Robins in 5 years. Has anyone seen a timeline of New 52 Batman canon or maybe an explanation from Scott Snyder or DC Comics? Edit: Sorry for nerding out.
Remember, new stories aren't always canon. The newest Friday the 13th never happened because it contradicts what happened in the original 9 films.
SleepyPK, this is canon. Mike, why don't you like the New 52? This is the only thing I don't like. I find the New 52 really helped clean up canon in most cases. I like that they are trying to make Batman younger. I once did a quick estimate and figured that Batman was over 40; which is really old to be doing what he is doing. I just think that maybe they should have Batman arrive in Gotham 11 or 12 years before current canon.
To compensate for the shortening of the time frame, many characters in the New 52 do not exist/have been benched/have had their backstories completely rewritten. After flashpoint Batman/Bruce Wayne was made younger, but at the same time tried to keep most of his history the same, which doesn't really work. Most of the history has been condensed at most. When Dick started his run as Robin before the New 52, he was around 10 or 11 years old I believe. A 10-11 year old boy in tights is not very intimidating, he probably became Robin at 15 or 16 in the least. There were 5 Robins - Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and then Damian Wayne. If Dick was 15 or 16 when he started, he was most likely Robin for those remaining years before he became an adult to become Nightwing. Bruce would have to take on Jason Todd immediately afterwards, however after his death there is no way he would of taken Tim in until at least a few years later. Jason Todd would have also been with Bruce for a few years, like Dick. Stephanie Brown would of had to been Robin for less than a month, considering she was only there to make Tim jealous and take the job of Robin back on. This leaves Damian having to have just started crime fighting at the ripe and tender age of 9 or 10, So no matter how hard we try to condense it, it still does not work, especially because of Jason's death since Tim would not be taken on quickly after it. The Batgirls are another story completely - however, they are not as closely tied to Bruce like the Robins are. This is evident since Barbara Gordon became Oracle, Helena Bertinelli was only Batgirl during No Man's Land, Cassandra Cain has been benched since her run as Batgirl, and Stephanie Brown after becoming Robin and Batgirl has returned to her first role as Spoiler. No matter how you try to explain it, the Batman timeline does not work. And it can't. But we're just supposed to roll with it.
Thank you for trying to explain it. But it still is not explained how Damian can be 10. Batman couldn't meet Talia until at least 7 years before current canon. Also I don't think that Stephanie Brown was ever Robin in the new canon. But come to think of it Batman canon made no sense before the New 52. Actually the more I think about the more New 52 canon makes sense over old canon. I think it would be neat if they went back and filled in the missing points of the New 52 canon though.
