IGN Comics.com talks with Batman editor Mike Marts to discuss how Gotham deals with the absence of the Dark Knight, the Battle for the Cowl teaser.

Mike Marts talks about Grant Morrison's return and some of the upcoming one-shots preview in April solicitations. Also IGN try to get some clues from Mike regarding the teaser image and Paul Dini's involvement in new Batman projects. Fantastic interview...

IGN.com: I know there's always a lot of thought and heated discussion regarding where exactly one of these major beats occurs. For instance, should Flash die in the pages of Crisis on Infinite Earths or his own title? Should Spidey unmask in the pages of Amazing or in Civil War? Was there any discussion about whether Batman would die in his own title or in Final Crisis?

Marts: The plan for this storyline was in place for quite a while. To the best of my memory, we always planned on having that moment happen in Final Crisis. We knew that we were going for a certain major type of beat at the end of RIP, and then that would lead right into Final Crisis.

IGN Comics: As it turned out, there was a definite dramatic arc connecting Batman RIP, Grant's two Last Rites issues, and Final Crisis. When it came to making sure these events all synced up with each other, was there a lot of interplay between you and Eddie Berganza [editor of Crisis]? Or did a lot of the responsibility of making sure things played out organically fall on Grant's shoulders?

Marts: It was a combination of both those things really. We trusted Grant to have all the story beats line up and make sure one thing flows into the next. But yeah, there's a lot of responsibility as far as myself and Eddie Berganza and the rest of our editorial team are concerned. With the end of RIP and the last two issues of Final Crisis, there was a lot of interaction between the offices and a lot of sharing of materials to make sure we had the right visuals and beats corresponding in each of the projects.

IGN Comics: [laughs] Fair enough. I asked Tony Daniel this question when I interviewed him, and I'm interested to hear your perspective on it. I think if you were to ask ten fans who they expect to walk away from Battle for the Cowl with the right to become the next Batman, nine of them would say Nightwing. How are you guys going about subverting or playing with those expectations?

Marts: Well I think you can take a look at any one of the characters and come up with a justification for why he or she should be in the suit. A lot of people are going to gravitate towards Dick Grayson because he's been the second in command of Batman for so long, and has always been there. But you have to stop and think if this is something Dick would even want. Could he possibly feel like maybe no one could be Batman, and that the legacy of Batman is something to revere and respect and not try to replace?

Tim Drake is perhaps the best detective there is after Bruce Wayne, and in many ways he's even out-done Bruce Wayne in terms of his detective work. So he's a likely candidate as well. You also have to think of Damien Wayne. Like I said earlier, he feels entitled, and there might just be a reason this character wasn't introduced until the last three years. Jason Todd is also definitely someone to throw into the mix. He's been associated with Batman for a long time, and he's gone through a lot over the past few years. Sometimes he hasn't been the most stable person, so what would happen if he tried to become Batman?

And maybe it won't be Batman. This could be where we see Batwoman come into the mix more in stepping into that void. It could also be Selina Kyle, who's been closer to Bruce Wayne than most of these other characters have been. What about Cassandra Cain? Will she step up and become something that no one will expect? I really think that Dick Grayson is a popular choice – He just may not be the most logical choice.

For the entire interview click here...

(Source - IGN Comics.com)