It was the Batman story that never was. Around 2008, and before DC Comics’ New 52 comics relaunch, Gerard Way proposed a Batman miniseries of wild and epic proportions that was to be entitled Batman: Kingdom of the Mad. Though the story would have featured a Batman unlike anything fans had ever seen before, that was perhaps the problem. For whatever reason, DC Comics decided to go another direction, and Way’s Batman project was canceled. However, a few years later in 2013, Way released some of his ridiculously wild and epic designs for some of the characters, as well as some plot details.

Gerard Way is the lead singer of the band My Chemical Romance, while simultaneously working an extremely successful comic book creator. While he is probably most famous for his creation of the Umbrella Academy, which won an Eisner and has also been recently adapted into two extremely popular seasons on Netflix, he’s also the co-founder of DC’s Young Animal imprint, and also wrote The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys mini-series. Furthermore, he’s been the premier writer for DC’s Doom Patrol comics since 2016. With a resume like that, how could DC pass on an original Batman series from the mind of Gerard Way?

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In any case, Batman and Way fans alike still got a taste of what could have been, when Way released some concept art for Kingdom of the Mad a few years ago on Twitter. Not only did he reveal a brand new design and take on the Batman’s likeness, but he also provided new designs for several other characters in the Batman mythos as well, such as Robin, Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, and Mr. Freeze.

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The specific style and aesthetics of the characters, particularly with Batman, seem like they would have fit perfectly for the story Way was intending to tell. As Way himself shared, Batman: Kingdom of the Mad would have essentially been a sort of Elseworlds story set apart from the main DC continuity under DC’s Vertigo line. In it, Bruce Wayne would have instantly gone insane from the trauma of his parents’ deaths, believing himself to be an actual bat and becoming institutionalized in Arkham Asylum. The designs on his cape would have been a map drawn by Bruce himself, detailing a world of his own making, either a kingdom of his own insane psyche or his version of Heaven according to Way. Joker almost looks like he could have been a fellow bunkmate to Batman in Arkham as well.

It’s hard to determine whether or not seeing the art from this abandoned project helps or just makes it worse seeing as though this unfinished comic book might not ever actually exist. Who knows? Perhaps one day DC Comics will circle back and ask Way to finish the project, and fans will get to see Kingdom of the Mad in all its glory. It’s certainly possible, as DC Comics Collectibles seemed to like Way’s version of Batman enough to turn it into a statue in their Black and White line.

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Kevin Erdmann
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Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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