The Batman Family Gets Gender-Swapped in Epic Fan Art

While there have been countless versions and variations of Batman and the extended Bat-Family throughout DC’s history, it took artist Otto Schmidt (Batman Annual #3, Harley Quinn, Green Arrow, Nightwing, Hawkeye: Freefall) to give fans a glimpse of what a potential gender-flipped version of the Bat-Crew would look like.

The “Earth-11 Batfam,” reimagines a female version of Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and the Red Hood, while also showing male counterparts to Batgirl and Batwoman. What’s most impressive of the new look is how much it stays true to the original design of the characters. Even with the change to their sex, the costumes remain very true to the iconic concept of each character, with all of the character still retaining the same color scheme and design of their original costumes.

The art was recently posted on Schmidt’s twitter and what also works are the subtle flourishes given to the gender-switched Bat-Family. The female version of Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and Redhood have slightly longer hair, with Red Hood in particular standing out with a Rogue-like streak of white in it. The male Batgirl also rocks a shorter-crop of the character’s trademark red hair, with the male Batwoman having a tighter cut. All of their costumes are also tailored to their body types, without accentuating or covering up, making this new Bat-Cast almost look ready for their first issue debut.

Fans on Reddit and Twitter were only too excited to contribute in small ways, including trying out new names for the gender-flipped cast. Schmidt himself even threw in his own suggestions with Brie Wayne (Bruce Wayne), Ricarda Greyson (Richard Greyson), Jessy Todd (Jason Todd), Bartholomew Gordon (Barbara Gordon), and Keith Cain (Cassandra Cain). The Reddit community even got in on the fun, as fans also offered up gender-swapped names for classic Batman allies and villains: Jim Gordon (Gillian “Jill” Gordon), Alfred Pennyworth (Alma Pennyworth), The Riddler (Edwina Nygma), and Mr. Freeze (Victoria Fries).

Neither the Batman family, nor the larger DC Universe, is a stranger to flipping the genders of its most prominent characters. Probably one of the more recent versions is the officially established Earth-11. Created in 2005 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness for Superman/Batman #23 and part of DC’s 52 Multiverse, Earth-11 was home to not only Superwoman and Batwoman (who Batman deduces is another version of the Huntress), but also Aquawoman, Plastic Woman, and Miss Miracle.

What’s truly fun about Schmidt’s rendition of the Bat-Family is not just comparing what is different, but what stays the same in the essence of the characters. Naturally, this is all speculation, but given the positive response from people on social media, it can be taken  as an endorsement of comics fans who would love to see the adventures of Batwoman and the Girl-Wonder.

Source: Twitter