History ComicBook / TheNextBatmanSecondSon

But a certain someone was waiting for Jace back at the safehouse. The masked mercenary {{ComicBook/Grifter}} had arrived on the behalf of Lucius to bring him back home. As it turns out, [[ComicBook/BatmanTomKing a lot]] [[ComicBook/TheJokerWar has happened]] in the time Jace has been away from Gotham. And if the Fox Family was ever going to be whole again after enduring such a number of ordeals, they needed to bring Jace back into the fold. A decision that inadvertently sets into motion a series of events that will change Jace's life forever...

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Jace Fox is this to Bruce Wayne much like fellow Bat-Successor [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond Terry McGinnis]] was. Whereas Bruce comes from a respected and beloved OldMoney family, Jace is the son of a [[SelfMadeMan self-made entrepreneur]] and [[GadgeteerGenius inventor]] who is the subject of controversy over his NouveauRiche status. Where Bruce is defined by the tragedy that befell him and his parents at the hands of a random mugger, Jace is a former delinquent who is haunted by an incident ''he himself caused'' during his youth which forced him into exile. Whereas Bruce's public persona is traditionally a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob, Jace prefers to [[SlummingIt get by in life like a regular person]] and has an immense distaste for the Ultra-Rich and more specifically those [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who believe their wealth puts them above consequence.]] And where Bruce is incredibly stoic and grim under the cowl, Jace adopts a more [[TheSnarkKnight sardonic persona]] during his vigilante endeavors.

* OlderAndWiser: [[spoiler:Tatsu Yamashiro was once a cold-blooded CrusadingWidower who built her [[TheDreaded dreaded reputation]] by cutting down the Yakuza and other underworld figures associated with the murder of her family while bearing a cursed sword that [[YourSoulIsMine steals souls.]] Here, it's shown that Tatsu has [[TookALevelInKindness matured into a genuinely more merciful and heroic figure]] who took the younger Jace under her wing as a protégé during the years of his exile. Not only does Tatsu express commonality in Jace's plight as a killer seeking atonement, she actively encourages him [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre to stop beating himself up and start using his talents to become a symbol of something better.]] She's even stopped dying her greying hair black so she could start looking her [[OlderThanTheyLook actual age for once.]]]]

** While his younger sisters Tamara and Tiffany try their best to keep the Fox family together, the former's [[IllGirl compromised health]] declines to a point where [[spoiler:she relapses into a coma]] while the [[TheBabyOfTheBunch latter's youth]] keeps her from being taken too seriously.

But a certain someone was waiting for Jace back at the safehouse. The masked mercenary {{ComicBook/Grifter}} had arrived on the behalf of Lucius to bring him back home. As it turns out, [[ComicBook/BatmanTomKing a lot]] [[ComicBook/TheJokerWar has happened]] in the time Jace has been away from Gotham. And if the Fox Family was ever going to be whole again after enduring such a number of ordeals, they needed to bring Jace back into the fold. A decision which inadvertently sets into motion a series of events that will change Jace's life forever...

* AssholeVictim: Deconstructed. We learn that Enrique Acevedo, [[spoiler: the man that Jace killed]], was a known domestic abuser, criminal and heavy drinker. Lucius uses a team of lawyers to leak this to the press and publicly smear Enrique's name and imply that he was drunk and the one at fault when [[spoiler: Jace hit him]], in order to help his son. It works, but Jace himself doesn't care about any of that -- as far as he's concerned, [[spoiler: he killed a man]], and the man's character doesn't change that.

** After [[spoiler: Tamara relapses into a coma due to the side effects of being forcibly overdosed on a derivative of the Venom steroid by Ratcatcher]], Luke suits up as Batwing and tears Gotham's criminal element a new one to hunt down Ratcatcher and force him to synthesize a cure.
** And after finding out from Tiffany that a {{Paparazzi}} [[spoiler: broke into Tam's hospital room to take pictures of her comatose body]], Jace temporarily stops his hunt for Arkadine and orders Vol to dig up everything on the dude before jumping him in an alleyway and terrifying him into quitting his job.

--> [[spoiler: '''{{ComicBook/Katana}}:''' Good to see you, Jace-san. It's been awhile.]]
* BrokenPedestal: Luke Fox gradually becomes this to his little sister Tiffany, who's fed up of his unfair mistreatment of Jace ever since he returned home along with the fact that Luke admits he'd rather fight crime as Batwing than be around their family these days. [[spoiler: Once Luke confesses he failed to secure a cure for Tamara's condition after Ratcatcher was killed during a GCPD raid, potentially dooming their sister to life in a comatose state, Tiffany becomes ''completely'' disillusioned with Luke.]]
* {{Cliffhanger}}: The mini-series ends with a grim one of these. [[spoiler: While Tanya succeeds in getting the Acevedo family to sign a NDA to cease all legal action against Jace [[BuyThemOff in exchange for a life-changing sum of money]], Enrique's grieving son Edgar swears vengeance in spite of his mother's desire to just move on with their lives. Tiffany completely looses faith in her brother Luke, and begins training to presumably become a crimefighter in her own right to make up for his failings as a superhero, all while Luke himself falls into depression over his failure to save Tam. And Lucius starts genuinely considering Simon Saint's proposal to support the Magistrate Program with his technology, bringing Gotham City one step closer towards becoming the PoliceState seen in ComicBook/DCFutureState. [[HopeSpringsEternal But not all hope is lost]], as Jace Fox discovers the trashed Bat-Armory under Wayne Enterprise and in it, [[AndTheAdventureContinues a prototype Batsuit still intact...]]]]
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Jace Fox is this to Bruce Wayne much like fellow Bat-Successor [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond Terry McGinnis]] was. Where as Bruce comes from a respected and beloved OldMoney family, Jace is the son of a [[SelfMadeMan self-made entrepreneur]] and [[GadgeteerGenius inventor]] who is the subject of controversy over his NouveauRiche status. Where Bruce is defined by the tragedy that befell him and his parents at the hands of a random mugger, Jace is a former delinquent who is haunted by an incident ''he himself caused'' during his youth which forced him into exile. Where as Bruce's public persona is traditionally a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob, Jace prefers to [[SlummingIt get by in life like a regular person]] and has an immense distaste for the Ultra-Rich and more specifically those [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who believe their wealth puts them above consequence.]] And where Bruce is incredibly stoic and grim under the cowl, Jace adopts a more [[TheSnarkKnight sardonic persona]] during his vigilante endeavors.
* DarkActionGirl: Eabha O'Roark, a mercenary under Tyler Arkadine's employ, is the daughter of an infamous [[UsefulNotes/TheIrishRevolution IRA]] veteran who was an expert in "vanishing" people during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles and trained alongside the ''Cumann na mBan'', a Irish Republican women's paramilitary organization. Not only does she have the eerie ability to consistently [[IKnowYoureWatchingMe pinpoint exactly where Jace is]] despite him monitoring her from miles away, once they do finally come to blows, O'Roark [[CurbStompBattle near-effortlessly shanks Jace in between the ribs]] and would've finished the job if it wasn't for [[spoiler: Tatsu's]] intervention.

** His mother Tanya sees him as a walking disappointment and has developed a severe distain for costumed vigilantism as a whole, scapegoating them as the root cause of all of their family's personal struggles.

** While his younger sisters Tamara and Tiffany try their best to keep the Fox family together, the former's [[IllGirl compromised health]] declines to a point where [[spoiler: she relapses into a coma]] while the [[TheBabyOfTheBunch latter's youth]] keeps her from being taken too seriously.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: Jace is already an accomplished field agent at the beginning of the story who is incredibly adept at stealth and can more than hold his own in a fight against multiple combatants. Chapter 11 reveals that he owes much of his prowess as a fighter to his training under [[spoiler: Tatsu Yamashiro.]]
* TheFaceless: Vol, Jace's equally enigmatic MissionControl and oldest friend, has yet to make ''any'' physical appearance and communicates almost exclusively through secured telecommunications. The only hints to their identity is that they first met Jace when they were both at "The Farm" and they're ethnically Russian. The story later clarifies that they're both ChildhoodFriends who attended the same MilitarySchool, but how that transitioned into the duo becoming involved in [[NoSuchAgency extralegal paramilitary operations]] is still a mystery.

* InnocenceLost: Discussed. As a direct result of the trauma she endured as the hostage of Menace and Ratcatcher and seeing first hand what they did to her sister Tamara, Tiff is no longer the naïve child she once was and is far more perceptive to the problems plaguing both her family and the city they call home.

* MyGreatestFailure: During his legal deposition, Jace's testimony finally reveals the tragic mistake he made which has haunted the man for his entire life. [[spoiler: During the events of his seventeenth birthday, Jace ran over a civilian crossing the street named Enrique Acevedo while driving back from a wild party. Critically injured from the collision, Enrique ''begged'' Jace for help while he bled out on the pavement. [[WhatYouAreInTheDark But the scared teen drove off in a panic, leaving Enrique to die in a pool of his own blood instead.]] ]]
** To make matters worse, [[spoiler: when a desperate Jace turned to Lucius for help after the hit and run, Lucius summoned his ArmyOfLawyers to dig up as much dirt on Enrique as humanly possible to leak to the media. Through their investigation, they ultimately discovered that Enrique was a notorious domestic abuser who was actually drunk and wandered onto the street at the time of the killing, enabling them to create a narrative that favors Jace enough so he can avoid jail. So not only is a man dead, but his name has been dragged through the mud so Jace could escape the consequences and scrutiny, further adding to the kid's GuiltComplex.]]

* OlderAndWiser: [[spoiler: Tatsu Yamashiro was once a cold-blooded CrusadingWidower who built her [[TheDreaded dreaded reputation]] by cutting down the Yakuza and other underworld figures associated with the murder of her family while bearing a cursed sword that [[YourSoulIsMine steals souls.]] Here, it's shown that Tatsu has [[TookALevelInKindness matured into a genuinely more merciful and heroic figure]] who took the younger Jace under her wing as a protégé during the years of his exile. Not only does Tatsu express commonality in Jace's plight as a killer seeking atonement, she actively encourages him [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre to stop beating himself up and start using his talents to become a symbol of something better.]] She's even stopped dying her greying hair black so she could start looking her [[OlderThanTheyLook actual age for once.]]]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Katana:''' The person I am now regrets the person I was. But I'm so thankful for the person I've become.]]

* ThoseTwoGuys: Future State's Chubb and Whitaker return as newly promoted GCPD Detectives under Commissioner Montoya and are always seen together commentating on Gotham's rapidly changing state of affairs. Where as Chubb has no qualms about enforcing the new 'Anti-Mask' laws, seeing them as an inevitability once Mayor Nakano entered office, Whitaker believes that the good Batman has done over the years greatly outweighs the bad and that vilifying him and his allies is only going to cause more trouble than it's worth.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Deconstructed. Lucius Fox, a long-time ally of Batman who has been generally portrayed as a HonestCorporateExecutive and all around NiceGuy, is showcased here to be significantly more hardened than initially believed. While Lucius is determined to uphold his responsibilities as CEO of Wayne Enterprises as well as its role in keeping Gotham City safe, he's also more than willing to cross ''whatever'' line he deems necessary [[ThickerThanWater for the sake of protecting his family.]] This development isn't unfounded however, as both Lucius and his family in storylines before this series have been [[TraumaCongaLine routinely terrorized]] by the worst of Gotham's supervillains with Batman or one of his sidekicks [[TheCavalryArrivesLate only showing up to save the day after the damage has already been done.]] Thus making Lucius' more dubious behavior here a tragic case of a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome.
** To a lesser extent, his son Luke Fox has also become more notably abrasive in this series. But the brunt of his ire is [[JerkassToOne laser focused on one person in particular:]] [[SiblingRivalry Jace.]]
* {{Tykebomb}}: Once Batwing finally locates Ratcatcher in [[BeneathTheEarth Gotham's Underneath]], the villain summons a small army of [[StreetUrchin Street Urchins]] who all immediately jump to his defense. When Luke accuses Ratcatcher of brainwashing them just like his rodents, Otis quickly rebukes the accusation, revealing that all he did to secure their loyalty was [[RecruitedFromTheGutter to simply care of them when the system couldn't]]. Judging by one kid's absolutely heartbroken reaction to [[spoiler:seeing Otis get gunned down by the GCPD's tactical response unit who raided their hideout during their brawl with Batwing,]] he clearly wasn't lying in spite of his sinister intentions for them as henchmen.

-->'''Ratcatcher:''' They're not brainwashed. They're just how I found them. They're abandoned. Abused. Unloved. Gotham's one of the richest cities in the world and this is the best it can do with it's neglected children. I don't have to brainwash them. Just give them food, shelter, put a gun in their hands and tell them to be somebody. Know what's the best way to be somebody? ''Kill one of the Bats.''

* ProdigalHero: Expanding off of what was set up in ComicBook/JamesTynionIVsBatman, Jace is turning into a shining example of this trope.

But a certain someone was waiting for Jace back at the safehouse. The masked mercenary {{ComicBook/Grifter}} had arrived on the behalf of Lucius to bring him back home. As it turns out, [[ComicBook/BatmanRebirth a lot]] [[ComicBook/TheJokerWar has happened]] in the time Jace has been away from Gotham. And if the Fox Family was ever going to be whole again after enduring such a number of ordeals, they needed to bring Jace back into the fold. A decision which inadvertently sets into motion a series of events that will change Jace's life forever...

* AssholeVictim: Deconstructed. We learn that Enrique Acevedo, [[spoiler: the man that Jace killed]], was a known domestic abuser, criminal and drinker. Lucius uses a team of lawyers to leak this to the press and publicly smear Enrique's name and imply that he was drunk and the one at fault when [[spoiler: Jace hit him]], in order to help his son. It works, but Jace himself doesn't care about any of that -- as far as he's concerned, [[spoiler: he killed a man]], and the man's character doesn't change that.

** To a similar extent, Tanya Fox absolutely loathes superheroes and supervillains alike due to the numerous incidents where her family was dragged into the crossfire of their conflicts. What she doesn't know however is that her eldest son Luke is Batwing while her youngest son Jace is on the path to becoming the next Batman.

* OlderAndWiser: [[spoiler: Tatsu Yamashiro was once a cold-blooded CrusadingWidower who built her [[TheDreaded dreaded reputation]] by cutting down the Yakuza and other underworld figures associated with the murder of her family while bearing a cursed sword that [[YourSoulIsMine steals souls.]] Here, it's shown that Tatsu has [[TookALevelInKindness matured into a genuinely more merciful and heroic figure]] who took the younger Jace under her wing as a protégé during the years of his exile. Not only does Tatsu express commonality in Jace's plight a killer seeking atonement, she actively encourages him [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre to stop beating himself up and start using his talents to become a symbol of something better.]] She's even stopped dying her greying hair black so she could start looking her [[OlderThanTheyLook actual age for once.]]]]

* TookALevelInJerkass: Deconstructed. Lucius Fox, a long-time ally of Batman who has been generally portrayed as a HonestCorporateExecutive and all around NiceGuy, is showcased here to be significantly more hardened than initially believed. While Lucius is determined to uphold his responsibilities as CEO of Wayne Enterprises as well as its role in keeping Gotham City safe, he's also more than willing to cross ''whatever'' line he deems necessary [[ThickerThanWater for the sake of protecting his family.]] This development isn't unfounded however, as both Lucius and his family in storylines before this series have been [[TraumaCongaLine routinely terrorized]] by the worst of Gotham's supervillains with Batman or one of his sidekicks [[TheCavalryArrivesLate only showing up to save the day after the damage has already been done.]] Thus making Lucius' more dubious behavior here a more tragic case of SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Deconstructed. Lucius Fox, a long-time ally of Batman who has been generally portrayed as a HonestCorporateExecutive and all around NiceGuy, is showcased here to be significantly more hardened than initially believed. While Lucius is determined to uphold his responsibilities as CEO of Wayne Enterprises as well as its role in keeping Gotham City safe, he's also more than willing to cross ''whatever'' line he deems necessary [[ThickerThanWater for the sake of protecting his family.]] This development isn't unfounded however, as both Lucius and his family in storylines before this series have been [[TraumaCongaLine routinely terrorized]] by the worst of Gotham's supervillains with Batman or one of his sidekicks [[TheCavalryArrivesLate only showing up to save the day after the damage has already been done.]] Thus making Lucius' more dubious behavior here a more tragic case of RealityEnsues.

A DC Digital-First miniseries by Academy Award-winning writer Creator/JohnRidley and artists Tony Akins and Travel Foreman. ''The Next Batman: Second Son'' dives into the mysterious origins of Timothy "Jace" Fox, the youngest son of Lucius Fox who rose to become Bruce Wayne's successor as the {{Franchise/Batman}} prominently featured in ComicBook/DCFutureState.

Set within the continuity of ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier, the series kicks off with Jace Fox narrowly surviving a high-stakes mission gone sideways in the jungles of {{UsefulNotes/Vietnam}}. Having been estranged from his family after a [[NoodleIncident grave mistake]] made when he was a teenager brought infamy to his name, Jace spent the years of his exile as a covert operative targeting various figures in the criminal underworld alongside his trusted [[NonSpecificallyForeign ambiguously Slavic]] [[MissionControl guy in the chair]] named Vol. But after the duo's current target Tyler Arkadine, a billionaire philanthropist secretly running an international trafficking ring, successfully counters their attempt to infiltrate his Vietnamese compound, a battered and demoralized Jace has no choice but to return to his safehouse to plan his next move.

** His older brother Luke despises his guts, utterly refusing to forgive Jace for any of his past sins. Luke also has been explicitly sinking more hours into his life as Batwing than usual to escape the drama back home.

* TheFaceless: Vol, Jace's equally enigmatic MissionControl and oldest friend, has yet to make ''any'' physical appearance and communicates almost exclusively through secured telecommunications. The only hint to their identity is that they first met Jace when they were both at "The Farm" and they're (presumably) ethnically Russian.

* ExperiencedProtagonist: Jace is already an accomplished field agent at the beginning of the story who is incredibly adept at stealth and can more than hold his own in a fight against multiple combatants.

* IHatePastMe: Jace clearly harbors a lot of baggage from the consequences of his hedonistic past and a NoodleIncident he was involved in back when he was 17. It's gotten to a point where he's developed a significant GuiltComplex over it that's especially prominent whenever he's around his family. Even Vol can't help but throw a bit of shade at Jace's self-loathing streak.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Deconstructed. Lucius Fox, a long-time ally of Batman who has been generally portrayed as a HonestCorporateExecutive and all around NiceGuy, is showcased here to be significantly more hardened than initially believed. While Lucius is determined to uphold his responsibilities as CEO of Wayne Enterprises as well as its role in keeping Gotham City safe, he's also more than willing to cross ''whatever'' line he deems necessary [[ThickerThanWater for the sake of protecting his family.]] This development isn't unfounded however, as both Lucius and his family in storylines before this series have been [[TraumaCongaLine routinely terrorized]] by the worst of Gotham's supervillains with Batman or one of his sidekicks [[TheCavalryArrivesLate only showing up to save the day ''after'' the damage has already been done.]] Thus making Lucius' more dubious behavior here a more tragic case of RealityEnsues.

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Jace Fox is this to Bruce Wayne much like fellow Bat-Successor [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond Terry McGinnis]] was. Where as Bruce comes from a respected and beloved OldMoney family, Jace is the son of a [[SelfMadeMan self-made entrepreneur]] and [[GadgeteerGenius inventor]] who is the subject of controversy over his NouveauRiche status. Where Bruce is defined by the tragedy that befell him and his parents at the hands of a random mugger, Jace is a former delinquent who is haunted by an incident ''he himself'' caused during his youth which forced him into exile. Where as Bruce's public persona is traditionally a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob, Jace prefers to [[SlummingIt get by in life like a regular person]] and has an immense distaste for the Ultra-Rich and more specifically those [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who believe their wealth puts them above consequence.]] And where Bruce is incredibly stoic and grim under the cowl, Jace adopts a more [[TheSnarkKnight sardonic persona]] during his vigilante endeavors.

* ExperiencedProtagonist: Jace is already an accomplished field agent at the beginning of the story who can more than hold his own in a fight. According to Vol, Jace is a graduate of ''The Farm'' AKA Camp Peary, a real life facility run by the {{UsefulNotes/CIA}} for the purpose of training it's officers in clandestine activities. Which says ''a lot'' about what kind of misadventures Jace has been getting into since he left Gotham.
* TheFaceless: Vol, Jace's equally enigmatic MissionControl and oldest friend, has yet to make ''any'' physical appearance and communicates almost exclusively through secured telecommunications. The only hint to their identity is that they first met Jace in Camp Peary and they're (presumably) ethnically Russian.
* IHatePastMe: Jace clearly harbors a lot of baggage from the consequences of his hedonistic past and a NoodleIncident he was involved in back when he was 17. It's gotten to a point where he's developed a significant GuiltComplex over it that's especially prominent whenever he's around his family.

** To a lesser extent, Tanya Fox absolutely loathes superheroes and supervillains alike due to the numerous incidents where her family was dragged into the crossfire of their conflicts. What she doesn't know however is that her eldest son Luke is Batwing while her youngest son Jace is on the path to becoming the next Batman.

** His mother Tanya sees him as a disappointment and has developed a severe distain for costumed vigilantism as a whole, scapegoating them as the root cause of all of their family's personal struggles.

Set within the continuity of ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier, the series kicks off with Jace Fox narrowly surviving a high-stakes mission gone sideways in the jungles of {{UsefulNotes/Vietnam}}. Having been estranged from his family after a [[NoodleIncident grave mistake]] made when he was a teenager brought infamy to his family name, Jace spent the years of his exile as a covert operative targeting various figures in the criminal underworld alongside his trusted [[NonSpecificallyForeign ambiguously Slavic]] [[MissionControl guy in the chair]] named Vol. But after the duo's current target Tyler Arkadine, a billionaire philanthropist secretly running an international trafficking ring, successfully counters their attempt to infiltrate his Vietnamese compound, a battered and demoralized Jace has no choice but to return to his safehouse to plan his next move.

** While his younger sisters Tamara and Tiffany try their best to keep the Fox family together, the former's [[IllGirl compromised health]] declines to a point where [[spoiler: she relapses into a coma]] while the [[TheBabyOfTheBunch latter's youth]] keeps her from being taken seriously.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Future State's Chubb and Whitaker return as newly promoted GCPD Detectives under Commissioner Montoya and are always seen together commentating on Gotham's rapidly changing state of affairs. Where Chubb has no qualms about enforcing the new 'Anti-Mask' laws, seeing them as an inevitability once Mayor Nakano entered office, Whitaker believes that the good Batman has done over the years greatly outweighs the bad and that vilifying him and his allies is only going to cause more trouble than it's worth.

* ExperiencedProtagonist: Jace is already an accomplished field agent at the beginning of the story who can more than hold his own in a fight. According to Vol, Jace is a graduate of "The Farm" AKA Camp Peary, a real life facility run by the {{UsefulNotes/CIA}} for the purpose of training it's officers in clandestine activities. Which says ''a lot'' about what kind of misadventures Jace has been getting into since he left Gotham.