“Yesterday’s” Comic> Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #1 (Batman Day edition)

Well, this barbecue went horribly wrong.

Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point Batman Day Special Edition #1

DC Comics (November, 2021)

CONCEPT/STORY CONSULTANT: Donald Mustard

WRITER: Christos Gage

PENCILER: Reilly Brown

INKER: Nelson Faro DeCastro

COLORIST: John Kalisz

LETTERER: Andworld Design

SPECIAL EDITION COVER: Kenneth Rocafort

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Liz Erickson

EDITOR: Katie Kubert

A strange rift opens up in Gotham City. While people are evacuated, a few going running into it, including Harley Quinn. Batman fails to stop her before being kicked into the rift himself. He wakes up with no memory and unable to speak, but his fighting skills are still there. He’s attacked by various avatars of the Fortnite universe, until he’s aided by Catwoman, who is in the same condition Batman is, but they can sense they’re at least very close. They have no time to explore that when the storm from the game overtakes them.

I am not familiar with the game as I’ve only seen occasional gameplay of it, so I don’t understand how the storm works. From what I can tell, taking shelter wouldn’t help but I don’t know what happens to people in it. Far as I know they are dead. Nothing about the game is explained. Maybe in the rest of the miniseries/trade, but this is a story clearly made for fans of both Batman and Fortnite, probably made during a crossover event with DC Comics or something. For general Batman fans like myself who haven’t played the game I don’t know why Batman can’t talk (players can talk to each other I think) or why he and Catwoman have selective amnesia.

Judging it as an outsider of the game, however, it’s not necessarily a bad story. It sets up a mystery of where the rift between dimensions came from, why Harley and presumably other Gotham villains went into this place, who kicked Batman into the rift, and just what’s causing the violent madness Batman finds himself in. If you have no knowledge of the games, it still sets up a decent story and has some really good artwork. I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to see more of this story, but I might check it out if I had the opportunity just out of mild curiosity. Fortnite isn’t my kind of game, but a story of Batman in a strange world without his memories and only a perceived connection with Catwoman to form an alliance. It might turn out to be a good or bad story, but it starts off okay even if you haven’t played the game.