Cornell creates original Batman villain

Paul Cornell has claimed that his upcoming story arc on Batman and Robin will introduce a supervillain unlike any Batman has faced before.

The writer admitted that he had been daunted by the idea of creating a new villain, but explained that Grant Morrison's recent controversial work on the Batman franchise had inspired him to bring some of his own originality to the series.

"My aim was to take a facet of Batman's rational life that hadn't been a mad villain, amplifying its opposite into psycho drama, and do just that," Cornell told The Source. "Then around that core one has to try to build a sort of archetypal shape."

He added: "I can't claim to have got it right, I have no idea. Writers don't get to say who joins the pantheon, we can only put the character in place and hope that other writers use them again."

Cornell confirmed that the new villain is called The Absence, although nothing has yet been revealed about the character's background or abilities.

The Absence will make his first appearance in Cornell's debut in Batman and Robin #17.