Dr. Chase Meridian was a one-off character played by Nicole Kidman in Batman Forever, but now she has officially arrived in the comics.
In 1995’s Batman Forever, Nicole Kidman played Dr. Chase Meridian, and now the character has made her comic book debut and promises to change Gotham City forever. In Detective Comics Annual 2021, on sale now in print and digital, a new day is dawning in Gotham as it recovers from the Fear State—and Dr. Meridian will play a huge role in the recovery, as well as the forthcoming Shadows of the Bat event.
Tim Burton spearheaded Batman and Batman Returns but creative differences with Warner Brothers led him to depart the series in 1994; he was replaced by Joel Schumacher, who charted a new course for the franchise with Batman Forever, jettisoning the expressionistic and surreal elements that had been a hallmark of the first two films. In addition to bringing Two-Face and the Riddler into the series, the film added new characters as well, including psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian, played by Nicole Kidman. While Dr. Meridian claimed to have come to Gotham to study Batman, she eventually fell in love with him. The character made a one-off appearance in Legends of the Dark Knight #77, but with a slightly altered look. Now, Dr. Meridian makes her grand debut, ready to change how Gotham handles its criminally insane. The issue is written by Mariko Tamaki and Matthew Rosenberg, with art by Dave Lapham, colors by Trish Mulvihill and Lee Loughridge and letters by Ariana Maher.
Arkham Asylum was destroyed in an attack, and plans are now underway to rebuild it, but there are those around Gotham who feel it needs to be put back together in a new and better way. One of these is Dr. Chase Meridian, who pulls Nightwing aside after hearing the hero berate law enforcement for their attitudes towards mental illness. She agrees with what he said, finding his attitude “admirable.” She tells Nightwing that she and others will be fighting back against the epidemic of mental illness running through Gotham. Meridian introduces herself to him, telling him she is working on the new Arkham Tower project—which will revolutionize not only the Arkham name, but also how mental health is handled in Gotham City. This pleases Nightwing, who wishes her good luck.
It is not uncommon for characters created initially solely for adaptations to make the jump to the source material—Harley Quinn and Rene Montoya are notable examples. Now, Dr. Meridian has made the leap, and much like Quinn and Montoya, she now has room to grow as a character. Meridian was a love interest for Batman and not much else, but the comic book version will be much more, attempting to change the conversation on mental health in Gotham through the new Arkham Tower project. This is a highly admirable goal, as it was becoming increasingly clear the current model was not working and the recent Fear State highlighted this failure.
There is no doubt more to Arkham Tower, and Chase, than meets the eye, and that will play out as Shadows of the Bat unfolds, but for now Dr. Chase Meridian has leaped from Batman Forever, and is helping lay the foundation for a new and better Gotham City.
