Bing AI writes epic Batman/Walking Dead crossover

We took to Bing's new AI chat to tackle a monumental task in the world of pop culture. We asked it to write a short story about a Batman/"The Walking Dead" crossover event.

In a matter of seconds, here's what it came up with:

**The Dark Knight of the Dead**

Batman was on patrol in Gotham City when he received an urgent message from Alfred. He switched on his communicator and heard his butler's voice.

"Master Bruce, I'm afraid I have some bad news. There's been a global outbreak of a virus that turns people into flesh-eating zombies. The authorities are calling it the walker virus. It's spreading fast and there's no cure."

Batman felt a chill run down his spine. He had faced many threats before, but nothing like this. He asked Alfred how he was doing.

"I'm fine, sir. I've barricaded myself in the Batcave with enough supplies to last for a while. But I'm worried about you. You need to get out of the city as soon as possible. It's not safe here."

Batman looked around and saw chaos and panic everywhere. People were running and screaming, cars were crashing, buildings were burning. He saw some zombies shuffling towards him, their eyes glazed and their mouths dripping with blood.

He knew Alfred was right. He had to leave Gotham and find a safe place to regroup and plan his next move. He activated his Batwing and flew away from the city.

He decided to head towards Atlanta, where he had heard there was a CDC facility that might have some answers. He hoped to find some survivors there, or at least some clues on how to stop the virus.

He arrived in Atlanta after a few hours of flying. He scanned the area and saw that it was overrun by zombies as well. He spotted the CDC building and landed on the roof. He entered the facility and searched for any signs of life.

He found a few corpses, but no one alive. He checked the computers and found a video message from a scientist named Dr. Jenner. He played the message and watched as the scientist explained what he knew about the virus.

He said that it was a mutated form of rabies that affected the brain and reanimated the dead. He said that everyone was infected and that death was the only trigger. He said that he had tried to find a cure, but failed. He said that he had lost hope and that he was going to end his life.

He said that he had rigged the building to explode and that anyone who was watching this message should get out as fast as they could. He said that he was sorry and that he hoped someone would find a way to survive.

The message ended with a countdown timer that showed 10 seconds left.

Batman cursed and ran towards the exit. He barely made it out before the building exploded behind him. He got on his Batwing and flew away from the blast.

He realized that he had wasted his time coming here. There was no hope in Atlanta. There was no hope anywhere.

He decided to keep flying until he found somewhere safe to land. He hoped to find some other survivors who might have some idea on how to deal with this apocalypse.

He flew for several hours until he saw a prison in the distance. He decided to check it out. Maybe there were some people there who could help him.

He landed near the prison gate and got off his Batwing. He approached the gate cautiously and saw a group of armed people standing behind it.

They pointed their guns at him and shouted at him to identify himself.

Batman raised his hands and said in a calm voice:

"I'm Batman."

Yeah, we're speechless, too. 

FanX 22: "The Walking Dead" spotlight panel highlights

FanX 2022 brought together a dream pairing of actors from "The Walking Dead," who never officially met on-screen: David Morrissey and Ross Marquand. Morrissey played the dastardly Governor in 20 episodes between Season 3 and Season 5, and Marquand's character, Aaron, has survived for more than 100 episodes, down to the episodes leading up to the series finale. The pair took the Grand Ballroom stage to chat with fans about their time on the show, some behind-the-scenes hijinks and the ever-popular "what if?" scenarios.

Here are some of the highlights from their Thursday afternoon panel:

A fan asked Morrissey what it was like to film an infamous Season 4 episode between the Governor and Hershel.

Morrissey: Whenever anybody goes on the show that you’ve spend time with, it’s really hard. Scott [Wilson] was a special person. He was a great man. When I joined the show, […] to be working with such a wonderful actor, who I had been seeing for a long time, in films like “In Cold Blood,” “The Great Gatsby”… This was an actor that I’d admired – not just as an actor but as a man – for many years. So when I read that episode, yeah, my heart sank because I knew everyone was going to hate me, but also because it was a tough thing to do. The day we did it, all the crew turned up and they all had, like, Hershel suspenders on and stuff like that. It was a mixed day for everybody, but that happens when a lot of people die on the show. They become your friends. You become very close to them, so it is hard to see someone go, after so long. The good thing was that I did that and then I died quite quickly, so I thought that people would see that I’d suffer, so that was good. [Scott Wilson] was a great man, he was a great actor and a really great friend. It was hard to do [on the show] but it was hard to lose him in real life, as well.

A fan asked what the relationship between The Governor and Aaron would have been like if their paths had crossed on the show.

Morrissey: Well, I think it depends on when they meet in their arc, really. I think I could see [Aaron] working in Woodbury. At one point, Woodbury was a really successful place. It was working well, it sort of had a community. It was sort of a dictatorship but it was working ok. In that point of our story, I think we would have got on very well. I think what the Governor was looking for was a good, solid community, and that’s what I think [Aaron] would have brought. Later on, […] once the Governor went psychotic, I think everybody was up for grabs, really.

Marquand: I think Aaron’s always been desiring of community and helping rebuild the world, but he’s also a great judge of character, so I feel like, if it was the early days, he’d be like, “This guy seems all right but I’m gonna keep an eye on him,” but much like Michonne, as the series goes on in Season 3, I think she’s the one that first starts to kind of poke holes in [the Governor’s] world. It’s Andrea that’s kind of like, “He seems fine!” And they sleep together and it’s all good! [Uneasy laughter from audience]

Morrissey: It was wonderful, after we slept together. It was fine. [Audience laughs] What could have gone wrong?

Marquand: But I think they would have gotten along, at first, too. I agree.

Morrissey: But, also, I think what the Governor was doing was he was presenting one personality to his populous, and what you saw was him doing something else privately. I think, for a while, the people in his community thought he was a good guy; only the audience knew that he was scheming behind and doing things he shouldn’t have been doing. But yeah, I think if we would have met at that time, Aaron would have fit in really well.

A fan asked if they ever stop and think about how strange their jobs are.

Morrissey: Yeah, I feel that about 20 times a day. I used to feel that way a lot. As a younger actor, I used to think, “This is ridiculous, that I’m earning money like this” – particularly when I thought about how my parents went to work. I thought, “Here I am, dressing up in a costume.” But I feel that less now. [Now,] I’m very proud and lucky to do my job. I do this thing – Andrew Lincoln and I used to do this a lot – we’d be somewhere in the middle of some field, boiling hot, covered in blood, sort of sweating [due to] having done scenes of running away from zombies and stuff, and Andrew would turn to me and go, “Isn’t this great?” And you had to do that. I constantly, now, as an actor, remind myself that I am living my dream! My dream, as a kid, was to be a working actor, and that’s what I’m doing. I have to remind myself to appreciate every moment of the day [that] I’m doing it. There are aspects of my job – our job – which [are] ridiculous, but how great is that? That’s great, as well. I have to […] really remind myself[,] whereas, as a younger actor, I would slightly think, “What are you doing, David? You should be building things. You should be… look at your hands! You’ve never done a day’s work in your life.” I don’t think that now. I’m really proud of my job, and I know it’s hard work, as well. I’m much more in tune with it than I used to be. 

Marquand: I think, for me, Season 6, where Maggie and I are trying to find Glen and we get stuck in the sewers and I was covered in fake poop… That, for me, was one of those moments where I was like, “Wow. I made it.” [Audience laughs] It was just such a surreal thing because the art department on our show is probably the best art department I’ve ever worked with and they do such a good job. From what I understand, they took Snickers bars and ground them up in a blender, but only so much, and they just poured gallons and gallons of what looks like… Sorry, if this is grossing you out. You watch “The Walking Dead,” so it probably isn’t grossing you out. [Audience laughs] But we’re just covered in this stuff and we’re swimming around in this, and it was really low lighting. I remember the zombie that was going to kill me was coming out, right between my legs, and I was like, “[Exclaims]” I didn’t have my glasses on [and] I had terrible vision before I got LASIK, and this thing swiped at my face and got a chunk of my eyeball and everything. He, immediately, was apologizing profusely because he couldn’t see because he’s got lenses on his eyes, and we’re both just in this apology cycle: “I’m sorry!” “No, I’m sorry!” “No, I’m sorry!” We’re both covered in crap. “Oh no! I’m sorry!” “No, I’m sorry! I should have reacted faster!” It was just, like, what are we doing? We’re both just covered in poop and we’re apologizing to each other, and he’s a zombie. It was cool. So yeah, that was a moment for me.

The panel moderator asked Marquand what TWD fans can expect from the final eight episodes of the series.

Marquand, doing an impression of Donald Trump: Everybody dies. Everybody dies. It’s very sad. It’s a very sad day for everybody. Literally, everybody in the show, they just all die. [Audience cheers and hollers] It’s very sad, the ending. You gotta believe me. Believe me: you’re gonna cry your hearts out, ok? You’ve never seen something so sad in your entire life. It’s all death. Nothing but death. Blood, sweat, tears. Everyone dies. It’s very sad. You’ll love it. You’ll love it. [Audience cheers]

 

*****

Have you stuck with "The Walking Dead" to the end of the series? Do you have a favorite character from the series? Let us know in the comments section, on Twitter (here and here) or on Facebook.

And for everything else FanX-related, keep it right here with Signs of the Times.

FanX17: That time when I asked Khary Payton for Walking Dead spoilers

One of my favorite interviews from FanX17 was with actor Khary Payton, who is best known for his current role as King Ezekiel on AMC's hit show "The Walking Dead" and for his voice work as Cyborg in the "Teen Titans" animated series.

It was a good-natured and light-hearted chat that Khary and I had for my alotted three minutes, and I knew, if nothing else, that I'd at least have to try to get some "Walking Dead" dirt out of him. I watched about two and a half seasons of the zombie drama but, with the show now in its seventh *rubs eyes* seventh season, I was hoping he'd help catch me up quickly. Here's how that panned out:

Signs of the Times: All right, Khary, tell me this – Ok, I’ve watched a little bit of “The Walking Dead,” but I’m a little bit behind… so I need you to tell me a little bit about your character [King Ezekiel] and convince me to catch up.

Khary Payton: “Convince you to catch up? I’m not gonna convince you to catch up! You catch up if you want to! I’m fine. I’m just fine, man, you know? If you… if you don’t want to watch the show, that’s fine, but there are tigers…”

SotT: All right…

KP: “There are dreadlocks, you know? And there are walking Walkers, and all kinds of human intrigue. You should know this by now!”

SotT: I know, I know…

KP: “You should know this by now!”

SotT: I need more time to watch shows!

KP: “I totally get it. I totally get it.”

SotT: So… do you ever kill anybody on the show?

KP: “[Scoffs] You know, you’re just going to have to tune in. You’re not getting that! You’re not getting the Cliff Notes from me, dude. [Laughs] I’ve been keeping secrets way too long. I can keep them from you! I can keep them from you. But you know what? Fifteen million people can’t be wrong.”

SotT: I got caught up with some other stuff. I need to catch up.

KP: “Exactly! Exactly! These things happen!”

SotT: When did you get into acting? Was that something you always wanted to do?

KP: “Yeah. Since I was a kid, I was dabbling in it. I don’t know. … I got kinda serious about it in high school and decided that I would try to pursue it. I was from a small town in Georgia and everybody said, ‘Ah, Khary, you’re gonna do really great,’ but I didn’t want to be one of those people who goes on ‘American Idol’ and nobody told them they couldn’t sing, you know? So I auditioned for a bunch of theater schools, and I was like, ‘If I can get into these schools, then that means, ok, that I’m not [deceiving] myself and I should try this as a profession. And I got into all of them, took the one that gave me the biggest scholarship and I’ve been studying and following my passion ever since, which is to get to tell a great story."

SotT: All right. Have you ever been to Utah before?

KP: “Yeah, I came here about nine years ago. I shot a really funny, really crass movie called The Legend of Awesomest Maximus. It’s hilarious, but it’s not something you would watch with your mom. It’s like a National Lampoon’s kind of thing – like a spoof of 300 – but yeah, yeah. I was here for a while. I’ve come to find that Salt Lake City [has gotten] new restaurants and new places to go, so explore a little more.”

SotT: Yeah, we’ve got some March Madness going on this weekend. It’s a great weekend to be here. It’s great weather – it’s not snowing.

KP: “Oh yeah! You know what? Great weather tends to follow me around. I was just in London and it was pretty good, too.”

SotT: You have to keep coming back, then.

KP: “That’s what I’m saying. Yeah, exactly. Well, if I want snow, then you’re gonna be in trouble because I want to go up to Park City and get my snow on.”