If you can believe it, there is currently an in-progress comic book story arc involving Batman which will end in the death of… Bruce Wayne.
Written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Tony Daniel and Alex Ross, the series is a cheap response to Marvel’s recent killing off of Captain America.
According to Grant Morrison, “the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman” is “a fate worse than death, things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all.” It is rumored that Batman will emphatically die tomorrow, November 26, at comic book news stands everywhere.
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Unknown though, is who is behind the character’s demise. Some say it will be at the hands of Robin (Tim Drake) when he makes a play for the dark side. Others insist it will be at the hands of the mysteriously unknown villain “The Black Glove.” Still others speculate that Wayne will simply retire from the bat-mantle. All I ask is that it be for a proper reason.
That fateful day when Captain America was hit by a sniper’s bullet will resonate in comic book history with the same weight that accompanied Superman’s death at the hands Doomsday. Captain America was on his way to a trial, having opposed the Registration Act that he believed put so many more lives in danger than it proposed to protect. His death, at the end of the Civil War, shook the foundations of the comic book universe – characters have died before, but none so beloved as the Sentinel of Liberty.
His death was more than the death of a character many loved, it was a political statement. Though the story hasn’t come to an end, I don’t see anything worth dying for in the Batman story arc.
To his credit, Morrison is responsible for some of the greatest stories and re-interpretations of characters I’ve had a chance to read, but he’s quickly becoming a victim of his own twists. Arkham Asylum is one of my favorite Batman stories and 52 was revolutionary work, but Batman RIP is stepping out of bounds. When fans of The Dark Knight film flock to their local comic book stores, the last thing they should see is Batman on his deathbed.
Killing a hero is by no means a way of redefining him, it merely ends his story. What reason Morrison could be using to justify his actions is as mysterious as the “Black Glove” himself. For Batman’s sake, I hope it isn’t to further the story of Robin or another sub-character inside the DC Universe.
It should be noted that Bruce Wayne has given up the cape and cowl before. The Knightfall storyline resulted in Bane breaking the Dark Knight’s back. Bound to a wheelchair, Wayne recruits Jean-Paul Valley to replace him. As we all know, eventually Bruce Wayne resumes his role as Bats.
Also, I should mention a follow-up series is planned. It is tentatively titled Battle for the Cowl, in which the question of who will continue as The Caped Crusader shall be answered.
Does Grant Morrison deserve another Eisner Award or an Arkham Asylum sentence?
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Images: DC Comics
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54 Comments
Yes, it SUCKS that DC is doing this, it SUCKS that THE BATMAN is “dead”, BUT he went out like a champ. Some people even think his death was better than THE Flash’s, although I disagee, THE FLASH/Barry Allen had the greatest death in all of comics. Period. And he stayed dead longer than anyone, even tho he should never have been killed in the first place and they should have brought him back years ago. Barry Allen is awesome and I’m glad he’s back.
BRING ON THE FLASH: REBIRTH!!!
But I doubt they will keep Batman gone for even two years. Who’s to say he’s even dead anyway? Batman is HUGE. He won’t be staying dead for 20 plus years like THE FLASH did, believe me. DC will probably even issue a statement saying that he will be in comics again by a certain date, much like they did when Superman died. He won’t be gone long, believe me.
DC is probably doing this to get some other gotham heroes in the limelight, Huntress comes to mind.
What the heck ever happened to Captain Marvel? Are they gonna do it or not? If they do get around to it I hope they do it right. No new frills or dumb twists as they do with so many comic book heroes when they make a film. They should go back to the first time Captain Marvel appeared in Whiz comics and start from there. Of course they must have Dr. Sivana, Captain Marvel’s Lex Luthor.
well in my opinion they could some how tie it in with the batman beyond series or something i mean batman is one of those kind of super heroes that kan be reproduced and and live on for a pretty long while. i remember i saw that one spiderman comic about spiderman like in 2099 or sumthin like that. it was really kool. i was thinking it would be nice to have something to lead up to something like that. The DC heroes are getting a bit outdated anyways they need younger replacements maybe they could do a whole series on the replacements of the older DC heroes. marvel could do the same…
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