BAT TO THE FUTURE: The Return of Bruce Wayne

[Skyknight]

http://io9.com/5422478/bruce-wayne-to-return-next-year-and-throughout-time

...Bat pun...sorry, bad pun, but appropriate for the inevitably cliched return of the original Caped Crusader, going through his Elseworlds wardrobe en route to returning to the present day

 

[Ragna "D" BloodEdge]

Well, he had to come back sooner or later. I was hoping for later, though...

 

[TalonRanger]

to be honest I've been liking Dick as Batman the moment he started though...I was hoping for Bruce to come back like..next year.....aand very late XD

 

[Arkvoodle]

Aw, damn. I was hoping this would be about "Batman Beyond."

 

[MattComix]

They only took him out in the first place because they clearly wanted some of that Captain America money. Hell this is basically a beerslam of the time-bullet with the Batmen of Many Nations thing.

 

[ryuuseipro]

They only took him out in the first place because they clearly wanted some of that Captain America money. Hell this is basically a beerslam of the time-bullet with the Batmen of Many Nations thing.

That's the way I see it. How many more times is Bruce Wayne going to jump the shark, anyway?

I was really liking the idea of Dick Grayson being the next Batman, as he was the most logical successor, IMHO.

 

[MattComix]

That's the way I see it. How many more times is Bruce Wayne going to jump the shark, anyway?

I was really liking the idea of Dick Grayson being the next Batman, as he was the most logical successor, IMHO.

Makes more since than fuckin Azarel.

But that's the problem with these events. You kill the main hero, piss off his fans. Create the new guy, get people into him. Bring back the main guy, piss off fans of the new guy. Ultimately everyone loses somewhere in this process. I'm glad Steve is back because I don't think he should have been killed off in the first place but I totally understand why Bucky fans are pissed.

Because it's done as a stunt rather than anything that feels like a truly natural culmination and conclusion of everything that characters story has meant and setting the stage for the one who will take the mantle. It's not ending a story and passing the torch, it's just a cheap shock cashgrab and temporary sales fluffer.

 

[Skyknight]

Captain America: Reborn being a let-down didnt help. Marvel cancelling the book until 2010 until that rubbish was finished was another bone-headed move.

In contrast, D.C handled Bruce's exit superbly, they didnt lie to the fans, they TOLD them Bruce would be back, Morrison has no intention of making Bruce Batman for another year or so after he's brought back either.

 

[MrMonk]

In contrast, D.C handled Bruce's exit superbly, they didnt lie to the fans, they TOLD them Bruce would be back, Morrison has no intention of making Bruce Batman for another year or so after he's brought back either.

Indeed. Morrison has been vocally clear that Bruce would be back. This was just the next step is his uber-Batman story. (Batman & Son > RIP > Grayson Batman > Return > ??)

And you have at least another year of Grayson Batman anyways:

Q: Aside from Return, what new work can readers look forward to from Grant Morrison in 2010?

A: Mostly Batman work — I'm doing at least another year of stories with Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in the Batman and Robin book before that book starts to dovetail with Return and we rush headlong and screaming into the next big, earth-shattering, game-changing twist in the life of Batman.

My guess on the twist is there will be two Batmen. Much like Rogers and Cap, I can't see Bruce taking the mantle from his surrogate son.

 

[ryuuseipro]

Makes more since than fuckin Azarel.

Azrael was a joke. Believe it or not, I actually have the issue (which a friend of mine gave me), with Azrael first appearing in that ridiculous Batman armor, beating the stuffing out of Bane. And to make Batman more Wolverine/Punisher/Spawn-like, too! (Of course, Azrael has to change his mind about killing Bane at the last minute, because otherwise, he wouldn't be the "real" Batman, as Commissioner Gordon feared throughout the story.) Pretty adolescent, if you ask me.

This issue's cover, BTW, is chrome-plated, being one of the early comics to have such a gimmick. As one artist said, such covers are "a mask for crap." He's not too far off!

I thought Dick Grayson replaced Bruce Wayne more gracefully (and I always thought it made more sense). I'll also admit that Bruce Wayne was given a respectable exit in recent comics, rather than "LET'S BREAK HIS BACK, BECAUSE DARK AND GRIM IS KEWL!!!" That Beavis & Butt-Head mentality that took over comics just to kill off characters because it's "kewl" is so over now. (But alas, there's signs that it's still around, even at Marvel Comics.)