STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE ...

2012-01-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

Why did Batman steal Sivana's photonic crystal?

How is Tim Drake Batman's greatest student, but has the smallest role?

What is Lazlo Valentin's relationship to Kathy Kane, Spyral, the circus, and Hurt?

Who is David Zavimbe? Who are his Super Fly Crew?

What is The Hood's relationship to Kathy Kane? (Is he Netz's "second best" mention?)

Who was the second double-agent? Matron? Why did his speech bubbles look like Lord Death Man's?

Does Lord Death Man run on Lazarus?

WHAT IS KATHY KANE UP TO?

WHO ARE T.H.E.Y.?

WHAT WAS OROBORO, EXACTLY?

LEVIATHAN STRIKES

2011-12-19T18:52:00.001-08:00

It comes Wednesday. In honor of that, I'm doing a re-read and taking notes on everything Incorporated has given us so far and trying to piece a few things together, so starting from the beginning, here are some new observations:

- Bruce says "That's it!" (I shall become a Bat) when the bat flies into his window. Later when Kathy Kane realizes how to infiltrate Batman by becoming Batwoman, she too says "That's it!"
- Bruce tells Oracle she'll be able to "customize her avatar", and sure enough, Scott Clark's digital version of Batgirl-Oracle is nothing like David Finch's.
- Bruce mentions Internet 3.0, Batgirl going to England, and wanting 1000 G.I. Robot Bat-Knights by Spring. We've just had "Nightmares in Numberland, and are now going to School of Night, then Leviathan Strikes, where the robot army will come into play.
- The Heretic is possibly a "traitor" former member of the Super-Kollektiv.

- Sivana's lab is not necessarily in Tokyo. I just assumed it was because the rest of the issue is, and it features robots.
- Project X, still no idea what it's for, although if Oroboro is laser-based, I can see a use for a diamond-like prism.
- Batman is CONSISTENTLY not the first person to discover anything. Super-Kollektiv raids Farouk's gene-splice facility first. U.S. agents raid Sivana's lab. Death Man finds Mister Unknown first. The list goes on.
- Three John Does, Three Unknowns, Three Blind Assassins/Mice (Dr. No!), Three Orphans, Three Letters, Three Dead Snipers, Three sections of that one motif. Three Batmen. Three Kanes.
- Batman uses several gadgets and got out of several jams COMPLETELY UNEXPLAINED that seemed new to me as a comics reader. Once I played through and beat the Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City games I no longer was confused that Batman had sonic batarangs capable of shattering glass windows (or explosive gel), or that he had a "device that could hack local security systems with less tech than a cell phone". I've used all those gadgets before. I know Batman has them.

- Dedalus's cloak, as we've learned from the Leviathan Strikes preview, is a memory-leech, and gives those exposed to it the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. Holes in the memory. Time disorientation. This now explains KNIGHT's dizzying predicament in the Victory Vs flashback, as well as how he turned the "decoy Dedalus" into an amnesiac.
- The Hood refers to his boss, "Matron", as having one beady eye. Could it be Captain Carnation, survived?
- Scorpiana's blue scorpions actually kill ALL of El Papagayo's henchmen that Batman and Gaucho knocked out non-lethally. Oops!
- Oro is gold, yellow.
- Morrison cuts from "That's it!" to "I shall become a ..." except it's Sombrero, and instead of "Bat" he says "Monster of Villainy".
- It stands to reason that The Hood's spy organization, "T.H.E.Y.", led by "Matron", is the REPLACEMENT spy agency for Spyral, since Spyral turned out to be a problem.
- Hood really does stick to the "Robin Hood" namesake, giving all his earnings to the underprivileged. Spy for the rich, give to the poor? His mission is almost identical to the mission Dedalus sent Kathy Kane on - infiltrate Batman's operation.
- Batwoman vs. Scorpiana is still the best fight scene I've ever seen.
- NATO Marines were PSY-OPS, psychological warfare, which makes sense if the enemy they're dealing with has an "ULTIMATE WEAPON" that is actually rooted in "PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE", which is ultra-appropriate for Batman to deal with.

Jake Kane, and the Argentines, imply that "Oroboro" is WITH (or within) Doctor Dedalus.

If Doctor Dedalus' cloak of smoke has the power to exert Alzheimer's-like dementia on people on a huge scale ... that could easily be the ULTIMATE WEAPON. "Oroboro" has already been related, the snake eating its own tail, to Alzheimers and memory loss and the mind going in circles. Therefore, "Oroboro" could easily be the codeword for a weapon that erases the minds of billions of people. And "mind-erasing drugs" are already an epidemic in Morrison's Batman comics, whether it be the flashbacks to the 50's era mind-bending drugs and references to Hugo Strange, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter and Achilles Milo, Doctor Hurt's expertise in psychology, Professor Pyg's mind-altering drugs which we now learn are connected to Dedalus' Alzheimer's effects, and the brain-washing drugs Leviathan is using to create zombified terrorist soldiers out of children.

- "Leviathan" refers to Otto Netz as "HERR DOCTOR". The ONLY other person who called him that is ADOLF HITLER HIMSELF. Food for thought, Leviathan COULD be Hitler.

The School of Night

2011-09-24T20:41:00.001-07:00

I haven't much to say yet.

The one ray of light following the end of Bryan Q. Miller's Stephanie Brown driven Batgirl book is that the follow-up writer for Stephanie is Grant Morrison. So she's going back to being Spoiler ... this is fine. Her Batgirl costume, though it grew on us, was pretty garish. So was her Spoiler costume.

The ideal thought here ... the take home for today ... is my curiosity on whether it's Cam Stewart or Chris Burnham, or Grant hisself gets to redesign Spoiler, and I'll take one of those boys super-hero style sensibilities any day.

(I'd make it easy on 'em ... something of the same costume she's been wearing ... ditch the bat-symbol off the chest in favor of a small "Inc." badge on the clasp of the cape. Bring back the hooded look, but not the full-face mask look. Leave that platinum blond look exposed. Shore up the silly belt and thigh pouch. Keep homaging the 60's Batgirl TV costume's levels of purple. Voila.

NIGHTMARES IN NUMBERLAND

2011-08-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Batman, Incorporated is getting all kinds of sporadic here, but there's really a lot more meat in this particular issue's script than the kind of CGI static, slightly dated looking, I'd rather have had less of a throwback in art and something more substantial, classic and dynamic than this artwork would lead you to believe.

The Batman & Oracle team-up is good. They're both entirely competent, Bruce figuring out how to battle crime in cyberspace and maintain order in a highly action-packed board meeting while Oracle just runs around like she owns the place. But I feel like the disconnect in the artwork (Not to mention the fact that Barbara's avatar looks nothing like the sleek design David Finch speculated back in Batman: The Return. I rather wish Finch, or someone better still (Burnham!) had drawn this chapter. Some "computer world effects" could have been added later and with more discretion.) anyway, disconnect in the artwork all but kills any cool emotional beats from the characters ... the "locked room mystery"/"corporate board meeting" elements of the guest characters, and the classical beats we usually get from Bruce and Barbara - Batman's grim expressions in his eyes, his knowing glares, furrowed brows, a smirk here, a stern face there. And Barbara's quirks as well - grins when she kicks ass, particularly since she gets to simulate riding and running and being out of the chair in this environment. In fact, as such a staple of Barbara Gordon iconography, I almost wish this issue had been drawn by Marcos Martin of Batgirl: Year One fame.

For haptics, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic_technology

Despite that, though ... on to the meat. For starters, there's our cast of "suspects" in this almost parlour game scenario ... this almost R.I.P. fashioned "murder mystery" without a murder. Some twisted "Game of Clue" as Grayson referred to Joker's antics. And here we have the usual suspects, although in place of Miss Scarlet, Col. Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and Prof. Plum we have Mz. Bourgeois, Mr. Zamaroff, Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Chun Wei, Mr. Velocet, and Dr. Solomon.

Nothing particularly noteworthy about their names - Morrison chose names that suited rich capitalists. "Bourgeois" being an old French land-owning name (Possibly influenced by its common etymology with "Burgess", as in "Burgess Meredith".). Solomon a traditional Biblical name fit for a doctor. Chun Wei rooted in some very, very old Chinese nomadic tribes. And so forth. One may link Mr. Ari Zamaroff's mention of the Russian neighborhood he grew up in (which was apparently a war zone) with the hellish places Leviathan is breeding in.

Nothing particularly surprising about a Japanese electronics guy being the one responsible for the evil video-game inspired assault either, although we'll get to more about Mr. Tanaka later, right from the get-go one sees he's a bit of a pastiche of a lot of Morrison's Japanese interests - name probably taken from Tiger Tanaka of James Bond fame, useful as it's common as Smith or Johnson is here. Video-game expert. Electronics mogul. That sort of thing. He'd have been an ideal Black Glove member, but again, more on that later. Suffice it to say Leviathan is certainly sharing certain themes with S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Tanaka ends up being something of a cliche, but he's a well-rounded cliche at least.

The Worm Captain is another story. The tech-savvy will clarify that a Worm

in computer parlance is a self-propagating (breeding) piece of malicious software (malware). So the Worm Captain operates just like Leviathan. It's almost assured that it's something they released. The symbolism works beautifully, as "worm" equates to "Leviathan", "Serpent", "Oroboros", "Dragon", "Snake". A new kind of Devil. As for "Captain", it indicates that this is the leader, or best (worst) Worm. The word Captain also stems from Latinate "Caput", which means "Head", which ties nicely to the hydra-like idea of cutting off a worm's head, only for it to grow back, or grow back twice, or cutting the head off a snake. Anyway, the Worm Captain operates in digital space almost exactly how Leviathan is operating in the real world. The methods are the same as those mentioned by Doctor Dedalus. Infiltrate. The Worm. Is everywhere. The Worm. Owns everyone. The Worm. Is everything.

A zombie virus label indicates that the Worm Captain doesn't just self-propagate, it creates zombies (it gets into other computers, and then uses them like carriers (called "Zombies" by tecnos) to spread itself further). This would be how Tanaka has accessed/hijacked the computer systems of all the people in that virtual board meeting, and can access and fuck around with their financial data/fortunes. If their avatars get killed, their computer operating systems become zombies, and basically Tanaka is the necromancer. Interestingly, this ties quite nicely to Morrison's common voodoo theme as utilized by The Joker in his Gravedigger guise, where Shakespeare meets Baron Samedi. (See also: Inc. # 6 where Tim faces off with his grudge-foe, the voodoo shaman Obeah Man.)

The mutation engine is more commonly known as a polymorphic engine. "Mutation engine" certainly sounds cooler in a comic book, and not that many people know what polymorphic means, so it makes sense to have Oracle describe it as polymorphic, then use "mutation", since we all understand that word.

A mutation engine is most commonly used in a virus. It transforms a program, typically a benign program - anything in Internet 3.0 ... the blimp for instance - into basically a copy of itself with the same function, only completely rewritten so that the malware virus has a built-in hiding spot inside preexisting programs. Tanaka must thereby log on, carrying the Worm Captain malware with himself as the Trojan Horse, whereupon it mutates something else in Internet 3.0 to conceal itself within and can be used for whatever he wants to use it for (for instance turning himself into a boss battle.) Barbara must be using one hell of a Search & Destroy program.

Tanaka eventually basically repeats the same words of Leviathan, and particularly Sam Black Elk the Red Rippa last issue when he claims "Wherever the standard of the Bat rises! It will be torn down!"

Judgment in Hell City 666.

Not-so-subtle reference to Batman # 666 and Batman # 700, the dystopian future Hell occupied by Batman (Damian Wayne) and sure as shit ... Barbara Gordon is in charge there too, as Commissioner of the GCPD.

Note that in Batman # 666 Damian actually has to deal with "Judgment in Hell City 666", and in Batman # 700 Damian has to deal with a mutating digital Joker virus (in addition to a real one - Jokerized Monster Men) that got into Gotham's computerized weather control grid. Then, One Million issues in the future, Batman One Million and Robin the Toy Wonder have to face off against an evolution of the same digital Joker virus. Real life and digital life become more and more interrelated in each progressive future. In fact, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker also features Joker taking control of Tim Drake's body via a digital device - the same digital Joker virus, mutated to actually affect "human operating systems"?

Ghost in the Box. This is a fun one, as it's literally Morrison combining the phrase Ghost in the Machine with Jack-in-the-Box. And it's a pretty sensible way to describe Tanaka's malware program. Fun story about Jack-in-the-Boxes - they have clowns or jesters inside, drawing an immediate connection to the digital Joker virus. But "Jack", besides being analogous to the Joker we know, and his further analogues, was also a fill-in for "Devil" (In France, it's called a "Boxed Devil" based on an old wive's tale. And hey ... didn't Bruce Wayne trap the Devil (Darkseid) in his own ancestor box? And didn't The Joker trap the OTHER Devil (Doctor Hurt) in a pine box?)

(Additionally, I'm quite reminded of Futurama, where Bender the Robot dreams of ones and zeroes ... and has superstitious nightmares where he "thought he saw a two". Devil is double is deuce, after all.)

Or maybe Damian's 666 future is just him playing as an avatar in some freaky simulation. Barbara mentions "seven years ago" and one half expects that time-period to have some importance. It could (and I'll do the math later) wind up being around the same time Doctor Dedalus is imprisoned during the DCU Falklands War, very early in Batman's career, or while Kathy Kane is operating as Batwoman. In fact, the way Zamaroff mentions that the entire evil simulation reminds him of some Eighties cheap game almost guarantees that it happened during the Dedalus Mission by Percival Sheldrake and the Victory Vs.

Grinder of Souls (IE: Soul Grinder) and Angel are two extremely powerful units in your various RPGs and MMORPGs, Soul Grinder in particular being relatable to WarHammer 40,000. Apparently Judgment in Hell City 666 creature Tanaka used some of the classic staples.

"Ultimate price" proves to be quite literal, as Tanaka literally intends to steal all of their billions and finance terrorism with it. Slight Casino Royale vibe there (high stakes game, terrorists get the money, Tanaka is a bit Le Chifre.)

Digital Justice is in blatant reference to the previous CGI graphics 1990 Batman: Digital Justice mini-series that this entire issue homages. And unsurprisingly at this point, that also featured a sentient Joker virus. Barbara's ex-librarian comment references her history as a character, but especially memorable because of its use in Batman '66, where Babs the Librarian was made common knowledge.

"Mazes. Webs. Nets," is an easy transition to Kathy Webb and Otto Netz.

And of course, the biggest, most obvious revelation is that the nation of Mtamba, where Jezebel Jet hails from, is the birthplace of Leviathan, instantly connecting Leviathan to Jet, who was a member of the Black Glove. Rest assured Batwing will be on the front lines of any operations there, thus connecting him into the whole Jezebel Jet storyline. One wonders if the Ten-Eyed Men of the Ghost Quarter might factor in as well.

But the key thing to take note of I believe, is the over-arcing similarity between how Tanaka attempts to "judge" all the investors in this digital board meeting parlour game, in much the same way the Black Glove operated. Hell/Satan/Devil imagery. "Your sins have found you out" dialogue. His talk about being a "billionaire" and taking real risks. He sounds just like John Mayhew (Gaucho mentioned Mayhew again as well, comparing Wayne to him, but here we see Wayne once more stacked against a guy like Mayhew, a bad billionaire, and Bruce succeeds and the other investors are bettered by his leadership, instead of corrupted.) or other former Black Glove members. Like some weird Black Glove Parody in cyber-space. Anyway, here we have another "Black Glove" connection to Leviathan, perhaps the strongest yet since Club of Villains members Scorpiana and Sombrero fall more into the hired gun category.

With Doctor Hurt gone, these agents are moving on to the next Devil in line. Tanaka's ties to Jet, and Jet's ties to Leviathan aren't exactly concrete. We're not sure exactly what capacity, but we're sure there is a connection. Well ... unless Talia al Ghul has seized Jet's assets and joined Leviathan just to fuck with Bruce.

Anyway, see you next time for Leviathan Strikes, where Stephanie Brown infiltrates the School of Night, Finishing School for EVIL.

And if anyone can translate the funky numeric speak that Belle Bourgeois says when she's transformed into a dog, I'd love to know what it means (if anything).

2011-06-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

"Then somehow Kathy's the reason we're all here?" - El Gaucho, Batman Incorporated # 5.

Doctor Dedalus. Batman. Batwoman. Gaucho. She's definitely the reason they're all there. Father, lover, lover, successor.

But what about The Hood? Why is The Hood there? I think it's possible to take Gaucho's words literally here, even though he's naive to The Hood's real motives. A super-spy. Working for T.H.E.Y., who we still know next to nothing about but who one imagines are a bit of every great pop culture British spy organization, in a world of super-heroes, probably founded by Sherlock Holmes at one point.

He works for a guy called Matron. What I'd never bothered to look up before is that the British Armed Forces never abandoned the term "Matron" and it's been used for male as well as female officers. (Also, of course, as I think has been mentioned elsewhere, Matrons are commonly associated with boarding houses. See: Batgirl's mission in Batman Incorporated # 9.) We can surely bet that Batgirl's mission to England will continue with the Brit angle Grant has been stringing along throughout his run, and it's likely enough beats from Knight, Squire, and highly likely The Hood will pick up there. I recall Paul Cornell wasn't permitted to use Dai Laffyn in his mini-series either ... so I wonder what the odds Dai turns up in the ninth issue will be.

But if Gaucho's remark is semi-literal, or meta-literal ... The Hood too is there because of Kathy Kane. Who we know from The Kane Affair was involved in all manner of espionage in her life, between flings, artistic endeavors and her marriage to Nathan and subsequent widowing and drafting by Spyral. I had to wonder if The Hood knew Kathy Kane personally as well. (Of course, if Kathy = Leviathan, that would explain the meta-literalness of the phrase as well.)

...

Lastly. Three PSY-OPS agents. What Batman does IS PSY-OPS. Using propaganda in warfare. Using bats, urban legends, rumor, darkness and fear to weaken his enemies. Colonel Kane called them "deep black", and black in US PSYWAR is used to designate the branch that is specifically used to deceive an enemy. Obviously deception is nothing new to Batman, Batman's enemies, Morrison, Morrison's run on Batman, yadda.

The question is, why would deceivers be the ones used to effectively be put on guard duty for Otto Netz? Highly trained guards can be found elsewhere. Do they need to be trained to recognize and look for deceptions? Possibly. Are they learning from their prisoner? Possibly. Or is there something more there?

Otto's conversation with Kathy seemed damn near a psychic chat in the middle of that acid trip freakout in the 60's. I don't believe he's psychic, but rather that Oroboro might give the psychic tools to somebody. OTTO is a palindrome as well. The old man - the fake Netz - spoke with his own voice, and only toward the end did we "learn" that it was a tape recorder.

I'd posit (today, anyway) that Netz was using his shadowy ability to speak through or control the fake Netz and then the tape recorder was more than just a little bit of duplicity to throw them off his trail having escaped.

We'll find out more soon. Like how Netz, Hood, Kathy and the super-spy angle ties with Leviathan and the continuing themes of "Super Drugs" and slavery we've been seeing.

Self-Advertisement.

2011-06-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Spending those summer days indoors is troublesome, but I've been getting a bit of work done to stay in practice, and decided to take a crack at remaking some Silver Age DC Comics covers with Morrison-run characters, but keeping that hammy 50's style. All part-and-parcel of a not-so-deep-seated wish to see Morrison's Red Hood storyline reimagined by an artist that isn't Philip Tan.

Beginning with a more blatant homage to Detective Comics # 164 than the full-page spread we got in Batman and Robin # 6.

More to come.

The Flash vs. Substance.

2011-06-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone reading a blog as obscure as mine knows DC's gone completely mental. Everything's gotta be updated for the kids of 2011, big style. I wasn't a kid that long ago* and I find the whole exercise (on the creative side - not the same day digital side, that's just good sense) pretty unnecessary. But I'm not without my opinions and I'm the mood to type endless ineffectual, unnecessary and inefficient amounts of opinion rather than writing something purposeful and productive.

* I wasn't a kid that long ago. I'm twenty-six years of age. While I'm certainly not a "new fan" (picked up plenty of KnightFall back in the mid-90's, couple of Huntress books, some Superman, whatever the local gas stations had that looked good when they were out of Ninja Turtles books) I AM when it comes to DC a "new reader". A few hometown friends of mine rekindled my Batman love when we were booking metal shows together and playing in lousy bands, and it took off to be something more of an entire DCU publication obsession. What can I say? I was EXACTLY the age Batman: The Animated Series, and the following entirety of the DCAU was made for. Watched it religiously, right up through JLU, which is where my Star Trek obsession was the gateway for those characters Trek actors voiced. (Jeffrey Combs "Question", Michael Dorn "Kalibak". Christ, hit up IMDB for the various guest star voices that show had. The casting is incredible, and genius, too.)

Of course when I say I'm commenting on all of it, I'm really just pointing out a few obvious things, or things that pique my interest. Hell with the rest.

I'd like to thank the Mindless Ones ... I can't even remember to call Geoff Johns anything but "Jeans" anymore, that's been grafted to my brain like the words ZUR EN ARRH.

Justice League.

It'll sell. I've recently done a lot of reading of the old 60's JLA title (part of a process of learning every Aquaman appearance ever) and have to say that that League is superior to all others except the Morrison-Waid era. Look, it's not the most diverse League ever, but that's not the point. The point is seeing the most popular ten or so characters - headliners - in an even bigger, more epic headline title. All those seven coming together back then must have been EPIC and nothing has quite recaptured that. I'll be reading it just for more Aquaman news. JeansJohns might be writing it, so I'm not looking for nuance. But he does "Big Earth Invasions" justice. Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night, ANY of the Crises ... could have all been prefaced "Justice League: Event".

Justice League International.

This should be decent. I like Jurgens Booster Gold, and this feels like a direct follow-up to that, just absorbing some of Generation Lost (passable title) and hey, bringing in Morrison-creation August-General-In-Iron for some much needed different vantage points. Lopresti art is a lovely thing.

Justice League Dark.

I dig the idea of the JLA franchising. First off, it's a direct reflection of the zillion Avenger books out there, but also - being affiliated with the JLA gives credentials to these groups. Sure, Shadowpact is a great idea ... but who in DC trusts a group called that? Everyone trusts the Justice League. Milligan writing this cast of characters makes it guaranteed a try.

Aquaman.

I don't care if it's Jeans. I'm an Aqua-whore. I'll be there.

Blue Beetle.

Bedard earned my readership with R.E.B.E.L.S. and Blue Beetle earned my like with Brave and Bold cartoons. I'll try # 1.

Wonder Woman.

Might Azzarello actually put some "wonder" back in it? Some "sensation"? Gail Simone got me into Wonder Woman, but I've never quite gotten hooked. I've re-read a lot of WW material from her entire history to try to figure out what makes her tick thinking if I could figure it, I'd write it and pitch it, but still haven't quite clicked it (I did find a lot of Atlantis material to swipe and donate to Aquaman though). Whatever. CLIFF CHIANG. I'll read it just to see his art.

Teen Titans.

On first glance this looks like a hot mess. 90's WildStormish costumes. Ridiculousness. I'm glad to see Tim Drake lead a book where he might finally not be a whiny little asshole but I hope he's not expecting to be less lame in that uniform. Further scans do seem to indicate it might be a sort of "Mainstream DCU" version of what's happening in the Young Justice cartoon though ... and that wouldn't be bad. They better bring in Aqualad fast if that's the case.

The Flash.

Manapul drawing speed without Jeans? I hear a lot of "Can Flash succeed without Jeans?" but I honestly think Barry Allen just caught a lucky break.

Hawkman.

I had high hopes a Hawkman book I'd want to read was about to launch. Guess not.

Action Comics.

I really don't need to get into this, do I? Look to this Blog ... because I'm totally going to Blog about Moz Superman while we wait the requisite half-year gap between Incorporated volumes.

Superman.

Does George Perez have anything to say about Superman I want to hear? I'm genuinely curious. And Jesus Merino is a sharp artist who grows month-to-month. Worth a look. Can't say the same about Superman's entourage without some reviews. No "Steel # 1" though? Worse still ... no "Lois Lane # 1"? No Lois title is unforgivable.

Animal Man & Frankenstein.

Lemire is sharp as a tack. Consider them read.

Swamp Thing & Batman.

Same goes for Snyder. Read and read.

Nightwing & Deathstroke.

Higgins is part of Snyder's league of compatriots. Gates of Gotham is solid character work and we're only one issue in. DC must have dug the next four chapters. Here's hoping by writing both titles Higgins can work in some of that Teen Titans Go! hatred for a crossover. I normally wouldn't look forward to a Deathstroke book. But I had a good memory remembering that time Dick Grayson put him down and out by giving him an actual "stroke" by shocking Damian.

Green Jeans.

I read Green Lantern. It's mindless. It's 1000 times too decompressed. But you know ... it's got this appeal where it's so stupid and obvious we can't imagine why we didn't already read these ideas back in the Gil Kane and Gardner Fox era. And I appreciate that kind of simplicity, even if its coming from Jeans and trying oh-so-hard to be complex. Tomasi on Gardner makes me smile, too. Maybe Tomasi will finally be the guy that makes John Stewart as interesting as he should be. Milligan's Red Lanterns book I think I'll surely read. Milligan writing a book about a vengeful space demon and his right-hand tomcat from the mean streets of New York City?

Legion & Legion.

I like Nicieza a lot. Red Robin has been good comics - it feels very much like an extension of the Dixon Robin series and 90's Bat Spin-Off Titles and I love that. I think he'll manage a subsect o f Legionnaires well. Pete Woods has already drawn this story before in the last year or less (See: Robinson, Rucka, Legion Espionage Team). Levitz feels like he never left Legion, which is good because Levitz Legion is what it is, and isn't ashamed of that. As a new reader, I never have any problem keeping up. Having read Jeans' Superman/Legion arc helps (Hell, Jeans' Action run was actually really simple and nice.) but at any rate ... Portela is good. Better than Cinar, and Cinar was headlining the damn thing.

Resurrection Man.

I feel like I know I "should" read it. But I won't. Weird scenario, right?

Suicide Squad.

Strike that, reverse it. I know I shouldn't, and I feel like it'd be spitting in Gail Simone's face because Secret Six ... and hell, her stints with the Squad ... were well-deserving of a follow-up in this slot. But I'm gonna read it regardless. Quinn makes sense here ... she's a psychiatrist of the criminally insane, after all.

Catwoman & Batwing.

Winick is a Jeans-man. His work is hit and miss, but never anything special. People did undervalue "Under the Hood", though. That story could have been far more efficient and elegant but it had the right ideas. "Lost Days" was bollocks and "Streets Run Red" has shit art but might actually manage an elegant follow-up to Morrison's more radical take on 90's-radical Todd. But is Winick on Todd come September? No. Weird, that. I'll try Batwing because I want to read about Jim Brown, Shaft, Ali and Super Fly combined beating the hell out of slavers, diamond robbers and warlords more. (Thanks Granty!) I'll try Catwoman because Winick seems to understand the "sexy" of Catwoman. I see nothing but Generation P/C yammering about what's appropriate and what's chauvinist, misogynistic, rude, lude, whatever. I don't think any of that applies to Catwoman. She's been Sex since Bob Kane introduced her and Batman spanked her and let her escape. I've seen the 60's Playboy pin-ups of Julie Newmar, damn it. I've recently rewatched Batman: The Movie '66 with Lee Meriwether purring and using Sex to mess with Bruce Wayne. Guillem March works for that.

Red Hood and the Junkies.

Number One gets a cursory glance from me. I can see Jaybird getting redeemed. Even Morrison mentioned he's redeemable. Roy Harper needs a new lease on life and I can only imagine the look on Dick Grayson's face when his ex-space princess girlfriend settles for Robin # 2, the next best boy wonder. Solid concept ... execution will mean everything.

All-Star Western.

More Gray & Palmiotti on Hex is good. DC would be stupid not to continue those stories.

I, Vampire.

Twilightmania officially Eclipses the DCU. They do have a solid chance to tell a vampire story that doesn't suck. Although just by the cover alone it looks more "Anne Rice" than I'd want. That's still a step up from Twilight, though - at least Rice's take was original. I want pure Lord Byron, hate and vulgarity. And unlike another major comics company, I want a Dracula who doesn't get jobbed. You don't job Dracula.

Last complaints. Jim Lee redesigned all these costumes? No. Cully Hamner designed some. The ones that don't suck.

INCORPORATED VOL. 1

2011-05-01T12:59:00.001-07:00

MR. UNKNOWN IS DEAD

Pg. X: Grant reintroduces a lot of that 60’s vibe by occupying Catwoman’s current costume and look post-Brubaker/Cooke with a lot more Julie Newmar. Batman robs blind a super-gemstone from Doctor Sivana. Don’t forget this particular bit, it’s sure to come up.

Pg. X: Catwoman reads what Mr. Unknown (Senior) has been researching. THREE UNIDENTIFIED MURDER VICTIMS. John Does. Much like how Doctor Dedalus’ trap revolves around the number three in the next storyline, Lord Death Man’s also begins with three. Three “unknowns” points to killing Mr. Unknown. The aquatic death trap points to Aquazon. First instance of the importance of the number THREE, but keep in mind … Batman Incorporated is the “THIRD” Season of Grant’s Batman Series.

RESURRECTOR!

Pg. X: The three missing men – the John Does – were buried alive. Death Man’s original premise was to be buried alive. During R.I.P., Bruce Wayne was buried alive. Coincidence?

The “Elemental Chain of Death”. The John Does were BURIED alive. EARTH. The Mister Unknowns were to be killed by WATER. Aquazon … hard to say, since Death Man was driving a car blazing a machine gun, but traditionally Japanese (and quite a few other, notably Buddhism) subscribe to a FIVE ELEMENTS philosophy (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Void/Heaven). Whatever Oroboro is supposed to be, Dedalus hints that it might be a FIFTH form of matter. (Solid, Gas, Liquid, Plasma, Filaments). Presumably, Lord Death Man might have been leaving the same clues about Leviathan that Scorpiana and Sombrero later leave more overtly.

“I suspect an upgrade”. Lord Death Man is upgraded. Dirty metagenes? We find out that Scorpiana has upgrades as well. Could they have received them from the same guy – Sheikh Farouk from “The Return”? At any rate, we know Leviathan deals in this trade. Create-Your-Own-Supervillain. Except Sombrero … Sombrero was like a local band who got to play in front of his own idol before a rock concert. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Sombrero was a former student of Doctor Dedalus, a member of Spyral, and possibly FRIENDS with Agent-33 in those days. I’d love to think that Sombrero was a student of Dedalus, and Scorpiana was with Spyral as well, and Sombrero and Gaucho were rivals both in skill, and for the love of Scorpiana.

Something to note – Lord Death Man is in a space capsule orbiting the MOON, not the Earth. I guess if they need him, Superman could go fetch him.

Who was Selina’s client?

SCORPION TANGO

The speculation really steps up once the Argentina/Falklands arc begins.

Is Doctor Dedalus the one who captured the Metalek Xenoformer?

Others have mentioned this before – Super-Hero team Victory Vs get murdered. Only The Knight survives, this being Percival (which means he didn’t die until oh, the early 80’s. Probably during Dick Grayson’s last year as Robin, or right around when The Outsiders are formed and Jason Todd shows up. Young Cyril is likely off at college and Knight has joined a Super-Team to keep busy. The Outsiders thing feels quite apt, actually, as the Victory Vs seem like kind of a quirky, obscure group. Once again, Knight is kind of ripping off Batman’s latest trends. Anyway, everyone gets killed EXCEPT Percy (who gets killed pretty quickly afterward by Springheeled Jack).

Others have speculated that the only reason he survives is because he’s a normal human being. Better than average, but still just a man. Later we learn that Dedalus has a “Meta-Bomb”.

No need to go too far into the inspirations for the short-lived Victory Vs, other than to say that their style and personas peg them as purely 80’s. DC’s Britain definitely felt the 80’s hard – we saw a bit of it back in Batman and Robin when Squire recounted the terrible tale of the Coalmine.

Pg. X: Can’t be a coincidence that Papagayo “The Parrot’s” meta-weapons lab (he’s a gadget-maker for the super-criminals) is located in an astral observatory. This isn’t the first time Batman’s entrances have been marked as “supernaturally silent” and it won’t be the last, even in this arc.

Pg. X: Tristessa Delicia. “Sad Delight”. Santiago is a common Spanish name with Biblical roots, but the Order of Santiago were revered Knights in Spain. Vargas is a surname stemming from old nobility. Gaucho has deep roots, one would imagine. Much like Bruce Wayne. Interestingly, “Santiago” is the capitol of Chile, and “Vargas” is the capitol of Venezuela. There’s a great Zorro vibe to be had from the whole Gaucho establishment. The macho talking, the tango, the villas.

Pg. X: Tango of Death. Scorpiana. Another thematic “death” character. Another follower of Joker’s trends.

Pg. X: The main thread about “THREES”. Expect to see more pairs of threes come up. Expect them to point toward FIVES. Three Blind Assassins were also the killers in the very first scene of the very first Bond movie, “Doctor No” – the tip of the iceberg that was S.P.E.C.T.R.E., and we know that Leviathan is Morrison’s answer to giving Batman his own version of the classic Bond enemy. Grant’s been building toward Bruce as a better James Bond since his very first issue.

El Sombrero completes the theme for “death”. We get another “Skull & Crossbones” (See the acid vial that Lord Death Man kills Unknown with … and hell, Lord Death Man for that matter). It’s rare that Joker fails to kill … but like with Le Bossu, perhaps Joker’s goals with his devoted fanbase was to maim – he saved the killing for the Black Glove.

THE KANE AFFAIR

The Doctor Dedalus we see here conducting, I believe is the real guy. It’s only next issue when he’s been replaced by a double. The dead giveaway is the Cloak of Smoke, and I suppose the “three men” arriving at the end of this issue.

Pg. X: Kane’s Kolossal Karnival. I don’t know if it’s a subtle dig, but people have pointed out the KKK name. While replacing C’s with K’s (especially to match surnames) is a common business practice, one can’t help but think Grant is trying to further point out the dramatic rich white bastardness of Bruce’s maternal side. First there was the WASP references in “Return of Bruce Wayne”, and now this.

We never do get a solid reason for what the connection between Kate’s “Kanes” and the Gotham Kane family are.

Agent-33 continues the repeated use of THREE. But then again, so does Batwoman. There have been THREE Kathy Kanes (Batwoman I, Batwoman II and Kate’s stepmom, and THREE Elizabeth Kanes (Bruce’s grandma, Batgirl I/Flamebird and Mistress Alice (Kate’s sister)).

Nathan Kane died at 47. Batman was already at Year 3 or Year 4 at this point, so Bruce was 25ish. His uncle was roughly 22 years older. Nathan would’ve been 32 when Martha was murdered.

Nathan was with Kathy for 7 years, married only 4 of them. She was 25 when they met, when Nathan was 40. So she was 32 when she became Batwoman, when Bruce was 25ish. And she left Bruce a year later – she was THIRTY-THREE. Christ.

Johnny Valentine has limited speedster moves. Another upgrade courtesy of Leviathan.

Pg. X: Note the super-subtle panel composition of Kathy (Ariadne) in the background, and the foreground is her ACTUAL Sewing Machine.

Pg. X: More Chris Burnham drawn Bat-Cave. This guy seriously needs to do an “Ultimate Guidebook”.

More Black and Red. There’s always more black and red. Key thing to note here is what appears to be black and red is happening in Kathy’s mind? In that case is it also happening in Doctor Dedalus’s mind? So therefore is the black/red stuff next issue happening in his mind? Is he able to infiltrate people’s minds? Is his control over this fifth element, fifth form of matter, what allows Leviathan to control children’s minds?

“Advanced Meta-Materials”. Military codename. Ultimate weapon. Snake eating its own tale. Filaments. Mirrors. A ring around the world. Satellite base. But if it’s a satellite weapon, what do they need brainwashed zealots for? Weather control seems likely, though. This is what Bruce means when he says things have been covert. Oh, sure, assassination attempts against him and his allies. But what do OROBORO, the Heretic, and all the rest have in common?

MASTERSPY

So what did Dedalus want in the Falklands? He was “part of British”, on task with U.N. … he went double agent and then the Argentineans claimed him as one of theirs. One feels like in the DCU, the entire Falklands War might have been an elaborate construct of Doctor Dedalus.

Bruce Wayne has seen glimpses of the future. He’s planning – preparing – to FIGHT the FUTURE. On an interesting meta-textual level, we’ve often constructed scenarios where Grant Morrison has been using his stories to “combat” the negative influences of other writers from the same 80’s fulcrum that he came out of. Mandrakk the Dark Monitor was Alan Moore, Grant was shiny Dax Novu taking him down with creativity rather than watching the decrepit old thing leech the life out of the DCU. All-Beard vs. No-Beard. The list goes on and on. There was some talk to whether Rox Ogama might be a Frank Miller … conspiring with the darkening of the DCU … furthering it … zealously defending his own interests. I believe Ogama was even the Monitor of the Multiverse that contains Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. Universe.

Grant has on the other hand, used works by Moore and Miller. But what future did Bruce glimpse? There are a lot of Bat-Futures out there. Is he trying to prevent Frank Miller’s future?

I think it’s far more likely that the future he’s trying to prevent is the very same future we have been catching glimpses of all along – and none more strongly than in Batman # 700 (TIME AND THE BATMAN, if you’ll recall). The Damian 666 future where either Bruce or Grayson was killed, Michael Lane went back to being the Third Man, souls were sold, devils were dealing, Damian ends up training Terry McGinnis because Bruce is dead, Iron Heel of Fura. That sort of thing. Tough to say for sure at this time, though, but the operations of LEVIATHAN could be the thing that spurs the Damian 666 future into existence.

Pg. X: Doctor Dedalus raid of ancient caverns talking about primordial fallen empires, presumably in England, with Celtic knots and patterns, hints at a possible relationship between the Fifth Form of Matter and say, Camelot – that is the Camelot seen back in Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight. Tough to say though – the connection is probably as tenuous as Charlie English’s supposed line of descent, or the Lazarus Pit being related to the Cauldron of Rebirth.

Dedalus timeline:

- Nazi during WWII

- Betrays Nazis, works for UK

- Goes solo in Argentina, semi-retirement (trains Sombrero?)

- Comes out of retirement in Argentina to head Spyral for UN

- Sends Kathy to infiltrate Batman’s operation

- Betrays UN during Falklands campaign, sealed on island

- Contacted by Leviathan. Sets up trap for Batman

- Freed from island before Batman gets there

T.H.E.Y.? Now what in the hell could that stand for? Matron?

Batwoman vs. Scorpiana: One of the all-time greatest fights. Notice how Bruce uses his allies to do ground work while he goes in by himself and gets all the main clues. He trusts them to get the job done so he can put his brain to use as the world’s greatest detective.

Scorpiana has 500 accredited kills. Leviathan has 500 agents in their first wave.

The NATO Marines were PSY-OPS. This would certainly go right alongside my theory regarding Doctor Dedalus’ “Fifth Element” being a mind-controller. Not telepathy, but something more tangible.

We still never got an answer about Kate’s relationship to Kathy, let alone the nitty-gritty details about Gaucho’s affair with her. The imposter Dedalus also wears a Cloak of Smoke. And has the cane.

The WASPiest weapon on the planet could plunge the world into war. Go figure. Albion being the eldest known name for Britain, being an anagram and from the same root word as Albino (Alba) meaning WHITE. WHITEY. Whitey’s gonna get us all killed.

Dedalus is an old-school dude if he’s been killing everyone with Foxglove poison.

And of course, David – Batwing – is tracking The Heretic. It’s good that he is, since he’s equipped with a new WayneTech flying bat-armor suit, and Heretic was tough enough to cast Damian off with armor like that.

NYKTOMORPH

Pg. 1: Speaking of video games … two of the Average Joes are clearly patterned after Mario & Luigi. Nero Nykto is another in a long line of aliases used by Bruce like Matches Malone.

Pg. 2: As others have duly noted, there’s Ellie, in classic “1, 2, 3” writer’s technique.

Pg. 3: Emoticon-Man?

Pg. 4: Prototype Bat-Knights, ala Kingdom Come. I’d just like to point out that the over-the-top ludicrousness of Bat-Robots really only serves to make Bruce Wayne look like a cocky, smug bastard who overcompensates, and further distinguishes him from possibly ever being the real Batman.

Pg. 5: Dick calls Gordon “Commissioner”, Bruce calls him “Jim”. Dick smirks, Bruce scowls. All this change, but some things don’t, including the Dynamic Duo.

Pg. 6: Batman and Red Robin just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but Grant reaffirms that “Bruce and Tim” is still as strong a partnership as ever. Handing Tim command of the Outsiders? Fascinating … the Outsiders debuted back when batman split from the JLA (shortly before it disbanded and Aquaman had to build a new JLA … imminently Pre-Crisis. Jason Todd was Robin.). They’ve had their ups and downs. Got a nice kickstart two years ago when Pete Tomasi wrote a one-shot featuring Alfred rebuilding the team himself. Have been floundering ever since. Wonder what pairing them with Tim Drake will serve to do, but this is most of the classic lineup. Katana, Metamorpho, Halo and Looker. The big guy, Freight Train, is a Dan DiDio contribution. Random – but if Incorporated is about anything, it’s about how a more loose, creative Batman can lead to better play for all the writers at DC.

Pg. 7: Bruce keeps telling everyone all about Leviathan … except us. We aren’t trustworthy … but then again … we could be part of Leviathan. 10,000 eyes, 10,000 fists … sounds a fair bit like Darkseid’s Justifier army, actually. Oracle’s avatar now has bat ears. Huntress is sporting her Cully Hamner duds, sans Ed Benes belly window. Pep rallies in the Bat-Cave are a new thing, right?

Pg. 8: Little details are great. Dick and Damian drink some cocoa or coffee or something. Alfred’s legs can be seen climbing back up the ladder to Wayne Tower – we’re in Dick’s Bat-Bunker now, Bruce is popping in to use Dick’s stuff and talk to his two prodigals. Dick is crazy loving the humor of the whole “online rumor mill” scheme.

Pg. 9: Attempts will be made to expose secret identities. Their identities have been less secure than usual of late. How many people know Bruce Wayne is Batman? Catwoman … Hush … Red Hood … Ra’s al Ghul … certain members of the Black Glove … quite a few. It’s gotten out there over the years. Now nobody can be quite sure. Note that Bruce’s CBR forum avatar is a singular eye. Barbelith? Mickey Eye? “Why does anyone build an army?” Good question. Misdirection, I’d guess. An army is a big distraction and allows covert types to move easier. It spreads the targets out into an anonymous mass rather than individual duels of wits.

Pg. 10: Good at improv: See, entire run of Batman and Robin. Saw the future? Could Bruce have seen the Damian 666 future? “Not everyone’s going to survive it” … recall that in the 666 future, Damian vowed revenge when “Batman” died. There’s a few Batmen now. Another callback – the Azrael railcar last seen in B&R#13 is back – it’s the standard transport between Wayne Manor and Wayne Tower.

Pg. 11: Alfred basically sums up the answer to “Why does anyone build an army?” – While the enemy looks in the wrong place, you get to survive.

Pg. 12: “They know not what they do.” Average Joe quotes Jesus Christ.

Pg. 13: More brainwashed children. I’ll give Leviathan this – (and Grant Morrison as well) – if we’re getting a string of enemies that take “elements of Batman” and make them eevil – like Flamingo as an evil Zorro, or Hurt as an evil Wayne, and so on and soon – where we have an enemy that brainwashes children. Bruce is a man who has taken in children and the unwanted over the years and taught them – but he does have a tendency to initiate them into his world. Leviathan goes way beyond that.

Pg. 14: Batman and Cassandra Cain follow the trail to Hong Kong. No need to go into too much detail. Cain is Batgirl # 3, predecessor of current Stephanie Brown, heir of Barbara Gordon, daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain, and all wrapped up in League of Assassins jazz. Blackbat references classic pulp hero Black Bat, CIA group Black Bat Squadron, and probably some other stuff, too. Also vaguely references Red Robin’s name. And hell … do I need to point out RED & BLACK? Neo-Heroin speaks to the kind of meta-drugs that were getting peddled back in Batman and Robin as well.

Pg. 15: Dark Ranger II, formerly the Scout, is Aboriginal.

Pg. 16: Batwing. He’s Shaft, Jim Brown, Super Fly and Mohammed Ali all combined. We gotta find out where Bruce found this guy at some point. Spidra and Traktir from The Return. The new Wingman is a hot mystery. Money’s on Jason Todd, but I’m not buying. Then again, I have no clue who it could be, except that it’s somebody who knows Bruce Wayne is Batman and might be taller than him.

Pg. 18: Guess criminals trying to pull crimes in Gotham will have to be better than Average.

Pg. 19: Doctor Dedalus, Leviathan. We know a good deal about Dedalus, and that he’s a great candidate for helping Leviathan with super spy evil operations. Is Leviathan himself a burnt up husk of a man? A skeleton in robes? A guy in a mask? The “youngest and most zealous living weapon” that’s barely “eighteen months old” is presumably The Heretic from Batman: The Return. As for secret satellite bases … it’s old hat. The Injustice Gang pulled this routine in Morrison’s JLA, which in turn had pulled it prior to that even in Libra’s first appearance.

Pg. 20: Interesting that each member of Batman, Inc. seems to be fighting a group of fanatics. Batwing battles more Leviathan goons. Nightrunner fights a Knight Templar. Gaucho battles what look like Crime Bible cultists. Blackbat takes on … well, it looks to be Triad dope dealers, likely connected to the ones connected to Leviathan from earlier this issue. Red Robin beats on Obeah Man. They have history, looks to be in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Voodoo cultists, presumably, and ties to the whole “Death Theme”? I don’t feel too much need to go over twice. Jiro takes on the Japanese Clayface. Dark Ranger, hard to say. Very commando-esque scenario. And of course, Batman finishes off Joe Average.

A NYKTOMORPH would literally be “Night Shape”; a “Night Species” or “Night Animal”. Kind of like how the Xenomorphs of Alien would mean “Strange Shape”. The very bogeyman Batman is talking about – shapeless fear like flapping wings and rumor.

Wiki-Death

2011-03-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

Black is death in the DC Universe. And lately, there's a lot of it. Not so much in "character deaths", but weighing on the souls of DC's biggest characters. In Hindu mythology, another name for Kali is "The Black One". More later.

Batman faces the black on a daily basis, and in Granty's run, he talks about it all the time. "My soul feels black." "Black Mass." On and on it goes.

Darkseid is dead. Demons were exposed as tangible imaginary curses - which are a genuine threat in a universe made of literary paper and text. (Weird that 2D characters are more capable of processing the 5D than we are ... but we 3D folks at least can see 4D in real-time.)

So if Darkseid's dead ... why's the Crime Bible still kicking? Who becomes their next Dark God? Nekron maybe? The Crime Bible of Darkseid worshiped the Evil God and pretty much any analogue you could think of. The Christian Devil, Satan (Not Lucifer, mind you.) Archaic demons. Evil for evil's sake. Think of every damn theory about Dr. Hurt's identity and it's all a tool for Darkseid.

So change gears. Final Crisis is averted. Darkseid is dead and gone. The BLACK RACER came and got him, and every Crime Bible thumping cultist knows that the only thing more powerful than Darkseid's evil ... is Death. For one Gothamite, this isn't news. Our old pal, John "Jack" Joseph Kerr, Napier ... whatever ... has been spreading the s/laughter far and wide for years. To paraphrase a Roy Brizby line ... "Years before the big trivia craze, but Joker always was a trend-setter."

Our old pal, J. Kerr, incorrectly described as an anarchic "force of nature", who listens in on private conversations between big-wigs like L. Luthor and Neil Gaiman's true-Death, is way ahead of the game. But how does a murderous clown "stay original" when suddenly EVERYBODY is stealing his routine?

Joker is the Black in Batman's world. We'll ignore the psychological traits for now, because these aren't psychological Batman times - that torch was passed to Dick Grayson. This is the Joker as Death, playing chess against the Knight, with the Black Plague hanging in the balance. If a major Batman character was killed, odds are Joker did it. His earliest appearances described him as a ghoul with a corpse-like face. His secret hideout was under a graveyard. He cheated Death on a constant basis. He had no remorse, and often had no motivation for killing.

So now, here's Kultek. Or Leviathan, or whatever Dr. Dedalus is calling himself. Granty didn't spell it "Daedelus", you'll note (But expect labyrinth references anyway). The James Joyce reference couldn't have been lost on him, but I'll warrant the emphasis on the first sound in the surname is far more important. DED. Dr. Dead. Can't be that obvious, though. We've already got a pretty cool "Dr. Death" running around.

With a big Kali symbol for a logo, "Cult" and "Tech" right in the fucking name, why call yourself Leviathan?

At first glance, the obvious route is to go back to Batman and Robin for help. Leviathan in Christian dogma is one of the Seven Crown Princes of HELL. Is the vicious cycle not over for Batman? Let's look back a little further and get out of this Christian stuff (Although don't rule out the whole "sea monster" angle - there's fine odds we'll see the Club of Villains "Kraken" before this is over). Because we need to be looking at the Book of Job.

Remember that talk back in BLACKest Knight, where the BLACK dying Batman clone said "SACRIFICE OF THE SON" or "SUN"? Sacrifice of the son. Book of Job. (Duly note that God rapidly sent an angel to prevent the sacrifice once he was sure Job was willing to do it on faith.)

In the Book of Job, God lectures Job about Leviathan and Behemoth:

Job 40:15-24 describes Behemoth, and then the sea-monster Leviathan, to demonstrate to Job the futility of questioning God, who alone has created these beings and who alone can capture them.^[2] Many scholars have understood both beasts as chaos monsters destroyed by the deity at the time of creation.

Highlight "Chaos monsters", and interpret "God created 'em, only God can destroy 'em" as them being part of the divine plan. Jewish texts speak of Leviathan living in the Abyss. Abyss typically either describes the depths of the oceans ... or the proverbial "Abyss" we're always looking into. Take Leviathan out of the Blue and into the Black. It was there at creation, and it comes back into play during destruction. In that way, Leviathan is analogous to Kali.

"Hence, Kali is considered the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence."

She's a very Graham Greene's "The Destructors" kinda gal. I'll ignore the prominence of black and red in her imagery.

Joker established the "Death" motif. A LONG time ago, although Bruce's supposed death seemed to make him embrace it much more ironically and put all his theatrical, stage and drama club skills into it, distilling it into a fusion of playing card, Hamlet and Voodoo references. But really, all those things have street life and poison in common anyway. But keenly note that he's been wearing a top-hat and traveling the world. Signs point to Joker's possible ties to the Pearly Court of London, and they're in-the-know regarding some serious Old World secrets.

Dr. Dedalus seems much like DC's "The Shade", in that he's surrounded by shadowy BLACK shadow-tendrils. Like if Moriarty had a nightshade superpower. He wears a top-hat, immediately calling to mind The Shade ... Jack the Ripper ... Dr. Hurt on the boat to England ... Moriarty ... and probably something from some Alan Moore story somewhere. The type of guy who'd hire a "Springheeled Jack" to kill Percival Sheldrake, the only survivor in a failed attempt to "super-hero" him. This is a guy who summoned a Metalek Xenoformer to Earth from Galaxy X. Those things can't have good intentions ... leveling the planet is a likely scenario.

Lord Death Man fits the mold, too. Chaos and destruction. Given new powers and a new lease on life, very likely by "Leviathan". Given the power to be a real-life video-game massacre machine, the respawn powers, and set loose on the video-game capital of the world. He's a poor man's Joker, but he's different enough to warrant interest, because he's so over-the-top he could only be funny in a post-Grand Theft Auto world.

El Sombrero continues the trend. Sombrero is back. ALIVE. Cheating death is a Joker standby, and so the Club of Villains who idolize Joker get some credibility by cheating death themselves ... but cheating death at the hands of the Joker? Who is this guy, Jason Todd? Sombrero lives to torment Gaucho and Batman another day, although life isn't great. But a mysterious "patron" (read between the fairly wide lines: Leviathan) has given him the means to throw together some more mish-mash of death-dealing, and we're learning that he's basically the avant-garde artist of death-traps. He's thematically linked to the Day of the Dead. He's an intellectual, using clues that are highly obscure references to his avant-garde literary predecessors, and sending Scorpiana to poison Bruce Wayne with a clue to his patron himself - a well-thought Oroboros ring (Oroboros, serpent, Leviathan) that also symbolizes his paralysis at the hands of a broken neck, Joker style.

And the earliest known use of the Oroboros? The Egyptian Book of the Dead. And let's bring right to the forefront the Oroboros' position on the belt of a Magician in a Tarot deck. Because we've already had the Tarot lend us clues toward Death and The Devil.

Scorpiana represents as well. Any of the Joker-idolizing Club of Villains can fit quite well, really, but her Tango of Death and her commitment to poison really help up the comparisons.

The trend of the "Leviathan" or "Kultek" or Dr. Dedalus organization enabling chaos-makers and massacre-artists will continue, but it's anyone's guess who turns up for future installments. Well, except we already know Grant's got Dai Laffyn down the pipeline for Knight & Squire. But expect chaos-lords and death/trickster gods to dominate the thematic imagery. Will a Manitou, or Whiskey Jack, face down Chief Man-of-Bats (Frankly, there's no need, since his damned mortal enemy is already named "BLACK Elk"? Will a Horned God try a Samhein sacrifice on The Hood or Jack O'Lantern?

I'm mostly curious about how Joker will take it when his gimmick becomes mainstream.

THE ALL-OVER

2010-11-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

Pg. 1:

“Warning: This station is no longer safe.”

“As they reach the EVENT HORIZON they will appear to become frozen in time forever.” – the Archivists have already noted that all the data of Timeline Universe-Zero is being packed into a black hole for safe-keeping while they reboot the Universe by threading the end through the beginning like an Ouroboros.

The thing is, this is another “hole”. Black holes have been mentioned in this run before, having been related to Darkseid. Every “Hole in Things” has been in the image of Darkseid. A bullet hole … a plot hole … a hole in memory … all of these things are the influence of Darkseid from beyond the grave.

What if it got more literal? What if the very same Black Hole that the Archivists are using as an External Hard Drive for the Universe’s data is the Black Hole of Darkseid’s death? Wouldn’t it be ironic – and VERY Batman – if the Archivists use Darkseid’s own methods as a way to save the universe over and over again?

Pg. 2:

Bruce’s face is beet-red, because he is still poisoned, not to mention on fire, for those who were confused.

Pg. 3:

“Assume cardinal configuration.” – You’ll remember that the Lazarus Pit that Grayson found in England had four exits – one for each cardinal point of the compass. North, East, South, West. You see this sort of thing in Egyptian funerary architecture as well – the Pyramids are all aligned N,E,S,W to form a cross-compass, and to represent the N/S path of the Nile, and the E/W path of the sun. East of the Nile is sunrise, rebirth. West is sunset, death. After that, just about everyone everywhere was using the compass in their resurrection rituals as well.

Pg. 4:

“An infestation of hyperfauna has been detected.” – The important thing to note here is that it’s not attacking from OUTSIDE of Vanishing Point. Duly note that they only detect the thing once they start healing Bruce Wayne with Ultimate Lazarus Power. It was already infecting him (Like we saw when he activated Nichols’ time box and we saw both Bruce and the Hyper-Adapter).

So, like a Star Trek transporter “foreign object scan” or something, they separate the entity from Bruce. However, they immediately bring to attention that they don’t have the means to contain it until All-Over. So Bruce immediately begins formulating a plan.

Pg. 5:

“I need a disguise. And once you hear what I have to say, you’ll know why I need you to take away my memory again.” – All part of the plan. We learn the reasons for this later, but here’s the really important part:

“I accept my sacrifice.” – This Archivist is a one-eyed (acolyte of Metron) all-knowing database. It’s essentially the Mandelbrot Barbelith discussed way, way, way back. It is sacrificing itself – letting itself become possessed by the Hyper-Adapter, at which point the fusion of Hyper-Adapter and Archivist become BARBATOS. (Biorganic Archival Robot BATman Operating System or some ridiculous acronym, if you like!)

It is essentially providing something for the Hyper-Adapter to possess to try to attack Bruce, sacrificing itself as the BAIT (Of which Bruce is taking a very big gamble about his own mind.)

“The sound of ancient, rusty locks unlatching.” – We already know this to be Bruce’s relativistic interpretation of extra-dimensional gateways – time travel portals. Boom Tubes, Time Spheres … either way, it sounds like that to him. “Bells and thunder” – PING PING PING.

Pg. 8:

Tim Drake finally gets his moment, in a total “shoe on the other foot” scenario. During Final Crisis it was Bruce standing alone, powerless against Darkseid-Dan Turpin. Here it’s Tim standing alone, powerless against Hyper-Adapter-Bruce Wayne. Tim has had to go through his own mini identity crisis to keep up with Bruce. The two of them are growing eerily similar. Expect Tim Drake to remain Bruce Wayne’s partner in his global operations.

Make certain to evaluate the difference between the voice of BARBATOS and the voice of Bruce Wayne. BARBATOS now speaks with the Archivist’s non-capitalized dialogue.

“Alone in the dark with the bats.” – Who is saying this? It’s Bruce, however it’s delusional. Bruce has spent his “darker days” in recent years thinking just that about himself, but we know that prior to the Ten-Eyed Men exorcising the Hyper-Adapter from him, and Thogal where he confronted ultimate evil and stopped it for a moment, he was being influenced. (I guess Bruce can’t ever give Hal Jordan any shit about Parallax ever again …)

“Alone in the dark with the bats,” is actually exactly where Bruce left the Hyper-Adapter in 1640. Sort of reminds me of his line about "Looking the devil in the eyes and seeing fear".

Pg. 9:

Cyborg gets a surprising bit of coolness from Grant. It’s appropriate, since Bruce is stuck in Kirby cyborg-mode at the moment, bonded with the possessed Archivist. And so begins the ultimate play on “Bat-God”, the ultimate Tower of Babel moment. The ULTIMATE BAT-DICK. It’s a joke, if you couldn’t tell. One last laugh at the concept of Batman taking down the entire Justice League. And as we’ll learn very soon – even Bruce doesn’t take that concept seriously. It’s all part of the plan, and like it or not, he knows that when the Big Guns arrive, he isn’t taking them down easily.

Pg. 10:

The end of time looping in on the beginning of time … I half-expect to see Phantom Stranger walk nonchalantly by …

Pg. 11:

Interesting note of comparison between the Time Sphere and how it all turns white and Superman reaches out and touches “Pure Thought” in much the same way Bruce does in his “duel” with Darkseid later. And as he does, Superman says “I KNOW I CAN DO THIS”. Superman has touched pure thought and “our dimension” (Cube Time) before, and presumably in an ultimate moment like that he is the being capable of breaking from his storybook confines. But there’s no need – Batman’s got them covered.

No need to burst the thought bubble.

Pg. 12:

Futurama just did this! On his way back through, will Rip Hunter shoot Hitler with a laser?

Pg. 13:

Again, note difference between Barbatos talking and Bruce talking. Barbatos simply initiates attacks against the JLA. Bruce apologizes to Congorilla for what he’s about to do. Time to dive back into the Morrison run and figure out when Hurt is talking and when it’s Barbatos …

Pg. 14:

“Knight’s move executed.” – More chess. “I prayed every night you’d come back to us.” – More prayer-as-summons. Tim has keen intuition – he immediately “feels” the difference between basic technology, and the fact that this Archivist is possessed by Apokoliptian curse-demons.

The nosebleed is as good an indicator as any that this thing is trying to bore a hole in Bruce’s mind – to hollow out a hole where it can move in, or, since Bruce is one of those noble spirits that Darkseid requires … for Darkseid to live in. (Remember Superman asked “Why Turpin? Why not Batman?” and Darkseid responded that it would take TOO LONG to break down Batman. But with the Ancestor-Box, he already had a plan to attempt just that – from the past – and obviously the Clone Batman Body was the decoy to keep Superman off his back. And remember that Hurt’s entire goal has been the same thing – to break or corrupt Batman’s soul/spirit – presumably to create a new body for his master, Darkseid, whether he realized that’s what he was doing or not.)

Pg. 15:

“This equipment is overloading my nervous system.” – One wonders if Darkseid used Hyper-Adapters to bore out holes in the minds of Kraken, Turpin, Mary Marvel, and the rest of those possessed by the Evil Gods during Final Crisis.

“You’re Bruce Wayne.” “Not yet.” – Bruce wasn’t planning on getting his memory back so soon, apparently. He probably didn’t plan on it happening until after Superman and Green Lantern got back. Either way, Tim’s helping, by representing the most literal, recent impact of the First Truth of Batman – it’s his current partner.

Wonder Woman:

It’s at this point NO COINCIDENCE that the same two people are with Bruce for an exorcism. Tim Drake and Diana Prince. They were both there in Nanda Parbat, and they’re both here now. Fairly appropriate, since Wonder Woman herself has trained (in the 70’s) in some advanced martial arts and meditation techniques … has experience with Gods … has herself been royally fucked over by Darkseid’s machinations … and was the GODDESS OF TRUTH (And the weapon Bruce needs against Darkseid is indeed a TRUTH). I’m keen to see Grant write some Wonder Woman soon.

“Did the Fury that hounds you take its scent from this cape and cowl? I wonder …” – Apart from gleeful delight at seeing Wonder Woman say “I wonder …”, it’s important to remember that she may have recently experienced something similar to the Hyper-Adapter. She was “INFECTED” by a thought-weapon herself (God-Bacteria) and possessed, probably by Artemiz (One of Darkseid’s FEMALE FURIES, wink-wink, nudge nudge).

You’ll remember that Doctor Hurt “CURSED” the cape and cowl at the end of R.I.P., whereas Annie “CURSED” the descendents of Nathaniel Wayne. So Annie’s CURSE provides the means for Tom Wayne to become possessed … then Tom Wayne’s CURSE provides the means for Bruce to become possessed. “The next time you wear it will be your last”, said Hurt. And sure enough … the next cape is bombarded with Omega Radiation, and the cape & cowl he dons in the Caveman days is actually a demonic hyper-entity, that keeps coming back as a curse (A literal cursed cape and cowl) until the ultimate Kirby-form.

This is why Annie’s Lovecraftian magick words are repeated right here, when Diana asks Bruce if Darkseid opened any kind of Pandora’s Box type device. Bruce remembers Annie, remembers that she cursed the Waynes “Until the end of time”. But possibly realizes that the “S” and “WW” logos that she had as a charm were even older than the Dark Myth that he’s currently bound in, and brighter.

“Use your lasso.” – Good thing Bruce has a friend who is essentially a Truth Goddess. Comes in really handy for exorcisms. (Side note: Since she’s often perceived as a lesser, or middle child Wonder Woman, I’ve been championing Donna Troy to become DC’s resident monster-killer and exorcist for a while now …) But importantly, it’s cool to see that Wonder Woman’s tremendous empathy, compassion and ability to see things for what they really are REALLY shows how major a part of the JLA, DCU, and classic line-up Grant thinks of her as. She’s the “TRUTH” part of the threefold “TRUTH”, “JUSTICE”, and “THE AMERICAN WAY”. (For the record, Batman is Justice, and Superman is … well, Eternal Optimism, which is what the American Way is supposed to represent.)

Pg. 18:

The fractal, mythic bats certainly explain why every time Bruce has an isolation experience, or a near death experience, or a bad trip, we see flashing repeats of big red-eyed bats smashing through glass.

And here’s the hole in time. I guess it’s up to Bruce to patch it. And Grant lays out pretty much every symbol for us, so we can go back and look for them, individually, if we haven’t already spotted them.

Hanged Man. Double Double-U’s (WW). “S” Shield. Pearls. Orion’s Belt. Eclipse. Bullet. Red & Black Roses. Joker’s laughter. Spades (Like the Gravedigger). Black gloves/hands. Black Knights (Knights in general). The bat-symbol. Hanged bats.

Pg. 19:

Naturally, it’s Barbatos taunting Wonder Woman, until Bruce says “MEMORIES” and attempts to use the same mind-attack he used on his clones on the demon possessing him. Side note … when can we have more of THIS Wonder Woman? (Hell … THIS JLA? This is like the ultimate JLA moment for Grant … and it’s not even in his JLA run! Batman’s faith in his colleagues!)

Pg. 20:

Superman’s optimism and Hal’s will-power are strong as hell … but it’s clear at this point what “THE DARK KNIGHT MUST DIE” and “BATMAN AND ROBIN MUST DIE” and “BATMAN MUST DIE” means. Holy crap … Bruce Wayne has to die again! Clinically. Longer than before. No more dress rehearsals like Thogal. No more close calls like the Third Man.

It’s cool that Batman doesn’t see himself as “The Big Three” – as Superman, Wonder Woman and a recently elevated Green Lantern kick Barbatos’ ass into the Time Sphere and Skeets sends it packing to its demise, bonded incorrectly to the Archivist (Which may or may not be KEEPING the Hyper-Adapter bonded as part of its sacrifice), trapped in the Archivist (Who also may be responsible for visiting Dick Grayson in the Bat-Cave, if it has some control over its backwards trip through time) and ultimately achieving that sacrifice by having Vandal Savage slaughter it, then ironically spawning its own new legend of humiliating defeat (Which ultimately happens to Hurt as well.)

While I’ve yet to totally grasp (few of us do) exactly how complex or simple Barbatos’ actual storyline through time is, all that really matters is not HOW it gets from one era to another, but which eras it does exist in, how powerful it gets based on who knows of it, who feeds it and who worships it IN those eras, and how the end up feeding the legend of its own death.

Pg. 25:

I want a Superman & Rip Hunter “Superman Beyond II” any time now … maybe they’ll guest star in Multiversity. Either way Multiversity is where to go for more about what paper-book timelines look like to us Cube Time Higher-Plane dwellers.

“Such hubris on the part of mortals has always had a price.” – Leave it to Wonder Woman to literally quote the punchline of EVERY GREEK TRAGEDY OR COMEDY EVER. You see … when mortals come anywhere near close to “Godliness”, the fates strike them down. Batman has to die. If Batman becomes too much of a Bat-God, he has to die. It’s ironic that Grant, who pioneered the JLA Bat-God, is the one telling us all that if Batman continues in that direction, he can’t last.

Pg. 26 & 27:

Duel with Darkseid. Dead Darkseid. Ruins of Apokolips. Batman needs an exorcism again, but this time he has to do it himself. “The Truth Shall Set You Free” and all that. This is why it required the Ten-Eyed Men to perform the exorcism – with their “extra vision” they can see things that exist in spaces and places that can’t be perceived with only two light-based optical eyes. They can theoretically see the hole in things, and reach down inside and grab the possessing entity and rip it out of you. We don’t just see Bruce’s visit with them from FIFTY-TWO here … we ALSO see his very first visit with them – 15 years ago in his first travels.

Metron is indeed the wheelchair bound one-eyed veteran who warned Bruce prior to his Nichols time box jump. I don’t know if Metron is behind other one-eyed characters (Archivists? Lone-Eye Lincoln? Honor Jackson? Etc …) but it’s fair to say that he has played some part.

Here in this hole where all time is now in a sink, and Batman has access to all the facts and all the memories, and can fathom Darkseid’s grand designs, he gets to flip it back on Darkseid.

Pg. 28:

You’ll notice that the singularity at the center that still lingers on Earth is in GOTHAM CITY. The “Black Heart of Gotham” is possibly the haunting force of Darkseid’s designs. Perhaps Gotham is free to be a bit brighter and lighter now. Never completely free of the darkness, certainly. But less of a hovering doom and gloom. Especially with Grayson as Batman.

Pg. 29:

Certainly looks like one of the Van Derms removes the Batarang from the Utility Belt and places it in the casket. What’s interesting is their constant state of maintaining the symbols. It’s presumably Martin (Remember that Annie said the Miagani were in hiding during ROBW#2, but she knew them, and some few rare people were friendly with them. Of course she knew them – that’s where she got those symbols of “S” for Superman and “WW” for Wonder Woman.)

It’s hard to say though, which Van Derm it is. Content yourselves to know that Martin passed down his knowledge and the book, and 100 years later it had become a legend of local treasure that Tom Wayne the Satanist wanted badly enough to get himself Adapted. I mean, it’s a legend involving witches, dragons, Blackbeard the pirate … bat-people … Vandal Savage the Immortal. One can see how the aspects combine to create something enticing.

Anyway, in keeping with that spirit … the Van Derms consistently pass down symbols in their commissioned art for the Waynes. The Manor itself … commissioned for Darius Wayne by Nathan Van Derm. The Darius portraits. But when the Waynes lost control of the mansion until the mid-1800s when Alan finished it for Solomon and Joshua and Jerome Van Derm, the lines combined anyway.

Final Pages …

It’s nice to flash to exactly where Doctor Hurt is as Bruce talks about how the Hyper-Adapter is still technically out there. On the helicopter, landing at Wayne Manor, where he’ll stride in and shoot Grayson in the head. The crypt is open, indicating how he’ll get through the Hidden Room.

“The bells are still ringing.” – That’s as much acknowledgment as you need that the Ancestor-Box is still affecting things. Bruce’s later confirmation that although Joker has “dealt with Hurt”, they’ll still KEEP LOOKING is further evidence that there is more to hear from this threat. That being said … its infernal attack on Batman’s body, mind and soul, have failed, and he’s prepared for anything now. Darkseid’s revenge has failed.

We’re getting there as far as understanding this isolation experiment, this six-sided box that is The Return of Bruce Wayne. Why did he appear during eclipses? Because an eclipse is a black hole with a halo of light around it, much like an actual Black Hole singularity, like the one that resides in Gotham City in the wake of Darkseid's death. (Remember that Darkseid literally "died" and formed the hole in Bludhaven, just a hop-skip away from Gotham on a miles/kilometers map level of thinking as well.)

Because an eclipse casts a black shadow like a hole over that singularity.

Darkseid let all the demons out of the box … and Joker put them all back in.

BLACK MASS (Part II)

2010-11-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

BLACK MASS

THE GAMBLER:

Thomas Wayne meets Barbatos in Stockman’s barn in Gotham Town, 125 years after Annie cursed Nathaniel Wayne’s family, 47 years after Blackbeard was hanged, and 110 years before his failure to retrieve the Van Derm Casket with any kind of help from Vandal Savage.

Dominique is here, and it is strongly implied that Wayne kills her. (This is a HUGE thematic boon for Morrison. Her name is freaking DOMINIQUE (“Of the Lord”). And Tom killed her. And Joker, as an agent of karma 250 years later, uses DOMINOES to kill him.

But there is still ambiguity. Could she have been his sister? (“Drink deep dark twin”. Although it’s certainly just as easy if

His wife? (His wife actually seems sort of likely to me – Joker might have telegraphed it. Recall that Joker “foreshadowed” how he would DEAL with Hurt by burying Oberon Sexton alive in the coffin of his dead wife who Sexton himself killed. So if Tom Wayne killed his own wife Dominique, that may have been the corpse whom Joker was dancing with – the coffin he unearthed – the coffin he planted Tom into purgatory within. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

It is implied in the Ceremony of the Bat, that Dominique is the “Human Bat” sacrifice. Bruce Wayne later felt a kinship to her and buried her near his parents when he found her corpse.

It is at least clear that Thomas has ALREADY sold his soul. The space Barbatos later occupies in his brain is the space where the Soul once rested. (“I’ll complete the Cross of the Penitente with a bullet between his eyes, where the Soul sits.” – Naberius). It is also fairly clear that whether he already realizes it in 1765, or it took him several years of thinking about it … NOT having a Soul means a lot to Tom … for good or ill, as we can see from his lecture to Damian about losing souls and not realizing what you’ve lost … and from Pyg’s statements regarding Hurt, and how Hurt believes he is an “Empty Hole” … a “Black Hole”. There is a Hole where his Soul used to be, and Barbatos lives there, hovering in the singularity of an inward logarithmic spiral that has to be fed more souls to maintain immortality.

(“Become MY creature, SUBMIT absolutely to MY instruction and when your SOUL is extinguished in my service … perhaps you’ll finally know by the gaping HOLE that remains what it is you’ve lost.” – Hurt)

This could easily explain his actual Christian repentance as El Penitente. A mask, for sure … but why “absolve sin” frivolously? Thomas Wayne is a puppet of a Hyper-Adapting Demon, and the poor bastard could use absolution (instead he gets laughing purgatory).

THE SNAIL:

Professor Pyg, like The Joker, seems to know a LOT about the nature of the Demon occupying Tom Wayne.

(“Did I tell you on Monday she’s MORMO, formless chaos? On Tuesday it’s all TIAMAT this and TIAMAT that. Tohu va bohu and boo-hoo-hoo. Wednesdays, the GORGON QUEEN comes on tiptoes with a million forked tongues for hair. That’s what it’s like to grow upside down in a world where a hug is a crucifixion.”)

The strange thing is the continual referencing by Pyg of his “Mother”, when we know the one who created his latent murderous psycho state-of-mind is Doctor Hurt, in his post-Robin Dies At Dawn travels, where he probably found Lazlo, already pretty nuts as a circus freak show, in an institution.

I’ve been formulating a short essay on these “Joker knock-offs” that Hurt is creating and how their psychoses paint a pretty bleak view of the Psychology Institution. (While Joker, for instance represents the potentially harmful nature of accidental chemical overdose and abused psychopharmolocological drug use (See also: Scarecrow), and the nature of POISON (a random accident in chemicals leading to a chemical-laden random clown obsessed with the random) … Pyg represents the more “progressive” form of Psychology-as-Brainwashing. His obsession with TV, images and normal-vs.-beautiful speak to the fictitious (but scarily “close enough”) Ludovico Technique. Worse still, that technique in The Wrong Hands. The hands wearing Black Gloves.)

(“Even wrong way round, this little gent could make a well-spoken lady out of a monkey or a flower girl out of a snail.” – Pyg. Snail reference # 1, from one of his TV therapy treatments wherein he saw “My Fair Lady”, one imagines)

(“Bless the snail. The double is two, the deuce is snail horns. The snail is the devil!” – Pyg. Snail reference # 2, the snail being the squid-like Hyper-Adapter as we saw it upon its release from the Ancestor-Box … reaffirmed momentarily …)

And of course a snail’s shell is a logarithmic spiral, like a black hole. Tom Wayne is a hollowed out shell. The primary ambiguity remains is just how much of Hurt is Tom Wayne, and how much is Barbatos (And frankly … what the fuck did he think was in the Van Derm Bat-Casket?)

THE DRAGON:

Point being that Pyg’s psycho rants tend to reveal tidbits about the nature of Doctor Hurt (Sense squared). “Tiamat” is a clear reference to the “squid-form” of the Hyper-Adapter that we first saw, as Tiamat was a Babylonian Dragon goddess (The Puritans keep referring to “The Dragon” in the woods, and back in R.I.P., Hurt was referenced a handful of times as “Old Dragon”) slain by the mighty war god MARDUK, of which the Hebrew name MORDECAI is derived. Another Bruce-as-Orion, God of War reference. D.O.A.: The God of War. Orion’s body sublimated “back to the source” when he died. OR … who else was in the room with him, studying his body forensically? The God-Damn Batman, that’s who … Barbatos-Hurt was Darkseid’s revenge against Bruce Wayne … but theoretically, in a full-circle kind of way … could Bruce have been Orion’s revenge against Darkseid?

Pyg also references the Gorgon Queen, Medusa, with snakes for hair. Also feels a bit like the Hyper-Adapter we saw – “snakes for hair” … tentacles … same idea. Some sort of Dragon Lady. Still female, oddly enough.

DAMIAN:

Damian is also a “demon” of Bruce’s past unlocked by the Ancestor-Box. And in a way, he is the first. The one whom “Heralded” the arrival of the Hyper-Adapter. His very name is demonic. His very attitude is that of “The little demon boy” (Like Knight described Grayson).

(“That’s him! [Damian] They’re ALL crawling from the BOX now!” – Pyg)

You think that’s messed up? Both Joker and Hurt recognize similarities between Damian and Hurt as well, and consistently bring it up.

(“You sound just like … like him …” – Joker, referring to Damian who is threatening brain damage the way Hurt threatens brain damage every time he shows up.)

(“Become my creature … And you a very different kind of Robin.” – Hurt, trying to recruit Damian to his cause.)

Don’t think that’s enough?

(“A Robin who lets me manipulate him into a locked room situation? A Robin who even brings his own crowbar to the party? You might be the funniest one yet.” – Joker to Damian, shortly before sealing a poisoned, laughing Damian in the same casket he later buries Hurt alive in.)

(“… walked right into that like a PRO. You’ve done this before, am I right?” - Joker to Hurt, immediately prior to burying him in that casket.)

GOD & KARMA:

Joker as an agent of God acting against Darkseid’s toxic influence? Does that seem unlikely to you? Joker uses Dominoes as the game to fuck with the man who killed Dominique in a Satanic ritual.

(“I ever tell you about my pal “Big Mike”? God’s top gun. His head banana.” – Joker)

(“The banana represents the primal gag, THE FALL. I’m watching those hands …” – Joker)

And worse still – if Batman should fail, Joker’s backup plan is a NUCLEAR BOMB. If Gotham turns into the NEW SODOM & GOMORRAH, Joker is prepared to initiate THE WRATH OF GOD. Let’s not even get into how Joker used Jason Todd as another “tool” to fuck with El Penitente by tipping off the Red Hood about Santo, and thusly also taking out Flamingo. Jason Todd’s RED HOOD persona is currently using a lot of Milton, Paradise Lost themes and imagery. He even cast Flamingo (A demon) into “THE PIT” (a rock quarry). How fucked up is it that The Joker and Jason Todd represent the interests of the Judeo-Christian God in this saga of Man vs. Cosmic Devilry?

Right … that was just me covering the flashback sequence to DARK KNIGHT, DARK CITY (Highly recommended. Milligan is just terrific then, it’s happening shortly after ARKHAM and GOTHIC and THE CULT and THE KILLING JOKE, and it’s one of the better Riddler stories out there, even if Riddler is ultimately being affected by Barbatos.

I think Tom’s slightly inaccurate repeats of what Hyper-Adapter is saying to him is fairly self-explanatory, although I’ve seen a boatload of people miss the mark online. This conversation is happening IN HIS MIND. He’s ultimately inviting the demon to occupy the space where his SOUL used to be.

(“Ye who knows the where of the mystery box, the eternity signs. The secret treasure of the Miagani.” – Tom Wayne)

This treasure is held by the Van Derms in secret. This is 1765 Gotham. As we saw in the Black Pirate adventure, the Box is in the capable hands of the brother and sister Van Derm – and odds are that this is NATHAN VAN DERM we saw, since he was a young man in 1765, he was probably a well-known architect and artist by the 1790s, when Darius commissioned the Manor to be built. Then, ostensibly, the Wayne family somehow (Fell on hard times? Died young? Who knows …) didn’t actually eventually finish the house until years later, although they owned the Estate.

Tom Wayne SURELY knew Nathan Van Derm. And that’s why he surely later knew to send Vandal Savage’s lackeys to the home of Catherine Van Derm. He probably fled America because by “random chance” (more like Cosmic Chance), he accidentally caused the unification of the Wayne and Van Derm families. That’ll set you back 100 or so years.

Rumors persisted of the Miagani treasure in the Caves underneath Bristol, and rumor would have had it that the Van Derms knew what it was. That might have even predicated their eventual move away from Gotham “Out West”.

I’d like to at least propose the possibility that Tom was impersonating Jefferson. Let’s face it, he’s notorious later for using other people’s names and faces. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be doing it as a black sheep Satanic devil worshipper who his brothers/cousins Anthony and Darius HATE. (I can't help but connect Thomas Jefferson with Lone-Eye Lincoln and Honor Jackson. What's with all these Presidential names?)

(“How can a rebel such as I fear Hell, the natural home of rebels?” – Tom)

Curiously enough, one wonders at this talk of rebels in 1765 if Tom is a rebel against the British Government, which still rules the American Colonies. One imagines they didn’t take kindly to witches or devil worshippers (See: World’s Finest – “The Witch Batman” or whichever, where he and Superman go back and meet Mad Anthony – a highly superstitious man.)

The fact that Tom is actually only drinking the blood of a large bat in an Ozzie-style routine is evocative of the fact that this is a soul-selling deal, but also predicates the fact that his entire Black Glove operation is financed by … vampirically draining his ill-gotten gains from “The Bat”.

I can tell this is going to be a long one.

NOW:

Bruce’s return required the “Sacrifice of the son”. So-to-speak. We know already from BLACKEST KNIGHT that not all “sacrifices” have to be exactly what you expect them to be. But Grayson is sure enough shot in the head, and in those moments his faith in Bruce and unyielding optimistic hope for a hero mirrors the others who have prayed for a guardian spirit just prior to Bruce’s arrival.

Bemoan the lack of Frazer Irving creepiness throughout this super-sized issue … I don’t think they could have found a better section for Cameron Stewart to be responsible for than a kung fu fight between Batman, Batman and Robin, against … we’ll say a dozen or so less than 99 Fiends. Stewart’s epic four-way kung fu match between Dick, Cyril, Beryl and the Clone (not to mention his motion-filled chase through the streets of London) were the highlights of that arc. One almost wishes he was illustrating the Detective/Batman Annuals for David Hine, where Nightrider, a new Batman-candidate from Paris, is a parkour expert, and that’s something I think Stewart would kill on.)

As for the 99 Fiends themselves, they remain another one of the ambiguous elements in Hurt’s arsenal. We know they’re named for Classical Demons, but there were only 72 Classic Demons in Demonology. It seems reasonable to say that there are other Fiends in the 99. Nine-Eyed Man was SPECIFICALLY referred to in the title as “THE FIEND” with Nine Eyes.

Whether Pyg and his Circus, Flamingo, and others count as Fiends is unknown and unlikely.

Didn’t Damian snap that Rottweiler’s neck last issue?

And so begins the fracas. Check out Fiends like Afro-Archer … Powdered-Wig Judge … and Shredder-Zangief. How about Demon-Tonto? Owl-Sweater Flamethrower? Masked Whore-Nun? Solomon Grundy Sideburns?

The financial irregularities at Wayne Enterprises are explained. Like with everything else, Hurt’s funding was siphoning itself off of Bruce Wayne’s history.

Here’s a cool thing – Burnham’s shot of Bruce leaving the library (full of unconscious Fiends really shows the proximity between the Library (Located centrally behind the Wayne Manor parlor, and Bruce’s Study, the classic way of getting into the Bat-Cave, in the West Wing. Notice how the shadowy steps into the Bat-Cave resemble fallen dominoes. Nice artistic nod. Burnham’s Bat-Cave isn’t dead on with how we’ve seen it presented in recent years (feels flipped) but is close enough, because it’s so damned cool looking. I love that the Bat-Cave is lit a glaring green – a subtle hint that Joker has been here, since everything he has “visited” this last arc has been lit a sickly green hue to indicate him fucking with the Red and Black theme. All the coolest parts are briefly on display. The Bat-Computer. The Penny. The Tyrannosaurus. The Joker Card. The Costume Gallery. The Batmobile Bay. The “multi-tiered” central “pit” section that leads to sea level. Fantastic. Burnham really captures the kind of Bat-Cave I want to see when I read Batman, and I hope he’s game for a couple issues of Batman, Incorporated in the future.

Batman creeping through the Catacombs – the parts of the Cave we really don’t know much about, is a fantastic device (Slightly evocative of KnightsEnd, actually … when he emerges victorious by forcing Jean-Paul Valley through parts of the Cave – HIS Cave – that the Az-Bats armor wouldn’t fit into.) But Tom Wayne is familiar with these caves somewhat himself (Although nowhere near as much as Bruce).

As Dave Uzumeri pointed out, the Interrogation Room is from Detective Comics # 134. Some day, I hope to GOD that Grant Morrison decides to just make a small book that’s a sort of “Bat-Cave Guide” (Burnham can draw it!) where Grant picks out the coolest details imaginable to highlight and “bring back” and just goes to town on the awesomeness of the Bat-Cave. I mean … did we ever find out WHAT it is that Batman keeps in that ultra-top-secret forbidden vault below sea level that’s on all the maps and diagrams?

Did anyone else realize immediately that Alfred was trapped in the Bat-Submersible? It’s just one of those ones where I picked up on that thought process immediately. I think part of it was the green lighting reminding me of the green lighting in Batman # 701.

THE DEVIL:

Tom Wayne IS The Devil. At least as far as Batman is concerned. Batman was worried that there was an ultimate enemy and king of crime … but that’s a deeply personal job. He’s not just “The Ultimate Enemy”, he’s BRUCE’S ULTIMATE ENEMY. He’s Bruce’s Devil, Tulpa, Doppelganger and Shadow. Tom Wayne is The Anti-Bruce.

The question is … what exactly did the Hyper-Adapter Adapt to? What did it absorb into its makeup from Bruce Wayne’s past and present to use as weapons against him? Remember his exorcism in Saudi Arabia (The un-coincidental home of the Ten-Eyed Tribe, the exiled Nine-Eyed Man, and Oil Sheik Al-Khidr). Remember seeing the “metaphorical” bat-demons flying away in the night sky as Bruce stood in the desert winds? I’m certain it absorbed that.

Remember the Thogal Ritual? Where Bruce put himself into a box once more and things got trippy? Where he felt like he experienced death, and realized that he might be under psychic attack when he felt the presence of the Hole in Things? Again – the Hyper-Adapter. It’s probably capable of almost anything, and a psychic attack is one of them, although we know its attempts to undermine Bruce’s mind were ultimately failures.

Even disguising itself as the creature on Bat-Mite’s back (using Bruce’s own Imaginary Friend, who he hadn’t seen since his childhood, and a few times on bad gas trips in the 60’s) didn’t work.

(Why couldn’t Puppet-Bat-Mite go into Arkham Asylum? There are dozens of reasons, but one is certainly that the crazies might be able to see him. Remember Charlie Caligula’s “What’s that behind you?!” red herring?)

DOWNTOWN:

Pyg’s really a fucked up sort of guy, but dig the routine? Infecting Gotham then offering the cure? Once again he’s pulling from The Joker’s playbook. Holding a parade in downtown with floats and balloons? This is BATMAN (1989). This is Joker handing out money while intending to poison and kill everybody. Except Pyg’s not trying to kill people, he’s trying to turn them into slaves. He’s like Joker filtered through more Anti-Life philosophies. Hurt might be dealt with for now, but if Libra ever came back, here would be an easy choice for Crime Bible hijinx.

Notice behind him as he gives his speech the subtle background – junkies walk INTO his parade float from the left … and Dollotrons walk OUT of it on the right. That’s fucked up.

Pyg’s references are all fairly in line with what we’ve seen before, and referencing Animal Farm continues the trend, while also befitting his Russian backstory. Pretty cool, and carries some nice themes. Batman and Robin recovering (or having had already recovered) his “Mommy” cradle of pain from the destroyed Park Row Theater is a slick move typical of Grayson’s flashy showbiz nature. But Pyg is putting on a theatrical show to dominate these craven zombie-masses, and Dick would know that the strongest way to take care of Pyg (and strike a HUGE blow to his ego) would be not just to kick his ass … but to COMPLETELY UPSTAGE HIM. It’s quite a punch-line from the Wonderboys, turning the Norman Bates-meets-Henry Higgins into a crying little baby before having his own crowd of zombies turn on him in a manner reminiscent of the Cult Homeless turning on Deacon Blackfire. (Only way fucking funnier.)

(Side note: How about the fact that as a precursor to Bruce Wayne’s return and Growth as a Human Being … his “Prodigal Son” Dick Grayson blew the Park Row Theater on Crime Alley where his parents died to smithereens with a Bat-Copter?)

Joker planting his Wrath of God backup in the Jean-Paul Valley-era “Bat-Rocket-Traincar” is something … while he’d have access to the railcar from the Bat-Cave (which we know he knows of), it seems from interviews he might’ve been meant to have planted it in the Bat-Bunker. However, the Bat-Bunker has more up-to-date security, even of Joker as Oberon Sexton at that party at Wayne Tower scouted the place out a bit. It makes little difference in the end, it gives Damian the chance to save all of Gotham in a big-time “Graduation” sort of move.

As for Joker getting a nuke: He’s done it before (See: A Death in the Family) but this is stated to be homemade. Joker’s world tour as Sexton took him to the Middle East, all over Europe … we know with time and disguise he’s been able to get major weapons-grade supplies before, so it’s not that unbelievable. And to top it off … not that many miles from Gotham is Bludhaven, which may or may not be a source of radioactive material for anyone crazy enough to sneak in there (past security) and retrieve some.

Back in the Bat-Cave … Tom Wayne is in the Costume Gallery, looking at the very same glass case he smashed to steal the Thomas Wayne “Original Batman” costume (Which he knew all about. It’s possible Tom was a guest at that party and saw the whole Lew Moxon ordeal, if he was staying with the Waynes when Bruce was very young.) This gallery of costumes has been vitally important to the whole run, being the centerpiece of Bruce’s “Dressing Room”. A broken glass case means an element of history to be brought into play. Damian smashed Tim through the Jason Todd memorial case and stole Jason’s old costume (Which was Dick’s as well). You’ll notice that SINCE THEN, way back in BATMAN & SON, Bruce never put up the old Frank Miller “He Was A Good Soldier” case again. Tom Wayne later smashed the Thomas Wayne costume case. Will Bruce move on and not linger on that part of his past either now?

But at any rate … Hurt looks at his own reflection in the Thomas Wayne glass case, pieced carefully back together by Alfred after R.I.P., wearing the costume and loaded with imagery and themes of being a dark, cracked reflection of Thomas Wayne … and Bruce smashes his face through it.

(“You’re finished!” – Dick)

Now it’s all out there.

(“You really thought you could trap me in a prison I built?” – Bruce)

This speaks to soooooooooooo fucking many levels of Bruce Wayne. I think they’re all fairly obvious – the literal sense of the Interrogation Chamber. The fear-based life he leads. The deepest corners of his own mind. Trapped in his own legend – trapped in his own shadow. Even Bruce Wayne was trapped in the grim Shadow of the Bat. But he adapted.

(“My father tried to treat you in that Hidden Room.” – Bruce)

Did Thomas know about Darkseid? No. No, Thomas Wayne likely knew what all the Waynes knew, including Anthony, Darius, Solomon, Joshua, Alan, Kenneth, Patrick, Silas and onward all knew. That Tom was some kind of aberration (Which was more uncommon then, but it’s still the DCU – Thomas Wayne was still watching the news and witnessing the Challengers of the Unknown traversing the Multiverse, and the JSA saving people). And they all of course probably believed that Tom was a head-case.

The fact that the Hidden Room resembled a Satanic Church is recent. The Waynes haven’t been secretly practicing Satanism in the basement since 1880. Tom Wayne added that after Thomas and Martha were killed, when he was sneaking around the Mansion pretending to be Thomas and fucking with the Kanes. Before that it was simply a hidden basement, where at one point, Patrick, Silas and son/nephew Thomas tried treating old Tom when he returned “home” the first time.

So that’s from Bruce’s youth – when he was away with Alfred for months after the Wayne murders. And prior to that it was where Tom was sporadically kept before they decided he was too dangerous or a lost cause and shipped him to Willowood. But Tom being who he is – possessed by a demon hyper-adapter, a doctor, a gambler, and dastardly son of a bitch, ended up RUNNING Willowood in no time.

Is Tom delusional? Does he really think he’s Thomas? I think probably, otherwise MUST DIE! Wouldn’t have begun with the fantastic false-flashbacks actually showing how the lies about the Waynes could be true. But at this point, Barbatos is eating away at his mind so much that believing himself to be his great-great-great-great grand-nephew namesake is totally possible. I don’t know the name for the syndrome, but it’s something of the case of the jealous person pretending to be somebody … forgetting themselves and believing they are the person they’re pretending to be. It happens to Actors. Zartan from G.I. Joe suffers from it, actually. He’s a Master of Disguise (Like Hurt) who changes his face all the time, but after a while … he can’t remember his original persona.

I really don’t know the name for this. Something like Pathological Liar’s Persona would fit.

Strike that – further research has yielded results. I was looking for Dissociative Identity Disorder. One imagines that a split-personality as a result of Demonic Possession in an Immortal will do that to a person. Which is why sometimes Hurt talks like Hurt. Sometimes he talks like he thinks he’s The Devil. Sometimes Tom Wayne comes out. And sometimes it’s pure Hyper-Adapter speech.

The scary part is that these elements blend so well, and he transitions from one to the other without any kind of detrimental effect on his evil plans.

(“Deep into that darkness peering …” – Poe)

It’s unknown who scrawled that onto Alan Wayne’s crypt, although one assumes he had that crypt built for his wife Catherine and joined her at a much later date. The clinically depressed Alan seems like a prime candidate to catch onto the works of Poe, which at the time were much more recent but still VERY popular (a popularity that never died, actually). The quote from The Raven is expressive of the overall themes of The Raven – that one should not look into the darkness or do occult things to bring back a dead loved one. Alan apparently won that battle with his own soul, but it’s curious to think of Tom Wayne in that light, since he sold his soul for apparently less of a good reason. But if his soul had been gone prior to summoning Barbatos, it’s curious to wonder what his life was like pre-Dark Knight, Dark City flashback.

It also applies to Bruce, who looked into the darkness on multiple occasions (Really, the Isolation Experiments, and the Thogal, are very much like Poe-era existential isolation. You could lock yourself in an attic and write reams of poetry and have much the same result as a Thogal ritual.) Bruce continually peers into the darkness … looking for foes of humanity that he can punch in the face.

(“The devils in the details, right?” – Joker)

Another telling phrase that I’m glad Morrison used since I’ve been saying it over and over again myself. Joker’s attention to detail means that he’d be the kind of guy who had minimal trouble spotting the attention to detail Hurt went to for his own plans. But the challenge had no results! Hurt was no fun!

(“NUHKH AHHA RRRAH HHAH. FF-UAHH … NUH … DEDD … DUMM-NOH … AUGH-HAUGH … HUGHGH …” – Hurt)

Hurt has been poisoned by Joker’s toxin and is about to be buried alive. My best guess at translating his laughing-gas induced gibberish there is thus:

“(Painful laughter) FUCK YOU. NOT DEAD. [Referring to Joker’s toxin, which usually has lethal effects but doesn’t on him because he’s immortal? Or is he trying to tell Joker that BRUCE WAYNE is not dead? I think it’s plea-bargaining using Bruce as the bargain, but it’s too late because he’s incomprehensible.] DOMINO [The obvious one] and then (More painful laughter).”

Damian grimacing as he’s hooked onto a screaming Bat-Subwaycar is hilarious. It’s action-packed and bad-ass as well – a chip off old Bruce’s block. But it’s just funny. The angry kid … super-hero time.

Here’s another moment that I keep seeing fans mistake on the forums. Alfred says “He’s gone, sir. Something about unfinished business. I presume we have permission to cheer.”

He’s talking to Damian, of course, who has just disarmed the bomb. BRUCE is the one with unfinished business, leaving Damian hanging as soon as the kid acknowledged he was good. Bruce has gone outside to chase down Doctor Hurt, but instead he finds Joker. And clobbers the Clown Prince. That easy.

(“So I said, if anyone’s going to bring the house down, it’ll be me! I can make it solo.” – Joker)

This explains why as early as The Clown at Midnight, he cut loose all his henchmen, even breaking up with Harley Quinn. He had ulterior motives during R.I.P. when he realized exactly who and what was staging the “show” and decided with Batman gone, he’d hilariously play the “detective” role, and hasn’t worked with anybody (except tipping people off and using them as pawns and tools and dominoes.)

Now that Bruce is back and punches him in the face and no doubt ships him right back to Arkham? Oh yeah … Joker … sorry to say, but YOU DO “have to go back to the old gags”. Somewhat. Except for this tell:

(“Starting today, I’m taking the act in a whole new direction. The Joker fights crime!”)

He’s referring to what he said to himself back during R.I.P. when the Batman Dead rumors began circulating. He’s not actually making an announcement “Tonight” that he’s changing his act again. However, that has to change once he gets pounded in the face by Bruce. With Bruce around, Joker was his ultimate wild card foe. With Bruce gone, Joker played games with Grayson. With Bruce back and going international? Joker will be forced to “adapt” yet again.

Will Joker stage a reunion tour with the Club of Villains? Seems likely. It’s similar to Luthor’s Injustice Gang from Morrison’s JLA, but with Joker in charge rather than stuck with Luthor as a boss. Will other villains from Batman, Inc. join the Club, to fill out the numbers against the new members of Batman, Inc.? Will we see Joker team with Lord Death Man? Etc …? Hopefully! (Although personally I’m hoping INC. gives us some much needed Riddler escalation.)

But Joker’s not going to scrimp on a challenge like going international just to stick around dusty old Gotham and play games with Grayson on a weekly basis. He wants to play in the big leagues with Bruce. Let Gotham have a new wave of wild new villains. He can always go back and take over that stage again if he wants to.

Anyway, note the fact that Batman punching out Joker is a LITERAL “PUNCH”-line. And afterward it immediately jumps to Wayne Tower, to the Bat-Bunker. This is Batman and Robin’s title – Bruce comes to visit our heroes in THEIR base.

Pyg’s in Arkham now with Joker. That could be interesting (and bad for Pyg – Joker has “old friends” in Arkham by way of his criminal career colleagues, some of whom he actually somehow by some miraculous quirk of fate (not killing them) managed to have decent working relationships with.)

Mayor Sebastian Hady survived Joker’s poison popcorn, but Gordon’s going to have a field day on his ass.

The “world’s top brain surgeon” patched Dick up. I have no idea who he’s referring to. It could be anyone from Doctor Mid-Nite (Dick is leading the JLA right now … friends with the JSA …) or he could be referring to an unknown quantity who we’ll meet (or won’t meet, he does have Wayne money access after all) in Batman, Inc.

Bruce Wayne grins a smile that’s equal parts Silver Age smiling Batman and terrifying.

THE FINALE

It was good, and I totally didn’t expect it. Shocking stuff, but well within DCU secret identity-keeping parameters. WayneTech is all over the place anyway as far as crossing over with super-heroes, but I didn’t even think Batman, Inc. would need this kind of public backing, or Bruce dropping a bombshell on the public. Nice to see Tim Drake show up as well, popping in after he too gets to help save the day in The Return of Bruce Wayne # 6.

The reunions were brief and we didn’t get a lot of talking, planning and “on to the next phase” stuff – but rest assured, THE RETURN ONE-SHOT will give us all of that and truly transition us into INCORPORATED. The season-ender had to move a little more quickly and have a bit more punch.

RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE # 6

It’s the elephant in the room. It should have come out first. Thankfully, it’s coming next week, and there’s three or four MASSIVE parts of the storyline that we don’t have answers to yet (although we’re as close as ever to having some final answers about everything we need). Can Tim Drake stop Future-Archivist Bruce from destroying the world? Is there any need, since it’s Bruce and he’s escaped the Omega Effect with some unexpected help from Carter Nichols? What about getting to Wayne Manor in time to save Dick? What about the fact that Darkseid is coming back into the picture? What about Cube Time and the maps of the Multiversal timelines? What about returning that Time Sphere to Rip Hunter so Superman, Hal Jordan and Booster don’t die?

Just a few more days.

BLACK MASS (Part I) - Dick Grayson Prayed

2010-11-04T21:18:00.001-07:00

"AND I SAID ... WHAT? WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO STOP THE GUNSHOTS? AND THE CITY'S BIG BLACK VOICE REPLIED ... THE SACRIFICE OF A SON/SUN!

I'M WHAT YOU ... WHAT YOU WILL BE.

This is by no means my blog/annotations on Batman and Robin # 16. I'm saving that for next week, when I finally have Return of Bruce # 6 digested.

ROBW#1: Anthro prayed for Metron, or a miracle. And got Bruce.
ROBW#2: Annie prayed for a dark hero. And got Bruce.
ROBW#3: Jack Valor prayed to his grandfather the Black Pirate. And got Bruce.
ROBW#4: Mrs. Van Derm prayed for a dark angel. And got Bruce.

The next one is tricky. Who prayed for a miracle when Bruce arrived in "Noir Gotham"? Was it Marsha Lamarr, looking for "tall dark handsome stranger" to sacrifice? How long was Bruce in that hospital? It seems he was there a little longer than the usual stay of time. I'd be willing to bet it goes like this:

ROBW#5: Young Bruce Wayne prayed for a miracle. Old Bruce Wayne appeared ... but got hit by a car. Because meeting yourself in the past won't happen in a way that can alter anything.

ROBW#6: is tricky. Bruce has freed himself from the "Eclipse" mandate thanks to Carter Nichols and now has to trust himself and Tim Drake to fix things. We'll see when we get there. Maybe even trying to "stop Bruce from arriving", Tim was secretly praying Bruce would return. But point being ... Bruce has broken free of the curse, so to speak.

B&R#16: Dick Grayson was about to die and prayed for Bruce. And got Bruce.

While I'm sure ROBW#6 will finalize what we need to know about the nature of the Hyper-Adapter, square Bruce up against his time purgatory and all with plenty of time for him to retrieve Superman and Co. from the End of Time ... let Tim know he's back early ... and have plenty of time to re-enter the Omega Effect and pop out in Wayne Manor right when Dick is "sacrificed" ... I believe it's very likely it'll end with Tim Drake on the phone with Grayson.

The final details relayed ... the Mansion will be prepared for Bruce's arrival.

And as for Doctor Hurt?

At first I believed the corpse Joker danced with was Catherine Van Derm. And that Hurt is buried alive in her casket - a fitting revenge for the girl. But I can't help but wonder how much of his plan for Hurt Joker telegraphed when he buried Oberon Sexton alive with his dead wife.

It's possible that corpse belongs to Dominique, or even if Hurt had a wife, his wife. It's possible it was her coffin.

As for the whole where Hurt is buried? What's the only fresh hole in the Wayne Family Plot? The "supposed" grave of Bruce Wayne (clone).

THE KNIGHT, DEATH AND THE DEVIL

2010-10-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

(OR: THE DICKIE GRAYSON AND JACKIE JOKES-A-LOT IMPROV VARIETY HOUR)

SCENE 1
Joker in his funerary persona is now in the “underground railroad” (both literal and figurative) connecting Alan Wayne’s crypt with the Hidden Room beneath the Manor’s library. The lych-way. The corpse road. And like a New Orleans-style funeral, he’s dancing. Interestingly, it appears to be a Tango.

R.I.P. as farce: Where in R.I.P., Joker was invited to be the Master of Ceremonies of a Danse Macabre (Dance of Death), here, Joker was NOT invited, so he’s crashing the party, and he’s making it literal, dancing with the dead, in this case one of Bruce’s female ancestors – like many have mentioned, probably Catherine Van Derm. While he’s outgrown his former very brief “Ringleader from Hell” persona, the top hat also adds a bit of “Ringleader” vibe befitting a Master of Ceremonies at some sort of Masquerade. The similarities to the black/top hat fashion that Doctor Hurt donned as he set sail for Liverpool on S.S. Orion and probably became Jack the Ripper can’t be overlooked.

Note that the Tango was invented in Argentina – Batman’s next stop in Batman, Incorporated where El Gaucho operates. I’ll stop these lines of thinking before I delve into something like Gandy Dancers, laying railroad tracks, being a primary influence on American Blues, and the short leap from there to Joker’s present New Orleans voodoo jazz man wardrobe and doctrine. Or the odd Irish behavior of getting drunk and grabbing a corpse at a wake and dancing with it.

The top hat works on a multitude of levels, actually. More than anything Joker resembles an Undertaker. It wouldn’t be surprising to see someone in similar garb standing on a storefront in a Wild West town (or in 1800’s Gotham) as a steely-eyed bad-ass cowboy like Batman walked down the street. Especially in a Western, an Undertaker was tasked with collecting the myriad of dead bodies left behind by a bounty hunter or gunslinger. The whole schtick adheres to Joker’s black and red theme, but is probably influenced 100% by the plot of R.I.P., which involved Batman in a “funeral parlor” style setting at Arkham, buried alive in a casket with a headstone. It’s pretty much “Black Glove, R.I.P.” at this point.

The word Undertaker could be interpreted as a man who prepares the dead for the Afterlife, or “Takes the Dead to the Underworld”, or more literally who “undertakes” something, an ironic combination of the two highly different dictionary definitions found in the combined root words, since Joker has “undertaken” this mission of revenge. A cursory Wikipedia disambiguation revealed that Prince created but never released an album called “The Undertaker”, which gave me a coincidental chuckle, since we’ve already seen one MASSIVE Prince homage in Batman and Robin in the form of everything about Flamingo. I’ve covered the Hamlet references on a few occasions. (Gravediggers as clowns).

One wonders if Joker’s getaway vehicle will be as obvious as a Hearse.

“Born from a coffin” is one of those lines that would’ve had the “Damian is Bruce reincarnated and he’ll grow up somehow from Damian” theorists a few years back. Interestingly enough, when viewed through the “Ancestor-Box”, it does become immediately important to realize that Damian Wayne’s existence from Mike Barr’s Batman: Son of the Demon is another element of Batman’s past that was “brought back” from oblivion by Darkseid’s device to be used as a weapon against Bruce Wayne. The very same continuity-altering things that gave rise to Hurt also may very well have nudged “Son of the Demon” back into continuity, retroactively.

“The first and BEST BOY WONDER’s in the hands of the most evil man on Earth!”

This is a telling line from Joker. I’ve postulated that the reason Joker killed Jason Todd was that he was boring. No fun to play with. NOT DICK GRAYSON. His playmate was gone – the two of them spent many a night playing games and cracking jokes and “routines” with Batman as the straight man. His feelings about Tim Drake are something I’d be curious to find out. Tim met Joker in his New Homicidal phase and has known him almost exclusively in that capacity and comes at Joker the same way Batman would, so it might be boring to reiterate it.

SCENE 2
Alfred seems completely and utterly prepared for Hurt. He even had time for a cup of tea. Clearly, that’s an indicator of his faith in their success – the plan (mentioned quickly and quietly last issue) must be a good one. If Morrison is going to stick to his themes from throughout, I have ZERO DOUBT that “the plan” involves taking “Acting” and “Theater” to all new levels to defeat Hurt. In fact, I believe Grayson’s later line of “We’ll improvise” is literally referring to acting. Take into consideration Batman # 682, where Grayson imagined Bruce Wayne as Hamlet fighting Joker as Laertes (“Doth his blade envenom” is definitely a Joker move, since Joker consistently poisons everything. Gold dominoes. Fingernails. Rose petals. Joker IS poison – he’s the skull and crossbones on the poison bottle.)

Hurt has used Bruce Wayne’s own theatricality against him. In fact, he incorporates theatrical elements into his Occult rituals. But I don’t think he’s prepared for the onslaught of a Dick Grayson / Joker improv-comedy duo with Damian as the Straight Man and Alfred coordinating the gags. Morrison’s Alfred is like a stage director – damn near like his own actor, Michael Caine in Nolan’s The Prestige – and his Joker probably went to theater/drama school. (Seriously – the Red Hood? Dini’s “Stage Magician” arc? Stand-up comedy? That guy is ENSCONCED in drama school).

“Lovely covered in dirt, yes.” Astute readers guessed that Pyg was the lawyer, and I guess that kills the silly “Hurt’s lawyer is an Asian stereotype” argument. I’m never entirely sure what he’s talking about, but the first thing I thought of was Truffles, or other fungi that a pig might be employed to sniff around for and dig up. Appropriate in the context of gravedigging, and it establishes the comparison between Pyg and Joker – Pyg is a wannabe, and I expect to see a confrontation between the two next issue, where Joker scares the fucking pants off of Lazlo Valentin.

SCENE 3
The significance of the zoomed in “Triumph of Death” stands out as weird placed where it is, but later we see that the painting – the very same painting we saw in Mayhew’s study on the island – is being hung up over where the portrait of Thomas and Martha hangs.

“DAY 3” is interesting placement. This scene takes place at night, and “DAY 3” means that the moment when Hurt steps through the gate onto the Wayne Estate is MIDNIGHT. Truly is just became MIDNIGHT IN THE HOUSE OF HURT.

To me, this seems to confirm that Doctor Hurt was ON THE ISLAND calling the shots during the Club of Heroes arc. I’d wondered before … if he was broadcasting from a remote location or not … if that really was Mangrove Pierce strung up and carved. Seems that way.

The scenes of street violence and pandemonium are interesting. I couldn’t make heads or tails out of the second panel after the “QUARANTINE CONTINUES” headline and TV screens. We haven’t actually seen TV news report snippets since the Red Hood arc. And so wondering what the Hell was happening in that red-tinted image, I realized that it’s a truck smashing through a window-front at a dry cleaner or department store. People sent flying. Racks knocked over. For some reason, the clothes on racks, red tint and heavy duty truck reminded me instantly of Jason Todd (his red truck had a “dressing room” area – we’ve been seeing a LOT of dressing rooms lately, last issue in the Park Row Theater the most recent). It’s such a random pandemonium element, this frame, followed by yet another frame showing yet another smaller part character we haven’t seen in a while coping with the craziness (Lone-Eye Lincoln) that I can’t help but wonder at it. I’ve been waiting to be unsurprised by a Jason Todd appearance since Blackgate was attacked. Perhaps this is a lightning-quick, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it acknowledgment of his escape.

SCENE 4
“I’m not a pawn”, says Damian. He thinks it’s chess as well … just like Hurt. Of course, Damian is a lot like Bruce. Poor Bruce, right now the person claiming to be his father, and the person claiming to be his son are both bastard demon types. Joker immediately makes a “shrimp” joke by switching “pawn” with “prawn”. He’s been calling Damian “baby” the whole while. But if Damian the straight man thinks it’s chess as well … then odds are good that Doctor Hurt, too, is going to be a straight man in some kind of gag. And immediately Joker cements that notion with his absurd logic for getting to “The Fall” joke involving the banana peel – equating himself to “Big Mike” (The Archangel Michael).

Ironically, this instantly draws my attention back to Jason Todd AGAIN. (The importance of that storyline shouldn’t be overlooked, and I’m currently postulating and forming arguments for a short essay on Morrison’s Jason Todd, the “Red State Robin”, Republican, Political, Right Wing and 2nd Amendment (vs. the “Blue” Dick Grayson).

Joker comparing himself to Michael and positioning the banana peel to “cast down” or make “fall” the guy claiming to be the “Devil” might be backward-logic, but it’s the same sort of “vengeful hand of god” notion Jason is employing in his black and white viewpoint. And Jason succeeds in “casting” Flamingo into a literal “Pit” of a rock quarry … so it’s interesting to see Joker … the namesake of the Red Hood … affecting similar fates on a devilish, demonic character.

Of course, where Jason casts down a demon with a passing resemblance to Joker (Flamingo), Joker will be casting down a demon with a passing resemblance to Jason or Batman (Hurt). After all, “Red Hood” was originally as basic a theatrical guise as the Thomas Wayne “Original Batman” guise – nothing more than a tuxedo with a cape and an added mask.

“Pawn to tree! Your move!”

“They have Doctor Ha-Ha” and “Doctor Johnny B. Damned”. All the top names.” – Pyg seems to be referencing Joker (Ha-Ha) and Hurt (Johnny B. Damned, a nice switch on Johnny B. GOOD. Johnny B. BADDE would’ve probably been too on the nose for Morrison.)

What stopped Gordon’s cravings? I’ll kindly refer you back to the fact that it was JOKER who seems to have left the antidote for Pyg’s plague, not Pyg himself. And I think Grayson knows it, even though he said something that seemed contradictory to Gordon back in # 13.

“The snail is the Devil!”

Pyg comes about this line in a way more upside down and backwards even than Joker’s logic, at least verbally, but a snail is of course a sort of a worm-like creature with two horns (“A worm gnawing at the foundations”) that wears a hollow, empty shell. Add the idea of “shell” or “husk” wearing with the Devil = Duality concept we’ve explored elsewhere and the notion that something is “wearing Thomas Wayne” like a shell resurfaces. This would make absolutely good sense if the Hyper-Adapter Darkseid released and Bruce battled as “Dragon” is the demon/devil living inside Doctor Hurt’s brain. He may not be alone in there. And if he is a man who has lived too long, it would be due to the Time/Space Demon Darkseid sent after Bruce Wayne’s past. And the Hyper-Adapter itself is semi-worm-like. Perhaps after Bruce Wayne wounded it in the Bat-Cave, it laid dormant there for 50 or 60 years until the young “Thomas Wayne” of the 1700’s explored the cave and was “entered” by the adaptive entity. We’ll find out.

“They’re all crawling from the box now!” cries Pyg, the second crazy bastard to refer to Damian as having come from a coffin/box and possibly reinforcing the thought that Damian, too, is result of this horrific process happening to Bruce Wayne.

“Piggie’s got work in town!”

It’s fascinating that they never named all the 99 Fiends, because we never get a clear enough sense of any of them following the 3rd Hierarchy hit-team back in Batman vs. Robin. This shirtless guy with the Rottweiler was around back then, but the guy with the pitch-fork is new. And they get even more insane as Damian begins maiming them (I think it’s fair to say that the Nine-Eyed Man from “Fiend With Nine Eyes” was one of them, as the title of that issue explicitly calls him a “FIEND” and it would make sense, him having been one of Hurt’s operatives).

The fiend who is a Catholic nun with two swords is absurd. The huge guy who finally knocks out Damian feels Blockbuster-esque.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll improvise.”

Whose line is it, anyway? Doctor Hurt has a grand villainous speech to give (like the one Pyg attempted, poorly last issue – “We meet again, Batman …”). Once again, our former Willowood Asylum Doctor (and probably Patient) intends to give Dick Grayson brain damage. He shatters the horse head over the mantle (Representing Dick as a “Knight” – One in Joker’s hands at the moment, and let’s remember, Knights make lateral, unexpected moves across the board and there are two Knights to a side.)

“Our handsome young acrobat will become a human vegetable. Unable to move or feed or change himself.”

This immediately recalls to me Joker’s line to Damian last issue. “You sound just like … like HIM …” with a “HIM” who was never referenced. Damian was spouting off lines about how he was going to give Joker brain damage, and talking about how “chaos” is not being able to feed yourself or change your own diapers. We took it for granted that Joker meant Damian sounds just like Bruce Wayne, because Bruce is notable for these kinds of bad-ass speeches. But Bruce doesn’t often threaten brain damage … whereas Hurt threatens it every five minutes.

I’m of a mind now, that Joker was telling Damian that he sounds just like Doctor Hurt. Another example: during R.I.P., Hurt didn’t quite understand Joker is a true wild card. He called him “servant”, and was utterly appalled when (unsurprisingly for us, at least), Joker turned on him and started murdering Black Glove types. Damian similarly doesn’t believe Joker is not evil at all, and actually 100% non-affiliated with good or evil when he harms (or doesn’t) people. Damian doesn’t think Joker is uncontrollable and also underestimates him.

This fits well enough with my previously mentioned element of Batman’s “ancestor” (claiming to be his father) being a Devil, and his “son” (claiming to be – seems very likely) son being something of a Devil himself. I mean, it’s no coincidence that Grant named the kid DAMIAN and immediately drew comparisons to THE OMEN, a movie about a kid who is the spawn of Satan.

“Thomas and Martha. They took me in. They showed me kindness … Now I’ve taken his face. He’ll be remembered as a criminal, she a drug fiend. Their son mentally ill.”

What’s motivating Hurt’s complete character assassination (and yet, at the same time, jealous wishful vicarious living) of Thomas Wayne? Is it the name? Does he resent his name being stolen? Is it the reputation achieved through doing GOOD? Thomas Wayne is practically SAINTED in Gotham City. No, it seems to be something personal that actually happened. Plenty of talk on the boards, fair bet that Thomas and Martha, like the rest of the Waynes, knew about the “dirty little secret” of Bad Tommy the 200 year old uncle (Who may or may not be possessed by a Time Squid, or a Darkseid) and tried to actually get him help. Psychological help. Forged his name as being their son. Once again, I’m sure we’ll find out.

The offer to Damian. The deal with the Devil. The stuff we’ve had teased for a while.

Then the whistle – early. How could Dick know the Miagani whistle code? How could Damian? The Batarang with the note that says GOTCHA! Not much else in the box … who could know?

The ruse. “Devil” meet “Bat-God”. Grayson is okay? How the fuck is that possible? Okay, so he’s acting … he improvised … but how did he not just get shot in the back of the head with a .32 meant to fracture his skull in twelve hours?

An icy voice. Probably not Bruce Wayne’s. I’ve got a few composed charts illustrating why I think the man in the Batman costume is Joker. Did Alfred prepare the cave and mansion for Joker’s access to a Bat-Costume?

Moreover … how is that what’s in the Bat-Casket? It’s logical to assume either Bruce Wayne’s return is secretly happening off panel, or that Grayson/Damian/Alfred/Joker pulled some CRAZY “Sleight of Hand” – something that could easily be in a few of their repertoires. I don’t think Dick could have “switched it for a fake box” before, because as soon as he discovered it, it was stolen by the 99 Fiends.

I’ve got a theory or two, as I often do.

Joker, as “Oberon Sexton” was already poking around the Wayne Family Graveyard. His nickname was “Gravedigger”. He seems to know his way around quite well. I theorize that Joker switched out the Bat-Casket. In fact, if you think about it – he’s been out “globetrotting”, traveling the world, in much the same way Red Robin has. Joker is an unbelievable thinker, and pattern-maker, and can doubtless see patterns faster than anybody. It’s possible he traveled the world first and figured out the secrets Bruce Wayne left behind before anybody else … traversed the Hidden Room and the Miagani shrine. Figured it all out and had access to Bruce’s notes or who knows what. Even that he might’ve planted the Batarang in the now empty box so he could track Doctor Hurt.

Or it could be way fucking simpler. It could just be a quick bit of Batman-comic staple “Alfred pretends to be Batman” to distract the enemy. Or even simpler … “BRUCE IS BACK”. Fucked if I know which it’ll be, or even if it is Joker, if it’ll be as insanely complex as I’m making it out to be, right now, at this minute, off the top of my head.

It just makes sense to me that Joker of all people figured out the Return of Bruce Wayne secrets first. He’s well-versed in Demonology and Summoning (See: The Major Arcana), conspiracy theories (See: Well … he makes his own, you know!) and as we’ve seen as he pretends to be “Oberon Sexton”, the Master Criminal is ironically, when in a role-reversal situation, a Master Detective as well.

MASQUERADE

2010-10-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

MASQUERADE
- Noun
1. A party (The “Original Batman” Ball), dance (Danse Macabre), or other (Club of Heroes, Villains) festive gathering of persons wearing masks and other disguises, and often elegant (“Original Batman”, Black Glove), historical (Knight, Squire, Musketeer, Legionary, Gaucho, Man-of-Bats) or fantastic costumes. (DOMINO MASKS are required because there is a minimum requirement of masking.)
2. A costume or disguise worn at such a gathering.
3. False outward show; façade; pretense.
4. Activity, existence, etc … under false pretenses. (See: LIVING A LIE.)

- Verb
5. To go about under false pretense or a false character; assume the character of; give oneself out to be.
6. To disguise oneself. (See: SUPER-HEROES)
7. To take part in a masquerade.

From the root-word: “MASQUE”
1. A form of aristocratic entertainment in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, originally consisting of pantomime and dancing but later including dialogue and song, presented in elaborate productions given by amateur and professional actors.
2. A dramatic composition for such entertainment.
3. A masquerade; masked ball; revel.
(An aside on Masque ... whenever I hear it I think of "The Masque of the Red Death", by Poe. Poe is notorious for his use of masquerades in stories, and what a coincidence ... a quote from Poe's "The Raven" is scrawled on the crypt of Alan Wayne, a man who is ridiculously Poe-like in his depression and Gothic gloominess, and who lost his wife early and pondered doing terrible, beyond-mortal things to get her back.)

(Another aside on Masque ... whenever I think of the Masque of the Red Death I think of the film with Vincent Price. And whenever I think of Vincent Price I think of the 60's Batman TV show villain "Egghead".)

(Yet another aside on Masque ... I do believe I've just come up with a really slick idea for a Jason Todd/Red Hood storyline that echoes or even references "The Masque of the Red Death" and features the first in-comics appearance of Egghead ...)

See also: “MASK”
1. A covering for all or part of the face, worn to conceal one’s identity.
2. A grotesque or humorous face worn at a carnival (See: CIRCUS), masquerade, etc …
3. Also called swim mask. A device … blah blah blah (See: KING KRAKEN)
4. A gas mask (see: SCORPIANA)

Why the digression into masquery? Every single person in this issue is wearing a mask … but more important, I think, are the classical concepts involving “Masques” with a –QUE. Everyone. EVERYONE. And none moreso than the BLACK GLOVE. But to clarify who is wearing what mask to the masquerade, let’s peruse our Cast of Characters for this production – in order of appearance.

1. TIMOTHY DRAKE. His mask is one of boastfulness, used to conceal the fact that he’s still jealous about losing the role of Robin to Damian, and indicating that although he is standing amidst what is essentially the “Grown Up’s League”, he’s not as ready to grow up as he’s pretending to be. The lads over at MINDLESS ONES gave Tim Drake a pretty hard time back in “Bristol Bay”, but it seemed clear even then, and especially now that the JLA (And thank Christ there are some “old faces” in there who actually KNOW Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake) pity the kid and are skeptical of him – however Wonder Woman, in her usual standout way, is so compassionate and so empathic, that her look is one of caring and concern more than standing around wondering why this meeting was called at all. Oh yeah … the Robinson-era, Post-Final Crisis JLA (and some “guests” – iconic reservists) are in here, too. And let’s not forget that Tim’s LITERAL mask, his new cowl, is a highly Batman-like full-cowl, instead of a domino mask.
2. JLA. In order of IMPORTANCE to anything related to BATMAN. Wonder Woman. Green Arrow. Black Canary. Flash (Barry Allen). And Cyborg-Starfire-DonnaTroy-DoctorLight-Starman-Congorilla. (Ollie conveniently occupies the space accidentally filled by Hal Jordan in “Bristol Bay” in an art gaff. Except for Wonder Woman, the JLA are wearing the kind of masks that patient parents might wear while listening to some wild story coming from an emotional little kid.
3. BRUCE WAYNE. His mask is pretty obvious – that of the Private Investigator mentioned back during Batman, R.I.P. by Mayor Sebastian Hady to Gordon. But it’s more than that – he also wears the mask of his father, particularly the mask his father wore to the masquerade involving Lew Moxon.
4. MARSHA LAMARR. She wears the mask of “ally”, when she’s in fact, an enemy. No shocker here … she’s an actress … she’s playing a role for Doctor Hurt, she’s equivalent to Jezebel Jet, and she’s basically his “agent in the field”, the mouthpiece for the lies he invents and concocts. She also wears the mask of MARTHA WAYNE, much like how one of Hurt’s masks is that of THOMAS.
5. GROVES. The Kane Family Butler. If BATMAN has an EVIL DOPPELGANGER, somewhere, Alfred must, too. It has been suggested that Groves probably portrayed “Alfred” in the Black Glove’s film. But I doubt it’s very important.
6. BETSY KANE. Her mask is the mask of hypocrisy. For starters, she makes some allusions toward wasps that immediately stood out as regarding WASPs. One blogger made mention that Greg Rucka pegged the KANES as Jewish, But I think it’s probable that the KANES (Martha, Bruce’s grandparents) are not related to the KANES (Kate, Jake, Bette, and probably Kathy). It of course suspiciously draws the question of WHY IN THE HELL ARE THERE SO MANY KANES IN BATMAN’S WORLD? But chalk this one up to the universe being made in the image of the creator. She also wears the mask of suspicion and accuser, probably as a means to hide her own shame at the scandal of her daughter disowning her.
7. RODERICK KANE. Actually, old Grandpa Roddy seems to be one of the only characters whose mask is not of his own making. He seems like a bit of a pushover, but he does wear a mask – a permanent mask of a paralyzed face, since he had a stroke.
8. CARTER NICHOLS. Carter is like Roddy, actually. His mask is more that he is blinded. He’s a victim. But he’s definitely wearing a “brave face” around some scary people.
9. SIMON HURT. Mask on top of mask on top of mask on top of mask. Thomas Wayne. Jack the Ripper. Simon Hurt. Mangrove Pierce. Black Glove. El Penitente. This guy goes from one mask to the next as easily as a disembodied spirit hopping bodies. He certainly hyper-adapts. But we’ll learn more about him as we go. Point being, he always has one of his masks on. Including, of course, a domino mask.
10. THE VETERAN. It’s probably METRON, as most people spotted right away. The New Gods in Final Crisis appeared wearing other people’s faces (and attempting to remake the flesh & blood world in their image). Hard to say – it’s important, I think, to note the wheelchair. But I think it’s equally important to note that the veteran only has One Eye. Singular vision. We’ve gotten that theme repeated to us in the form of mysterious “prophets” all over the place. Honor Jackson only had one eye. Lone-Eye Lincoln has two, but that nickname had to come from somewhere (possibly a glass-eye). If you see Presidential surnames, look for one-eyed men. And then – pay attention – note that ARCHIVIST BRUCE BARBATOS-BARBELITH ALSO only has ONE EYE. Could all of the ONE-EYED characters be “helpers” projected into the Time-Stream by Bruce at the End of Time to help in places where they are needed?
11. JOHN MAYHEW. Here he wears a domino mask as a member of the Black Glove. But we already know that Mayhew is an adulterous bastard, who possibly murdered his wives. So he wears all kinds of masks in his public face.
12. GILLIAN LOEB. Yeah, he’s in the Black Glove, too. We know Loeb because he was ousted by the combined might of Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent, and then he was murdered by one of the Hangman killers.
13. MAYOR JESSOP. Had his employer, Mayor James, assassinated so he could become mayor. Black Glove organization.

SCENE 1: Timmy the Emancipated Boy Wonder and the Adventure of the Adopted Dad’s Skeptical Super-Team.
Interesting how the present-day “Search for Bruce” JLA task force stuff has been in order. We learn that off-page, Superman’s team swiped back that Final Crisis rocket and left it at the Hall of Justice before heading to Vanishing Point.

We get the skinny about the recording Bruce made in Batman # 701 and # 702. I’m curious what it would look like if EVERY JOURNAL ENTRY from Morrison’s run was lined up in order. Could clues be gathered from it?

Wonder Woman says “You all know what to do”. It’s a nice thing to say, but Christ, it’d be nice if they’d let us in on it. Punch Batman in the balls if he shows up? Trap him in a bottle? I mean … what are the options for an Earth-based, non-Hyper-God-Magick team of fantastical, but far from Godly heroes?

SCENE 2: Nice transition from Wonder Woman to Marsha Lamarr’s ass.
Checkered floor alert. You’ll notice that Lamarr is moving across a checkboard toward Bruce DIAGONALLY like a Queen Piece. Bruce, naturally, is a Knight Piece. She wants to use him as a Pawn Piece.

Lamarr’s purple lipstick is ALREADY applied. We of course know from classic Primary vs. Secondary color that Purple and Vivid Green = TOXIC/POISON. The Joker’s colors. Luthor’s colors. Jezebel Jet wore a lot of purple and drank purple champagne. Marsha Lamarr wears green, with purple lipstick. I really don’t need to go on about The Joker’s constant use of green poisons (See: Frazer Irving’s entire coloring of every “Joker Scene” in Batman and Robin) and Talia al Ghul herself tends to wear a lot of purple and green. Hell … come to think of it … there’s Catwoman’s old costume … Ra’s al Ghul … Riddler …

Doctor Floss.

Mordecai’s notes: (Note the anachronisms, of course, Bruce Wayne himself IS an anachronism right now)
The scars on my body --- numerous --- from my head --- found stacks of grit on --- stone. If only I had a … microscope --- tip of ---

Breathing on JUPITER. Something to that … can’t place it now. King of the Gods. Maxie Zeus. Astrological ruler of Sagittarius, guardian, protector … yeah, I’ve got nothing. But since it’s referenced directly in involvement with Lamarr’s nasty smoking habit, I’d look more toward the relationship with CANCER. I mean, talk about poisonous, or cancerous – later when they explore the Wayne Family Cemetery, she ashes one cigarette under her heel and immediately lights another.

Cool bit: They take the BRISTOL FERRY up BRISTOL BAY to whatever Hamptons-like rich community the Kanes live in.

SCENE 3: Meanwhile, at Stately Kane Manor …
More acting from Lamarr. She switches gears when Betsy Kane comes to greet her. When’s the last time you trusted anyone who said “It’s been EVER SO LONG”. Like I said … it’s that Jane Austen satirized, very particular era of snotty, aristocratic English. Dame Judi Dench probably plays Betsy here. And you’ll notice that unlike Wayne Manor, the parlor in the Kane Mansion DOES NOT have checkered tiles.

I think I’ve nailed down the “Wasp” thing. I mean, apart from alluding to the fact that these Kanes are WASPs themselves. It occurred to me when I thought about them being snobby OLD, OLD, OLD money. With their old butler and their OLD mansion. Old and shabby. They’re in the same frail condition as their house. I thought immediately of my grandmother’s house. Before it burned, there were beehives and paper wasp nests in EVERY WALL of the place.

If they’re so rich … can’t they afford to call an exterminator? Partly an indicator of the hard times Gotham has fallen upon (even for the rich – she mentions immediately that Roderick sold Kane Chemical to Ace Chemical – Man, Gotham really was designed to build the Batman) and partly to help explain why she’s so bitter and jealous that Martha basically ditched her miserable, miserly, dilapidated, crotchety parents to go live with young philanthropist Thomas Wayne, who of rich families in the Depression whose wealth was decreasing, the Waynes were on the rise still.

Oh, it’s entirely speculation on my part … but I’m certain of the “Dilapidated” thing. And they can never even leave their house. They’re shut-ins. She’s in a wheelchair … do you see any ramps? Ramps wouldn’t be proper. He’s in a damned iron lung. They don’t get out much … of course they’d believe every lying fucking word Marsha Lamarr tells them about what their daughter is doing. And if Doctor Hurt pays a visit – and it seems from Betsy’s statements that he did – how would they know he’s not the real Thomas Wayne? He could say pretty much anything to them.

“Patrick and Silas had to cover up the whole thing”. – Betsy Kane.
Betsy seems fairly aware that Patrick and Silas Wayne had some sort of family secret they were covering up – but if anything, it’s the same secret we know about. That Doctor Hurt is really Thomas Wayne of the 1700’s … again, Alan Wayne knew about it, and apparently built the secret room and passed it down all the way – we learned in # 701 that Bruce’s parents told him never to go in there. And in the fringes of continuity there is rumor of an “older brother” at Willowood Asylum.

HOW would the Waynes go about EXPLAINING that their 250 year old Great-Great-Great Uncle was still alive, a practicing Satanist, killing people, haunting their family, and possibly holding Black Masses in the basement hidden room of Wayne Manor? They couldn’t … if the question ever arose rumor of a “brother” or something at the asylum would have to suffice.

Awesome though, that Bruce’s boarding school experience with Manfred is directly referenced here. Is that the FULL REFERENCE the MINDLESS ONES were looking for? I believe so!

Betsy Kane reads the tea-leaves. And what do we see? Two bat-symbols, a W, and what could be the Grim. Reference to the “two Batman”? No … I rather think it’s probably reference to Barbatos grafting itself onto Bruce. But it’s hard to say … this one will be answered next issue so I’m not worried about dissecting it.

“Thomas told you this? AFTER his alleged death?” – Bruce’s question pretty much spells out the fact that 1700’s Thomas began pretending to be Thomas Wayne to torment people and gain access back to Wayne Manor if he could.

Every time anyone mentions Thomas Wayne it’s different. One minute they’re referring to Tommy, the next Tom, the next Thomas. And every time it could mean BOTH.

“Whoever that man was, it wasn’t Tom Wayne!” (Did she mean whoever the man was who came and talked to her afterward, or the man who died in the street?) We take it to mean she thinks Thomas Wayne hired a lookalike (Pierce?) to fake his own death … but it’s so nonspecific as to which part of Bruce’s question she was ranting about. Indeed Marsha’s line later – “Martha’s relationship with her family deteriorated years ago. You heard how Betsy felt about Tom Wayne.” Could easily mean that the Kanes knew of 1700’s Thomas (Many of Gotham’s aristocratic elite would … potentially … have heard the rumors or even met the man.) and didn’t want Martha getting involved with ANY of them.

SCENE … 4? Yeah, 4.
Willowood Asylum IS Arkham Asylum. A little Batman history lesson.

Arkham Asylum was founded back in … whenever. The early 19th Century or so. The peak of the Sigmund Freud era, and the height of fervor between your lobotomy proponents and those newfangled psychologists who were using drugs to treat patients.

The history of Arkham can be pretty neatly read about in Grant’s own “ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH”. Duh.

So why then, did Arkham first appear in the comics in the late 60’s (I think … although chronologically now after various Crises, and thanks to being in The Long Halloween and so forth, it reopened in Batman’s 2nd Year of Crime-Fighting. Which of course, Grant primed us for by having whoever in LAST RITES say in a flashback “there’s even talk of the old Arkham Asylum reopening.”

Willowood was of course the Asylum where The Brave and the Bold’s “Thomas Wayne, Jr.”, Bruce’s not-quite-in-continuity older brother with a mental disability lived. He apparently got possessed by Deadman then cured, then died.

So Grant fuses the two. ARKHAM closes after the “Mad Dog” incident. Later the building is used as the military insane asylum called WILLOWOOD. Later on, during the rise of Batman, it reopens as ARKHAM.

But while it was WILLOWOOD, Doctor Simon Hurt worked there. (No wonder he just waltzed in and stole control of Arkham Asylum from Jeremiah Arkham!). At least, that’s the going theory.

This Asylum is large, and Ryan Sook has drawn it to look a LOT like Arkham. But it looks like its upstate, and shouldn’t Gotham River be right behind it? It’s impossible to tell. But the fact is … the building looks almost exactly like how Tony Daniel depicted Arkham during R.I.P.

Nice art cue, as Marsha’s car is parked at the Asylum and later we see they’re out back.

THERE IS A STATUE OF A BOOMERANG ON DOCTOR HURT’S FILE CABINET which could indicate that the “Boomerang Killer” of The Brave and the Bold was indeed, very much, one of his historical “masks”.

Carter Nichols re-enters the story as a young man. Frankly, the story goes (and you can skip Final Crisis if you want) Batman # 700, Batman # 701, Batman # 702, Return of Bruce # 1, Return of Bruce # 2, Return of Bruce ->

The “Time and the Batman” trade is pointless. #700-#702 should be included as immediate prologue for the Return of Bruce TPB. But enough of that chatter – I never usually complain about the dull market aspects of comics.

Enemy time travel. A villain who crops up over the centuries but not consistently? Could Hurt be time-traveling, too? It doesn’t seem likely. Nichols backs out of the bet in the end. He decides his soul isn’t for sale, and it seems like that kind of amazing technology is not available to Hurt.

Hurt apparently gave Roderick the stroke … possibly assassinated the Waynes. Probably IS a Wayne. Probably is the Boomerang Killer. Bruce is trapped inside a BOX. Joker has apophenia and can seemingly see the box form, see the city grids. Grids/boxes/same idea. The grids might be constructs of the box, moving pawns here and there, shifting history around Bruce. Only crazy people can see it. The Hyper-Adapter may very well be the black, broken heart of Gotham City … constructing grids and frameworks within the Ancestor-Box to build the legend of the dark knight and ensure the Omega Bomb.

Who were the other TWO tall dark and handsomes?

We know that Jack Valor gave the bat-casket to the VAN DERMS, because years later in the cowboy era, the Van Derms still have it. Jack delivered it to a brother and sister in Gotham Town – NOT at Wayne Manor, which means Wayne Manor was probably not built yet. It was built in the late 1790’s, and he probably would have been dead at the time.

But there are instructions written onto his notes stating the casket should go to the catacombs. Who wrote them? The Van Derms? They were building the mansion for Darius, after all …

It’s hard to tell which … because we’ve been seeing this “bat-beast” or “bat-demon” transposed over Bruce, tied to Bruce, and he’s supposed to be a likely candidate for Barbatos. But I’ll put forth that Barbatos might be the Hyper-Adapter. It certainly explains a lot of things if that’s the case. Another “we’ll see”. I’m not really prepared right now to dig up all evidence of that.

But they directly refer to it as an UNEARTHLY LIFEFORM and I’m pretty damn sure that means Barbatos is the Hyper-Adapter, and it’s Gotham’s black heart. Of course, a moment later they refer to it as “The Hunter”. That’s been related back to the likes of ORION and Batman throughout the run …

Crime Bible ties should not surprise anyone at this point. Grant was an architect of 52. He and Rucka covered the Gotham stuff, primarily. Rucka stuck with the Crime Bible, and it was incorporated heavily into Final Crisis with different covens and ultimately Libra arriving as some sort of messiah to herald Darkseid.

Interesting that as the eclipse passes and Bruce vanishes … his grandfather, Roderick dies.

Final points: Tim Drake crying “SEAL THE HALL OF JUSTICE” is exactly the same thing Batman yells when he realizes that Kraken harbors GRANNY GOODNESS.

And of course … there’s our Mandelbrot-bat-barbatos-barbelith-one-eyed Archivist Batman. What in the hell is he going to do next?

ADDITIONALLY …
I had some interesting ideas about the nature of Mangrove Pierce (“My father’s double … and mine”) especially now that we’ve seen Bruce Wayne, Thomas Wayne, and Thomas Wayne-HURT all dressed in the “Original Batman Costume”. I mean … the name “Pierce” itself is a word that means “Putting a hole in something”. And we can all but confirm that Doctor Hurt personally puts holes in things – whether it’s holes in Bruce’s memories that he could fit into, storywise … amongst other psychological attacks.

He lobotomized Flamingo. He gave Roddy Kane a stroke. He drove Pyg over the edge. The list goes on and on.

My presumption is that Mangrove Pierce was just another one of Hurt’s “False Identities”. I haven’t had the time to compile evidence to build on that thought, and I’ve had people argue against it quite succinctly so more on that at another time.

Really, in the context of this latest issue, which is a massive info-dump (although still maintaining that air of “dots ready to be connected, that can’t quite be connected yet”) yet another re-read of the entire run so-far is in order. Maybe next weekend, if I have time.

Just a thought ...

2010-10-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

Before October Batman Morrisonia just goes crazy on us.

I'm not sure I expect it to actually happen, but to me it feels like ... if Return of Bruce # 5 is the Gotham of Bruce's childhood - he's visiting the Gotham where "Batman is born" on Park Row outside the theater where Zorro plays. He's visiting the Gotham where Joe Chills lurks and is going to discover just how ensconced in it all the Black Glove and Doctor Hurt really were ... in a sort of seedy fusion of the 30's and 70's ...

Then it seems like Return of Bruce # 6 might revisit "Robin Dies At Dawn".

I'm curious to see how that plays out. The possibility of Bruce Wayne being there, watching himself as Batman earlier in his career. A historical lynch-pin of an issue that really SHOWS us all the stuff we've been TOLD. Doctor Hurt. That military general. The isolation experiment (that'd be a full-circle on the whole Thogal running theme). The "MISSING DAY" from when Batman faced the "THREE GHOSTS". These are massively important events that factor majorly into the Black Glove's attack on Bruce, and we haven't actually WITNESSED any of them.

So I just wanted to make it known that I'm pulling for ROBW#6 to be focused on that very point of Batman's life (and a little mysterious "Bruce helping Bruce" stuff).

The Triumph of Death.

2010-09-09T16:14:00.001-07:00

Batman and Robin Must Die!

The Triumph of Death is a famous painting. It was last seen during the “Club of Heroes” arc, in the room John Mayhew recorded his message to the Club of Heroes in. However, in this context, since Joker is “Death”, we’re talking about the triumph of Joker. First, over Robin. But hopefully over Doctor Hurt as well, in the near future. Joker seems to have his shit together.

In fact, ironically, Joker is the star of the issue – although Batman and Robin factor strongly.

Scene 1: Wayne Manor. Alfred walks the grounds and does a few things – it seems like a moment of introspection and calm before the storm, but trust to Morrison – this is way more important than it looks.

Alfred does “something” involving the entrance to the Hidden Room and the Horse Head bust under the portrait of Thomas & Martha on the mantle with the three Orion-like roses. Then he goes to Bruce’s study and changes the hands on the clock back to where they’re supposed to be. (It comes up later, when in very brief, you could miss it, passing, Alfred explains he “did what Dick requested” and made alterations to the Mansion and Bat-Cave.

“… n I sez wot wot duz it take 2 stop the gunshots n city’s bug blak voice reply … the sacrifice of a sun! Unny lass wurds?”

This phrase comes to the foreground now. Let me translate it out of retarded clone-Batman speech. “And I said, ‘What?’ ‘What does it take to stop the gunshots?’ and the city’s big Black voice replied ‘The sacrifice of a sun!’”

There are three things floating around here. One – the sacrifice of Dick Grayson. Indeed, Doctor Hurt seems to be planning on sacrificing Grayson in the Library at Wayne Manor, which could be according to misinterpretation of whatever the fuck magick rites are to be performed. As a Satan worshiper, he's got a problem - his whole view of this demon/magick thing is skewed through Christianity. Or even Old Testament. Is he thinking "firstborn son"?

Two – the sacrifice of Damian Wayne. The clone-Batman certainly seemed to think that was the way to go.

Three – “sun” is deliberately misspelled here. After all, what is an “Eclipse” but a “sacrifice of the sun”? I believe this is the most likely, although I’m willing to think that certain characters like Doctor Hurt are operating under the wrong assumption. The City’s Big Black Voice? What did Gordon just say to Dick? “Those are some big black boots you’re filling”. Bruce Wayne IS the city’s Big Black Voice – and the message about the “sacrifice of the son/sun” is probably his own influence. Misdirection. A false prophecy. Something set up specifically to dupe Doctor Hurt into attempting to execute Grayson during an Eclipse – because THEN based on what we and Bruce have witnessed, that if someone calls for a “dark savior” during a moment of great crisis (like the one about to befall Dick), Batman will appear having used the Eclipse as a doorway into quantum leap.

I believe this “sacrifice of the son” is meant to line things up for Bruce’s return. He would be the type of guy to figure out exactly how Darkseid’s Ancestor-Box was messing with him and decipher exactly how to use the fucking thing to end up exactly where he needs to be. More on that later, as Return of Bruce Wayne finishes up.

Point being – Alfred has prepared the Mansion and Cave for something “special” … Grayson might’ve messed up, but he seems prepared for Hurt’s plan (and one step ahead, thanks to knowing Bruce better, and knowing the “truths” behind the Relic Cowl in the Cave and having time-traveling friends) and Hurt’s arrogance will be his downfall.

“YOU’RE FINISHED!”

Gotham City Police Headquarters:
The oft-seen scene depicts Damian Wayne “interrogating” Joker with a crowbar. My slightly logical guess was right, and the nailpolish is toxic, not Joker’s blood (although that would’ve been neato and I still wouldn’t accept a blood transfusion from the guy). Joker does appear to be telling the truth … and it’s still a funny inversion of the interrogation scene from “The Dark Knight”.

“A Robin who lets me manipulate him into a locked room situation? A Robin who even brings HIS OWN CROWBAR to the party?”

Joker is referencing previous Robins. Tim Drake was never really dumb enough to make a mistake like this with Joker, although “Slayride” provided his closest call. Dick Grayson was a different story since they were playmates. Joker is primarily and directly referencing Jason Todd. And I suspect it isn’t the last time this issue, either, although I can’t say for sure.

CRIME ALLEY … MORE ON THIS IN A MINUTE …

“Mommy Made of Nails”

For more on Lazlo Valentin’s entirely probably Medusa Complex, in addition to his pygmalionism and obsession with TV and television type beauty and creating perfect Dollotrons and complete clusterfuck of a freakshow composition, see my “Mommy Made of Nails” analysis. Unsurprisingly, the most fucked of Batman and Robin’s foes is addicted to pain.

So we have Pyg talking about his Mother again. (Did you know, on Monday’s she’s Mormo, Formless Chaos (Much like a disembodied spirit or demon …) and on Tuesdays it’s Tiamat this and Tiamat that (the Mesopotamian dragon slain by the Sumerian god of war, Marduk, progenitor of the Semitic name MORDECAI …) and Wednesday she’s the Gorgon Queen with snakes for hair (Vaguely reminiscent of the HYPER-ADAPTER)

Does it feel to anyone else that while hanging upside being crucified during his “self pain inflictions”, Professor Pyg has watched “The Return of Bruce Wayne” on TV? “The box, the despair pit!” could be Television … or it could be the Ancestor-Box.

At any rate, today “Mother” seems to be the Mother Goat! The Horned Goddess, with aspects of a triple goddess (Virgin, Mother and Crone). She is the “Great Mother” of Wicca, although typically in Wicca, it’s the Horned God and the Mother Goddess, but other pagan cultures featured horned goddesses, and frankly, the symbol of the horn is hermaphroditic.

And specifically, the Egyptians had a horned goddess – ISIS. (Good band, too). She’s the goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility. But I’m not sure she fits the bill as “Mother Goat”. Goats are constant symbols in the kind of Satanic Devil Worship Cults that these guys are into.

“I knew this prize would be mine in the end.”

So says Doctor Hurt. Key phrase in this sentence? “THE END”. Your end, although you may not know it yet.

“But even I can’t open it without destroying the contents, and that’s MY BIG PROBLEM …”

So says Doctor Hurt. Key phrase in this one? The whole thing – if the demon living inside Thomas Wayne of 1765 … if “Hurt” … is the Hyper-Adapter Demon personally sicced on Batman’s life by the God of all Evil Darkseid, then HE IS THE CONTENTS. If he opens the box, he destroys himself (and yet … the inside of the box might grant the immortality he seeks).

There’s still plenty more mystery here, though, and until Return of Bruce # 5 and # 6 come out, it’s up for conjecture (although I’m sure concepts are starting to congeal in our brains at this point).

“And the rats! What they did to me, to them! The rats in Rockville!”

You know, I’ve got to admit, sometimes I just have no fucking clue what Professor Pyg is talking about. Later talk makes me think that the “rats” are “the bats” – that is, Batman and Robin. Winged rats … Rockville (apart from some unimportant city in Maryland) is probably Pyg’s cute little name for a cave. The Bat-Cave, even. No question about Pyg … he’s MAD … as opposed to DIFFERENTLY SANE.

“Lazlo was a species of circus performer …”

Doctor Hurt clearly delineates, to our dear, DOOMED, Senator Vine, the difference between a freak show like Professor Pyg … and a circus acrobat like Dick Grayson. Or a clown like Joker, I guess. The whole thing really is a circus at this point. But it’s also Halloween. See! The pumpkin! The orange coloring! The fact that Doctor Hurt once more dons Thomas Wayne’s “masquerade” costume! The fact that the whole thing comes to an end this October! If it’s not literally Halloween, the symbolism, and the relevance of it compared to say … Wiccan Horned Gods/Goddesses … masquerades … bats … lunar phenomena … HARVESTING SOULS … demons escaping from Hell … are pretty well noted, as our its Ancient Origins, and ties to Neolithic cultures who we now know from Return of Bruce Wayne that Batman has affected in the past.

Still … Doctor Hurt’s current predilection for shooting holes in large fruits is kind of funny, considering it seems to be practice for Dick Grayson’s skull … and the whole “Pyg puking in a pumpkin” thing is really fucking strange.

Traditionally, Jack O’Lanterns were left lit on doorsteps to ward off evil spirits (much like a “one-night” version of a Gargoyle, which got great play back in Batman, R.I.P.)

And then there’s the legend of “Stingy Jack”, a drunkard who used a cross to trap The Devil. Which actually sounds vaguely like what could’ve happened to 1765 Thomas Wayne. This story seems ESPECIALLY relevant because “Stingy Jack” tricks the Devil into sparing his soul for 10 years, then when 10 years comes, he does it again. And again. And Jack lives an uncontrollable, corrupt lifestyle and dies, and can’t go to Heaven OR Hell, and is cursed to be a Jack O’Lantern (some sort of spirit with a lantern).

And although we already have Hurt’s implied relation to Jack the Ripper (one and the same) and the possibility that he’s also the same person as “Springheeled Jack” … linking those legends with that of Stingy Jack paints a strange, fascinating character. Perhaps of a man who tried to summon Barbatos … wound up summoning the Hyper-Adapter and being possessed … and “using it” just as much as “it was using him” and sort of being cursed because of it, and corrupt. And probably schizophrenic.

Or Grant just likes pumpkins.

BACK AT THE BATMOBILE …
A pretty straightforward scene, as the Dollotrons converge on Gordon and Batman, and Batman is down for the count. The Batmobile is ominously counting down a self-destruct that Batman can’t prevent. But there is some interesting stuff.

First, when Gordon is finally taken down … the shot of his glasses in mid-air, from his POV, slightly blurry and scary as Dollotron feet come down on him … is uncannily similar to the shot of Gordon’s glasses in mid-air looking up at Joker’s helicopter-attack from “Building a Better Batmobile”, back during Batman & Son. Some luck the “Better Batmobile” turned out to have. Side note … it was some of the 99 Fiends who shot down the Batmobile, but we see NONE of them this issue. It’s only Day 2, though. There’s time.

It gets straightforward now, as Dick, in a repeat of his moment from Batman # 700, breaks out his Kali Sticks and kicks the shit out of an entire crowd of Dollotrons. But they still take Gordon, and he can’t stop the destruct sequence, so, both unfortunately and beneficially … the Batmobile explodes and kills a huge chunk of the Dollotrons. Accidents happen, but Dick’ll be blaming himself for that one … mindless zombie henchmen or not.

Day two begins with Professor Pyg inspired and ready to go on stage.

CRIME ALLEY. NOW I’LL TALK ABOUT IT.
Pyg’s performance is at NONE OTHER than the Movie Theater where Bruce Wayne’s parents, Thomas and Martha, took him to see The Mask of Zorro when he was a boy. R.I.P. was at Arkham Asylum. “Must Die” is at the Park Row Theater. (Seriously … Jason Todd is from this neighborhood, too … I STILL can’t believe he hasn’t shown up in this arc yet!)

Pyg’s vanity is classic villain stuff, Doctor Hurt seems fairly petty here. For the guy pulling the strings, running the whole “El Penitente” operation out of Mexico … formerly leading the Black Glove, whose last surviving member is here on-site, and about to take down Batman … he’s awfully petty and dickish. Granted, he seemed plenty petty and dickish in all his previous appearances, too. It just strikes me as an act, and this stuff with Pyg is like … “The Sub-Plot” compared to his actual goals involving Wayne Manor and Batman. (The row of blown away watermelons comes in later and indicates why Hurt’s pistol was smoking when he popped in the door. Perfectly depraved behavior …)

THE BAT-BUNKER
In a strange twist, Grayson has been unconscious all night, taking him “off the board” long enough for plot points to move into place without his being there. He did fight a small army of people and escape an exploding car … but here we get the core of the issue. Dick attempts to contact the missing Robin, talks to Joker … realizes the Joker’s clues weren’t for him, they were to use him to get to Damian (maybe Joker plans on sacrificing Damian to summon Bruce? Eh … I doubt it’d be that boring …) and so Dick grabs a vehicle and heads for Crime Alley. In this case … a cool new Bat-Copter in the “Better Batmobile” style!

But now Joker is in rare form!

“They’re throwing a party for Gordon on Crime Alley and they didn’t invite us! So I’ve arranged to handle the catering. You can bring the fireworks.”

Best line of the issue, I think. And better still when you see it in action and laugh at Joker’s classic routines. Poison popcorn … a domino for a deserving douchebag. But before all that … it looks like Gordon is screwed. Strapped to a gurney on a stage in front of the worst bastards of Gotham. And Pyg is supposed to do something horrific to him. But with the Black Glove, things are never what they seem. This isn’t torture on television … that isn’t the “show” … the show is for Batman to lure him in … and the real show is to show the people of Gotham Gordon betraying Batman for a drug. The topsy-turvy world is here!

“The new capital city of crime!”

A neatly framed sequence by Irving … and is that Mayor Krol out there in the smoky, veiled crowd? Looks sort of like him … and the Mayor is supposed to be “in-house”, so to speak.

“The rats ate the young of the goat.”

Once again, Pyg, I’ve no fucking idea what you’re saying. But I’ll take a best-guess, I guess. Since I equated “rats” to “Batman” or “Batmen” before … and the Goat to the Devil that the Satanists worship … we’ll say that the “Young of the Goat” are DEMONS … and that BATS destroyed DEMONS. Yeah, that works in the context …

And so once again … Vine gets his comeuppance, and Grant uses the fall of the final Black Glove finger to frame the next action sequence with creepy laughter. And Irving depicts some of the sickest Joker-toxin rictus grins since Doug Mahnke’s “The Man Who Laughs”. And we learn why Professor Pyg is fat in the here-and-now and thinner in the 666 Future (He has a weight problem). And Grayson arrives at Park Row and blows a hole in the movie theater that is such a central location in the “Legend of Batman”, leaps in … once more “makes the role of Batman his own” by mixing his Nightwing fighting style with the Batman costume, breaking out the Kali Sticks and beating the fuck out of everyone in the place. This is the place where Batman was Born, and Hurt is trying to defile it (succeeding, too, it seems … duplicitious bastard). But here we get more of “R.I.P. as farce” … as the “damsel in distress” this time is Gordon, and once again … the damsel “betrays” the hero (this time because the Pyg drug is frying his brain and he can’t help it).

And as Pyg tries yet again to drop some classic super-villain cliché lines, Dick Grayson just kicks him in the face.

The issue ends with Doctor Hurt challenging the Joker. “Your knights have fallen and the board is mine!” brings the references back to Chess … like the grid. But dear Doctor Hurt, you fool, is that even the game that Joker is playing? It’s Joker vs. Hurt in the finale!

So back to Joker … where he’s hold up in a standard Joker enclave (with running lights … possibly the back of a truck), in his voodoo loa black “Joker in mourning” clothes and his Baron Samedi top-hat and his red shades. Black and red, black and red. Rose-colored glasses.

“It’s all getting way too serious for me! So who do I know that’s good with serious …?”

This is a telling line. Obviously, the first thought is Bruce Wayne. The line brings to mind “WHY SO SERIOUS?”, the question posited to Batman by Joker in “The Dark Knight”. Which brings me back to the notion of “sacrificing Damian” to bring back Bruce somehow. But Joker asks it and is looking at Damian, who he has drawn a smily clown face onto, and has tied up. (Something that looks REALLY FUCKING BAD, but we know that skilled people have tied Damian before and he has slipped the knots like a master. It’s one of his top skills. Jason Todd, a former Robin, with Big Black Bat Boy Scout Training, couldn’t even keep Damian tied up. That kid’ll get loose. Hell, he’s pretty much got to if he’s going to witness Grayson getting shot in the head …)

But I’ve been sort of strongly pulling for Jason Todd to pop in, last-minute in this Batman and Robin Must Die arc. After all … Blackgate was assaulted (and Jason was presumably locked up there). Joker’s direct mention of the Robin/Joker/Crowbar relationship. Jason is FROM Crime Alley. And this showdown is beginning at Crime Alley. And who does Joker know that’s good with “serious”? Why … Jason Todd takes himself way too fucking seriously … he’s a KILLER vigilante … and we still also have yet to really get the full scoop on just how “Oberon Sexton” (Joker) tipped off the Red Hood to the location of the secret meet-and-greet held by Gabriel Santo for the Gotham Gangsters.

This issue has a lot more red and black imagery – but it’s fascinating to see that scenes were people are affected en masse by the Joker’s toxin are GREEN. The Dead Man’s Hand with a Twist. And the final triptych verifies the roles that are already pretty damned obvious from the title of “The Knight, Death and the Devil”. Batman. Joker. Hurt.

Pieces keep falling into place … but there’s so much more yet to be answered.

My final word on this issue? Well, it fits the mold of Morrison’s “Batman and Robin” run. Every single three-issue arc, the middle chapter has been “more action” and “less exposition”, and this, even with a good bit of revelation about some things, fits that mold. That being said … it’s still probably the best of the bunch. I can’t wait (actually I can, and must) for the ending. Because Grayson has come into his own more than ever … and I can’t wait to get Incorporated.

BATMAN’S LAST CASE

2010-08-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Most of this issue is Batman narrating events from Final Crisis. If you have not read Final Crisis, you really have no business reading deeper into the meanings behind Grant Morrison’s Batman run, because frankly … Final Crisis features something like the sum-total of all his previous thoughts on the characters and mythologies of the DCU, and connects themes and elements from Animal Man … Doom Patrol … Batman … All-Star Superman … but ESPECIALLY his runs on JLA and Seven Soldiers.

That being said … these last two issues serve a purpose – although Final Crisis is shown here (at least, the parts Batman was involved in) … these two issues make Grant’s Batman run stand alone. Final Crisis is no longer required to understand it. Hopefully if you never read Final Crisis and you read this issue, your curiosity about New Gods and how legends like Superman and Flash and Wonder Woman deal with them will be peaked, and you will read that hyper-dense tome.

THE HALL OF JUSTICE. 27 DAYS FROM THE FINAL, EARTH-SHATTERING EVENTS OF FINAL CRISIS.
We begin with repeats of dialogue from Final Crisis, of course. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman briefing the new JLA members (Like “Jason Rusch/Gehenna Hewitt” Firestorm, Roy “Red Arrow-at-the-time” Harper, Vixen, “New, but not really” Hawkgirl. For older members like John Stewart who has Green Lantern archive access, I’m sure it’s just a redundant reminder.

But fuck that … let’s get into Batman’s head.

“You can hear glaciers melting in the Arctic Circle … you can hear radio without a receiver and listen in on the turf wars of dust mites.”

Grant Morrison’s Batman is in as much awe of Superman as Grant Morrison himself is. Who wouldn’t be?

Another two-page title spread (I like these) featuring the gun, the pearls, only now interspersed with the moment when Bruce takes the Radion Bullet and puts it in his Utility Belt with intentions of bringing it back to the Bat-Cave to analyze. It was a big point back when Final Crisis first came out … people speculating “Batman “borrowed” the God-Bullet? That’s going to pay off down the line …” and sure enough, he shoots Darkseid with it.

LATER. STILL AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE
Batman explains his theory about the bullet to The Flash (Wally West – Barry Allen comes back right about the same time Batman gets “put to sleep” in Darkseid’s nightmare machine. Meanwhile, Wally West is the Flash from Grant’s JLA run so these two chatting is old hat.)

“Essence of Bullet”.

Grant finally puts into words the sort of metatextual, tangential idea behind the bullet that he was more-than-willing to share in Internet interviews but which didn’t ever make it into the textual canon. It’s pretty appropriate that it’s Batman who now gets to commit these theories to facts.

It’s only out of sheer respect for Wally West – who lost his JLA mentor, Barry, and became the first “protégé” super-hero (Wally’s best friend, Dick Grayson is about to do the same thing … Kyle Rayner also joined that party, although without the mentor/protégé thing with Hal Jordan, and presently, Donna Troy is the JLA’s “Wonder Amazon” since Wonder Woman is in Greek God Time-Shuffle at the moment, although she only borrowed the Wonder Woman persona briefly, and she’s in the JLA as herself) that Batman refers to him by his full name – “Wallace” – and tolerates his “woahs” and “wows”. Plus, he’s about to ask the kid to read the ENTIRE internet from the night of Martian Manhunter’s death … you don’t insult a guy if you’re about to ask for that big and boring a task.

LATER, TALKING TO SUPERMAN
Bruce doesn’t remember the dialogue “exactly” as it happens. Some of the phrases are moved around (Like “That scans …”) and some cut short. But you get the gist of it, and Bruce’s memory is still pretty accurate.

“Thomas and Martha Wayne”.

LATER, STILL AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE
In Final Crisis, John Stewart, who was crucified to a shipping crate by Kraken’s energy constructs (literally, impaled on his wrists onto the wall) had the sheer will-power to rip his arm from where it was pinned and punch the shit out of Kraken’s hand. Kraken, of course, is possessed by Granny Goodness. Point being, Batman sees the imprint of Stewart’s GL power ring in her palm and says “John has a hell of a right hook, doesn’t he?” I know in GL: Rebirth, Hal Jordan cold-cocks Batman, but I seem to recall Stewart gets pissed at him and throws a punch as well. Or maybe that was a JLA story …

The JLA have Amber and Black Alerts. I wonder what some of the other Alerts are. Bruce trying to kill the nerve cluster in an alien’s arm is a nice moment of levity.

“Did the box open then?”

No, Bruce. Not yet. I will point out what I’ve already pointed out elsewhere before, though – Kraken’s constructs are those of hideous centipedes. And in Joker’s sick fantasy of murdering Robin, Nightwing and Gordon, which he saw in the ink-blot test that Le Bossu gave him … flowers in the Arkham garden had nearly identical hideous centipedes crawling out of them. Is there some sort of connection between Granny and Joker?

Batman furthers that thought by saying that her constructs felt like Joker Venom (and Scarecrow’s Fear Gas, and Doctor Hurt’s fucked up smugness). It felt like the things that have made Batman confront his worst fears … weird then that she didn’t possess a Yellow Lantern, since they’re the ones based in Fear. But “Evil” as a concept is not narrowly limited to just “Fear”, “Evil” has access to many of the Rainbow Cops from Outer Space’s emotional spectrums. Primarily the negative ones, of course. No use for Hope, Compassion or Love.

“Too late I saw the shape of the trap that had been waiting for me since the day I was born …”

Batman vomits, and the next panel is a black rectangle … the shape of a grave. Death. The trap set for him since the day he was born is Death. Batman is faced with his own Mortality – the ultimate death-trap. Time passes, people die. He won’t live forever.

COMMAND-D BUNKER, EVIL FACTORY, BLUDHAVEN
Here in the dying ruins of his protégé’s protectorate city … a dying city for a dying god of evil … Batman is out of his depth.

“There’s someone in my head”.

That’s The Lump, of course. Everything you need to know about The Lump’s visit to Bruce’s memories can be found in Batman # 682 and # 683, “Last Rites”. Between this panel and the next, The Lump takes a 25-day joyride through Batman’s life, making him relive it and sifting through memories to select ones suitable for the Clone-Batman Army to have. Things don’t work out. Batman detects him. Can smell the chemicals of the lab, even in his dream-state, uses his own memories as weapons against The Lump, and when they execute Lump for failure, Lump breaks Batman’s bonds and allows him to free himself.

It does seem clear that the green syringes they inject into Batman’s brain in that helmet probably are responsible for his memory loss, as reflected here in his logbook: “It’s getting harder to remember how it all happened. I think they’ve done something to my mind.”

“I can remember the smell of antiseptic, fear and human waste. It was as if I’d woken in a prison hell of broken glass and chemicals where the dead men in the jars all had my face.”

This echoes the memories that the Clone-Batman repeats to Damian later. “Born in a broken jar” and “glass splinters” and similar sounding phrases indicate that the Clone-Bruce experienced a twisted version of the same thing Bruce experienced, albeit from a clone’s point of view.

“I realized THEY hadn’t prepared for ANY of this.”

Batman realizes the New Gods don’t have a plan. That Darkseid’s forces are improvising. That the element of surprise will work to his advantage, even against the Ultimate Evil. It’s hard to say if Batman, like Superman, recognizes what that means – that Darkseid is dying … basically committing suicide by setting up the predestination paradox killing of Orion and letting himself sink into a black hole.

The Hole in Things seems to be “uncertainty”. It’s there in every best laid plan … if Hurt claims to BE the Hole in Things, he’s claiming to be Bruce’s doubts … or the things he can’t account for. The unexpected. (Like Metron) or the unpredictable. The thing you can’t prepare for. RANDOM CHANCE. Which would certainly explain Doctor Hurt’s obsession with GAMBLING. But how can Hurt be the HOLE IN THINGS if even his best laid plans couldn’t prepare for something else – the only true wild-card who fits the theme of “random chance” is The Joker. And Joker isn’t pure evil, he’s just Joker. Not good. Not bad. Just Death.

Like Bruce explains later … the hole in things is SHAPED like Darkseid, but it’s not Darkseid. It’s not Pure Evil. The fall of Pure Evil might have made the black-hole that is Death, but Death came for Darkseid (Paraphrase, Black Racer: “Death comes even for you, Darksed!”), the same as it will come for everyone else.

Even the GOD OF EVIL cannot account for Random Chance. Even THE DEVIL cannot account for Random Chance. Devil is double is deuce, but Joker trumps deuce.

“They ran and left my belt behind.”

Bruce prepares to face Darkseid and flashes back to that preternatural moment between he and Gordon. “Why did you have to choose an enemy that’s as old as time and bigger than all of us, Batman?”

“Same reason you did, Jim. I figured I could take him. Hh.”

We’re nearing the crux. In his wildest fantasies did Batman imagine that he’d get the chance thanks to his JLA club membership to actually do that? (And is it a case of “One Devil down, one to go” regarding Hurt?)

Moments being heavy with the weight of unfolding myth is a theme Grant has played with lately, especially regarding people feeling ominous dread and hearing the bells ringing (more on that momentarily).

Grant seems especially to believe that characters in fiction should KNOW when they’re making history. It’s not unheard of. In the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf, for instance, but many other characters, seemed to recognize the weight of what they were doing. Only the Ultimate Evil (Sauron), the posers (Saruman) and the poor common Hobbits and non-Hero Men seemed oblivious to the machinery of fate/destiny/time. In “The Shadow of the Past”, Gandalf first attributes Bilbo finding the One Ring in Gollum’s cave to a spectacular coincidence … but later we realize the Ring – the artifact – was actually the thing weaving fate, and the characters destined paths were being bent inward around it.

Sorry if I leaned toward being a Lord of the Rings critique there rather than a Batman one – but the point is … the Ancestor-Box shares a LOT in common with the One Ring. (For instance, in his fever dreams, Frodo saw the Ring as a ring of fire … and it was often symbolically shown as related to the “Eye of Sauron”, a fiery red ring itself. Rings kept cropping up in the imagery, a sign that Frodo’s life (and others) were manipulated by the One Ring. Here, Batman has boxes, graves, continue to turn up symbolically in his destiny … a sign that his life is being manipulated by Ancestor-Box.

It’s an important statement about the nature of Relics in Fiction, to be honest. These Artifacts (Think about Excalibur in Grant’s “Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight” – the sword remained the same, and different Arthurs and Camelots came and went). It’s sort of a metatextual slant on the nature of the “McGuffin”, the Deus Ex Machina device. God from the Machine shortened to “God-Machine”.

Bruce believes Darkseid may once have been a Dragon. A Knight and a Dragon – indeed that moment has played out in history before (or at least, historical fiction, like Batman). The use of “Dragon” ties Darkseid both to “The Devil” of Doctor Hurt (We’ve heard “The Dragon” used to describe him, too) and also the beast the Puritans of Gotham Town called a “Dragon”, that was actually hyperfauna.

I wasn’t sure about the meaning of the flashback to Bruce at his mother and father’s graves was. We saw it during Batman R.I.P. … now that I’ve stumbled onto the box, the trap, being “Death”, and remembering Bruce’s talk in “Batman Dies At Dawn” about his existential revelation about his own mortality occurring back when he was 10, shortly after his parents’ deaths … it fits quite well. Batman, faced with his own mortality, and the chance to defeat the Ultimate Evil, comes to realize that the ultimate Death-Trap – mortality – can’t be escaped, so he pulls the ultimate bad-ass move (and then Random Chance plays its hand once more and he survives it).

“A myth where Ultimate Evil turns its gaze on humanity and humanity gazes right back and says … GOTCHA.”

Batman’s answer to Darkseid is VERY reminiscent of his answer to Doctor Hurt. “IN THE VERY CORNER OF MY MIND, DID I SEE THE DEVIL? AND WAS THAT FEAR IN HIS EYES?”

In his Thogal ritual in Nanda Parbat, Bruce supposedly came to grips with that and that’s the first place he became aware of “The Hole in Things”. The black hole in his soul. While it was said to apply to Doctor Hurt, is it possible that in his visions, he saw his own future? He saw his Final confrontation with Darkseid?

“Ancestor-Box” contains a “hyper-adapter”.

Here’s the biggest part of this issue. The introduction of Ancestor-Box. Mother-Box. Grandmother-Box. Consistently we get “family member-box” titles with different functions. And of course, “Hyper” is Morrison-speak for “Timeline”. We should be well acquainted with the concept of Hypertime now, which is finally being mapped and clarified thanks to … Bruce Wayne, Superman and Rip Hunter in “The Return of Bruce Wayne” and may play out more in Multiversity.

There’s some classic Kirby-style “doom talking” from Darkseid/Omega Sanction describing the whole thing, but really, it’s pretty simple. It’s a trap that uses your history and your timeline to build itself around you. It doesn’t even alter your history – it just connects the dots. Coincidences become conspiracies.

Interesting note: “TIME” is coming out of the Ancestor-Box as a fluid, a pliable thing. And with the “Liquid Time” is the very same Hyperfauna squid-beast we see in Return of Bruce Wayne, peeking out a tentacle.

At this point, Bruce sees his life flash before his eyes as Time bends and the coincidences and events become a conspiracy meant to trap and bring him Death. We get a picture of the lingering mysteries of the Batman and Robin/Return of Bruce mystery – the “BARBATOS/Thomas” wall in the Hidden Room. Pearls. Drops of blood. The well with the bats. And he sees his own funeral once more (He saw it last while with Bat-Mite during “Batman Dies At Dawn”. But it’s not his funeral …

“The grave. The well, the cave. The missing portrait.”

They’re all HOLES in THINGS. The first three are holes in the Earth. Underworld. Places where the Dead go. The Underworld. Places where dark things crawl … and according to most legends (especially wells), spirits lurk and fairies and things. The missing portrait? A hole in a different kind of earthly foundation – like Batman said last issue – “A worm at the roots of the family tree …” it’s a hole in his personal foundation timeline. So was Doctor Hurt always there, or is he cosmically realigned by Darkseid’s Ancestor-Box? Is Doctor Hurt’s “Devil” the Ancestor-Box having selected a proper ancestor and working through him over the years to tighten this trap around Batman?

Whatever Hurt is, he’s not Darkseid, since Batman purports that “Darkseid is gone”. But the hole is still Darkseid shaped. His personal Devil is almost certainly Ancestor-Box related. In fact, the Ancestor-Box appears to be being constructed by Bruce’s very actions throughout his sojourn through time (The Bat-Casket) and Doctor Hurt seems to be hunting for it, trying to open it, because inside is Fluid Time that really would be the key to his immortal, everlasting life if he could master it. (There’s a recurring theme of these guys who seek “Immortality” coming face-to-face with Death. And Batman, who embraces his Mortality, constantly cheats death. So who knows what Hurt would find if he actually opened it. Grayson’s “YOU’RE FINISHED” perhaps?)

Willowood Asylum is the Insane Asylum where THOMAS WAYNE, JR. – Bruce Wayne’s mother-fucking BROTHER from an Alternate-Reality was sent in the Pre-Crisis stories, and I imagine on Anti-Earth/Crime Syndicate Earth it was the other way around somehow. For the record … it’s not fucking possible that THOMAS “DOCTOR HURT” WAYNE is Bruce’s chronology-lost brother Thomas, because he’s way too old. Bruce is 35-ish. Doctor Hurt appears as old as Bruce’s father. Although with FLUID TIME from the Ancestor-Box, it’s fucked to think of the possibilities … I think this would be more a case of Grant toying or tinkering with the History there to show us a hint or a clue from another perspective. Perhaps Doctor Hurt isn’t Bruce’s Alternate-Reality-Brother, but perhaps his history has similar parallels. Who knows? That story dealt with spiritual possession of the mind, too, as it had Deadman in it.

And we flash to Superman, Tim Drake and Rip Hunter, on what looks like the JLA Watchtower, listening to Batman’s recording device. These notes he’s taken in these last two issues were recorded … and no doubt this is a small spoiler and that the JLA and Rip Hunter and Tim Drake FIND his Utility Belt and listen to these notes and that might be how they know that Bruce has been turned into a Doomsday Machine.

He sees his funeral, in a shot meant to match the shot from “Batman Dies At Dawn”. The same pall-bearers – Dick Grayson, Oliver Queen, Clark Kent, Hal Jordan. Alfred. Barbara. Sees his grave. And acknowledges that he knows they’ll search for him. He’s alive. TIME is the OMEGA SANCTION (“What can we beat but never defeat?” said the Riddler, on the subject of Time Travel …) Even if he lives through this … some day, because of the course of his actions in life … his lone gravestone will be put there, next to his parents, same as the one that’s there now marking his death prematurely.

We see the Cape & Cowl glowing with Omega Radiation (Perfectly good indicator that it’s the Doomsday Weapon). And he takes it off. If being Batman is going to lead to doomsday, he’ll be Bruce Wayne to get through this (and once through, we already know, he’ll be equal-parts Batman and Bruce Wayne from now on.)

THE BAT-CAVE, 40,000 B.C.
And in the Bat-Cave, as he loses the last bits of his memory and meets Anthro, he has the good sense as the ultimate man/detective to know he needs to leave a trail, commits that to memory – a trail of bats for his friends to find and follow in the future. Like Theseus.

For those who don’t know (And God knows, I couldn’t immediately remember), Theseus is the Greek hero who was trapped in the Labyrinth, and later founder of Athens. He left a trail in the Labyrinth behind him (Slightly Hansel and Gretel as well … hope we meet “Candyman” during Batman, Inc.) so he wouldn’t get lost … managed to slay the Minotaur, and in the center answered the Riddle of the Sphinx. This is the first major Labyrinth based reference in this Batman run, but it fits well the theme of the death-trap of Time, and certainly fits with Riddler being the one who asked the question regarding Time Travel as such a small little beat in Batman # 700, two issues ago.

It links quite well thematically with the use of Ultra-Sphinx in All-Star Superman, who asked the Man of Steel “What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable objects”, to which Superman, as ONLY Superman could, replied “They surrender”. He answers the riddle of the sphinx correctly. This gives me hope that THE RIDDLER will finally play a role in Grant’s Batman run during Batman, Incorporated – that he now having gotten himself out of this epic “Death of Batman”, Doctor Hurt and The Joker-centric run, will embrace old Eddie Nygma, because frankly, I’ve been fucking dying to see Grant do a take on the Riddler to match the imagination of Batman One Million’s “Riddle City”. Come on … Batman & Red Robin (His ultimate “Detective” protégé) have to team up to solve the ULTIMATE Riddler Popcrime Renaissance, where he uses the entire City of Gotham as his boardgame! Although it wasn’t Theseus who solved the Riddle of the Sphinx, all he did was slay the Minotaur – he was clever enough to use the string to get back out of the Labyrinth.

Hilariously enough, Theseus was regarded as the “King of Heroes”, and MARRIED HIPPOLYTA … which fits eerily well with DC’s current potential “Batman and Wonder Woman” romance.

Tony Daniel draws Anthro’s “necklace” (White Fawn’s necklace) to look much more like Martha Wayne’s pearl necklace than the artists in The Return of Bruce Wayen did.

He takes off his utility belt, takes out his recording device, shows us exactly when he recorded all this information as he lost his memory, draws the bat on the cavern wall, and steps out of the Black cave into the Red dawn/dusk.

“It never ends.”

No. But it can be changed. You don’t have to fight it alone anymore. When faced with your own mortality … more than ever you need your family and friends. Your boys – your “kid-brother” and prodigal son. Your adopted-son and protégé. Your real flesh-and-blood son, who is learning. Yes, even your former adopted son with the sadistic streak and the abandonment issues.

Steve Rogers, Super-Adhesive

2010-08-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is a DC-centric journal, and I'm a DC-centric guy, but I'd when at the Northeast's biggest Antique Show (Carnival-Bazaar of Junk) you find a life-sized duct-tape statue of Captain America, you show people in the comics community.

Not shown ... the fifty different tents dedicated to creepy Victorian dolls. The forty different tents where guns and stiletto knives and stolen World War II katanas could be purchased. The giant flag of Chairman Mao Zedong I found ... the massive portrait of Buddha ... the massive painting of Jesus ... the pure silver statue of Mahakala ... the street vendors who were selling Maine Lobsters as street meat ...

DARK NIGHT, DARK RIDER

2010-07-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

The latest issue is here, and how does it fare? Artistically, pretty bad. Georges Jeanty’s interiors are very basically framed, aren’t so especially good, and damn sure don’t make up for Cameron Stewart, or even Kubert’s cover. But he at least gets the job done, so there’s something to be said for that. But yeah, it’s pretty bad. Characters seen previously in Morrison’s story-so-far don’t match with their well-depicted selves from other issues. It's competent. You can follow the story. I won't linger on it much.

Scene 1 – The Van Derm Ranch (Out West)
Straight out of “Once Upon a Time in the West”, a ruthless gang of thugs shows up out of nowhere on a ranch and kills the owner (hangs him, actually – Hang ‘Em High), kills the courageous young son who pulled a gun on them, leave the mother to cry over a dead son and husband, and kidnap the daughter.

It’s not explicitly stated until the end, but this is the Van Derm Ranch. Apparently since our last era, they’ve moved out West. The desert skies (No clue where? Oklahoma? New Mexico? No matter … it’s generic Wild West) are red and the sun going down casts long black shadows.

In Tarot terms … we get a literal “Hanged Man”. Nice symbolism with the apples falling from the tree he’s hanging from. Like red pearls falling to the ground. And these bastards even killed the dog. If you didn’t already know they’re the Van Derms, you’d realize it as soon as one of our goons finds the Bat Casket in their house. The mother screams – “Don’t tell them, Katie! No matter what happens! Don’t you tell!” (which contrasts rather eerily with Hurt fantasy Thomas Wayne’s “Now she’ll never tell” at Martha Kane’s death-scene). The Van Derm children are once more a brother and a sister – one boy and one girl seems to be a common number for their family. Anyway, one of these punks kills the little boy, and laughs about it. You know Bruce Wayne is going to fuck him up later.

Mom sits there crying with her dead son cradled. And prays for a dark angel of retribution. And she gets one. Bruce clickety-clacks up with his bat-spurs as it rains. So what’s the deal here? Apparently he spends a bit more time in this era – enough time to willingly and purposely get new clothes and assume this “Dark Rider” persona to track down things from the previous areas that he now remembers after his meeting with Blackbeard (“Remember” … Darkseid … Man of Bats … and so forth). Interesting though, because Bruce Wayne arrived all three times last time at the same time somebody prayed for someone like him. This time … he’s clearly been here for a while already. Enough time to leave Gotham and return.

Last Issue – Wayne Manor
Last issue our hoods met Jonah Hex at the old abandoned Wayne Manor and hired him to deal with their little “bat problem”. In that way, Jonah Hex really 100% compares to modern day guys like Deadshot quite nicely. He coyly showed the Dead Man’s Hand, indicating that this takes place after Wild Bill Hickok’s death, probably not too terribly long after. Here the only indication of the time we really get are a newspaper and rumors of somebody being over 150 years old … somebody who would’ve been between 40-50 in 1765 … during a particular Satanic Rite. I think that puts this in at about 1865-1870. It’s hard to say and not ultimately that important. What is important is that Alan Wayne, featured prominently here, the son of Judge Solomon Wayne, and nephew of Joshua (Who I really thought we’d meet, since he holds the casket in that one painting that I guess Bruce sets up next issue) is probably in his 20’s. And this is Bruce’s Great-Grandfather.

Bruce has apparently tracked these punks all the way there to the Van Derms, and all the way back to Gotham, and even got one of them before they got desperate and sought out Hex. The goons, by the way – Bucky, Lucky and Chuck? Classic goon names. Practically 60’s Batman.

Scene 2 – Gotham City (Straight out of Gangs of New York)
(The night that the “Boss” doesn’t want this fucking black cowboy character fucking up his occult voodoo.)

Where was I? Right … late 1800’s … hoods have just hired Jonah Hex to take out this vigilante. They’re showing him to the “Boss’s place” in Gotham. Naturally the boss works out of a saloon and gambling establishment, and naturally, the boss is Vandal god-damn Savage (He’s where I wish the art was better … but for Hex, too). Vandal Savage meet Jonah Hex.

Savage is pounding laudanum to numb the pain. Apparently he’s got stomach cancer. I’m curious then if that alludes that Blackbeard was indeed Vandal Savage. If you’ll recall … Blackbeard smoked that pipe like a chimney. Anyway, we find Western-Era Vandal Savage using a French accent and talking about Napoleon betraying him (Which would’ve been 100 years prior) and banishing him to Russia.

“Cut yourself shaving” seems like it was taken right out of the awful attempt at a Jonah Hex movie.

“I’d hate to spoil your famous AIM” – interesting that AIM is in bold font, since AIM is the name of a Classical Demon.

Eeeeesh, artwork, eeesh.

Hex’s got a good nose – he smells something funny in the next room, and immediately puts our minds into what sage would be burnt for. Burning sage is used in many ceremonial functions in many cultures, but here we’ve got two options. Either to clear the girl’s mind – something the Indian cooked up to make her pliant … or for use in brainwashing techniques, which is right up Doctor Hurt’s alley.

The Indian is not Miagani, it seems, but he seems like he’s from a local tribe who knows something about them. Probably a Delaware Indian, and apparently one of the last shamans to be able to read or speak the Miagani Language. He’s scared of the Bat-People, relays Miagani legends about turning the sky upside down (there’s that term, UPSIDE DOWN, again) and knows their “end of the world” legends. End of the world? Hex’s fee just went up.

Savage has tons of men, but Bruce faces them in the street and Waco Kid’s them all in their shooting arms with razor-sharp batarangs. Nice little Man With No Name moment. There’s a good bit of Eastwood in Batman here. He doesn’t say a word in the entire issue …

Our superstitious Indian, “Midnight Horse” (Another MIDNIGHT reference … hahaha literally we here have “Midnight in the House of Hurt”) believes it’s a spirit. All this talk about the Miagani has got him rattled. He’s more right than they know. But Savage has an inkling, since he remembers the Old World. Anyway, Savage’s motives for opening the Casket seem pretty simple. Same as his motives in Final Crisis … he’s been alive for so long, anything short of Armageddon is boring. The end of the world will be a relief. A cure to his boredom. But seconds later he seemingly contradicts that – even immortals fear extinction and the girl in there has a gift that could help prolong an immortal’s condition. (No doubt whatever the secret passed down by the Van Derms regarding that casket is … but didn’t Bruce instruct them on that secret?)

Anyway, tremendously importantly … Catherine Van Derm is being imposed upon by Doctor Thomas Wayne, rumored to be over 150 years old. Yes, Simon Hurt shows up here, seemingly. Looking for the key to eternity. He calls her a little slut, which is his usual perversion and corruption. She’s probably not a little slut. But this is champagne and orgy Thomas Wayne we’re talking about. Old Money Dark Secrets behind Puritan Roots/secret societies Thomas Wayne. Apparently the secret of immortality is in that box that only she knows how to open. So they think anyway.

We know a few things in there. Annie’s book. The notes of the Black Pirate regarding the Miagani. Probably White Fawn’s necklace is in there too, because why not?

What else is important here? Indian legends criss-crossing with Satanists. Thomas Wayne looking for the secrets of the Bat-People/Miagani. He wants to know the secret of Barbatos. What the hell are the Bells of Barbatos? I know what they are thematically. We’ve heard bells ringing in the distance and had Black Pirate and others reference doomsday and destruction and the end of time with regards to them. And assume they’re connected to Bruce’s Omega issues. But what’s actually causing people to hear bells tolling?

“Yes, the Bells of Barbatos, that’s it! And all those statues! (The Miagani statue of Man of Bats) and paintings! (The painting of Mordecai Wayne) Darius and Mad Tony, the heroes of the Revolution! (DC Fans, help me out – who the hell is Mad Tony? Anthony? Antonio? Antonin?) I stood in the circle with Jefferson when we raised batwinged Barbatos and drank the starry venom!” (Dark Knight, Dark City, and also referenced recently by Alfred when explaining Thomas Wayne. Here he is!)

“ … Gran’pa Jerome says a DARK GOD is opening his box and there’s bells … but the bells at the end summon another … from the shadows …” That’s FINAL CRISIS, isn’t it? The dark god, DARKSEID falls into a black hole (opens his box) but the bells at the end summon another (another dark god) from the shadows. That’s MANDRAKK. Right?

Or is the first dark god Mandrakk, and the bells at the end summon another … NIX UOTAN … who won’t stop until the wicked are brought to account (“The judge of all f***king evil!”)

Jerome Van Derm. It’s another Christian name. We’ve seen Nathan Van Derm and Martin Van Derm and now we have Jerome Van Derm.

“Old Gambler”, Midnight Horse calls Doctor Wayne. A Native-American associating gambling with Doctor Hurt, whose whole Black Glove is a gambling society that gambles on good vs. evil. I don’t know if it’s ironic or not. Vandal Savage clearly doesn’t seem to give much of a damn about losing Midnight Horse (“The only man alive who can translate Miagani language”). Vandal Savage’s apathy is pretty funny. He just doesn’t give a fuck anymore.

“We’ll build a New Empire in Mexico and bring down this infant America, eh?” – does that not seem like Thomas Wayne 1765’s “El Penitente Cartel”? It wouldn’t surprise me if our Satanist leech, Doctor Hurt basically just swiped Vandal Savage’s plans.

Bruce does his ghost ninja in the smoke routine, and the superstitious words of Midnight Horse fuel the terror in the latest wave of cowardly and superstitious men. Easy ass-kickings abound, and Bruce kicks Bucky off a balcony and onto a roulette wheel. Oh hey, a roulette wheel!

Clearly this is a Thomas Wayne-Hurt who hasn’t met Bruce Wayne yet and doesn’t understand the demon of the night his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grand-nephew will be, but it’s clear enough after this night, our Satanic immortality seeking Devil-Wayne is going to be OBSESSED with his “nephew”. I wonder if he’ll ever realize that Bruce is Barbatos.

Vandal recognizes him. Vandal must have a long fucking memory, but then again, if he was Blackbeard in addition to Chief Savage, it might help ease his memory a bit.

Hurt mentions that opening the casket will summon “Everlasting day”. You’d think a Satanist would want everlasting night … Hex joins the party, but Batman puts him down momentarily. And we get the ONLY bit of dialogue from Bruce in the entire issue. “Htt”. Indicating a powerful throw at an unexpectedly tough foe. Or recognition? I mean, Bruce has time-traveled and met Jonah Hex before, hasn’t he?

And we learn that our Old Timey Wild West narrator is witnessing this “wagon chase” through Gotham’s streets. With flowery, educated prose he writes about how he was walking down into town across the “black river” (Gotham River) toward the monstrous, bright abnormality (Gotham City) that his father, the Judge (Solomon Wayne) commissioned Pinkney to build (Judge Solomon Wayne is notorious in Batman history as the man responsible for commissioning the Gothic Architecture that Gotham would become famous for). Or, Old Gotham City is on one of the islands, and the new island is being built in that way.

“Our line, the line of Wayne, would forever be a house unfinished.” – While Alan is apparently a quiet, forlorn young man searching for the right woman, who has resigned himself to the belief that he’ll die a bachelor without a good wife … it’s an ironic statement, since Batman as a fictional character, barring Damian, will always be a bachelor and young man. But anyway, Alan … your prayers will be answered tonight as well.

“Black wagon out of Hell” – you’ve got that right, Alan. Anything driven by Vandal Savage and Thomas Simon Wayne-Hurt can neatly be referred to as “out of Hell”.

Is this moody kid so lonely that he’s thinking of jumping off the bridge into Gotham River? I believe so. He’s suicidal. That’s why he doesn’t get out of the way of the wagon that’s about to trample him to death. But fate in the form of Bruce Wayne intervenes and doesn’t just save his Great-Grandfather from death – introduces his Great-Grandfather to his Great-Grandmother. The Wayne and Van Derm lines combine here, folks. Alan Wayne marries Catherine Van Derm. She has the secret of the Bat Casket, and he probably has the secret of the Hidden Room in the mansion.

Bruce gives her a necklace. White Fawn’s necklace. Where the HELL did he get that?

“My Momma wouldn’t ever have parted with this. Not ‘less she sent you. This is from the Olden Days.”

Oh wow. Anthro’s son, “Man”, father of Kong the Untamed (“Boy”) said that necklace would never leave their family and would be passed down their family line in direct descent, forever and ever. So our Dutch Van Derms aren’t totally Dutch? Either that or Martin Van Derm from ROBW # 2 married a Miagani girl (Annie did say that there were hidden Miagani). But Kong-Boy was blond as well. And there was talk about the Miagani returning back over the Siberian land bridge to spread the bat-message globally. In all that time, it seems at least 100% clear now that the Van Derms somehow are the descendents of Anthro/Da-Man/Kong.

The casket is opened by whistling. Bruce’s eyes go wide. Whistle-activated traps were a Miagani trick last issue … so the Van Derms indeed MUST be descended from the Miagani. That means Bruce is descended from the Miagani.

Seeing Vandal Savage pistol-whip Doctor Hurt is immensely satisfying. “He’s a fool. A fool.” Says Vandal Savage, who seems to see Bruce Wayne as the immortal Barbatos Demon, but sees Alan and Catherine as nothing but mortal bones. Vandal Savage is high as a kite, remember, but this is Morrison. High on opiates means some sort of freaky heightened sense of reality. Vandal is calling Doctor Hurt a fool because Hurt wants to summon Barbatos … but Vandal must realize that Bruce IS BARBATOS. The same Man of Bats demon fucker who aced him in Prehistoria (and possibly in the Cave as Blackbeard). His immortal insight is rewarded with a knee to the teeth.

As for Doctor Hurt. Bruce pulls him close to his face, in what looks to me like a moment of recognition, and Doctor Thomas EVIL Wayne says “… are you one, too? I’ll get you all in the end! Hex!”

Are you one what? A demon/devil? Well yeah, Thomas, yeah he is. You’re both demons. Unfortunately for Bruce, Hex is actually pretty badass, and de-horsed back down the road or not, he faces off with Bruce and shoots him in the guts, and Bruce falls into the river. Jonah Hex is in fact faster on the draw than Bruce Wayne. Which is pretty rugged, but is a little singular as a skill-set compared to the sheer versatility of Batman.

I’d be interested in reading more into how Hex factors in as a Deadshot-like character. He does feel very Batman-esque. His facial scars akin to Two-Face or other deformed freaks. The one “wide” eye does resemble Deadshot’s optic sight that he wears over his right eye.

Alan Wayne’s writings confirm he was suicidal, but hey, he got a wife out of this. And even had the insight to recognize divine design. His son Kenneth is born (apparently Catherine Van Derm dies during birth) and Bruce’s great-grandfather is the first Wayne/Van Derm combo.

Scene 3 – Back out West …
Alan writes about how Jonah Hex is probably the only one lucky in the whole affair, but Hex keeps the batarang that Bruce ganked him in the arm with and rides off into the sunset, and leaves Bonaparte’s gold behind. Hex doesn’t want hexed gold, apparently.

Scene 4 – The aftermath …
Alan Wayne doesn’t exactly confirm that he knows Thomas Wayne was a “Wayne”, but he certainly hints toward it. Knowing that the rumors peg Thomas as being 150 years old … knowing that the guy sought in blood the secret of life eternal (same as Deacon Blackfire).

We see Doctor Hurt pack his doctor’s kit and move to Liverpool on a ship called the S.S. Orion. Orion, obviously, being the name of the New God who died at the beginning of Final Crisis … the hunter … tied to Bruce’s belt clue … depicted in the painting of Darius (Which Thomas must know about) … on the roses in the mansion (Which probably isn’t built till afterward) and so forth.

Alan and Catherine seem to have constructed the secret room. And seem to have been quite well informed about both the Wayne family secret (that there’s a Satanic Church on the Estate Grounds, the Underground Railroad stuff, the cave) and the Van Derm secrets. Anyway, the secrets combine. And the Hidden Room connecting to the old Miagani cave is meant to hide the Casket. Alan proceed to design the “Garden of Death” with the bat shape, and his own huge crypt … turns the Wayne wealth into Wayne Enterprises during the Industrial Revolution, and voila … things are coming together.

Scene 5 – Gotham City, only one generation ago – the time of Bruce’s parents …
Comparing the small Bat Casket to the very same buried alive grave that Bruce crawled out of in R.I.P. is a neat exercise. Alan Wayne compared it opening to a coffin. Anyway, now, Bruce arrives in the Film Noir 30’s. Seedy Gotham. And he has a book and some papers (probably the notes). And Bruce, shot, totally gets hit by a truck and spills his notes and the book. Gotham is officially the scumhole we know and love.

Lingering questions?

I have a few. For starters … when is the Giant Bat-Beast going to get explained? Secondly … while I can speculate, how exactly is it that the Dutch Van Derms are descendents of the Bat-Tribe? Thirdly … what about Annie and her book?

But at least we have some clean-cut answers about Doctor Hurt.

I apologize. My ramblings tonight could have been a lot more concise.

THE MISSING CHAPTER: THE HOLE IN THINGS

2010-07-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Man, that’s an evocative title.

As a lover of the whole comic book experience, something like “The missing chapter” just plain comes across as cool. The very implication that we were following the timeline panel-by-panel, only to find out that something was missing … a few moments in time (like the missing 52 seconds during 52, for instance) that could answer everything is a great one.

Of course, this is a two-parter, and we only get SOME of those answers. But with a name referring to “The Hole In Things” we know there’s more to it.

Page 1
“Days to Omega: 30”.

Days to Omega is awesome stuff. More funny still is this: All that talk Bruce did back in "Black Casebook" about being Alpha Male Plus. So him meeting Darkseid was ... the ALPHA and the OMEGA. Fuck that's poetic.

Apart from the proper chronological ordering of things (The “missing month” in Final Crisis where Earth fell into a black hole and the fact that we know Batman is imprisoned during that month, while Darkseid’s slaves take over the Earth and heroes form resistance movements.) it’s a nice impending “Doom Countdown Clock”, which syncs up pretty well with The Return of Bruce Wayne, wherein the ACTUAL return of Bruce Wayne is a Doomsday Clock.

“Surviving is EASY.”

Yeah, maybe if you’re Bruce fucking Wayne. Which as Superman, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and everyone else have hammered home lately while we’ve watched Bruce survive in foreign time periods … you are. Which means your superpower is your resourcefulness, your cleverness, your brains … and plain old dumb luck. The reason you, Batman, are super-human is because all these elements have combined in you through every means available. Divine intervention (including the writers). Your own genealogy. Destiny. Because the story must go on. And honestly? Flight, super-speed, laser eyes and x-ray vision are awesome super-powers … but LUCK is that much better.

Page 2
“Surviving is what I do.”

Fucking-A right.

Page 3
Love this page. Batman, silhouetted in the darkness of Gotham River, swimming upward with all his might, as the background element while the frames zoom in on Hurt’s helicopter … it appears Hurt (and Lane … I guess) kick their way out of the chopper and live. That looks like it’s Lane’s foot (with Hurt’s hair next to it) and obviously Hurt’s hand (with some of Lane’s cape?). The bubbles surrounding them could very well indicate that they had breathing apparatuses (There’s air escaping the chopper, but the smaller streams of bubbles seem scuba-like). In fact, in Lane was trained to be a Batman replacement, he’d almost certainly have some re-breather gear in his Utility Belt. Not that your later “supernatural” theories are wrong, Bruce.

Love the use of the diagrams as well, showing “stats” of Batman’s survival skills. Of course … it’s a little alarming to see Bruce’s survival skills reduced to statistics. Reminds me of Hurt’s isolation experiments where he studied Batman’s mind and skills.

Art-wise, I think this is my favorite page of the issue. Because I love seeing Batman swim, and have ever since those Brave and the Bold team-ups with Aquaman, where they consistently proved why they’re the two baddest mothers on the original JLA line-up. It feels very Adams/Aparo …

Page 4
Just a quick reminder of where we are. Gotham River. A few hundred yards out from Arkham Asylum. Spotlights indicate that the police have surrounded Arkham Asylum by this point. Fire on the surface is from the chopper crash – floating bits, burning fuel supplies and oils. Tony’s linework is getting better. There are certain things this issue that are cringe-worthy – occasionally Bruce is just far too hawk-nosed, and man, to illustrate the difference between Bruce and Richard, Tony has jacked old Bruce up to be slightly more hulking. Still … his linework has crisped up pretty nicely.

Pages 6 and 7
Nice title page spread. I like it. While this issue continues to be chock full of red/black, seeing Bruce’s eyes narrowed remembering the gun and the pearls from the night his parents died is pretty cool. So did it happen that way?

Pages 8 and 9
The “journal entries” mark such a stark difference between Bruce and Grayson. Bruce is constantly mentally cataloguing and arranging the sequence of events in such a way that he’s going to jot it down in his casebooks later. Grayson doesn’t worry as much about memorizing everything. The Devil’s in the Details, and Bruce is OBSESSED with the Details.

“The next time you wear it will be your last”. Hurt’s words resonate, since we know Bruce is about to put his “last” cowl on and go get time-blasted. And later one when Bruce refers to his own cape & cowl as a “death-trap” things really seem metaphorical. But what if they’re not? What if LITERALLY when Bruce Wayne reappears in the Present, he “pops” back into the now-ancient relic Cowl that he was zapped out of in the first place? Like a phantom face appearing in the cloak of a specter.

This scene where Ellie returns is adorable. It’s like the gritty Gotham City version of those little moments in All-Star Superman where Superman takes time out of world-saving godliness to be nice to people. She took that job at WayneTech (I re-read that recently and literally was like “Boy, I sure hope she takes that job and is a success story …”). Had to laugh my ass off that her boyfriend’s name is Errol, though. How old is that tiny girl? 13? 14? In like Flynn, I suppose.

“Don’t worry about me.”

Page 10
Not much to this. Iconic “I just walked all the way back to Wayne Manor” shot. Anatomy is just jacked up to the max here … look at this guy … Bruce Wayne may be bigger than Grayson, but he’s still supposed to be a lithe, lean ninja type. This is some Frank Miller shit. I wonder if you stretched it vertically with PhotoShop if it would look right …

Page 11
After returning home from a horrific “joyride” with Damian … Alfred is sweeping. Bruce is missing, could be dead, Dick and Tim no doubt went back out to help the Club of Heroes wipe the floor with the Club of Villains. And Alfred is SWEEPING.

I’d be upset if the parlour floor in Wayne Manor didn’t have black & white checkered tiles. There’s an old Victorian era mansion a few miles from my house that we used to break into while ghost-hunting (Punk kids I guess were a cowardly, superstitious lot. I was in it because the superstitious girls freaked out and got nervous and huddled close. But I digress. At any rate, place is supposedly haunted. Of course, out here in the sticks (Styx?) everything is supposedly haunted.) Anyway, huge parlour with the iconic hardwood wall panels and a huge mirror and all that. Beautiful building. Recently restored by rich people who’ll never find a buyer for it. In the future if I ever get a gig drawing Batman comics, I’ll be asking the owners if I can go in and do some photo-referencing.

Stately!

Page 12
BRUCE FINALLY EATS SOMETHING! As if that isn’t bad enough … in a few pages, he actually gets some sleep! The fasting has ended. And hey – Batman’s favorite food is Mulligatawny soup. Good choice, actually.

I love the concept that Batman was never really out of it for more than a half hour. As if that’s even a lot of time. I’ve just wasted a half hour between paragraphs.

“Wanted to ENLIST me.” Yes, it’s easy to forget that Hurt is into the corruption of souls. The entire Black Glove? Corrupt people. But was Hurt involved in corrupting them in the first place? He certainly seems to have corrupted Lazlo Valentin … completely fucked over Eduardo Flamingo … and so forth. So why does he just want to put a bullet in Dick Grayson’s brain? Is it because Dick Grayson really, truly is incorruptible? But not just in that “I’ll fight you because I’m stubborn” way like Bruce. Grayson is purely virtuous.

“We were right about Jezebel.” So Alfred WAS in on it with him about Jezebel. Re-reading that recently, I’d been curious. Bruce talked about Alfred’s “acting lessons”. He even made a point to misinform Jezebel about Alfred being a bad actor – suggesting by saying that Alfred Beagle’s “Hamlet” was critically torn to pieces. But those acting lessons didn’t specifically ever say that Bruce let Alfred know Jezebel was honey-potting him.

The Bat-Sub is a cute device, but Tony is really over-designing the vehicles in this issue. His “Not-Quite-What-I-Wanted Batmobile” was so sleek and sharp looking, with it’s straight edges and wisely used curves and jags. It’s a thing of beauty, and every time I see it sitting in the Bat-Bunker garage next to Grayson’s “Better Batmobile” I smile at how cool it is as the “ground pounder” of the Mobiles. Here, Tony channels Jim Lee. And that’s a fucking shame, since Jim Lee is the most overrated bastard in comics. The whole organic hideousness is pure 90’s Image sensibilities. But whatever. It’s kind of a non-issue. What gives with the green and blue spotlights?

“There was something gnawing inside me.”

I just had the pleasure of watching Scorcese’s “Shutter Island”. Being an avid Batman reader, and Morrison/Moore follower, I had the plot figured out about 50 minutes into the movie. Not that he was crazy – to be honest, I had that figured out within five minutes. But the entirety of the elaborate ruse and each individual psychological reference that his brain was doing to make up for things and so on and so forth. I even figured that he was the person he was hunting for – although not being Jonathan Crane, I didn’t pick up on the Anagram nature of the names.

Point being … he described his mentally fucked wife as having said she had “insects crawling around on the inside of her skull, tugging on strings and making her do things.”

It immediately reminded me of that fucking THING on Bat-Mite’s back.

The ghost thing fascinates me. This is very much a ghost story, after all. But Hurt is tangible.

“I am the hole in things”.
“A ghost.”
“An empty space.”
“Hiding in the gaps.”
“The holes.”
“The absences.”

I’m not saying Bruce Wayne is schizophrenic or anything.

Page 14
The clock stopped again. The last time that happened (well, “the next time” it happens) Bruce was dreaming about when Jason Todd died. Is Bruce dreaming here? Is he dead? Has somebody died? Rest in peace.

I wonder at the significance of the time. It’s 1:15. What does that mean? Literally, chronologically it means that it’s only been an hour and fifteen minutes since Midnight, which was when “Zur En Arrh” wore off and Joker’s trap occurred. If Bruce was only in their clutches for :30 minutes after that, that means he dug himself out of that grave, and with Dick Grayson, kicked the shit out of them from 12:30 to probably 12:40. (Ten minutes seems fair. Ten minutes between digging his way out of a grave and the chopper crash.) Then after a brief time swimming for his life, he goes another five minutes before he talks to Ellie. 12:50? Then he goes home. We don’t know exactly how he gets home, it appears he walks. Point being, there’s no way he could do all that and return home, hop in the Bat-Sub, go back out, explore, and come back before 1:15. Which means something happened at 1:15 – an hour and fifteen minutes after Midnight.

Is that when Batman died? Not Bruce Wayne … obviously. Batman. When Dick Grayson picked up the cape and cowl, and while Batman was sitting on that pier reflecting about the whole thing before walking back home?

Titus 1:15 says Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

Hey, Bible reference! But one that seems kind of spot on, right? But beyond that … Alfred finds it unusual. Did Sombrero or Hurt stop the clock on that moment on purpose? Permanently affixed dead-center in the Witching Hour?

“He’ll think twice” says Alfred. Twice. Twin. Deuce. Devil. Double. Doppelganger. Hurt is as much a doppelganger as any character has been before. Of course, it’s hard to say just WHICH Wayne he’s the evil twin of. Still, being the evil twin of Bruce’s father would be the ultimate soap opera type bit. That’s the German term, of course. “Fetch” would be the term in the British Isles. Either way, seeing a Fetch was an omen of death. And they were theoretically related in name and type to “Mares” … as in Nightmares, which were originally considered by the stupid old timey people to be evil spirits. In Batman’s case, that seems to be literal.

“I want to go thank Tim and Dick.”

Actually it appears he doesn’t get a chance to, since like Christ on Easter before him, sleeps for three days.

Page 15
Hairy-chested love god. Even sleeping, Batman takes notes. We finally get some concrete thoughts on the whole drugs/hallucinations element that Grant has been exploring. Nice to see a little consistency with the Manor being shaped in Van Derm’s stylized “W” … the cool thing about that is not only does it suit Grant’s needs for the historical Bat-Symbol and the “W” for Wayne context, but it gives the place a West Wing and an East Wing – a left and a right side. Alfred specifically told us that the WESTERN “V” of the manor was the part that caved during the Earthquake, but that the Eastern side was far less damaged. I was going to say something quippy and unanswerable like “I wonder which wing the LIBRARY” is in, but actually … if you look at Andy Clarke’s beautifully technical artwork back in the Batman vs. Robin issues … it’s VERY CLEAR that the Library is the central jutting point on the W – the “n” on this quick little text-diagram: [_n_]

The talk about feeling disembodied – haunting the halls and stairways of his own home. I know Bruce is dreaming here, but that talk is actually highly indicative of Clinical Depression. The existential disconnect where you feel like a ghost yourself and just drift from room to room with no drive or goal. Is this Grant telling us that Bruce is depressed? NO. I believe it’s Grant telling us that without Batman, Bruce WOULD BE horribly depressed. In the day or two since Batman died (in his head, metaphorically, symbolically or whatever), depression has already crept in.

But that’s just me extrapolating on the dreamlike quality thing, and isn’t really important to the plot here (in fact, it says more about me than Bruce).

Point being, here’s our connection. Bruce dreams about the Manor’s Hidden Room. And we see the fireplace in the library. The portrait of Thomas and Martha. The horse’s bust. The three roses. Artifacts that it seems more and more likely that Bruce Wayne puts there himself – probably next week in the Cowboy Issue of Return of Bruce Wayne, since Morrison is blending elements and Wayne Manor was said to be built both in 1795-99 AND in the 1860s. Judge Solomon abandoned it – perhaps Bruce will help with the decision to complete and restore/renovate the “old haunted house”, and he’ll directly influence the three roses and the hidden room.

Bruce dreams that he sees the “Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas BARBATOS” wall. Is he sleepwalking?

“Why had my parents made me solemnly vow never to enter the Hidden Room?”

So … Grayson was right. Bruce HAD to know about this. Did Alfred?

As for why his parents had made him solemnly vow … that’d be because you yourself, Bruce, are responsible for its construction and whispered in Solomon’s ear “it’s evil or occult and you should tell your family never to go in there” as a secret means of keeping the evidence within from being tampered with so that Dick Grayson could get it in the future? (Anyone remember that scene at the beginning of Back to the Future III where the mail-man guy shows up at the exact spot on the exact day Doc Brown got zapped back to 1855 with a 100 year old letter for Marty McFly?)

At any rate, when Bruce says “Forgive me” it seems semi-clear that he’s not dream-walking so much as he’s just still groggy as he wanders around the Manor. Of course … isn’t the Manor still booby-trapped by El Sombrero? Alfred still hadn’t deactivated everything, almost a year later. But that’s a minor quibble. I’m not sure what leads him to realize that Hurt discovered the Hidden Room. But it’s clear enough that Hurt is the one who scrawled “Thomas Thomas Thomas BARBATOS” on the walls. Grayson remarks that the ink on the walls or whatever is under a year old, and here, under a year ago, we see Bruce finds it. We already speculated that Hurt was the one who wrote it. This seems to confirm that suspicion.

I wanted there to be 99 instances of the name “Thomas” … or even 72. But there’s only 30-something, and I seem to remember there’s only 30-something in the original drawing as well. Then again … I suppose ALFRED could have written it.

“Some kind of sickness at the root of the family tree.”

Why, that would be Annie’s curse on the Waynes, wouldn’t it? Or could it be the Van Derms and devil worship? Or the fact that Wayne Manor is built on Miagani holy ground?

“A worm at the foundations.”

The fantasy fan in me would just like to point out that WORM is another word for DRAGON. And specifically … one that is SERPENT-like. Like “THE” Serpent. The big one, the literary one, the one they talk about at Church. The Devil. The forked tongue, that Joker was clearly hinting at when he sliced his own tongue in R.I.P. (Is that still sliced or did he get it stitched up? Perhaps his trip to England was initially to use their healthcare system.)

Worm at the foundations mentioned in such insanely close proximity to “Family Tree” immediately makes me think of Nidhogg, the worm (serpent … dragon) that gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life isn’t just a Norse theme, though, it’s seen in a lot of shamanistic religions.

When Alfred says “there’s something I know you’ll want to see.” I thought he was referring to the newspaper articles. My brain kicked in. The newspaper is on Bruce’s workstation, which means Alfred must be talking about something else.

“CITIZEN WAYNE” is a pretty awesome headline. The whole “money + power = corruption” thing.

Page 17
DAYS TO OMEGA: 27.

He really did sleep off those three whole days, so that’s pretty cool.

Red skies.

It’s a little scratchy, but I like Tony’s depiction of Superman here. Even though he’s a little Howard Chaykin looking. Superman in Crisis-mode. There’s no smile at the moment. Orion’s just been killed. But sure as hell, there’s an GOLDEN ANGEL in the background behind Superman – Lady Justice, the golden statue in the Hall of Justice … Truth, Justice and the American Way. “JUSTICE” (albeit a word that’s been abused lately by DC Comics, thanks so much, James Robinson) is the common link between Batman and Superman. It’s the basis of their friendship. But more than that … Superman being an angel is a classic bit of metaphor as well. He flies. He comes down from heaven. He sits on clouds. He helps people. He’s guardian angel of an entire city, an entire planet. If Bruce Wayne is Batman is Barbatos is a Demon and a Devil, Superman is an Angel. The Underworld and the Heavens … best friends. My god, isn’t it a beautiful thing, that in the DC Universe, the Devil and the Angel, the Darkness and the Light, are best friends?

And really … isn’t Justice the unifying link between Heaven and Hell anyway? You’re good you go to Heaven and are JUDGED to have been worthy. You’re bad, you go to Hell and are JUDGED in the reverse.

“In Superman’s world, everything is mythology.”

Hate to break it to you, Brucie boy … but in YOUR world, everything is mythology, too.

Just out of curiosity, why the fuck is Bruce still wearing his ripped, shredded, tattered costume? Did Doctor Hurt steal all his uniforms?

Pages 18 and 19
Tony Daniel really draws a lot of widescreen, horizontal zooms on eyeballs and furrowed brows, doesn’t he? Go back and read through his other issues. Seriously, there’s more than a few.

Superman’s bit about the Green Lanterns is funny enough. It’s one of those little moments where you get both Grant playing nice with the other DC mucky-mucks. Geoff Johns, despite his lack of subtlety, really highlighted a nice concept in how Batman works in darkness … and Green Lanterns jobs are to light up the darkness, but that interferes with Batman’s job, so they don’t get along. It wasn’t much of a step to add in Batman’s “Tower of Babel” level paranoia, multiply that by the fact that Hal Jordan turned into a Number-1 Cosmic Asshole Super-Fucker, and draw out the fact that Batman is a skeptic and Hal Jordan was “resurrected” to the tenth power. It works. Their preexisting relationship in old JLA comics was just generic enough that by the 60’s and 70’s, as Hal progressed to cowboy bravado and Bruce sunk into brooding obsessive behavior, the return of Hal in modern times could set up some sort of dislike between the two of them. I’ll stop harping on this now. “Okay, they were professional and courteous, but Batman didn’t like him much.” At any rate … Bruce NEVER got on with Guy Gardner … liked John Stewart, but didn’t like when Stewart called him on his shit … and liked Kyle Rayner but treated him like a novice, because, well, Rayner was a fucking novice. And a novice with the most powerful emerald weapon in the galaxy is dangerous. Although I’ll warrant Bruce thought Kyle was a nice enough kid and meant well enough. (Kyle earned his respect in Morrison’s own JLA run, after all.)

Point being … Superman likes the Lanterns, but being an angel of compassion who fraternizes with a demon of vengeance, he also knows how to enlist Bruce’s help and what to say to get him to agree. And Superman has utmost faith in Batman’s skills, which proves well later, when Hal Jordan gets arrested, Batman doesn’t trust the Alpha-Lanterns, Superman gets sucked away to deal with some cosmic crazy shit and future wars, Batman gets zapped, and Superman leads the team that believes he survived and goes looking for him. It’s pure DC Big League Politics, and quite frankly … after his Batman run I hope to fuck somebody is smart enough to be like “Uh … Grant … Robinson’s Substitute Justice League is just wrong … will you write THE BIG SEVEN?”

(Note: The reason they’re THE BIG SEVEN is not that they should be the only members of the JLA, self-centered prigs who don’t allow any new members or hog all the spotlight. The reason they’re THE BIG SEVEN is because they’re workaholics who are that much more dedicated than their “Guest” or “Reservist” Members. Superman never stops (and doesn’t need to). Batman never stops (because he’s obessed). Aquaman never stops (because he’s stubborn as a mule). Wonder Woman rarely stops. Flash is a workaholic. Green Lantern is a workaholic (we get a little of this from Johns, who doesn’t outright mention it, but DOES show it, by having Hal visit home briefly, then fucking leave for GL business and rarely get home to see his brother or friends.) and Martian is a workaholic. And because they’re all fucking workaholics who happen to work amazingly well together, they’ve earned the admiration and fucking AWE of the entire DCU, including even their classic supporting members like Atom, Hawkman, Arrow, and the rest, and the newer supporters like Steel, Huntress, Vixen and so forth. It’s like the Batman and Robin team – the dynamic duo that work together like they were made for that shit. And now they’re all alive for the first time in 20 years. Grant, even just a mini-series!)

This page is word-for-word the same scene we saw Bruce remember during Last Rites. Only with the added benefit of Bruce’s journal entries. Here’s our line about the cape & cowl being a death-trap – beautiful image, that. Is it the death-trap he can never escape?

Some manifestation of the Devil, or my father. Good theories, Bruce. After all this time, we still can’t quite narrow down which one either.

Pages 20 and 21
Again, I want to complain about the butt-ugly hideousness of one of Tony Daniel’s vehicles. It was cute when he took the 1960’s TV Batmobile and gave it a bit of red/black flare back in Batman # 700, but this thing just looks ridiculous. A bubble cockpit so tall it hardly seems aerodynamic. The twin fins are fine … give it a bit of an F-22/A Raptor gibe although it’s too small to be one. The nose is just silly, and the wings are outrageous. I miss the holy living hell out of the Bat-Plane that got blown to smithereens on the Island of Mister Mayhew. J.H. Williams can design a vehicle. Grayson’s Bat-Plane is pretty stock as well. Enough of this Jim Lee pounded metal overdrive crap. It doesn’t look aerodynamic at all. I realize some of that seems to stem from the coloring (it only needed two tones) and too many inky blacks on the smooth surfaces.

That being said, the devil-imagery of the Bat-Plane is evocative. The red eyes are ridiculous but clearly spell out the theme. It’s like Batman is riding to his doom on the back of a jet-powered Demon chariot.

That being said, this spread is framed to utter perfection. It’s like Batman is flying into a black bordered box. The blackness is surrounding him. Death is surrounding him. And hidden in that black border is Doctor Hurt, hiding in the holes, in the absences, in the voids.

Page 22
Think fast, Batman …

How do you kill a God?
What’s the motive?
Where’s the bullet?
Where’s John Stewart when you need him?
Who the hell is this Kraken broad and why does she keep talking about Grannies and Furies?
If I die and the Grim Reaper decides to rebel against Life and use my clone’s corpse as a puppet, will the years of subliminal messages I’ve winked and suggested to Wonder Woman kick in like a trigger-phrase and make her fall in love with me?
Where is Darkseid?

THE GARDEN OF DEATH (Spoilers)

2010-07-08T01:38:00.000-07:00

Scene 1 – THE FLASHBACK (Maybe?)
We’re treated to a familiar view – the perversion of the Miracle on Crime Alley. The lie told to Hurt Batman. The false history. But the way we’re treated to it treats it damn near like it’s actually Doctor Hurt’s memory. In fact, the way it compares to Joker's ink blot test from R.I.P., it's almost certainly all in his head. Maybe he believes his own lies ...

We get to “see” the hypothetical story of Thomas Wayne having hired Joe Chill to kill his wife and son. It’s a wonderful job from Irving of mimicking Dave Mazzuchelli’s Year One splash … which, maybe my memory is faulty, I believe was repeated in Batman, R.I.P. by Tony Daniel. Is this supposed to be the “real way it happened”? Was Thomas Wayne a sick bastard? And look at that look in Martha’s eyes as she dies … the furs … the pearls. Memories of what Bruce said flood back to my mind from the end of R.I.P. where he spoke to that assassin masquerading as a monk – he’d read about traumatized children who create self-defense mechanisms for themselves. ZUR EN ARRH. ZUR EN ARRH. When his father abandoned him, could Bruce have been so further traumatized that his mind blocked off the whole thing and created a more idealistic story where they both died and he vowed vengeance right there on the spot?

Not fucking likely. More likely this is the story as Hurt is trying to play it. Stoking the coals of the rumors that Thomas Wayne was some sort of cad so his big plan to arrive in Gotham and pretend to be Wayne immediately draws gossip and rumor toward what he needs.

Or maybe it’s another Earth! A lateral timeline intersecting with the main DC timeline, and that’s how Hurt got here.

No, no. Let’s not over-think it. Odds are this is 18th Century Satanist twat Thomas Wayne, somehow survived through the years or maybe even time-displaced by his accidentally summoning a time-displaced Bruce instead of what he wanted to be Barbatos. Or from drinking and bathing in blood. Or maybe orgies really extend your vitality. Feels very “Eyes Wide Shut”.

The point is, the mystery of Hurt is just as mysterious.

So he killed his wife so he could have coke and sex parties with supermodels in masks? Well, at any rate … I’m sure more of his complete bullshit story will be shown to us in the next two or three issues of Batman and Robin … and I’m sure “What REALLY happened” will be reaffirmed in Return of Bruce Wayne # 5 when Bruce visits Gotham of his parents’ time.

Transition to ... “THREE DAYS FROM NOW!”
In a parallel to R.I.P. we begin with a trip to the future. Only this time, rather than a curious panel of a Batman and Robin who we might suspect is Richard and Damian screaming “YOU’RE WRONG”, we get a few panels, and keen insight into exactly how the fuck Doctor Hurt plans to access Wayne Manor so completely.

The old “Public press conference, I’m Thomas Wayne and I’m back” trick. You slick fucker.

I’m curious to see if Grant even bothers to bring Tommy “Hush” Elliot into this. I mean, how fucking complicated would that reaction be? We cut to somebody pretending to be Bruce Wayne in public, but still completely fucking baffled at this whole Thomas Wayne scandal.

Who wants to bet “Doctor Wayne” “finds” the cure for what’s ailing Gotham City?

So he’ll be getting the “keys” to Wayne Manor. And on his march to his sacrifice in the library, the altar, in front of our horse statue mantle with our Orion’s Belt roses – the very same secret passageway Dick just found that leads down the Satanist Church, we get some of our 99 Fiends again! Let’s take a crack at some names, now.

Our albino twins, of course, are BELIAL. But this guy with his infrared goggles and harlequin checkerboard pattern and flamethrower? I’ll ultimately guess is ANDRAS, who in the Lesser Key of Solomon had “owl’s head” in his description. The checkered, quilted sweater looks like the feathers on an owl’s chest, and the goggles give him an owl’s face. The woman in the leopard-print? SITRI, a demon specifically described with leopard in the description. Our fellow with the tattoos of black horses on his head would be OROBAS, who in the books is literally depicted as a man with a horse’s head. And our chap with the dog collar (seen with a Rottweiler on a leash last issue) was a hard place, but I’d say is AMON, who took the form of a Wolf, and had dogs mentioned, but a “head like a raven” which could be why he has such a silly arsed hair style. Last comes our zebra-patterned sniper. Him, I had no idea. But since he appears to carry a high-powered rifle, I thought AIM would be a pretty cute demon for him to have as namesake. Since AIM was listed as tall and distinguished and carrying a firebrand (which easily translates to a gun), he seemed a good choice. In addition, obviously last issue we got NABERIUS (The dog with the crow for a pet – we don’t see him this issue) and DUKE ZEPAR (Misnamed as “VEPAR” but clearly the “soldier” in red clothes.) Also not seen this issue is SENATOR VINE, the supposed “last survivor of the Black Glove”. VINE is another demon of classical demonology. And last issue, there is one silhouette in the distance that isn’t as plain and nondescript as the others. A man with a jacket and possibly a sword. I’d wager that’s CAIM, who was said to wear elegant clothes and carry a razor sharp sword.

Anyway, much of what may come to pass here (or quite possibly “WILL” come to pass) is hinted at (we’ll get to it later) and the possible fate of Dick Grayson that played out in Batman # 666 seems all too close now … how will the Caped Crusader get out of this? Can he beat destiny?! Apparently he can … if he’s better than Bruce Wayne. (But didn’t Bruce in Infinite Crisis pretty much say that Dick Grayson was a better man than he?)

And naturally, lines like “You dare imagine yourself superior to a Wayne?” just scream us in the direction of our long-lost Satanic 17th Century Thomas Wayne black sheep. Too bad Grayson, like us knows that sacrificing him, or killing him, or doing whatever, and summoning “Barbatos” is actually summoning an ass-kicking of New God time-displaced Bruce Wayne OWNS history proportions.

Of course, the Wayne superiority complex strikes me as strange, if this guy is supposed to be possessed by some sort of Devil. It all works out thematically, but it’s still strange for a Devil.

Our shot of Grayson getting executed gangland style in front of the fireplace where Thomas and Martha Wayne’s portrait hangs, by a man claiming to be Thomas Wayne, but really some sort of Devil or usurper or evil fuck … actually has shades of Bruce’s death scene in Final Crisis. And this isn’t what we saw in # 666 anyway … so destiny has already changed. But we’ll see. For all we know, it’s a tranquilizer, or Alfred loaded the gun with blanks, or Joker sabotaged the whole fucking thing (A lack of Joker is a sure sign Joker’s more involved than we think, right?) or who knows what. After all, the panel only shows the split-second of Dick appearing to be shot in the head. But where’s the blood? Is that brain-splintering pain on his face? It rather looks like the pain from the sound of a gun going off to me … that wince from the BANG and the expected death.

Last bit on this particular opening: Heard some complaints about Frazer Irving’s artwork during the preview (agree, those pages were a little more hit and miss. Sometimes Joker was a little too plain, but it got better). Have to say … he nails it this issue. This is top stuff.

Will Grayson be the better man than Bruce? Will it matter, since five minutes later they’ll accidentally summon Bruce and bring Hell down on themselves?

Scene 2 – Gotham Grand Hotel, 3 days earlier … and immediately after the end of B&R#12.
(For those wondering, I imagine that scene in Command-D “Evil Factory” in Bludhaven in Return of Bruce # 3 took place immediately after Grayson said “Alert the Justice League” and before they show up here. As for the “Present Day” portion of Batman # 700 – “Bat-Night” on Crime Alley? That would’ve been between Blackest Knight and Batman vs. Robin.

Irving’s Joker is pure Conrad Veidt. Looking at Joker we can determine a few things. This is the same Clown at Midnight face. The scar is visible on his forehead. The grin is permanent (although with time it appears the gashes at the corners of his mouth have healed up a little bit, he still can’t stop grinning). And he’s keeping the slicked hair with the one or two dangling strands in the front. Very nice. Love the way Irving does his eyebrows. Pure wolf-like cunning, those.

So it’s “Going Sane” … just not so absurd. Joker didn’t really “Go sane” when Batman was gone. He just went “less crazy”. Without Bruce Wayne Batman he lost his professional sense of commitment to his act and decided to try something new. Oh, sure, it still involved a bit of murder, a bit of humor, but the style-shift was dramatic.

“Disguise is also one of my many accomplishments, after all.” – It certainly is, Joker. It needs to be used more. I always loved that bit way back in the 40’s where he dressed like a beat cop, but you could see his ridiculous grin under the fake mustache.

Dick lays out the whole domino angle for all of you who haven’t figured it out with a dozen issues to work with, validating our insane online lines of speculation.

He poisoned Mr. Toad. How’d he do that and why didn’t we realize it before? Well, since the Joker reveal last month, some people have figured out the pacing, and I’ve been informed that I’m an idiot. I’d figured that the “deal gone bad” in the first page of Batman and Robin # 1 that Toad was fleeing from involved Oberon Sexton. What I didn’t realize was that Joker had paid for a sample of the “Super Drug” then sold Toad out to the cops. Why did Joker buy the “Super Drug”? So he could create an antidote and leave it for the Dark Knight to find at the Carnival Grounds. Later we’ll learn that the “antidote” might be more important than we thought. It may be the catalyst for the actual “sickness” scheme. But if Joker has tampered with it … and Joker represents Death … we might be talking about fucking Doctor Hurt’s plan up by killing everyone in Gotham City. Keep your eye on the Joker.

That panel of all black with only Dick’s eye behind the white lens of the bat-cowl on a black plane is fantastic stuff.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I had you figured out when I was twelve.” – Attaboy, Grayson. This is the kind of line that makes me with Bruce would never come back.

Damian voices the question on plenty of fans’ minds, if message boards are to be trusted as accurate gauges for broader fan viewpoints – wouldn’t Sexton have been a real writer to be published and noted? Sure was. Cue a spot on bit of timing for a cameo from England’s Knight. The man had killed his own wife. Joker apparently realized it right away, buried him with her (possibly alive) and then usurped his identity.

What was the first “domino of death” that started the chain reaction? How far back are we talking here? Was it killing the Russian General? Or does it go further? What about killing Jason Todd?

Gordon barges in and immediately addresses one of my own queries – how fucked is it that Gordon was all buddy-buddy with Oberon Sexton at a party? Pretty fucked, thinks Gordon. And just to cap it off … Damian calls Joker on his bullshit and thinks he’s always been totally sane. Personally … I agree with Damian. Never mind the fact we’ve “visited” Joker’s mind with Martian Manhunter or Atom or whoever and it’s been a crazy ride. Nevermind that cosmic godly types like Phantom Stranger have used Joker’s madness to battle chaos demons. I’m perfectly sane, and the only thing that stops me from acting like the Joker is that there isn’t a stage to act out the routine on, or a system designed where I can just go to Arkham Asylum every other week by claiming insanity. And frankly, I’m too lazy to be that dedicated to an act – the greatest acting gig ever – making the whole world think you’re insane when you aren’t.

I’m sure Grant will probably give us a clearer look, since Joker IS the “Death” mentioned in The Garden of Death, The Triumph of Death, and The Knight, Death and The Devil.

“Looks like EVERYONE dies in the crossfire. Unless … unless you’re as good as he was.” – Joker repeats the idea Doctor Hurt mentioned before. They think Grayson will need to surpass Bruce to save the place this time. But the everyone dies thing seems to speak to my theory that Joker sabotaged Hurt’s drug as well.

Scene 3 – The Bat-Bunker
This is a nice scene, our obligatory “briefing” scene, and also the calm before the storm. Dick takes Gordon to the Bat-Bunker to show him his theories about what’s going down. Gordon has his suspicions about Bruce Wayne. However, they’re not the usual suspicions. And if anything, these days, Gordon’s suspicions that Wayne might be Batman are probably fading, since Wayne (Hush) is seen places while Batman is elsewhere, (If Batman is dead, he can’t be Wayne, who is alive) and seeing the Bat-Bunker he may believe this is the legendary headquarters of Batman.

“Everything the Joker says is a lie or a trick or a clue.” – Way to narrow it down, Grant. Let’s all just go back throughout your entire run and try to determine which lines are lies, which are tricks, and which are clues.

Gordon confirms the fact that he certainly knows it’s a new Batman. However, it’s been a few months. Half a year even. Maybe more. This isn’t another Jean-Paul Valley incident, so we’re past that suspicion now. Does he suspect it’s the former Nightwing? Possibly.

“I still haven’t made all the connections.” – That’s fine, Grayson. Neither have we.

“In three days time, Gotham experiences a total solar eclipse”. Ah, here it fucking goes. Doctor Hurt’s speech (three days later) sort of hinted at it, and here’s the rub. So Bruce is on his way back. We know how that works. Each era in Return, he’s been “summoned” by somebody, only to vanish again during a solar eclipse, and appear … well, probably three days prior to a solar eclipse. I wonder if this means each issue of Return of Bruce takes place over three days. Actually, that’s very possible.

Caveman Era: 1st night does cave drawings. 2nd attack on caveman camp. 3rd Dons bat costume.
Puritan Era: 1st night Annie’s hideout. 2nd back to health, thinks he’s Mordecai. 3rd fights dragon.
Pirate Era: 1st night cave adventure with Blackbeard. 2nd hangs out with Miagani. 3rd vanishes.

It’s possible. I’ll admit, The Puritan issue seemed more like a week had gone by, and the Pirate issue seemed like he was only there 24 hours.

“… but if it helps to know, most of my cops prefer you to him.” – Too funny. Dick was a cop, he would have a good rapport with cops (We saw him asking Bailey how his boy, Max “soon to be Robot” Bailey was doing). Having been a cop, this makes sense. Plus, he’s Dick Grayson. Everyone loves Dick Grayson. He’s way less scary.

“Which brings us right back to Pyg, Santo, Flamingo, and the 99 Fiends” – Well … not that I wouldn’t have gotten to it later … but Professor Pyg is back by the end of this issue. So who wants to bet that Eduardo Flamingo resurfaces as part of Doctor Hurt’s forces soon as well?

Dick has a map of Gotham up on his display. Has anyone tried the old classic detective method of taking that map, and marking the locations where various Domino Crimes or Black Glove related incidents have happened to see what they get? Probably not … since locations like The Killing Joke carnival grounds I don’t believe have ever been placed on that map.

“We can’t afford to take our eye off the Joker. He hasn’t played his hand yet.” – Right … again, I suspect the attempted murder of 9 million people, seems his style, but then again, Joker has been sabotaging the Black Glove’s efforts and killing the fuck out of them. Damian wants answers the direct way (Something that never worked for Bruce – trying to beat information out of him) and Dick is trying to play the game out and win it. The question really does come down to “Can they trust Joker this time, or can’t they? Or can they to a degree then he turns?” Grayson doesn’t know, and neither do we. I sort of want to trust him.

Scene 4 – Gotham Central
Lieutenant Bilbao’s a new cop, I don’t believe we’ve ever seen before. The obsessive name-tracer in me would like to point out that the name stems from the city in Spain, and the name’s origins potentially mean “Two River Banks” or something to do with two rivers, presumably referring to the two rivers of that region. What does that have to do with Grant’s intricate plot? Jack shit. Did you know the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain was designed by Frank Gehry? His name sound a Hell of a lot like Gary Frank, who draws Superman to look just like Christopher Reeve and will be drawing Batman: Earth One. Also featuring The Riddler. To my knowledge his work has never been confused with the work of Frank Quitely, whose name isn’t even really Frank Quitely.

This scene is a beautiful thing. How exactly does one break it down? Why does Damian feel the need to bludgeon Joker with a crowbar? Is it out of some sense of “Revenge of Robin”? Does he purely not like the Joker for killing one of the people to wear the Robin uniform? Is it for Jason Todd, who Damian met, and isn’t fond of at all? Doubt it. I’m quite certain it’s his sadistic little sense of irony and justice. Damian’s a very “Laws of Solomon” kind of kid. Eye for an eye and crowbar for a crowbar.

It’s a little late to be talking about this, but Joker has clearly healed a little bit from his accident a while back. His voice is back to normal – his mouth not as sore or shredded, so his voice actually comes out normally. His cheeks where he kept ripping the stitches during Clown at Midnight and R.I.P. have healed to a degree – although he’s still trapped in the permanent grin. His scar isn’t going anywhere, it seems. But he’s at least one degree closer to classic Joker. And we get the skinny on his injury, which we already kind of knew about but now know in pretty frank detail what happened. Bullet through bottom of jaw (ouch … flashbacks of when I accidentally impaled my jaw with a rock), messed up his tongue, and went through the roof of his mouth and nose/sinuses. So he’s had a little bit of remodeling on his nose, particularly the interior. Yeah, that’ll mess you up pretty bad. A manually cleft palette would hurt.

Is Joker really crying here? What about actually mourning the fact that he was a normal little kid once? Complete bullshit? Grayson says everything is a lie, trick or clue. But come on … he probably was a little whiz kid once … seems logical. Probably didn’t intend to grow up and become a super-criminal when he was a lad. Probably wanted to be an astronaut or pirate.

Damian continues to voice his “Joker is totally sane” theory. I can’t wait to see more if it, frankly. Love hearing a bit more of Grant’s thoughts on Joker. Is he mad? Are we all mad and Joker’s sane? Where’s the line and who’s on what side of it?

And Christ, yeah, Damian really comes into his own as Mini-Bruce here, and Joker notices it, too. And that last panel of Joker before the beating is fantastic. Take note that Joker’s fingernails are now painted ALL BLACK instead of alternate red and black like his dead man’s hand configuration. Joker as Death, Joker mourns Death. This panel reminds me of Alex Ross’s Joker covers.

And there’s our reverse Jason Todd moment. Of course, we’ve already seen Jason Todd beat down the Joker with a crowbar. And if Joker can survive it from Todd, who has to be like three times stronger than Damian and possibly a little more bloodthirsty, I don’t think Damian’s going to kill him either. Still … always a riot to see the Robin beats Joker with a crowbar reversal of fortunes thing after all this time. And doesn’t Damian just look like a natural …

Damian points out some of Joker’s inconsistencies. Paraphrasing here: “If everything is a joke and nothing matters (IE: human lives, law & order) than I wonder if you feel the same about the brilliant mind you’re always showing off”. Yes, Joker … if we’re all worthless … how is it you’re so vain? How is it YOU have worth?

“You sound just like … like him …” – Has Joker found a new playdate in Damian? Seems like he might have. The fact that this scene also mirrors the scene in The Dark Knight where a similar interrogation-via-beating plays out and Joker wins it and sets up his arch-enemy yin/yang status with Batman seems to build on that.

Cops reaction to Damian beating Joker half to death with a crowbar is priceless. And it’s kind of sad, seeing Joker beaten with a look in his eyes I don’t think we’ve ever seen, but with that stupid grin plastered on his face. This is a new one. Joker as a tragic character rather than a comic one … or it would be sad, if this wasn’t Joker and we didn’t expect him to reveal something fucking awful next issue.

Scene 5 – Don’t check your map of Gotham City or this probably won’t make any damn sense … they’re flying from whatever “EXIT” from the Bat-Bunker Dick took to lead suspicion away from Wayne Tower so Gordon wouldn’t identify … but it’s probably not TOO far from Wayne Tower … preferably in a straight line to Gotham Central … except I don’t think Blackgate Penitentiary is anywhere in that straight line …
EDIT: Sorry, I'm a moron sometimes and at this point close reading wasn't happening. The Batmobile crashed in an alley (hence the dumpster and garbage cans) in Downtown Gotham ... NOT Blackgate, which if my memory would've served me better, I'd remember was on an island.

I didn’t see this coming. Not exactly. But it’s pretty awesome and just amps me for the next issue. How the fuck long is the wait? That’s rubbish. But at least we get to learn some of the in-between off-panels stuff between R.I.P. and Final Crisis in the meantime, and get to see Cowboy Bruce. Fuck, though … that’s side-tracking us. The dominoes are falling and we need to be here, not off on a damned detour in the past! Will Grayson survive? (HE HAS TO, RIGHT?!) Will Damian defect (NO WAY, RIGHT?!) Will Bruce kick everyone’s ass? (PROBABLY)

Anyway, the 99 Fiends (Hey, 99 upside down is 66. And apart from Route 66, at one point a veritable Highway to Hell, 66 is just one 6 away from being 666! Maybe 999 Fiends were just too damned many.) are on the move again, shooting the awesome flying Batmobile out of the sky, right into the alleys where a fucking army of Dollotrons (Have the entire prison population been converted into fucking Dollotrons?!) swarms around Batman and Gordon.

And the demons reach Professor Pyg, handing him a new mask for this masquerade ball that is the downfall of Gotham, and set him free. Pyg’s back! Escaping Blackgate? Isn't Jason Todd in there, too?!

As for the triptych … looks like Gotham City’s populous is about to have a freakout of epic proportions when that drug goes off. Looks like Gordon will be in the clutches of Professor Pyg (rather mirrors Grayson being in the clutches of Le Bossu and Scorpiana, actually) and a repeat of the shot of Grayson apparently being shot in the back of the head … surrounded by white light. What could that mean?

Fucking Christ. Until next week … my brain is fried from the amount of holy fuck in this one. If this is Batman R.I.P. as farce than the Joker is playing us all for the fucking fool.

The Batman ... and Time

2010-07-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just doing a little bit of organization here (In that sort of "Where were you on the night of August the 14th of the Year 9,000 B.C.? kind of way.)

9050 B.C. - Metron gives Anthro the gift of fire. Anthro begins telling stories.
(Estimated because 50 years of age would have been a ridiculous lifespan for a Cro Magnon but Anthro clearly makes it to a ripe old age and becomes "Old Man".)
9000 B.C. - Bruce Wayne arrives at the Bat-Cave, summoned by Anthro's need for a hero against Savage. Anthro dies. His son dies. His grandson, Kong the Untamed, founds the Bat-Tribe.
(Red Robin confirms that Bruce's cape (which is CURSED by Doctor Hurt) appears to be about 11,000 years old. 2000 A.D. minus 11,000 years = 9000 B.C.)
1618 A.D. - Jack Valor "claims" that the original Black Pirate died this year.
This is entirely possible, as Jon Valor (the first Black Pirate) was said to live in the 16th Century (The 1500's). However, at over 100 years prior to Jack's claim, it's more likely that Jon was his GREAT-Grandfather, not his Grandfather.
1640 A.D. - Bruce arrives further down the Wayne Estate, summoned by Annie's need for a hero against persecution (from Mordecai and Nathaniel Wayne.)
(Not estimated. Bruce Wayne surmises that "Yesterday it was 1640 ... something.)
1670 A.D. - Martin Van Derm is now an old man, and hands Annie's book, and Mordecai's portrait, down to his daughter.
(Estimated by Van Derm's age - He looks to be in his 60's, his daughter middle-aged, and Gotham Colony has grown large and profitable. He may have become wealthy.)
1718 A.D. - Bruce arrives in Bristol Bay when Jack Valor prays to his grandfather (Jon Valor) for help.
(Bruce figures out exactly what date it is based on evidence at hand. Jack Valor is 15.)
1734 A.D. - Jack Valor finally gets around to recording his journal. By now, he's 31, just got married and had a baby with his wife, and spent about 17 years as the Black Pirate.
(We see his young wife, and baby, the next Black Pirate?)
1765 A.D. - Jack Valor delivers Bruce's notes to a brother and sister in Gotham - either the Van Derms, or Thomas and Dominique Wayne.
(Estimate it's this year, because 1765 is the year that the Satanic cult ritual occurred in Dark Knight, Dark City (as written about by Stockwell, but not specified until Alfred explained in detail the year to Damian back in Batman and Robin # 10.)
1777 A.D. - Sometime after the American Revolution begins, in its 12 years, Darius Wayne becomes a war hero, saves Gotham, and becomes famous.
1793 A.D. - Jacob Stockman finally writes about the horrible night of the demon summons in his journal.
(Date is mentioned right in the journal.)
1795 A.D. - Darius Wayne, war hero, commissions Nathan Van Derm to build Wayne Manor.
(So says Alfred, when talking about specific dates of Wayne Manor.)
1799 A.D. - Wayne Manor is completed, I imagine.
(1799 is the original date listed for Wayne Manor being built. It probably took a few years. It's the same time period the MacDubhs (Bruce's family) drive the Sliths across the Atlantic.)
1855 A.D. - Alan Wayne builds his elaborate crypt in the Wayne Family Cemetery that just happens to be the same cemetery where some serious Cult Worship happened 100 years prior. They use it as an Underground Railroad.
(1855 is the alternative year suggested for Wayne Manor's construction, however, it's been mentioned that the "Grave of Death" was constructed in the 19th Century. That's a big addition to the Manor, so one presumes Alan Grant added a lot more to the place. Alan, I take it, is Judge Solomon and Joshua's father.)
1876 A.D. - Batman arrives in Gotham City and faces Jonah Hex. UNKNOWN SO FAR.
(1876 is the best guess, because the "Dead Man's Hand" that Hex flashes was invented that year, the year Wild Bill Hickok died. It's entirely possible we'll learn that it's NOT 1876, give or take a year or two. But 1876 seems to be the earliest possible year it could be, and is certainly during the "Peak" of Jonah Hex's career.)
"25 Years Ago" - Batman arrives in Film Noir, Private Eye Gotham.
(This one doesn't hold as an actual real world year. It's the "years" of Batman's parents, Thomas and Martha, a pastiche of current "parent's, or grandparent's" past. It's vaguely 1940's through 1970's. Probably a bit of Maltese Falcon meets Dirty Harry. Since Batman's comic book "year" shifts year to year to remain modern and in the present, so his parent's lives must shift along with it.)
Present - DC Comics Continuity, duh.
Vanishing Point
(Not that much to it. Except everything. Vanishing Point is the last point on the line before it stops. The timeline. The storyline. The end of time. More pending ...)

THE BONES OF BRISTOL BAY

2010-06-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

One of the nice side-effects of Grant exploring Gotham City before it was Gotham City is that he gets to name some things. The Palisades, the hilly region north of Gotham where all the mansions are, where under the Wayne Estate the massive Bat-Cave stretches a vast expanse that opens up in secret coves and places along the coastline and under the hills ... naturally borders on some water. And that water, due east of Gotham's luxurious Palisades, is Bristol Bay. Which we've seen mentioned last issue. A fun aside that I probably mentioned then? Annie, the witch, was from Bristol in England. And so, allegedly, was Blackbeard the pirate, whose ship is the Queen Anne's Revenge.

This time around, like Spock and Bones before him, Batman is going to remember, damn it. Clearly after two issues of amnesia the over-arcing story requires Batman starts assembling these clues.

I wonder if Dan Turpin is pissed that the Batman shot him.

Scene 1
So here is Bruce Wayne, washed ashore and at the mercy of Blackbeard the Pirate, who also has a young man captive, and they watch the Black Pirate's ship, the Black Rose (Really? I mean really? Black Rose?) burn. And ol' Thatch thinks Bruce is the Black Pirate.

The year is 1734. A full 30 years prior to when I expected this issue to take place (Our suspect, the Satanist Thomas Wayne, having been Satanizing around 1760, and vanishing prior to our young Darrius becoming a war hero in 1777).

Morrison wisely doesn't really let us know whether this is actually Vandal Savage or not. Perhaps he just missed that snippet of Wiki fact, or would rather Blackbeard be his own man, or just likes leaving it mysterious.

Bruce remembers Annie giving him Mordecai's clothes - something he DIDN'T remember at the time, on account of love potions and lies.

Yet again, Bruce has been summoned. Anthro tried to summon Metron and got Bruce. Annie tried for "a New God" of some sort and got Bruce. Later we'll learn that Jack Valor prayed for aid from his grandfather, Jon Valor, the first Black Pirate, and got Bruce. Wonder who summoned him to 1860.

"Then says I let him join us on our journey to the Underworld". Those tallying keywords, ding-ding-ding, there's Underworld used once more for the Bat-Cave.

Those expecting young 15 year old Jack Valor here to be Batman's "Robin" of this time period, it's neatly subverted - rather, this is more a classic super-hero team-up. All those times where Superman dressed as Batman so that Bruce Wayne could be seen in the same place - same sort of idea. A bit of super role reversal to throw off the villains.

This issue is HEAVY on the Miagani Tribe, who we finally meet.

Blackbeard comically having the totem skull of the Miagani "smoke his pipe" is reminiscent of Joker hot-boxing Dick Grayson back in the "60's" chapter of Batman # 700. Our young Jack Valor is quite a cool guy, giving us the scoop on the history of the Miagani once more, how ancient they claim to be, and where and why they've hidden.

The Indian traps are ingenious, and very much Indiana Jones in fashion. Jack Valor's friends the Miagani are quite cunning and clever - inspired, no doubt, thousands of years ago by the Man of Bats' utility belt. Were they here, hiding, watching Batman fight the time-squid kraken last issue?

Hanging upside down like bats, matches well the statue of their totem, Man of Bats. So the demonic statue wasn't Barbatos at all! The Breath of the Bat - a great natural defense, and one that Batman probably still uses to this day. The angled stones made to click and spark when they strike are an ingenious defense in the methane tunnel.

Scene 2: Bludhaven
Batman and Robin at ground zero in HAZ-BAT suits. Priceless. Dick found the "relic" last issue - the cloak of Batman from 10,000 years ago, left behind in the cave where Anthro died and then worshiped by the Bat People/Miagani afterward for years. The cloak he wore during Final Crisis, with the needle punctures in the cowl. With no Batman or Superman around, Wonder Woman leads the charge, since she's a natural leader and member of the trinity - and so here she finally turns up to validate her "WW" symbol being one that Bruce used.

Continuity alert: Hal Jordan appears here, but wasn't he with "Superman and the others"? Christ, DC Comics editors ... Christ. At the least they could've used one of the other thousand Green Lanterns. John Stewart would have been the right choice, since he was a big part of Final Crisis. It's kind of easy to see how the error could happen - Paquette may not have known Hal was involved with the Time Masters last issue. Or the description might have just been a quick list of "Who is in Robinson's JLA team" or something. Or maybe just a list of concerned heroes with "Green Lantern" written and not specified which bloody Green Lantern they meant. Everybody ... pretend that's John Stewart.

Nice to see Tim Drake get some respect, Wonder Woman turns the investigation over to him, and here stands our young lad, still fresh off being the Teen Wonder and not even 18 quite yet, standing toe-to-toe with Black Canary, Flash, Congorilla, Guardian, and more.

Morrison finally gives the Tim Drake fans what they want - an explanation for why Tim found Bat-Symbols in caves in Europe - the Siberian land bridge, of course. The Miagani spread the word of their shining gods and Man of Bats. Fuel for the "Batman inspired the legends of the Devil" fire.

Robin mentions something on all of OUR minds as well, since Batman and Robin # 13 was delayed a couple weeks - "Don't we need to get back to the Joker?" Yes, yes we fucking do. Robin also connects the dots with what the Batman Black Knight clone said about being born from a broken jar. He's getting better at this detective stuff, and he and Grayson now have a play-by-play of exactly what happened during Final Crisis. I'm curious as all get where the present cast fit in the timeline, since B&R#12 ended with a cliffhanger, but Morrison rarely worries about that sort of thing. I'm sure we'll see space where this stuff fits, or maybe it even happens "After" Batman Must Die ends and of course before B&R#16.

Scene 3
Shit. My timeline is wrong. Bruce Wayne determines that the year is 1718 (Should've been obvious, the year Blackbeard died, historically - all this thought of him potentially being Vandal Savage has me turned around). So Black Pirate must be writing his journal as an older man in 1734. So the Waynes he meets would be the PARENTS of Thomas Wayne, and the girl that the cultists in Dark Knight, Dark City sacrificed to Barbatos. There's a huge skip between 1718-1734 (this issue) and 1860's next issue where A LOT happens, including our Satanist Thomas Wayne, our Darrius, the Revolution, and more. Hopefully historical records are good enough by 1860 that Bruce can get some fucking information about it, then.

Bruce is shrewd enough to know Jack is the Black Pirate, of course, we all knew, too. It wasn't meant to be much of a surprise.

If Blackbeard isn't Vandal Savage ... he and Vandal took their lessons in controlling bands of brigands and plunderers from the same teacher. Character-wise, they're almost identical.

The Miagani are dangerous as can be. Valor mentions the "curse of the Black Pirate", but it comes down to rumors and misdirection. Still, it does bring to mind Annie's curse last issue, and the nature of curses. Do they work for the Black Pirate? Maybe in self-fulfilling prophecy kind of way. But the Miagani are superstitious and we see that being closer to the earth and more naturalistic, they're right to be so.

Saber fight on a bone bridge. It's like Indiana Jones meets every single Ra's al Ghul adventure. Good stuff. Very pulpy, which is perfect for pirate fare.

Israel Hands, for the record, really was Blackbeard's first mate. He survives after Blackbeard is killed, and basically does the pirate equivalent of a gangster turning "states evidence". Will we hear about it next issue? It's possible, I guess ... not that likely.

Valor really does know about the Miagani. Nothing we don't already know. Last of the once great Miagani tribe. Claim descent from the "First Boy", who we know is Anthro, and whose clan met Batman then founded the Miagani tribe. Bruce is impressed, and he sees the statue - a statue of HIM - and the relic, his cloak from Final Crisis. And they recognize Bruce as their God. That's pretty crazy.

And Bruce gets back his Utility belt after 100 years. Apparently Annie didn't find it useful and she left it there. It's a little old, but still perfectly good - not like the cape and cowl, which has thousands of years of age on it.

So the Orion's Belt reference is not just in reference to Orion, or the painting of Darrius Wayne, but also to his utility belt, which is in fact, a "hunter's belt".

Born Under a Black Sun sounds familiar.

The wealthy brother and sister then ... the Waynes? They seem young ... this could be our Satanist Thomas Wayne after all. With a powdered wig it's very hard to tell, but he certainly resembles a younger Thomas (if he was in his 20's then, he'd only be 50 by the time the events of Dark Knight, Dark City rolled around). And there is the casket.

The mystery of what's in the casket rages. It seems akin to practical magic ... or summoning demons, Goetia style. A list of names. Symbols. Annie's book of magic. The "OTHER" thing that he won't speak, which is our big mystery (Barbatos?).

Keyword checkers - once more, Valor equates "MIDNIGHT" with awful, occult things. MIDNIGHT and UNDERWORLD are Grant's two biggest reuses of words in this run. The bells of All-Over, no doubt, tie to the End of Time and the fact that Batman just left Superman and Green Lantern stranded there.

Scene 4
1860's Gotham ... Wayne Manor is haunted, and these crooks approach it from the Wayne Family Cemetery.

Jonah Hex has laid out a Dead Man's Hand for these boys, same as Joker had laid out for Batman in DC Universe # 0 (R.I.P.). They're trying to hire Hex to take out this new gunslinger (Batman). But who summoned Batman this time?

My guess is Joshua Wayne, who is the brother of Solomon Wayne and as we saw in the paintings, was in the cult parts of the Bat-Cave before he reportedly (by these two thugs) died in the caves. Perhaps Bruce took his place for a while. It's clear Bruce probably meets up with Solomon.

Whoever these guys' "Boss" is will probably be a big cameo. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to see it be "Boss Falcone", although there's a good chance for laughs we get "Boss Gordon" or "Boss Kyle" or something. I'm not sure if it would be too obvious for the Sheriff of Gotham to be a Gordon - that would be a LOOOONG family history of cops.

And so Batman comes rolling in over the hill. Will he gunfight Jonah Hex? Beats me ... bet five bucks they team up and kick ass next issue, though.

I'm not in the most deductive of modes right now ... can't wait for the other annotations and notes to go up so I can dive headlong into the discussion.

TIME AND THE BATMAN

2010-06-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

YESTERDAY:
Bruce Wayne flees from bird-winged Egyptian soldiers (A nod to Hawkman, I wonder?) and he’s saying some sort of code. I’ll admit, I had no clue what to make of it. I assumed he was “in the past” with the help of Nichols, whose involvement was forewarned. It makes itself clear quickly. The Joker is having a pop-criminal team-up, like they always used to have back in the Early Silver Age. He’s with all the old favorites – Riddler, Scarecrow, Catwoman, and … the fake Mad Hatter, who gets a free reinvention this issue for modern times!

Holding everyone hostage while Batman goes “back in time” via some weird hypnosis machine that if it wasn’t 60 years old I’d swear Morrison invented himself. To get the combination to the lock on some valuable artifact Catwoman stole (Which seems like it should be familiar … is that the object she stole in her very first appearance? Maybe not … this doesn’t feel “Year Three” … Robin looks about 14 or 15 and Joker is starting to get bored of the pop-crime, so it feels more “Year Six”.)

No doubt each of the criminals has “something on their list” they want Batman to learn. It’s all in good fun, too, for instance, Mad Hatter wants Alexander the Great’s brim size. Dick Grayson, even tied in a chair, is ready for action.

Karnak is a real temple in Thebes. The Crystal Cat is a Dan Deacon song.

Riddler here is enjoying himself with the classic 60’s alliteration and riddling. Let’s face it, he was at his prime in the 60’s … or the “pop-crime period”. His problem now is that he’s a pop-crime heist/thief with no pop-crime scene anymore. He doesn’t kill, and attempts to make him “edgy” and “psycho” fail miserably. Although it’s coming back a bit. Riddler’s going to have to get Ocean’s Eleven or Catch Me If You Can or White Collar on Gotham’s ass.

Joker basically ruins Professor Nichols’ life by using his inventions for wrong-doing. And he acts like our oracle here, since he’s insane and that means he’s got intuition about the future. His grand plan? To send Batman back to Crime Alley and give Bruce one last heart-breaking chance to abort the demons that drove him to be … later on we see Bruce Wayne attempt to abort his inner demons via the Thogal and Ten-Eyed Surgeons. And the demons come back with a damn vengeance. But Joker’s also talking about time travel predestination paradoxes, which Robin, using Grant’s own logic, points out wouldn’t work that way. Change the past … none of us will be here. That being said … later Bruce IS sent back in time, and it doesn’t change the past at all, it had always been destined to happen … so Joker is still acting as a precursor to Darkseid.

Joker’s Jokebook … for an item that later this issue is reputed to have nothing written in it, that’s a lot of text. Laughing Fish scheme obviously comes to play pretty straight. “Jokerworld Death Parks for all the family” seems to bring Killing Joke to mind.

“Give your favorite clown prince some of that old time fear gas, Scarecrow” sounds a lot like Alex from A Clockwork Orange. They move to force Batman to go back to that day … with threat of Dick Grayson having his mouth cut into a permanent grin, but Batman has already freed himself, just like he said he would, from the bindings.

A bit of the Mad Hatter “revamp”. The poser Mad Hatter takes on the personality of whatever hat he’s wearing. In this panel, for instance, a cowboy hat, and he wears two six-shooters. Sufficiently different enough from creepy little Alice in Wonderland pederast Jervis Tetch.

Riddler’s not much of a fighter. Joker, crazy as ever, wants to escape via time travel. To funny places like the Cruficixion (Not the first crucified reference in Morrison’s books), the Children’s Crusade (A Slaughterhouse Five reference, which is charming considering Bruce is now bouncing through time and especially considering this issue) and Vietnam.

O’Hara (Continuity alert! O’Hara was killed in Dark Victory prior to Grayson becoming Robin … but here’s O’Hara and Robin together, and Robin’s clearly been Robin for a couple years now. Who’s right, Morrison or Loeb? Well … hell with it. It could always be that this is Clancy O’Hara Junior, after all … this is comics.)

“The Two-Face/Clayface/No-Face/False Face team!” I’d pay good money to read about that in the next Batman Confidential.

Batman can’t endure another session … but someone can … and Nichols can go … well, always to his Granton basement … but can go any time!

Tony Daniel redesigns the 1960’s TV Batmobile and my god it’s perfect.

TODAY
Dick Grayson has a good rapport with the boys in blue, asking Officer Bailey (He was in B&R # 1, right?) how his son Max is doing. The kid’s in a wheelchair. Well … later on we meet “Max Roboto” again. Ten-to-one odds on Max Roboto being “Max Bailey”, crippled son of a cop who gets robot parts and turns to crime.

Grayson has been using kali sticks as his primary weapon as Nightwing for years now. The gang is reminiscent of the Mutants from The Dark Knight Returns, just not as … well … “mutated” yet. An early prototype.

Lone-Eye Lincoln. The very same drug dealer that Honor Jackson led Bruce Wayne to when he was drugged up and walking the streets, the guy who told him Honor Jackson had died days before. Apparently he’s moving up in the world, to suit the new Gotham fashion movement for criminals and thugs. Dapper dress, and he’s a pimp now, too!

The stuff the prostitute, S’reena, says about Mister Freeze is priceless.

And here we have our Mad Hatter v.2 update. He just goes by “Hatman” now, and he’s running an underworld auction. Kite-Man’s killer kite collection … Red Hood’s dual red automatics from a few issues ago … and Joker’s Jokebook. All of these have something in common with Joker, in fact. Joker murdered Kite-Man during Infinite Crisis, he’s the reason Red Hood exists. Grayson leaves us hanging until the future with the “reason it’s so legendary, but worry not …”

TOMORROW
Back to 666. Damian-Batman beats the hell out of Max Roboto (Now with super subtle backstory) and leaves him for Gotham’s mutant sewer rats to chew on. Once more, Joker haunts the place, in the form of joker toxin acid rain. Back to Granton, before everyone dies at midnight (Hey, death at midnight is totally Joker’s thing!)

Commissioner Barbara Gordon does what she can while Batman works through the sewers. We get another Infinite Crisis references as Damian uses Brother-I to take out some Hugo Strange Monster Serum monsters … and you can bet your ass Damian doesn’t have the same problem using Brother-I that Bruce had, ethically.

He reaches Nichols’ basement in Granton and finds our villain – 2-Face-2, holding a baby that’s been Jokerized. The broad “January” threat was a 2-Face style motif and Damian figured it out.

“The baby has a twin, like two bars on a dollar sign,” says 2-Face-2 … (Take note, detectives! Because when you find out who this baby is, your head will spin!). 2-Face-2 wants Joker’s Jokebook, or the “past and future die tonight!” (Does he mean the past and future Batmen?)

“He’s not a twin!” cries Damian. Fight breaks out. Damian crushes 2-Face-2’s head under Nichols’ time machine. Young Carter Nichols shows up, kills himself (Damian realizes what Dick meant about being so sure it was a suicide) and then Carter Nichols (who hasn’t gone back yet to tip off the cops back in “Yesterday” because he hasn’t done it yet. Nice way of preventing anyone from stopping him.)

And BAM … the shocker … the Jokerized baby is Terry god damn McGinnis.

AND TOMORROW …
Cut to Batman Beyond. Terry McGinnis is kicking ass against the Jokerz gang, Joker is there – this is probably during “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” which means that’s Tim Drake in some form or another. And old Bruce Wayne (Apparently not dead after all … wait … which possible future is the one that’s going to happen?!) looks on and tells him he’s learning. But is it old Bruce Wayne … he almost looks like he could be “Old Damian Wayne”.

AND TOMORROW …
Jump to another possible future. Batman is some kind of grizzled freedom fighter in a dystopian future battling the robot army of tyranny. “The Iron Heel of Fura”. “The Iron Heel” was a Jack London novel, and possibly one of the first dystopian
Future type novels. Fura … no clue. There’s a fluorescent dye that’s got a similar name. Anyway, they’re very Borg-like, and the whole thing is slightly Frank Millerish. Or is it Batman Year 100? I never did read that …

AND TOMORROW …
All the way up to Batman 1,000,000 on the planet Pluto. The Batman of that time has to face off against the Anti-Utopian Army’s hate revolution. And go figure, they’re an army of clowns (Possibly worshipping Joker as some sort of historical god figure, since his face appears on a monitor.)

It was a good time travel story with some subtle winks and nods about the broader time travel story going on in the rest of the book right now. What can happen, what can’t, what has, what hasn’t. And a bit of stuff furthering the “Joker phases” Grant has been highlighting.

I need to dive into some other annotations before I can really wrap my head around the greater importance of this issue.

UNTIL THE END OF TIME

2010-05-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

Superman Beyond 3D fans rejoice … while Morrison has strayed from his ultra-fantastic artistic looks into the concepts of four dimensions, time travel, multiverses and sources for a while since Final Crisis (and a nod or two in Batman R.I.P.), it’s back. And very high-concept. The whole issue does, in retrospect, feel like Howard’s work on Solomon Kane or Conan. Frontloaded with very little information, but then highly narrative at the end to explain everything that’s happened.

Scene 1:
Right where we left off last issue, we have a woman, a dead man, a hideous kraken, and Bruce Wayne with the sword of the fallen Pilgrim witch-hunter. Like last issue, all Bruce has is his pants, boots, and utility belt. But he’s Bruce fucking Wayne. Saving damsels is nothing new to him. So the Beast is fought off. Sharp-eyed readers suspect this woman to be a witch, and that this is either something SHE SUMMONED (akin to how Anthro must have somehow “summoned” Bruce) or something from the Timestream that rode along with him. Nice guesses, since apparently both are correct. She is a witch, and it is a time-squid. More on that later.

Scene 2:
Bruce wakes up. The woman has an animal familiar – a weasel (The weasel, specifically, has a name rooted in “thieving”, “sneaking”, and similar negative words. Historically familiars were suspected as “The Devil Himself”, or at least his servants, who reported back to him and were links between these evil witches and him … so do we consider the weasel, Peck, to be Hurt/Barbatos? It IS wearing a Domino Mask!) … archaic pagan symbols – the cave drawings of Superman and Wonder Woman’s symbol that Bruce drew himself … two days ago … 10,000 years ago. The woman … Annie … is clearly in tune with the Universe somehow. In addition to the whole “summoning Bruce” aspect, she can feel that he’s been touched by a Dark God somehow.

Scene 3:
Meanwhile, in the future … Grant has a The Adventures of Superman # 476 reunion for us. (AOS#476 featured the debut of the Linear Men, and featured Superman, Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, the mysterious Waverider killed by Skeets (Mr. Mind) in 52). In the entirely appropriate for printed comics “Vanishing Point”, the time hunters have gone to the end of time, since that’s where the most advanced records of the timeline and history will be kept, hoping to be able to track Bruce from there. This is classic Morrison high-minded stuff … anti-entropy aegis … cosmic heat death … the big clue should be Superman: “We tracked Omega Radiation here.” But more on that later … as we get to see a map of TIME ITSELF. And it’s pretty fucking inspired. Row after row of strings like a harp, parallel to each other (the timelines of parallel universes), each resonating at a different frequency – a different vibration (again … harp). This is the instrument that made the music that Superman heard back in Superman Beyond 3D. Apparently Grant caught that special about the nature of SOUND and our perception of it on PBS a few months back, same as I did. Great Superman moment of the issue: “Locate that Omega trail. He’s here somewhere. A needle in a cosmic haystack.” This is Final Crisis level coolness. Meanwhile … Rip Hunter talks about a recent adventure (Somehow I’m pretty sure he means 52 and the battle against Mister Mind as the Multiverse reformed – God, I wonder what the Big DC Crises look like on this TIMESTREAM map …) and we get a glimpse of where that monstrous Time-Squid came from. It comes from 4D. But it’s sufficiently mysterious. “Things live out there, I’m sure … things with scale and depth and dimensions we can only begin to imagine,” says Rip Hunter.

Scene 4:
No telling how long Bruce has been here now, thinking he’s this Mordecai, this witch-hunter from Boston. I can’t imagine he’s been around long. A week feels right. Maybe two. The bat pinned to the church door as a fictitious “bad omen” representing the Devil is telling. Bats. Devils. Demons. Probably no need to hammer home that point anymore. Just read David Uzumeri’s article about Bruce possibly being the inspiration for the pop-culture Devil.

Everywhere Bruce goes, children follow him in awe. And it’s nice to see even amidst probably the most fucked up abstract freakout scenario of his life, he’s a detective, neither cowardly nor superstitious. Including his logical jest – “They say Satan is hairy and hell is exceedingly warm” … no, it doesn’t make much fucking sense, does it? Especially not when we look at our imagery. The Bat-Cave is our Underworld, and it’s a real cave – Cold and wet, rather than hot and dry. This chick doesn’t stand a chance against the Dark Knight Detective.

Goodwife Tyler. Tyler was an English surname belonging to one who was an inn-keeper, or even an actual tile-maker. But it’s got to be something that this is the same name as Hourman, Rex Tyler and Rick Tyler of “PRESENT”, and Matthew Tyler the android Hourman, and one of the members of the Linear Men who is conspicuously missing from Superman and Hal’s group right now. The Goodwife’s husband’s name was sure as hell Matthew. Hourman was created in the 853rd Century as an “Intelligent Machine Colony” not unlike the “Archivist” at Vanishing Point. Both are also linked in origin to Metron, who commissioned the construction of Hourman, and who was there, at Command-D in Bludhaven with Bruce Wayne, trapped in the body of the paraplegic fellow with the Rubix Cube. Hell, it also seems like Nix Uotan, the new “Ultimate” Monitor, was commissioned by Metron. So first Bruce visits Anthro, who Metron gave fire. Then Bruce visits Puritan days where there’s a link to Metron’s Hourman android. Metron, Metron, Metron, and Metron. An insurance policy against Darkseid’s evil intentions? Seems possible.

I will say, when I saw that ball of yarn all I could think was “Catwoman”.

Anabaptists were particularly radical Puritanical offshoots. The Flemish painter, Martin Van Derm is of the Flemish (Dutch). We know Gotham was founded in large part by the Dutch. As for the name Van Derm … in addition to this guy, who paints the Mordecai Wayne painting … we know a hundred years later, his descendant, another Van Derm, is commissioned to design and begin construction of Wayne Manor. And sure as shit, here we see Nathaniel Wayne (The Willem Dafoe looking miserable bastard) and a beginning of a relationship between “Waynes” and “Van Derms”. Is this Nathaniel Wayne the very same ancestor of Bruce’s who was referred to in Batman: The Scottish Connection? (There it was implied that the Wayne who first moved from Scotland to the United States was quite an asshole.)

Malleus is a reference to the Malleus Maleficarum; the Hammer of Witches. A book written by Heinrich Kramer for the Catholic Church as a guide for proving the existence of witches and the means for executing them. Indeed, it’s the keystone to the entire "WITCH!" stance of Puritans and Inquisitors since.

Scene 5:
So these idiots now think Goodwife Tyler is a witch! It’s their standard technique whenever a woman does anything, let's dunk her. Witch-Hunter Bruce calls them all idiots. Again, compare and contrast the notion of a “detective” against cowardly, superstitious types. And a little more disdain toward “organized” religion from Batman.

Scene 6:
“Malleus” has a secret. Of course, that bit where he’s Nathaniel Wayne. What’s the story? I have no idea. Perhaps he’s fleeing his own bad reputation? Perhaps a Scotsman doesn’t fit in well in an English and Dutch colony? Because he’s paralyzed with fear that if a witch speaks his name, he’ll die? Could be any of them, really. Ooh, pretty art!

Bruce remembers the Cave. Of course, we know thanks to a potion and some other craft, she’s keeping him as sort of a love-slave/prisoner. Ah, practical magick. At any rate, this woman is a naturalist. She’s English, which means she's hearkening to her pre-Christian roots, which relates to things like the Lazarus Pit Dick Grayson found in that coal mine. Amongst other things.

Scene 7:
Nathaniel Wayne is a real fucker. But he finally iterates the idea of the “devil never sleeps”, that witches have familiars. He basically acts like a living example of the very same book that he’s named himself after. This guy is insanely religious. Another reason why he might be hiding his name: maybe he's Catholic!

The real Bristol Bay is in Alaska, actually. Anyway, here we see the Mordecai painting’s origins. The question is … WHO saw it later and bought it and added it to the Wayne Family Portrait Gallery? My guess would be Bruce did, when he sees it somewhere in the Revolutionary War era, or the Wild West era. “Keep my book safe”, he says. Bruce’s book is the next mysterious item. Odds are we see it more in Return of Bruce Wayne, and there’s a very good chance it’s also the item in the mysterious casket that Joshua Wayne was holding.

It appears our Time-Squid has been busy in the woods.

A Wayne always seems to be protecting Gotham. And there’s that impending eclipse of the sun. And more of Bruce’s memories return. And we learn that he was indeed summoned. By a woman wearing the symbols of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. Practical magicians are well aware that when you want to summon a demon or spirit, you wear its symbol. In this case, the first summoning of Bruce came with Metron’s symbol, but the second with his own (and those of his friends). Is this Morrison using a sci-fi time travel story to explain how actual summonings could have happened? As focal points on the time journey of one entity? (This demon being Bruce?)

Here’s our lesson of the day for the local natives. In the 10,000+ years since Bruce inspired Anthro’s grandson to change his tribe from the Deer Tribe to the Bat Tribe … they developed into the Miagani Indians. The Bat-People. Irving really understands how to draw the Cave. Bruce knows these caves, and knows he’s not Mordecai.

Annie is a naturalist. Who worships “bright gods” (man, that sounds an awful lot like Shining Ones). The New Gods. The New Gods (or the Old) have sent her Bruce, just as they sent Bruce to Anthro. But while we know he’s been sent by Darkseid, what’s Metron’s level of involvement?

The Wheel of Time is a classic pagan element of pre-Christian Northern Europe, particularly the British Isles, Celts, druids, that sort of thing. The wheel of time represents the equinoxes and the solstices. It influences the Roman calendar, and makes note of the Lunar Phases. It’s cosmic. The Never-Ending World? I’m not as sure, but it sounds a bit like New Genesis and Apokolips. "Beyond" is a pretty telling word.

Scene 8:
It wouldn’t be Batman if it didn’t have tragedy. Of course the Puritans are after poor naturalist, practical magick, Annie. And they get her, and hang her, while Batman is busy fighting that Time-Squid and vanishing in water once again as the eclipse comes. And here I figured he’d be dunked like a witch … but at least it’s in the Cave he’s making these journeys. The Bat-Cave is being used as the means for the time-paradox Hell.

The name Annie, comes from the Hebrew name Hannah. Both are pretty common. It means “favored grace” (in this case, apparently by the New Gods). I thought the gibberish speech that Bruce hears when he’s coming to actually read a little bit like Hebrew. And hey, Kabalistic vibe shouldn’t surprise anyone. Somebody better informed will be able to figure out if there's anything to that.

The name Peck, her weasel, which the Puritans think is “surely an Imp”, has two meanings. One who lives at the foot of a mountain, or one who deals with weights and measurements. Calling this familiar an “Imp” actually bridges the gap between fairies (The Sheeda?) and demons. And hell … Leprechauns (Bat-Mite, 5th dimensional imps) … Mandragoras (Mandrakk) and Puck (Servant of … Oberon!). Hell, the Wikipedia entry for “Imp” has Mister Mxyzptlk listed under See Also:

Nathaniel Wayne: “And I’ll vow Brother Mordecai was tempted by this Jezebel to his death at the Dragon’s claws!” Christ, Nate … you just described Batman R.I.P.! But in this case, you couldn’t be more wrong. Well … sort of. A few months back I finally stumbled onto the meaning of the color purple (related to Jezebel Jet and Talia al Ghul, who have been wearing it a lot lately, along with Joker who always wore it). Love potions. It was the Oberon reference that put me onto it, Oberon famously in A Midsummer Night’s Dream crafts a love potion out of Hearts-ease (That lovely little purple flower, Jones’s mother is a florist and he’s a bit of a naturalist, so florist fun fact: Hearts-ease is one of the single most invasive European plants in America. I live in lovely rural New York, and our green hills and fields are swathed in purple wild pansies by the name of Hearts-ease. And Johnny Jump-Up. It's also the "pansies" that Ophelia talked about in Hamlet. And in the Language of Flowers symbolizes "thought" the same way roses symbolize ... well, every different color rose symbolizes something different.)

Jezebel Jet, with her perfumes and her purple dresses and her purple champagne was trying to seduce Bruce as a love-slave. Frankly, I can’t believe the bubbling, toiling liquid burning in Annie’s cauldron wasn’t purple. But at any rate, now we have an actual witch, actually making Bruce into her love-slave. But she’s a nice kid!

And as Annie’s house burns? Sure enough … Peck spies on the scene. The eyes and the ears of the Devil are everywhere. I wonder if Grant’s thought process was “I want this familiar to be an animal that has a Domino Mask pattern on its face … what are my choices? Ah … raccoon or weasel. Well, a raccoon is a little too Pocahontas for me.”

And of course … at some point a swarm of bats had to help Bruce fight this unnatural monstrosity. He kills it. He’s coated with green goo. The eclipse comes.

Scene 9:
And back to the future we go … and something very strange is happening with the Archivist as it notes the time of Annie’s death on the timeline. But why would the Archivist care? And the mystery deepens as we realize that HOLY SHIT Bruce Wayne is the bio-organic archivist. “You have no idea what I’ve just been through to get here.” He says and follows with; “So you’ll all just have to trust me.” What? But? As Superman explains … Darkseid bounced him through time on Omega Beams and booby trapped him, and if he ever gets back to the 21st Century, it’s “Darkseid’s Revenge” in the form of Batman as a Doomsday Weapon. And Batman steals Rip Hunter’s Time Sphere and the time hunters are screwed. Of course, while theories are coalescing very quickly about the nature of Bruce at the end of time vs. Bruce back in Puritan days and getting from one to the other … we can’t possibly know how this one is going to come together until, frankly, it does. Luckily The Return of Bruce Wayne is coming out rapid-fire. I wonder if this proves the "Two Bruces" theory where one Bruce becomes Doctor Hurt and the other fixes everything. After all ... with the use of a Time Sphere, Bruce could go back in time and become the black sheep Thomas Wayne Devil-worshiper.

Scene 10:
So Annie was indeed hanged. And she gives us our reveal about “Malleus” and that he was really Nathaniel Wayne. So she curses him and all his kin until the end of time, never realizing that in doing so, she’s cursing Bruce Wayne, his descendant, who she vowed to love until the end of time. But we saw Bruce AT the end of time, so perhaps he broke the curse. Or maybe it was just an idle threat.

But all is well for the Puritans … and in wonderful, ominous awesomeness we get that last panel in that era “… but the Devil was not done in Gotham.”

And Bruce awakes in the latter 1700’s, probably the 1760’s. The time of the Black Pirate. But ironically a good 50 years after Blackbeard’s reported death. But this is DC Comics. Blackbeard’s real life historical death might not mean shit here, since at the time of his REAL death he wasn’t even 40 years old yet. Ironically, Blackbeard was also from Bristol, England. His ship was called “Queen Anne’s Revenge” (Which could link it to Annie). And where he was believed killed is indeed the East Coast of the United States, in North Carolina – not too terribly far down the coast from Gotham. And not too terribly far from the port in the Chesapeake that would later become Opal City either – the place where Black Pirate apparently died.

A ship burns (Hey, burning ships … what’s up painting of Darrius Wayne during the Revolution, probably 10 years after this?) and apparently … it was the ship of the Black Pirate, and when Bruce washes ashore, Captain Blackbeard believes that Bruce is the Black Pirate himself!

And Annie’s “be mine forever” potion has worn off. And Bruce remembers “Man of Bats” and what happened to him in prehistory, but to Blackbeard he’s just a wrongly identified man raving like a lunatic. And man, when I hoped that this issue would be a lot more condensed and loaded with exposition and wild ideas than last issue, I didn’t think it would be this outrageous.

See you in a few weeks.

ULTRA-COOL BONUS PART WHERE I TALK ABOUT TIME TRAVEL IN STAR TREK
Any good Trekkie has watched every Trek episode dealing with Time Travel and viewed it both ways - as a classic "we mustn't interfere with the timeline" episode and as a "wait, were they actually DESTINED to go back in time?" episode. Deep Space Nine's "PAST TENSE" where at the end we look through the history books and realize that Benjamin Sisko was Gabriel Bell all along.

Or perhaps the best example is Harlan Ellison's infamous "THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER", which seems to fit the "we have to go back and FIX TIME!" mold ... until you realize wait a frigging second ... they DO go back and fix time. Which means that even though for a second on that planet it seemed like their history changed due to McCoy tampering with history ... Kirk and Spock were always destined to go back and fix it. (Props to its sequel episode in The Animated Series for hammering home the point, when Spock realizes that his "Cousin" from his childhood was actually HIM, when he meets his past self at that point in time and helps him, and claims to be his own cousin.)

(NO Time Travel storytelling props to Star Trek 2009, which permanently alters a timeline and then uses the old "divergent timeline" theory to justify it. If the movie had ended with Old Spock going to the Guardian of Forever and fixing it, on the other hand ...)

That's a hell of a lot of Star Trek talk for a Batman blog.

SHADOW ON STONE

2010-05-14T17:50:00.001-07:00

SHADOW ON STONE
Right off the bat let’s talk about the overall coolness of this book. It’s 37 pages long. That’s 37 pages of Morrison goodness. It’s pretty much a direct sequel to Final Crisis (Which I imagine could make or break the issue for you). But Morrison needs that 37 pages. Cavemen don’t say much, and not being especially intelligent or knowledgeable about the various occult happenings occurring in the Batman books, this first issue isn’t exactly the one where we get our groundbreaking reveals. Instead it relies on savage action. It’s pretty straightforward for a Morrison comic. It tiptoes on the boundaries of some of his usual high concepts. But mostly it sticks to its guns as Bruce lands in 10,000 BC, and we realize … my god … Bruce Wayne is the inspiration for the very same Bat-Tribe and Bat-Legends that have circulated around Gotham. So what does that say about BARBATOS?

Morrison plays with language here, opting to make the Cavemen speak English and Bruce speak gibberish, thereby giving us the tale from the Caveman point-of-view. If you’re hoping for Bruce’s inner monologues, you won’t get them. That being said, if you’ve ever read any fucking Batman in your life … you should already know what Bruce Wayne is thinking. In the meantime, Grant would rather have one “mysterious stranger” be hard to understand rather than a whole cast of people we can’t understand – that would kill the momentum of the story (well, unless he added in an Eaters of the Dead style scene where Bruce sits at the campfire and learns their language – but he didn’t. There was already enough Eaters of the Dead influence here.)

Page 1: The issue starts with some of that funky language. The kind of thing that will immediately turn off stupid readers (GOOD) as Boy sees Superman’s rocket (Launched in the final moments of Final Crisis as a sort of “TIME CAPSULE”) sticking out of the dirt and asks his father and tribesmen “What’s it of?” Welcome to Caveman speech. They don’t have all the ridiculous “in-between” words found in English. This is a base language. Even more simplistic than Latin, in a way. And here we meet our cast of heroes: The DEER TRIBE. The children of ANTHRO. Some of the earliest Cro Magnon men. There’s BOY, Anthro’s grandson. There’s MAN, Anthro’s son with the necklace, there’s GIANT, a huge blonde guy. There’s SURLY, a dark-haired skeptic, and JOKER who makes much laughter. Ugg. There’s another guy as well. To those curious … Giant has blond hair and Boy has red – the red haired mutation actually did first appear about 10,000 years ago. As a gnarly Irish Ginger, I’m happy to see it here. As for “What’s it of?” clearly there asking “Who made this thing and where did it come from?” in much simpler terms. One of the earliest basis for human science and curiosity was the belief that there were FOUR ELEMENTS. Earth, wind, fire, water. It was damn near a universal concept on Earth. European tribes, African tribes, Middle-Eastern, Asiatic, North American. Earth, wind, fire and water were a concept present EVERYWHERE. (Last seen in Grant’s run when Knight and Pearly King mentioned that there were four entrances to the Lazarus Pit mine built by ancient druids – one for each compass point, North, West, East, South. Each associated with one of the four elements. This is fundamental human science and far more easily transmutable to magick purposes as well.)

Page 2: “How is it so hard to look at?” – it’s the Stone Age. These guys aren’t familiar with metallic mirror finishes. To them, that’s practically camouflage. “Da-Man”. That would be “DAD + MAN”. U.K. and Irish readers will recognize “Da” without the extra “d” on the end.
”Old Man (Anthro) said it’s holy. Things happen here that can’t happen other wheres.” – this is reference to the fact that when Anthro “came of age” in this place, METRON appeared and taught him how to make fire. Surly says “There’s holy and there’s haunted” … clearly CAVEMEN ARE A COWARDLY AND SUPERSTITIOUS LOT … anyway, after a lot of talk about how Superman’s rocket is the same color as the sky, “Blue”, they discuss that a rival Tribe boundary is nearby, it’s not safe, and they’re looking for Old Man (Anthro). It’s interesting to contrast these savages to the street thugs Batman typically beats the crap out of. Apparently humanity hasn’t changed that much in 10,000 years.

Page 3: “What made tracks like these? Shining ones?” asks Da-Man. We recognize these babies as Batman’s bootprints. Shining Ones, again, would be METRON. Da-Man sees the cave – his caveman senses are enough to realize someone is in there so he throws a rock in. Out come the bats …

Page 4: … and the Batman. Did I mention Chris Sprouse’s artwork is fantastic? Anyway, “SHADOW ON STONE” is the title. There’s a lot of stone here, and admittedly, the “Stone” in the title is probably the STONE AGE. As for “SHADOW ON STONE” … most stories would refer to being a “SPOTLIGHT ON STONE” … but through the lens of Batman? They’re actually casting a shadow on it instead. Viewing its dark side. At the same time … “SHADOW ON STONE” is somewhat indicative of a phenomenon that occurs later in the issue – a Solar Eclipse (actually it should be referred to as a Solar Occultation) wherein the Moon blocks the Sun, and the Shadow of the huge stone Moon is cast upon the Earth.

Page 5: “I warned you!” says the superstitious SURLY. “Shush” says DA-MAN, who proceeds to ask Bruce “Where’s your tribe at?” … well … the Wayne Clan are rooted in Scotland, originally … so Bruce’s tribe, is probably somewhere on Great Britain at the moment, building henges or something. But point being … Bruce can’t understand Caveman language. And they can’t understand him. So Morrison chooses to write what Bruce is saying phonetically … “Wayrameye” … “Woddizdizplaze” … Bruce is from the U.S. Northeast Coast, specifically New Jersey, regardless of his upper class accent. To a Caveman the guy probably talks 5,000 miles per hour. “Where am I?” “What is this place?” … classic amnesia questions. DA-MAN tells GIANT to tell him who they are. DA-MAN, is Bruce really that terrifying with his blue eyes? It’s funny … the guy named “GIANT” is really only a little bigger than Bruce. Homo sapiens were pretty short back then. Bruce would be huge. His pale skin a little scary. His blue eyes ridiculously uncommon (only ever having been seen in rare places in Northern Europe). This guy is creepy to swarthy cavemen.

Page 6: GIANT introduces them all. MAN, BOY, SURLY, JOKER … at hearing his name, JOKER (clearly terrified) laughs a manic little laugh. Joker even has green eyes. It’s clearly just a nod to repeating themes throughout history, but Bruce growls at his laughing. A funny little moment. Don’t take it too seriously, kids, and naysayers … quit rolling your fucking eyes.

Page 7: They call Superman’s rocket “His sky-cart” … apparently the wheel has been invented, because “cart” requires “wheel”. Bruce sees it and says “HH.” See? We don’t need Bruce’s exact words to know what he’s thinking. We all know “HH.” means “I’m getting a clue.” It’s a dead giveaway that the wheels are spinning in Bruce’s head. At which he informs them that “The old man is dead. I’m sorry.” Yes, at the end of Final Crisis, Anthro died. And they can smell Old Man, dead in the cave. So DA-MAN goes in to get his body.

Page 8 & 9: Bruce examines the rocket. He might be an amnesiac, but his head is probably filled with images of the Present Day and even some high-tech JLA style stuff, so it must seem familiar. He opens it and finds the items Superman, Supergirl, John Stewart and the rest laid in it. Superman’s cape is fine (It’s indestructible, for those who didn’t know) but the portable Bat-Signal inside? Crumbles to dust. Apparently this rocket ship took a million years to get here. Deep in the cave, DA-MAN sees the symbols that Bruce drew on the wall. It’s not just any cave, after all … it’s the Bat-Cave. But remember as well … there’s Ice Ages and earthquakes in the meantime that will change that cave and the landscape.

Page 10: So they bring out Anthro’s body – still with Metron paint on his face to counter Anti-Life. And he had WHITE FAWN (DA-MAN’s mother) necklace. White Fawn really was married to Anthro. They talk about keeping it as an honored memento and never letting it go. Batman returns to them with Superman’s cape. VANDAL SAVAGE and the BLOOD TRIBE watch from the hills.

Page 11: They bury Anthro in a stone cairn. Don’t know what to do about Bruce, who has set up Superman’s cape like a flag on a spear or stick. Apparently it stirs some kind of notion or symbol to him. They want to know why (If he’s a Shining One: GOD) he doesn’t tell them some secret or new weapon or tool. Metron, after all, taught Anthro fire. So why wouldn’t Bruce teach them something. But irony of ironies, since he exited the Bat-Cave, filled with Bats, they call him MAN OF BATS, which is naturally the same name as the tribal warrior of the 20th Century inspired by Batman – MAN-OF-BATS, the Native-American crimefighter. Of course, Bruce’s voracious fucking appetite proves to them that “at least he eats like a man”. Recall those theories about how Bruce didn’t eat anything over the course of Morrison’s run. Well now, he’s hungry. GIANT says something that’s actually pretty frigging accurate. “I say he is a man, from across the ocean, I say.” Good call, Giant. Physiologically, Bruce being of Scots descent, that’s exactly the kind of thing Bruce should appear to be. But they sense they’re being watched, and Bruce’s ninja skills kick in with an early warning. “LOKKA!” (Look out!)

Page 12: VANDAL SAVAGE attacks, looking not a day older than he did in the Anthro scenes in Final Crisis … or, frankly … during Final Crisis, since he’s immortal. He attacks. His Blood Mob has them outnumbered, big time. DA-MAN asks Bruce to save his son. Bruce hides the kid in the bushes, takes an arrow to the shoulder, and the BLOOD MOB murders the Cavemen. Shocker, Bruce saving a kid and then helping him come of age. It’s like he was destined to bring lost young men into adulthood. He’s a mentor.

Page 13: Bruce hides BOY in the bushes while Savage’s savages slaughter our Caveman friends. Chris Sprouse adds a real sense of feral brutality here. Blunt force. Blood spatter. It’s bloody and it’s violent and it’s bone-breaking.

Page 14: Giant goes down last of all, full of arrows. Vandal Savage kills him. Then Bruce makes his move, drop-kicking Vandal in the face. Moving like Batman moves … cat-like … ninja-like …

Page 15: It’s quite the action scene, actually. Bruce makes Vandal eat rock. Unfortunately for Bruce, Vandal has a LOT of tribesmen who pin him with ridiculously strong caveman hands, and Vandal picks up a rock, and in a moment that’s as much a tribute to GREG RUCKA’S Crime Bible stuff as any of Grant’s Batwoman scenes were … Vandal Savage, CAIN, the first murderer on Earth, knocks out Bruce with a rock and red rage. The rock is stained red in the firelight. And they drag everything back to camp. Vandal keeps WHITE FAWN’S necklace as a trophy. They’re probably going to cannibalize the DEER TRIBE.

Page 16 & 17: Back at the camp, which Grant initially described as “Apocalypse Now”. Skulls on sticks everywhere. Bonfires and savages eating red meat. Vandal arrives at the top of a bluff and tosses Bruce down the hill. His minions also carried Superman’s rocket all the way back. And here’s the part where Grant wrote in the giant Bat that Andy Kubert drew – it’s been skinned and perched atop the various skulls – yet another conquest of Vandal Savage. Some prehistoric DC Comics bat that would make cryptozoologists worldwide giddy, and real scientists cringe. That’s comics!

Page 18: Vandal is a notorious cannibal, so the idea is when the sun comes up, he’s going to eat Bruce Wayne for breakfast. Meanwhile, BOY, with Batman’s utility belt in tow, has snuck along behind and spies on them from the hills.

Page 19: Vandal is going to eat his brain. He grabs two women to go mate with (we see Vandal with harems a lot lately – in Final Crisis: Revelations he had the Anti-Life zombie, pre-Female Fury Catwoman and Batwoman hanging all over him). And damn he’s hairy.

Page 20: Once again, history repeats itself. Here’s Bruce with his arms and legs splayed and tied to spikes in the ground. He’s bleeding. He’s exhausted. And he’s the Batman tied up in a death-trap. Yeah, this will last. Stupid Cavemen.

Page 21: Once more, a very Apocalypse Now moment, where he’s sick from the cold and blood loss and he’s laying there hallucinating. Vandal comes off much like Marlon Brando did in Apocalypse Now, in fact, an “adopted leader” of a savage tribe using them and doing what he wants. Bruce is hallucinating under the shadow of the hide of the massive prehistoric bat. Wolves (the earliest form of domesticated dog, actually) are circling in the distance. And he hallucinates that the dead Bat comes to life with a crackle of strange symbols, almost as if the giant Bat’s spirit is awakening before his eyes. Appropriate, although he’s clearly feverish.

Page 22: And so Bruce dreams, and his first batch of memories come back to him – the basics. He sees skulls, skulls, skulls, the giant Bat. And familiar words cycle through his mind. “NIGHT (“I must be a creature of the night”). TERROR (“Must be able to strike terror into their hearts!”). SUPERSTITIOUS (“Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot.”). OMEN (“A bat! That’s it! It’s an omen. I shall become a bat!”). CREATURE (“I must be a creature of the night.”). BLACK (“Black, terrible.”). TERRIBLE (“Ditto.”). BAT (“A bat!”). DISGUISE (“So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts!”). MAN. BAT.” All words directly ripped from Batman’s original origin – “The Legend of the Batman and How He Came to Be.” From 1939 or whatever. It’s been shown and shown again over the years, but always tends to stay true to Bob Kane’s original version. And BOY arrives and wakes him up. Boy has painted his eyes with warpaint that’s shockingly close to a domino mask like the kind, oh, ROBIN, would wear. He’s brought Bruce’s utility belt.

Page 23: He cuts Bruce free. (Really, not much to this page. Like I said, when “EVERY PAGE” isn’t loaded with symbolism or themes, Morrison is being a lot more straightforward than is normal.)

Page 24: He gives Bruce the utility belt, and immediately Bruce’s reaction to battle his fever and infection is to down two or three penicillin. He lays back for a moment regaining his faculties. BOY wants to leave now to warn the DEER PEOPLE that Savage is coming for them. Savage snores. Bruce doesn’t give up advantages.

Page 25: Morning comes. Savage wakes up and calls on his tribesmen to come watch him kill and eat the mysterious stranger. But he’s gone. Untied. The dogs are dead. Vandal screams “SHOW YOURSELF” which is never good news.

Page 26: The Batman strikes, now wearing the Kubert-style Caveman Batman costume. Smashes Vandal’s head into the ground.

Page 27: Lurks in the mist. Vandal asks “What are you?” … Bruce pulls the classic “Batman doesn’t talk” routine and scares away Vandal’s backup with micro-flash grenades. Vandal manages to get Bruce by the throat (never let it be said Vandal isn’t a tough son of a bitch) and accuses him of being a sorcerer. Bruce pepper-sprays him.

Page 28: Then kicks him in the chest. BOY attacks using the symbol of a bat, telling the Blood Mob that the DEER PEOPLE are gone and the BAT PEOPLE are here, officially giving birth to the Bat-Tribes that will birth the Miagani Indian Tribe later.

Page 29: Savage’s spear vs. Bruce’s grapple gun. Grapple gun wins. Bruce gets him in the guts, gives him the old “GET OVER HERE” like Scorpion, then knocks Vandal out.

Page 30: Caveman Batman money shot. Batman standing over Vandal Savage’s beaten body.

Page 31: BOY warns that Vandal Savage has angered the sun, and in the sky we see an eclipse forming. Batman says “HH.” Once more, possibly piecing together clues. He gives the kid back his grandmother’s necklace and bids him to follow. We’ll recall from BATMAN VS. ROBIN that Dick Grayson found Bruce’s cloak in the BARBATOS cave on some antlers with an Eclipse drawn over top of it.

Page 32: The scared Blood Tribe comes back, not quite finished. They throw spears, loose arrows. Bruce and the kid run, and Bruce makes him jump off a cliff with a waterfall into a deep pool, even as the Solar Eclipse (Occultation) reaches its maximum. Side note: Is this waterfall the same waterfall that Bruce Wayne drives his Batmobile through to get into the Bat-Cave? Historically one of his Bat-Cave entrances has always been hidden behind a waterfall.

Page 33: BOY surfaces to go on and found the BAT TRIBE. Bruce doesn’t. An eclipse … and a dunking? Something supernatural just happened. I believe I recall from Constantine that “magical teleportation” is easier in a liquid medium. Something similar from Lovecraft’s Chthulu mythos comes to mind, that a “BIRTH of the UNHOLY” is easier under water as well. It lubricates the magical doorway opening. Like the principal that giving birth underwater makes it easier. Or does Bruce Wayne have to drown during an eclipse each time to zip or zap into the next era? (For instance, in the Puritan era will he be “Dunked” as a witch? In the Pirate era will he be tied to a heavy weight and “sunken” to Davy Jones’ Locker? In the Private Eye days will he be given cement shoes and sunk in Gotham River?)

Page 34: Vandal Savage is cast out of the Blood Mob Tribe for offering false promises and angering the sun. Then something happens. Lightning and white lights. The Blood Mob are terrified. A subtle nod that “Superheroes are gods” in this Universe, and are the “modern mythology” in ours.

Page 35: Of shining ones! GODS! Actually, it’s a time-traveling Superman, Hal Jordan, Booster Gold and Rip Hunter. Two time travelers, and DC’s two heaviest hitters – Superman with his super-senses, and Hal with his ring that could track just about anything. They know Bruce was here, but Superman can’t hear his heartbeat (which he’d recognize). He assures a skeptical Booster and Hal that Batman will survive … but reaffirms that IF BRUCE RETURNS ON HIS OWN “EVERYONE DIES!” – there’s our doomsday clock. We know this is the cast of TIME MASTERS: VANISHING POINT … a “companion” to Return of Bruce, albeit not vital to the Batman story. Is it that crossover-ish or what? Huh? Didn’t Dick say “ALERT THE JUSTICE LEAGUE” when he realized what was descending on Gotham? Satanism? Doctor Hurt? Joker’s back? Sacrifices?

Page 36: Bruce finds himself underwater. He gets pulled out, by a Puritan woman. He wonders where the BOY went. She calls him Master Demon. There’s a dead Puritan in the water with a sword.

Page 37: And some glowing green demonic kraken bursts out of the water, maybe it followed him, maybe it’s a monster summoned by a witch. He raises the sword and moves to kill it. I’d be willing to bet that Puritan guy’s clothes end up on Bruce soon. Who’s the chick? Is one of them Ebeneezer Badde? Is that Klarion’s mom? (Just throwing things out there … not much to tell about RETURN OF BRUCE # 2 yet … but it’s only two weeks away so I’ll spare the frivolous theories and be back in two weeks, SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT CHANNEL!)

MEXICAN TRAIN

2010-05-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Aquaman kicked ass this week as well. But where are we?

MEXICAN TRAIN

Wayne Family Cemetery
Page 1: Primarily this picks up where the cliffhanger left off. Robin (Damian) has just attacked Batman (Dick) and Batman would very much like to know why. “You almost killed me,” Dick says, and indeed we see that his bat-emblem has crumpled – apparently after being shot point-blank in the chest by Jason Todd, the Red Hood, about seven issues ago, he added some extra chest protection, in the form of a thin layer of extra breakaway padding shaped like the classic Batman logo.

Keep your eyes on Oberon Sexton. In fact … I can wait. Go back and re-read EVERY SINGLE instance of Oberon Sexton appearing. Enjoy yourself as you realize I’m a genius! (Well, maybe not a genius … but if you want … please, go and read my article “Joker III: I can do this, too!” or whatever the hell I named that particular Blog Entry. Where I list all the references to The Killing Joke and make my arguments for why Oberon Sexton simply must be The Joker in disguise.

Slade goes for the old “shovel takes out groin” cliché. Apt to use it on Dick Grayson, who is a well-known romancer of super-heroines.

Quick jump over to Talia’s base-of-operations, where Slade’s loving it …
Page 2: Deathstroke doesn’t even want to kill Dick Grayson so much as cripple him. The last few issues I’ve been voicing my curiosity at why Grant Morrison used Deathstroke the Terminator instead of say … SHRIKE … or even Jason Todd, given his ties to Talia. This issue very poignantly tells us that Slade, like Talia, “had his kid get turned into a good guy by Dick Grayson”. Damian trained with Dick and became Robin. Rose trained with Dick and became, well, Ravager. But she’s a Teen Titan now. So these two “evil parents” have that in common. And we all slap our foreheads and say “Guh … of bloody course.” I’ve been eager to get to that point since I read the preview.

Page 3: And here’s our “title page”. We’re at the fullest extent of the “Batman vs. Robin” aspect of it. The Mexican Train is coming to Gotham. Andy Clarke knocks this page out of the park, actually. Not all his frames this issue are “pure genius”, but they all definitely suffice (a handful are a little stiff and lacking in the best possible “camera placement”. But some of the ones he really put some effort into really more than make up for it.)

Oh, P.S. … Dustin Nguyen, Paul Dini’s usual collaborator, did some art here, too. See if you can spot it.

Page 4: The “juice” is turned up on this electronic kid-puppet machine so when Dick gives a classic high kick to Damian’s guts, Slade feels it hardcore. He’s about to be the victim of their own over-enthusiastic willingness to try this crazy super sci-fi technology out for evil purposes. And worse still … he told Batman who he was through Damian’s mouth and now Dick is ready to hand out some serious fucking ass-kicking.

Page 5: Talia’s scientists seem awfully concerned for the kid all the time. Could it be they’re more proud of “their baby” than she, the DNA donor is? Probably. But what wrongfully used sci-fi technology would be complete without its scientists yelling “it’s too dangerous!”

Slade complains about Damian’s muscles jamming up from the kick from Grayson. Slade being a super-soldier isn’t used to the normal reactions people have to tremendous pain. He also pushes kids waaaaaaaay harder than he should, and is notorious for it. In fact …

DEATHSTROKE.
A perfect member of the “Dick Grayson” Rogues Gallery. If Dick is the “sidekick who is groomed to be the perfect super-hero, then Deathstroke is the opposite of that – the wicked mentor, who wants to pervert sidekicks or junior heroes to evil purposes. Which is why that storyline in the Teen Titans Go! Cartoon where he wanted Dick to be his assassin apprentice worked so well.

Damian’s line … “Graaa … Slade … wearing me like a glove.” Apt considering the circumstances. But let’s not forget the context here. They’re surrounded by “Fiends” who are henchmen of Doctor Hurt, the Black Glove, and “Demonic Possession” is almost definitely involved. So Slade becomes a Demon, possessing Damian’s body. And Talia is a Demon as well – Talia al Ghul, Daughter of the Demon. Who is in fact possessing the albino body of his son, the White Ghost, these days. The al Ghul family do some Demonic Possession via science. The other side? Via black magic, of course! So Batman has two “Demonic” organizations out to get him, one that uses cutting edge science and the other that uses the occult.

Oberon Sexton … “Unnnh. Batman … Robin … we have company …” – Grant’s still playing coy with the dialogue. Really, if anything, the fact that Joker isn’t so bat-shit crazy that he can actually do things like … invent a fake ID … sit down long enough to write a book … and stick with a fake accent and really work the whole “master of disguise” angle is pretty impressive. But we should know by know how dedicated he is to his routines.

Page 6: Help me identify these new members of the “99 Fiends”. Fat guy with bull on his trench coat. Girl with flamethrower and leopard print. Alfred’s comment about the water cannon – the water cannon in the new Batmobile was used in … let me think … Paul Dini’s first few issues of Streets of Gotham to battle Firefly … I think? Or was it Judd Winnick’s arc? At any rate … it has a water cannon.

Page 7: Grant, never one to not use something cool that he introduced, gives us the awesome return of the electrified bat knuckle dusters. Originally intended for use in “electro-shocking” the zombie Bruce Wayne in case it was crazy from Lazarus treatment … here they are again … for what? Why … Dick Grayson proves that he is in fact the master, when he pins Damian to a tree and gives him 5,000 volts to the heart like a defibrillator machine. And Slade, who’s an old bastard with heightened senses and nerves … has a heart murmur!

Page 8: I like Andy Clarke’s artwork fine, by the way (Although his Talia is a little on the scary Botox-faced whore side) … but this is actually the first page in three issues where Slade Wilson has looked like Slade Wilson and not a little on the frumpy, terrible art side. Anyway, like the scientist conveniently says, “Mr. Wilson’s enhanced senses are making him vulnerable!” and Dick Grayson pulled a … well, a “Bat-God Moment” and gave Slade Wilson a shot to the heart from 5,000 miles away.

So, the whole strange “Talia uses Deathstroke to mind-control Damian in “another form of Demonic Possession” angle” over … Grayson gets back to business. The cemetery is crawling with Doctor Hurt’s minions. Oberon Sexton is there and he’s the freaking Joker in disguise still. (Hence Dick’s “What the HELL are YOU doing here?” line … which doesn’t quite get answered this issue, but let’s face it, Joker’s technically “known” Bruce was Batman since during R.I.P., when Bruce ripped his mask off. Joker simply didn’t give a fuck. But not giving a fuck doesn’t mean he won’t get involved here, it just means he’s not the type of guy to go blabbing that information to every Two-Face, Deathstroke and Penguin he sees. In fact, he’s been far too busy anyway, getting in touch with rare contacts around the globe (All speculative) like Pearly King Charlie English and Pearly Prince “Smooth” Eddie English in the U.K., and others elsewhere, to track and kill Black Glove members. Not to mention the whole “Invent fake ID, go on book tour, adhere to the fake accent, stay in hotels, think up jokes, and do detective work” angle.

Page 9: So our new “Fiends” have arrived, and they’ve picked up the Casket (The Joshua Wayne casket Dick found in the Cave) and they escape with it. Whatever is in it is terribly, epically important, and I’m sure we’ll find out in two weeks, or in Return of Bruce Wayne. But meanwhile, back to identifying these new “Demons” in Hurt’s employ.

Fat guy. Trench coat. Bull motif. Cargo pants.
Pyromaniac girl. Flamethrower. Polk adot shirt.
Pyromaniac guy. Flamethrower. Hideous checkered sweater.
“Leader” type. Black trench. Spiky Mohawk. Tattoo of a … griffin? … on his head.

Damian says “I’m all right … but there’s something funny about him” regarding Sexton. Hilarious bit of foreshadowing. It was that moment that I knew my assumption about Sexton was correct. Awesome. Anyway, Sexton says “No hospital (They’d make him take off his disguise) … my hotel … please … we must talk … I fear this is only the beginning.” – This is JOKER saying this. So either it’s that bad, or he wants to talk to the “new” Batman on his own terms. Obviously staying in the Gotham Grand Hotel is what a touring comedian would do (Can’t believe I didn’t see the significance of the Hotel for an “in-town act”) … but Joker really wants to talk to Dick Grayson. We don’t get the scoop, on account of the Joker reveal is the cliffhanger. Tune in next week, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel, I guess, to learn what Joker wants to talk to Dick Grayson about.

Oh yeah, and back at Talia’s HQ, Deathstroke is having a seizure. Nice, Dick.

Page 10: Side note to the annotating here … but this is the first awkward transition this issue and not the last. Usually I chuckle when Morrison quickly leaps to the next scene and assumes you can figure out the rest, but this time it wasn’t as slick. I’m not sure why, but I think it might be Clarke’s stiff art style. Whatever the case, the transition seemed more abrupt than usual, the usual being something I love, and this particular one feeling awkward.

“This” is what happened to Dick Grayson in that Barbatos cavern under the cemetery. He was attacked by a giant bat. Surrounded by smokes and hocus pocus. Obviously the occult, devil worship, crazy dark arts are factoring in here. He’s seeing patterns. We’re getting patterns in the form of the Return issues, their eras, and all the “Bat” related mythos surrounding Gotham. At any rate, their recovery seems to be in the Bat-Cave. Not Dick’s Bat-Bunker, but the genuine Bat-Cave, since this whole night has taken place at Wayne Manor already anyway. No sense driving all the way into town to mend Dick’s busted ribs. And Damian wants to talk to his mother.

Page 11: They go over what concrete evidence they actually found, if any. Here we get some more factoids about Wayne Manor. It was designed by a man named Nathan Van Derm (Oh, we’ll be meeting him, no frigging doubt.) for Darius Wayne in 1795. That sits right – one of Morrison’s original sources, a map of Wayne Manor from post-Infinite Crisis, states that the Manor was built in 1795 (another contradicts it, but he picked the one that worked better for him). Darius Wayne is of course, the Revolutionary War Hero. Thomas Wayne, the devil worshiping bastard who is pretty much Doctor Hurt/Barbatos/El Penitente … well, we know from Batman: The Cult and Batman: Dark Kngiht, Dark City that those devil worshipers were back in 1760. A full 35 years before Darius Wayne had the mansion built on the grounds that he probably inherited from his devil-worshiping Uncle Thomas. Since the Revolutionary War itself was in 1776, a good 11 years after the devil worship, there’s plenty of time to work with. Also, take note – the Black Pirate, who Batman will be teaming up with in his Pirate-themed third issue of Return of Bruce Wayne – was operating during the Revolutionary War period. That being said … Blackbeard, also rumored to be in that issue … was long dead by then, having operated in the Golden Age of Piracy – the late 1600’s. So maybe we’ll see Blackbeard’s Ghost?

Anyway, Wayne Manor is shaped like a stylized W. With the lych-way (the corpse road, a nicer word for it) to ALAN WAYNE’s crypt (who is Alan Wayne? Another question … gah), anyway, the designs for the crypt added onto the Manor overview shows a Bat-Signal. And Dick voices the opinion that the casket that was stolen by the Black Glove’s people is the key to this whole thing.

Another cool moment. They get ready to go visit Talia. Very matter-of-factly. Alfred, who had been blindfolded the whole way, left a tracker at the place so they could get there if need be. Dick has him refuel the Bat-Rocket, last seen in Batman & Son. And they go! As if it’s just a quick trip to the corner store.

Page 12: A very nonchalant page. Panel to panel it just skips to the new Batmobile (which can apparently piggyback on the Bat-Rocket, we never even see it) outside Talia’s Man-Bat Ninja fortress. Walking down the halls using the electrified dusters on ninjas. And they just march in.

Page 13: And Dick smashes the machine that enables them to control Damian. Lectures Talia. Talia barks back about how Dick is using mind-control, too. Dick lectures her back about Bruce’s wishes and qualities. She offers him the chance to go. He won’t go without Damian. Damian wants to talk to his mother alone for a minute. So Batman very nonchalantly again, passes the time by visiting the medical wing and beating Deathstroke out of his hospital bed. Mentions Deathstroke’s connection to the destruction of Bludhaven (Dick’s old haunts) during Infinite Crisis, tells Slade this small beatdown is just the prelude to the next time they meet.

Page 14: The Mom and Son talk. Damian is going to continue being Robin. Talia practically disowns him. She shows him that she’s got another clone, Damian II, all ready to go, a fetus in a tank that’ll be 10 years younger than him. Reveals some tiny tidbits about the process that hint at Damian’s true lineage.

Page 15: Talia’s motivations made a little clearer. And she really doesn’t take Dick seriously. He’s nothing but a “circus boy” to her.

Page 16 & 17: Finally, more Andy Clarke architecture. Here he excels in ways the other B&R artists haven’t. A great, but short two-page spread where we see an elevated train (Very “Batman: Year One” looking) pull into town. At the train station awaits a bunch of Gotham Gangsters, all wearing Domino Masks, awaiting whoever is on the train. They talk about how Red Hood (Jason) killed the gangsters (Morrison finally names the rest of them, although we saw the names in Batman Reborn Hardcover as well – Bullet-Nose, Aitch-Eyes, High-Rise Romero and Gentleman-G.) Anyway, they talk about how vigilantes in Gotham are hard as hell, but that “Penitente” has it all worked out. We get the usual “in forty-eight hours, Gotham will be on its knees” claptrap.

Cut quick to the 99 Fiends walking into town, bringing the casket they stole from Grayson along, asking the same questions, about Batman. The Mexican Train is in this case an actual train, rolling in from Mexico, carrying Doctor Hurt and Senator Vine, the last member of the Black Glove (I thought the Glove was all dead … but then again, Doctor Hurt has TWO hands.) and anyway, Vine (Bat-scholars, help me out, is Vine preexisting?) mentions that somebody is coming for the Glove members. They hint at Joker.

Page 18: Back in the chamber with the Barbatos statue, there’s no giant bat that Dick thought he fought. They’re assuming it was a hallucination (again, possibly black magic – but then again, there’s that giant bat from Return of Bruce # 1 to think about …) at any rate, there’s no bat shit on the floor, no smell, but there is Batman’s (Bruce’s) cape and cowl hanging from antlers with a sun overtop of it and some sort of well.

Page 19: “Alert the Justice League”. That pretty well sets up “Rip Hunter: Time Master” by Dan Jurgens, I doubt Morrison will give it more than a word after that. “Thomas Wayne, Barbatos, devil worship and the underground railroad. Everything’s connected and it’s all coming to a head. It’s one big pattern.” – Sure is, Dick. We’ve done enough theorizing and it’s been spread over enough months that I don’t feel like getting deep into theories just this moment. I’m ready to just read along now and find out. Dick has his theory about Sexton, too. Dick figured it out. Did you? (I did!)

Page 20: Joker’s not that fond of all the “police protection”. He asks if “Wayne” had anything to say. Does he know Tommy Elliot is pretending to be Bruce? Does he know Darkseid zapped Bruce? Does he figure Bruce’s “crazy act” lately is because of his own nerve toxin? Joker jokes about how Damian asked if he was Bruce Wayne – basically stating that Damian is nowhere near the level of detective that Dick, Jason or Tim are.

Page 21: Dick says he misses some obvious clues. For instance, the deaths have in common something, and he doesn’t mean the Black Glove, or the Dominoes. He means the oil sheikh choking on peanuts in the restroom. The murders themselves. Are jokes!

Page 22: The Joker! Ta-da!

Not much more to say. Tons more questions, all which’ll be answered in the coming weeks. New issues every week for multiple weeks. Lots and lots of resolutions coming. Roller coaster rides.

But I will say, it’s wickedly appropriate that somebody pointed out the jokes seem to be based around “dirty jokes” (Sheikh’s peanuts in the bathroom” … “shakes penis in the bathroom”. “Russian Generals in an alligator’s mouth”. Putting genitals in an alligator’s mouth.” Etc …) and that’s exactly how Joker would see the Black Glove – lude, corrupt, rich, perverts and scandalous types. They’re one big dirty joke. And so he’s killing them using dirty jokes.

So where does that leave us?

With questions. What's in the casket? Another Damian baby? How's Bruce getting back? What's Thomas's deal? Is Barbatos a real frigging demon?

Oh yeah, and El Penitente's entire organization is converging on Gotham, all the gangsters who want to survive are allying themselves with him, and Joker's on ... the good guys' team?!