SHADOW ON STONE

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

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?!

BONEYARD

BONEYARD

Scene … actually let’s start with the cover this time.
Question marks abound, as Robin stands side-to-side with Oberon Sexton, who most gallant readers have either theorized is Bruce Wayne (Many believing he is once more amnesiac) or else The Joker in some twisted homage to the Batman. The cover doesn’t do much to help, except emphasize his “Gravediggeriness”. However, a peek of pale skin (indeterminate whether it’s pasty white or just fair) peeks from his sleeve. His black mask could still suggest a cut smile underneath. The trenchcoat? I own a black rain-slicker a bit shorter than that, but I’ll say that raincoats with mantle-like flaps down the top are THE # 1 article of clothing for making a skinny person seem broader. But your guess is as good as mine.

Scene … wait now let’s do the TITLE.
“BONEYARD” … as in, a pile of Dominoes. All 99 Fiends piling onto this here Mexican Train.

Scene 1: El Penitente’s Drug Mansion in Mexico
Confirmation if anyone needed it. El Penitente is Doctor Hurt. Now who is Doctor Hurt? Well, we’re getting there. Morrison wisely gives us most of our information but has something so crucial and juicy in that last tilt of his hand that he won’t reveal the whole thing just yet. There’s more to it. He may be Thomas Wayne, but there’s more to it. Still, everything checks out.

Scourging. Repentance. Purely for the sake of decadence, as we’ll see in a moment, he’s so decadent he’s just fucking with this poor Padre.

Double-U as “Double You” – it’s the Japanese who use their form of “W” (Daburu) as an ideogram for “double”. Just off the top of my head, there hasn’t been much Japanese folklore incorporated into R.I.P. or Reborn, but there was Bruce Wayne reclaiming the mantle by way of the Bat Tengu Demon back in KnightsEnd. Just a stray thought.

His talk about “the Dark Twin” is, I think, a nice red herring – still claiming things that are vague enough to match up with fan theories. This time, the long-held claim that maybe, just maybe, he’s Thomas Wayne, Jr. – Bruce’s “long lost brother” who in Crime Syndicate Earth is actually Owl-Man. Many a fan has speculated that particular Thomas was Hurt. In this case I think it’s more metaphorical – or even prophetic. Due to crazy time hijinx, historical destiny and weird deals with demons and soul-swapping, these two are “dark mirrors of one another”. One the “Bat” and the other the slave of the Bat Demon. Reclaim what was always rightfully mine indicates as an outcast/black sheep of the Wayne Family, he was cast out for his Devil Worship, ostracized and shunned. Cut out of the will. Probably Darius Wayne was his brother or his brother’s son (his nephew) and Darius got everything, including the land, whereupon he began construction of Wayne Manor, which was later completed by Civil War era Joshua & Solomon.

Sure enough, this is a Batman comic. Hurt is hiding out as the El Penitente Cartel, and therefore, the D.E.A. is destroying the place. But Hurt doesn’t care. He has no soul, he just walks to the usual mode of transportation, a chopper, and leaves. Take him home, to Gotham. One way or another, he’s from Gotham.

Notice when he says “The Mask of the Penitent One” has served its purpose, his face is revealed to some extent in a way it hasn’t been before. His Doctor Hurt haircut swept back, shown as being a bit more silver/white. If it’s not just coloring choice, if his hair is actually white, he’s got to be far older than a potential “Brother”. As a 250 year old possibly Devil possessed or soulless immortal bastard, white hair would be the standard.


Scene 2: Dick Grayson in the Cult Chamber
Fresh paint … “within a year, maybe”. Oh hey! Batman R.I.P. was a year ago! And Dick Grayson, ever the boy wonder, follows the old clichés and stands on the Bat Seal, and a passageway opens with a rail tunnel, indicating that however long ago the Corpse Road was built … somebody was still using it for something by the time railroads came along (Joshua & Solomon – Especially considering one of them might very well be Bruce). Oh, also … YET ANOTHER mention of an “Underground Railroad”. First the actual Underground Railroad that was hidden in the Bat-Cave. Then the further mention last issue. Plus the Subways used by the British villains. Add to that the NYC subways from 7 Soldiers and the Gotham subways that Cave Carson found Bruce’s marks in. Morrison is really crazy about underground railways, now.

Scene 3: Oberon & Damian in the Graveyard with the Shovel
Belial Twins speak as one. Duke Vepar. We covered them last issue. Naberius, dog of Hell. Calls himself a dog, supposedly appears as a three-headed one. Also as a Crow, and hey, he’s got a pet Crow. That explains the jacket with the feathers, too. Couldn’t place that one last issue. Apparently Naberius isn’t shovel-proof. Damian beating down Zepar is appropriate, since the guy is supposedly a pederast. Oddly enough … here they call him Duke Vepar, but last issue he was Duke Zepar. I wonder if Morrison is combining the two on purpose.

But of course, in our “Batman vs. Robin” angle, Damian’s new spine isn’t the miracle cure he wanted it to be. It’s remote controllable, and Talia is testing him out. World’s worst mother. And in comes the character everyone was curious about, the “old enemy” of Dick Grayson. I theorized Morrison would pick a lesser known like Shrike, but in this case, Talia’s puns prove to be not subtle at all. Blatant, snarky teasing of Slade’s codename.

Scene 4: Talia’s HQ
A bit of Talia & Slade’s history: Talia and Slade are both MASTER ranking members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Specifically, the Modern incarnation formed by Alexander Luthor prior to Infinite Crisis. These two were at the tippy-top. They came out of Infinite Crisis relatively unscathed, although Batman and Nightwing did beat the crap out of Slade. ONE YEAR LATER, he made a point of screwing with Batgirl Cassandra Cain – a move sure to keep him in Talia’s good graces, since she HATES Cain. During Final Crisis, Deathstroke and Talia were once more sitting at the head of the table in Libra’s new Society and they avoided enslavement by Darkseid. However, Slade didn’t fare so well. In the midst of the Submission month, Geo-Force actually cut Slade’s throat and it hasn’t healed as well as he’d like. Meanwhile, he’s about to launch his own mercenary super-villain team. They’ll probably remain loosely affiliated with Talia, although I doubt they’ll be an unofficial branch of the League of Assassins any time soon. Talia al Ghul seems to be offering Slade a favor in return for one he might’ve paid.

Scene 5: Back in the Graveyard
Alfred playing “Command Unit” in the flying Batmobile is neat. Sexton beats down Belial with his shovel, and what hurts one seems to Tomax & Xamot-like hurt the other, although it’s not as precise as that. Dick’s response to Sexton being on the premises? “Sexton? Ha.” … Recall last issue when Dick said there was something familiar about Oberon Sexton. He seems to have some idea who it might be, expects this all to go very smoothly.

Scene 6: The Corpse Road
This is the place where Joshua Wayne was standing in his painting. (And here I thought it was the library). A separate cave. Dick questions Bruce not knowing about it, and Morrison once again brings up a fan complaint the very next issue, covering all the bases – just all in good time – as Dick asks Alfred about the repairs to the mansion after Cataclysm. Alfred informs him that it was only parts of the Cave and West Wing that were messed up.

And therein Dick finds a stalactite that’s been carved into the likeness of Barbatos, the Devil-Bat-Demon that the Miagani Tribe worships. Possibly the Giant Bat that Batman skins back in 10,000 B.C. and wears like a Batman costume. In fact, it would be hilarious of Bruce killed Barbatos back then, launching this whole Demonic feud.

Half-Human, Half-Bat. We know Barbatos is the Miagani Bat-Demon, but this is the first time I’ve heard “Human & Bat”. That kind of points to the “bat shadow” that attacked and stopped Barbatos from possessing the Wayne girl in the flashbacks in Dark Knight, Dark City. But it was Bruce that Barbatos was calling the “Bat-Man”.

There’s apparently some kind of energy source within the Barbatos shrine. Of course, the next time we see Dick, he emerges from the Wayne Crypt saying “HE FOUND IT! HE FOUND …” and he gets attacked. But clearly next issue we’ll find exactly what he found. Clues from Bruce Wayne himself. The secret of the Barbatos shrine. The Garden of Death. The mysterious energy source.

Scene 7: Meanwhile, back in the Graveyard again …
I questioned the actual level of demonic possession these patsy assholes might have, but Naberius seems to actually sense that Barbatos is waking up. One has to admit, that Oberon’s style of choking out Naberius and slamming him against a headstone to interrogate him is very much in Bruce Wayne’s style.

Alfred mentions Alan Wayne’s crypt, which is the centerpiece in the Garden of Death. So that’s the significance of the Alan Wayne stone last issue. More than just a nod to either Alan Moore or Alan Grant, it’s the stone from the era where the design of the Garden of Death began. Alan Wayne MAY just be the first Wayne who moved from Scotland/England to America. Thomas could be his son or brother, as could Darius.

Sexton recognizes all the demonic names from Demonology (Goetia, Lesser Key of Solomon, and all the other handy stuff I references last time around). He’s thorough. Knows a lot. It’s only natural that Damian suspects he might be Bruce Wayne, and he recognizes the fake accent, too. Sexton find a Domino on the assassin. Or does he? He might be LEAVING a Domino. That doesn’t stop Damian from asking him if he’s Bruce Wayne.

Damian’s piecing together clues, too. Sexton is not who he says he is. These hired hands have nothing to do with the Domino Killer. This guy is looking for something special, but he doesn’t know all the facts.

And naturally, Deathstroke takes over Damian’s body, cracks Sexton with a shovel (Knocking his red-tinted shades off, so we’ll see his eyes if we see his face. Then Dick exits the crypt with the new information and looking like shit – like he’s just been beat up by a demon, and he’s holding the very same coffer casket with the Bat logo on it that Joshua Wayne was holding in the painting (Bruce Wayne’s journal?). And Damian attacks him and sets “Batman vs. Robin” into full swing, although it’s obviously more Deathstroke vs. Batman.

And worst of all, the “99 Fiends” are there. 99 attackers ready to kill. Oberon barely recovered and a total mystery. Slade ready to kill Grayson. Tension levels at 1,000,000 and rising.

The teaser indicates next month we’ll get more Slade/Damian vs. Dick, getting desperate. We’ll get the true identity of Oberon Sexton revealed fully. We’ll learn the secret of the Dominoes (next issue looks like it’ll be called MEXICAN TRAIN and will finally explain that) and Hurt will arrive and give all the dirty decadent details about his tenure as El Penitente.

Can’t wait, Bat-Fans, because unfortunately, being the middle chapter of a 3-parter, Morrison did what he always did, and this issue really didn’t have that much to dissect. It moved the action along nice, set everything up beautifully for the third act, brought in Slade for the quick cash money surprise, and left us hanging with even more questions. And we're looking at a full-scale collision between Black Glove/Penitente interests and League of Assassins/Society interests.

On the art side of things, Andy Clarke loosened up and continued his A-Game on the architecture. Some of the faces are still a little weird, but none as bad as last issue. Slade looks a little youthful, though. And Talia still looks a little odd. But overall, less weird moments than last time out.

My Kingdom for a Seahorse ...

Well, it's about time I sat down and gave the King of the Seven Seas his proper write-up. Others have gone written far more focused accounts of exactly why Aquaman hasn't had the run of luck Batman or Superman has had in Rogues (Of which, Aquaman finds a middle ground. Not as great a gallery as Batman or Flash. Not as Bad as Wonder Woman or the rest. About on par with Green Lantern really, he just has yet to have Geoff Johns come along and refresh his whole stockpile of enemies). His setting and why a golden undersea city, possibly the most ancient on Earth, is less iconic than the greasy skyline of Gotham or the cutting spires of Metropolis (In a pinch? Lack of clear artistic flair. The best artist to interpret it is Alex Ross, and JUSTICE isn't in-continuity). His lot in life (Which again, actually falls in the middle. People assume it must be dismal, but actually, Aquaman is in a place much like Green Lantern and Flash were. He peaked early on, then basically got dragged down in the 90's during the time of Knightfall and Death of Superman. Very much like Green Lantern, in fact. Even his "Volumes" almost match up with the volumes of Green Lantern.

So what is it I have to say about Aquaman that hasn't been said? Well ... first and foremost you should know I've put a great deal of thought into how to make Aquaman a great comic. I've got a twenty-five issue run plotted, loaded with pagan myths, threats, and filled to the brim with the strangest mysteries and creatures of the ocean's depths. And the coolest ones, too. And it's basically a Sergio Leone film adapted for the ocean floor.

But just to give people an overall feel for the life of Aquaman, I'm going to put together, here, now, a quick timeline like the one I did a few weeks ago for Batman. This is by no means anywhere near as complicated as the "EVERY CHRONOLOGICAL APPEARANCE EVER, INCLUDING SIDE-CHARACTERS AND LOOSELY AFFILIATED OCEAN ADVENTURERS" file I have on my computer. Rather, like the Batman one, it's purely the "Big Stuff", neatly organized and made clear.

Furthermore, I'll add that I personally subscribe to the Silver Age secret origin - very specifically the updated version revealed when Aquaman was strapped to a lighthouse lamp by the Fisherman and was awaiting death by heat exhaustion from a very hot lamp. I've got nothing against Waid's Year One or David's Atlantis Chronicles or Time & Tide ... I just don't think they make any god damn sense. The parts I like I'd be more than happy to see mined for all they're worth ... but the total retcon of Tom Curry out of Aquaman's life? Insanity. The widower father, who is a teacher to his son, a sailor with a mermaid who lost her, an adventurer and oceanographer, who gives Aquaman his very purpose of protecting the seas from threats to both kingdoms above and below the water level? That's the whole crux of his super-hero career. But anyway, on with mapping the course of his life.

Right away you'll notice that by first appearing as Aquaman in 1941, he falls into the "1940-44" year. Batman and Superman's "Year 2". So they had a head-start on the rest of the super-heroes by a year, and they became the "World's Finest" at that time, while Aquaman was just an urban legend and pirate-hunter for two years prior to becoming famous and eventually teaming up with the other top heroes.

Year One: (1940-44) Pirate Hunter Years
Big Event: THE SUBMARINE STRIKES
(Runner Up: BLACK JACK)
* Black Jack

Year Two: (1945-49) Pirate Hunter Years
Big Event: THE SLEUTH OF THE SEA
(Runner Up: RETURN OF THE SEA SLEUTH)
* Phineas Pike the Sea Sleuth

Year Three: (1950-54) Pirate Hunter Years
Big Event: THE OUTLAW NAVY
(Runner Up: AQUAMAN VS. THE SEA)
* N/A

Year Four: (1955-59) Slow Reveal of Atlantis
Big Event: AQUAMAN MEETS AQUA-GIRL
(Runner Up: A RIVAL FOR AQUAMAN, HOW AQUAMAN GOT HIS POWERS)
* Seaman, Topo, Jason Deeter, New Venice, Electric Man, Imitation Aquaman, Tom Curry, Atlanna, Atlantis (Pre-Poseidonis), Lisa Morel (Of Shayeris)

Year Five: (1960-64) Hero of Atlantis
Big Event: THE CREATURES FROM ATLANTIS, THE WEDDING OF AQUAMAN
(Runner Up: THE KID FROM ATLANTIS, STARRO THE CONQUEROR, THE AQUAMAN FROM ATLANTIS)
* Aqualad, Sea Devils, Starro, Aqua-Cave, Human Flying Fish, Trino, Creature King, Quisp, Fire-Trolls, Justice League of America, Pomoxis, Quirk & Quink, Neptune, Mera, Leron, Old Man of the Sea, Poseidon, Zeus, Oceanus

Year Six: (1965-69) King of Atlantis
Big Event: THE BIRTH OF AQUABABY, AQUAMAN; COWARD-KING OF THE SEAS
(Runner Up: FEARFUL FREAK FROM ATLANTIS, BETWEEN TWO DOOMS, DEATH OF AQUAMAN)
* Nikkor, Kaltor & Starene, The Fisherman, Hila & Kandor, Arthur Curry Junior, Sinquo, Karla, Tamerkhan, O.G.R.E., Ocean Master, Captain Forty-Knot Burke, Mongo, Necrus the Black City, Aquagirl (Tula), Black Manta, Doctor Vulko, Torpedo Man, Magneto & Claw, The Scavenger, Liquidator, Lord Ragnar, Aliena, Narkran, The Maarzons, Mupo

Year Seven: (1970-74) King of Atlantis
Big Event: LAST JET TO GOTHAM
(Runner Up: CRIME WAVE, AMAZON ATTACK AGAINST ATLANTIS)
* Thanatos, Crusader, World-Inside-the-Ring

Year Eight: (1975-79) King in Exile
Big Event: DARK DESTINY, DEADLY DREAMS … THE WAR OF THE UNDERSEA CITIES
(Runner Up: AND DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR, CROWN, CRISIS & CATACLYSM, ARMAGEDDON CONSPIRACY)
* Little Mermaid, Captain Demo, General Horgan, Karshon (The Shark), Toxxin, Marine Marauder, Cal Durham, Kobra, Landau, Lori Lemaris & Ronal, Tritonis (First made into a sister city in “War of the Undersea Cities”), Helga, Nazi Geneticists

Year Nine: (1980-84) Super-Hero
Big Event: SIREN OF THE SARGASSO
(Runner Up: FAMILY PLOT, WATER-WAR ONE)
* Atlena (Atlanna’s Sister), Amphitrite, Siggy the Seahorse, V’Lana, the End of the Justice League

Year Ten: (1985-89) Super-Hero
Big Event: AQUAMAN VOLUME 2
(Runner Up: JUSTICE LEAGUE DETROIT, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS)
* Vibe, Vixen, Steel, Gypsy, Thierna Na Oge, Nuada Silver-Hand, Jellyfish Aliens, Mera’s apparent death

Year Eleven: (1990-94) Ambassador Aquaman
Big Event: TIME & TIDE, HITTING BOTTOM
(Runner Up: A SMALL WORLD INCIDENT, TAILS & LEGS)
* King Thesily (Vulko’s successor), King Firtf (of Tritonis), Lord Iqula & Lady S’ona, Commander Echson Krystal, Rocket Reds, Charybdis, Dolphin, the Hook Hand, Letifos, Porm, Garth’s apparent death

Year Twelve: (1995-99) Atlantis Rising
Big Event: Toughie … OUT COLD, SEA OF GREEN, MARRIAGE VOWS
(Runner Up: THE RISING SUN, SHARK BAIT, FISH TARTARUS, All of Morrison’s JLA appearances, especially STARRO, the ULTRAMARINE stuff and JLA: EARTH 2)
* Koryak, Corona, The Deep Six, Tiamat, Kordax, Atlan, Tempest, Neptune Perkins & Tsunami, Deep Blue, Demon Gate, Nuliajhuk, Black Manta sells his soul to Neron and becomes a Devil Ray, Triton, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Slizzath, Sea Wolf, the Maritorn, Noble, Lava-Lord, Virtue, Atlanna returns?, Kingfish, Electric Eel, Cerdian, Wedding of Tempest & Dolphin, and every issue over-loaded with cameos from other DCU characters like Superboy and Lobo and Power Girl

Year Thirteen: (2000-04) Atlantis Falling
Big Event: WAR, OBSIDIAN AGE, AMERICAN TIDAL
(Runner Up: WATERBEARER, GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH, INFINITE CRISIS)
* Captain Rodunn, Cerdian War, Justice League of Atlantis, Obsidian Age, Lady of the Lake (Vivienne), Hagen, Ireland, The Thirst, SUB DIEGO, Aquagirl, The Eel, Esther Maris (Girlfriend), Marauder, Anton Geist, Alonzo, Barracuda of Anti-Earth and the death of most of Aquaman’s supporting cast

Year Fourteen: THE MISSING YEAR
Big Event: WORLD WAR III
(Runner Up: One random appearance in 52)
* Cursed into the hideous Dweller of the Depths by what looks like Poseidon & Triton, and apparently cloned by an Uncle Phil that he never knew he had.

Year Fifteen: (2005-09) Refugee Era
Big Event: BLACKEST NIGHT
(Runner Up: SWORD OF ATLANTIS (Which on top of killing Arthur killed his series as well, but at least made King Shark neat and put a new spin on Fisherman))
* Neo-Aquaman Clone Kid, Philip Curry, King Shark, Atsiul, Red Torpedo, Elsa Magnussen, Windward Home, Nenomi, the Cult of Dyss, Narwhal (AKA Zombie Koryak), Kyesha Salton, Clown Fish, Krusivax, Unknown Aquaman of Final Crisis, King Tempest (for five minutes)

Year Sixteen: (2010-14) Brightest Day
Big Event: BRIGHTEST DAY, a 27-part biweekly series that promises to fix the DCU characters that various writers have fucked up over the years. Aquaman is the main character with Mera right beside him. Other amazing DC heroes who have been fucked by editors and bad writers like Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Deadman, Firestorm and Martian Manhunter.
(Runner Up: Fuck new characters … it’s about time the A-List talent got some stories worth telling. AQUAMAN. MERA. BLACK MANTA. OCEAN MASTER. FISHERMAN. Maybe a new SCAVENGER. A unified ATLANTIS. Basic stories. Anti-Piracy, revenge and heroics on the high seas)

I’m thankful Johns has Tomasi with him on this – they should balance each other’s faults and have good, punchy storylines. I also hope Patrick Gleason, who had an excellent run on Aquaman Volume 6 with few fill-ins, is the primary Aquaman artist during Brightest Day. But I won’t cry if it ends up being Reis.

So what are the main things to know about Aquaman? He started making a name for himself as a pirate smasher. (And Nazi basher). A few years into it, in the 60's, his life became permanently linked to Atlantis. After a year of saving the place from its own superstitious moron population, they voted him in as king, only to proceed through the 60's by either being helpless pansies, or far-right-wing fanatics bent on usurping his throne (THREE, count 'em, THREE attempted revolutions - not even counting the multiple attempts by Ocean Master). Clearly the 1960's are Aquaman's glorious golden age.

The 1970's however, things slowed down a little, but ended stronger than any thing to date. Infanticide. A super-villain who wins. Aquaman goes bounty hunter. Atlantis finally gets turned into two cities (Poseidonis & Tritonis) and a bunch of "lost tribes".

The 1980's basically have Aquaman's marriage fall apart as he dedicates himself toward JLA: Detroit. The 1990's are basically Aquaman hitting rock bottom after Superman's death and finally undergoing his "GRIM & GRITTY" makeover.

The 2000's had a valiant effort to try something new and awesome with Sub Diego, but some moron had the idea to approve Kurt Busiek's insane One Year Later plans and they finally put the nail in Aquaman's coffin. First they'd destroyed his family (Harsh, but ripe with potential) then he fell prey to the GRIM & GRITTY worse than even Batman, and then saddled with 90's lame-ass cameos and barring one shining moment mid-2000's, he finally died at the hands of some nobody after Busiek's insane experiment failed and some non-entity was handed the title.

And that "broad-strokes" history of Aquaman's main hits & misses out of the way ... I'll say he's still my absolute favorite DC Comics super-hero (Batman is my third, although he's clearly got the best stories). I'm glad to have him back. About bloody time. Long live the King. And I'll get a lot more in-depth next time around, discussing what kind of guy Aquaman should be in this resurrected stage of his life, with 17 years of all that experience, all that lost family, and EVERY LAST ONE of his villains still running amok unchecked.

In two words? A COWBOY.

(Family killed. Wife divorced but still down for booty calls and being a help/hindrance. Dozens of enemies roaming the ocean frontiers. Never much of a talker. Rides a sea-horse into town. Apprehends an Atlantean rogue. Rides a pack of Killer Whales after a menace from the surface. Uses ingenuity to win. Hauls villains crying to the authorities, then rides off into the sunset.)

I'm willing to give Geoff "Tendency to cut right to the coolest characters and take what's cool about them and amplify it" Johns and Peter "You'll actually care about their personalities" Tomasi and see if they can't work some magick here.

Laughter

According to mystics, magicians, witches, warlocks, wizards and nearly all other practitioners of magick ... according to Aleister Crowley and according to Grant "Pop Magic!" Morrison ...

Laughter is the best means for banishing a demon.

So with the red and black rose petals, was Joker giving Bruce a weapon to use against the demon? Bruce was "at the end" where he was supposed to be broken and potentially succumb to the devil's psychic possession or attack? Was the Black Glove merely "the modern incarnation of the occult", servants of the demon Barbatos, doing his will, offering the sacrifice of the Wayne family member to the Bat-Demon?

The demon wants Batman. By making him laugh, (Was it chemically? We're to understand that Bruce had an antidote ... so why the laughter? Like I said a second ago ... Bruce is now in on the joke.) did Joker give Bruce the power to banish Barbatos from his mind? (This is why when we next see him, Batman is thinking clearly, ready to kick ass and take names. And Hurt - channeling Barbatos' words, probably - "curses" him.

Who knows?

Year by Bat-Year

I like what Grant Morrison does. I like how he thinks. I like how efficiently he does things. Most of all I like that he's put everything back into play. Everything. Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, even some Elseworlds (Non-Continuity) efforts are now part of continuity (Although, he certainly keeps things reasonable).

Anyway, I subscribe to this. And specifically, I've looked over the back-issues, listed, listed, re-listed and listed again everything in order. And I've determined that a suitable timeline for Batman, and in fact, the entire DC Universe, equals about 1 year for every 5 years real-time.

(Added: This seems to work with Batwoman's origins, too. The covers of Batwoman's origin story in Detective Comics recently show "Twenty Years Ago", "Seven Years Ago", "Four Years Ago". 20 Years Ago places her tragic childhood events at a few years before Bruce even graduates high-school. 7 Years Ago was when she had to leave West Point, met up with Renee Montoya (This is right about when Montoya was introduced in the comics as well, as a beat cop during Tim Drake's early days, pre-Knightfall.) and 4 Years Ago places her decision to "join the Batman mission" in and around No Man's Land, although it was another year or so before she first "appeared" on the scene. (We learned in the final issue that she spent that next year or so training world-wide with some of the best martial arts experts her father could find.) This mean's Rucka's timeline syncs up with Morrison's.)

Year One: (1935-1939) Joker's Satire Years
Big Event: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS
(Runner Up: BATMAN: YEAR ONE, CATWOMAN: YEAR ONE, DARK MOON RISING)
* Joker, Catwoman, Harvey Dent, Gordon, Hugo Strange, Boss Maroni, Carmine Falcone, Julie Madison

Year Two: (1940-1944) Joker's Satire Years
Big Event: THE LONG HALLOWEEN
* Riddler, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Two-Face

Year Three: (1945-1949) Joker's Satire Years
Big Event: DARK VICTORY
(Runners Up: ROBIN: YEAR ONE, COMMISSIONER GORDON WALKS A BEAT)
* Dick Grayson, Mister Freeze, Cavalier, Penguin, Clayface, Vicki Vale

Year Four: (1950-1954) Joker's Camp Years
Big Event: THE BATMAN AND ROBIN OF ENGLAND
(Runners Up: THE MAN BEHIND THE RED HOOD, THE BATMEN OF ALL NATIONS)
* Knight & Squire, Deadshot, Wingman, Killer Moth, Firefly

Year Five: (1955-1959) Joker's Camp Years
Big Event: THE CLUB OF HEROES
(Runners Up: BATWOMAN, THE MAN WHO ENDED BATMAN'S CAREER)
* Kathy Kane, Ace, Lew Moxon, John Mayhew, Professor Milo, Zur En Arrh, Bat-Mite

Year Six: (1960-1964) Joker's Camp Years
Big Event: JUSTICE LEAGUE: YEAR ONE
(Runners Up: ROBIN DIES AT DAWN)
* Justice League, Bette Kane, Clayface II, Polka-Dot Man, Catman, Dr. Hurt

Year Seven: (1965-1969) Joker's Camp Years
Big Event: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE OUTSIDER
(Runners Up: CRISIS ON EARTH-1, CRISIS ON EARTH-2)
* Blockbuster, Cluemaster, Outsider, Gaggy

Year Eight: (1970-1974) Joker's New Homicidal
Big Event: THE DEMON'S QUEST
(Runners Up: BATGIRL: YEAR ONE, THE JOKER'S FIVE-WAY REVENGE)
* Barbara Gordon, Brave and the Bold, Jason Bard, Man-Bat, Ten-Eyed Man, Reaper, Spook, Lupus, League of Assassins, Arkham Asylum

Year Nine: (1975-1979) Joker's New Homicidal
Big Event: THE LAUGHING FISH
(Runners Up: THERE IS NO HOPE IN CRIME ALLEY)
* Leslie Thompkins, Black Spider, Thorne, Phosphorus, Silver St. Cloud, Clayface III, Lucius Fox

Year Ten: (1980-1984) Joker's New Homicidal
Big Event: JUST ANOTHER KID ON CRIME ALLEY
(Runners Up: NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE, BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS)
* Jason Todd, Julia Pennyworth, Mayor Hill, Killer Croc, Outsiders, Nocturna, The Wrath

Year Eleven: (1985-1989) Joker's Ringmaster from Hell
Big Event: THE KILLING JOKE, A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
(Runners Up: A LONELY PLACE OF DYING, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS)
* Tim Drake, Black Mask, Ventriloquist, Deacon Blackfire

Year Twelve: (1990-1994) Modern Joker
Big Event: KNIGHTFALL, KNIGHTQUEST, KNIGHTSEND
(Runners Up: RITE OF PASSAGE)
* Bane, Azrael, Huntress, Renee Montoya, Zsasz

Year Thirteen: (1995-1999) Modern Joker
Big Event: NO MAN'S LAND
(Runners Up: PRODIGAL, ZERO HOUR)
* Stephanie Brown, Harley Quinn, Cassandra Cain, Crispus Allen

Year Fourteen: (2000-2004) Modern Joker
Big Event: HUSH, UNDER THE HOOD
(Runners Up: OFFICER DOWN, HALF A LIFE, INFINITE CRISIS
* Hush, Tarantula, Jason as Red Hood II

Year Fifteen: (The "Missing" Year)
Big Event: DARK KNIGHT DOWN
* Kate Kane, Ten-Eyed Tribe of the Ghost Quarter

Year Sixteen: (2005-2009) Joker's Clown at Midnight
Big Event: The Morrison Run! (Bruce)
(Runners Up: FINAL CRISIS, FACE THE FACE)
* Damian Wayne, Club of Villains, Black Glove,

Year Seventeen: (2010-2014) Joker's Clown at Midnight
Big Event: The Morrison Run! (Grayson)
(Runners Up: BLACKEST NIGHT)
* Circus of Crime, Black Mask II, Alice, British Rogues, Council of Spiders

(And for the record, that'd make Bruce Wayne 37-38, Dick Grayson 24, Jason Todd 19-20, Tim Drake 18, Stephanie Brown 18, Cassandra Cain 18, Kate Kane 30, Alfred Pennyworth 60 and Damian Wayne 10.)

A Haunting We Will Go ... (THE HAUNTING OF WAYNE MANOR)

(Note: During my second read-through, my notes become much clearer and more concise, stopped meandering, and matched Morrison's narrative scene-for-scene, therefore I've replaced my original post with the revised edition. All the thoughts are still here, just now they're less eager and giddy and more researched and thought out. A little revisionist history, courtesy of the Omega Effect.)

BATMAN VERSUS ROBIN, PART 1: THE HAUNTING OF WAYNE MANOR
Damian holds a conference with the Wayne Enterprises board! Apart from being a bit of a typical brash Morrison move in making Damian seem ultra-neato, we see more of him being a chip off the old cowl. As we know, Grayson neither enjoys numbers and corporate crap, nor is he a “Wayne” explicitly. Not his area. But Damian’s totally willing to give it a go. (Fuel to the fire that Damian is also supposed to be usurping the Wayne Empire)

Lucius, picking back up on the oddness of Wayne Enterprises he mentioned to Dick Grayson back in Revenge of the Red Hood.

Mysterious. No answers this issue on why these donations are evil. A sluice fund, possibly.

"We have strict instructions to honor the memory of Thomas Wayne, but grave suspicions have been aroused, as you might imagine." Which Thomas Wayne?

Reference to Hush masquerading as Bruce, going crazy with money.

Damian is a mini-Bruce. Heck, “sacrifice of the son” (Clone talk) could mean to reincarnate, Bruce has to manifest in this clone body. Then it really would be Batman & Robin reversed, with Dick as Batman and Bruce as Robin.

For the second time, Dick Grayson meets Oberon Sexton, the Gravedigger.

If it’s Joker, he started in the Middle-East and killed Al-Khidr, then moved on to Cardinal Maggi in Rome, Sir Anthony in England. Malenkov was already dead in Gotham (Since Joker killed him, and drove an ambulance into the river, one could assume Joker took the body with him, in the ambulance, THEN fed him to the gator). The “vanished without a trace” HAS to be Jezebel Jet, who Talia took out with ninja man-bats. So is she dead, or is she Talia’s prisoner? Confirmed she’s the one missing next sentence. Nice go with the Time Magazine Cover, a nice bit of continuity has the TIME Magazine cover mourning her death at the hands of Talia al Ghul’s ninja man-bats (She had been scheduled for a TIME cover shoot even as her jet was overtaken by evil ninjas).

So, the Domino Killer is going to kill Hush? (Unlikely)

Nothing notable about peanuts. Funny joke. Well, there’s “Peanut”, the card game.

Joker, probing for Batman’s identity? Could it be that Joker has been THIS CLOSE to Bruce’s identity for the entirety of R.I.P., even saw him unmasked for a second, and still can’t fathom that Bruce Wayne is Batman? We know he doesn't give a damn, does that constitute not paying attention to the obvious?

Sexton talks about “good men” (the Infinite Crisis-approved label for Dick), but I mean … the first gravedigger in Hamlet is called “First Clown”. And digs up Yorick’s skull – Yorick the Jester - a classic Joker alias. And the gravedigger in Marxist philosophy is a radical attempting to overthrow the ruling class. Very Joker. Speaking of Joker … anyone else just realize that the Red Hood apart from matching Batman’s theatrics also reflects “The Masque of the Red Death”? To Joker, the whole thing is a masquerade. But "Red Death" was a class warfare statement by Poe.

Something familiar. The Joker? Very possible. Mangrove Pierce? No chance, Dick never met him. Percival Sheldrake? Possible … except he’s supposedly quite dead, confirmed. Would Cyril be so messed up if he hadn’t seen his father die firsthand? Is Springheeled Jack Doctor Hurt, or is he another demon-possessed henchman? (More on that later ...)

The Bat-Cave would be frigid cold without the electricity on in the late winter/early spring. Must be Oracle and Batgirl have to work out of Babs' apartment while the de-Sombrero job occurs.

Suits of armor were rigged by Sombrero – apparently they’re staying. I recall in Burton’s first Batman flick, Wayne had quite a collection of armor. These are better still, they’re all Gothic armor. One assumes Alfred has deactivated the killer robots built into them.

Must be Dick has talked to Red Robin. Since Tim is back in Gotham in his own book right now, and shows up in Tony Daniel’s recent arc, one would assume the Black Mask take-down happens between Blackest Knight and Batman vs. Robin. Alfred, references Blackest Knight. Dick name-drops the Justice League, of which he’s currently a member, referencing James Robinson’s “new League”.

Damian feels like a “tagalong”. This’ll factor into his mood in a minute. Meanwhile – absolute faith in Bruce from his longstanding best-pals. Obviously we’ll see the cave dating back to the Stone Age in Return of Bruce Wayne # 1, Wayne Manor dating back to being built by Darius Wayne during the American Revolution on top of the land where Thomas Wayne sacrificed victims in devil worship, I’m sure we’ll learn every detail of. As it happens, Blackbeard the pirate lived from 1680 to 1718, and is supposed to cameo. HOWEVER … DC’s Black Pirate lived in the latter half of the 1700’s, and therefore Blackbeard when he shows up will likely be as a ghost or a flashback. Expect Pirate Batman to meet Thomas and Darius Wayne. Expect your answers about the “Wayne Family secret” in Return of Bruce Wayne # 3.

Mordecai Wayne (Bruce), Thomas Wayne (Hurt), Darius Wayne (Thanks, Alan Moore – this is the guy who built Wayne Manor, I guess on the location his father owned and had devil worshipping cult practice on), Joshua Wayne (Look, a clue!), Solomon Wayne (See: Return of Bruce Wayne # 4), possibly Alan Wayne, Kenneth Wayne, Patrick Wayne, Silas Wayne (See: Return of Bruce Wayne # 5, and now with eye-holes cut out for spooky glowing eye cliche), Thomas Wayne.

Courtesy of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, by way of the Batman: The Cult.

Kudos, Dave Uzumeri. Dick Grayson practically quoted your article.

Nice eyes, Damian. What’s that book “Mordecai” is holding? Could it be the Lesser Key of Solomon? Solomon Wayne, any answers? Did a Cowboy Batman ever come knocking at your door with hired gun Jonah Hex as backup?

Thomas Wayne 1760 looks a lot like Thomas Wayne 1940 and Bruce Wayne, hence why his “I’m your father, I’m Mangrove Pierce, I’m you!” rants rang true. They all have the same aristocratic cheekbones, I'm sure.

If you’ll remember, Blackest Knight was this past winter, therefore Batman vs. Robin is in late winter or early spring, and as us Northeasterners will attest – it’s still freezing. So Alfred turns on the Bat-heat.

Casket with Bat-Logo on it. Where is Joshua in the portrait? We’ll find out momentarily!

Morrison taking a minute to remind us Dick and Damian poke fun jabs at one another, this is another “Nice night” or “Robin and Batman”.

Burning ships would be the particulars of the “historical turning point” battle that happened in Gotham Town during the Revolution (According to Alan Moore's Gotham history). Orion’s Belt, known for Orion the Hunter (Keep hunting, Dick) … also called the Three Marys (Religious iconography) … also Batman was investigating the death of Orion the New God when Darkseid’s forces got him. In Egypt Orion’s belt was associated with Osiris, god of rebirth and the afterlife, and the underworld (See: The Three Great Pyramids of Giza).

Damian still hates Tim Drake. Funny.

Kudos, “Hurt is Immortal, Evil Bruce Wayne” theorists. Probably not true, but Damian is giving you guys a red herring. If anything, Damian is referring to himself. He’s mini-Bruce. Whatever happened changed him? Bruce never shared the details about Damian’s true origins. Is he a child offspring of Talia and Bruce, or a true clone of Bruce? Either way, kid’s a Frankenstein.

The cut from “changed him” to Doctor Hurt talking to Oberon Sexton rings some bells. Hey, wait a minute … what if one of these mysterious fellows is Bruce Wayne, changed? Ding ding ding.

“Mr. Sexton” in quotes. What did Hurt do to Bruce Wayne at the end of R.I.P.? Made him an offer. And Bruce rejected it. He let Dick become Batman rather than continuing to be Batman himself and harming “Batman”. He let Batman go. He “hung up his cowl and quit his crimefighting career”. Of course, that’s if Oberon is Bruce. He’s skinnier, hiding all his features, and wearing white gloves. Joker wore white gloves in R.I.P. Joker rejected Hurt’s offers as well. Joker is someone you’d expect to “strike at Batman” who would then fuck with you.

Mexican Train as in the domino game Pearly Charlie English was playing. 99 fiends reminds one of the “Fiend With Nine Eyes” … possibly the Ten-Eyed Men. Apparently they’re coming. The Mexican Train – a chain of threats headed toward Gotham. Possibly 99 of them, unless the 99 refers to the Ten-Eyed Men – coming to Gotham. In the near future. PROBABLY in “Batman and Robin Must Die” because that title seems like a great place to have 99 enemies attack Gotham and go to war.

99 is a card game.

3rd Hierarchy refers to Demonology – Specifically the aforementioned Lesser Key of Solomon, wherein the Demons are all categorized and listed according to rank. Apparently El Penitente’s cartel henchmen are all named after certain Demons … and in fact share those Demons’ descriptions. It makes sense, considering who’s leading them.

So good, in fact, that Oberon can hear the whispers of the assassins outside his door! That is some exceptional hearing. Mysterious.

Duke Zepar a Demon of the Lesser Key of Solomon, said to wear red armor and looks a soldier. Sweet Belial is a set of twins, who apparently have a binary nature (Belial factored into Paradise Lost). Male and female. Belial in Demonology is very, very high-ranking, so whoever the unnamed “leader” of these assassins is must have a very high-ranking Demon title. Note that he wears a domino mask. Of course, in they kick the door but Oberon Sexton is hanging outside the window with his coat blowing in the wind, looking very Gothic, and pulling a basic Batman move. Just who is the Gravedigger?

A little Dick/Damian interplay that may come back by arc’s end. More importantly, the Wayne Manor library is symmetrical, and shows signs of “soul chapel architecture” like the Gothic church in Batman: Gothic, also by Morrison.

Could be on one of the shelves, there appear to be a lot of books in the library. But I’m sure Bruce left it where Dick can find it.

Second mention of a railroad. We’ll see you in Return of Bruce Wayne # 4.

Conceptually with a pious man in the library with a casket with a bat on it, standing in he light of the library window, looking at a painting of Darius with Orion’s Belt riding a horse. Well hey! There’s a horse bust on the mantle of the fireplace under the portrait of Thomas & Martha Wayne. That lines up conceptually!

Dick is looking at the horse bust on the mantle. And there, underneath it … what’s that?

Three roses, under the horse. Roses, that classic motif. Sub Rosa – Beneath the Rose, a Latin phrase meaning mysteries and secrets. Roses, that modern motif. Joker’s red and black roses, symbolizing love and hate, life and death, mixing together and poisoning people.

Come on kid, why aren’t you enjoying classic super-hero shtick?! Dick has had double punches, team-ups, international adventures and more as Batman! Now it's a bona fide secret mansion mystery.

And … FLASHBACK to between issues of Blackest Knight!

Ninjas patrolling balconies. Ninja man-bats patrolling the skies. Nice place.

And now we see Talia wearing purple. With red hair. 100% pure Jezebel Jet envy. Speaking of, she’s probably got Jet locked up somewhere nearby.

I never pointed this out last issue, but Damian is wearing a white shirt and a red sweater-vest – the absolute staple of Dick Grayson’s dress code when he was Robin.

Not the best of relationships. I wonder if he really is the kid from Mike Barr’s run. Miscarried, but then grown in an artificial womb until being “born”, given to an orphanage for his early years, then kidnapped by ninjas at five years of age and then educated until he was eight years old and Talia introduced herself, ready to use him as a weapon against Bruce during Batman and Son.

Well, the name “Damian” does mean “one who is tame”. But Dick Grayson is the pinnacle of accepting, honest, trusting people. “Spineless”? Brutal.

Ring of truth to it. About a year into every Robin career, it comes time to join some sidekick team. Dick did it. Tim did it. Jason didn’t last the year.

To Talia, all Dick will ever be is the 17 year old she spent a few days in a room tied up next to, pretending to be a hostage during The Demon’s Quest. But Damian believes Dick’s proving himself worthy. Of course he is, he’s Batman’s kid brother, best friend, and sort of his prodigal son in a way, too. And a total spitfire.

Flashback over … what could that mean? Dun-dun-dun.

See the pattern, it’s everywhere? Better dust off those back-issues and go back and check for clues, gang! Meanwhile … this dead-end room is full of armored knights. And these knights are not just any knights, they’re Knights of the Red Shield. The Rothschilds. Long rumored to have ties to the occult, an unholy order of devil worshipping Illuminati. A Jewish name, but that predates Hebrew by a bit, back into Sumerian and Babylonian (Remember them from The Exorcist). Primarily, the rumors were all expounded a ton by the Nazis as an anti-Semitic claim in the 30’s, but the rumors were there before then.

That’s the sound a mechanism makes. Damian grabbing the sword subconsciously programmed to kill Dick Grayson? Totally activated the trapdoor.

Programmed you with secret words. You’re a chip off the old man’s shoulder, kid – he had his ZUR EN ARRH program, you’ve got this!

Who is this executioner and where must he be summoned from? Who does Talia know from Dick Grayson’s past is a better question. She’s worked with Deathstroke in the Secret Society of Super-Villains, and Deathstroke is a villain for hire these days. But rather I hope she’s summoning Jason Todd, having him broken out of prison and sending Dick Grayson’s arch-enemy up against him. After all, she was key in reviving him with a Lazarus Pit to cure his brain damage – one would assume she might have put code words in Jason’s head, too! Could this arc end with Dick, Damian and Jason who are supposed to be killing each other, teaming up to fight off El Penitente’s army of assassins? Hope so!

The walls are thick, sealed, and even Batman’s two-way won’t get through them. This partly explains why apparently Bruce Wayne never found this secret passage.

Dick assumes first that Bruce probably knew about it. However, in this case, nope. Doesn’t look like Bruce found out about it until afterward, during his trek through time. Here we have a chamber carved in stone. Lit only by torches, it is a church-like room, with a podium for a priest and chairs for worshippers, and lots of floor space for what could be sacrifices. And Bruce Wayne might have been here. For drawn on the floor is the “yellow oval” style Bat symbol – possibly Bruce’s way of saying “Bruce Was Here”, and scrawled on the wall in what could be blood? The name “Thomas, Thomas, Thomas” repeated thirty-two times, with the word “BARBATOS” written overtop. Barbatos is one of the demons from the Lesser Key of Solomon. Not a very well defined demon, but perhaps Morrison used him because he has freaking BAT right in his name. The assumption? That “black sheep” Thomas Wayne of 1760 sold his soul in a devil worship ritual to Barbatos, the bat demon. Immortality? Demonic possession? These would explain Doctor Simon Hurt.

This is where it gets interesting. (Hopefully Alfred is safe in the Batmobile). Wayne Family cemetery was just defiled by Black Hand during Blackest Night (The Green Lantern one). A corpse-road is a passage between a holy ritual area and a graveyard, they’re what the casket is carried down, and according to folklore, spirits walk down those paths as well. They also tie into A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and our dear old Oberon Sexton’s name references both A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon) AND graveyards (Sexton). Garden of death could refer to two things – Hugo Simberg’s painting “The Garden of Death”, that shows the Grim Reaper in three places, watering flowers. It’s a metaphor for Purgatory, which is similar to what Bruce Wayne is experiencing in the Omega Effect. And also, it could mean a place where corpses were dumped. A mass grave. If Satanic sacrifices were going on, it’s highly likely.

Damian runs through the cemetery, fighting the mental programming. He passes the unmarked stone with the top totally shaped like a bat where the clone Bruce body was buried before Black Hand dug it up.

Oberon Sexton is here, in the graveyard, next to the grave of “Alan Wayne” (I’m convinced it’s an Alan Moore nod, since Moore wrote the Gotham City history).

Of course, he could be The Joker, AND the Domino Killer, so “here to help” is crazy! But then again, he could be Bruce Wayne. Joker (as seen in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth) considers Batman the “King of the Freaks” and their Holmes/Moriarty, Sylvester/Tweety relationship borders on Joker considering himself Batman’s personal court jester. Bruce has been trying to think like The Joker. He may have realized how Joker sees the world – that Joker is “Puck” to Batman’s “Oberon”. And there’s even a “Titania” (Talia). Except the Gravediggers in Hamlet were known as Clowns and dug up Yorick. I hold firm on my belief that Oberon Sexton is The Joker, and his way of "mourning Batman" is to murder the Black Glove members. I also believe that he views the whole world as a stage play - as theater. Gotham City is a masquerade where Batman runs the show and Joker leads a troupe of characters in the noble goal of extreme interactive entertainment.

At any rate, the 3rd Hierarchy assassins of El Penitente are in the graveyard, heading toward Wayne Manor. No doubt in addition to being hitmen for the cartel, they’re devil worshipping, demonologists with some history of the occult in Gotham City.

No doubt.