It's been nearly a year since the last known whereabouts of Bruce Wayne. Wherever (or whenever) he is, is where you'll find the Batman. Since his disappearance battling god-like Darkseid during the popular Final Crisis series, his one time protege Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing has reluctantly carried the burden of the mantel. The original Batman was hit by an Omega beam that displaced him in both time and place not to be heard from since as many heroes believed the remaining corpse meant his dimise. But for anyone who knows anything about comics, it's that heroes aren't too easy to kill. Not many stay dead. Even, recently, Barry Allen (The Flash) has returned after being dead for more than two decades.
What many comic book readers expected to happen is about to occur in 2010 with the launch of a new series created by fan-favorite Grant Morrison (Final Crisis scribe), Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. This six issue series marks the return of the DC Comics icon as he tries to regain his memory and identity as well as his proper place in time and space. It is set to be a culmination of the author's developing story five years in the making.
Morrison talked to USA Today about what to expect. One thing's for sure, it will have big surprises sure to resonate in the continued lore of the Batman. See below for a preview, but for the entire interview check out the article.
Q: In Final Crisis, the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, is hit by the Omega Beam during a battle with the villain Darkseid. This beam sends Wayne spinning into the unknown, cast off into the time stream. He is thought to be dead by both friends and enemies. In the aftermath, the role of Batman is assumed by the original Robin, Dick Grayson, and the role of Robin is assumed by Bruce Wayne's son, Damian. What else should readers know as a lead-in to The Return of Bruce Wayne?
A: Could there possibly be anything else to know after that masterful summing-up?
To be honest, I don't think readers need to know even that much in order to enjoy Return. Although it's also the latest chapter in the long-running, "definitive" Batman epic I've been trying to pull off since 2005, Return has been structured and written to read as a complete story on its own — everything a new reader needs to know will be in the pages of the book itself. Read all the graphic novel collections together, however, and a much bigger, more complex and involving story will emerge.
Return is a fairly intricate time-travel story in which the world's greatest hero, the optimum man, is up against the supreme challenge to his ingenuity and skill. How does Batman get out of the ultimate trap? It has a mystery and an apocalyptic countdown going on, there are some major twists and reveals, and it sets up big changes to the Batman universe status quo.
Q: It's my understanding that Return will follow Bruce Wayne through different eras as he makes his way — presumably — back to the modern day. Any hints on which eras we might see Bruce exploring in his quest to find his proper place in time?
A: The first episode is set in the Late-Paleolithic Era, the second is in Pilgrim-era Gotham Village, and we also get to see Gotham in Western or noir style.
Each of the stories is a twist on a different "pulp hero" genre — so there's the caveman story, the witchhunter/Puritan adventurer thing, the pirate Batman, the cowboy, the P.I. — as a nod toward those mad old 1950s comics with Caveman Batman and Viking Batman adventures. It's Bruce Wayne's ultimate challenge — Batman vs. history itself!
I've tried to thoroughly research each time period so that the stories work not only as at least fairly plausible reconstructions of life in the real 17th or 19th centuries but also as romanticized "pulp" versions too, while at the same time referencing the more extravagant history of the fictional DC Comics Universe in the background.
Its seems as though Batman is headed in a fresh direction without losing what makes him such a centerpiece to the DC Universe. May his return be glorious and meet expectations as his should be one of the most epic returns in comics history...anything less does the character and his readers a disservice.
Enjoy this article? Receive e-mail alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the "Subscribe" button above.
Comments