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Bruce Wayne is officially taking his Batman business international.
After "dying" in Final Crisis and time-traveling his way back to the present in writer Grant Morrison's The Return of Bruce Wayne limited series, the millionaire-turned-superhero reveals himself to Gotham City at large as the financial backing of all things Caped Crusader in Batman and Robin No. 16, in comic shops today.
He also tells Gotham, "Batman's war against crime goes global tonight," a mission statement that will play out in Morrison's new Batman Incorporated series launching Nov. 17.
"It's a game-changer," says DC Comics editor in chief Bob Harras. "It does fundamentally alter the way Bruce Wayne presents himself to Gotham City. Up till now, he's been known as the playboy, and with this reveal, he's really stepping up and saying, 'I'm going to be socially responsible and involved in battling crimes by funding Batman.' In that sense, things are definitely changing in the Batman mythology.
"There are going to be changes to Bruce Wayne. There has to be."
What his hometown still doesn't know is that he has been the guy under the cape and cowl fighting the likes of the Joker, Penguin, Mister Freeze and Two-Face for decades, and while Wayne has now put a face to Batman to a certain degree, Morrison sees this as the "ultimate deflection."
"Bruce is definitely doing this for a reason, and it's to maintain his secret identity in a new way," Harras says.
The end of Morrison's run on Batman and Robin also marks the culmination of a long-term plan for the character the Scottish writer began in 2006's Batman arc "Batman & Son," revealing his son — and current Robin — Damian Wayne, and continued in "Batman R.I.P.," which introduced Morrison's own notorious Bat-villain, Doctor Hurt, a guy who comes close to the Joker in terms of sheer insanity.
Harras calls it the reinvention of Batman for the 21st century. "Going back the last few years, what Grant has been doing — taking all these elements of the Batman story lines from way back when, and the ones he remembers from when he was a kid, and reintroducing them into the current mythology — has really shaken up the whole Batman line."
As for Dick Grayson, the Dark Knight's first Robin, who took over the Batman mantle when Bruce Wayne was gone, Harras promises that he will still be Batman. "You see how that progresses," Harras says.
"Bruce is approaching crime-fighting in a whole different way. He's seeing what's working, and he's seeing that he has to change things from how he's done things in the past. It's the evolution of Bruce's point of view."
So, how many Batmen will there be worldwide? Harras isn't spilling, but he teases, "That's going to be an ongoing part of the story line. What is Bruce going to do? What is actually his vision of Batman Inc.? How does that change things across the world?"
What's for certain is that there will be some crossover in the Bat-titles, and there will be new series and creative teams as well. In addition to Morrison's Batman Incorporated, David Finch's Batman: The Dark Knight begins Dec. 8; Tony Daniel brings an international flavor to Batman starting in Issue 704 on Nov. 17; and the zero issue of J.H. Williams' Batwoman makes its debut Nov. 24, the same day writer Peter Tomasi starts his run on Batman and Robin and Scott Snyder teams with artist Jock as the new men behind the long-running Detective Comics series.
"This is a story about Bruce Wayne, Batman and his friends," Harras says. "There will be ripple effects across the line."
And don't rule out Wayne putting the cowl back on once in a while if the need arises, Harras says. "I would say that Bruce would never be afraid to put on the suit."
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