Batman R.I.P.

[Saint]

Should probably precede certain comments with spoiler warnings.

 

[Majic Walrus]

So any actual news about this? Anyone have an early comic store and they just couldn't wait to get out and get it at the butt-crack of dawn?

 

[Cain]

There were hints? I read it in TPB and already knew the outcome, so I wasn't looking, but I don't know of any hints.

Oh ok see I read the arc in it's original format with all the tie-in's and all I haven't read the TPB but I heard it ommited a lot of stuff so that makes sense.

To those extremely concerned, you guys do know that Bruce Wayne could possibly still end up winning Battle for the Cowl right?

 

[Doctor Jones]

So tell me about this whole arc? Is it worth getting?

 

[squeekness]

It's kinda meh, but a collector would probably want it just because it looks like Bruce will be retired at the end of it.

 

[Cain]

If you're an avid comic book reader then it's worth geting cause this leads into Final Crisis #6 & #7, Last Rites, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Last Days of Gotham and Battle for the Cowl & Grant Morrison's future work on the main Batman book when it comes back from hiatus. If you're just a casual Batman fan who only really likes TAS, the most mainstream friendly stories (TKJ, TDKR, Y1 and Long Halloween) and the movies then you're better off skipping this altogether.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Alright. I hate crossovers and Infinate Crisis continuity so thanks.

 

[Drz]

Okay i managed to get a to read this baby, heres the spoilers and whatnot:

Spoiler

First things first, i'm sure everyones gonna like this part: Bruce Wayne never loved Jezebel Jet but had played along as he had suspected her since she got into his "mind" with all the "oh Bruce, i _Understand_ you" nonsense, so yeah thank you Alfred for teaching Batman to act!

The International Club of Heroes come to Gotham and safe Robin, Robin then leaves off to Arkham Asylum which gets locked from the "broken" Bat-radia which didn't end up being broken after all.

Joker is pure golden as always, he wants to place a bet and bets that Batman will rise from the coffin and beat them out, Dr. Hurt says hes not allowed to bet for being part of the team, so he kills the moustahce general and says how they have no idea who they are dealing with and Joker gives his trump card to Hurt.

Nightwing gets free before he gets lobotomized and beats the scorpion woman and the doctor guy whos face got mutilated like ****.

Joker is seen driving an ambulances chaosing havoc in Gotham until Damian Wayne crushes the ambulancesa and making it fall from a bridge, so Joker "gets killed by Damian" but since you wont see his corpse, he ofcourse will be seen soon in the comics. =P

Batman and Nightwing fight the Black Glove while Jezebel manages to escape somehow, and Batman continues to chase Dr. Hurt who reveals himself to be Dr. Thomas Wayne, while Batman claims he is none other than Mangrove Pierce, he denis this and then gives Batman an offer: Either work for the Black Glove or he will release media that shows Thomas and Martha Wayne as drug addicts, perverts and criminals, oh and Alfred too!

Dr. Hurt escapes with his copter which is controlled/ridden by noone other than the Satan-Batman (the 3rd Ghost Batman, the satanistic worshipper one).

Batman chases him and gets the chopper so unbalanced it crashes and explodes in the sea. There are strong hints again about Dr. Hurt being Satan.

So at the end we see Jezebel Jet on her airplane but Talia Being pissed off sends her army of Man-Bats to slaughter her. =)

Then we see an 6 months after thing where one of the Black Glove members (the mutilated doctor) is beating up a Cop with his henchmen, saying that Batman and Robin are dead until we see the Bat signal shine up, and the policeman smiles.

 

[Mike_D202]

I wonder if this will turn out like "Death of Superman" where a ton of wanna-bes show up in the comics during Batman's MIA.

 

[FCEEVIPER]

I wonder if this will turn out like "Death of Superman" where a ton of wanna-bes show up in the comics during Batman's MIA.

Yup, and eventually Bruce returning.

 

[chris moore]

So, a helicopter Bruce is on explodes into the sea where not only might a person survive, but they could drift away in an unconscious, amnesiac or knowing state to cover up their death and plan behind the scenes for a while?

That about the gist of it?

 

[Dirt Like Me]

I got out of work early and just finished #681. Here's my take:

Spoiler

Hurm. Some great, great stuff in the issue: some good Joker, some truly bad-ass Bruce/Batman. And some really cool artwork. At one point, I thought I was reading a real instant classic.

But then it ended, and there was absolutely no closure to the arc. Maybe I missed some subtle clue in there that I'll discover when I read it again, but that's my knee-jerk reaction. It's still unclear who Dr. Hurt is--he might be Thomas Wayne, he might be Mangrove Pierce, he might be the Devil himself.

Or are we supposed to read a whole lot into the fact that both Thomas and Martha seem to be wearing black gloves in the final page's flashback sequence? If so, that's not exactly the greatest way to make such a huge revelation. And maybe the fact that I pored over that last page so much--and am so willing to grasp at straws--is indicative of this issue not delivering what I expected. With all the build-up I wanted a capital-B BIG moment, and you shouldn't have to hunt for those.

Anyway, without that big reveal I was hoping for, to me, it makes Morrison's run feel like a jigsaw puzzle that was boxed up without a couple pieces. Yeah, the process of putting it together can be fun in and of itself, but at the same time I want to be able to step back and see the big picture, too.

I warmed up to the idea of having Batman stories without Bruce, so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. But I'm also looking forward to seeing some other writers take the helm for a while.

I'm curious to see what everybody else has to say. And Happy Thanksgiving to everybody celebrating tomorrow.

 

[Batman]

Spoiler

I think 'Battle Of The Cowl' is going to help answer alot of still unanswered questions about this arc itself, given how the opening panel of the first issue of RIP ("You're wrong! Batman and Robin will never die!") and one of the closing panels of this issue ("EVEN BATMAN AND ROBIN ARE DEAD!") fit together.

The way this issue hinted at things to come, it seems that Bruce probably won't be the Batman that was in that shot of the 'new' Batman and Robin. It'll most likely be Dick under the cowl, with Damian as Robin (a guess based solely off of how young that Robin looks), and *possibly* Tim as Nightwing.

What surprised me, though, was how easily it leaves Bruce to eventually come back. Unlike Superman's death, Bruce's was more ambigous. Whether or not this will benefit future storylines is something we'll have to wait and see about, I guess.

 

[The Sage]

Morrison made Batman even more awesome in this final issue.

 

[The Batman]

If you're an avid comic book reader then it's worth geting cause this leads into Final Crisis #6 & #7, Last Rites, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Last Days of Gotham and Battle for the Cowl & Grant Morrison's future work on the main Batman book when it comes back from hiatus. If you're just a casual Batman fan who only really likes TAS, the most mainstream friendly stories (TKJ, TDKR, Y1 and Long Halloween) and the movies then you're better off skipping this altogether.

The way you said that was so much nicer than i wouldve said that....

 

[Drz]

Agreed. Batman was especially badass with the poison+antidote thing. =D Grant Morrison is gold. <3

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

So let me get this straight, the most shocking revelation in 70 years that Grant Morrison himself promised in RIP is that The Black Glove might be the Devil?

 

[CrimsonMist]

So let me get this straight, the most shocking revelation in 70 years that Grant Morrison himself promised in RIP is that The Black Glove might be the Devil?

Something like that. I think...

Anyway,

Spoiler

Like most people have been saying, this issue had some truly badass moments in it. The Joker was cool, the bat-radia was cool. The fact that Bruce anticipated a mind attack was cool. But overall, it was meh. For what this was hyped as, it was stupid. Nothing happens! There's no huge reveal. There's not even a solid ending. It doesn't explain what R.I.P. means either. Jezebel's history is summed up in like 3 panels, and this is the most we learn about her in the entire run. The book ends asking too many questions, and for that this was hyped as, that's not what i wanted. I don't really care if they kill Bruce. To be honest, i kind of like the idea. Or even the idea of someone else being Batman, like Dick. But if you're gonna do it, make it good. I did not enjoy this arc at all. It had its moments where i thought were cool, but overall, the story was weak. As i've said, too many things happen too quickly for me to get attached to what i'm reading. Things come and go and and remain ambiguous when they appear again. Eh...i don't know. I'm looking forward to the Denny O'Neal story and the Neil Gaiman story, but Morrison has me completely turned off.

 

[C. W. Saturn]

I am actually going to sell the whole "Batman RIP" story. I am not angry or something, it's just that the story sucks.

 

[Double Down]

I kept reading and as there were fewer and fewer pages left, I kept wondering when something "big" was going to happen -- to justify all the hype. I don't think that ever happened.
Overall, the Batman RIP story has had some cool moments, but you practically need a PhD in Batman history to enjoy it. With newspapers hyping it, anyone who walks into a comic book shop and picks up the last issue is going to be majorly confused.

 

[MysterioMenace]

Embarrassingly bad story. Contrary to what Morrison wants, Bruce will be back eventually. Too bad Grant, Batman can’t live without him.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Spoiler

I think 'Battle Of The Cowl' is going to help answer alot of still unanswered questions about this arc itself, given how the opening panel of the first issue of RIP ("You're wrong! Batman and Robin will never die!") and one of the closing panels of this issue ("EVEN BATMAN AND ROBIN ARE DEAD!") fit together.

The way this issue hinted at things to come, it seems that Bruce probably won't be the Batman that was in that shot of the 'new' Batman and Robin. It'll most likely be Dick under the cowl, with Damian as Robin (a guess based solely off of how young that Robin looks), and *possibly* Tim as Nightwing.

What surprised me, though, was how easily it leaves Bruce to eventually come back. Unlike Superman's death, Bruce's was more ambigous. Whether or not this will benefit future storylines is something we'll have to wait and see about, I guess.

Spoiler

I doubt that Tim will be Nightwing, the Nightwing persona is going to Rucka's Action Comics. But yeah, I'd say that Dick is a shoo-in for Batman.

 

[Swordmaster]

Spoiler

That last panel with Dick seemed to confirm that theory

Either way, I really liked this issue. Best parts were whenever Batman did the unexpected.

 

[sclabguy]

idk i was a little bit dissapointed with how it ended

 

[alexdunn]

Good issue of an OK arc. I really like how smart and badass Morrison makes Batman though.