http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/article1982939.ece By SIMON ROTHSTEIN Published: Today THE world’s most famous comic book hero has breathed his last Bat breath. Bruce Wayne – who by night is Batman – gets murdered by a man claiming to be the father he thought was dead. In a highly controversial new storyline Bruce, who first appeared in 1939, is killed by Simon Hurt – the leader of the shady Black Glove organisation. Simon claims he is really Dr Thomas Wayne, saying he faked his own passing when Bruce was a child. The superhero dies when he tries to stop his foe escaping by helicopter in the new comic Batman R.I.P. Writer Grant Morrison said: “This is so much better than death. People have killed characters in the past but to me, that kind of ends the story! "I like to keep the story twisting and turning. So what I am doing is a fate worse than death. Things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all. "This is the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman." Batman will live on though, with another character filling his Batsuit. Two likely contenders are Dick Grayson - the original Robin - or current Boy Wonder, Tim Drake.
Why do they never learn? The death of Superman was a flop. When you have a formula that has been successful over time, don't mess with it.
it lasted for 70 years and now they decide its time to a change? anything that lasts this long doesn't need to change, ever. oh well, way to jump the shark.
Actually, the death of Superman was a huge success - commercially at least. It was a high point in sales for a dying industry. The Sun article is very misleading though. The comic raised the possibility of the killer (The Black Glove) being Batman's father, but it was just one of various possibilities. And there's no way that Bruce Wayne is dead. There was no body and everybody knows he'll be back.
Batman's been "jumping the shark" for 79 years actually. He is constantly changing. There have been about 10 completely different interpretations of the character - from the smiling, jokey Adam West type to Frank Miller's dark monster. Batman is always evolving. This is just one more step in his evolution.
i was just gonna say... Death of Superman was a huge success... Dunno what you basing the "flop" on....
Dick Grayson better not take the mantle again (he did before after "Knightfall"). Nightwing is one of my favorite superheroes. Also, if this holds up (which has a .001% chance of happening), the comics have already made a nod to the eventual existence of Terry McGinnis. I wonder if that would be retconned out or they'll just stick with an alternate universe angle. That sucks, as I'm a big Batman Beyond fan too.
Comic books are great. At least there is some actual talent behind the writing these days. BTW MB, was it you that recommended the Blair House B&B a while back? If so, I meant to thank you for that. My wife loved it and we had a good time relaxing there for a weekend. Really appreciate the recommendation.
You can find that particular story here: Fans prematurely mourn Batman - though the super hero's not actually dead BY ETHAN SACKS DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Wednesday, November 26th 2008, 5:01 PM Holy misunderstandings, Batman, the caped crusader is not really dead! Despite the ominous title, "Batman, R.I.P.: Conclusion," on the cover of the latest issue of "Batman," - and a cliff-hanger ending that has put some fans in premature mourning - reports of the super hero's death have been greatly exaggerated. "He's not dead, though he'll definitely be gone for a while," said Dan DiDio, executive editor at D.C. Comics. "Batman and [alter ego] Bruce Wayne have been here long before me and they'll be around long after me." The comic company was so worried about outraging readers that it announced months ago Batman was not really going to die. They needn't have worried too much. Comic book fans have become jaded over the years over as they've watched a who's who of super heroes bite the proverbial speeding bullet - only to return a few months later. D.C. Comics killed Superman in 1992 and brought him back. More recently, rival publisher Marvel Comics knocked off Captain America; he hasn't returned - yet. "Fans have an unspoken understanding with the publisher," said Matt Brady, a writer for newsarama.com, a comic book news Web site. "You can take [Batman] off the stage for a while, but you can't put him in the ground." That hasn't stopped customers from coming into Forbidden Plant, a Manhattan comics store, to buy several copies of the issue on the mistaken assumption Batman is gone forever, store manager Jeff Ayers said. Savvy fans haven't panicked. "At the end of the day, they still have to make Batman underwear," said Ayers. "It's not like Disney's going to kill off Mickey Mouse one day."
That write up is indeed misleading. I wasn't too fond of this story line because it was so convoluted and brought back elements from very far back in the comic book history of Batman. You aren't sure who the bad guy he is, he basically says he's the hole in things, THE enemy, the piece that never fits that's been there since the beginning. I hope it's not his dad because that would be like crapping on Bob Kane's legacy. On the otherhand, bringing in some bad guy who's never really been front and center and having him be the one that finally ends Bruce Wayne as Batman is pretty lame. You can read a summary of the story arc here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_R.I.P.#Plot Next up will be 2 issues written by Neil Gaimen called "Whatever Happend to the Caped Crusader?" I have no idea what happens, but I've heard that basically it'll be a retrospective of the different ways Batman was written over the years. After that, who knows. Most likely Nightwing/Dick Grayson becomes Batman for a while. In Batman issue 666, we saw a possible future and Batman is Damien Wayne, Bruce Wayne's son/clone from Talia Al Ghul.
