The Ascension of a Batman
It wasn’t that long ago that I reported – upon seeing it reported elsewhere – that one of the DC Universe’s favorite sons, Bruce Wayne, would be saying adios to life. It was a massive announcement that seemed to somehow get slipped underneath the proverbial welcome mat of the internet. Well, a few weeks on, and there is more news.
All of the information is making its way in to the world via Rich Johnston, of Comic Book Resources. His weekly column, Lying in the Gutters, has been held in high regard for some time, so these “rumors” can be taken with a bit of weight.
Over the past two weeks, Johnston has passed on two more bits of information that, for my part, blew my mind.
Firstly, last week, Johnston expanded on another rumor that had picked up speed thanks to Valerie D’Orazio on her blog Occasional Superheroine. The rumor is that, all of the main DC heroes are to take a step up in the evolutionary scale and become ‘New Gods’, leaving their sidekicks to fill their vacant spots behind.
Now obviously, for some of you, this will need some explaining.
Created by Jack Kirby and first published in 1971, the New Gods are natives of the twin planets of New Genesis and Apokolips. As their names might suggest to the insightful, New Genesis is an Eden like planet and Apokolips is hellish. The inhabitants of these two planets belong to the Fourth World, and live outside of normal time and space, and are immortal, stronger, faster, and smarter than homo-sapiens.
Any more information can be found across the internet, especially Wikipedia, but that is the gist of what needs to be known for the moment.
According to D’Orazio, rumor had it that the DC universe was going to promote all their number one’s, presumably including Bruce Wayne, Superman, Wonder Woman, among others. However Johnston in last week’s Lying in the Gutters column said that DC had abandoned promoting the entirety of the roster, and reduced it to be only Bruce Wayne.
The reason for the promotions rested in the fact that currently, in various DC books, the New Gods are being killed off one by one. Jim Starlin is currently writing an 8-issue series entitled Death of the New Gods, in which he makes it very clear there will be very few to make it out alive, if any.
Furthermore, for fans of the current Countdown weekly series, we’ve already been shown that Darkseid – the ruler of Apokolips – is at least a player in the damages being wrought across the DCU. So as Johnston suggests in his column, could we be looking forward to seeing a Bruce Wayne versus Darkseid battle at the end of Countdown?
Another note is the change of name to the weekly Countdown series, which at issue #26 – half way through – the title changed to “Countdown to Final Crisis.” The name refers not only to what will no doubt be a massive climax, but also what will be the last of the ‘Crisis’ DC crossover books that have peppered the last two decades of comics.
Lastly, and possibly most newsworthy for the world at large, is who will be donning the cape and cowl after Bruce Wayne departs this mortal plane.
There has been a lot of speculation as to which protégé would fill the roll left behind, between Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake. Well, once again, according to CBR’s Johnston, the name is now out there, and it’s Jason Todd.
Jason Todd was the unlucky second Robin that was doomed to die in the Batman event, A Death in the Family. However he has slowly been reintroduced in to the DCU and once again grown to prominence in the weekly series Countdown. From a sheer literary point of view, his promotion would have, and subsequently will, make the most sense. His reintroduction in to the universe has been strategically timed.
It get’s even better, when you look at the above photo, also found here. Take a look closely at the line up, and you’ve clearly got a Batman that has a haughty look Bruce Wayne wouldn’t be caught dead wearing. Know anything about Jason Todd? If not, then just know this; he’s an arrogant sod, but he’s good at his job!
The DC Universe is pumping out some rather impressive books, and some decent storylines to accompany them. At first I was a little concerned about the death of Bruce Wayne, as I didn’t want them to just retrace the death of Superman, and bring Wayne back a few years later. But this seems a good way to give the Bat-universe a shift, while not adhering to stereotypical comic book conceits.
Needless to say, I cannot wait!
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Comments
I can’t believe they are going to do this you can see the backlash that marvel got for killing captain america and now dc is killing one of their big guys, it annoys the hell out of me!!
mate - you actually have no proof - are jumping on heresay and the on the band wagon - stop the gossip - grow the hell up and get some real stuff
print this or I will expose your fakeness
The whole adoption of Tim as Bruce’s son and Damian being around and such also seems to indicate this,well, i think so anyway. It leads to the idea of who is going to inherit Wayne Enterprise. Cja…
it really makes no difference.
people die, come back, become gods, become mortal again on the whim of the current writers.
never fear any bread and butter hero will come back to their normal states.
it amounts to nothing more than short stories, we live in a comic book land of alternate realities.
superman is dead, long live superman.
Really, I hope not. Poor Tim Drake if they do decide to do this. He JUST lost his biological father to a murderer and then he’ll have to lose his adoptive father as well? I think I’ll have to call bullshit on this one…..
If there is any truth to this, I really think that Dick Grayson will take the mantle of the Bat. I think this for a couple of reasons
1) Batman tells Alfred that for all purposes Jason Todd is still dead, because of his actions in the Red Hood story arc
2) DC has been trying to figure out exactly what to do with Dick Grayson for a while now. He was suppose to die in the last Crisis but was given a last minute reprieve.
3) DC already left the mantle in the hands of a killer, so they have both been there and done that.
4) Dick makes sense for the progression to Batman. With him being Bruce’s oldest “son” having just recently adopted him and Tim. Tim is too young though capable as Bruce has stated to Alfred in the pages of the Robin series. Damian is also too young, also the grandchild of Bruce’s deadliest and scariest villain so I don’t see that happening.
5) If they don’t make Dick Grayson Batman, the fan fallout will be tremendous.
Hm…Gwen Stacy, Superman, Captain America and now this. How about they bring back Professor X to be the new Batman. Comic books ain’t Shakespere, but when done right, they can be formidable. Maybe another Peter Parker clone could be the new Batman and The Jackyl could team up with The Penguin.
It makes sense, I suppose. Comics are going by the wayside anymore, and too many artists have their own ideas to be constrained to these antique heroes and stories. Give them a dignified sendoff and behold the coming of the new medium.
This is the most upsetting news as a Batfan ever. Did they not learn anything from Knightfall, you CAN NOT replace Bruce Wayne. I hope this is just a wild and crazy rumor that will never happen cause if it does I just may drop Batman all together. I was hoping Jason Todd would emerge as his own hero. This would be one of the worst mistakes DC could ever make and I can’t see how the Batcamp or Warner Bros would allow this with The Dark Knight set to hit theaters next year.
Dan DiDio reported at Wizard World Texas comic convention last week that they would not be killing off any of the Big 3 to replace as New Gods.
Remember that rumour about Batman dying and the follow up that he would become a New God? Well, DiDio squashed that rumour when a fan asked if it was true they would be killing off Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman and resurrecting them as New Gods. DiDio responded with, “Oh God, that’s a bad idea!”.
While he could be lying to people, it seems like a confirmation that rumour is just that, a rumour.
Kirk Warren
The Weekly Crisis
This could be hilariously entertaining.
Jason actually does make the most sense as Batman, he is the one [before his death] I would have set as the most likely follow-up to Batman. Tim will take over Wayne Industries, and Dick will continue to be what he is, NOT BRUCE.
And Tim can continue being Robin, Jason will lead him over to the Dark Side, leading to the Future Titans. He can stay in practice by throwing sharp objects at Damian. That would make me happy.
Plus, Bruce would hate being a new-god, it would be the anti-thesis of his entire life. So it would last all of three months before he figures out a way out of it, stops being a God, and returns to Gotham, to kick the ass of ALL his sons. //amused//
honestly in disappointed with it. one of the reason why batman is a favorite superheroe, it’s because is human. he haven’t suffer any mutation or is from another planet, or anything like that. he is a normal guy with a huge bank account, psychological problems, great sense of honor and justice, that fight for the innocents sake. i really will not like him as a God…
Bucky died. Bucky is back. Jason died. Jason is back. Cap is dead. Batman will be dead. Maybe Bucky will be Cap. Maybe Jason will be Batman. I smell sh*t…
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This is getting really out of hand. Cut the crap and write some descent stories. Or quit your jobs and let writers that have great ideas take the characters we love so much to new adventures. Bruce wayne is batman. Bottom line. Now go stick your head in a toilet.
Bruce Wayne is a unique character in all comics. The whole idea of him being Batman is a seperate notion, meaning theres more psycological, emotional, and complex aspects that make up the characters. The whole idea of watching his parents get killed in from of him is an original concept that defined Bruce and gave him the persona of Batman. Anything else just wouldn’t fit.
The Death of Superman comic was a massive success that sold millions of copies and increased the readership of superman comics by 300% (approximately). Then he was brought back, which was good. Now they think they can do the same with Brucie? Fool me once….
I gotta say I don’t see how Jason Todd makes the most sense as Batman, he’s the black sheep of the family, he goes around killing people. I don’t think Tim & Dick would be to happy with him being Batman either. But I guess you did say “from a sheer literary point of view” and English Literature was never my best subject in school.