Batman Incorporated Reveal Promises Spoilerific Changes

[Fanghawk]

Batman Incorporated Reveal Promises Spoilerific Changes

Grant Morrison approaches the end of his seven-year Batman run, with plans of ending on a high note.

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Batman Incorporated #8.

Batman's story began with the death of his parents, but he's had no shortage of loss since then. The most recognizable example is second Robin Jason Todd, a character so despised <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Todd>that readers voted he be killed off during a well-publicized telephone poll. Jason's "death" happened 25 years ago, but in both comics and real life, history has a strange way of repeating itself. And so, with Wednesday's release of Batman International #8, the Dark Knight will lose his son and latest Robin, Damian Wayne.

"He saves the world," Damian's creator and Batman writer Grant Morrison confirms. "He does his job as Robin ... He dies an absolute hero."

Inspired by Batman's relationship earning him the simmering hatred of Batman fanboys. Sadly, a figure so disliked by fans rarely gets the chance to stick around for long.

Details on Damian's death aren't clear, but we do know that <a href=http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/02/25/grant-morrison-on-his-legendary-batman-run>Talia will be the villain of Batman Incorporated's final chapters. Considering that Batman Incorporated continues into Summer 2013, I imagine Damian's self-sacrifice will drive Batman into a brooding despair, so he can rediscover himself during a confrontation with Damian's vengeful mother. Personally, I think the event is a shame. I was actually starting to get a little fond of Damian, and it's disappointing that the character will disappear after all the effort Morrison spent integrating him into Batman's world.

Damian Wayne fans shouldn't worry too much though. After all, if he's anything like his dad, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_bruce_wayne>he'll probably be back in a year or two acting like he'd never left.

Source: <a href=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/holy_hit_job_robin_eats_it_kZ9EWvYlw10mf4wS324GhN>New York Post, via <a href=http://www.examiner.com/article/robin-the-boy-wonder-killed-batman-sidekick-to-be-killed-off>Examiner

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[shintakie10]

And if its anythin like what DC did to Jason Todd, they'll systematically make Damian more and more useless when they bring him back and continually retcon him into a blithering useless mess that deserved to die so they can protect Batman from any wrong-doing.

Seriously. What DC did to Jason Todd after they killed him off was probably the most bullshit thing I've seen done to a nonfemale character in the DC universe.

On topic! Sucks for him. Really not sure what Batman fans want at this point. Every sidekick since Dick has been treated like "TEH WURST THING EVAH!" no matter how well the character is written, how good the character arcs actually are, or how interestin the character growth actually is. All that matters seems to be that there's a Robin and its not Dick and they need to diaf.

Such a shame.

 

[Vault101]

so anther robin dies? I've lost track

oh and SPOILERS aparently batwoman proposes to her girlfreind in batwoman #17

you know we seem to get comics later...

 

[shintakie10]

so anther robin dies? I've lost track

oh and SPOILERS aparently batwoman proposes to her girlfreind in batwoman #17

you know we seem to get comics later...

Who is this batwoman person and why have I not heard of her...

 

[Vault101]

Who is this batwoman person and why have I not heard of her...

I am not familiar with the charachter pre New 52 (since thats where I started reading)

Batwoman (real name Kate Kane) is an ex military person and (obviously) gay, her girlfreind maggie is a cop in the GPD. Batwoman is a not part of the "bat family" (though batman did ask her) she is currently working for some governemt department (forgot the name) made to keep an eye on super people like her and batman...NOT willingly of coarse but because if she doesnt somthing about locking her dad up

anyway so far #17 issues, its pretty good..at least I think so

 

[knight steel]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

 

[Jon Porcincula]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

The next great retcon event that spans all DC titles.

 

[Jaebird]

A death so big and important, it's not even happening in the main Batman book.

Edit: Sorry, but isn't the point of Batman, Inc. suppose to be about different Batmen from around the world? I haven't been reading it, nor have I heard anything about any form of an international Batman, aside from Bat-Cow.

 

[knight steel]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

The next great retcon event that spans all DC titles.

So then about 25 years give or take?

 

[Fanghawk]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

The next great retcon event that spans all DC titles.

So then about 25 years give or take?

Given how closely together they seem to be happening, I'd give it, oh...

*checks watch*

Oh wait, he's back already.

 

[knight steel]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

The next great retcon event that spans all DC titles.

So then about 25 years give or take?

Given how closely together they seem to be happening, I'd give it, oh...

*checks watch*

Oh wait, he's back already.

LMAO, good one ^_^

 

[Fanghawk]

A death so big and important, it's not even happening in the main Batman book.

Edit: Sorry, but isn't the point of Batman, Inc. suppose to be about different Batmen from around the world? I haven't been reading it, nor have I heard anything about any form of an international Batman, aside from Bat-Cow.

Batman Inc is also the vehicle Grant Morrison is using to continue his Batman storyline, while the other titles he kicked Damian's story off with are being left to other writers. It's actually the second volume so it'll have been running for over 20 issues once it's finished (got reset back to #1 during New 52).

 

[Therumancer]

To be honest with you I'd care more if DC wasn't overdoing the entire melodrama thing. It seems like they are always promising "huge, radical changes", re-working the universe, killing off iconic characters, having someone come out of the closet, or whatever the heck else now, where I'm actually more surprised when they are just doing decent super hero stories with the characters acting as people remember them, know, and love.

What's pathetic is the whole "we're killing Robin again" bit, since we've already been through the whole Robin-Drama constantly. I mean aside from Dick and Tim it seems like it goes beyond an issue of fan acceptance at this point and a situation where Robin simply had a bullseye for someone to pick on for a quite headline in the mainstream news and a boost in comic sales.

Now to be honest, I never thought much of the whole "Damien Wayne" character because I thought giving Batman a biological son didn't really fit the whole schtick. I mean it can make sense, and it was written okay, but this is a character who in one guise is a brooding loner, and in the other a philandering playboy. Having his orphan ward to lighten him up worked, but when you made it his actual, literal, son... well it just never really felt right to me.

That said, Robin is supposed to be the sort of anti-Batman by nature, and I think Damien and Jason both had the disadvantage of being "extreme" takes on a character that is by definition NOT supposed to be extreme, violent, vicious, or paticularly dark. Jason Todd was basically a thug a lot of the time it seemed, and Damien was an Assasin...

Also while heresy to some people, especially seeing as it was never intended to be a longterm thing, I think Stephanie/The Spoiler should have remained Robin for longer. The reason being simply that I felt her personality played off of Batman's the way a Robin's should, and what's more she needed him, and sort of realized that. Something that Tim Drake was kind of missing at the time as he was coming into his own. Part of the problem with Jason and Damien was I never really got the impression that they felt they needed Batman the same way, and also tended to largely wind up
doing their own thing.

At any rate, I do imagine they will wind up bringing Damien back at some point. Not even Bucky stayed dead in Marvel in the long run. Heck, I'd even go so far as to say that they probably are already planning it. At the end of the day I think it's all about the hype that can be generated, and truthfully fans who think that Robins have been killed and characters altered this way on their say so are kind of flattering themselves. "Bring Back Hal Jordan" had a far bigger cry for a longer period of time than the dislike of Damien ever did, especially with how they got rid of him, and DC didn't consent for... a long time. The same could be said of what they did to "The Flash" with Crisis On Infiite Earths.

I could be wrong, but Damien is less the result of fan pressure, as much as the unfortunate goober that happens to be wearing the Robin costume when DC wants to generate some hype for a quick buck.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

The next great retcon event that spans all DC titles.

So then about 25 years give or take?

Try three years.

Off the top of my head, these are the major "crisis" crossovers, i.e. large-scale crossovers that retcon major events of the plot.

Crisis on Infinite Earths - 1986
Zero Hour - 1994
Identity Crisis - 2004
Infinite Crisis - 2006
Final Crisis - 2008
Blackest Night - 2009
Flashpoint - 2011

As you can see, their frequency has increased massively since 2004, from about every 8-10 years to every two or three years. Infinite Crisis was supposed to be the big, once-a-decade retcon, but Final Crisis (a retcon of similar scale) came two years later, and Flashpoint three years after that.

I really wouldn't expect Damian to stay dead for long. He'll come back as a villain or the new Ra'as al-Ghul or something.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Who is this batwoman person and why have I not heard of her...

I am not familiar with the charachter pre New 52 (since thats where I started reading)

Batwoman (real name Kate Kane) is an ex military person and (obviously) gay, her girlfreind maggie is a cop in the GPD. Batwoman is a not part of the "bat family" (though batman did ask her) she is currently working for some governemt department (forgot the name) made to keep an eye on super people like her and batman...NOT willingly of coarse but because if she doesnt somthing about locking her dad up

anyway so far #17 issues, its pretty good..at least I think so

Kate Kane as Batwoman was introduced back in 52 and, after BATMAN: R.I.P., got to be the main feature in Detective Comics by Greg Rucka, with Renee Montoya as The Question in the back-up feature. She's made a few guest appearances in other Bat-books, helping out Richard Grayson as Batman then the main Batman when he started Batman, Inc. As with most Bat-family characters, her history is mostly unchanged in the Nu52, and her solo book is really good. So far, her post-reboot interaction with the Batman family was declining Batman's personal invitation to join Batman Inc. and guest-starring in Batgirl, but she hasn't been roped into recent events.
And the gov't agency who recruited her is the D.E.O. (Department of Extranormal Operations), which I think is being absorbed into the newer agency A.R.G.U.S.

 

[MrGalactus]

Escapist does comics news now? I can dig it.

Batman Inc is far from perfect, what with the weird way they publicly link Bruce Wayne to funding Batman's exploits, which really takes away any excuse any Gothamite has for not having figured out who Batman is yet, and Batman's new, weird tendency to let his gratuitously untrained Batbuddies to do things they can't possibly do. That being said, I'm actually kinda saddened by this. Damian is annoying and petulant, but some diversity of personality is nice around Gotham every now and then. I'm most interested to see how Bruce/Batsy will deal with his biggest mainstream continuity loss since his parents waaaaaaaay back in the 60's. Also, I'm liking the Batman R.I.P. referential cover. Very full circle, Mr.Morrison.

 

[Agent_Dark]

so anther robin dies? I've lost track

oh and SPOILERS aparently batwoman proposes to her girlfreind in batwoman #17

you know we seem to get comics later...

Who is this batwoman person and why have I not heard of her...

Batwoman is one of the best books DC is putting out imo. The Batwoman ongoing series was one of the launch titles in DC's New52 line.

To elaborate on Vault101, Kate Kane's, her sister and her mother were kidnapped by terrorists when she was young. Kate survived, but her sister and mother were killed. She grew up with her father, who is a US Army Special Forces soldier. She joined the Army straight out of school in order to do her duty ("duty" sort of being her recurring theme, as much as "vengeance" is Batman's). However, she came under investigation by the Army due to her sexual orientation and instead of fighting the charge (and potentially implicating another cadet she was seeing) she instead upheld the Army Academy's motto of "Cadet's will not lie, cheat or steal" and told the Army she was gay. They discharged her under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and she was left sort of direction-less in life until she had a chance encounter with Batman. Realising that she could take up in his footsteps, and again do her duty, she began to fight crime as a vigilante. She initially stole some equipment from her father, and when he found out he agreed to help her. So he sent her around the world for a couple of years to train from the best of the best Special Forces/Intelligence guys so she could return and take up the title as Batwoman.

Her origin story is told in the Batwoman: Elegy trade. I'd highly recommend it - it has art by J.H. Williams III, who is probably the best artist in the industry at the moment. The story is by Greg Rucka, who is also (imo) one of the best writers around. The book itself has a lot of supernatural elements in it, which seems to be one of Batwoman's forte's - alot of her villains are supernatural in nature which you wouldn't necessarily find in other Batman books. The book also has a visual feel much more like Batman Begins, in that she's ex-military and her gear reflects that. Batwoman #1 pretty much follows straight on from Elegy, and is the current on-going series.

 

[Agent_Dark]

A death so big and important, it's not even happening in the main Batman book.

Batman, Inc is arguably the 'Big Guns' book though since it's being written by Grant Morrison who's basically dominated the Batman books over the last 6 years. It's essentially the closing chapter in Morrison's grand sweeping Batman saga that started way back in the mid 2000's.

 

[knight steel]

Taking all bets-taking all bets
How long intill he's revived/find out he survived!
A year-5 years-a decade?

The next great retcon event that spans all DC titles.

So then about 25 years give or take?

Try three years.

Off the top of my head, these are the major "crisis" crossovers, i.e. large-scale crossovers that retcon major events of the plot.

Crisis on Infinite Earths - 1986
Zero Hour - 1994
Identity Crisis - 2004
Infinite Crisis - 2006
Final Crisis - 2008
Blackest Night - 2009
Flashpoint - 2011

As you can see, their frequency has increased massively since 2004, from about every 8-10 years to every two or three years. Infinite Crisis was supposed to be the big, once-a-decade retcon, but Final Crisis (a retcon of similar scale) came two years later, and Flashpoint three years after that.

I really wouldn't expect Damian to stay dead for long. He'll come back as a villain or the new Ra'as al-Ghul or something.

O_O I gave the comic book industry way to much credit, Seriously comic industry stop retconing stuff when you create changes you should stick with them,if you don't how am I meant to get excited about this thtype of stuff T_T

 

[Vault101]

And the gov't agency who recruited her is the D.E.O. (Department of Extranormal Operations), which I think is being absorbed into the newer agency A.R.G.U.S.

can you explain why whats his name is a skeleton? I found that jarring when I first started reading

that. Batwoman #1 pretty much follows straight on from Elegy, and is the current on-going series.

so elegy is pretty much a pre cursor to her current new 52 run? I might check that out....