-Lars Hindsley
How many stories have we read where a superhero is killed, only to have him come back later? The sad fact is, established superheroes don't die, won't die, and can never die - because they are the publishers' cash cows. Sure, any writer can kill off a character, but the owner of that character is the publisher, and all they have to do is simply bring in another writer willing to finagle some story to re-establish their hero.

Let's be honest. When DC killed Superman, those of us who believed it later learned that we were 'lied' to. That's a fact. At least when Bane broke Batman's back we were offered a plausible story that allowed us to accept Batman as a broken man because had DC decided to kill him, but our memories would remind us not to buy into the claim. Instead we bought issue number 497 (Bane breaks Batman's back).

In that story, another up and coming young vigilante named Azrael takes on Batman's mantle. Eventually Bruce Wayne recovers and, after doing battle with Azrael, gets his old job back.

That was 1993. Jump ahead to 2009. It's been roughly 16 years, so why should anyone remember that this gimmick has already been used once? Just in case people happen to remember, DC decided to up the ante. After all, Superman is basically unbeatable, so why not make Batman the same? At least for a little while - if Grant Morrison is writing the story.

So you can better wrap your head around what is happening with Batman, you need to understand Grant Morrison's style. When he writes, Batman is no longer a mere genius detective with high-tech gadgets. Instead, Batman is escalated to an omnipotent and all-knowing being. Perhaps that's how DC came up with the idea of making Batman a god. Yes, you read that correctly.

Here is the story to date. Bear with me as I provide you some much-needed background.

In 2008, Batman was thought to be dead (RIP Batman #676). Worse yet, his life is presumed to be a sham. In fact, Bruce Wayne's father never died - he staged his own death in order to orchestrate his son's life as Batman. Certainly a life without a father and mother would cause Bruce Wayne to become a vigilante. It was a great plan (and yes I'm being sarcastic in that statement).

DC then re-hashed the "who will become Batman?" story again by handing out buttons at Comicon (2008) with images of Hush, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson (Nightwing), imprinted with the words "I am Batman." The story arch is coming full circle now - but with a big twist.

 

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