Batman R.I.P.

"Batman R.I.P."
Cover art to Batman #676, the first issue of the arc. Art by Alex Ross
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	May - November 2008
Genre	Superhero
Title(s) • Batman #676-681 • Batman and the Outsiders #11-13 • Detective Comics #846-850 • Nightwing #147-150 • Robin #175-176
Main character(s)	Batman Batman Family The Joker Club of Villains
Creative team
Writer(s)	Grant Morrison
Artist(s)	Tony Daniel
Hardcover	ISBN 1-4012-2090-8

"Batman R.I.P." is a comic book story arc published in Batman #676-681 by DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Tony Daniel, and with covers by Alex Ross, the story pits the superhero Batman against the Black Glove organization as they attempt to destroy everything he stands for. It has a number of tie-ins in other DC Comics titles that are not to be confused with the main story running in Batman.

Outline

Discussing the genesis of the storyline and it's linkage to the rest of his run, Morrison notes that

I can tell you this much – this is the first story I had planned when Peter Tomasi, the editor at the time, asked me to do Batman, which must have been two years ago now… longer. And the very first story title I noted down was “Batman RIP”. I had a particular image for the cover, which Alex Ross has done a bang-zoom- thousand-times-better version of for the second part of the story. So it came from there…and out of that notion came the idea for the big overarching story I’ve been telling since I first came on the book. Everything…the “Zur-En-Arrh” graffiti, the Joker prose story, the Club of Heroes…every detail that’s been in the book for the last couple of years is significant, everything is a clue to the grand design that’s unfolding.

In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Grant Morrison explained that what's going to happen to Batman 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."

At the 2008 New York Comic Con "Spotlight on Grant Morrison" panel, Morrison talked about "Batman R.I.P." "When we begin to suspect the identity of the villain, I think it's the most, like I said the other day, it's possibly the most shocking Batman revelation in 70 years."

DC Universe #0 shed some light on the potential plot of the series, with a scene between Batman and the Joker written as a prelude to the upcoming storyline. In the sequence, Batman confronts the Joker about the mysterious "Black Glove," a villain who was behind the attempt to kill Batman during Morrison's "International Club of Heroes" arc in Batman #667-669. The Joker, nonchalantly dealing out a "dead man's hand" from a deck of cards, gloatingly taunts Batman regarding his fear of the mystery villain and how the Black Glove intends on destroying him.

Plot

Bringing together a number of concepts and characters explored by Morrison during his run as writer on Batman, the story details the attempts of the mysterious Dr. Simon Hurt and the "Black Glove," a criminal organization dedicated to corrupting virtue, as they attempt to destroy Batman and everything he stands for. At an unknown location, a group of international supervillains gather at the behest of the Black Glove, represented by Dr. Simon Hurt, the man responsible for the isolation chamber experiment that nearly ended Batman's career and for the creation of the three replacement Batmen. They are planning a danse macabre for Batman and arrange the delivery of an invitation to the villainous Joker. Meanwhile Commissioner Gordon tries to stop a Gotham newspaper from running a story on a dossier allegedly compiled by a detective hired by the parents of Martha Wayne, which contains many shocking allegations: testimony that Thomas Wayne was a drunk who addicted his wife to heroin, insinuations that Alfred Pennyworth is Bruce Wayne's true biological father, and photographs depicting an orgy involving Thomas and Martha Wayne, Alfred, and the stars of John Mayhew's noir film "The Black Glove" and the theory that Thomas Wayne may still be alive, the "murder" of the Waynes was in truth an elaborate hoax, arranged by Thomas Wayne in order to kill his unfaithful wife and fake his own death.

After one of Le Bossu's gargoyle henchmen drugs Batman with librium on the blade of a knife, Batman has the Batcomputer analyze all of his data on the Black Glove and Simon Hurt. The Batcomputer responds by displaying scenes from all over Gotham City in which the phrase "Zur-En-Arrh" has been spraypainted. The combination of the hypnotic drug and the trigger phrase "Zur-En-Arrh" causes Batman to collapse just as the Club of Villains descend upon the Batcave.

Doctor Hurt injects Batman with crystal meth and heroin and sets him loose to wander the streets of Gotham, confused and deranged. Bruce Wayne, having encountered a hallucination of a homeless man who died earlier that day, repeats the phrase "Zur-En-Arrh" and sews a new Batman costume out of scraps of cloth: the red, black, purple, and yellow costume of the "Batman of Zur-En-Arrh," (which is a reference to a story from the Golden age time period of DC Comics in which a Batman from another planet: "Zur-En-Arrh" meets the Bruce Wayne Batman. This Batman from the planet Zur-En-Arrh bears a very similar costume to the one Bruce creates for himself out of the scraps of cloth) who, with Bat-Mite by his side, sets out into Gotham City to stop the Club of Villains. It's revealed, through Bat-Mite, that years earlier Bruce Wayne, as a defense against psychological attack, created a "backup" personality, a "Batman without Bruce," the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh (using a hallucination he suffered after exposure to Professor Milo's gas as a basis), to take control in the event that Bruce might one day be mindwiped. Upon hearing of Batman's "return", Dr. Hurt relocates to Arkham, bringing Jezebel Jet to the asylum and overseeing the release of the Joker and Mr. freeze

Back at Arkham the Joker taunts Batman, saying Batman can never truly understand his insanity no matter how hard he tries. As Batman tries to save Jezebel, however, she reveals herself to be a member of the Black Glove, and the unmasked Batman breaks down upon the revelation. The defeated Batman is buried alive, while the Black Glove attempt to go on with Nightwing's lobotomy, but both heroes are able to free themselves, with flashbacks revealing that Batman has been aware of the existence of the Black Glove since the "Thögal" rite he underwent during his year of absence in 52. With the Club of Heroes cleaning down the streets, Robin is free to join his allies.

The Joker, the only one truly believing in Batman's secret agenda, unveils a transmitter hidden in the Bat-Radia which broadcasts a code able to give Batman total access over Arkham's security system. The Joker flees, but his escape is cut short by Damian Wayne, running over his stolen ambulance with the Batmobile. Batman confronts Jezebel Jet, boasting how he merely pretended to love her to get closer and exchange the courtesy by stripping her of her last memories of her dead mother (though revealing through internal monologue that he had actually truly fallen for her). Leaving Jezebel and her goons to Nightwing, Batman runs to Simon Hurt, who persists with the claim that he is truly Thomas Wayne. Batman discards his cape and cowl and refutes the claim, believing that Hurt is Mangrove Pierce, star of the "Black Glove" movie. Hurt denies that he is Pierce but extends an offer to Batman:a complete retraction of the slandering forgeries about his parents for servitude to the Black Hand. Batman refuses and leaps aboard Hurt's helicopter, causing the craft to crash into the water in a fiery explosion. As Nightwing clutches Batman's discarded cowl, Talia dispatches her Man-Bats to bring down Jezebel Jet's airplane. Six months later a disfigured Le Bossu is shown torturing a cop, free to act since Batman was not seen since his fight with Hurt. However, the Bat-Signal shines through a window in the roof, drawing a smile out of the policeman. As a final piece of the puzzle, the origins of the Zur-en-Arrh phrase are revealed as the misheard remarks of Thomas and Martha to their son that if ever a caped vigilante would appear in Gotham, they'd probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham.'

Promotion

At the New York Comic Con 2008, DC Comics gave away pins featuring Nightwing, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, and Hush with the words "I Am Batman" beneath them.

The pins were also being given away at the Newsarama booth by DC's executive editor Dan DiDio during HeroesCon 2008 in Charlotte, NC and again by DiDio at Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle.

Also appearing in all comics across the DC universe is a checklist of the related issues alongside a picture featuring Batman's empty cowl hanging on a cross-shaped tombstone.

Critical reception

Popcultureshock noted that the story was "a creative and intriguing Batman tale" but noted that elements of the story were repetitive of earlier stories and that "some readers will likely feel cheated that the real conclusion to what happens to Batman will occur in Final Crisis and not RIP."

Aftermath

The main Batman title is expected to feature several months of retrospective stories that 'showcase the legacy of the Batman' Those will be followed by a two-part story by Neil Gaiman called "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" a play on the Superman story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" by Alan Moore, which was also the last story before major changes in the character. According to DC Senior Vice President and executive editor Dan DiDio, Bruce Wayne does not really die in the storyline, though it leads to his absence.

In addition, the titles Nightwing, Robin and Birds of Prey will be cancelled. A three-part series entitled Battle for the Cowl, written and illustrated by Tony Daniel will focus on the aftermath of the series and the battle for Gotham.

Tie-ins

Batman R.I.P. Checklist

• Batman #676-681
• Detective Comics #846-850
• Nightwing #147-150
• Robin #175-176
• Batman and the Outsiders #11-13

Title relations

Each title has its own story, which relates to the other titles, especially the main one of Batman, but the timelines of each do not coincide with the order in which they are published. For instance, the Detective Comics story occurs a few nights prior to the main one in Batman.

Likely part of the R.I.P. aftermath, DC Comics announced that the ongoing Nightwing, Robin, and Birds of Prey titles will all end in February, 2009. No specific reason was given.

Batman #682-683 and Final Crisis

The Batman currently appearing in Final Crisis is indeed Bruce Wayne. Writer Grant Morrison stated, "First it's R.I.P., and we'll see how that winds up for Batman. Then the two-parter (#682-683) goes through Batman's whole career, in a big summing up of everything that also ties directly into Final Crisis. And Final Crisis is where we see the final fate of Batman."

Heart of Hush (Detective Comics #846-850)

Parallel to the main story in Batman, but actually a prologue to it, Paul Dini's Heart of Hush deals with the return of Thomas Elliot to Gotham City and Batman's life, his connection to the Gotham Underworld, and how these things helped transform Elliot into Hush.

The Great Leap (Nightwing #147-150)

Two-Face tasks Nightwing to protect an old flame of Harvey Dent's, Carol Bermingham, a witness in a high profile mob trial. Nightwing is in fact protecting Carol from Two-Face himself.

Scattered Pieces (Robin #175-176)

Parallel to the main story, Batman is missing and rampaging through the city in a delusional state. Nightwing is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum and Robin, fearing that Batman could have lost his sanity and gone rogue, tasks himself with finding his mentor and stopping him if necessary.

Outsiders No More (Batman and the Outsiders #11-13)

With a reduced roster and a missing Batman, Batgirl takes command and comes to the conclusion that no one can replace the invaluable skills of Batman, she starts seeking out for a group of new Outsiders whose combined skills could match Batman's.

Collected editions

The story is planned to be collected into multiple volumes:

• Batman R.I.P. (208 pages, oversized hardcover, February 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2090-8) collects:
  • "Batman R.I.P." (with Tony Daniel, Batman #676-681, June-November 2008)
  • "Last Rites" (with Lee Garbett, Batman #682-683, December 2008)

• Batman: Heart of Hush (144 pages, hardcover, April 2009, ISBN 1401221238)

References

• Batman R.I.P. at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

External links

• Batman R.I.P. issue listing at comiXology
• Batman #679: Batman RIP Continues, Bat-Radia in Hand from CC2K
• Deconstructing "Batman R.I.P."
• Sunday Slugfest: Batman #676, Comics Bulletin
• Review of Batman #676, Comic Book Resources
• Killing Batman And The DC Universe, IGN, August 26, 2008