In Batman #675, a blind villain tries to kidnap Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend Jezebel Jet, only to be maimed by tempura. Talia al Ghul and her son Damian both sense that some unseen force is hunting Batman, and Jezebel Jet discovers that *gasp* Bruce Wayne is, indeed, the caped crusader. Even though the Joker, Two-Face, the Penguin, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, the Gotham Police Department, the CIA, and the FBI haven’t realized this yet.

The interviews and rumors have been whizzing about the internet for months now: is Grant Morrison going to kill Bruce Wayne? DC editor-in-chief Dan Didio and Morrison have been giving cryptic answers for awhile, and this issue doesn’t bring the reader any closer to a conclusion. Morrison’s shrewd enough to know what not to give away, and I’m starting to believe that Batman: RIP will have gone through all six parts before we know what’s going to happen.

There’s not a lot to be said about this issue, as it serves primarily to push things closer to RIP. Still, Morrison’s talented enough to make it amusing, but I’m worried about the direction the character development is taking. Morrison’s made it clear, in interviews, that he sees Bruce Wayne as a guy who never quite grew up, who associated with three kids (the various Robins) because he’s something of a kid himself. It seems clear that Batman: RIP will involve some new step “forward” for Bruce Wayne, developmentally.

Not sure how crazy I am about that, or Morrison’s “Peter Pan” interpretation of Batman. Morrison had a similarly expansive vision for the X-Men when he and Frank Quitely helmed that title, and the result was less than stellar. Still, the head editors at DC have approved of Morrison’s changes, and they wouldn’t steer us wrong?

…right?

Worth the money? Nothing really happens, so no.