Batman R.I.P.-off - Mobile Edition

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Batman R.I.P.-off
By Philip Schweier
March 7, 2009 - 19:41

Final Crisis #7 has been almost a month now, so people have had ample time to read it. Those that haven’t probably aren’t interested, and most have likely heard about the final teaser image from one website or another already.

The last panel shows an aged cave dweller, supposedly Anthro, the First Boy, in his old age, resting comfortably. By his side is Batman, who supposedly had died at the hands of Darkseid in Final Crisis #6. He was supposed to die in the final issue chapter of Batman R.I.P. (Batman #681). However, it seems to be DC Comics policy these days to feature a story ending in a completely different comic book than expected.

Instead, Batman met his end, caught in a dead man’s play between Darkseid’s death beams. We never actually see them hit, but a page or so later, Superman is shown carrying the burned out husk of what appears to be Batman. Well, the corpse is wearing the bat-costume, anyway.

However, in the aforementioned final panel of Final Crisis, a figure deep in shadow is scrawling a bat symbol on a cave wall next to Anthro. Some might suggest that since we don’t see his face, it’s not conclusively Batman, but DC Editor-in-chief Dan DiDio has confirmed that it is.

Was DC Comics ever going to kill off Batman? No, child, it wasn’t. Don’t be naive. While I’ve not had solid confirmation from its editorial management, logic suggests DC Comics has been yanking our chain the whole time.

Let’s go back several years to the Death of Superman storyline. Mainstream media ran with it, almost as if the intent was in fact to kill Superman and stop publishing what is arguably one of the most recognized fictional characters in the world. The money wrapped up in licensing and toys and film is far too great for that to ever happen.

And of course, the Man of Steel returned to fight another day.

But perhaps DC Comics’ plan wasn’t to kill Batman, per se, but Bruce Wayne, and have someone else take over the Batman identity. Not likely, and here’s why: for the past several years, DC Comics has been rebuilding the classic second- and third-tier characters. Oliver Queen, as Green Arrow, died and was replaced by Connor Hawke; now Oliver’s back. Hal Jordan, as Green Lantern, turned evil, died, and became the Spectre. Kyle Rayner became Green Lantern, but Hal Jordan was reborn. Barry Allen, as Flash, died during the original Crisis, and his sidekick Wally West assumed the Flash identity. Barry returned during the "recent unpleasantness."

Would DC Comics go to the trouble of resurrecting such classic characters, only to end Bruce Wayne and replace him with Dick Grayson or Jason Todd? It seems like a bad idea to me.

!!

Okay, moving along. Perhaps Bruce (Batman) Wayne will return in some time-travel story. I’m guessing all will be revealed sometime in the next 18 months or so. By that time, given DC Comics’ recent track-record of red-herrings, disinformation and over-blown hype, I have to wonder if anyone will even care.

Praise and adulation? Scorn and ridicule? E-mail me at philip@comicbookbin.com