Thursday, December 10, 2009

Batman Returns - Again

The World’s Greatest Detective is facing his toughest mystery.

Lost in the time stream, believed to be dead by his friends and enemies alike, Bruce Wayne must use every bit of intelligence, every ounce of strength and training he’s acquired over the years to find his way back to the city, and adopted family of vigilantes, he’d left behind. Blasted by the mysterious and powerful Omega Effect in the pages of FINAL CRISIS during a deadly battle with the malevolent New God Darkseid, Bruce Wayne must battle back through the waves of time to reclaim what was his – his city, his life…his cowl? From the kinetic and awe-inspiring imagination of writer Grant Morrison and an all-star cast of artists, including Chris Sprouse, who’ll handle art chores on the first issue, BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 (of 6) hits in April and will prove to be Bruce Wayne’s defining moment as a hero, and his toughest challenge yet.

We all knew this was going to happen. Personally I could have waited a few more years. Like with Captain America, I was okay with someone else carrying the mantle for awhile. Dick Grayson, the original Robin was filling in his mentor's shoes comfortably and I liked the dynamic between him and Bruce's son Damien. But I can see how returning Bruce and having him team up with his son would be irresistible to the movers and shakers in DC.

Ever since that last panel of 'Final Crisis' we knew that Batman would have to make his way back through time. The idea of him adopting a new bat persona in each historical period felt like the best of all Elseworlds. After all, the first imaginary tale under the 'Elseworlds' banner was 'Gotham By Gaslight' which saw the Batman of Victorian times pursuing Jack the Ripper. I always enjoyed seeing how similar and how different the Batman I know was depending on the era in which he lived. Here are two of the redesigns that have been released so far.


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