Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Batman #676, about which I write the following sentences: "Much of 'Batman' #676 is spent laying groundwork, and guiding the reader through what has already been implied in previous issues, but it is a good comic nonetheless, and it sets things up for what will be one of the most memorable Batman stories in history: 'Batman R.I.P.'"Read the entire review HERE.
I too believe that Morrison's plan is to transfer the role of Batman from Bruce, to Dick, and then to Damian. Admittedly, this is because Dick Grayson is my favorite superhero, however, there's a section of Batman #666 that clearly lists Bruce, Dick, and then Damian as three different Batman.
ReplyDeleteOn the first panel of the 18th page of story in Batman #666, Damian says, "I knew I'd never be as good as my dad or Dick Grayson. But I promised I wouldn't leave Gotham without a Batman." That line always stood out to me because I was happy to see Morrison seemingly writing that in his future, Dick Grayson takes up the mantle of the bat. This was before the whole R.I.P. story broke, and I too thought this was just Morrison's non-binding vision of the future.
Now maybe, just maybe, Damian is referencing Dick's short tenure during Prodigal. That's a possibility counter to the theory of Grayson taking over the mantle in R.I.P. There's also the possibility that yes Morrison sees Grayson taking over from Bruce one day, but R.I.P. isn't that day and Bruce will remain Batman, but with some new twist. Nothing can be taken for granted, but that one piece of dialogue from the future it appear Morrison is building toward, along with the substantial amount of issues Nightwing has dedicated to R.I.P. raise some interesting signals as to where R.I.P. may be heading.
Either way, the fun is definitely because "we feel as if anything could happen," as you said. I'm also a big Grant Morrison fan, so I'm confident that he'll write a great story and weave my favorite character into it. No matter how it ends, I'm not terribly worried over who's under the mask because I expect to get a great story out of R.I.P. But for fun, as of now, my Monopoly money's going on Grayson to emerge from R.I.P. as Batman.
Yeah, that's what I think too, and I remember that line from #666 solidifying my thoughts as well. Plus, unless there's time travel or hyper-aging involved (which is always possible), it's not like Damian or Tim look like Batman anyway. So that leaves either Jason Todd or Dick, and I just can't imagine anyone allowing Jason to take over. Superman would fly in and punch him in the face the minute he walked onto his first rooftop with the bat ears on.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm curious and may pick up the tie-in issues of Robin since July's #166's solicit reads:
ReplyDelete"A “Batman: R.I.P.” story! The shocking conclusion that will start of the rest of Tim Drake’s life — or is it the end? With Batman missing, Robin becomes the new Dark Knight. It’s Robin and Spoiler in an all-out brawl with Gotham City’s underworld — but with Batman’s trail growing cold, the end of this fight will decide the future of the Bat family!"
Makes me wonder...