Saturday, April 25, 2009

Batman R.I.P: The Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel, with Sandu Florea, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott

Batman died for a short time, but he was revived. However, the experience changed even someone as vengeful and driven as he was. And a club of supervillains led by a man calling himself Doctor Hurt is exploiting that change, seeking to drive Batman over the edge into full madness.

They begin by attacking his memories of his family, printing rumors that Alfred was an ex-drug addict, con artist and actor who was having an affair with Bruce's mother. Heck, that he might even be Bruce's father, and who was passed off as a cuckoo in the nest. They attack his new relationship with reporter Jezebel Jet, and pass around rumors of why Bruce took a succession of young male "wards" into his house. And yes, it's exactly the reason you're thinking of that they impute to him.

They attack his allies, seeking to kill or disable him and denying Batman their aid, kidnap and torture Alfred and replace him with a lookalike to berate Bruce on his failings, and do everything they possibly can to unseat Bruce's reason and drive him into insanity. They even make Joker part of their plan, because he has a definite grudge against Batman made worse when Bats recently shot him in the head.

But unbeknownst to them all, Bruce is made of extremely stern stuff, and his apparent succumbing to their plan may not be proof that it is succeeding, but that he is allowing them to think that they are! But amidst all the bluff, double-bluff, rumor, fighting and infighting, can Bruce sort out the leader behind it all, the man who claims to be Thomas Wayne? And even if he does survive, will Batman's sanity ever be the same?

This is a very thick book for a graphic novel. While nowhere near as large as "The Death and Resurrection of Superman", it's pretty hefty, so reading this is a long-term undertaking- or will be for most readers. But thankfully, it's not a difficult read- the plot against Batman is spelled out rather clearly, as is Bruce Wayne's reaction to the events.

But we aren't given insight into Batman's mind. we never get to hear his own inner voice, but are given the voices of others who stand on the outside looking at how he's dealing with what is going on. And in the end, he needs the help of his allies, including Robin, Nightwing, Talia Al's Ghul, his son Damian, Alfred, Comissioner Gordon, and many of this other allies.

In the end, I found the story intriguing, but not much really changed. Batman doesn't change much, not even at several of the betrayals revealed within. And I suppose that's because he's so intelligent and can see the outcome of things far into the future. He's like a stone, unmoved because every time someone tries to pull a surprise on him, he's already seen it coming and prepared for it. And occasionally, that can be quite annoying. But this is a good story, and I do recommend it.

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