Batman: R.I.P

[JeyNyce]

http://comics.ign.com/articles/894/894118p1.html

How long do you guys think this will last?

[BWPS]

Hopefully zero seconds.

If they have to do it, I vote for Terry McGinnis to be the new Batman. Or is he not even born?

[Talavar]

How is DC this stupid?

DC/Warner Bros Executive: "I know, our new Batman movie is the biggest film of the summer!  Let's change the character so that it's totally unrelated to the version everyone saw there.  Why would we want to possibly pick up new readers?"

I'm still hoping this is all misdirection, and that Bruce Wayne will still be Batman afterwards.

[B A D]

I second the notion. This is dumb. They replaced Bruce in the nineties with that idiot, Azrael. Worked great then, too.

[tommyboy]

I think it would be mildly amusing, for at least a second and a half, if Jason Todd took up the mantle. That way we could have both Cap and Bats replaced by their formerly-dead-now-lamely-resurrected-sidekicks. In fact, all characters should be replaced by their formerly-dead-now-lamely-resurrected-sidekicks. And then gender-swapped.

[AncientSpirit]

Color me optimistic ... but I don't think anyone will replace Bruce Wayne as Batman.   

I read the first issue or so of this series, and it felt more like they were leading up to something about Bruce's parents ... where they somehow get to rest in peace ... or Bruce gets some peace of mind or some such...

Just a thought.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

They're killing Bruce?  What?  I haven't heard about this.  I'm off to search for spoilers on wikipedia.

[steamteck]

I second the notion. This is dumb. They replaced Bruce in the nineties with that idiot, Azrael. Worked great then, too.

And the powers that be are even stupider now than they were then. What with the  super hit movie and all.

[steamteck]

How is DC this stupid?

DC/Warner Bros Executive: "I know, our new Batman movie is the biggest film of the summer!  Let's change the character so that it's totally unrelated to the version everyone saw there.  Why would we want to possibly pick up new readers?"

I'm still hoping this is all misdirection, and that Bruce Wayne will still be Batman afterwards.

You have more faith than I do. The major companies seem to go out of their way to kill their golden gooses and crap on their best characters as well as defeat any possibilities of new readers being brought in by movies.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Hey, I personally don't mind old characters dying or being retired so long as it is done the right way.  Comic books are just about the only medium the gets stuck on certain characters and find themselves unable to move onto anything fresh.  But it has to be done right, which it rarely ever is.

[BlueBard]

How is DC this stupid?

DC/Warner Bros Executive: "I know, our new Batman movie is the biggest film of the summer!  Let's change the character so that it's totally unrelated to the version everyone saw there.  Why would we want to possibly pick up new readers?"

I'm still hoping this is all misdirection, and that Bruce Wayne will still be Batman afterwards.

Actually, the comics can probably do whatever the heck they want.  The movie Batman can continue on as before.  DC can always explain the differences away.  "Oh the movies are set during an earlier time when Bruce Wayne was Batman"

I don't, however, believe they can be true to the character of Bruce Wayne and NOT have him be Batman if he's still around.  Which would be the point of killing him off.  If they do.

[Panther_Gunn]

I think it would be mildly amusing, for at least a second and a half, if Jason Todd took up the mantle. That way we could have both Cap and Bats replaced by their formerly-dead-now-lamely-resurrected-sidekicks. In fact, all characters should be replaced by their formerly-dead-now-lamely-resurrected-sidekicks. And then gender-swapped.

And then shoved through a portal that changes them into anthropomorphic animals.

[Dr.Volt]

I'd heard a rumor awhile ago that this might happen.  Then lost track of it.  Unbelievable!!!  Imho, only Bruce Wayne can be Batman.  Hopefully this stupid decision will rectified soon!

[Talavar]

How is DC this stupid?

DC/Warner Bros Executive: "I know, our new Batman movie is the biggest film of the summer!  Let's change the character so that it's totally unrelated to the version everyone saw there.  Why would we want to possibly pick up new readers?"

I'm still hoping this is all misdirection, and that Bruce Wayne will still be Batman afterwards.

Actually, the comics can probably do whatever the heck they want.  The movie Batman can continue on as before.  DC can always explain the differences away.  "Oh the movies are set during an earlier time when Bruce Wayne was Batman"

I don't, however, believe they can be true to the character of Bruce Wayne and NOT have him be Batman if he's still around.  Which would be the point of killing him off.  If they do.

I didn't mean that the comics and films should be in the same continuity or anything, but when you have a movie as popular as the Dark Knight, I'd say that's a good opportunity to get a few of those people reading Batman comics.  If some big Batman-movie fan picks up a comic and doesn't even know who Batman is anymore, they're likely to put it down and back away slowly.

[bredon7777]

[spoiler]
That image has both Catwoman and Hush in contention for the right to be Batman!?!

No. Just no.
[/spoiler]

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Bredon:

[spoiler]Apparently, the caption that went with that picture was not intended when it was drawn.  In other words, ignore the caption, it's just a picture with the effected characters dealing with the goings on, not who will take over the mantle.[/spoiler]

[bat1987]

[spoiler]There were several interviews with Morrison concerning R.I.P.

In one of them he stated that Bruce isn`t going to die and that something far worse than death will happen to him at the end.
R.I.P is followed by a two part story which Morrison described as `the last Batman story`.

Tony Daniel, artist on R.I.P, said that these events will affect all Bat books until 2010. So my guess is that Bruce returns then.

I`ve read the entire story so far, and I must admit it`s a solid story, but we`ll see how it ends.[/spoiler]

One other thing, if Bruce isn`t Batman anymore, I`ll definitely stop reading the comic. I`ve been reading and collecting bat-books since I was a kid, with Bruce out of the picture it`s not the same comic anymore.

Bruce Wayne=Batman, call me conservative, but thats my opinion.

[GhostMachine]

Well, I was considering dropping Batman and picking up Detective instead once this story arc is over (Morrison's writing has been more miss than hit), but if they're doing that kind of crap, I'll just be dropping Batman.

The plot of Batman R.I.P. is more or less a bunch of villains trying to drive Bruce insane, and so far it looks like its working.

If they replace him with Jason Todd, I hope he gets killed off again when Bruce takes the cowl back.

(Oh, and tommyboy? Big difference between Jason Todd and Bucky; Bucky is somewhat likeable, while Jason is not. Bucky replacing Cap makes sense; if Jason became Batman, I'm sure Nightwing, Robin and every other member of the Batman family would be after his head if they found out)

[JKCarrier]

I can't believe people are still falling for this old trick.

It's a stunt. Bruce Wayne will go away for a little while, and sales will spike. Then the novelty will wear off, and they'll bring him back to get another sales spike. They have no intention of killing him off in any permanent way.

[bredon7777]

Of COURSE it's a stunt. I have yet to see anyone indicate otherwise.

I have some faith in Morrison being able to make it a good stunt, though.

[B A D]

Meh, but a stupid stunt, no less. I was around for the whole knightfall debacle. I stopped buying Batman for a time then, too. Its Didio's playground, let him use it for a litterbox for all I care. I only buy titles I want to, anymore.

[bat1987]

Morrison made it pretty clear recently
http://www.timeoutdubai.com/dubai/features/review.php?id=3512

[spoiler]Looks like there will be a new Robin as well...Oh brother...[/spoiler]

[danhagen]

Death has been done to death in the comics. And since it is rarely permanent, it is especially stupid. Even Captain America is not "dead" — he remains "alive" in other continuities. I regard it now as a cheap plot device, a kind of pornography for melodrama.

[zuludelta]

I can't believe people are still falling for this old trick.

It's for the benefit of the kids who weren't around during The Death of Superman.  :lol:

You know how it is in superhero comics: the more things change, the more they stay the same. I wonder how long before we see double-foil prismatic gatefold covers again.

[Talavar]

The funny thing about this, is that if it goes south, which I rather hope it will, a lot of DC titles are effected.  Batman stars or figures prominently in Batman, Detective Comics, Batman & the Outsiders, Batman/Superman, Justice League and Trinity.

If Batman is suddenly someone else, they're also going to have to really force some of those titles, creatively, to keep publishing them.

[lugaru]

I wouldent be too worried.

DC killed Aquaman and then Warner said "hey, we need aquaman alive because he's in the cartoons" and DC folded. The same will happen if they even keep Batman dead for 3 issues.

[detourne_me]

maybe dc will let morrison do what brubaker has done with captain america...
plus, dc really could slim down their batman line...
in the comic shop today i was floored at how many bat-related titles there were, i didn't know what to do so i just got cap, the new loeb-sale Cap:White and daredevil.

[Panther_Gunn]

plus, dc really could slim down their batman line...
in the comic shop today i was floored at how many bat-related titles there were

As long as there's still less Batman titles than there are X titles, it's not a problem.  :P

[herodad1]

kill cap,kill batman,replace green hulk with red hulk....to me they dont care about anything but the money machine.

[Jakew]

I think Morrison could do a good job with it. As detourne_me mentioned, Brubaker is doing an amazing run on Captain America, even though he did similar things with Cap.

Batman is really starting to mirror Captain America in terms of the dead sidekicks returning, now both characters being killed off....   :unsure: