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The battle is done, the cowl is filled and as Dick Grayson steps into the role he trained his whole life for we as fans and readers of Batman wait to see what the future will hold for the new Dark Knight. So much has happened in such a short time it can be hard to wrap your head around what’s actually gone on. I thought it would be a good idea to not only look at where we’ve been since Batman RIP launched in May of 2008 but also to what the future holds for Dick Grayson now that he’s donned the cowl.
Batman RIP was, for all intents and purposes, a failure in story telling. It’s true that the end was a letdown and for many it seemed like a pointless story arc but put alongside with everything else that happened it actually works on at least a basic level. When Dr. Simon and The Black Glove go after Batman they decide to break him down internally, an idea few have tried. From the false idea that Bruce’s mom was involved with Alfred to the idea that maybe Dr. Simon was actually Thomas Wayne (Bruce’s father) took its toll on Bruce Wayne’s psyche. It began to peel back that which had always made Batman who he was: his resolve.
When Batman vanishes into the streets he literally begins to come unglued. He’s talking to Bat-Mite as well as adopting the crazed persona of Batman Zur-En-Arrh in order to overcome all that’s happened to him. After facing the Joker and being buried alive Batman rises to the occasion but by then the damage was done. The unshakable Dark Knight had been shaken to his very core. This shake down also came after Bruce Wayne had completed his cave training during the 52 series. The training was supposed to allow Bruce to conquer all of his fears, something that might have led to over-ego on his part.
We also have to remember that the prologue to Batman RIP was Hush’s Heart (in Detective Comics) where Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Thomas Elliott returns as Hush to try and defeat him. Not only does Bruce undergo a psychological scarring by dueling with his old friend but also the attempt by Hush to murder Catwoman by actually removing her heart rattles Wayne to his core. Once this battle is over Bruce can hardly catch his breath before having to face The Black Glove and betrayal from Jezebel Jet, a woman he thought he could trust and love. Alone neither Hush’s Heart or Batman RIP could derail the Dark Knight but one after the other it began to set the stage for things to come.
Having just come off of both of those experiences might explain why Batman was so quick to use the God Bullet to kill Darkseid in Final Crisis #6. That quick decision was ultimately Batman’s undoing as Darkseid hit him with the Omega Sanction and “killed him”. Who that is etching Batman signals on the cave wall at the end of Final Crisis is still unclear. Looking at how Batman RIP and Hush’s Heart affected Batman’s ability to handle himself you can see why he went back on a lifetime of not using firearms. The ironic thing is doing that is what ultimately “killed” him. Would Batman have done that if the events of Batman RIP and Hush’s Heart had not transpired? It’s an interesting argument.
