Batman #676: Batman RIP Review

The much hyped “Batman RIP” story arc is finally upon us. The Revolution is rather curious to see if this story arc can live up to all the hype and fanfare that DC has been bombarding the reader with. I am always skeptical of any big event that promises to radically shake up a specific character and their world. However, Morrison has earned my trust and I have faith that he has something interesting in store for us. Let’s go ahead and do this review for Batman #676.

Creative Team
Writer: Grant Morrison
Pencils: Tony Daniel
Inks: Sandu Florea

Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Batman and Robin charging over a building rooftop with Batman saying “You’re wrong! Batman and Robin will never die! We then cut to six months earlier with a horse driven carriage arriving outside a large mansion. A man who looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame enters the mansion that is owned by Doctor Hurt. The man’s name is M’sieur Le Bossu. Le Bossu says that he just killed someone at Hurt’s doorstep.

Doctor Hurt responds that the dead man’s medical files are already being edited to include a documented history of paranoid schizophrenia. That a suicide note will be written and placed on the dead man’s body. Hurt says that the witnesses will be bribed or killed. That there is nothing to worry about.

Hurt says that they are operators at the highest level. Doctor Hurt then says that everything Le Bossu has heard about the Black Glove is true. Hurt tells Le Bossu to come sit and take his place for the Danse Macabre. We see six other costumed characters already sitting at the table. (One of them is a luchadore in a business suit! Awesome.)

We cut to some two-bit thug in a taxi dressed as a green bird. He has a mother, father and son trapped in the taxi. The thug drives around like a maniac while ranting and raving about becoming a big time criminal. The boy says to the thug “Dude. You are do dead.”

Suddenly, we see the Batmobile bust onto the scene. Batman tells Robin that this new Batmobile isn’t exactly what he was originally expecting. Robin, on the other hand, is totally impressed with the new Batmobile. Robin reminds Batman to take it easy since he is still recovering from the last story arc where he was dead for four minutes.

The Dynamic Duo chases the thug in the taxi and smash into the taxi bringing the taxi to a stop. The thug runs out of the taxi and is quickly and easily taken out by Batman. Batman and Robin then head back to the Batcave. Robin tells Alfred that it seems like the only criminals left in Gotham are these stupid home-made guys that the cops can take care of. Batman heads up into Wayne Manor and strips off his Batman mask, gloves and shirt as he heads down the hall. He enters his room and begins playing tonsil hockey with Jet.

We cut to Robin talking with Alfred in the Batcave. Tim asks if other girls have known about Bruce’s secret identity. Alfred responds that there have been one or two before who have known. Tim then says he is worried about Batman. Tim mentions how Batman went through the Thogul ritual in Nanda Parbat for 49 days. That such a deep meditation simulated death and could have driven Bruce insane. Tim says that he now has learned that prior to Tim being Robin that Batman entered a sensory deprivation tank for ten days and actually lost his mind for two weeks.

Then there is the most recent deal with Bruce actually being dead for four minutes and now being totally obsessed with the idea of the Black Glove. That Bruce is talking about some massive paranoid web of interconnected events. Tim asks Alfred if they are sure that Bruce is okay.

Alfred responds that Bruce has strived to attain human perfection both physically and mentally. That Bruce has a clear idea of human perfection toward which he constantly strives. Alfred lists all the various types of rigorous mental training that Bruce has gone through. Alfred says that Bruce has absolute physical mastery of the top martial artists, gymnasts and yogins. That Bruce has the logical and deductive skills of master philosophers, forensic scientist and detectives. That Batman has the understanding, discrimination and moral clarity of ultimate Zen adepts.

Alfred says that Bruce’s mind is like no other and that they will probably never be able to comprehend Bruce’s decisions, but they must never underestimate Bruce’s mind’s strength and resilience. Alfred then asks Robin what is truly bothering him.

Robin then says that he has been through a lot in the past two years he has lost his father, his best friend and his girlfriend and he got adopted by Bruce. That Robin spends more and more time in a seriously creepy world of violent crime and insanity and he copes better than most people his age would. But, what is really bothering Tim is if Bruce got a blood test to determine paternity of Damian.

Alfred answers that Bruce made him swear to silence so that Bruce could tell Tim the results himself when the time is right. Tim is pissed that Alfred and Bruce both know the results and haven’t told him. Tim then figures that Damian is Bruce’s son.

We cut to Bruce and Jet at Bruce’s parents’ graves. Jet asks Bruce what he will do once he has parents have been avenged and he has won his war on crime in Gotham. Bruce replies that Gotham has been quiet recently, but that he is connecting the dots on something big. Jet says that she has to leave. Bruce says that he will miss her.

Jet then tells Bruce that she got an invite addressed to both her and Bruce to attend a party being held by the Black Glove. That it is an elite group of incredibly rich and mysterious people who organize the most outrageous parties. The invite says that the theme of the party is the “Danse Macabre.” Jet says she figured it was something dark that would be right up Bruce’s alley. Bruce asks to see the invite.

We shift to Arkham Asylum where there is blood pouring down the steps at the front entrance. Everyone in the Arkham has been killed. We see a news report where it is being reported that the airborne infections Joker Parvovirus rages across the continent with millions already dead. We see Joker standing there with two razor blades in his hands. Next to him is Robin, Nightwing and Commissioner Gordon in chairs with their throats slit. On the way is written in blood “Put on a happy face” along with a smiley face.

We then exit Joker’s little fantasy and see a doctor asking Joker to tell him what he sees in an ink blot. Joker answers “Another pretty flower. The doctor then says that they should try a fresh approach. Suddenly everything goes black. The doctor then reveals himself to be Le Bossu and says that in the fifteen seconds before power is restored that he is here on behalf of the Black Glove to invite the master, Joker, to the Batman’s Dance of Death. Le Bossu says that they will be in touch. We then see Joker sitting there and saying “Another pretty flower.” We see the words “Zur-En-Arrh.” End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Batman #676 was a great read. Morrison serves up a fine set-up issue for the “Batman RIP” story arc. This issue is well paced as Morrison moves the story along at a controlled and measured pace. The quick action scene helps to keep the issue from being too slow of a read. However, Morrison does not need to rely on action in this issue. The strength of this issue relies on Morrison’s well crafted plot that makes this a gripping read. The measured pace does its job in creating so much tension within the reader as we begin to see the Black Glove moving their plans into place.

Batman #676 is also a well plotted issue. Morrison does a good job taking all of the previous story arcs from his run on this title and using them as bricks to lay the foundation for the “Batman RIP” story arc. The reader gets the clear impression that Morrison knows exactly where he wants to go with this story arc and that this has been carefully planned and constructed quite some time ago.

I dig that Morrison is logically building off of the events of 52, the Damian story arc, the Black Casebook story arc and the Club of Heroes story arc. The reader can tell that “Batman RIP” is going to be the culmination of all the previous story arcs that Morrison has given us. That everything Morrison has put Batman through has been leading to this moment. It is quite pleasant when a writer takes the time, effort and long term vision to string various story arcs together in order to create a big event.

Morrison whips up some good dialogue. Particularly enjoyable was the scene between Tim and Alfred. Morrison does a fine job giving each character a proper external voice. This scene is also interesting in that Morrison uses it to impress upon the reader Bruce’s obsession with perfection in mind and body. This was an effective way for Morrison to place Batman on an entirely different level than any other human on this planet. Morrison shows that there is a fine line between insanity and true genius.

The purpose of Alfred stressing that no one should underestimate Bruce’s mind’s resiliency and strength is important. Morrison is going to use “Batman RIP” to deconstruct Bruce Wayne and strip him down to the core of his being. To do that to Bruce Wayne it will require villains of the highest order to crack a mind as unique as his. I am extremely curious to see what Morrison has in store for Bruce.

Morrison also shows the reader some building tension between Tim and Bruce. Clearly, Tim is slightly annoyed with Jet knowing Bruce’s secret identity. However, Tim is extremely annoyed that both Alfred and Bruce know the paternity test results about Damian and have not told Tim yet. Tim has every right to be angry with Bruce over this fact.

Morrison also appropriately points out that Batman’s bizarre and twisted world is not the perfect place for any person let alone someone Tim’s age. It could be that we are seeing Tim beginning to pull away from Bruce. I like that Morrison is delving into the fact that Batman pulling a person as young as Tim into his warped criminal world isn’t something a normal person would view as a good idea.

Morrison also uses the scene with Robin and Alfred to summarize the previous story arcs on Batman as well as the events in 52. This was done in a manner that didn’t bore long time readers and served as a chance to give some much needed back-story to newer readers just hopping about this title for the “Batman RIP” story arc. For this big event to be truly successful, Morrison ahs to at least try to make this story somewhat accessible to new readers.

The scene with Bruce and Jet was well done and built nicely off of the scene with Alfred and Tim. Obviously, Bruce is winning the war on crime in Gotham at the moment. And Jet’s question of what will he do once he has won is a logical question that Bruce probably never figured that he would have to answer.

The invite to the Black Glove’s party should place Jet and Bruce right into the clutches of the villains. Personally, I think that Jet is marked for death. And I’m okay with that since I think she is just the generic girlfriend character. Morrison has done next to no character work on Jet to make me view her with any interest. Jet probably serves the role of reminding Bruce just why he does not have a love life due to his obsessive crime fighting life as Batman.

I dig the Black Glove group of villains. Even though we don’t know much about the Black Glove group of villains, I already like the various characters. They just have a cool look to them and I dig that they are a secret society of the rich and powerful. This group of villains have a neat Victorian feel to them. I am definitely interested in learning more about this group of characters.

Morrison ends Batman #676 with a great hook ending. I loved the Joker’s little fantasy scene where he dreams of killing millions with his Joker gas and having finally succeeded in killing those close to the Batman. Morrison is giving us one of the most warped, insane and truly disturbed Joker’s that I have seen in a long time.

I like the twist that Joker is being invited to the Black Glove’s Danse Macabre. You can’t have a huge Batman event without the Joker playing a role in the story. Morrison is pulling out all the stops in order to make this “Batman RIP” story arc as wild and exciting of a read as possible.

A long-time follow of The Revolution posted a comment with a link about the word “Zur-En-Arrh” that appears on the final page. Evidently, Zur-En-Arrh is a planet that appeared for the first and only time in Batman #113 back in 1958. In that issue, the Batman of the planet Zur-En-Arrh has powers like Superman.

Now this could be a red herring and mean nothing. But, I don’t think so. It isn’t like Morrison to do something that has no purpose. I am curious to learn what Morrison is hinting to with “Zur-En-Arrh.”

Tony Daniel treats the reader to plenty of wonderful artwork. Batman #676 is a fantastic looking issue. Daniel always draws a great Robin. And he definitely draws one of the sickest looking Jokers that I have ever seen. Daniel also delivers a cool looking Batmobile. Personally, I think the new Batmobile looks like a modified TVR.

The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.

Overall: Batman #676 was a quality start to the “Batman RIP” story arc. Morrison delivers a great set-up issue that introduces the various players and slides all the pieces into place for this story. And Morrison manages to pique the reader’s interest into wanting to come back for more. After reading this issue, I am optimistic that Morrison will deliver a well crafted story arc. I would certainly recommend giving Batman #676 a try. Especially if you dig big events.

The only drawback is that this issue is that despite Morrison’s attempt to give some back story to newer readers, I still think that “Batman RIP” may not be particularly new reader friendly. Morrison writes incredibly complex and deep stories and that makes it tough for him to succinctly and properly summarize past events in a short amount of time for new readers. Still, I think that “Batman RIP” is going to be a good enough story arc that it will be worth giving a try regardless if you have been following all of Morrison’s run on this title or not.