Batman #677 Review

Writer: Grant Morrison

Penciller: Tony Daniel

Inker: Sandu Florea

Colorist: Guy Major

Issue Rating
Story: 9 out of 10

Art: 9 out of 10

Overall: 9 out of 10

Batman fights some nobody in the sewers questioning him about Black Glove even though the bad guy is knock unconscious. Before he can finish his “interrogation” Commissioner Gordon stops him and before Gorbon can ask Batman a question Batman has already left.

We then see Batman in the Batcave trying to figure out all the people connected with Black Glove. Batman then ask were Tim is and Alfred tells him that Tim left a few days ago because of him being upset over the Damien situation. Batman just dismisses it as folish and leaves to go on a date with his girlfriend.

The scene shifts to Doctor Hurt telling the rest his group in the Black Glove that no one knows Batman better than him and tells them his plan to take down Batman once and for all. Hurt’s plan involves not only taking down Batman psychological and physically but to also attack those closest to Batman.

We then see Bruce take a blindfolded Jezebel into the batcave for the first time and telling her to not go to the party John Mayhem invited them to because it is a trap.

We again shift scenes this time over to the Mayor of Gotham City office were Commissioner Gordon comes in yelling about a story about Bruce Wayne’s parents in the newspaper. While Gordon says parents where good people the Mayor says that he was presented evidence that prove Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father, to be angry, drunk, and doing hard drugs who may have actually killed his own wife and faked his death. Gordon is in disbelief over the evidence

Back at the Batcave Bruce and Jezebel continue their conversation with Jezebel telling Bruce is crazy to keep all the Robin suits, the giant penny, the dinosaur, and the rest of his stuff in the cave. Bruce starts to think about it and says that he doesn’t know what is going on and that he even thinks he is behind the whole Black Glove organization he is hunting.

Just as Bruce walks over to the Batcomputer he suddenly sees a demonic face pop up into the screen and then a red glove. All of a sudden the Black Glove organization comes into the Batcave and burns the cave down just as Alfred walks in. The issue ends with the some of the members of Black Glove beating Alfred within a inch of his life.

Batman 677 was an awsome issue. This was far and above the best issue I read this week. Grant Morrison is really working his magic on this title and you can tell that Morrison has had a long term vision on what he wanted to do with all the Bat characters since the start of his run. I love it when a writers have a lon term vision on where they want to take their characters and the only other two writers I can comper what Morrison has done with Batman is Bendis on Ultimate Spider-man and Brubaker on Captain America. Just like Bendis and Brubaker, Morrison knew he had a big storyline in mind that needed to take time build up to and he layed the groundwork for “Batman R.I.P” way back with his first storyline “Batman and Son.”

I loved the scene between the Mayor and Commissioner Gordon. Their was so much information fed to the reader in that small scene. This is exactly how government officials are because they love it when their is controversy about celebrities that diverts attetion from what they are doing. I completely see why the Mayor allowed this article to be published even if it ruined the image of one Gotham’s greatest people and he doesn’t give a crap about what Gordon thinks about the article being pubished. And I get the feeling that we may finally see Gordon reveal at least to someone that he knows Bruce is Batman in this storyline.

The other scene I loved was Jezebel calling Bruce out on how crazy it is that he has basically created a museum of misery in the Batcave with all the old Robin and Batsuits as well as all the villain items he has collected. This is the first time outside of Alfred, Dick, Tim, or Barbara that someone has called out Bruce on how insane it is that he keeps all this stuff as displays. I know Superman, Wonder Woman, and some other heroes have called Bruce insane but that is usually because he has keeped secrets from them but not for what he does and all the stuff he keeps. Usually most of the DC Universe seems to be afraid of Bruce with probably the exception of those part of the Bat family. And it is insane for someone to keep all this stuff that only signifies misery and how the battle against crime Buce has fought as Batman may never end.

The best thing about this issue is the amount of suspects we have been presented with as who is behind Black Glove. First we have Doctor Hurt who says that no one knows Batman better than him. If it is Hurt than it will be interesting to find out what his connection is to Bruce/Batman and what his real plans are. Because just like every villain taking down the hero is the first step of their plan and Hurt is no different.

The second suspect is Jezebel. Her name is Jezebel after all and she seems to have taken all this Bruce is Batman in strive. The truth is that she seems to be to okay with finding out Bruce is Batman and the relationship of her and Bruce seems to have moved to fast since the reader really doesn’t know much about Jet’s history. I really can’t this relationship between Bruce and Jet lasting much longer and Morrison only introduced her so she can et close to him and then betray him at the end

The next two suspects we have are Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s father, and Alfred. The reason I have put these two together is because of the information we have been provided by that scene with the Mayor and Gordon. If the information provided is true than it means that one or both are behind Black Glove to take down Batman. While I can’t see Alfred being some sort of mastermind who is trying to take down Batman it isn’t like it is not possible. Just a part of me feels like this has been done before and would change to much of the core of the Batfamily snd if Bruce can’t trust Alfred who can he trust in the future. But I can see Thomas Wayne or someone who will be impersinating him behind the scenes because their seems to be some more information that will revealed by Thomas.

The last suspect we have is Bruce himself. He even says that he may be behind this whole Black Glove organization and is using a completely different personality to run the organization. With the last storyline involving the other Batman and seeing that experiment Bruce ran on himself early in his career as Batman it may be that he developed another personality during the experiment. If it is Bruce than this may be a way for Morrison to have Bruce relinquish the title as Batman to Dick or Tim while he sorts out this other personality.

In truth I think that the most important thing Morrison is showing us with the story is how important having Dick, Alfred and Tim in his life. What I found interesting was that Bruce’s freak out at the end of the issue happend when neither of these three was around him. And of course we can not forget the whole Joker factor in this even though he was not in this issue.

Now I do not expect Bruce or anyone in the Batfamily to die during this storyline just because I don’t think DC much less Warner Bros. allowing Morrison to do it with the The Dark Knight movie coming out next month. But I can see that Bruce steps down from the mantle at the end of this storyline while he sorts out the revalations of this storyline. If this is the case than my first choice for who will take over Batman is Dick Grayson.

Tony Daniel’s art was once again just flat out awsome in this issue. Daniel is one of my favorite artist in the business and the only problem I have had with him is the delays in his art cause to titles but I have come to expect delays know when it comes to comics .

Overall: This another great issue of Batman which was much better than the first part of this story. And I have complete faith that Morrison will continue this trend of great writing and if this issue is any indication we are in for one heck of a ride with Batman R.I.P. And it doesn’t hurt to have Tony Daniel handling the art choirs either.