Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
Encyclopedia
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne is a 6-issue American comic book
limited series
published by DC Comics
beginning in May 2010 to November 2010, written by Grant Morrison
and featuring a team of rotating artists starting with Chris Sprouse
and Frazer Irving
.
The series picks up from Batman and Robin #12. The series detailed the journey Bruce Wayne takes through the timestream
of the DC Universe
after being deposited in the distant past by Darkseid
in Final Crisis
. Wayne has to overcome amnesia and "history itself" in order to make his way back to present-day Gotham City
and retake his rightful place as Batman
. The series ran for six issues, each covering a different time period. The time periods are the prehistory, the witch hunts, pirates at sea, the wild west, the noir era (just a few months after Batman was orphaned), and present day, and usually depict the Batcave or the Wayne Manor. Bruce Wayne also visits "The End Of Time".
, writer Grant Morrison describes The Return of Bruce Wayne as, "...the latest chapter in the long-running, 'definitive' Batman epic I've been trying to pull off since 2005." Branching out of Batman & Son
, The Black Glove, and Batman R.I.P.
, as well as Final Crisis
, with connections to Batman and Robin
, Morrison purports that the return of Bruce Wayne to Gotham City and the DC Universe will, "[have] a mystery and an apocalyptic countdown going on, there are some major twists and reveals, and it sets up big changes to the Batman universe status quo." Morrison also goes on to say that readers can expect work mostly related to the Dark Knight for the majority of 2010, describing, "I'm doing at least another year of stories with Dick Grayson
and Damian Wayne
in the Batman and Robin
book before that book starts to dovetail with Return and we rush headlong and screaming into the next big, earth-shattering, game-changing twist in the life of Batman."
Morrison described the vastly different time periods in each issue. "The first episode is set in the Late-Paleolithic
Era, the second is in Pilgrim-era Gotham Village, and we also get to see Gotham in Western or noir style. Each of the stories is a twist on a different 'pulp hero' genre — so there's the caveman story, the witchhunter/Puritan adventurer thing, the pirate Batman, the cowboy, the P.I. — as a nod toward those mad old 1950s comics with Caveman Batman and Viking Batman adventures. It's Bruce Wayne's ultimate challenge — Batman vs. history itself!"
As far as his artistic collaborators on the limited series, Morrison explained, "...each issue is drawn by a different artist, so that side of it has barely got underway. I know Chris Sprouse
is penciling the first one, so I'm fairly confident it'll be the best comic set in the Late Paleolithic
Era that you'll have seen for a very long time. I'm a huge fan of Chris' work, so I'm keen to see what he's done. I think Frazer Irving
might do the second one, cementing his reputation as the comic world's most prominent Puritan Goth Adventure artist." Irving's involvement in the second issue was confirmed by Batman title solicitations released through DC's blog, "The Source." Yanick Paquette
did the art on the third version featuring pirates, "I was with my family at Disney when they asked me to do it. So I spent an extra ride in Pirates of the Caribbean, because I knew I was going to do a Batman pirate."
The writer-artist team of Dan Jurgens
and Norm Rapmund
will release a companion series titled Time Masters: Vanishing Point that stars Rip Hunter
, Booster Gold
, Superman
, and Hal Jordan
. The series will follow the heroes' journey to find Batman who was lost in time following Final Crisis.
On June 2, 2010 DC Comics' The Source announce that artist Cameron Stewart would not be handling the art duties on the fourth issue, replacing Stewart will be artist Georges Jeanty
.
The final issue was released in November 2010, with Sook sharing art duties with Pere Perez on his issue.
, an amnesiac Bruce Wayne is cast back in time to the dawn of history. Nearly killed by a tribe of Neanderthals led by the immortal caveman who will become Vandal Savage
, Wayne is rescued by a younger human, who returns his utility belt to him. Operating more on instinct than actual knowledge, Wayne dons the pelt of a giant bat and uses the tools in his belt against the cavemen, but is eventually forced to flee by jumping over a waterfall. His prehistoric actions gave birth to the "Bat-people". When he recovers at the bottom, he finds he has jumped further forward in time, arriving in Puritan times.
His first act in this new era is to save a woman named Annie from a monstrous, tentacled creature, after which he tries to build a life for himself in the small colony of Gotham
. Calling himself "Mordecai", he joins the ranks of the local witch-hunt
ers alongside his own ancestor Nathaniel Wayne, and uses his forensic skills to solve crimes that might otherwise be blamed on witchcraft. When Annie is revealed to be a witch and claims responsibility for summoning the monster, Bruce is unable to stop her being hanged by Nathaniel. Unaware that the man she promised to love "Until the end of time" is a Wayne himself, Annie curses the Wayne family before she dies. Wayne again finds himself catapulted forward in time.
Wayne appears in the 18th century, where he is confronted by legendary pirate Blackbeard
. Blackbeard believes Wayne is the fabled Black Pirate
, plunderer of the treasures of the ancient tribe of the Miagani, or "Bat-People", and demands Wayne take him to said treasures. Blackbeard's other captive, a boy named Jack Loggins confides in Wayne that he is the grandson of the Black Pirate. Jack then helps Wayne stage a deception that disposes of Blackbeard and all but one of his crew. Afterward, the Miagani guide Wayne to the deepest part of their caves, where he finds his own cape and cowl, left hanging there after his arrival in prehistory. The cape stirs Wayne's memories, and before they fade once more, he instructs Jack to write an account of these events, and place it in a box marked with a bat symbol to be entrusted to the Wayne family. At dawn, Bruce disappears into the timestream once more, moving forward to the late 19th century, and the Wild West
.
In this new time period, Wayne fashions an identity for himself as a masked "gunfighter" (though he still has a "no killing" and a "no guns" policy), targeting the operations of Vandal Savage. Savage hires bounty hunter Jonah Hex
to deal with Wayne, while he conspires with Simon Hurt
(already donning the alias of "Dr. Thomas Wayne")—a mysterious, apparently immortal enemy of Wayne's who he had battled in the present day before being set back in time—to steal the box from the Wayne family. Wayne rescues the current holder of the box from the villains, who recognizes him as the box's true owner, but before he can look inside, he is shot by Jonah Hex and falls off a dock into the waters of what will one day be Gotham Bay. Following this encounter, the newly founded Wayne family (Bruce's ancestors) build Wayne Manor
on a nearby cliffside, and hide the box in the caves below it: the same caves the Miagani used to occupy, which will one day become the Batcave
.
Bruce emerges in the 20th century (the exact time is intentionally vague; the clothes and cars suggest the 1930s, but Bruce is told that "retro is big this year") and is taken to hospital to recover from the gunshot wound, where he meets a woman named Marsha. It transpires that Wayne has arrived in Gotham not long after the deaths of his own parents, and that Marsha was a friend of his mother's who believed his father, Thomas Wayne
, had her murdered and faked his own death. She hires Bruce to investigate her theories, but when the suspicious Bruce tracks her to a graveyard, it is revealed that she is a member of Doctor Hurt's devil-worshipping Black Glove organization, who intends to sacrifice him to the Miagani's god, Barbatos
, (the legend of which was presumably inspired by Wayne himself) to gain immortality. The ritual involves a time machine created by Professor Carter Nichols
, but Bruce disrupts the proceedings by stealing the machine and escaping through time once more.
Wayne materializes at Vanishing Point
, the vast archive of all history that exists at the end of time, moments before the death of the universe. Here, Bruce's memories return, and the entire truth comes out: Darkseid never intended to kill him with the Omega Sanction, but instead relied on him to survive, building up more and more destructive "Omega Energy" within his body every time he jumped through history. To prompt these jumps, Darkseid sent a servant, a hyper-dimensional monster known as the Hyper-Adapter, to follow Wayne through time, but because of the clues he had left for himself throughout time (his cape and cowl, a portrait of himself, the box) Bruce had known of Darkseid's plan before it had even been enacted, and arranged for his memory to be blanked in order to prevent the Hyper-Adapter from locating him. Now that his memories have returned, the Hyper-Adapter has followed him to Vanishing Point.
While all of this has been going on, Bruce's allies in the Justice League of America have realized that he is still alive, and have been searching for him. Superman
, Rip Hunter
, Green Lantern
and Booster Gold
have been traveling through time (events chronicled in the companion mini-series, Time Masters: Vanishing Point), constantly one step behind Bruce, and now arrive at Vanishing Point just as the final step of Wayne's plan goes into motion. Merging with the robotic Architects that maintain Vanishing Point, he has had his memory wiped once more and allows the Hyper Adapter to possess his body, so that he can bring it back to the present day 21st century using the Time Sphere that his allies arrive in. Per Bruce's plan, the combined might of the Justice League defeats the creature, rips it from his body and hurls it back into the Time Sphere, catapulting it backward through time, defeated. The threat of the Omega Energy remains, however, and so the Justice League medically stop Bruce's heart, inducing death and allowing the energy to dissipate. Before his heart is restarted, the comatose Bruce experiences one final vision of Darkseid and Metron
, the former inviting him to embrace Anti-Life, and the latter urging him to dispel Darkseid by facing "the first truth of Batman". Bruce recalls the night he first conceived of the identity of Batman, as seen in Batman: Year One
, when his faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth
saved his life by stitching fatal wounds, and speaks the truth: as much as he has attempted to claim it all during his crime-fighting career, the Batman has never been alone. Wayne awakens from the coma, purged of the radiation, and dons his cape and cowl once again, commenting that Gotham's disease has spread beyond its borders...and that once again, Batman is needed.
, in which Batman unites with Dick Grayson
and Damian Wayne
to stop Doctor Hurt, who is revealed to be possessed by the Hyper-Adapter after it was sent back in time. Bruce accepts the current situations after the villains' defeat. The plotline then carries on into Batman Incorporated, where Bruce's realization that he is not alone inspires him to expand his crime-fighting operation and train new Batmen in countries all around the world.
:
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
beginning in May 2010 to November 2010, written by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and featuring a team of rotating artists starting with Chris Sprouse
Chris Sprouse
Chris Sprouse is an American comic book artist.-Biography:Chris Sprouse was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of 3 he moved with his family to New Delhi, India where he first discovered comics as he was unable to play outside due to the dangerous amount of snakes in the house yard...
and Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
.
The series picks up from Batman and Robin #12. The series detailed the journey Bruce Wayne takes through the timestream
Timestream
The timestream is a metaphorical conception of time as a stream, a flowing body of water. This conception has been widely used in mythology and in fiction. This analogy is useful in several ways:* Streams only flow one way. Time only moves forward....
of the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
after being deposited in the distant past by Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
in Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
. Wayne has to overcome amnesia and "history itself" in order to make his way back to present-day Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
and retake his rightful place as Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. The series ran for six issues, each covering a different time period. The time periods are the prehistory, the witch hunts, pirates at sea, the wild west, the noir era (just a few months after Batman was orphaned), and present day, and usually depict the Batcave or the Wayne Manor. Bruce Wayne also visits "The End Of Time".
Publication history
In an interview announcing the series in USA TodayUSA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, writer Grant Morrison describes The Return of Bruce Wayne as, "...the latest chapter in the long-running, 'definitive' Batman epic I've been trying to pull off since 2005." Branching out of Batman & Son
Batman & Son
"Batman & Son" is a comic book story arc from DC Comics by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, featuring Batman in the monthly title of the same name. It ran from September to December 2006....
, The Black Glove, and Batman R.I.P.
Batman R.I.P.
Batman R.I.P. is a comic book story arc published in Batman #676-681 by DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Tony Daniel, and with covers by Alex Ross, the story pits the superhero Batman against the Black Glove organization as they attempt to destroy everything for which he stands...
, as well as Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
, with connections to Batman and Robin
Batman and Robin (comic book)
Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, created by Grant Morrison and featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series followed the events of "Batman R.I.P.", Final Crisis, and "Battle for the Cowl" in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC...
, Morrison purports that the return of Bruce Wayne to Gotham City and the DC Universe will, "[have] a mystery and an apocalyptic countdown going on, there are some major twists and reveals, and it sets up big changes to the Batman universe status quo." Morrison also goes on to say that readers can expect work mostly related to the Dark Knight for the majority of 2010, describing, "I'm doing at least another year of stories with Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne is a fictional character in the . Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul....
in the Batman and Robin
Batman and Robin (comic book)
Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, created by Grant Morrison and featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series followed the events of "Batman R.I.P.", Final Crisis, and "Battle for the Cowl" in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC...
book before that book starts to dovetail with Return and we rush headlong and screaming into the next big, earth-shattering, game-changing twist in the life of Batman."
Morrison described the vastly different time periods in each issue. "The first episode is set in the Late-Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
Era, the second is in Pilgrim-era Gotham Village, and we also get to see Gotham in Western or noir style. Each of the stories is a twist on a different 'pulp hero' genre — so there's the caveman story, the witchhunter/Puritan adventurer thing, the pirate Batman, the cowboy, the P.I. — as a nod toward those mad old 1950s comics with Caveman Batman and Viking Batman adventures. It's Bruce Wayne's ultimate challenge — Batman vs. history itself!"
As far as his artistic collaborators on the limited series, Morrison explained, "...each issue is drawn by a different artist, so that side of it has barely got underway. I know Chris Sprouse
Chris Sprouse
Chris Sprouse is an American comic book artist.-Biography:Chris Sprouse was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of 3 he moved with his family to New Delhi, India where he first discovered comics as he was unable to play outside due to the dangerous amount of snakes in the house yard...
is penciling the first one, so I'm fairly confident it'll be the best comic set in the Late Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
Era that you'll have seen for a very long time. I'm a huge fan of Chris' work, so I'm keen to see what he's done. I think Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
might do the second one, cementing his reputation as the comic world's most prominent Puritan Goth Adventure artist." Irving's involvement in the second issue was confirmed by Batman title solicitations released through DC's blog, "The Source." Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette is a Canadian penciller in North American comics. He has worked for Antarctic Press, Topps, Marvel and DC Comics and since 1994.-Career:...
did the art on the third version featuring pirates, "I was with my family at Disney when they asked me to do it. So I spent an extra ride in Pirates of the Caribbean, because I knew I was going to do a Batman pirate."
The writer-artist team of Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
and Norm Rapmund
Norm Rapmund
-Image Comics and Marvel:Rapmund's career began with Image Comics' Brigade #1 in 1992. He worked on the series concurrently with Image titles Bloodstrike and Team Youngblood until 1994, when he moved from Brigade to Supreme...
will release a companion series titled Time Masters: Vanishing Point that stars Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter is a DC Comics character who first appeared in Showcase #20 . Following three more appearances in Showcase , Rip Hunter was given his own series, which ran for 29 issues . He later starred in the six-issue Time Masters series , written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner...
, Booster Gold
Booster Gold
Booster Gold is a fictional DC Comics superhero. Created by Dan Jurgens, he first appeared in Booster Gold #1 and has been a member of the Justice League, DC Comics' all-star team of heroes. The character is initially depicted as a glory-seeking showboat from the future, using knowledge of...
, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, and Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
. The series will follow the heroes' journey to find Batman who was lost in time following Final Crisis.
On June 2, 2010 DC Comics' The Source announce that artist Cameron Stewart would not be handling the art duties on the fourth issue, replacing Stewart will be artist Georges Jeanty
Georges Jeanty
Georges Jeanty is an American comic book penciler best known for his work on The American Way, an eight-issue American comic book limited series produced under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics.-Early...
.
The final issue was released in November 2010, with Sook sharing art duties with Pere Perez on his issue.
Plot
Struck by the time-and-space-bending Omega Beams of the alien god DarkseidDarkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
, an amnesiac Bruce Wayne is cast back in time to the dawn of history. Nearly killed by a tribe of Neanderthals led by the immortal caveman who will become Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 1 #10 , and was created by Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell....
, Wayne is rescued by a younger human, who returns his utility belt to him. Operating more on instinct than actual knowledge, Wayne dons the pelt of a giant bat and uses the tools in his belt against the cavemen, but is eventually forced to flee by jumping over a waterfall. His prehistoric actions gave birth to the "Bat-people". When he recovers at the bottom, he finds he has jumped further forward in time, arriving in Puritan times.
His first act in this new era is to save a woman named Annie from a monstrous, tentacled creature, after which he tries to build a life for himself in the small colony of Gotham
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
. Calling himself "Mordecai", he joins the ranks of the local witch-hunt
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
ers alongside his own ancestor Nathaniel Wayne, and uses his forensic skills to solve crimes that might otherwise be blamed on witchcraft. When Annie is revealed to be a witch and claims responsibility for summoning the monster, Bruce is unable to stop her being hanged by Nathaniel. Unaware that the man she promised to love "Until the end of time" is a Wayne himself, Annie curses the Wayne family before she dies. Wayne again finds himself catapulted forward in time.
Wayne appears in the 18th century, where he is confronted by legendary pirate Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
. Blackbeard believes Wayne is the fabled Black Pirate
Black Pirate
The Black Pirate is a fictional character from DC Comics, created by Sheldon Moldoff. He first appeared in Action Comics #23...
, plunderer of the treasures of the ancient tribe of the Miagani, or "Bat-People", and demands Wayne take him to said treasures. Blackbeard's other captive, a boy named Jack Loggins confides in Wayne that he is the grandson of the Black Pirate. Jack then helps Wayne stage a deception that disposes of Blackbeard and all but one of his crew. Afterward, the Miagani guide Wayne to the deepest part of their caves, where he finds his own cape and cowl, left hanging there after his arrival in prehistory. The cape stirs Wayne's memories, and before they fade once more, he instructs Jack to write an account of these events, and place it in a box marked with a bat symbol to be entrusted to the Wayne family. At dawn, Bruce disappears into the timestream once more, moving forward to the late 19th century, and the Wild West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
.
In this new time period, Wayne fashions an identity for himself as a masked "gunfighter" (though he still has a "no killing" and a "no guns" policy), targeting the operations of Vandal Savage. Savage hires bounty hunter Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
to deal with Wayne, while he conspires with Simon Hurt
Simon Hurt
Dr. Simon Hurt, commonly known simply as Doctor Hurt, is a fictional character from the DC Comics universe. Hurt was created by writer Grant Morrison and first appeared in Batman #673 ....
(already donning the alias of "Dr. Thomas Wayne")—a mysterious, apparently immortal enemy of Wayne's who he had battled in the present day before being set back in time—to steal the box from the Wayne family. Wayne rescues the current holder of the box from the villains, who recognizes him as the box's true owner, but before he can look inside, he is shot by Jonah Hex and falls off a dock into the waters of what will one day be Gotham Bay. Following this encounter, the newly founded Wayne family (Bruce's ancestors) build Wayne Manor
Wayne Manor
In DC Comics, Wayne Manor is a fictional setting, the personal residence of Bruce Wayne, who is also Batman. The residence is typically depicted as a huge stately mansion on grounds outside Gotham City, maintained by the Wayne family's servant, Alfred Pennyworth...
on a nearby cliffside, and hide the box in the caves below it: the same caves the Miagani used to occupy, which will one day become the Batcave
Batcave
The Batcave is the secret headquarters of fictional DC Comics superhero Batman, the alternate identity of playboy Bruce Wayne, consisting of a series of subterranean caves beneath his residence, Wayne Manor.-Publication history:...
.
Bruce emerges in the 20th century (the exact time is intentionally vague; the clothes and cars suggest the 1930s, but Bruce is told that "retro is big this year") and is taken to hospital to recover from the gunshot wound, where he meets a woman named Marsha. It transpires that Wayne has arrived in Gotham not long after the deaths of his own parents, and that Marsha was a friend of his mother's who believed his father, Thomas Wayne
Thomas Wayne
Thomas Wayne is a fictional character in the Batman series of comic books. Dr. Thomas Wayne was the father of Bruce Wayne, and husband of Martha Wayne, as well as a gifted surgeon and philanthropist...
, had her murdered and faked his own death. She hires Bruce to investigate her theories, but when the suspicious Bruce tracks her to a graveyard, it is revealed that she is a member of Doctor Hurt's devil-worshipping Black Glove organization, who intends to sacrifice him to the Miagani's god, Barbatos
Barbatos
In demonology, Barbatos is an Earl and Duke of Hell, ruling eighty legions of demons and has four kings as his companions to command his legions...
, (the legend of which was presumably inspired by Wayne himself) to gain immortality. The ritual involves a time machine created by Professor Carter Nichols
Professor Carter Nichols
Professor Carter Nichols is a fictional character, a comic book scientist published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Batman #24 , and was created by Joe Samachson and Dick Sprang.-Fictional character biography:...
, but Bruce disrupts the proceedings by stealing the machine and escaping through time once more.
Wayne materializes at Vanishing Point
Linear Men
The Linear Men are fictional characters, a fictional superhero team in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in Adventures of Superman #476 .-Fictional history:...
, the vast archive of all history that exists at the end of time, moments before the death of the universe. Here, Bruce's memories return, and the entire truth comes out: Darkseid never intended to kill him with the Omega Sanction, but instead relied on him to survive, building up more and more destructive "Omega Energy" within his body every time he jumped through history. To prompt these jumps, Darkseid sent a servant, a hyper-dimensional monster known as the Hyper-Adapter, to follow Wayne through time, but because of the clues he had left for himself throughout time (his cape and cowl, a portrait of himself, the box) Bruce had known of Darkseid's plan before it had even been enacted, and arranged for his memory to be blanked in order to prevent the Hyper-Adapter from locating him. Now that his memories have returned, the Hyper-Adapter has followed him to Vanishing Point.
While all of this has been going on, Bruce's allies in the Justice League of America have realized that he is still alive, and have been searching for him. Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter is a DC Comics character who first appeared in Showcase #20 . Following three more appearances in Showcase , Rip Hunter was given his own series, which ran for 29 issues . He later starred in the six-issue Time Masters series , written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner...
, Green Lantern
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
and Booster Gold
Booster Gold
Booster Gold is a fictional DC Comics superhero. Created by Dan Jurgens, he first appeared in Booster Gold #1 and has been a member of the Justice League, DC Comics' all-star team of heroes. The character is initially depicted as a glory-seeking showboat from the future, using knowledge of...
have been traveling through time (events chronicled in the companion mini-series, Time Masters: Vanishing Point), constantly one step behind Bruce, and now arrive at Vanishing Point just as the final step of Wayne's plan goes into motion. Merging with the robotic Architects that maintain Vanishing Point, he has had his memory wiped once more and allows the Hyper Adapter to possess his body, so that he can bring it back to the present day 21st century using the Time Sphere that his allies arrive in. Per Bruce's plan, the combined might of the Justice League defeats the creature, rips it from his body and hurls it back into the Time Sphere, catapulting it backward through time, defeated. The threat of the Omega Energy remains, however, and so the Justice League medically stop Bruce's heart, inducing death and allowing the energy to dissipate. Before his heart is restarted, the comatose Bruce experiences one final vision of Darkseid and Metron
Metron (comics)
Metron is a character created by Jack Kirby for his Fourth World series in DC Comics. He was "based on Leonard Nimoy as Spock", and designed as a character who "would frequently change sides [between New Genesis and Apokolips]"...
, the former inviting him to embrace Anti-Life, and the latter urging him to dispel Darkseid by facing "the first truth of Batman". Bruce recalls the night he first conceived of the identity of Batman, as seen in Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One
"Year One", later referred to as "Batman: Year One", is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein...
, when his faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth is a fictional character that appears throughout the DC Comics franchise. The character first appears in Batman #16 , and was created by writer Bob Kane and artist Jerry Robinson. Alfred serves as Batman’s tireless butler, assistant, confidant, and surrogate father figure...
saved his life by stitching fatal wounds, and speaks the truth: as much as he has attempted to claim it all during his crime-fighting career, the Batman has never been alone. Wayne awakens from the coma, purged of the radiation, and dons his cape and cowl once again, commenting that Gotham's disease has spread beyond its borders...and that once again, Batman is needed.
Epilogue
The story is followed by the events in Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, and then continues directly into issue #16 of Batman and RobinBatman and Robin (comic book)
Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, created by Grant Morrison and featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series followed the events of "Batman R.I.P.", Final Crisis, and "Battle for the Cowl" in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC...
, in which Batman unites with Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
and Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne is a fictional character in the . Damian is the child of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul....
to stop Doctor Hurt, who is revealed to be possessed by the Hyper-Adapter after it was sent back in time. Bruce accepts the current situations after the villains' defeat. The plotline then carries on into Batman Incorporated, where Bruce's realization that he is not alone inspires him to expand his crime-fighting operation and train new Batmen in countries all around the world.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into an individual volumeTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (collects Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1–6, 232 pages, deluxe edition hardcover, February 2011, ISBN 1401229689; paperback, January 2012, ISBN 1401233821)
External links
- The Return of Bruce Wayne on The Source at DC Comics.com
Reviews
- Review: Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...