BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #6 (OF 6)

Review by: Neb

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

909
Pulls
Avg Rating: 3.6
 
Users who pulled this comic:
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art by LEE GARBETT, PERE PEREZ, ALEJANDRO SICAT & WALDEN WONG
Colors by GUY MAJOR
Letters by JARED K. FLETCHER
Cover by ANDY KUBERT
Variant cover by LEE GARBETT

Size: 40 pages
Price: 3.99

It’s hard to say exactly whether or not I liked this issue.  I think there are things that I liked about it, but when I sit back and look at the issue as a whole, I can’t help but feel completely lost as to the details of the story.  I look at it this way: if someone were to ask me, “How did Bruce Wayne come back from the dead?” I’m not quite sure I’d be able to answer in any sort of clear way.  And I feel like the same is true of the finale of this series: there’s an answer here, it’s just not very clear.

One thing that came through clearly is that Batman is never to be underestimated.  In Final Crisis, he defeated Darkseid.  In this issue, he defeats one of the greatest threats to the universe doing what he does best: taking chances and lots of trickery.  There’s some very cool moments of Bruce outfoxing this powerful entity that are majorly excellent, including his saving the Time Masters from the Vanishing Point.  We are also treated to some moments of Bruce’s past that lead to the Batman and the way that they associate with the type of character that he is.  We also get a nice glimpse as to the origin of Dr. Hurt and how he ties into Bruce’s life. Another really cool part of the story is that we get to see the origin of Barbatos, the Bat-god that’s been prevalent throughout the story, and it’s a ultimately neat way to connect that aspect of the story in a way that completely makes sense.

There is, however, the issue of the clarity of the story from this issue.  While some of the things that I alluded to in the previous paragraph are cool in concept, their execution in the actual issue tend to fall flat.  It’s not for a lack of visual storytelling but more from the words and construction of the delivery of information.  For me, it seems that this lack of clarity is more the fault of Morrison than his artist.  The disjointed, robotic speech of the entities at the Vanishing Point don’t make much sense, and somehow Bruce is able to communicate with them just fine.  We’re never let in on the meaning of those words or actions.  There is an indication that something has been chasing Bruce through time, but we’re never told of its role, and it’s seemingly forgotten as soon as its put on the page.  I recognize, as well, that the entities in the story are dangerous, but I’m not quite sure why they are or what their motivation for being “evil” really is.  There are also moments toward the end of the issue that feel disjointed, and again, lack the clarity to give that emotional punch that Morrison was aiming for.

As a whole, Morrison’s concepts don’t quite mesh together in a cohesive story that feels satisfying.  I applaud Morrison for his approach to this issue and previous issues, and maybe time will vindicate his genius with this storyline.  While I found R.I.P. and Final Crisis challenging but satisfying reads, I find this series and Batman & Robin a bit too disjointed to get any satisfaction from it. 

Story: 3 - Good
Art: 3 - Good

Comments

  1. I think this issue was even harder to understand than Final Crisis, and I barely understood what the hell was going on there either.

  2. If someone who liked/understood R.I.P. & Final Crisis (I didn’t) couldn’t make sense of this, what hope would I have?

    This issue was a complete clusterfuck & set new heights in terms of being unclear, disjointed, vague & utterly imcomprehensible (just like R.I.P., Final Crisis & Batman & Robin before it). 

    There is obviously an audience for this type of writing, but as a huge Bat-fan, I just wish it wasn’t on Batman books.

  3. Why did he become an antagonist all of a sudden when he took on the bush robot disguise?  Why did that version of the JLA I guess have to defeat him?  Didn’t get that.

  4. That version of the JLA were both his friends and superhero icons. The other JLA are just dudes. He became the antagonist because the creature (the Hyper-Adapter) locked onto Bruce once he left the end of time. It took over him. But Bruce tricked it… by telling a better story? Joining it with the archivist that was vulnerable to pollution? By just having a second time machine ready to roll? OK, I am a little fuzzy on the exact trick. But it worked like a charm.

Leave a Comment