Batman by Morrison/Detective Comics by Dini

[hector]

Two great, different tastes. Batman as a real detective, and Batman vs ninja man-bats.

It really doesn't get better than that.

Comments?

[Gray Lensman]

Cool topic, Hec.

I haven't read any of Dini's run on Detective yet. However, against my initial doubts, Morrison won me over with his first issue of Batman. And this is coming from me, who absolutely could not stand the way Batman was portrayed in JLA. Morrison has finally given me a Batman that I can actually sympathize with for the first time in an age.

I haven't really liked Batman in the longest time. But now that I think about it, I think the problem is that I disliked the Batman of the last 10 years or so. For too long, he's been too grim, too dark, and without any real trace of humanity to him.

Morrison has changed that now. Batman still is the dark avenger, but now he's trying to learn how to be human. I find that a very compelling character angle to explore. The idea of Alfred teaching Batman to be Bruce Wayne is quite brilliant, and one that should have been done ages ago. I like that Morrison is showing us who Bruce Wayne is, and challenging the idea of Bruce as a mask that Batman wears. I expect we'll get a far more complex and more compelling Batman by the time Morrison is done.

I'm also very curious by the fact that Morrison is addressing Son of the Demon. I presume Batman's son is a young Ibn Al Xuffasch, going by Morrison's recent comments on Newsarama. I expect we'll get some good material out of this.

[hector]

The kid is something of a mystery, and I don't think it's quite the same boy we saw in Son of the Demon. There was no experiment and Batman was everything but drugged in that story, he seemed quite...cooperative.

I tought it could be related to the story where Ra's married Batman and Talia (DC Super Special #15 'I now pronounce you Batman and Wife' how can you not love a title like that?) where Batman is definitely drugged, but wasn't exactly taken to the tropic of capricorn. Mu guess is that Morrison is making his own continuity.

As it is, I don't think Damien is really Batman's son anyway.

[Gray Lensman]

Could be that Morrison is making things up. This wouldn't be the first time he's done so. Which is a perfectly acceptable approach here, considering that Infinite Crisis could easily have altered Batman's past.

In which case... who really knows who this kid is? In any event, the idea of Batman having a son by Talia has a lot of promise. Doubly so because this becomes the story of a millionaire playboy whose past comes back to haunt him. Really intriguing setup here. I guess we'll see what Morrison has in mind by the end of this.

[Gray Lensman]

Finally got around to reading the second issue of Morrison's Batman. A pretty good, solid action issue, with a promising ending.

I don't know what the whole story is with Damien yet, or how it all fits into Bat-continuity. I do, however, like the little wrinkle that Talia has thrown into the works. If Damien is Bruce's son, though... I'd really be curious to see what Morrison does with him.

I'm sure we'll know if Damien is the real deal by next issue. Bruce is bound to run a DNA test at some point.

[The Spider]

I went and read the recent WIZARD and there was an interview indicating that Damien wants to be the new Robin, so it's some sort of duel between the two.

It made me think about this... what if Damien becomes a "Bat-Mite"?

[brett]

herorealm.com/hrboards/index.php?topic=8473.msg91780#msg91780

Looks like we both know the score Spider. ;D

I was thinking Damo might become Bat-Boy or something, but then went duh, Bat-Mite.

Just about to read the latest Detective, but the Benitez art is putting me off. Why did they have to give us Williams on the first issue, then torture us with Kramer and Benitez for the next few? Kubert's doing some good stuff though, especially that second issue.

[hector]

I did not *hate* Benitez as much as everyone else, but the issue wasn't quite up to the standard of the last two. It was good, and much better than anything with Batman in the last few years, but not as good.

And I know he'll be teaming with Morrison in WildCATS and all, but everytime I see an image of the train wreck that is All-Star Batman I'd much prefer to see Lee on Batman with Morrison. kubert is nice, but I much prefer Lee if they are going for that art style.

[Gray Lensman]

Batman just keeps getting better all the time.

I really find Damian to be an interesting character. He comes across as an unruly brat, which is to be expected, but there's a lot more to what he's planning too. He's rather an interesting villain with his own unique viewpoint and agenda. Also, knowing Morrison's love of myth, I wonder if he intended a Mordred parallel. The failed son trying to usurp his father's place.

On a story level, Damian really works here. He plays on one of Bruce's real weaknesses, which is his desire for a family. And at the same time, he also brings the worst out of Bruce... which adds to his own struggle to regain his humanity. It's rather a good conflict, and one I want to see more of.

Morrison is doing some excellent work with this title. Looking forward to seeing how this arc wraps up.

[Elliot Kane]

I can't even remember the last time someone brought something new to the Bat-mythos, and here's Morrison doing exactly that. I love the idea of Batman as a father, and I think it complicates his relationship with Talia even further, which makes that angle very interesting as well.

The exploration of who he is as a human being is indeed long overdue - and the addition of an actual blood son should definitely complicate his relationships with the Bat-family characters.

I suspect Damien's origin is an amalgam of the two stories ou guys have mentioned, which is allowed by crisis.

I'm also surprised no-one has mentioned The Omen, yet, as 'the son of the devil' and 'the grandson of the demon' seem to share a name...