Bruce Wayne Press Conference (Spoilers for Batman and Robin 16)

The war on crime goes global as the returned Bruce Wayne takes the next step...


http://www.newsarama.com/comics/bruce-waybe-confesses-funding-batman-101103.html

 

Sounds sort of like Iron Man's old excuse, that Iron Man is an employee of his company rather than Stark himself.

 

"Mr. Wayne my client was injured by Batman and we are suing you for $100 million"

 

The Justice league lawyers handle dozens of nuisance claims like that a week.

By lawyer I of course mean Batman at 4 am.

 

It actually doesn't make any sense as it would simply draw more attention to the relationship between the two and heighten the interest in Bruce Wayne.

 

I haven't read the comic, but this announcement does have its benefits as Bruce expands the Batman label to the rest of the world. In the past, only a small portion of his fortune could realistically go into fighting crime (without people catching on that he's buying Batman's gadgets). This announcement frees up the use of more of his funds.

Plus, he's going to be reaching out to a lot of new people to wear the Bat symbol, and it's going to be very hard to keep secret the fact that he's funding the expansion. This allows him to handle the way the story is told.

 

Which is exactly the reason the Iron Man/bodyguard thing fails. It draws a connection between the two and makes it more likely the secret identity will be found out. It increases the likelihood of attempts on their civilian identity and consequently puts everyone around them in danger. "Hey, if we want to hurt Batman, we just need to bomb Wayne Manor!" And it makes someone liable for the damage or injuries caused by the hero.

If Batman needs an explanation for where he gets all his toys, just say the Justice League supplies them. To which Bruce Wayne happens to donate heavily, BTW.

 

Actually I look at it the other way, that since Bruce has now done this (I think this is a reaction to the recent Vicki Vale investigation in the Road Home one shots) so that the public will think that he and he alone has personally funded Batman and his allies so that now they can do the work they need to do. Now like Ra's al Ghul there might be a few who are smart enough and have the resources and intelligence to make the connection but this announcement serves as a distraction to allow them to do their jobs without having to worry about that. I maybe alone in my assessment but so be it.

Bob Harras explains the Bruce Wayne announcement and the concept behind Batman, Inc for those still not onboard.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/bob-harras-batman-reveal-101103.html

 

In this day and age, it wouldn't really be hard to track down evidence linking Bruce Wayne to Batman. So I think this makes perfect sense, because it offers a credible alternative explanation for that evidence and thus diverts suspicion. The most effective lies have as much truth in them as possible, because they're the hardest ones to disprove.

Sure, it'll draw more attention and risk to Bruce, but he's no doubt -- pardon the phrase -- prepared for that. And he evidently sees it as a necessary tradeoff for "franchising" the Batman brand, making his war on crime more effective by expanding its scope. After all, he's not in it alone anymore. Now that he's seen that others could successfully keep Batman alive without Bruce Wayne, maybe he considers himself more expendable and is thus less concerned about protecting himself. Heck, with a legion of other Batmen and -women around, would it really do that much damage to the cause if only one Batman had his identity exposed?

 

^ This is what i believe is also his motivation for doing this.

 

I was already all for the "Batman Inc" approach but this was a surprise turn, yet it makes total sense now that I think about it. I also dig the angle of Bruce going beyond just slapping a badge on heroes around the world.

I would imagine he would have to up his personal security now. Everyone close to him is a more open target now, so I imagine security protocols are going to be strengthened left and right.

In many ways, I see Bruce doing the 'good guy' version of Ras Al Ghul's organization. It's global, will have champions all over the world and it has a huge money driver behind it. For the first time in years I'm getting back into Bat-books and that makes me happy.

 

I think that Morrison has been slowly moving towards an ultimate end game between Bruce and Ra's. I believe this was hinted at in the Ra's Road Home one shot last week as well.

 

No.

The Ra's material is mainly the work of DC editorial and their hired guns.

Morrison's arc has been entirely focused on the role of Batman. The only overriding villain so far has been Doctor Hurt.

 

Yeah as Hound notes, take absolutely no notice of anything written by anyone but Morrison as he takes no notice of it either (and it works the other way - for example, Death of the New Gods).

 

That doesn't mean that he doesn't consult with the other writers. He would have never allowed the Road Home one shots if they didn't at least play some part in his overall scheme of things, and oh yeah there was a major revelation regarding Dr. Hurt in this issue too

 

Allow? How much control do you think he has?

In the run-up to Infinite Crisis he asked that the New Gods were left alone instead and in his own words

- that's why nothing in that series matches anything he wrote. I will be amazed if he picks up on anything in any of the one-shots, it's simply the sort of filler that gets pumped out around a major series, Time Masters is the same.

 

As I said DC has given him carte blanche on the Batman. "Batman, Inc" is now the flagship title while "Batman and Robin" moves to a secondary along with "Detective Comics" and David Finch's "Batman: Dark Knight". Go do a search and read interviews he's given and the Bat Editor has given, all point to Morrison having control on the character for as long as he wants.

I said that it was a theory not that I thought it would happen.

 

The one shots were built around his outline for Batman Inc. Thats the extent of his consultation with the writers. Morrison doesn't care what the majority of those writers around him do, to him it's all gravy. I think the only people he might care about are those he sees as equals like Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns or Peter Tomasi. The rest of them he ignores.

 

That is why I read them because they were Return of Bruce Wayne tie-ins and kind of my point. Anyways pretty cool issue. Have loved pretty much the entire run and will be getting the hardcover when it comes out next week.

 

Slightly OT, but could someone explain to me exactly who Simon Hurt/'Thomas Wayne' is? Is he the devil, Barbatos, an ancestor of Bruce Wayne?

What exactly is his tie to Darkseid, or the alien influence mentioned in Issue #16?