The Return of Bruce Wayne in April!

[Cicero]

Thrall wrote:

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Grant Morrison is still an idiot.

Unquestionably.

Since I was little (in the mid-90s), I've been puzzled by the strange desire so many writers seem to have to drastically alter status quos. If you find the existing situation boring, but liked it when you started reading, you've been reading for too long and should stop for awhile. Batman should star Bruce Wayne, Batman, and Superman should feature Clark Kent, Superman. There's plenty of room to tell exciting, interesting stories that don't alter the status quo.

[JoeZhang]

Radio Cicero Rockettes wrote:

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Unquestionably.

Since I was little (in the mid-90s), I've been puzzled by the strange desire so many writers seem to have to drastically alter status quos. If you find the existing situation boring, but liked it when you started reading, you've been reading for too long and should stop for awhile. Batman should star Bruce Wayne, Batman, and Superman should feature Clark Kent, Superman. There's plenty of room to tell exciting, interesting stories that don't alter the status quo.

Who's changing the status quo? All of those stories are temporary and the status quo will be restored at the end. We know it, the writers know it. There has never been any attempts to suggest that Bruce Wayne would not be back.

The illusion of change is useful to get people talking.

[Broccoli]

JoeZhang wrote:

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Who's changing the status quo? All of those stories are temporary and the status quo will be restored at the end. We know it, the writers know it. There has never been any attempts to suggest that Bruce Wayne would not be back.

The illusion of change is useful to get people talking.

And interested in the books.

[Misfit Toy]

Radio Cicero Rockettes wrote:

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There's plenty of room to tell exciting, interesting stories that don't alter the status quo.

There's already 70 years worth of those stories out there. Why not try something different?

[Allyn Gibson]

Misfit Toy wrote:

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There's already 70 years worth of those stories out there. Why not try something different?

And, frankly, there's no reason why stories of Bruce Wayne as Batman couldn't continue to be told. Besides the fact that DC will have four or five different ongoing Batman continuities shortly -- "regular" DCU, First Wave, Earth-One, All-Star (when/if that ever returns), and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (based on the current animated series) -- they also have Batman Confidential, which like Legends of the Dark Knight, tells stories that stand alone. (Plus, there's Superman/Batman, which is off in its own little world now.) Having Dick under the cape and cowl doesn't preclude stories of Bruce under the cape and cowl, any more than Star Trek: The Next Generation prevented stories from being told about the crew of the original Enterprise.

[Broccoli]

Re: Death of Superman

I'm sorry to bump this thread, but the idea of whether or not Supes was actually "dead" has been on my mind and I just now got a chance to crack open my TPB of the Return of Superman.

Here is what is explained in Superman #82:

Superman: But I wasn't dead! I was just in some kind of coma or something! Right?
Eradicator: Thoughts such as those may comfort you, but you must understand, you were categorically deceased, Kal-El.
Superman: Assuming you're right--
Eradicator: There is no mistake in what I have said. Doomsday killed you.

This exchange says, to me, that Superman was dead as a doornail after his bout with Doomsday. On the next page, they go over his resurrection:

Superman: You mean, if not for you, I'd still be dead?
Eradicator: Indeed. The death of the last Kryptonian awakened me...your termination actually compelled me to visit your body. My powers and the technology at your fortress were able to do the impossible.
Superman: You mean you can restore life?
Eradicator: Not quite. Though the conditions were ideal and your kryptonian body in Earth's enviroment was uniquely suited to the recuperative process, you had nearly extinguished your massive store of solar energies in your battle with Doomsday. Only by getting to you quickly -- and administrating the healing baths of the matrix chamber -- could I help. Another day, another set of circumstances...and your resurrection might not have been possible.

This suggests to me that Superman was able to come back with a combination of the Eradicator's abilities, the matrix chamber, and good timing.

Again, I must make mention that I do not know if this has since been retconed.

[Dusty Ayres]

Dasher70 wrote:

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Money.

Better canvas on which to tell a story, I'd also say.

[Dusty Ayres]

Torg wrote:

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Again, I must make mention that I do not know if this has since been retconed.

It most likely has since been retconed.

[A beaker full of death]

Yawn.
When I cam back to comics 5 years ago, after a 20 year hiatus, Green Lantern had turned bad and was dead, Green Arrow was dead, Barry Allen was dead. I knew these guys would not only be back but would return to their proper roles. The Silver Age remains where it's at. There's a reason all the superhero movies -and comics- keep retelling the stories from that era. They're our collective cultural mythology. The classics remain classics because we like them.
Bruce Wayne is back? This is news? Really?

[Admiral_Young]

It is difficult to assess if Superman's death was retconned or not...the documentary that was included in Superman/Doomsday seems to imply that it was later on in an attempt to explain his resurrection. DC wanted Superman dead, dead. They also needed a way to bring him back when the time was right. I have always believed no matter what anyone says that Clark died and was at some point later brought back to life.

[Broccoli]

A beaker full of death wrote:

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Yawn.
When I cam back to comics 5 years ago, after a 20 year hiatus, Green Lantern had turned bad and was dead, Green Arrow was dead, Barry Allen was dead. I knew these guys would not only be back but would return to their proper roles. The Silver Age remains where it's at. There's a reason all the superhero movies -and comics- keep retelling the stories from that era. They're our collective cultural mythology. The classics remain classics because we like them.
Bruce Wayne is back? This is news? Really?

Really? The Nolan Batman films seem to be anything but Silver Age.

The Marvel Silver Age was pretty good due to them introducing a whole slew of characters, but the DC Silver Age sucked. I'm sorry, but I look back on those stories and I just can't get over how over-the-top goofy they were, especially in regards to Batman and Superman. I don't care if they bring back characters or what not. But if they veer into the storytelling practices of the Silver Age, oy!