"This is
your world. So I'm relying on you to hear
this."
That sentence, that helps open part 2 of "R.I.P.: “The Missing Chapter," should make the more grounded Bat-fans a little more comfortable. Grant Morrison's Batman is not comfortable in this world of gods and aliens, a climate of divine murder and possessed Alpha Lanterns. However, just because he's not comfortable in it, and it's outside the realms of the war he's chosen to fight, Morrison uses Batman by saying that when someone's murdered, you need a detective. And even if he's out of his regular arena, Batman's still the World's Greatest Detective, and the best man for the job. Morrison uses this two-parter to fill in the gaps between what we know and what we don't quite well. We see some recaps from FINAL CRISIS, but because of CRISIS' status as a DCU event, we were missing one vital piece of info…
Batman's personal perspective in the whole scheme of the story. If you're at all wondering what FINAL CRISIS looked like through the eyes of The Dark Knight, then pick up BATMAN #701 and 702 right now. Having read FINAL CRISIS will help, but this story really shows all you need to know if you're a Batman fan.
It seemed like the problem many people had with Batman's role in Darkseid's downfall was his use of a firearm. People argued it was way outside Batman's character to employ the use of a gun, and that was something that, while I wasn't personally offended, I understood why people were upset. I thought that it made statement of some kind, and it turns out that's exactly what it meant. Batman explains a lot about what this "god-bullet" really is, and what it represents. When he tells us exactly what it is, his use of it against Darkseid made perfect sense to me. We'll see what the overall reaction is, but my feelings on the matter evolved from, "That's a little sketchy," to, "Yeah, shoot that bastard with it and shove it right down his throat!" Not the most eloquent feelings I've ever had, by any stretch, but hopefully it'll make sense to those that have read the story. Suffice it to say that we thought Batman didn't have any personal stake in Darkseid, but Bruce perceives that not to be the case…at all.
We're also given his perspective on being hit with the Omega Sanction. This was the key, the main missing piece we didn't get just reading CRISIS. He sees a lot and experiences a lot, and one of the things he may have experienced is Neil Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" story in BATMAN #686 and DETECTIVE #853. I like that Morrison threw that in, because it seemed to me that story could have been a hallucination Bruce experienced in a split-second, even if it wasn't technically in-continuity. We also find out that something recovered by the other heroes in RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE could be the key to Bruce's return, and the key to letting his friends know that he is alive. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the forthcoming books, because this story ends the moment Bruce walks out of the cave from RETURN #1. Is that him, present at his own burial? Uh oh, I've said too much!
Tony Daniel's artwork is strong and clear in this issue. His expressive art is improving. While his new style is scratchier than his previous style, his line is strong in the variety of different environments and characters he shows, and his artwork is appropriately moody and dark for a relatively "bright" story.
Why is it bright?
Because it heralds the return of the one, true Dark Knight.
It's only a matter of time now.
