# At times I can be quite a comic book geek...



## Ronin74 (Apr 23, 2009)

... and as such tend to keep myself in the know regarding some of my classic favorites. That said, I've been waiting to say this for quite some time:

Batman is gone

Actually, Bruce Wayne is gone- largely considered dead by the DC comics universe- and battle of sorts has risen up to decide who wil done the cape and cowel.

The most likely candidates are his four sons (if you didn't know, that's three by adoption, and one supposedly through a fling). "Spoilers" (possibly red herrings) are out as to who will take up the mantle, and in turn who will be the new Robin.

Thank you for reading through my geek moment... lol.


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## Andy Moynihan (Apr 23, 2009)

I hate when they do this stuff.


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## MA-Caver (Apr 23, 2009)

Andy Moynihan said:


> I hate when they do this stuff.


Yeah, well they have to in order to maintain sales for a new generation, if they don't keep up then they might as well retire and call it good. 

NOT

Funny how they seem to think you have to keep the character fresh... when it's the villians and the stories that are what's important... IMO anyway.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 23, 2009)

The weird twist here is that the story portrays him as having his body killed off, but his spirit forced to live on. Of course, it would have to be that weird, or else there wouldn't be a possiblity of bringing him back, which often seems to be the case with comic book characters (as of record, Captain America is STILL dead, but who knows how long that'll last).


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## arnisador (Apr 23, 2009)

I followed the Capt. America (Civil War) story, but not the Batman one. My son is following it though. Staying dead? With more movies on the way? I'm not buying it.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 23, 2009)

arnisador said:


> I followed the Capt. America (Civil War) story, but not the Batman one. My son is following it though. Staying dead? With more movies on the way? I'm not buying it.


No doubt. In all likelyhood, Bruce Wayne will still exist in the movies, but as for the comics, he'll be "dead" for a while, during which time, all signs point to one of the current/past Robins being the Batman for the comics, until the writers run out of other ideas, and decide to bring him back.


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## Drac (Apr 23, 2009)

No problems with being a comic book Geek..I remember when  DC killed them all off and restarted from day one..I remember thanking Gawd they did away with the Superman's costume being made from the blankets that he was wrapped in storyline..


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## MA-Caver (Apr 23, 2009)

arnisador said:


> I followed the Capt. America (Civil War) story, but not the Batman one. My son is following it though. Staying dead? With more movies on the way? I'm not buying it.


The movies have a helluva long way to catch up with the comic stories... :lol: provided they don't get stupid like the first franchise did starting with the 3rd film. 

I'd still love to see a straight to film version of Batman Vs. Predator. The Dark Horse comic was superb in every sense and would be fitting with the present Dark Knight that's on film right now.


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## Gordon Nore (Apr 23, 2009)

I was unaware of this turn of affairs. I recall a huge hue and cry years ago when DC "killed" Superman. Apparently, they had concoted an array of universes with different Supermen. Very confusing.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (Apr 23, 2009)

Well they broke Batman's back and he came back. Killed Robin and he came back. Killer Superman and he came back I see a pattern.

You can't kill a superhero icon you can only kill him long enough to interest the reader. 

I remember the Superman death craze those things were selling for $100's then they brought him back and the comic went down fast kinda of like Shaq's rookie card in the late 90's.


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## Hyper_Shadow (Apr 23, 2009)

Hey if there's a job going I wouldn't mind having to wear the ol cape and cowl. Of course I'd want some serious danger money and I'd have to sort something out about the unsociable hours. Hmm, second thought maybe not, though the playboy lifestyle is tempting... I think I'll shift over to Marvel instead. Who's with me in establishing Spark industries?

Seriously though, comic book superheroes can't be killed any more. They're avatars for all the things kids (and probably most adults!) have to deal with in life. They've been around long enough. It's just another form of myths written in a different context for a newer age.


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## arnisador (Apr 23, 2009)

Who (of any renown) has been killed and stayed dead?


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## Andy Moynihan (Apr 23, 2009)

Aunt May. That's basically it.


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## Omar B (Apr 23, 2009)

Yeah man, Battle For The Cowl has been great so far.  I think it's gonna fall to Dick again to become Batman though Damien being Bruce's heir should get it.

Who cares if they killed Bruce?  There still will be a million Elseworld books with him in future, they'll come up with some sort of "untold tales of the bat" thing and have it run concurrently with the current canon Batman.

As for the Captain America/Bucky thing.  I'm loving it, but how can you not, it's had stellar writing and I love Alex Ross' redesign of the suit.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 23, 2009)

Andy Moynihan said:


> Aunt May. That's basically it.


Actually, she's alive... lol. I believe Uncle Ben (Parker, not the rice guy) is still dead.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 23, 2009)

Omar B said:


> Yeah man, Battle For The Cowl has been great so far.  I think it's gonna fall to Dick again to become Batman though Damien being Bruce's heir should get it.
> 
> Who cares if they killed Bruce?  There still will be a million Elseworld books with him in future, they'll come up with some sort of "untold tales of the bat" thing and have it run concurrently with the current canon Batman.
> 
> As for the Captain America/Bucky thing.  I'm loving it, but how can you not, it's had stellar writing and I love Alex Ross' redesign of the suit.



Actually possible spoilers have been released. In four words: Batman, Robin, identities, sketches


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## Rich Parsons (Apr 24, 2009)

Ronin74 said:


> ... and as such tend to keep myself in the know regarding some of my classic favorites. That said, I've been waiting to say this for quite some time:
> 
> Batman is gone
> 
> ...





Andy Moynihan said:


> I hate when they do this stuff.




It sounds like the "Death of Superman" when there were four super men who were acting or taking on the role of Superman.


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## punisher73 (Apr 24, 2009)

Rich Parsons said:


> It sounds like the "Death of Superman" when there were four super men who were acting or taking on the role of Superman.


 
That's what it reminded me of when I was reading through this thread.

Read "Knightfall" by Dennis O'Neil and "Death of Superman" by Roger Stern, these are the novelizations of the story lines where Bruce Wayne's back is broke and he needs a replacement and Superman dying from his fight with Doomsday.  VERY good reads.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 24, 2009)

punisher73 said:


> That's what it reminded me of when I was reading through this thread.
> 
> Read "Knightfall" by Dennis O'Neil and "Death of Superman" by Roger Stern, these are the novelizations of the story lines where Bruce Wayne's back is broke and he needs a replacement and Superman dying from his fight with Doomsday. VERY good reads.


I have to agree. I wish they went a little more in-depth with the Knight Quest chapter, but overall, it was a good story- same with the Death and Return of Superman arcs.

Don't know if you guys read Batman RIP or Final Crisis, but they both have to do with Batman's demise, and the Batman: Last Rites ties in really well as a post-Batman RIP story.


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## Omar B (Apr 25, 2009)

Azrael was the sh##!


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## Ronin74 (Apr 25, 2009)

Omar B said:


> Azrael was the sh##!


I agree. I wish his fight with Batman during the KnightQuest arc would've been more intense, but whatever.

There's also a new Azrael in town, and it's NOT Jean Paul Valley. And Jean Paul Valley may not be dead either.


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## Omar B (Apr 25, 2009)

Yeah, I've been following that.  I read as follows:

All Superman titles
All Batman titles (including his offshoots, Robin, Nightwing, Outsiders, etc)
All Green Lantern titles
Flash
JLA
JSA

Powers
All Punisher titles
All Daredevil titles
All Iron Man titles

Also, anything with Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Grant Morrison, Loeb, Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Alex Ross, Michael Avon Oeming.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 25, 2009)

Omar B said:


> Yeah, I've been following that. I read as follows:
> 
> All Superman titles
> All Batman titles (including his offshoots, Robin, Nightwing, Outsiders, etc)
> ...


If you like the Punisher- especially when Garth Ennis was writing- you might want to check out "The Executioner". The main character was originally featured in novels written by Don Pendleton, and the stories were adapted for IDW's label by Doug Wojtowicz. Mack Bolan, who's the main character is often cited as being the inspiration for Frank Castle/Punisher. I've only read one of the trade paperbacks, and he doesn't fight anyone with superpowers, but he fights one-man wars on organized crime.


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## arnisador (Apr 25, 2009)

I always give Warren Ellis' stuff a shot. Have you looked at Hotwire, which is from an idea by him?


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## Ronin74 (Apr 25, 2009)

arnisador said:


> I always give Warren Ellis' stuff a shot. Have you looked at Hotwire, which is from an idea by him?


To be honest, I haven't heard of that one, but I am a fan of Planetary. I've only got the trades (including "Crossing Worlds"), but have my fingers crossed that #27 will hit the stands, and the final trades not far behind (I believe it's in July).

I have to admit, it wasn't until I started paying extra attention that I realized I've been reading a lot of Ellis' work.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 25, 2009)

Another character I enjoy reading about is Marvel's Deadpool. Even though there's slight differences on his portrayal, from writer to writer, they always manage to keep him a pretty laughable character.


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## arnisador (Apr 25, 2009)

Ronin74 said:


> To be honest, I haven't heard of that one



Hotwire



Ronin74 said:


> Marvel's Deadpool



I've always liked him, but less so what they've been doing with him recently (with Cable and with Wolverine). I also don't like what they're doing with another long-term favourite of mine, Moon Knight. I'm curious about him in the Wolverine movie, of course.


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## Ronin74 (Apr 25, 2009)

arnisador said:


> I've always liked him, but less so what they've been doing with him recently (with Cable and with Wolverine). I also don't like what they're doing with another long-term favourite of mine, Moon Knight. I'm curious about him in the Wolverine movie, of course.


Oh yeah, those weren't too high on my favorites lists either. However, I think he totally redeemed himself in his recent new series. He actually has a major role in combating the Skrulls, of course with his own unique flair.

As for his role in the Wolverine movie, I'm interested to see how he does. I'm guessing it's only a rumor right now, but the word under the street is that Ryan Reynolds (who sounds like he'd be an ideal person to have the role) did a good enough job that he's considered as "the guy" if Marvel decides to do a Deadpool movie.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on Moon Knight as well. I didn't see much appeal in him in his past series, but when Charlie Huston took the helm for in 2006, this gave Moon Knight that darker edge he was meant to have. Yet somehow, since the God & Country storyarc, I've lost interest.


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## Ronin74 (May 20, 2009)

While I'm sure not too many others would care, and I'm sure Omar's already read the final issue of Battle for the Cowl, all I can say is...

Wow. That wasn't a bad story afterall, and it managed to be more than a "so here's the new Batman" kind of story.

And now I'm really curious to see what becomes of "the gun-toting Batman". (yes I know who it is, but I didn't want to spoil it for anyone just in case.)


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