Scans_Daily

Batman 49 came out this week, setting up Bruce Wayne's return as Batman for the big next issue. And what a path it was to that point in this issue, so much that I kind of felt the need to post that return in the last three-ish pages because it was a thing of art.

Couple of things before the scene itself. The issue is extremely dense and there are no side plots going on, it is healthy Bruce Wayne and Alfred debating about the return of Batman with Alfred being vehementely against it. He has finally seen his greatest dream come true, after all, the Bruce Wayne who grew to be a man not haunted by past traumas and who become a truly great man, compassionate and helpful to those in need while being able to enjoy his own happiness. Yet the nobility of that same man will not allow him to just stand around watching the city burn under Bloom's attack while knowing that he could do something to help. I cannot do justice to their scenes with that explanation

So they make their way to Bruce's backup machine where he had stored his memories and skills to be implemented on clones of himself so that there would be a Batman. It is messed up and it is totally Batman once you understand that Snyder's Batman is a thing of tragedy and hence would never want his children to have bear that legacy. Anyway, the project never worked as a human mind could never handle being Batman, projections showing that the brain would simply die unable to handle the amount of mental trauma required. In addition, Alfred trashed the machine to prevent Batman's return, but of course Bruce figures out that there was a backup program.

At this point Bruce enters the machine to have Batman's program imprinted on his mind, convinced that he can be the better Batman, the one without all the trauma weighing on him, the one who is capable of being happy. Yet as they start the simulation, the imprint continuously fails as Bruce's mind cannot handle it, constantly nearing brain death only to be pulled back. Finally Bruce understands that tragic truth: For there to be a Batman there cannot be a Bruce Wayne. The same mind cannot hold both of them and begs Alfred to have the program to go through and wipe out his mind. Alfred of course refuses, but then they are joined by a third party.







I have to praise Paquette's art in that last panel as you can just feel the difference to Bruce Wayne we saw before, see the the darkness in him again. And while it was clear from the beginning that Bruce Wayne would be Batman again, I never saw it coming like this which makes it so great. Notice that last page. That is not a scene of triumph, that is not a hell yes moment. That is sadness, as for Batman is a story of tragedy. A great child of Gotham had to be sacrificed for it to have its greatest protector.

As a last word, I've seen a lot of grousing online as we got Bat!Bruce back all dark instead of having a bright Batman and I feel there are two important points to be made of that. First, Snyder's Batman has always been a tragic character, actually the most popular version of the character has always been a tragic character. Yet here, Snyder is direct about it, he makes it clear to the reader that nobody in their right mind would want to be Batman in a way that hasn't really been been done before. This isn't us knowing the kid Bruce dying, this is us seeing the awesome human being Bruce Wayne would have been without Batman. Second, there is always an important distinction on the story being bad and the story not being what one wanted it to be. And I don't think this story can be argued to be bad.