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Batman & Son Part 1 - 'Building a Better Batmobile'
Having seemingly won the battle over supervillainy in Gotham, Batman is persuaded to spend more time as Bruce Wayne. Flying over to London to attend a fundraiser, he is drawn into a plot by an unknown woman involving Man-Bat and a mysterious child.
Page 1
The
man falling from the building, having suffered poisoning from Joker
gas, is Jim Gordon. He made his first appearance in Batman's first ever
comic, Detective Comics #27, and has been an ally and sometime
confidant of Bruce Wayne and Batman ever since. Generally holding the
position of Commissioner of Gotham's police department, he has over the
years been a Detective, a Captain, and retired. It is often implied
that he knows Bruce is Batman, but keeps the secret to himself - and he
would have to be the worst police detective of all time not to have
figured it out. He is the father of Barbara Gordon, one-time Batgirl
and then superhero information broker Oracle. Despite the longstanding
and deep relationship the character has with Batman, he plays a fairly
minor supporting role in Morrison's Batman run.
Page 2 & 3
A
triumphant Joker leans over an apparently dead Batman with his bloodied
crowbar. We will shortly see that this isn't in fact Batman (nor is he
in fact dead), but in the first pages of the run Morrison is already
foreshadowing not only the 'death' of Batman that occurs later on, but
their use of the crowbar (which is the weapon with which the Joker
killed Jason Todd, the second Robin) also anticipates both the return of
Jason Todd and the death of another Robin.
The
representation of the Joker here is very traditional, including the
Joker-faced helicopter, and sets the scene for the Joker's own story of
transformation. He's bragging of killing Batman in front of a load of
vulnerable disabled kids, to emphasise both his evilness and his
absurdness. Though his gloating of Batman's apparent death does seem at
odds with his commentary in Batman R.I.P. that he and Batman need each other, and that his aim is Batman's psychological, not physical, destruction.
Page 4
Panel 6 - The obvious indication that this isn't the real Batman, as Bruce Wayne doesn't use guns or kill. Rules he would actually break during this run as part of Final Crisis where he shoots and 'kills' the god Darkseid.
Page 6
The first appearance of the phrase 'Zur En Arrh' which will reappear in the next few issues graffitied around Gotham City. This is a trigger phrase implanted in Batman's head by our principal antagonist, Dr Hurt, intended to cause Batman's psychological collapse.
We also see here the bloodied Joker after being shot in the head. Later, we will learn that the bullet to the middle of his forehead didn't kill him, but does lead to his transformation into a new version of the character.
Page 9
Panel 3 - Gordon says the Batman who Joker thought he had killed was an ex-cop who "just snapped". In fact he is police officer Josef Muller, one of the 3 'ghosts of Batman', that have been manipulated by Dr Hurt.
Panel 5 - A key set up for Batman R.I.P. is Gordon's comments here that the newly revitalised Batman (following the Thogal ritual - see here) has essentially cleaned up Gotham. This handily gives him space to mentor his son Damian - who at this stage he is unaware of - and pursue a romantic relationship with Jezebel Jet (yet another part of Dr Hurt's plan).
Page 13
Panel 1 - Tim Drake joins the party. He made his first appearance in Batman #436 in 1989. Tim is the third person (child) to take on the role of Batman's sidekick, Robin. He gets the gig after impressing Batman by using his detective skills to identify Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson as the original Batman and Robin - a feat that makes Jim Gordon look even more useless, if he hasn't ever figured it out (see above). A little unfairly, he's relegated to a bit part in Morrison's run, especially given the other Robins get time to shine; Dick Grayson becomes Batman for a while, Damian then takes over from Tim as Robin (and is a key character throughout the series), and Jason Todd gets a featured story and then a redemption arc. After Bruce Wayne's 'death' Tim adopts the new moniker of Red Robin, and his most crucial role is his instance and investigation into his belief that Bruce is still alive. Notice he enters the Batcave here via a fireman's pole, a nod to the 60s Batman TV series.
Panel 4 - The title of this issue's story is 'Building a Better Batmobile', and whilst that's really a metaphor for building a better Batman - Morrison's overall mission - we can see here it can also be taken literally.
Page 14
Panel 2 - A perfect encapsulation of both Alfred and Bruce here; Alfred's care and attention even extends to the wild bats living in the Batcave, and Bruce - with his Batman tunnel vision - doesn't even notice.
Page 7 - A reiteration here that following the Thogal ritual, Batman returned so energised he ended the supervillain threat in Gotham (temporarily at least).
Page 15
The captive woman is Francine Langstrom, wife of Kirk Langstrom, aka Man-Bat - more on him below - and despite being the damsel in distress here, has over the years transformed into She-Bat due to Kirk's serum that is being demanded by her kidnapper. She made her first appearance in 1970's Detective Comics #402.
The clues to the villain's identity are all here; she's accompanied by ninjas and scientists, is using poison, has the long nails and pouty lips of a femme fatal, and refers to Batman as "my darling detective".
Page 16
Panel 4 - Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom, a zoologist who specialises in bats, is better known by his alter ego Man-Bat, and made hist first appearance is Detective Comics #400 in 1970. Langstrom developed a serum that turned him into a half-human, half-bat hybrid. Sometimes portrayed as a villain, sometimes as an anti-hero, his serum has been used by, and on, many other characters over the years (including Batman). Whilst Langstrom himself doesn't really feature in Morrison's Batman run after this first story arc, his serum, and those who have taken it, do continue to play an important role - particularly in the finale of Batman Incorporated.
Page 19 & 20
Morrison is laying out their vision here; taking the role of Alfred they're telling Batman that he's been too serious for too long, and now is the time to let Bruce Wayne back into the picture, to make Batman human again.
Panel 6 - Alfred brings up the names of some of Bruce Wayne's previous girlfriends:
- Kathy Kane was introduced after publication of the controversial book Seduction of the Innocent (1954) by Frederick Wertham, which suggested comic books were responsible for juvenile delinquency. One of the many hysterical accusations was that Batman and Robin were in a homosexual relationship, and promoted homosexuality (which was obviously seen as a 'bad thing' in 50s America). Kathy was brought in to be the very-much heterosexual love interest for Bruce, and as the first Batwoman, making her debut in 1956's Detective Comics #233. Absent from continuity for many years, Morrison brought her back into the fold to play a significant part in Batman Incorporated.
- Julie Madison made her debut way back in 1939's Detective Comics #1939, and has the honour of being Bruce Wayne's first romantic interest. She was an actress, and actually got engaged to Bruce before breaking it off. She was basically written out of continuity, until being reintroduced by Scott Snyder in 2011.
- Vicki Vale made her debut in Batman #29 in 1948. She is a journalist who has popped up throughout Batman continuity as a love interest - albeit being married to someone else at one point. Despite not being used by Morrison, she does play a big part in Battle of the Cowl and Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, comics that tie into the main story but are penned by other writers.
- Silver St. Cloud first appeared in 1977's Detective Comics #470 as a socialite who dates Bruce Wayne, and actually figures out that he is Batman. She has only made a handful of appearances since her debut, though she did pop up in the improbable but entertaining Batman/Elmer Fudd crossover.
Page 22
Panel 1 - Alfred wants to catch up in the latest Artemis Fowl book. Written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, the series of children's novels features an elven police force facing off against the titular criminal mastermind. You’d have thought he had enough of the fantasy crime fighting in his day job.
Panel 2 - Given the scene takes place at an African fund-raiser, that must be Bono on the bottom TV screen! Of course, U2's lead singer has a Batman connection - their song Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, as well as being an absolute banger, was featured on the soundtrack of the Batman Forever film. Bono was originally supposed to have a part in the film - as his 90s alter-ego MacPhisto - but the plan fell through, which is probably for the best.
Page 23
The ninja's surrounding Mrs Langstrom from earlier have now been subjected to her husband's serum, and are revealed as a new menace - Ninja Man-Bats! The mysterious woman will be properly introduced next issue, as will the child-sized figure hidden in shadow who - unbeknown to even Grant Morrison at the time - would go on to be become a key and beloved character of the Batman universe.
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