Written by Grant Morrison Art by Lee Garbett
Synopsis : Talia and Bruce are Hot as Hell !Yeah, not the best way to start a review. We see The Bare-Chested Batman vs Ra's Al Ghul, Batman riding a shark, Batman fighting a werewolf and Talia and Bruce making love. I'll tell you- Grant's two part is being more enjoyable and with more action than some mai-series.
Bruce is in the car being driven by Alfred (Note that this is a memory which is being put by Simyan and Mokkari to distract Batman from trying to stop the memory transfer which the Lump is engaging in.) Bruce is working at the hospital where he is treating a "Elva Barr" (Elva as in Vale (Vicki Vale) ? ). Simyan and Mokkari wonder if Bruce has noticed what they are doing. Bruce is wincing in pain.
In his memory, Elva Barr was Catwoman who steals the hospital. His father calls him a disgrace. Mokkari comments that all of this is Batman's worse fears. Bruce and Alfred go looking for Ace (Not the bat-hound yet). Bruce goes inside a well where he sees a dead Richard Grayson (who went to fight crime after his parents murder but was tortured to death by The Joker Killer for days). Simyan and Mokkari change the memories in panic and we cut to Batman throwing Deathstroke down a ceiling. The Memory "Bruce Wayne" starts talking about wanting a partner.
Batman meeting Jason Todd (who was trying to steal a wheel of The Batmobile, I wonder why the big EL is written A Certain Kal-El ?). It seemed that things would be better with a Robin but Teenage rebellion and arrogance caused the death Of Jason Todd who was bludgeoned to death by Joker. Bruce's fall into darkness is seen., The formation of the infamous Bat-Jerk. The Killing Joke happens (Oracle crippled by The Joker). Simyan and Mokkari are very happy to see all the trauma and believe that their plan of Batmen has succeeded. However, the clones could not handle the pressure and trauma which Bruce underwent.
Tim Drake meets Batman and tells him he has proof Batman needs Robin. The Alfred in the memory reveals himself as The Lump (we saw the clue for that in The Last issue when Mokkari said that the Lump was hiding in the memories as his oldest ally.) He shows Batman of his greatest failures in an attempt to undermine his will and need to be (Similar to The Black Glove but much more on that in later posts). Batman's will is greater though. The Lump shows him the events Of Knightfall, Az-Bat, No Mans Land,Hush, Jack Drake's death in Identity Crisis.
Lump, like A Bond Villain reveals what they are doing to him. Batman, in style says that they can have it all at once, if they can take it. He shows them the Infamous Infinite Crisis scene of him nearly using a Gun on Alex Luthor after it was implied that Nightwing was killed. The clones kill themselves. Simyan and Mokkari are frightened and scared. They decide to use soul killing shells and terminate the Lump.
The Lump begins to die, the Lump is not evil, just a tool in the Grand Scheme. Batman, being compassionate says that he will do anything to stop those who did this to them and asks him whether he needs a jolt to get moving. Bruce promises to find the men who killed him and to avenge him. Wow ! Mokkari decides that they will tell Darkseid that they had to stop the emotional transfer, nothing else.
We see Batman's adventures post-52, The Ritual with The Ten-Eyed Men, The Thogal Ritual, Damian, His Battle with the Black Glove, RIP and Zur-En-Arrh. Seems that after Batman's battle with Dr.Hurt in Batman RIP, he got out of the river, changed his cowl and got an emergency call from the Justice League and joined them (That will explain how Kraken took him out so easily, Bruce must have been really weak).
It seem that Orion's death and the subsequent investigation is knows as "Batman's Last Case". It Began with The Murder Of a God. Bruce analyzes the bullet which John found and says that he will return it later. He leaves it in his belt. The Lump breaks and attacks Simyan and Mokkari who flee. Batman is released as his eyes open up after being Tortured for over a Month.
We conclude with The Real Alfred saying that he did once consider to resign from the Wayne household. He thought Bruce had gone mad when he said he wanted to become a Bat, but when he saw how Bruce committed himself to an ideal and to be a better man and be in the service of others for their good. What could he do but stand in Awe and clean and tidy his costume ? Very touching. Alfie says that Bruce told him that it was not a question as to who Killed the Batman, but who kept him alive all these years ! The whereabouts of the Batman are unknown but Alfred believes that his opponents will let their guard down for one second and underestimate him and then , "No Matter How Dark The Night, There Will Be No Hiding Place For Evil."
Story : 9.5
Art : 9.0
Last Thoughts : A beautiful conclusion to this Mini. It ties in heavily with what will Happen in Issue 6 obviously. Its a great read for a Batman fan of any generation
The Dark Knight Returns
Next In Final Crisis : The heroes arrive in Bludhaven for their last stand against The Darkseid, Where is Green Lantern and will he be executed wrongly ? Where is Libra and the biggest question of all, Where are The Big 3. See you soon.
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