Comic Book Review: Batman - The Return of Bruce Wayne #3

Many have wondered, including me, how it all was going to connect. How Bruce Wayne's travels though time would coincide with one another, and eventually with the future. Well today, we get The Return of Bruce Wayne #3, which takes place almost one hundred after the second issue. This issue is filled with pirates, secret treasure, and bat mythology, and this is where we will begin to see the barely visible threads that linger across time itself.

Bruce exhaustedly stumbles out of the ocean, right at the feet of Blackbeard and his fellow pirates. The exhaustion is physical, and mental, as he begins to get flashes of his life, finally remembering the who he was, and how he got in this position. Blackbeard believes Bruce to be The Black Pirate, a legendary captain, and pilot of The Black Rose. Blackbeard is also convinced that The Black Pirate is the only person who can locate the hidden treasure that is buried deep within the caves in Gotham. Bruce makes it clear that they have the wrong man, but Blackbeard is not one to be negotiated with, so he grabs a young boy on the shore, and threatens to kill the boy if The Black Pirate does not help. Not wanting anyone to get hurt, Bruce agrees to use his skills to find the treasure, as long as the boy is safe, and no one else gets hurt. The boy now begins to stand up for himself, sweet talking Blackbeard, who he calls Commodore Thatch, a legendary sailor that inspired the boy himself to set to sea. The boy also reveals his own name, Jack Loggins, but take note that the boy is narrating the story in the form of a diary, where he calls himself Jack Valor.

So Bruce leads the pirates to the caves, all while Jack does a little more explaining. In narration, Jack reveals that Bruce couldn't possibly be The Black Pirate, but out loud, Jack talks about the local lore of the deer-people joining the bat-people in the caves. Clearly Jack is knowledgeable, and once the pirates notice that, he goes back to the charade of being a clueless boy.

As Bruce leads the pirates though the Miagani cave, Jack marvels at his ability to avoid the traps set by the bat-people. The bat people are true to the name, hanging from the ceiling, and fashioning their hair like bat ears, and never letting themselves be seen. Their traps have unique triggers, but are predictable, especially the bat-arrows.

After Bruce leads the pirates through the first wave of traps, they approach a room that is filled with rotting bodies. Here, Jack begins to talk of another folk-tale, that of the ghost of Jon Valor, the original Black Pirate, but Blackbeard immediately dismisses the idea.

Bruce pauses in front of the room, and realizes that it was the methane gas that killed the men, and not a rumored ghost. He orders that all torches be extinguished before they move one, and also adds to not step on any raised stones. Of course, some of the men fail to pay attention and step on the rigged stones, causing a blue energy to attack them. They men that were not effected rush out the room, and come out behind a waterfall into a different area.

In the present, Batman and Robin are in Blüdhaven, namely Command-D where Darkseid was stationed in Final Crisis, and where Batman's body was found. They're in contact with Wonder Woman, who is at the Justice League headquarters as they discuss how to stop a rogue Batman. That's an interesting thought, as we know Batman was somehow tainted by Darkseid, but the mention of corruption is somewhat new. Back with the Justice League, Wonder Woman puts the League on Black Alert, due to the fact that Superman and the others that left with him have not reported since their trip to the end of time. With that, she turns the mic to Red Robin, as they lay out a strategy for stopping Batman. Tim doesn't really have a strategy though, instead he talks about the relic Batman and Robin found in the secret Batcave under Wayne Manor, the cowl that was draped over the elk antlers. The cowl has highly advanced technology in it, yet it is part of a relic 11,000 years old. Dick chimes in from Command-D, saying that the holes in the cowl match the spikes stemming from the machine that Bruce was connected to in Final Crisis. A new theory is agreed upon: Bruce escaped the machine, shot Darkseid, and was struck with the Omega Effect sending him back in time.

Back to the caves, the pirates are breathing in the sweat, fresh air of this area, as opposed to the methane from the previous room. While Blackbeard's crew is catching their breath, Jack slips away to have a private word with Bruce. Jack says that his real surname is Valor, revealing himself to be the real Black Pirate and captain of The Black Rose. He pulls a cowl from his vest, which looks just like Batman's cowl, except that it has no ears, similar to Red Robin's cowl. Jack says that the cowl belonged to his grandfather, Jon Valor, and the original Black Pirate. Blackbeard, who has attached wicks to his hat and lighting them, giving his head the appearance of being on fire, now notices Bruce and Jack conversing amongst themselves, and demands to know the details of the secret meeting. The pirates corner Bruce off the rock cliff and into the water below with only the cowl in hand. Blackbeard realizes that Bruce is the only man who knew how to maneuver around the traps, so he sets off to follow the trail of the river to find Bruce.

Blackbeard and his men now come to the Bridge of Bones, which confirms to them that there is treasure inside the cave. As the approach the bridge, a batarang hits one of the pirates in the chest, and another receives an arrow in the throat. The pirates are on edge now, and are even further spooked when they look across the bridge and see what they believe to be a ghost, but is actually Bruce wearing the cowl. Bruce/Batman, now pulls his usual awesomeness, and engages the pirates before finally taking them down with the help of a few bat-people.

Bruce and Jack throw Blackbeard and crew into the River of Night, and Jack then takes Bruce to meet the Miagani people. Jack is quite familiar with the bat-people, as he has been allowed to hide in their caves for years. He shows Bruce the carving that the bat-people worship, which is the same statue that Dick discovered in Batman and Robin, Barbatos. Bruce is allowed to see the sacred part of the cave, part of a great mystery that the bat-people claim to hold a great power.

Bruce is led to another cave, where he sees the cowl held to the stone by antlers, as well as his boots and utility belt. He knows these were his items, and he begins to make a connection to the man-of-bat, the Miagani, and Annie...

Bruce exits the cave, right as an eclipse is starting. He realizes that the eclipse triggers his transportation, so he hands Jack the cowl, and tells him to never stop fighting.

Jack tells us some of the events that transpired after Bruce left: Blackbeard/Thatch, was taken to the gallows shortly after the events in the cave, ending most of the piracy in the area. For the pirates that didn't stop, Jack took to using the cowl and stopping them, meeting a girl along the way that he would eventually marry. Jack also wrote down the story of Bruce, including the past places, and people of Bruce's former life. Note that this was at the instruction of Bruce himself, who told Jack all about his former life, maybe in order to leave clues for the future. After the story was completed, Jack met a wealthy brother and sister who instructed him to lock the papers inside a small casket baring a Bat-symbol. Jack never forgot the words that Bruce had spoken, and even as an old man, he still feels a presence when he holds the old cowl.

The last pages take place in a different time: The old west. Two men ride to an abandoned building where they meet a man playing cards to propose a business offer. They offer gold, if only their problem can be taken care of. The man holds up a Joker card, as he reveals himself to be Jonah Hex. The men need the greatest bounty hunter in the west, to take down a new stranger: The Batman of the old west.

Only half way through, and this series is already captivating every bit of my imagination. I can't stop thinking about what will happen once Bruce returns to the present, or what Darkseid has done to make that event disastrous. That casket that holds secrets to Bruce's past lives is the same one that was stolen from the mansion in Batman and Robin. So hopefully we'll find out why El Penitente's men wanted it. Two weeks from the next issue of Batman and Robin, and five weeks until the next issue of Return of Bruce Wayne. That sucks, but it will give plenty of time for us dorks to theorize how all of this connects. Please feel free to leave any theories in the comments.

Comic Book Review: Batman - The Return of Bruce Wayne #2

Only two weeks removed from the prehistoric Batman story, DC has released the second issue of Return of Bruce Wayne today, an issue where Bruce tackles the Puritan age. This chapter picks up immediately where we left off, and shines a little more light on the mystery that permeates Grant Morrison's Bat titles.

Bruce awakens by the unnamed woman, and quickly springs up as the large octopus monster is about to attack. As he grabs a sword, he tells her to run, and then bravely and foolishly attacks the monster. The monster though, is way more powerful than him, and knocks him unconscious, leaving the girl to rescue Bruce. Bruce once again awakens, this time to the sound of an unknown tongue, and he sees that he's in cave. The woman, and her pet ferret, have been nursing Bruce back to health, and her attempts appear to have been fruitful. Bruce opens his eyes, and notices some familiar charms hanging from the woman's neckless: The symbols of Superman and Wonder Woman. He attempts to speak, but he's still disoriented though, so the woman tells him to quiet, as she says something almost prophetic: "A Great Dark God has set his hand upon you. But stay with me and I'll love you. Until the end of time..."

Booster Gold, Skeets, Rip Hunter, Hal Jordan, and Superman arrive at Vanishing Point, the end of time, where they are attempting to learn any evidence as to Bruce's whereabouts, but they are limited to ten minutes there, ten minutes before the station is lost in the end of time itself. Their guide at Vanishing Point is biorganic archivist, a mysterious creature with long ears coming from it's head, a glowing left eye, and whose body appears to be covered in a curly fur. Superman asks the archivist if he can continue to trace Bruce's omega trail, so they can locate the lost hero. The archivist tries to explain the difficulty of this feat, going on to talk about time's ability to move forward and backwards, creating multiple vibrations of time. Rip chimes in about a track of time that is perpendicular to theirs: Cube Time. Archivist detects an infestation of something called hyperfauna, and a picture of the octopus monster appears on his screen. Superman realizes that then are essentially playing hide and seek with Bruce, who is a needle in a cosmic haystack as he puts it.

Back is the Puritan timeline, Bruce has taken the identity of a man named Mordecai, a devout man of God, and an ivestigator of sorts for the small village of Gotham. He's currently visiting upon a Mistress Tyler, who had a bat nailed to her door with a large knitting needle. Miss Tyler believes the bat was an omen put on her by a woman named Annie, who she believes works for the devil in the woods. Bruce isn't so sure though, and begins to take notice of random clues, such as Miss Tyler's large needles that she uses, her missing iron ladle, and her missing husband's clothes which have been mended. All of this points to Miss Tyler murdering her husband, and as Bruce says these things, a man named Malleus appears, and demands that Miss Tyler be taken away for her crimes as a which, only problem being that he has no evidence of witchcraft.

Miss Tyler is being tortured by the Malleus, drowning in a small lake. But Bruce/Mordecai storms in, and demands she is released for with crimes, saying that if she must be prosecuted, prosecute her for murdering her husband. Malleus is not happy about this, and says that Mordecai was sent to them to help rid them of witches, yet he won't let any executions take place. Bruce says that he has saved his fire for foes who've earned it, and he heads off into the woods.

In the woods, Bruce meets Annie, the woman that previously saved him, who lives all alone due to being shunned by the community for thinking she's a witch. She says that Malleus is terrified of "witches" since they can discover his true name, an identity who he wants no one to know. Bruce tries to rationalize their fears, explaining that when people are scared, they turn to explanations that are hard to be explained. Bruce becomes distracted though, as he begins to wonder why his memories only stretch back ten days, but Annie tells him not to ponder it, and kisses him.

Later, Bruce is getting his portrait drawn by an artist named Martin Van Derm, whose job is to document the Gotham community in illustrations. Bruce instructs Martin to pay close attention to every detail, highlighting the sketchbook Mordecai was holding in the pages of Batman and Robin #10. As the two make small talk, Malleus storms in, and begins to inquire of Bruce/Mordecai, asking why he talks so strange, and why he feels the need to have a portrait made. Bruce brushes off the verbal jabs, but Mordecai was there for a more important reason: The Dragon, or devil they believe, has been spotted in the woods, so Bruce, Mordecai, and two others run off into the woods.

In the woods, a man relates his sighting: A dragon with seven heads and ten horns, similar to the picture painted in the book of Daniel and Revelations. Malleus sees this as evidence of the devil, but Bruce is still not convinced, saying that the creature probably has descended from Earth, and not from Hell. This infuriates Malleus, who sees it his duty to protect Gotham from the devil. He begins to rant about a supposed eclipse that is set to occur, an eclipse that will let the devil walk in the day. The word eclipse seems to strike a chord with Bruce, as he vaguely recounts the eclipse that occurred in his last life, leading him to the present.

Bruce runs off to find Annie, and tells her that the woods are not safe, as the creature he encountered when he appeared is stalking the area. He then is struck with another revelation: He realizes that he's not Mordecai, Mordecai was the man that was killed when he appeared; Annie just dressed Bruce in his clothes. Annie confesses that Bruce is not from the church, and says that she "called," and Bruce came. He demands to be taken to the location where he was found, and Annie leads him to some ancient caves, caves that were once inhabited by people called Miagani, which means Bat-People. Bruce comes to realize the bats as a theme of sorts, and he also recognizes the caves, "from another life" he puts it. He now understands that Annie somehow summoned him and the dragon, which made them both appear, killing Mordecai. She says that she asked the heavens to send her an "angel" to rescue the native people from the settlers, so she wouldn't have to fight alone. Bruce once again warns her that they must leave, since the creature is running amok. As the words leave his mouth, the octopus monster emerges from the bottom of the cave, and attacks again. He tells Annie to once again flee, saying that monster is his responsibility since he brought it there.

Annie runs back into the village, to warn that the dragon is attacking. Malleus though, sees this as an opportunity to capture Annie, alleging that she used the lord's name in vain, and deeming her a witch. Him and his men begin to take a frantic Annie to the burning post, as she tries to warn them of Bruce/Mordecai's danger.

In the cave, Bruce is fighting off the monster, cutting off a few tentacles, and then throwing a flaming torch into it's mouth. With the creature down, Bruce goes for the kill shot, and then yells to Annie that something is wrong.

At Vanishing Point, there is three minutes left until the end of time, an event that even Superman couldn't survive. Just at this crucial moment, The Archivist shuts off, and begins to speak of the point in time Annie died at. Archivist then apologizes to Rip Hunter, saying though, that he can't be stopped after what he's been though to get there. He touches his head with a wirey finger, revealing the face of Bruce. "It's not over yet." he says, "So you'll all just have to trust me."
Superman begins to yell back at him: "You've been booby-trapped! Darkseid turned you into a doomsday weapon and aimed you at the 21st century.If you go back, you'll kill everyone."
He warnings are fruitless though, as Bruce takes control of the time sphere, and leaves them stranded.

Back at the village of Gotham, Annie is being hung by Malleus, citing her crimes as a witch. She tells him he'll pay though, as she knows his real name: Nathaniel Wayne. She curses him and all his kin until the end of time, and is then dropped to her death.

A last scene of the Puritan age reveals that Gotham was fruitful after Mordecai killed the monster, and he became somewhat of a legend in the community. But it gives the ominous warning that the devil was not done with Gotham...

Bruce emerges from a large body of water, loudly yelling Annie's name. He stumbles onto the sand of a beach, right under the boot of Blackbeard the pirate.

The second chapter of this Bruce Wayne mystery brings a lot of new points and questions. How is Annie connected to the larger picture of events? Why did he have those charms of Superman and Wonder Woman? Why was Nathaniel Wayne so desperate to conceal his identity from the village of Gotham? How is Bruce at Vanishing Point, and why did he leaves his friends there? I'm sure these questions will be lingering throughout the whole series.

Another interesting note is that we now know Darkseid will have Bruce destroy the world somehow, which is why Superman and co are so desperate to stop him, yet we don't how Bruce can destroy an entire world on his own.

It seemed though, at Vanishing Point, Bruce already knew the situation, and he told his friends to trust him. So whatever craziness ensues within the next four issues of the game changing series, I'm going to do just that. Trust Batman.

Comic Book Review: Batman - The Return of Bruce Wayne #1

Last January, in the pages of Final Crisis #6, Batman was seemingly killed by Darkseid. The Caped Crusader went down a hero though, weakening the villain with a bullet made of radian, so he could be defeated. Skeptics weren't sure weather Batman actually died though, with him arguable being the most popular character in comics. The skeptics were rewarded, with the last pages of Final Crisis #7, where we see a Bruce Wayne writing on a cave, a cave that is supposedly from the beginning of time. Over the next couple months, DC told us that Bruce would be coming back though, but they didn't tell us how. WIth the current Batman and Robin, Dick and Damian, discovering clues about the whereabouts of Bruce, they realize that he is stuck somewhere in time, and it's up to them to find and rescue him.

Today the first issue of The Return of Bruce Wayne was released, the first of six chronicling the adventures of Bruce as he works his way through time, and supposedly, to the present. But first, he must conquer the past itself, starting with the caveman era. I'm going to attempt to give an accurate summary of the issue, with the plot being mysterious and brilliant, but the caveman talk being hard to follow.

The issue begins with a group of cavemen inspecting a rocket that is jammed in the ground. There are three main cavemen here, who are main characters though out the story. There is one with black hair and a full beard, there is a blond one, and the dark-haired one's son, a red-headed boy. The group walk towards a cave, and when they approach the entrance, a large number of bats fly out. The dark-haired caveman throws a rock inside, and a shirtless Bruce Wayne, holding his utility belt emerges out. He speaks in muddled words, and is not quite sure what is going on. The cavemen explain why they are there: The dark haired man is there to meet his father, who will teach the red-headed boy about being a man. Bruce seems to be able to understand them, but they can't seem to make out his speech, so they begin to make fun of him, and laugh. After a hearty growl from Bruce, they apologize as he works his way to the rocket.

The cavemen walk inside the cave, where they see the wall that Bruce was inscribing symbols of himself and other heroes. The dark haired man finds his father, who is the old man that Bruce laid to rest during the final pages of FInal Crisis. They carry him out, and take off a white necklace his was holding to his chest.

Bruce is opening the rocket, where he finds what looks to be a broken bat spotlight, and Superman's cape. As he walks back towards the cavemen, a rival tribe is preparing to attack from above...

As night comes, a fire is lit, dinner is made, and the cavemen once again discuss where the mysterious Bruce could have come from. They decide that he is from over the ocean, and name him, the Man of Bats. As the cavemen continue their discussion, it is interrupted by an attack from the rival tribe of cavemen. Arrows begin to fly, headed right towards the red-headed boy, but Bruce dives in front, taking the shots upon himself. He drags the boy into the bushes, and they watch as the rival tribe brutally attacks the family, killing the dark-haired man. Bruce jumps out to help in the battle, where he attack the tribal leader, who is revealed to be Vandal Savage. Savage is first baffled by the attacker, deeming him a man-god, but he soon comes to his senses and has his tribe knock Bruce around, rendering him unconscious.

Savage has Bruce on top of a hill, right next to a giant bat that has been skinned and posted in the soil. Vandal addresses his followers as they eat member of the tribe they just murdered, saying that he will fight the man-god tomorrow in the presence of the light, where after defeating them, he will eat Bruce's brain. He has his tribe use stakes to rope Bruce to the ground, where he will await his fight.

After Bruce falls asleep, he begins to have a strange dream, but is soon awoken by the red-headed boy. The boy has made himself a shield with a bat symbol on it, as well as a domino mask of sorts, a prehistoric Robin. He cuts Bruce loose, so they can warn other tribes of Savage's attacks.

Savage wakes up from his tent, where he immediately wants to begin his fight. He goes over to where Bruce was tied down, only to see that he is missing. Savage gets angry, and is quickly startled when Bruce, wearing the large bat skin, jumps out and attacks. Using his array of utility belt tricks, Bruce easily defeats Savage as a solar eclipse occurs. The new/old Robin finds the neckless his father died in, but is terrified, along with all the other cavemen, of the eclipse, thinking that they have angered the sun. The few remaining members of Savage's tribe attack the new Batman and Robin, forcing them to run away, and then jump into a large waterfall. As Bruce and the boy hit the water, the briefly sink, the boy then comes up shortly thereafter. He waits by the water for "the man of bat" but Bruce never emerges, so the boy leaves.

The evil tribe kick Vandal out, having been defeated by the Bat, he is no longer a worthy leader. As soon as he's gone, a bright flash occurs, and Superman, Booster Gold, Hal Jordan, appear along with a time sphere. Superman says that he knows Bruce was there, but he is gone now. He has a ominous warning though: If Bruce makes it back to the 21st century on his own, everyone dies.

Bruce opens his eyes under water, where he is pulled up by a woman wearing old fashioned clothing. He can now speak in phrases, as he asks the woman what is going on, and where the boy is. The woman doesn't know, but she refers to him as "Master Demon" as she asks what kind of horse he rode there. Bruce turns around and grabs a sword, as he sees a large octopus like creature with very sharp teeth behind him.

With one of six chapters in the book, I may have more questions than I did going in. How is Bruce traveling from era to era? Why is Superman and the other looking for him? And how can Bruce returning to the present kill everyone? Only time will tell.