It all comes full circle in the end, Bruce This is it: the finale to Batman Incorporated. More importantly this is also the last Batman comic Grant Morrison writes. Hes been writing Batman now continuously for 7 years, starting in 2006 with Batman #655 (collected in Batman and Son) and ending here with Batman Incorporated #13. What a ride - but first, the final issue. Did you really think it was going to be terrible and unsatisfying? Of course not, and it isnt. Full circle is a phrase that has enormous significance in this issue. Go back to the start of this particular story arc to Batman Incorporated #1 where the very first page shows Bruce and Alfred standing in a graveyard in the pouring rain in front of two graves as Gordon appears to arrest him. That scene is where we pick up in this issue as we transition to a severely beaten Bruce sitting with Gordon in an interrogation room going back over the recent chaos that has erupted in Gotham. In the last few issues weve seen brainwashed children attacking everyone, Wayne Tower exploded, Batman being hounded by police and the Bat symbol outlawed. Bruce is wanted for causing this madness with Batman Incorporated which itself has gone to war against Talia Al-Ghuls Leviathan. Looking back at that first issue and then reading this one, I noticed what seems to be a plot hole - the first 3 panels of the first page in Batman Inc #1 shows Bruce and Alfred in the graveyard, in the rain, and Bruce is fine - his face is untouched, hes not beaten horribly. The fourth panel shows us Bruces back as he faces Gordon and his men who appear to arrest him. The first panel of the first page of Batman Inc #13 shows Bruces face badly beaten as we get that scene from Gordons perspective. My question is: whats the timeline here? Is this a plot hole? It seems unlikely given Grant Morrisons meticulous plotting of this series but it appears that way. Unless in between panels 3 and 4 on page 1 of Batman Inc #1 there is the fight between Bruce and Talia and then he and Alfred return to the same spot in the graveyard, in the same weather, wearing the same clothes. Its a puzzle, fitting for a Batman story to leave on - or is it? This issue gives us the long awaited fight between Bruce and Talia, as Bruce confronts her over their murdered son Damian and Talia gives him an ultimatum, knowing his one unbreakable rule. Kill me and save your city. Kill me or I kill you she says. I dont want to give away how this fight goes down because its filled with surprises, not least the way the fight starts which completely threw me. Theres also a big character reveal as we find out who the mysterious figure appearing in the background of Batman Inc. is - I will say that you wont have seen it coming. Talias dialogue though in this issue? Extraordinary.
Going back from the final Grant Morrison issue to his first, the first panel on the first page gives us the view through Gordons glasses, which is maybe why the final issue is shown from Gordons point of view - full circle. Also the first time we see Batman introduced in Morrisons run is the exact same pose that he is in on the cover of this final issue (minus the self-replicating Batmen on the chest) - full circle (unless you got the Grant Morrison-drawn variant cover). Its really worth going back to re-read Morrisons first issue, not least because of all the little details readers of the entire run will notice that crop up in this final issue but also show up in books like Batman RIP. Full circle is sometimes represented as a snake eating itself also known as Oroboro. This isnt just a symbol for the issue - its the splash title pages beautiful design - or a running theme in this comic, but also a plot device as Talia attempts to destroy the world using a strange box she calls the Oroboro trigger. One final mention about full circle - the epilogue to this series will make your head spin. Just remember the first volume of collected Batman comics on this run was called Batman and Son... Besides the crazy epilogue (which I really hope a writer of the same calibre as Morrison like Scott Snyder picks up and runs with), Gordon has the last word. Batman never dies. It never ends. It probably never will. Is there a more perfect ending? For readers expecting a summary of Morrisons 7 years on Batman in this issue, youll be disappointed. There is stuff here that references his weird and wonderful run but at 24 pages, this is more of a solid ending to this story arc rather than a celebration of Morrisons work on the character since 2006. As the coda to this series, its a great ending that does what every great ending should do - leave the audience wanting more. That there wont be any more - not from Morrison at least - makes reading this that much harder. But like Oroboro, eating itself, going around and around in a never-ending circle, Morrisons Batman run remains stretching back 7 years in several collected volumes and if this final issue does one other thing, its encourage the reader to go back to the start of the run and read it all again.
Chris Burnham, Morrisons last Batman artist, has drawn the hell out of this series. If this series has stood out more than other story arcs Morrison has done, its thanks to the talents of this artist who has brought his A game to each and every comic, a fact clearly seen by anyone reading this series. The art is simply beautiful. Batman Incorporated may be over but one of the takeaways from this run has been the name Chris Burnham and Im sure I wont be the only one keeping an eye out for future books with his name on them. The cover to this issue says The Epic Conclusion. And it is. Thank you for writing Batman, Grant Morrison.
Batman Incorporated #13 by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham is out now