9 Reasons Why Grant Morrison’s Batman RIP Is A Masterpiece

Batman Rip Grant Morrison wrote some amazing comics in his 7 year run on Batman: he gave us Damian Wayne, the son of the Bat and the Demon, who would become an iconic Robin; he gave us Batman Incorporated, a short-lived but hugely ambitious idea of global justice that would culminate in (where else?) Gotham in a fight to death against Leviathan; he even gave us a time-travelling Bruce Wayne after an epic fight against the evil New God, Darkseid. Batman RIP is arguably the best of the 7 year run and easily one of Morrison's finest books to date, though, like Final Crisis, the book is divisive among comics fans. This article will explore the book to show the genius behind it and why Batman RIP is a true masterpiece. Prior to this book, Bruce has been dogged by a mysterious criminal organisation calling itself the Black Glove, intent on controlling Gotham and destroying Batman. The Joker has survived a bullet to the head by a Batman imposter in the first story arc, Batman and Son, and is currently in Arkham - but he's changed... Meanwhile, Bruce's new love, Jezebel Jet, has discovered that Bruce is Batman and is trying to understand his dark world - and maybe even save him before it consumes him. And the Black Glove's hold on Batman becomes ever tighter... but what is the Black Glove? To understand Batman RIP you need to know a couple of things about Morrison's intent with this series. First off, Batman can never be beaten, and that the only way you beat Batman is to get Bruce to stop being Batman. Once he puts on the cowl, he's invincible - so take away the cowl. Second, he posits that every Batman story that has ever been, counts. It all happened to this one man and the person Batman is today is because of every single one of those experiences. So, Batman 66 or those weird 1950s sci-fi stories about aliens - every single story really happened and they happened to make Batman who he is today. I've written this article more or less chronologically as the book goes so the points start at the beginning and conclude at the end for easier reading, with none ranked in the order of less importance to greater importance - all are equally reflective of my admiration for this book. And of course, spoilers ahead.
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