Return of Bruce Wayne: A Wish List

With the impending return of Bruce Wayne and everything that’s going to shake up Gotham and the DCU in the process, I have a few things that I want to see happen. This is not a list of who Bruce needs to square off against or what threat needs to be handled, this is a list of how Bruce and the Bat-Family in general will be received one they are all reunited. Granted, I don’t expect to have this list fulfilled to completion, but these are things that I would like to see get more attention than just a panel or two. They mostly deal with the relationships between Bruce and his team.

1. Bruce & Dick: This is a big one for me, I want to see some kind of recognition or appreciation towards Dick from Bruce about how he handled not only taking on the mantle of Batman which was a huge task, but also the fact that he took Bruce’s son on as a Robin. Bruce setup instructions for everyone in the event of his death that we saw way back in Battle for the Cowl. He had to know that Dick would not want to replace him as Batman. He was proven right in the issues following BftC. Dick didn’t want to, but he knew he had to. This was a rocky start for Dick as he wore the cowl, but Dick took it in stride and found himself able to be Batman and be quite good at it most of the time. If Bruce would praise Dick at all I would expect it to be in private or done in a “Bruce kind of way”. Regardless I want to see a real moment between the two that reinforces Dick as one of Bruce’s oldest allies and most trusted companions. This being said it would be totally out of character for Bruce to have a moment that is too heartfelt or wishy washy. I just want to see the two of them reach a mutual understanding. My secondary question involving Dick is what will happen once Bruce is back? Does he go back to being Nightwing? Will Dick continue to be Batman maybe to handle the JLA side of things? Only time will tell and I have faith in Grant Morrisson to tell very good Batman stories.

2. Tim: The one who believed he was alive when no one else did. Tim has been acting on his own for over a year now and we’ve seen him go from cracking skulls and breaking bones to being a much more cerebral character. He took on the Red Robin costume because he didn’t want his actions connected to Batman. He took on Ra’s, the council of spiders, and the league of assasins, and really cemented himself as a first rate detective and tactician. This was all done in his pursuit to find out where his adoptive father was. His reunion with Bruce I think will be almost as interesting as Bruce’s reunion with Dick. But I think there are fewer questions as to Tim’s future. He seems to be on a good path and while it will be great to see him and Bruce, I don’t know that much will change for Tim. I do think that this could be very emotional for Tim however, considering all the family members that Tim has lost; this family member is the first to come back.

3. Damian: Ah Damian, the character we love to hate. Damian has gone through quite a change too. Re-read some of the first few issues of Batman & Robin and then jump ahead to the last few issues, you’ll see a kid who thought he could be Batman all by himself and not need anyone. Disrespecting Dick, Alfred, Tim, and most of all Stephanie was standard operating procedure for Damian In the more recent issues, Damian is a character that respects Dick as his mentor, and even has a certain level of respect for Tim that we did not see early on. I think he has the hots for Stephanie in my opinion. (yeah I know he’s only 10 or 11 years old) Very early on though Damian was very concerned whether his father would approve of him or not and that is the part of the future stories that I am intrigued by. It presents two issues for me. What type of reaction will Bruce and Damian have towards one another once all the dust has settled and Bruce is aware of everything that has happened since he’s been lost in time? Remember, Damian chose Dick over his mother Talia and wanted to do good instead of being an agent for her. The other angle is, and this has a few layers to it, will Damian be offered by Bruce to be his Robin? Will Damian want to leave Dick’s side? Will he have to prove himself all over again and will Bruce be as forgiving to Damian’s aggressive nature as Dick was?

4. Stephanie: I believe that Stephanie has cemented herself as a reliable Batgirl and proven that she can get the job done. This isn’t the same Stephanie/Spoiler that dressed up as Robin for like an hour. This is a character that has done the work and training to be Batgirl. Will Bruce approve of Stephanie and will he approve of Oracle taking the initiative to train her as she did? I want to see Stephanie terrified of the prospect that Bruce might not approve of her as Batgirl. I want to see her have to prove herself all over again to Bruce.

5. Superman: With Superman off doing his “walkabout” (don’t get me started on that story) , On the final page of Superman we saw a Batman watching over him as he walked America, I’m still not sure if that was meant to be Bruce or Dick. The costume was inconsistent for either of them. Superman carried out the charred corpse of Batman, and is “currently” on a mission to find him lost in time. I think that these two who have been along side each other for countless years and have the “friendship” between them demands some kind of treatment from a writer. I just don’t want to see them together as if nothing has happened. I think it has to be addressed.

I started writing this as a wish list, but it became more about questions than anything else. It has been reported that Kate Kane (Batwoman) would appear in the first issue of the “Batman Inc” ongoing series that is set to debut this fall. Whether the two will come face to face or not remains to be seen. I feel as if this is the calm before the storm and in the next few months most of, if not all of these questions will be answered. I am really excited to see where the story is going to go and can’t wait to read them.