The Secrets of Grant Morrison’s Batman, Part 2

Good article. Little late though. And I don't think Hurt is Darkseid, the way you pointed out. 
 
We see in RoBW 6 that the hyper adapter (as a bat, infused with Bruce's memories) is sent back through time after Bruce and the JLA defeats it, showing up at various points within the time stream. It shows up when a then human Thomas Wayne summons Barbatos as we see in B&R 16. He see's barbatos, but it is really the hyper adapter, which possesses him, due to it having bruce's memories, and needing a way to get at Bruce, by going through his ancestor. So he's not really Darkseid, he's one of darkseid's weapons. 
 
That's what I read.

Wonderful article!

I do agree The First Truth about Batman is that he helps others and others help him the notion that he is only a solitary man who desires no help is just a shallow claim made during the eighties there has been a Robin a Alfred a Bat-family longer then Bruce ever was by himself.  
 
The events of Return of Bruce Wayne also interest me in how Darkseid created Batman inadvertently. 
 
I would not call Hurt Darkseid but Darkseid's living weapon the last remains of him.

cool. loved this

" Good article. Little late though. And I don't think Hurt is Darkseid, the way you pointed out.  We see in RoBW 6 that the hyper adapter (as a bat, infused with Bruce's memories) is sent back through time after Bruce and the JLA defeats it, showing up at various points within the time stream. It shows up when a then human Thomas Wayne summons Barbatos as we see in B&R 16. He see's barbatos, but it is really the hyper adapter, which possesses him, due to it having bruce's memories, and needing a way to get at Bruce, by going through his ancestor. So he's not really Darkseid, he's one of darkseid's weapons.  That's what I read. "

Good article. It clarifies things for me as well as reinforces my decision to drop all of Morrison's Batman stuff. I'm glad he's out there innovating the character, it's just not for me.

Good article, but i agree with other posters that Hurt was not Darksied.  
Hurt  was a man, as Bruce puts it, who was infected, came into contact, with something only the fewest human minds could handle. 
 
Did anyone else get the notion of the hole in all things and with Hurt ending up in a hole himself?

Batman is a God? I knew it...

Very good analysis. just to let you know, I think that "Omega man" was a typo and that you meant to say Over man. Unless it was stylistic, but that doesn't make a lot of sense...since it basically means "End man"

Excellent analysis. Finally I fully understand Grant Morrison's run on the character.

To sort of quote Bender, "Maybe he's not Darkseid, but the remains of a human who collided with Darkseid." 
I like to think of Dr. Hurt as his own character. Darkseid is Superman's foe, and Dr. Hurt is Batman's. But of course therein lies the beauty of Morrison's saga; To each his own interpretation.

Bravo on the article. It's important to note how Morrison's run is preoccupied with the notions of rebirth and legacy. WAAAY back after Batman #666, I brought up on the DC message boards how Damian, the plot of #666, and the fact that Bruce was about to die very soon reminded me of the Silver Age concept of Batman II and Robin II. These were short stories written by Alfred in the Silver Age where he imagined a future where Bruce retires as Batman, marries Batwoman, has a son, and has Dick take over as Batman II while his son is trained as Robin II. I believe Morrison is actually bringing this future about though it's his own take of the Batman II and Robin II story.  

  Very enjoyable read.

dc sucks at continuity!!!

So glad you wrote this, I bought and read every issue but apparently I'm too dumb to understand a page of it. I never understood/guessed what Dr Hurt really was...

And I thought Morisson was high on drug when he wrote this he he he

" It is appreciated that you took time to go over all this.   However, I don't know about this whole thing, if you have to explain so much, then a writer really isn't doing his or her job or just making things too convuluted?  However a lot of writers do that, so it isn't anything new.   Am I being a simpleton?  Am I not as "cultured" because I said that?   Whatever.      Watchmen had a lot of complexities to it, yet most readers grasped what was going on, but didn't need it explained.  This is just frikkin' Batman.  I mean, if it ties into all the Crisis rigamarole, I can partially understand, but I don't know, maybe this is just too heavy for some Batman fans.  Or just me.    Still, this is interesting.  Having all this cosmic stuff, which I actually like but to have it so integrated with Batman,  it is unexpected.  Maybe that is what I am griping about.  I can't complain too much,  though as I've not read it all yet.  Again, thanks for delving into all this for knuckleheads like me. "

Very interesting concepts given. Some things I wondered about while others I didn't realize to that extent. Good work.

Badass article dude. Enjoyed reading every minute of it. Hope to see more in the future.

Darkseid DIDNT CREATE Batman....... This is the final step in cementing The Bats place (as Batgod? lol) among the "Gods & Monsters" he fights against &alongside.. Its the FINAL step in cementing him as THE Ultimate man.. you see.. THE BATMAN created Batman... ALL by making the Ultimate sacrifice.... &pulling the damn trigger!
 
Kudos on the article

"Badass article dude. Enjoyed reading every minute of it. Hope to see more in the future. "

Very interesting and well done analysis!
Morrisson may not gain universal appeal to anyone..but he's still a damn good writer and a pretty intelligent one at that!
I really like how he deconstructed Batman to rebuild the man behind the myth!
 
Well put!
'nuff said!

" To sort of quote Bender, "Maybe he's not Darkseid, but the remains of a human who collided with Darkseid." I like to think of Dr. Hurt as his own character. Darkseid is Superman's foe, and Dr. Hurt is Batman's. But of course therein lies the beauty of Morrison's saga; To each his own interpretation. "

Just waiting for Morrison to finish Batman off by throwing in "The Bat-Credit Card"

" And I thought Morisson was high on drug when he wrote this he he he "

I really think that this whole "Batman Incorporated" thing is off putting. After reading "Batman: The Return," it just feels like Batman is becoming more Tony Stark-ish, which is fine for Stark, but not fine for DC characters. The fact that Batman wants an army of remote controlled robots and to be everywhere at one are obvious nods to books like "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Kingdom Come," but those additions made sense in a future world of Batman set away from the traditional narrative. 
 
I'm sure that they'll return the "Batman" story line to the traditional setup, but for right now I think I'm going to sit this one out. 
 
I also wrote a review about it in my blog: 
 
http://sequentialreview.blogspot.com/2011/01/batman-return-review.html    

God Grant Morrison gives me a headache, i think his work is way too convoluted 

Is this silly-yet-interesting story really have something to do with Dr Hurt (which Bruce said might be the devil himself?)? The guy became immortal cuz Darkseid 2 right?

" I think there is a Christian theme underlying all this.  Darkseid, fallls  from a heavenly battle, much like Lucifer did when cast from heaven. Then, a man, human and yet god-like, and becomes the human ideal; Batman. Consequently, Batman faces the greatest evil in the form of Darkseid and sacrifices himself to save humanity. Upon his "death" and "resurrection," Batman ushers humanity  into a new era,  where evil is sought all around the world and his disciples taking the form of his own visage. Eventually, there is an apocalypse, with a literal anti-christ, and the son of Batman must stop him to prevent the  destruction of the world.   Its interesting to see Batman taken to this level. I guess its what happens when you play wiith the big boys, you eventually become one of them. "

Great article as always, some of this stuff is still up in the air, Im 80%-85% sure that Hurt was Darkseid, but there's the whole Leviathan thing that is now up in the air. Also to me, Batman Inc is more than just talking Batman world wide, its taking an idea worldwide, an idea of what man can accomplish. But more on that later as it unfolds as its much to early to speculate on that.
 
People assume Grant just takes a whole bunch of drugs and writes whatever comes to mind, while in fact everything is meticulously laid out and planned.

This article has completely changed the way I've viewed Grant Morrison's stuff of the last few years. Starting with RIP, I didn't particularly care for it, and it's just spiraled down since then. I've tried to always be an active reader ever since 9th grade english class, so while I still felt like maybe he was dipping into the good stuff once in awhile, I still figured out most of the little clues and red herrings and what not. I will admit that plenty slipped by me, like anything about the red and black theme in RIP, or that Joker was Oberon. Even though I understood and caught most of these things, I still didn't enjoy or appreciate them, Zurr-En-Arrh chief among them (okay so he's got a backup mind, but why purple and red?) and I thought, at least before reading it, that the Return of Bruce Wayne, CaveBat and all was as ridiculous as Rob Liefeld. All that said, this article has helped me see all of it in a new light that I truly enjoy and appreciate it all, especially the way it's seemingly free of the strangling continuity. Again, even with all that said, I'm anxious about Batman Inc. Like other threads have discussed, it seems like the only way for that business to shake out is with the Justice League stepping someway or another, and that makes it feel like Bruce's greatest epiphany and triumph will lead to his greatest failure. However, and I wouldn't have said this yesterday, or even an hour or two ago, I know we haven't seen the whole story, and I am wholly trusting that Morrison will make it a fascinating read all the way through.

Fantastic article. With Morrison's work, I always know there are more layers than the usual story teller. Some of it I grasp right away but there is always the enjoyment of deciphering his intent and the meaning of things.
I would love to see you do an article on The Secrets of Grant Morrison's Joker. Before R.I.P, Joker had been suffering a lose of status in the DC titles. He was a pawn in Riddler's game, which would have been unthinkable at one time. Hush and Prometheus beat and humiliated him. Red Hood pounded him with a crow bar. He played second fiddle to second best Two Face in Dark Victory.  At one point black Mask even said "I admired him. He used to be one of the greats. It's a shame to see how far he has fallen." I'm quoting from memory so I may have it a bit wrong but it was close. I stopped reading comics for a while because of the way he was being treated.
But under Morrison's guidance, Joker seems to be reclaiming his own and evolving in ways he never had before. 
Just as Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman are myths/gods, isn't Joker one as well?

"Fantastic article. With Morrison's work, i always know there are more layers than the usual story teller. Some of it I grasp right away but there is always the enjoyment of deciphering his intent and the meaning of things. I would love to see you do an article on The Secrets of Grant Morrison's Joker. Before R.I.P, Joke rhad been suffering a lose of status in the DC titles. He was a pawn in Riddler's game, which would have been unthinkable at one time. Hush and Prometheus beat and humiliated him. Red Hood pounded him with a crow bar. He played second fiddle to second best Two Face in Dark Victory. At one point black Mask even said "I admired him. He used to be one of the greats. It's a shame to see how far he has fallen." I'm quoting from memory so I may have it a bit wrong but it was close. I stopped reading comics for a while because of the way he was being treated.But under Morrison's guidance, Joker seems to be reclaiming his own and evolving in ways he never had before.  Just as Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman are myths/gods, isn't Joker one as well? "

I disagree on the author's assumption on the identity of Dr. Hurt to Darkseid. Did Morrison publicly admit this? Moreover, I don't know with you, but as long the title Batman remains profitable for DC, being a "god" for me is null and academic for Batman per se is one of the most enduring ICONS in most people around the world even before Morrison further complicates the Dark Crusader. Batman is part of the MYTHOLOGY in the most modern sense. And, Bruce Wayne/Batman since the end of Knight Fall epic is no loner.  He seeks assistance if things are really beyond his control. Furthermore, the readers still love the Bats, thus the mythology of the Caped Crusader never ends! Nonetheless, good analysis on the Joker's facade on Sexton.