Unlike the previous Bat-post of last year, this one's for those that have done
the reading on the book; you can't proceed here until you've read issue #10
Seriously. If you've not done the reading, do not proceed with this post.
SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS.
That said, Morrison is finally back to writing the core of the tale after a number
of slippery detours to seemingly lead us off track through the course of
"Batman & Robin" - only now to return to the original story with issue #10.
Having read it just last night, I'm going throw a bunch of things out there
that all connected after reading and following some historic/literature threads
online that lead to crazy connections/parallels. ...Ready for this?
issue #666, which I think at the time we all took as a kind of a 'lark' and
him having fun with the premise of getting to write the six hundred and
sixty-sixth issue, is now more than just a glimpse at a (the?) possible
future, but also totally pivotal to the whole tone of things/themes to come.
With issue #10 Simon Hurt/El Penitente is (basically, essentially) revealed
to be Thomas Wayne, after all. Just not *the* Thomas Wayne we know as
Bruce's father. This Thomas Wayne is an 18th Century ancestor of the
Wayne family (Time travel? Immortality? Deal with the Devil?) and for
reasons revealed, the 'black sheep' of the family as it's told. Who, among
other things dubious, was apparently a known (in fact infamous), Devil
-worshipper. ...Who can say they saw that one coming? Nice one Grant!
Link to DC Comics: "Batman vs. Robin" - Grant Morrison's Batman Vol.5
Link to DC Comics: "Batman & Robin Must Die!" - Grant Morrison's Batman Vol.6
The clues were there all along: Some of them hidden right in plain
sight (as Morrison is apt to do). The 'satanic' Batman-replacement of
issues #666, #672-74, #681 from the Gotham Police Force who had
been groomed/conditioned by Simon Hurt - that at the time seemed
just too 'literal' to be an objective interpretation? Well once again,
he's craftfully hidden an answer right out in the open - and due to
the question not yet being posed to the reader, we weren't aware of
it's significance in the narrative, even with all the ominous
forbearance of that character's warnings to Bruce Wayne of things
to come. Yep, the Devil's in the details. Ha! Couldn't resist.
An then there's this!: Back in "R.I.P." Là-Bas or "From Below"
appeared at first to just be a French phrase dropped in the
middle of a sentence from Black Glove henchman Le Bossu in
issue #677, but in fact it's the name of a novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans
by the title of "Là-Bas", (or "The Damned" as it has since been
translated into English). Guess what it's about? Gilles de Rais and the
history of Devil Worship in 15th to 19th Century France. The novel
crafts a elaborate spin on the child murders/Devil worship accusations
the historic personage of De Rais was condemmed for at his trial. In this
little bit of 18th Century Decadence, De Rais' ultimate goal was to summon
the Devil, but whenever they attempted it, something went nightmarishly
wrong. The men around him, his assistants in the evocations, would
die terrible deaths.
Link to DC Comics: "The Return of Bruce Wayne" - Grant Morrison's Batman Vol.7
Now here's the part where we probably should all pay attention;
The historic figure of Gilles de Rais wasn't just anybody; he was the
closest ally of Joan of Arc. He was virtually a saint. As a pious soldier
of God, de Rais was the kind of man that society at the time idealized
as the purest of form. He was a paragon of goodness. Until Joan was
killed, that is. After which, his spirit was corrupted by the event, his
belief in his faith destroyed, he was witness to the church burn a
'messenger of God' at the stake. He turned to Satanism (whether
historically true of not, is unknown). A complete reversal of personal
beliefs, the noblest spirit of 15th Century France became a child
murderer, rapist, and definitive 'Satanist' of his day. (the details
of which, again being partially fabricated/elaborated in Huysmans'
novel). It's a going theory that it's this piece of literature around
which Morrison has based the fundamental premise of his tale.
Back to "Batman & Robin": Heavy Catholic intonations have come
to the fore in recent issues, most prominently in reference to El
Penitente and the representatives we've seen from his Mexican drug
cartel back in issue #4. Now in issue #10 there are a number of prominent
Rosicrucian symbolic images/themes; the belt of Orion, the Rosicrucian
rose, the suits of armor with the Symbol of the Rose as their crest.
Ad that to the Demons mentioned in the same issue: Barbatos - is shown
on the wall of the Satanic Church/Bat-Cave. Belial - is mentioned by
name by Hurt/El Penitente. The 3rd Hierarchy - is a particular group of
demons, of which Belial is a member. Duke Zepar - is another one of
the 3rd Hierarchy demons, apparently clad in red, just as the character
is depicted in the book. Where's all of this going? The Black Glove,
Simon Hurt, El Penitente, Thomas Wayne. Satan.
Link to DC Comics: "Time & The Batman" - Grant Morrison's Batman Vol.8
So is Thomas Wayne currently possessed by/or in the service of Satan?
Or, what I'm beginning to suspect is more and more the case: is Thomas
Wayne looking to (attempt to) summon the Devil itself, once again,
into the modern world? And why is this character driven so fervently
to orchestrate the ruin of Bruce Wayne and the corruption/destruction of
Batman? Possibly, like with Gilles de Rais' 'inversion' to evil, it would be
the ultimate statement. What is it that The Black Glove promises to it's
wealthy patrons as 'the ultimate work of art' in issue #677?: "Nothing
less than the complete and utter ruination of a noble human spirit".
And the 'Devil' in question is who? Or what? Thomas Wayne here is
evidently of more than one time period, and those that he's been witness
in effecting with this 'dark crusade' have spanned centuries. Beginning
as far back as the 1700's according to the Wayne family lineage and
curiously, in the DC Comics 'Silver Age' as a character appearing in
a issue of "World's Finest" issue #223 - as none other than Bruce Wayne's
mentally ill, institutionalized, older brother. Time travel, family myth,
'histories' being fashioned to torment the protagonist? All of this has
the distinct thematic stain of the Omega Sanction... I suspect we've
not seen the last of Darkseid. Might he not be the 'Devil' here in
question? No greater evil force has Bruce Wayne ever encountered and
with him currently caught within the trappings of the Omega Effect,
could all this Devil Worship, family history corrupting, 'soul destroying'
dark refashioning of the Batman mythology be Darkseid's doing? As Bruce
is being manipulated through time and history creating new lore as he
progresses? Hurt/Penitente/Thomas Wayne in the service of Darkseid?
Unwitting or no? It makes a kind of definitive sense in the context of
this tale being the conclusion of events begun in "Final Crisis ".
At this point in the tale all signs (appear) to point to this being Hurt/
Penitente/Thomas Wayne's whole 'Raison d'Etre': The ruination of Bruce
Wayne as the ultimate realization of the 'triumph of matter and duality
over spirit and unity' - a profound expression of Satan's (read; Darkseid's?)
influence over mankind (even after his 'demise') and the ultimate conversion
of a 'noble human spirit' into evil. Continue on Brave Reader! This Coming
Summer to Fall not only sees the realization of the end of "Batman & Robin"
, but simultaneous with those events Morrison begins writing on the eponymous
Batman title once again as "The Return of Bruce Wayne" begins serialization!
Indeed! Grant Morrison has a Tale to Tell and even with these major revelations
4 years into it being spun, it's far from over!
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