BATMAN INCORPORATED is the "Final Act" of Morrison's BATMAN

Grant Morrison took over Batman, along with artist Andy Kubert, following the conclusion of [...]

Grant Morrison took over Batman, along with artist Andy Kubert, following the conclusion of Infinite Crisis more than five years ago. He almost immediately divided fans by introducing the character of Damien Wayne, a new Robin in the form of a test-tube baby born of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul's genetic material. In his typical "mad genius" fashion, Morrison continued to throw curveball after curveball at the readers, leaving fans to wonder what was the next crazy thing he would do to their favorite Caped Crusader all while keeping the character atop the sales charts for the duration of his critically-acclaimed runs on Batman and, later, Batman & Robin and Batman, Inc. Well, thanks to DC Comics's The Source blog, we now know what the next crazy thing he'll do to the character is: leave it. "Grant Morrison's new Batman, Incorporated series is the final, unbelievable act of a saga six years in the making," said Batman Series Editor Mike Marts. "Along with his artistic partner-in-crime Chris Burnham, Grant delivers twists, turns, punches and reveals no reader will see coming. Things pick up directly after the shocking cliffhanger of last year's Leviathan Strikes one-shot—and only get crazier from there!"

What can get crazier than killing Batman, shunting him through time with Booster Gold and Anthro or setting him up as the CEO of an aggressive army of worldwide Bat-men? Hard to say, but it's not difficult to imagine that Morrison would be the guy to come up with it. The blog shares a couple of pages from the forthcoming Batman, Incorporated relaunch, which will begin in May along with a number of other titles designated the "second wave" of New 52 series. DC didn't indicate how long Morrison planned to spend on Batman, Incorporated for the New 52 but even money is on a year--that's who long he remained on Batman & Robin before leaving the title behind for Batman, Inc., and that's how long other high-profile series with an "expiration date"--such as James Robinson's The Shade--often run at DC. This begs the question, of course: If Morrison leaves the Batman franchise behind, what's next for him? Staying on the best-selling Action Comics monthly seems like a no-brainer but DC would certainly love to have his consistent sales on another book. And after breathing new and dramatic life into Batman and Superman, would it really be surprising if DC were to ask him to, like Geoff Johns before him, take on another troubled character and get into the business of franchise repair? If Johns could salvage the wreckage of Hawkman, Aquaman and Booster Gold, what could Morrison bring to his long-rumored Wonder Woman run?

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