DC Comics Officially Spoils This Week's Batman Incorporated

Warning: spoilers ahead for Wednesday's issue of Batman Incorporated, and the direction of the Batman family of comics in general. Don't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled.Batman Incorporated

writer Grant Morrison is on his way out; he's wrapping up his Action Comics run next month and has decided to give mainstream, big-name superhero books a rest for a while (excepting a couple of big projects he's already in the middle of, like Multiversity and his Wonder Woman graphic novel). And apparently he's decided to take one of his favorite toys with him when he goes.

After a leaked image of a previously-secret variant cover seemed to give up the demise of a major character, Morrison has now been given the green light to talk about it, telling the New York Post that, yes, Damian Wayne--the current Robin--will die in Batman Incorporated #8 while squaring off against his own massive, evil clone. "He saves the world. He does his job as Robin," Morrison said. "He dies an absolute hero." Playing off the themes of the just-concluded Death of the Family, Morrison seems to suggest that part of the endgame here will be to further isolate Bruce and alienate him from the world. "It's all about the family and the family going to hell. The two adults in the story are both culpable. The kid's the good guy," Morrison explained. The writer suggests that while Damian was a pariah among most readers when he was introduced, the process of making him a better Robin throughout Morrison's nearly eight-year run on the Batman titles has endeared him to many. "What we did was turn this little monster into a superhero," he said. "He's a little brat, but he's a super-brat." Asked about the prospect of bringing Damian back (his mother and grandfather, after all, own all those Lazarus Pits all over the place), Morrison was a bit evasive, saying, "You can never say never in a comic book . . . Batman will ultimately always have a partner." Of course, even in that context, there are...other possibilities.