Grant Morrison is a superstar, and has spent the last few years outside of the comic industry, working on novels and their own Substack. Morrison has returned to comics several times, but most fans didn’t really expect them to return to the Big Two any time soon. However, Morrison recently announced their Big Two return, telling fans that they were working on an unlikely project. This led fans to speculate exactly where they were going and who they were going to write. Morrison is known for everything from indie masterpieces to superhero epics, so it could have been anything, and today has seen them reveal exactly what they’ll be writing — Batman. Morrison, on the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast for Superman Day, let the news drop.
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“I don’t need to do these things anymore, I only do it if it’s something interesting,” Morrison said. “It’s not Superman, but it’s a Batman thing.”
Now, this is a very interesting development. Morrison had a rather long run on Batman in the late ’00s/early ’10s, writing Batman, Batman and Robin, and Batman Inc. Morrison introduced readers to Damian Wayne, made Dick Grayson into Batman, and tried to take every Batman story, even the weird ones from 1950s where Batman was wearing rainbow costumes and going into space way more than Batman should, and make them canon. Morrison’s run is remembered fondly among Batman’s 21st century output, with some fans saying its the best Batman of the new millennium. Morrison’s Batman epic had three acts — the first dealing with Bruce Wayne’s ending as Batman, the second being Dick and Damian showing they deserve to be Batman and Robin, and the final taking a returned Bruce Wayne across the world to spread Batman’s heroism to every corner of the Earth.
Morrison calling their latest project, “a Batman thing” is even more exciting. Batman comics are more than just Batman; the Bat-Family rivals even superteams when it comes to great characters. Most members of the Bat-Family can helm their own solo book. On top of that, there’s the Batman villains. Batman has some of the most amazing villains of all time, many of which that can be the center of their own stories. The Joker, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and Penguin have all starred in amazing series over the years, with books like Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and Penguin showing that just about any A-list Batman villain can star in a great series.
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Fans would love to see Morrison return to Damian Wayne or finally give Red Hood a major A-list story. Morrison did an amazing job on Dick Grayson, so fans would love to see them do a Nightwing story. Batgirl, Batwoman, Huntress, or Barbara Gordon would all make for great characters for Morrison to write. Morrison introduced the concept of the Black Casebook to Batman. The Black Casebook contains all of Batman’s adventures over the years, and a Morrison-written project taking us through the Black Casebook would be such a treat. Finally, Morrison has always been one of the best villain writers in the comics, so seeing them take on any of Batman’s villains in comics of their own would be a treat.
Morrison is one of the few writers who understands how to balance Batman’s human frailties with, well, the thing we like to call “Bat-god”. “Bat-god” is the idea that Batman can defeat anyone with prep time. It’s a concept that can make Batman stories rather boring but Morrison has shown that they are expert at writing Batman comics that vault over this. If there’s anyone who can “Bat-god” interesting, it’s Morrison. Morrison back on Batman is amazing news and we’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available.
Are you excited Morrison is returning for a Batman story? Let us know in the comments!
