A Shocking Death, But Not For the Reason You Think
DC Comics just pulled the rug out from under us. Bruce Wayne is dead. It's a major moment in the history of Batman, but what makes the whole thing crazy is how peaceful it all was. No big fight, no grand sacrifice, just a quiet end in the gardens of Wayne Manor. You know what else was wild? This whole thing also fixed a big issue that a lot of fans had with Chip Zdarsky's run.
This all goes back to the whole Zur-En-Arrh/Failsafe arc, which has been dragging on for a while. Batman's alternate personality, Zur-En-Arrh, was basically hijacking the body of Failsafe and trying to become the new Dark Knight.
Zur-En-Arrh's Robin Makes for a Bittersweet Ending
Instead of focusing on Zur, Batman #149 shifted gears to the "Robin of Zur-En-Arrh." You know, a young clone of Bruce that looks a lot like Damian Wayne. First, everyone thought it was an evil Robin, because it was hanging out with Zur-En-Arrh. But then, the epilogue showed a whole other side to this character—a super sad one. It’s that tragic story that leads to the end of 'Bruce Wayne.'
This clone, the Robin of Zur-En-Arrh, had been super-aged by Zur. And it wasn't just aging, it was super-aging. The clone was going from childhood to adulthood to old age really fast. Batman tried his best to save it, even getting Mister Terrific to help out with his fancy equipment. No dice. The clone was dying, and in the end, it asked Batman to take it home to Wayne Manor. There, the clone took its last breath. And that’s how Bruce Wayne died.
Goodbye Robot Hand, Hello Clone Hand
Even though Bruce was super bummed that his clone died, Batman actually ended up getting a really good thing out of it. The clone, knowing it was going to die, cut off its own hand—at the same age as the real Bruce. This was to give Batman back his hand. Remember that robotic hand he got after Ghost-Breaker chopped his hand off? Well, fans didn't like it. So, this clone's sacrifice fixed a big problem with Zdarsky’s run.
It's a pretty wild ending. Who would have thought a clone would be the one to give Bruce Wayne his hand back? Batman is definitely going to have to figure out what to do with himself now that Bruce Wayne is dead. But that’s a story for another day. For now, if you want to see how it all went down, pick up a copy of Batman #149 from Dc Comics.
