Article #58!

August 31,2012

 

Batman’s Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

OR…

With family like this…?

 

Yes, it’s been a while since the last update. Seems like I write that for pretty much every entry, but you know, I’m lazy. Hey, I’m not much, but at least I’m honest.

 

So, I’m sure many fans of the Batman universe have enjoyed the first story arc in the Batman (New 52) series, which culminated in issue #11. Seems there was a secret society called the Court of Owls who were entrenched in Gotham for about as long as the Wayne family without Batman ever knowing about it. And for some inexplicable reason they decide to stir up a hornet’s nest of trouble for Gotham at this moment in time. Why they didn’t just take over the city back when it was a one horse town I have no idea. It certainly would’ve been easier than dealing with the Batman and a population in the millions.

 

Anyway, this arc introduced a new character into the Bat-mythos, Lincoln March, who by the end of the story claims to be Bruce (Batman) Wayne’s brother. Seems Lincoln was the unborn 2nd child to Thomas and Martha Wayne – until a fateful car accident (orchestrated by the Court of Owls) intervened. Naturally Batman doesn’t take it too well and they discuss this in a manner that befits a comic book…

 

batman11a.jpg

 

Batman manages to escape and survives the building collapse and (naturally) Lincoln’s body is nowhere to be found among the wreckage. Later on a banged up Bruce Wayne explains to Dick Grayson what happened to his unborn brother after the car accident…

 

batman11.jpg

 

And you know what, all through this issue I had a feeling that I read something like this before. I could have sworn there was another time that the Batman had an EVIL brother (and no, I wasn’t getting confused with Batwoman and her evil twin sister, or Kobra had his good twin brother, or Barbara Gordon and her psychopathic brother – all things I’ve already posted in this site and available in the Archives). Going through the stacks I (eventually) succumbed to severe spinal trauma – but NOT before uncovering what my mind was telling me was always there.

 

10 years ago (my lord, has it already been 10 years? 2002 seems like yesterday), in the (now defunct) series Batman: Gotham Knights, issues #33-#35 of that series had a rather interesting story. At this time Bane (you know Bane, he was THE enemy from the movie The Dark Knight Rises) had a falling out with Ra’s Al Ghul and was bent on destroying all the Lazarus Pits Ra’s used for his regenesis and eternal life. In this issue Bane enlisted Batman’s help, and after a successful mission we find them headed back for the Batcave…

 

batmanGK33.jpg

 

batmanGK33a.jpg

 

And there you go, Bane is Batman’s brother! How’s that for a plot twist? So how could Bane be Batman’s brother? Wasn’t Bane born in a South American prison and Dr. Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s dad, lived in Gotham City, USA? While I’m no expert, I’m pretty sure that the USA isn’t part of South America.

 

In Gotham Knights #34, Alfred provides a possible explanation…

 

batmanGK34.jpg

 

Unlike the entire Court of Owls story, a blood test was performed and it was shown Bane wasn’t really Batman’s brother, much to everyone’s relief. Of course, since this is a comic book, if enough people clamored for it, DC Comics could’ve easily rewritten that part and we’d have a completely different Batman family dynamic going on.

 

That would make 2 evil brothers Batman’s had to deal with over the past decade. Factor in the current Robin, Damien Wayne (the son of Bruce Wayne), a highly trained assassin and brat – and Damien’s spurned mom, Talia Al Ghul, who seems bent on destroying Batman and everything he holds dear, and you’ve got one really messed up family.

 

Of course things could be worse. They could’ve made an even more garish villain Batman’s brother. Imagine if, say, the Joker were revealed as Bruce Wayne’s brother. Well, they actually did that one too. If you ever have the chance pick up a copy of the Batman/Lobo Elseworlds one-shot by Alan Grant… one of the goofiest endings I’ve ever read.

 

Well folks, that’s all for now, until next time…

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK