Compelling, confusing, and weird… or as Wizard Magazine would say, “Grant Morrison has done it again.”
In honor of the 666th issue of Batman, DC Comics let Grant Morrison do what is commonly referred to as “pulling a Grant Morrison.” That is to say, that they let him go strangely off topic, and show a future world where Batman’s son, with Talia, the daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, has become the new Batman, and Barbara Gordon is the new police commissioner.
Much like Morrison’s last few issues on X-men, the issue makes next to no sense, because it clearly involves a lot of continuity that no one has written down (apart from, possibly, the strange voices in Morrison’s own disturbed genius brain). It’s like reading the 10th issue of a story arc, and not being able to get the other 9.
Some clear themes emerge from Morrison’s view of the future:
1) Shoulder pads will return
2) Batman dies
3) Damien, Batman’s son, does his best with what he has (which apparently includes an immortal soul).
Actually, on point 1, the costume looked an awful lot like the one in the “Countdown” preview art. Hmmmm. Perhaps I’m thinking about this too much.
Either way, the story is a lot of fun, and relatively easy to follow, and it’s always nice when Grant has someone to tether him a bit to solid ground, which Andy Kubert does fantastically in this story.