Batman (2024) # 149

 By Mark Rodriguez

Batman and his crew have defeated Daniel Captio and Failsafe, but one of their many plans involved creating a Robin of their own. While fighting Tim Drake, it's revealed that the clone was a younger Bruce Wayne in a Robin costume. After the defeat of Failsafe, the question remained, what happened to the clone? His story continues here.

'A Good Fantasy' opens with a man pulling a gun on someone over money owed to Cobblepot. A dark figure stops him and punches the guy out. Batman monologues that they've been looking for the clone and he figured that a Bruce Wayne that was lost and confused would eventually end up in Crime Alley.

Batman confronts the Robin clone. The clone angrily lashes out at Batman, saying he killed his 'father' Failsafe. Batman catches the punch and restrains him as the clone breaks down, saying he's alone and doesn't know what to do. Batman monologues that Zur was still a part of him and all of this was his fault, so he wants to make it right. Batman tells the clone that things will be OK since he now has his support.

Later on, at Bruce's home, the clone is examined. The clone says he feels the fog lifting but he has trouble making sense of things. He mainly remembers his training and some memories that would keep him in line with Zur's mission, like Crime Alley. Bruce says the clone is aging rapidly, since he was set to be ready for fighting, but he didn't add a way to stop the aging. 

Bruce says he will find a way to stop the aging, since Zur must have had a plan for this. The clone says Zur didn't care about him, he would let him age out and die, only to be replaced by the next Robin clone. Bruce tells him he's not a Robin and says the clone's name is Bruce. Damian shows up and want to have a word with his father. 

Damian asks why he's wasting his time with the clone grown in a lab when the Failsafe robot is missing. Failsafe was defeated but his body was taken from the prison. Bruce says that Damian was also grown in a lab, and the Zur program was erased from the Failsafe robot. Right now there is a person that is aging rapidly and he needs his help. Damian says he will continue the search for Failsafe on his own and asks how his father intends to help the clone. Bruce isn't sure but he know he'll need some equipment to do so.

Batman and Tim drive out to a secluded forest area as he monologues on how Zur's memories slowly flow into his mind. They find a hidden lair built by Batman when he still had the Zur personality. He says he'll have to decide someday to keep it or destroy it. Tim asks why he came along instead of Damian. Batman tells him that Damian went to find Failsafe, and it never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes. Tim asks if he means if needs an extra pair of eyes on the environment... or on Batman.

Batman says he's doubting himself since he's afraid of the Zur personality coming back. He's also concerned if it turns out that Zur was the real person and Bruce was the back up copy all along. Tim says this time he's putting his trust on his family, and they won't let Zur get to him. He says it's normal to have doubts, since it's part of being human. Batman says he's not a fan. 

Back to Bruce's downtown home, the clone is close to Bruce's age, minus all the injuries the real Bruce obtained. The clone notices Bruce's metal hand and doesn't remember it. Bruce says it happened sometime after Failsafe implanted memories into him. He says he was slow and the other guy wasn't. The clone says this is how it ends for Batman and everyone, their bodies start slowing down.

Bruce says he has looked into ways to get around it such as metal bodies or clones, but time and making the most it works best. He tells the clone he still can't find a cure since his cells are accelerating so fast. Bruce says he need better equipment and might have to reach out to Mr. Terrific or Ted Kord. 

The clone says he's scared, but he says they're both fearless. The clone says they always win, and assumes the person that took Bruce's hand lost in the end. Bruce says the person did lose, but that doesn't mean he wasn't scared. Bruce admits in the heat of battle there is only action and reaction, but in quieter times he does dwell on all the near misses and close calls he's had. 

The clone says having Bruce's memories confuses him since he feels like he's lived but he really hasn't. He's afraid that he won't make new memories. Bruce says there has to be a way, Zur has taken so much from them so there has to be something that he can give back.

Later on, Bruce Wayne heads towards his work office. As Bruce taps into his memories, he sees that Zur had a lot of funds stashed away, now so does he.

After Bruce returns, he sees Tim and Damian sulking outside. They tell Bruce there's been a small incident but the clone is still alive. Bruce rushes in to see that his clone, now with noticeable white hair, has cut off his hand to coincide with the hand the real Bruce lost. Bruce tells his clone that he secured the and can continue to work on a cure. The clone says his time is running out and maybe if they can cure him by the time he's 80, he'll need a stronger hand to open a jar of pickles.

Later on Dick arrives to see the others. Barbara tells him that Bruce is with his clone. Mr. Terrific is there and says there wasn't much he could do. He suggested consciousness upload but neither of them wanted to live in a metal shell.

At this point the clone is very old and on his death bed. He doesn't want to die underground and wishes to see his home one last time. Bruce agrees to take him to Wayne Manor. They both arrive at the Manor, taking advantage that Vandal Savage isn't there. Both of them feel distant, the Manor being full of memories for them both. The clone says he wishes he had more time to make his own memories. He recalls several memories of growing up in the Manor as a child and then passes away. 

Later on, Batman is summoned by the Bat Signal. He sees that Vandal Savage called him. Vandal comments on how Bruce paid the Manor a visit the previous week. Since he's the new commissioner, he says he agrees to let him continue his war on crime as long as he keeps it quiet. He also says if he calls them for a situation, and they handle it no questions asked, he will return the Bat Cave and the Manor to him. 

Batman tosses bombs towards the Bat Signal to blow it up. He then socks Vandal hard enough to send him flying into what's left of the Bat Signal. Batman says he's going to take Vandal down, and he can keep the house. 

Later on, Dick and Barbara comment on how they were invited to a 'family meeting', in board daylight and at a new location. They haven't seen Bruce in a while and are worried he's going back to his old ways. Damian arrives and says he's doing fine. Duke, Stephanie, Cass and Tim all arrive as well and they say the address was for an old and busted mansion. 

They find Bruce working on repairing the building. Stephanie asks if Batman really needs a project, and Bruce says Batman needs a home. He tells the family that this is the Lohmuller Mansion. The Joker took it over once so the owners were anxious to sell. He says a lot of the surrounding buildings were looking to sell. He plans to turn them into affordable housing and charity centers. The mansion will be known as Pennyworth Manor, and it will be home for them. 

Dick and Babs have their own life in Bludhaven, but Bruce he says they have a home in Gotham too. The door are open to everyone else. He says they were once called an army, but he says they're family and they can build something together. Tim asks if there's a cave underneath, and Bruce says not yet but he has plans.

Bruce says living in Brownstone helped him realize they belong in the city as a part of it. They really need to know the people they're helping. Dick says he's getting soft in his old age. Bruce says he's not old yet but growing old is a nice fantasy.

Later that night, Bruce has more supplies come in. Bruce sees a box, which has his clone's remains. As he's finished burying him, Selina shows up and Bruce tells her that he was burying his clone. She asks if his life is ever normal. Bruce says he's trying to things back to normal and asks how she's been. Selina says she's been to outer space lately. They share a laugh and Selina asks how he's really doing. Bruce says it's been hard and he wasn't in his right mind when they last argued. Selina says Barbara told her everything. 

Selina says what's important is that Bruce is getting better and this new home will be good for him. Bruce says it could be good for them. Selina asks if he thinks he can tempt her into moving in with all the rest of the family in there. Bruce says it's a good way to see what he's planning for their future. Selina agrees and tells him to lead the way.

My Thoughts-

This was an epilogue issue after 'Dark Prisons' and apparently the whole Zur/Failsafe story. It seems they really are going to go with a more human Bruce, one that won't self-isolate and keep secrets fro his family. I still say we'll have to see how long that actually lasts, but it seems to be the new personal story arc that Bruce will be going through. 

I am curious how the new status quo will go with the Pennyworth Manor and its inhabitants. Batman always had his family, but he always had the other comics like Detective Comics to focus on the Bat-Family or the Batman and Robin comics to focus on his life with Damian. The main Batman comic usually sticks to mostly Batman, for those that want solo stories, with the rest of the crew making smaller appearances. So I do wonder if we'll be seeing the main Batman title become a bit of the 'Bat-Family' title for the next arc or so.

I did feel bad for the clone though as his life was literally slipping away from him. The strange thing is, while scared, the clone Bruce did seem to embrace his fate and keep his sense of humor. It did suck that he didn't get the chance to make his own unique memories. There was a part where Bruce was mentioning how 'time works best' and how making the most of the time one has left is beneficial to him... while his clone is literally aging and dying in front of him. I wanted the clone to say 'easy for you to say, buddy'.

The next issue will be a related tie-in to Absolute Power, a story where Amanda Waller was working alongside Failsafe and the Braniac Queen. As mentioned in this story, someone took the Failsafe robot after the previous issue. The military busted into Blackgate or the Bat-Family had to get out of there, leaving both Failsafe and Daniel Caption behind. I do wonder what will happen to him. What I'm most curious about is the next arc with this more open and honest family oriented Bruce Wayne.