Uh. I think DC just killed Batman. For real.

(For all values of "real" in the DC universe, where Superboy-Prime could PUNCH A HOLE IN REALITY and bring Jason Todd back from the dead.)

(Which means that Batman won't stay dead -- they brought back Superman; hell, they even brought back Barry Allen, whose death was supposed to be sacrosanct -- because there's no way DC will keep one of its Big Three, in the original incarnation (Bruce Wayne), dead.

The question is just -- how long until he comes back?

t edit Oh, and -- how DC did it? Pretty fucking KICKASS.

Tep, did you see IO9's thread about Batman RIP?

First comments:

I'd love to see the Joker go on a detective crusade to unravel the truth about Batman's "death." No one gets to kill Batman except the Joker, and certainly not a Superman villain!

I would buy that series in a heartbeat.

Seconded. I'd love to see the Joker's interrogation of suspects.

Obama Disappointed Cabinet Failed To Understand His Reference To 'Savage Sword Of Conan' #24

That's awesome, Tom.

I think our country will be in very good shape if the best Obama ends up giving the Onion to make fun of during his presidency is how big of a geek he is.

Obama Disappointed Cabinet Failed To Understand His Reference To 'Savage Sword Of Conan' #24

Oh man, it's funny because I do that shit all the time! (Only Batman-y, not Conan-y.)

"When I tell my cabinet that getting bipartisan support is exactly like the time Conan got Taurus to help him steal Yara's jewel, they need to understand what I mean."

After receiving no reaction from the assembled reporters, Obama added, "Because a giant spider is protecting this chamber full of precious jewels, just like Congress is protecting its…. God, how are you people not seeing this?"

Ahahahaha!!! I have seriously had the same conversation with people, only swap out Conan for Batman, and "giant spider" for "punched a hole in reality," and I have totally had that conversation.

Gates told reporters he may have gotten off on the wrong foot with the new president, citing an occasion when Obama asked him what he knew about 1984's Secret Wars, a 12-issue limited Marvel release. Gates then handed a visibly confused Obama 1,400 classified pages on covert CIA operations in El Salvador.

::snerk::

Being almost exactly the same age as our president, I actually had issue #24 of The Savage Sword of Conan. (Indeed I had the run from #1 to #175somethingish).

I love the last line:

"Wonder Woman? That's not even Marvel," Obama responded before storming out of the press room. "Who are you people?"

Well, for my sins, I have finished reading Final Crisis.

I think it was dreadful. Actually a more succulent word would be 'tripe'.

DC has once again devalued their IP with another crisis that goes nowhere and accomplishes nothing except make everything past more convoluted and everything present less meaningful. It's like they're the boy that cried wolf.

Honestly, they should just start over. Don't even attempt to recreate the universe via some 'crisis'. Just chuck it all away and start the characters from scratch.

Meh. The funniest comment I've seen about this was from a poster on the Newsarama boards -

"I'm sorry Grant, I will try to be a better reader next time. Its just, I have this education, and life experience, and all these concepts of standards, quality, and competence, and they all constantly hinder my enjoyment of your self apparent greatness."

Comedy gold. And more entertainment value than the whole seven issue run of Final Crisis.

Hey, Miracleman, you fancy joining me on a little Dan Didio hunting?

Nathan Fillion interview about playing Steve Trevor: [link]

Well, for my sins, I have finished reading Final Crisis.

I think it was dreadful. Actually a more succulent word would be 'tripe'.

Oh sweet Jesus. I read FC #7 yesterday -- if "read" is the right word -- and I want to beat Grant Morrison and Dan Didio senseless with a copy of V For Vendetta.

The whole of Final Crisis was one huge sploogey mess of unresolved plot threads -- if "plot" is the right word -- that I realized I completely don't give a damn about.

Except I still love Batman shooting Darkseid with the deus ex godbullet. And -- I admit it -- I *loved* the end, with what is obviously Batman somewhere (or somewhen? or both -- like, Earth-999, a millenium ago) because of the Omega Sanction. I'm a sucker. I can't help it.

The rest of Final Crisis, though? If I were to list everything that was lame/confusing/mindnumbingly stupid, it would take pages. PAGES.

Like -- a FUCKING VAMPIRE?!?!? Seriously??????

The funniest comment I've seen about this was from a poster on the Newsarama boards -

The funniest comment I've seen was a thread title at the DC boards:

"I would rather watch a Shaq movie than reread Final Crisis ."

That about sums it up.