Batman: Bruce Wayne Murderer and Fugitive

I bought both of these trades on digital in the 80th anniversary sale. While I previously only read the Batgirl issues I was struck by how these crossover/tie in/events were handled.

Especially when compared to more current bat family events.

Older SPOILERS AHEAD

As expected there's a lot of filler with subplots from tie ins (Robin, etc.) and Batman stories that barely have anything to do with the main story threads. There are a couple of moments where members of the bat family get evidence but still waver in their belief of Bruce's innocence in other issues. It's not too bad though, they do sort of touch on this by later having Barbara pointing out that all their evidence might not mean anything if Batman is able to trick them to cover his tracks. The fact Bruce doesn't actually say he's innocent for a LONG time might also factor into why it's hard for them to believe he didn't murder someone.

Bruce does take forever to get out of his funk which can get tiresome pretty fast. During this event Cass figures out his identity and it's kind of brushed off. He's briefly upset that she knows but why wasn't she told at that point? I don't recall her telling the others that she knew in this trade but they somehow know she figured it out?

As far as a mystery goes I don't think there's anything for the reader to pick up on to directly link them to the real murderer before it's revealed. I also thought Bruce being cleared of all charges felt way too easy. Yes I could believe Cain's motive, hell he even had a point. I think he would give himself up if it was what Cass wanted. But I was waiting to see how they explained Bruce's escape from prison to the public. I was severely disappointed since things were apparently settled with the police off panel, his lawyer lays into them on panel to clear his name to the public and there's no fall out. Alfred doesn't even get brought in to get questioned despite him being under suspicion for helping Bruce.

I will give Rucka credit for not using his original idea (mentioned in the back of the Fugitive trade) of having Sasha take a literal bullet and dying to protect Batman. He knew it wasn't a good story for her even if he thought it worked as a Batman story. Previously I only knew Sasha from CTIC and OMAC Project. So I knew where she would end up but I definitely like her character better here.

Unlike other events that came out more recently like DOTF and Robin War the bat family actually felt like a family in this. They care about each other, they argue, they APOLOGIZE, they actually work together and are all capable. As always Barbara is useful as Oracle and it really makes me miss the woman she used to be. She took command yet had to mentally prepare herself for standing up to Bruce to help Cass. Barbara always speaks her mind but we got to see that it's not always easy for her. There are still character flaws but she's a better and more rounded person.

Tim had his trust betrayed by Bruce when he decided to tell Steph about Tim's ID without his permission after all the hell he went through to keep the secret for Bruce. He doesn't know if he believes Bruce is innocent and debates with Dick. Something that I found pretty intriguing as it pitted Tim's logic against Dick's sentiment. I'm drawing a blank on the last time I saw two opposing views written that well without really favoring one. As a reader I know Dick is right about Bruce's innocence but Tim has some great points.

I really like how we get to see Dick lose his temper with Bruce. I think over the years too many writers oversimplify the Robins down to basic character traits (which some fans have encouraged.) Dick is usually deemed the friendly one so many forget he has a temper. Tim usually gets the detective role but Dick does his fair share to figure out how the real killer got in. And I definitely liked his period as a cop which felt far more natural than his stint as a spy.

Cassandra was awesome, she was very useful when it came to gathering evidence and helping Dick figure out how the murder happened. While her connection to David Cain wasn't used more throughout the event what we got was great. It does feel like a missed opportunity that he didn't get to exploit the fact Cass wasn't informed of Bruce's ID since he took the job to prove that Bruce wasn't fit to be her family either. I would love to see Cass, with her history intact, back with the current bat family. She adds something that I didn't realize how much I missed until I read an old bat family event. Honestly I miss the feeling that they were all close in general.

While I do think that Alfred was too dismissive of what Bruce did to Tim once Bruce was in trouble I liked how he was either a supportive friend or passive aggressive with the cops. He was one of the few people that actually thinks of Sasha and is actually there to support her. I was really ticked off when Barbara goes in as a lawyer and gets mad because Sasha wouldn't reveal what happened. Yet she figured out that Sasha knows his secret life. It never seemed to occur to Barbara that Sasha had no reason to trust her with that knowledge since she has no idea who she really was. Alfred on the other hand gives Sasha strength when she's at her lowest point.

Jason does have a presence in the story which is the standard "failing of Batman" and such. When Dick promises that Batman (and by extension himself) will always be there to make sure nothing happens to Robin? Tim uses Jasons' name as an example of why that's not true. At one point Bruce seems to use the case to his advantage to escape his fight with Dick. He dodges and Dick breaks the case which causes everyone except Bruce to go into a "omigod you broke it" mode. Which used to be a bigger deal. Naturally as was the case at the time the flashback has Jason arguing with Jason. Interestingly when Bruce tells him that he won't be Robin anymore if he doesn't do as he wants Jason asks if that's what happened with Dick. It all ties into a later conversation Bruce has with Sasha.

There were a lot of excellent conversations about the good traits of Batman/Bruce Wayne and his failings. The sad thing is that the bad ones are still being overused today when Bruce tries to change for the better at the end of this story. He pushes others away, abandons his many responsibilities (save for his crime fighting role as Batman), leaves Sasha in jail when he breaks himself out and he's manipulative. The difference from then to now ? Bruce barely hit Dick when they fought and he apologized for doing so even despite not being the one to start it.

In current canon Bruce is estranged from Damian, doesn't acknowledge his fault in severally injuring Jason or even attempt to figure out how things got out of control. He's not a man that retains his lessons for long and takes people for granted. Which is especially annoying after reading how he comes to realize his faults in Fugitive. Bruce knew Sasha fell in love with him and he was falling for her. What did he do? He manipulated her into thinking she discovered his identity and made her a cape under his command. This brings up interesting topics which aren't addressed like if Bruce has done this with others, like for example when Tim figured out his ID. (*1) Or when Bruce says this:

Bruce Wayne: So I did...I did what I'd done to everyone else who's gotten close to me...I pushed you away. Put you in a costume so I could control the distance between us.

This is just fascinating when you consider the bat family. All of Bruce's children are put into costumes to work as his partners. He maintains control over them in the field then punishes them when they don't do as he says. When they don't listen to him their relationship is strained. We've seen different degrees of this with all of his kids. The arguments and distance with Dick at the end of his Robin run/beginning of his Nightwing mantle. We've seen him exert even more control over Jason to keep him in line.

The way Bruce behaves proves David Cain's point that he's not fit to be family for Cassandra either. Because Bruce fails to pass the test that was set up for him.

David Cain: It's true...I stripped your entire life away, kid, to show what you really are...a monster, just like me... And it worked, too. A normal man would've turned to his family for help...especially with the kind of family you have...but you just pushed them away...you caved in on yourself... Because you're weak.

How many times have we seen this happen with Batman since this story? Within the context of this event Bruce does manage to learn his lesson which makes it worthwhile. After it we know that he repeats this mistake. While I'm writing this he's currently doing the same thing instead of trying to mend his broken relationships. These stories underline the enduring problems the character has but explores them in a way that's more thoughtful than what comes later. I enjoyed this, I think it's worth a read just for the bat family interactions and the conversations about Bruce.



*1 Later on Johns had Jason confront Tim in TT with this and Tim believes he's just that good. I don't think a writer will change that because Tim is supposed to be "that good." But it still makes you wonder how often Bruce manipulates people like he did with Sasha.