Adam West Post-Batman career
What did West do in his post Batman career?
What did Adam West do in his post Batman career?
After his high-profile role, West, along with Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig (who played crime-fighting sidekicks Robin and Batgirl), was severely typecast. West's first post-Caped Crusader role was in the film The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). His lead performance against type as cynical tough guy Johnny Cain did not erode his Batman image; the movie was a box office disappointment.  For a time, West made a living from personal appearances as Batman. In 1974, when Ward and Craig reprised their Batman roles for a TV public-service announcement about equal pay for women, West was absent. Instead, Dick Gautier filled in as Batman. One of West's more memorable Batman appearances, after the series had ended, was with the Memphis-based United States Wrestling Association, where he engaged in a war of words with Jerry "The King" Lawler while wearing the cowl and a tracksuit, and even name-dropping Spider-Man.  West subsequently appeared in the theatrical films The Marriage of a Young Stockbrocker (1971), The Curse of the Moon Child (1972), The Specialist (1975), Hooper (as himself; 1978), The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980), One Dark Night (1983) and Young Lady Chatterley II (1985). West also appeared in such television films as The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972), Poor Devil (1973), Nevada Smith (1975), For the Love of It (1980) and I Take These Men (1983).  West split his time between residences in Palm Springs, California and Ketchum, Idaho.  He did guest shots on the television series; Maverick, Diagnosis: Murder, Love, American Style, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Night Gallery, Alias Smith and Jones, Mannix, Emergency!, Alice, Police Woman, Operation Petticoat, The American Girls, Vega$, Big Shamus, Little Shamus, Laverne & Shirley, Bewitched, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Zorro, The King of Queens, and George Lopez. West was also in an episode of Bonanza that supposedly never aired until reruns were shown and he made several guest appearances as himself on Family Feud. In 1986, he starred in the comedy police series titled The Last Precinct. CANNOTANSWER
West's first post-Caped Crusader role was in the film The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969).
William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), known professionally as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in other films and television shows until his retirement from live-action appearances. West began acting in films in the 1950s. He played opposite Chuck Connors in Geronimo (1962) and The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965). He also appeared in the science fiction film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) and performed voice work on The Fairly OddParents (2003–2017), The Simpsons (1992, 2002), and Family Guy (2000–2018), playing fictional versions of himself in all three.

Early life
Adam West was born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928, in Walla Walla, Washington. His father, Otto Anderson (1903–1984) was a farmer descending from Scania in southern Sweden; and his mother, Audrey Volenne (née Speer; 1906–1969) was an opera singer and concert pianist who left her Hollywood dreams to care for her family. Following her example, West told his father as a young man that he intended to go to Hollywood after completing school. He moved to Seattle with his mother when he was 15, following his parents' divorce.

West attended Walla Walla High School during his freshman and sophomore years and later enrolled in Lakeside School in Seattle. He attended Whitman College but studied at University of Puget Sound during the fall semester of 1949. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in literature and a minor in psychology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, where he was a member of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He also participated on the speech and debate team. Drafted into the United States Army, he served as an announcer on American Forces Network television. After his discharge, he worked as a milkman before moving to Hawaii to pursue a career in television.

Career

Early roles

While in Hawaii, West was picked for a role as the sidekick on a local TV program, The Kini Popo Show, which also featured a chimp named Peaches. West later took over as host of the show. In 1959, West moved with his wife and two children to Hollywood, where he took the stage name Adam West.

He appeared in the film The Young Philadelphians which starred Paul Newman. He had guest-star roles in a number of television Westerns. On three Warner Bros. westerns which aired on ABC—Sugarfoot, Colt .45, and Lawman — West played the role of Doc Holliday, the frontier dentist and gunfighter. West also appeared playing different characters in two episodes of Maverick opposite James Garner: "Two Tickets to Ten Strike" and "A Fellow's Brother" in 1958.

On January 10, 1961, West appeared as a young, ambitious deputy who foolishly confronts a gunfighter named Clay Jackson, portrayed by Jock Mahoney, in the episode "The Man from Kansas" of the NBC Western series Laramie. He played Christopher Rolf in the episode "Stopover" of ABC's The Rifleman, which aired on April 25, 1961.

West made two guest appearances on Perry Mason in 1961 and 1962. His first role was as small-town journalist Dan Southern in "The Case of the Barefaced Witness". His other role was as folk singer Pete Norland in "The Case of the Bogus Books".

He made a brief appearance in the 1963 film Soldier in the Rain starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen, and starred as Colonel Dan McCready, the ill-fated mission commander of Mars Gravity Probe 1 in the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars. That same year he was cast alongside William Shatner in the pilot for the proposed series Alexander the Great, playing Cleander to Shatner's Alexander. The series was not picked up and the pilot wasn't broadcast until 1968 when it was repackaged as a TV movie to capitalize on West and Shatner's later fame. West was apparently unsurprised by the rejection, later noting that "It turned out to be one of the worst scripts I have ever read and it was one of the worst things I've ever done."

In 1964, West played Dr. Clayton Harris, a handsome, young physician in two episodes of the sitcom Petticoat Junction.

West starred in an episode of the ABC Outer Limits series titled "The Invisible Enemy".

In 1965, he was cast in the comedy Western The Outlaws Is Coming, the last feature film starring The Three Stooges.

1960s–80s

Batman

Producer William Dozier cast West as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, in the television series Batman, in part after seeing West perform as the James Bond-like spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik commercial. He was in competition with Lyle Waggoner for the Batman role.

The popular campy show ran on ABC from 1966 to 1968; a feature-length film version directed by Leslie H. Martinson was released in 1966.

In 1966, West released a novelty song Miranda as his Batman character.

Also in character, West appeared in a public service announcement in which he encouraged schoolchildren to heed then-President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for them to buy U.S. savings stamps, a children's version of U.S. savings bonds, to support the Vietnam War.

In 1970, West was considered for the role of James Bond by producer Albert Broccoli for the film Diamonds Are Forever.

Post-Batman career
After his high-profile role, West, along with Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig (who played crime-fighting sidekicks Robin and Batgirl), was typecast; all three found it difficult to find other roles. West's first post-Caped Crusader role was in the film The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). His lead performance against type as cynical tough guy Johnny Cain did not erode his Batman image; the movie was a box office disappointment.

For a time, West made a living from personal appearances as Batman. In 1974, when Ward and Craig reprised their Batman roles for a TV public-service announcement about equal pay for women, West did not participate; instead, Dick Gautier appeared as Batman. One of West's most memorable Batman appearances, after the series had ended, was with the Memphis-based United States Wrestling Association, where he engaged in a war of words with Jerry "The King" Lawler while wearing the cowl and a tracksuit, and even name-dropping Spider-Man.

West subsequently appeared in the theatrical films The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971), The Curse of the Moon Child (1972), The Specialist (1975), Hooper (as himself; 1978), The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980), One Dark Night (1983) and Young Lady Chatterley II (1985). West also appeared in such television films as The Eyes of Charles Sand (1972), Poor Devil (1973), Nevada Smith (1975), For the Love of It (1980) and I Take These Men (1983).

West split his time between residences in Palm Springs, California, and Ketchum, Idaho.

He did guest shots on the television series Maverick, Diagnosis: Murder, Love, American Style, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Night Gallery, Alias Smith and Jones, Mannix, Emergency!, Alice, Police Woman, Operation Petticoat, The American Girls, Vega$, Big Shamus, Little Shamus, Laverne & Shirley, Bewitched, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Zorro, The King of Queens, and George Lopez. West was also in an episode of Bonanza that supposedly never aired until reruns were shown and he made several guest appearances as himself on Family Feud. In 1986, he starred in the comedy police series titled The Last Precinct.

Return to Batman
West often reprised his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, first in the short-lived animated series The New Adventures of Batman, and in other shows such as The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, Tarzan and the Super 7, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (succeeding original Super Friends Batman voice Olan Soule in the role). In 1979, West once again donned the Batsuit for the live-action TV special Legends of the Superheroes. In 1985, DC Comics named West as one of the honorees in the company's 50th-anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for his work on the Batman series.

West was considered to play Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father, in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. Originally, he wanted to play Batman. West never appeared in any of the theatrically released post-1960s Batman franchise live action motion pictures and, to date, neither has Burt Ward, who played Robin in the TV series. He did, however, serve as a voice actor in various Batman-related animated series and films in addition to other projects connected to the TV series. West appeared in a 1992 episode, "Beware the Gray Ghost", of Batman: The Animated Series on Fox, as Simon Trent, a washed-up actor who used to play a superhero in a TV series called The Gray Ghost and who now has difficulty finding work. He reprised his role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the short subject Boo Wonder" Season 5, Episode 3 of Animaniacs. 

West even suited up one final time in the full Batman outfit in 1997 for a photo session for TV Treasures magazine #1 titled "Adam West Remembers 30 Years of Batman". He had a recurring role as the voice of Mayor Grange in the 2004-2008 WB animated series The Batman. West was the voice of Batman in the 2005 CGI-animated short film Batman: New Times. He co-starred with Mark Hamill, who vocally portrayed The Joker and had originally played the role on Batman: The Animated Series. West also voiced Thomas Wayne in a 2010 episode, "Chill of the Night!", of the cartoon series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. 

In 2015, Adam West and Burt Ward announced that they would be reprising their roles as Batman and Robin (along with Julie Newmar as Catwoman) for two animated features to celebrate the oncoming 50th anniversary of the TV series. The first, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders  was actually released in theaters for one day on October 10, 2016 prior to being released on DVD and Blu-ray. The second, Batman vs. Two-Face co-starring William Shatner as Two-Face was released on October 10, 2017, four months after West's passing.

1990s–2000s

During the 1990s, West's status as a pop culture icon led to appearances as himself in the film Drop Dead Gorgeous and in several TV series, including NewsRadio, Murphy Brown, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ben Stiller Show, and The Drew Carey Show. He notably appeared as "Dr. Wayne" in the 1990 Zorro episode "The Wizard", even being shown Zorro's "secret cave" headquarters. In 1991, he starred in the pilot episode of Lookwell, in which he portrayed a has-been TV action hero who falsely believes he can solve mysteries in real life. The pilot, written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel in their pre-Late Night period, aired on NBC that summer, but was not picked up as a series. It was later broadcast on the Trio channel, under the "Brilliant But Cancelled" block. In 1994, West played a non-comedic role as the father of Peter Weller's character in the Michael Tolkin film The New Age.

He played a washed-up superhero in the Goosebumps television series episode "Attack of the Mutant". The boy hero is a comic book geek whose favorite superhero, Galloping Gazelle (West's character), is portrayed as fading and on the verge of retirement. Towards the end, the boy is shocked to learn that the Gazelle is real, though he (the boy) must save the day by himself.

In 1994, West, with Jeff Rovin, wrote his autobiography, Back to the Batcave published by Berkeley Books. In 1997, Virgin Interactive released the gambling simulation game Golden Nugget. West acted in the video cut scenes of the "Chaos Mystery" storyline subgame. In 2001, he played the super-villain Breathtaker on the short-lived television series Black Scorpion.

In 2003, West and Burt Ward starred in the television movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, alongside Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, and Lee Meriwether. Jack Brewer portrayed West in flashbacks to the production of Batman. In 2005, West appeared in the CBS show The King of Queens. In the episode, Spence first asks Lou Ferrigno to go to a sci-fi convention, but when Spence meets West (playing himself), he leaves Ferrigno and asks West to come with him. He appears prominently in the 2006 video for California band STEFY's song "Chelsea" as "Judge Adam West", presiding over the courtroom scene.

In 2007, West appeared in a recurring role on George Lopez, as an attorney for George's mother, and he starred as "The Boss" in the movie comedy Sexina: Popstar PI. Following the release of a Batman game, a host of the show X-Play visited West on the show. In 2009, West played himself in the episode "Apollo, Apollo" of 30 Rock.

2010s

In 2010, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. West received the 2,468th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 5, 2012. His star is located at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Guinness Museum in Hollywood, California.

West appeared in a number of videos for Funnyordie.com.

He was interviewed in 2013 on the PBS series called Pioneers of Television in the season-three episode called "Superheroes". Also in 2013, he was the subject of the documentary Starring Adam West.

West is among the interview subjects in Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, a three-hour documentary narrated by Liev Schreiber that premiered on PBS in October 2013.

In February 2016, West guest-starred as himself on the 200th episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In January 2017, West appeared on the British comedy panel show "Through the Keyhole" in which viewers and panellists looked around West's Los Angeles home by video.

Walla Walla, Washington, Adam West's hometown, officially celebrates its annual "Adam West Day" on September 19, with the first one celebrated in 2017.

Voice-over work and advertising

Having a distinctive voice, West built a career doing voice-over work on a number of animated series (often as himself), including appearances on The Simpsons, Futurama, Rugrats, Histeria!, Kim Possible, and Johnny Bravo.

He also appeared in many episodes of Nickelodeon's cartoon The Fairly OddParents as a cat-obsessed version of himself, who is famous for playing a superhero called Catman, and who actually believes he is Catman. His later appearance in The Fairly OddParents was a parody of himself, hired to play the role of the Crimson Chin in the movie of the same name. Yet another appearance on the show had him as himself in a fairy-sponsored video about how to cope with losing one's fairy godparents. In later seasons, the role for this version of Adam West was recast to Jeff Bennett.

In 1997, West appeared in a national television advertising campaign for Ziebart.

From 2000, West made regular appearances on the animated series Family Guy, on which he played the fictional character of the same name, who was the lunatic mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island. His role brought West a new wave of popularity post-Batman, and lead writer Seth MacFarlane claims to have gone out of his way to avoid typecasting West by deliberately not making any references to Batman.

Some of his last voice-over performances were playing the role of Uncle Art in the Disney Animation film Meet the Robinsons, and voicing the young Mermaid Man (along with Burt Ward, who voiced the young Barnacle Boy) in the cartoon show SpongeBob SquarePants, in the episode "Back to the Past" in 2010.

West also played the voice of General Carrington in the video game XIII, and voiced other video games such as Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, Chicken Little: Ace in Action, Scooby-Doo! Unmasked, and Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant.

In November 2014, West voiced himself, the 1960s version of Batman, and the Gray Ghost in the video game Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

In 2016, West was the voice of TV's Batman for the Batman '66 pinball game produced by Stern Pinball Incorporated.

West also did voice-over work for superhero-themed commercials for the investment firm LendingTree and television commercials for Hebrew National hot dogs.

Personal life

West was married three times. His first marriage was to his college girlfriend Billie Lou Yeager in 1950. The couple divorced six years later. In 1957, he married Cook Island dancer Ngatokorua Frisbie Dawson, part of the Puka Puka Otea in Hawaii. They had two children before their divorce in 1962. West then married Marcelle Tagand Lear in November 1970. They had two children and remained together for more than 46 years, until West's death. West also had two step-children.

During the Batman television series, West's relationship with co-star Burt Ward was described as "problematic". He said, "Burt fell victim to making up stories to sell books. But in a way it was flattering, because he made me sound like King Kong." West also said that he played Batman "for laughs, but in order to do [that], one had to never think it was funny. You just had to pull on that cowl and believe that no one would recognize you." Also during the Batman series, he became close friends with crossover co-star Van Williams, who played The Green Hornet. The two of them were also neighbors for a while and spent much time together outdoors, including fishing and hunting, a common hobby with Williams.

Death
On June 9, 2017, West died from leukemia in Los Angeles at the age of 88. In a statement, his former Batman co-star and longtime friend Burt Ward said: "This is a terribly unexpected loss of my lifelong friend, I will forever miss him. There are several fine actors who have portrayed Batman in films. In my eyes, there was only one real Batman that is and always will be Adam West. He was truly the Bright Knight." Batman: The Animated Series actor Kevin Conroy (who performed alongside West in the episode "Beware the Gray Ghost") said: "Adam West was an incredibly good, generous actor. Loved working with him as Gray Ghost. A true gentleman".On June 15, 2017, Los Angeles projected the Bat-Signal on City Hall as a tribute to West, and in his hometown of Walla Walla, Washington, the Bat-Signal was shone upon the landmark Whitman Tower.

West had pre-recorded five more Family Guy episodes as Mayor Adam West, which were released posthumously as part of the sixteenth season. He also recorded the 11th episode of Powerless, which never aired due to the show's cancellation. NBC aired the episode online after West's death.

West's last public appearances were from March to April 2017 at the SouthCoast Comic Con & Collectibles Extravaganza in Hanover, Massachusetts, where he was the guest of honor, Fan Expo Dallas, and the second annual Silicon Valley Comic Con.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

Sources

External links

 
 
 
 
 
 That Time Adam West Had a Conversation With Himself on 'Batman' on Hollywood Reporter
 Día de los Muertos, Batman! Adam West Honored in Old Town on Times of San Diego
 Adam West, Straight-Faced Star of TV's 'Batman,' Dies at 88 on Hollywood Reporter
 Adam West fans mourn the loss of Batman under the Bat signal in Los Angeles on Los Angeles Times
 Adam West – a life in pictures on The Guardian
 Adam West as Batman Promoting US Savings Bonds

1928 births
2017 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American male actors
American male comedians
American male comedy actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American people of Swedish descent
Comedians from Washington (state)
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from leukemia
Inkpot Award winners
Lakeside School alumni
Male actors from Washington (state)
Military personnel from Washington (state)
People from Walla Walla, Washington
United States Army soldiers
Western (genre) television actors
Whitman College alumni
Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero  is a 2008 science book by neuroscience professor E. Paul Zehr. The book was first published on November 7, 2008, through Johns Hopkins University Press and covers how much an ordinary person would need to train and adapt to become Batman. Becoming Batman is unique in its explicit analysis of whether or not it is actually possible for a human being to achieve Batman status through training.

Synopsis
In the book Zehr goes over the amount of physical training that would be necessary for someone to become Batman. Zehr draws upon his knowledge as a neuroscientist, kinesiologist, and martial artist to do this, and covers topics such as what it would be like to fight in a superhero uniform as well as what a person's daily dietary requirements would be. Becoming Batman is unique in its explicit analysis of whether or not it is actually possible for a human being to achieve Batman status through training.

Reception
The Guardian gave a mostly positive review for Becoming Batman, remarking that Zehr's " grasp of Chinese martial arts is somewhat loose, but the physiological material is fascinating and well explained." Publishers Weekly also gave a positive review, remarking that the book would have an obvious appeal to fans of Batman.

Broader Impact
Zehr's work has also had a reciprocal impact on the way the comics are viewed and even written, providing reference material regarding the “physical reality of Batman” as recognized by Scottish Batman, Incorporated writer Grant Morrison.
More recently, because of Becoming Batman, media articles discussing Batman and the DC Universe have included commentary by Zehr as a relevant authority, or referred to ideas from his book, weaving his scientific perspective into the Batman conversation.

References

External links

E. Paul Zehr's webpage

Batman in other media
Popular science books
Superhero comics
Books about comics
Johns Hopkins University Press books Batman R.I.P. is an American comic book story arc published in Batman #676–681 by DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Tony Daniel, and with covers by Alex Ross, the story pits the superhero Batman against the Black Glove organization as they attempt to destroy everything that he stands for. It has a number of tie-ins in other DC Comics titles describing events not told in the main story.

Plot

The Batman of Zur-en-arrh 
The story begins with Batman and Robin perched onto a gothic building lit by lightning. Batman defiantly proclaims "Batman and Robin will never die!"

Events then flash back to Gotham City six months earlier, where Dr. Simon Hurt announces the Black Glove's next venture: the destruction of Batman.

Bruce Wayne is dating Jezebel Jet, a model who is very influential in her home country. Jezebel discovers Bruce was Batman relatively early in their relationship, and the revelation makes the relationship easier for Bruce to handle. He lets Jezebel so deep into his life that he even introduces her to the Batcave. Meanwhile, the Black Glove member, Le Bossu, while in his secret identity as a psychologist, contacts The Joker in Arkham Asylum and offers him a role in their assault on Batman.

Jezebel tries to convince Batman that he is simply living a life he has fabricated in his own head as a child to cope with the death of his parents. This suggestion begins to affect Batman's already-strained psyche (he almost died and was forced to re-live very traumatic moments in his life as Batman just weeks earlier) and he passes out when Jezebel says aloud a word that was on all the Bat-computer's screens: Zur-En-Arrh. As he passes out, Dr. Hurt and minions of his diabolical club, the Black Glove, infiltrate the Batcave. They drug Batman, beat Alfred, and wreak havoc upon the cave.

When Bruce Wayne is seen next, he wakes up in a pile of garbage with no memory of himself. He meets a homeless man named Honor Jackson, who recognizes that Bruce is going through drug withdrawal and helps him. As the two spend time together, traveling in what Honor calls an "odyssey" across the city, Bruce sees more evidence of his forgotten life. The two reflect on the day, and Honor gives Bruce an old broken radio as a sentimental gift. Abruptly, Bruce finds that Honor is no longer sitting next to him and learns from a local dealer that Honor had blown two hundred dollars on smack and overdosed the previous day. This statement leaves Bruce full of despair, grief, and guilt (Bruce, as Batman, had given Honor the two hundred dollars at the end of a car chase, which took place earlier in the story), but also further confuses his sense of reality. At this point, Bruce seems to snap. He makes himself a costume out of red, yellow, and purple rags, and begins referring to the broken radio as the "Bat-radia". He then calls himself "The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh" and begins taking advice from Bat-Mite (written as "might" in this case, as the character is meant to be a voice of reason to Zur-En-Arrh, as in "the Bat might do this").

The Black Glove is taking hold 
The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh hunts down and dispatches two small-time members of the Black Glove, and finds that his next destination is Arkham Asylum, armed with nothing but a baseball bat, his Bat-radia, and miscellaneous bits of junk that serve in place of his utility belt. Batman and Bat-Mite ultimately make it to Arkham, where Bat-Mite says he cannot follow. Inside, Batman is confronted by Joker, who holds Jezebel Jet captive and kills her in front of him using the flowers that make up Joker's laughing gas.

As Batman regains his sanity and loses consciousness from the same poisonous flowers, Jezebel appears to be okay, the Joker is smiling, Dr. Hurt is there, and everyone is asking Batman "Now do you get it?" It is revealed that Jezebel Jet has been a part of the Black Glove all along.

The term "Zur-en-Arrh" was written all over the city by Hurt as a subliminal trigger to be used when the time was right to break Batman's mind. Dr. Hurt calls off Joker, referring to him as "my good and faithful servant". The straitjacketed Batman is buried in a shallow grave, Hurt's intention being to exhume him once oxygen deprivation has permanently damaged his mind. Back in the asylum, Joker casually murders a Black Glove member and places a bet with those who remain: that Batman will emerge from the grave undamaged and hunt them down, as he always does. While the now mentally stable Batman escapes the shallow grave that the Black Glove put him in, Joker points out that no one has investigated Batman's "Bat-radia". When they do, they activate a transmitter that brings Nightwing, Robin, Damian, and the League of Assassins right to them. Before Joker flees in an ambulance, he promises the remaining Black Glove members that he will collect his winnings from them soon and tells Hurt that he should not have called him his servant. Batman hunts down Hurt, who tries to convince Bruce that he is his father, but Batman believes him to be Mangrove Pierce, an actor who had once been his father's double. As Hurt tries to escape, Batman infiltrates his escaping helicopter, causing it to crash in a blazing explosion. Flying back to her own country, Jezebel Jet's plane is ambushed by Talia's Man-Bat Commandos. Back in present-day Gotham, Le Bossu tells his henchmen that Batman has not been seen in months and that they are free to commit crimes unmolested, when suddenly a Bat-signal-like light comes on above them, bringing the story full circle to its opening image. In the epilogue, young Bruce Wayne is walking home with his parents after seeing a Zorro movie. Bruce wonders what it would be like if Zorro showed up. Thomas Wayne responds: "The sad truth is, they'd probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham".

Outline 
Discussing the genesis of the storyline and its linkage to the rest of their run, Morrison notes that:

In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Grant Morrison explained that Batman's fate in the story is "so much better than death. People have killed characters in the past, but to me, that kind of ends the story! I like to keep the story twisting and turning. So what I am doing is a fate worse than death. Things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all. This is the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman".

Morrison talked about "Batman R.I.P." at the April 2008 New York Comic Con "Spotlight on Grant Morrison" panel: "When we begin to suspect the identity of the villain, I think it's the most, like I said the other day, it's possibly the most shocking Batman revelation in 70 years".

DC Universe #0 shed some light on the potential plot of the series, with a scene between Batman and the Joker written as a prelude to the upcoming storyline. In the sequence, Batman confronts the Joker about the mysterious "Black Glove", villains who were behind the attempt to kill Batman during Morrison's "The Black Glove" (International Club of Heroes) arc in Batman #667–669. The Joker, nonchalantly dealing out a "dead man's hand" from a deck of cards, taunts Batman regarding his fear of the mystery villain and how the Black Glove intends on destroying him.

Related titles
Each title involved in the "Batman R.I.P." arc has its own story that relates to the other titles, especially the main one of Batman, but the timelines of each do not coincide with the order in which they are published. For instance, the Detective Comics story occurs a few nights prior to the main story in the flagship Batman.

Likely part of the "R.I.P." aftermath, DC Comics announced that the ongoing Nightwing, Robin, and Birds of Prey titles would all end in February 2009. No specific reason was given.

A portion of the storyline runs through Batman #682–683, and is intertwined with Final Crisis, in which Batman is Bruce Wayne. Writer Grant Morrison, in regards to the chronology of "R.I.P." and Final Crisis (because they were both being published simultaneously), stated: "First it's 'R.I.P.'. Then the two-parter (#682–683) goes through Batman's whole career, in a big summing up of everything that also ties and leads directly into Final Crisis (Final Crisis #5 is where 'R.I.P.' resumes), and the final fate of Batman (Final Crisis #6)".

In Paul Dini's Heart of Hush storyline that ran in Detective Comics #846–850, parallel to the main story in Batman (but actually a prologue to it), Thomas Elliot returns to Gotham City to enact a plan to kill Batman before the Black Glove. Also explored in this arc is his connection to the Gotham underworld, and how his family history helped transform Elliot into Hush. This story continues into Detective Comics #852 and Batman #685, a two-part "Faces of Evil" storyline that is also labeled as "Last Rites". In "The Great Leap" storyline that ran in Nightwing #147–150, Two-Face tasks Nightwing to protect an old flame of Harvey Dent's, Carol Bermingham, a witness in a high-profile mob trial. Nightwing is, in fact, protecting Carol from Two-Face himself. In "Scattered Pieces", which ran in Robin #175–176, also parallel to the main story, Batman is missing and rampaging through the city in a delusional state. Nightwing is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum and Robin, fearing that Batman could have lost his sanity and gone rogue, tasks himself with finding his mentor and stopping him if necessary. In "Outsiders No More", which ran in Batman and the Outsiders #11–13, Batgirl, having a reduced roster, takes command and comes to the conclusion that no one can replace the Caped Crusader. She starts seeking out a group of new Outsiders whose combined skills could match Batman's.

Aftermath
Batman #683 reveals that Batman survives the explosion and returns to the Batcave to examine the gathered evidence on the Black Glove. However, the events of Final Crisis draw his attention elsewhere. The events between R.I.P. and Final Crisis are covered in greater detail in Batman #701 and #702, which are presented as a missing chapter of R.I.P.

In the crossover story Final Crisis, Darkseid attempts to mind-control Batman, capturing him while he is investigating the death of the New God Orion and attempting to create an army of clones based on him, but cannot, and only manages to make imperfect copies of him, the clones being unable to cope with the psychological stress of being Batman. After escaping, Batman uses the same bullet that killed Orion to shoot Darkseid. At the same time, Darkseid strikes him with the Omega Sanction. Superman is later seen holding Batman's charred body (later revealed to be one of the clones rather than the true Batman). The Batman is now presumed dead and the Bat-Family and all of Gotham must figure out what will happen without him. In the end of Final Crisis #7, Anthro dies of old age and someone wearing Batman's pants, trunks, and boots places a utility belt over the dead body and then draws the Batman logo on a wall of the cave.

The main Batman title featured several months of retrospective stories that showcase the legacy of the Batman. Those were followed by a two-part story by Neil Gaiman called "Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?", a play on the Superman story, "Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" by Alan Moore, which was also the last story before major changes in that character. According to DC Senior Vice President and executive editor, Dan DiDio, Bruce Wayne does not really die in the storyline, although it leads to his absence. Part of the aftermath later plays out in Blackest Night: Batman.

The titles Nightwing, Robin, and Birds of Prey were canceled, and both Batman and Detective Comics went on hiatus for three months in March 2009. In March, April, and May, a three-part series titled Batman: Battle for the Cowl, written and illustrated by Tony Daniel, focused on the aftermath of the series and the battle for Gotham. Tied to this was a three-part Oracle mini-series, a three-part Azrael mini-series, and two bookends titled Gotham City Gazette that encompassed the changes in all of those series. In addition, five one-shots were published focusing on key characters in upcoming storylines. These featured Man-Bat, Commissioner Gordon, the Network, the Underground, and Arkham Asylum.

Bruce Wayne returned in Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, which shows him trying to regain his memory and making his way back from the distant past, to the present, and to the end of time.

It was not until after Bruce Wayne's return in Batman and Robin #16 that the true meaning of the R.I.P. acronym was revealed as Rot In Purgatory.

Publication

Main storyline
Pre-"R.I.P."
The "Batman R.I.P." storyline is the aftermath of "The Black Glove" storyline told in the following comics:
Batman #667–669 "The Black Glove" (first mention and solo appearance of a Black Glove member); reprinted in both The Black Glove and Batman and Son
Batman #672–675 "Space Medicine" (concludes "The Three Ghosts of Batman" storyline, mentioned earlier in Batman #664–666); reprinted in both The Black Glove and Batman and Son 
DC Universe #0 (three-page interior prelude to "Batman R.I.P."); reprinted in Batman R.I.P.
Batman #676–681; reprinted in Batman R.I.P.
Last Rites
Batman #682–683 (expands on the events in the bunker in Bludhaven in Final Crisis); reprinted in Batman R.I.P.
R.I.P. – The Missing Chapter
Batman #701–702 (expands on the events that take place between "Batman R.I.P." and Final Crisis); reprinted in Time and the Batman
Final Crisis
Final Crisis #1–2, 5–7 (resumes from "Batman R.I.P." with the fate of Batman); reprinted in Final Crisis

All of the above are included in the four trade paperbacks Batman and Son, Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis and Time and the Batman.

Tie-ins (not written by Grant Morrison)
"R.I.P."
Detective Comics #846–850 "Heart of Hush" (takes place immediately before Morrison's officially titled main "Batman R.I.P." storyline)
Nightwing (vol. 2) #147–150 "The Great Leap" (epilogued in Nightwing (vol. 2) #151; labeled "Last Rites")
Robin (vol. 4) #175–182
Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #11–13 (takes place in accordance with Batman #680–681)
Last Rites
Detective Comics #851 "The Last Days of Gotham" (Part 1 of 2)
Batman #684 "The Last Days of Gotham" (Part 2 of 2)
Detective Comics #852 "Faces of Evil" (Hush) ("Heart of Hush" epilogue, part 1 of 2)
Batman #685 "Faces of Evil" (Catwoman) ("Heart of Hush" epilogue, part 2 of 2)
Nightwing (vol. 2) #151 (although labeled "Last Rites", it is the epilogue to the Nightwing "R.I.P." storyline)
Nightwing (vol. 2) #152 "Faces of Evil" (Ra's al Ghul) (Ra's reflects on Bruce's death)
Nightwing (vol. 2) #153 (the last issue of Nightwing (vol. 2))
Robin (vol. 4) #183 (the last issue of Robin (vol. 4); later relaunched as Red Robin)

References to earlier comics
The "Batman R.I.P." storyline references earlier comics involving The Black Casebook and the Club of Heroes. The following comics are referenced:
Detective Comics #121 "Commissioner Gordon Walks a Beat"
Batman #47 "The Origin of the Batman"
Batman #62 "The Batman of England"
Batman #65 "A Partner for Batman!"
Batman #86 "Batman – Indian Chief"
Detective Comics #215 "The Batmen of All Nations!"
World's Finest Comics #89 "The Club of Heroes"
Detective Comics #235 "The First Batman"
Detective Comics #241 "The Rainbow Batman"
Detective Comics #247 "The Man Who Ended Batman's Career"
Batman #112 "Am I Really Batman?"
Batman #113 "The Superman of Planet-X!"
Detective Comics #267 "Batman Meets Bat-Mite"
Batman #134 "The Rainbow Creature"
Batman #153 "Prisoners of Three Worlds"
Batman #156 "Robin Dies at Dawn" (first appearance of Doctor Hurt)
Batman #162 "The Batman Creature"
Batman: The Killing Joke 
52 #30 (Week 30) and #47 (Week 47)

Promotion
At New York Comic Con 2008, DC Comics gave away pins featuring Nightwing, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, and Hush with the words "I Am Batman" beneath them. The pins were also being given away at the Newsarama booth by DC's executive editor, Dan DiDio, during HeroesCon 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and again by DiDio at Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle.

Comics across the DC Universe also featured a checklist of the related issues, alongside a picture featuring Batman's empty cowl hanging on a cross-shaped tombstone.

Critical reception
Popcultureshock wrote that the story was "a creative and intriguing Batman tale", but that elements of the story were repetitive of earlier ones and that "some readers will likely feel cheated that the real conclusion to what happens to Batman will occur in Final Crisis and not R.I.P." A popular Batman website, Batman-On-Film.com, posted a review that gave the series positive marks: "Does [the series'] sentiment not reflect who and what Batman is all about? How, even with all of the restrictions that come with humanity, we are still capable of superhuman achievement?"

The deluxe edition hardcover of the series made the New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller List in May 2009.

Cody Walker writing for Sequart Organization, called the story a "psychological deconstruction of the Dark Knight". He noted the repeated use of the colors red and black: "The Joker sees his world in black and red, and through the use of black and red imagery, Dr. Hurt is transforming Batman’s mind so he can break the hero and transform his mind into a psychotic mess much like the Joker". He compares the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh persona's ridiculousness to the Joker, and notes the theme of identity in the story. Both Walker and Thom Dunn writing for Tor.com mentioned how the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh persona is Batman without Bruce Wayne. According to Dunn, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh persona is "essentially, the pure id of Batman, reverting him to a primal, almost childlike state".

Other media
 Bruce Timm also expressed interest in an animated adaptation of Batman R.I.P. in an interview at Comic Con.
 Several members of the Black Glove appear in the "What If" Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Knights of Tomorrow!"

References

External links
Review of Batman #676, Comic Book Resources
Review of Batman R.I.P. Deluxe Edition, Comic Book Resources

Comics by Grant Morrison