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in: Dan DiDio/Executive Editor, Andy Kubert/Cover Artist, Ryan Sook/Cover Artist,
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Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Vol 1 5

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"Masquerade": In the present, the Justice League prepare for the incoming threat of Bruce Wayne, who is traveling forward in time due to a build-up of Omega energy in his body, with potentially disastrous- albeit unknown- cons

Quote1 Life is like a detective story. It starts with a dame, and ends with a funeral... Quote2
— "The Chump"

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5 is an issue of the series Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 2010. It was published on October 13, 2010.

Synopsis for "Masquerade"

In the present, the Justice League prepare for the incoming threat of Bruce Wayne, who is traveling forward in time due to a build-up of Omega energy in his body, with potentially disastrous- albeit unknown- consequences if he reaches the present on his own and releases that energy all at once.

Meanwhile, a generation in the past, a man with amnesia wakes up in a hospital, after a woman named Marsha Lamarr took him there. She wants to employ him as a detective to investigate the death of her friend, Martha Wayne, providing him with clothing appropriate to the current fashion, to wear as he carries out his investigations. Acknowledging that Marsha is using him like a chump, he accepts. Meeting with Martha's parents, the chump learns of Thomas Wayne's rumored infidelity and his connection to various orgies, but remains suspicious that he is not being told the whole truth. The chump is provided with a Bat-costume to wear during the final stages of his investigation - the same costume worn by Thomas Wayne a few years ago - and he tracks Marsha to a graveyard, near Wayne Manor. However, the chump is tricked and he falls straight into a trap set by the Black Glove. The group anoint the chump, to use him in the ritual that they say will grant them eternal youth, if they sacrifice the 'Bat-Man' to an ancient demon. However, they also prepare false evidence and footage of the events, to sully the already deceased Waynes with rumors of Satanism. Despite his confusion and weakness, the chump fights off the Black Glove and grabs Carter Nichol's Time Box before he vanishes, at the climax of the ritual, leaving the Black Glove without a sacrifice and its leader vowing to ruin their reputations.

In the present, as Red Robin and the JLA attempt to analyze the costume Batman was wearing when he was sent into the past for clues that they can use to determine when he shall return to the present, the Watchtower alarms goes off as an unknown intruder has breached their security, revealing an altered Batman emerging in the tower.

Appearing in "Masquerade"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

Notes

  • Marsha Lamarr's speech about the Wayne graveyard references two old stories:
    • "Jeremy Coe, the frontiersman" is a reference to Detective Comics #205, in which Batman and Robin travel back in time and met a man Coe, who fought evil from the Batcave in that era while wearing a disguise.
    • "The Hellerite sect" is a reference to The Brave and the Bold #89, in which Batman and the Phantom Stranger met the ghosts of a cult who had owned the land upon which Gotham City was built.

Trivia

  • There's a reference to the famous line "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship" from the movie Casablanca.
  • There's also a reference to the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.


See Also

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