Flashpoint Batman Makes His Shocking Return To DC Comics

Whether it be in a comic book or in a possible live action film, the mere mention of Flashpoint Batman seems to drive fans nuts these days. And who could blame them? I mean, ever since Thomas Wayne debuted as the Dark(er) Knight in Geoff Johns’ game-changing miniseries back in 2011, he’s amassed quite the cult following.

Barring an adaptation found in 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox animated flick, most of us thought we’d seen the last of Thomas as the Caped Crusader (I’m not counting Earth 2). But lo and behold, he resurfaced last year in order to fight alongside his son, Bruce, in The Button.

Funny enough, he made an unexpected cameo this past summer on the closing page to Batman #50, where he was seen standing alongside Bane. At first, I thought this to be a coloring error, but it turned out that’s what was actually going on.

This week in Batman #60, writer Tom King finally paid this off in yet another shocking cliffhanger when Thomas is found to be looming over his son’s shoulder in the most foreboding of panels. Seriously, check it out below and judge for yourself.

To backtrack for a moment, this comes after learning how Bane has been secretly running Gotham City from within the confines of Arkham Asylum – all the while pretending to be catatonic. And after having the Penguin’s wife killed, Oswald Cobblepot has thrown caution to the wind by aligning himself with his longtime rival in Batman.

As one would expect, Penguin’s undisclosed location was found out by an adversary of his, though not Bane. Furthermore, it should be noted how he seemed far more scared of the guy about to beat the crap out of him than the mercenary actually responsible for his woes. So, once Bruce returned to find Alfred had been brutalized as well, that’s when we were treated to the big reveal discussed today.

At this moment, my assumption for Thomas’ reasoning is that he’s allying with Bane to show Bruce some sort of “tough love.” If you’ll recall, he told his son to give up being Batman when they last met, so maybe he sees Bane’s systematic destruction of everything Bruce holds dear as the only way of accomplishing that. It’s seriously twisted, sure, but we should learn the truth before long.

Batman #60 is now available in comic shops.