From the Batcave: Lord Death Man

These days when writer wraps up his run toys are usually put back into the toybox so that the next writer could do what he wants instead of being forced to continue the previous run. But just as often not everything is wrapped up nicely. Some plot points, intentionally or not, are left open. One such plot point in Morrison's Batman run was Lord Death Man - last we saw him he was captured by Ra's with his blood being harvested for Lazarus pit. So whatever happened after that?

While it never gets fully resolved we do get couple of follow ups that move things slightly forward. First there was such a thing as Talon ongoing. Court of Owls was a big hit so naturally we got some related titles out of it. Talon didn't last long and Tim Seeley wrote last two issues (#16-17) that wrapped up Talon's story and at the same time brought back Death Man.

Anyway, main characters of Talon, for their personal reasons, invade Ra's secret base where Death Man is being kept and it just happens that he managed to free himself at the same time. Obviously entire thing turns into massacre till Death Man is eventually subdued again and Talon's cast manage to get what they want. So not much really happens here, at the end Death Man is put back to where Morrison left him.

A year or so later Death Man gets another appearance in Batman Eternal #46. Seeley also worked on this series so I figure he might have been responsible for this appearance as well. It kinda continues from Talon #17, but works on its own as well. We see that Death Man is still in Ra's captivity, but we get new information added that his blood is not suitable alternative for Lazarus pits since "madness runs thru his blood". As a bonus this issue is also the first time Ra's appears after Robin Rises: Omega #1, a story arc that deals with Damian's and Talia's resurrection. Or at least thats how it is presented here.

So we get an explanation on why Ra's didn't use Death Man's blood, but how did he escape? After all, in Humphries' Harley Quinn #48-49 and #57-58 he is back in action and doing his own thing. I don't know, maybe I missed it or maybe nobody cares. Or maybe it happens in Orlando's Gotham Nights #16?

Problem is that in that story Death Man lands from space in Wayne's satellite... what? Did Orlando miss the second half of Batman Inc? I don't know, it is not a good story either way and these digital first comics always have a questionable relationship with continuity.

After couple of years we are introduced to a new character - Flatline. Turns out she is Death Man's sidekick so naturally we get some pages with the man himself. Anything related to Morrison's "cliffhanger"? Not really, but we do get a reveal that Death Man injects himself with Lazarus resin from time to time. On one hand it "explains" why he can't die, on the other hand it doesn't really work with what we saw before. If he just injects himself with Lazarus resin then the whole idea of draining his blood for Lazarus Pit replacement sounds absurd. But I think that Williamson's work doesn't really make much sense in general so to me it is just more of the same.

And well, thats where Death Man's story ends so far. If Flatline catches on maybe we'll get some more stuff with Death Man as well. And maybe some better writer will eventually fill in some holes that are still there.

Any of this stuff worth reading? I have read only few issues of Batman Eternal, but I think that #46 works if you just want to see Ra's being relatively okay after Robin Rises and a slight update on Death Man's status. Everything else either doesn't show enough, contradicts things or is just plain bad.

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