Original Batman resurfaces in 'The Return of Bruce Wayne'

Bruce Wayne — the original Batman — is coming back.

And that may not be a good thing.

“The return of Bruce Wayne is not necessarily something we should all be looking forward to,” writer Grant Morrison says. “In fact, it may be a deadly and disastrous event.”

Comic book readers last saw Wayne more than a year ago in the final pages of DC Comics’ “Final Crisis,” when he was sent back in time by the evil Darkseid. Most of his fellow superheroes believed Wayne to be dead and have moved on; Dick Grayson — the original Robin — took over the role of Batman and Wayne’s son, Damian, became Robin.

Now Wayne is resurfacing in the aptly titled “Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne,” written by Morrison and illustrated by various artists. The first issue of the six-issue miniseries is scheduled to arrive in comic book shops on May 12.

The miniseries will follow Batman as he jumps through different periods in time — and different genres. So look for caveman, pirate and Western tales, among others, as Batman fights to survive.

“This optimum man, this fantastic specimen, what happens when he’s plunged back into the past without any of his equipment, without his suit, without even his memory?” Morrison asks.

The jumps through time are outside Batman’s control, Morrison says. But as the miniseries continues and the centuries pass, “the idea is, we watch him build from nothing back into being Batman again.”

Morrison is also writer of the monthly “Batman and Robin.” Developments there will dovetail with “The Return of Bruce Wayne” as Dick and Damian uncover clues that Wayne has left in the past.

“The two stories really start to play off each other,” Morrison says.

Having a new Batman and Robin has given Morrison the chance to reverse the traditional team dynamics. Dick Grayson as Batman is more light-hearted, while the older-than-his-years Damian is the grimmer, more hard-nosed partner.

“The team just worked out really brilliantly,” Morrison said. “It just wouldn’t have worked as well with any other characters.”

What happens to that team after “The Return of Bruce Wayne” remains a secret, but Morrison assures that the status quo will be changing yet again.

“We obviously didn’t want to bring things back to exactly the same way that it had been before, so I’ve kind of come up with a take on it that I’m quite pleased with. We’re going to do a completely different take on the whole Batman concept.”