Posted in: Batman, Comic Spoilers, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: alfred pennyworth, Bad Seeds, damian wayne, gotham, poison ivy, Vandal Savage, wayne manor

Batman #9 Makes A Big Change And Not Just Barbara Gordon (Spoilers)

Batman #9 makes another massive change to Gotham, DC Comics and the DCU and I don't just mean to Barbara Gordon (Spoilers)

Today's Batman #9 goes big, making a major change to the Batman status quo and the DC Universe as a whole. This has not been entirely unusual in recent years, of course. In previous issues of Batman, when Tom King was writing it, Bane killed Alfred Pennyworth in front of Damian Wayne, for whom he was a father figure, in Bruce Wayne's absence.

It was meant to be a fake-out, a torturing of Damian Wayne, but DC Editorial liked the response so much, they made his death permanent. When James Tynion IV took over the role, he took away Bruce Wayne's fortune, taken by The Joker.

Then, when Chip Zdarsky was writing Batman, Bruce Wayne lost the Wayne mansion, as he prepared to move into the Gotham brownhouse.

Because Wayne Manor was once again out of bounds to Bruce Wayne, including the Batcave below it. And no, not Selina Kyle, Catwoman. Someone else in the picture with the millions necessary. And Neanderthal tastes…

Vandal Savage, originally Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and healing abilities from a meteorite, 50, 000 years ago. A ruthless tactician, he has literally seen it all before… and part of his generations-long plan. He also became the new Police Commissioner of Gotham, replacing the role traditionally held by Jim Gordon.

And now he is working with the new mayor of Gotham, Poison Ivy, to change Gotham and seize control.

Go after the Batmen, declare the Batfamily as an organised criminal group of vigilantes, and the police will be her personal Gotham army for all the other things she wants. The deal is done…

And today's Batman #9, as well as Poison Ivy #44, go pretty big on all this. As the Batfamily are trying to spring a trap set by Vandal Savage with Barbara Gordon, Poison Ivy falls deeper into a different trap set by Savage. But there's more, a bigger change. As Poison Ivy deals with another political body, The Parliament Of Trees…

Bruce Wayne continues to talk to the memory of Alfred Pennyworth…

…and as a result, makes a change in the way he deals with his son, Damian Wayne.

So as Poison Ivy tries to escape the consequences of murdering a Gotham CEO, set up by Savage…

The Batfamily run around Gotham, chased by Gotham police, revealing a few traps of their own.

And as the very gargoyles of Gotham wonder what they will do with Mayor Poison Ivy…

…Vandal Savage will be ripping out the bollards.

And as Poison Ivy gives us a remake of The Little Shop Of Horrors…

Bruce Wayne has shown that Barbara Gordon, Oracle, captured by Vandal Savage, and placed in the Supermax prison, also part of Bruce and Barbara#s plan, it was also a distraction for Vandal Savage. To keep his eye off a very different ball. And as Batman bonds with Batson…

And he has learned, just a little, and lets Damian Wayne, who has been busy planting explosives the entire issue, press the button.

Boom. The destruction of Wayne Manor, home to Vandal Savage, but also to the Wayne lineage and legacy, and with a Batcave beneath it. Vandal Savage may have taken Gotham away from Batman, and Barbara Gordon away from the Batfamily, but Batman has taken away Vandal Savage's home… and given the changes made to the book with Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, and the Wayne Fortune, might we expect the destruction of the Wayne Manor to be just as permanent? Of course, one might also ask, what point is there to Wayne Manor without Alfred Pennyworth?  Batman #9 by Matt Fraction and Ryan Sook and Poison Ivy #44 by G. Willow Wilson and Jaime Infante are out today, Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan next week.

• Batman #9 by Matt Fraction and Ryan Sook
  After making a sinister deal with Mayor Isley, Commissioner Vandal Savage initiates "Operation Peregrine," sending his brutal TUCO squads across Gotham City on a singular mission: Bring in the Batman! Batman and his team must destroy and abandon their hideouts, safeguard their data, and escape the long arm of the law… but not everyone will make it safely through the night!
• Poison Ivy #44 by G. Willow Wilson and Jaime Infante
  Gotham City begins to turn on its new mayor as some less-than-wholesome things about her are brought to light. So what's a super-powered, super-villain mayor to do in a time like this? Well, let's just say it's not completely legal. Meanwhile, something is alive in Robinson Park—something very, very big.
• Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan
  LEAPING FROM THE PAGES OF MAY'S BATMAN #9 INTO THE NEXT LEVEL! Framed. Outlawed. Hunted. The extralegal activities of Gotham's vigilantes have never been more dangerous. After Barbara Gordon is arrested for aiding the Bat-Family, she is shipped off to Supermax, GCPD Commissioner Vandal Savage's pet-project prison for all who oppose him. She will find herself alone, surrounded by dangerous criminals and equally dangerous guards, in a place where nothing is what it seems. The true danger is just beginning… Eisner Award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki and fan-favorite artist Amancay Nahuelpan reunite to deliver a twisty, unexpected Bat-book for DC Next Level. $3.99 5/13/2026

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!