Warning! Spoilers for Batman: Curse of the White Knight #7 below
Batman’s real identity as Bruce Wayne has remained largely a secret to the general public and those hunting him down during his time wearing the cape and cowl. However, Batman is ready to reveal himself to the entire world in order to stop (and kill) one of his biggest enemies, Azrael.
In Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth’s Batman: Curse of the White Knight, Bruce Wayne is done being Batman. In the series, he’s seen one of his closest friends, Jim Gordon, die at the hands of Azrael, while Batgirl was nearly paralyzed following an encounter with the sword-wielding villain. Batman’s moral compass has shifted, as he’s ready to take on and kill Azrael for what he’s done, but first, he reveals his true identity to the world.
In Batman: Curse of the White #7, Batman visits a recovering Barbara who’s still rehabbing her injury. Bruce surprises her by revealing he intends on breaking his most important rule by intending on killing Azrael to exact revenge. Feeling responsible for Barbara’s injury after he refused to shoot Azrael in their last encounter, Bruce tells her he’s “not Batman anymore. Turns out I’m not even a Wayne.” Barbara doesn’t try to change his mind, saying her father would have supported and trusted his decision, no matter what it was.
Batman’s plan goes into action. He hacks televisions and screens across Gotham. He tells those watching that Batman “must come to an end,” and that he’s slowly morphed into the very villains he once tried to take out. He takes off his mask and reveals that Batman is Bruce Wayne. He continues his speech, admitting he’s complicit to the Wayne Empire being hijacked and plans on giving away his entire fortune back into the hands of Gothamites. Bruce’s inheritance will be put into a nonprofit that will fund educational programs, homeless shelters, and scholarships, while people’s taxes will be offset for decades. He says he’s going to be Batman one last time and teams up with Gotham PD to prevent Azrael from causing more destruction.
Before driving off in his Batman: The Animated Series-esque Batmobile, Nightwing asks him what his true plans are with Azrael. He tells Bruce that “Batman doesn’t kill,” to which he responds “Batman’s dead… and so is Azrael.” Nightwing and Bargirl share a saddened stare, as Bruce kicks it into high-speed for his search for Azrael. Batman’s done being a rich billionaire, living in the shadows and dealing out justice as the Caped Crusader. His last mission will be killing Azrael, then retiring as Batman for good. It’s a massive ideological change for Bruce Wayne, but it appears he’s truly done as Batman - and the world knows it.
Next: Robert Pattinson’s Batsuit Is Inspired By Arkham: What This Means For The Batman
