n the controversial latest issue of the Batman story, written by Morrison and out today in the US and tomorrow in the UK, Wayne is rumoured to either die, or give up being Batman because he is so shaken up by a secret from his past, necessitating a hunt for a replacement.

"This is the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman," Morrison told Comic Book Resources (CBR). "But like I say, it's so much better than death. People have killed characters in the past but to me, that kind of ends the story. I like to keep the story twisting and turning. So what I am doing is a fate worse than death. Things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all."

Key contenders to take up the cape include Dick Grayson, the original Robin who now protects Gotham City as Nightwing, Batman's son Damian and the current Boy Wonder, Tim Drake.

*****

DC Comics handed the Batman baton to Morrison, who also writes storylines for the Superman and X-Men series, in 2006. The Scottish writer has courted controversy from the start, giving Batman "the greatest shock of his life when he discovers that he has a son".