Who is the Black Glove?

[TimothyCallahan]

In this week's "When Words Collide" I give you the leading suspects, but I ask you: Who is the Black Glove and how do you know?

[A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.]

I've said the Joker all the way, so why stop now. The logic would be that he and Batman exist as a sort of yin/yang order/chaos (or the other way around?) and that as Batman loses his grip on reality, The Joker goes the other way and becomes a strategic mastermind able to carefully plot the demise of Batman. Even though . . . that would mean it somehow works retroactively. Hm.

That or the whole Joker-as-avatar-of-Desaad-thing that's been suggested.

[Jared H.]

Joe Chill, Joe Chill, Joe Chill.

spoilers:

In the flashback issue of Morrison's run involving Chill, there are a lot of hints there. For one, he refers to himself as the King of Crime, a title that the Black Glove currently uses. He also talks about why he spared Wayne: because of his own lost son(there has been some speculation that the Joker is Chill's kid, but there's little evidence for this). We also see that by the end of the comic, Chill knows who Batman's secret identity is. This is a good reason for why the glove has Dr Hurt dress up as Thomas Wayne, especially since Chill himself suffered terrifying mind games at the hands of Batman. And IIRC, the flashback they showed to Wayne's parents getting killed showed Chill wearing black gloves when firing the gun. Furthermore, we know that Dr Hurt created the imposter Batman with tragedy, and that Hurt is working for the Glove. Hurt insists he knew of this from the isolation study, but what if somebody else told him how Batman was made? Then, of course, there is the metatextual evidence: 1) Infinite Crisis specifically brings Chill back into continuity. Why? So he can feature in a single issue exploring Batman's early years? Of course not. There's a larger reason for this. An important one. 2) In keeping with the #1 rule of character deaths in comics, we never see Chill's body. All we see is Batman looking on at a gunshot noise. My hunch? Joe Chill as we knew him DID die, and Black Glove was born. Chill, a king of crime in Gotham before Batman, realized that he had to change the way he did things, or die. So, much in the way Batman's terrorising of him forced broke him mentally and spiritually, he has dedicated his life to doing the same to Batman.

end of spoilers

[TimothyCallahan]

I should have included Joe Chill on the list of suspects -- he was on my original list -- but after reading all of the Morrison issues back to back, his single appearance seemed so slight that it seems unlikely that he's actually the Black Glove. Could he be alive and involved in the Black Glove conspiracy? Sure. But I doubt he's the Glove himself. It is a possibility, though.

I'd place my unscientific odds at 35 to 1.

[Jared H.]

I should have included Joe Chill on the list of suspects -- he was on my original list -- but after reading all of the Morrison issues back to back, his single appearance seemed so slight that it seems unlikely that he's actually the Black Glove. Could he be alive and involved in the Black Glove conspiracy? Sure. But I doubt he's the Glove himself. It is a possibility, though.

I'd place my unscientific odds at 35 to 1.

And yet Robin is somehow a more logical choice? Really?

[TimothyCallahan]

No Robin's not a more logical choice. Not at all. But he's been named as a possible suspect by more than one internet commentator. Joe Chill has better odds, definitely. I still think Chill would be an out-of-nowhere choice for the reveal, though.

[Jared H.]

No Robin's not a more logical choice. Not at all. But he's been named as a possible suspect by more than one internet commentator. Joe Chill has better odds, definitely. I still think Chill would be an out-of-nowhere choice for the reveal, though.

So according to your list, Joker is the most likely choice? So that would make Hurt Joker's lackey, right? Why would Joker have a lackey create a fake Batman to shoot him in the head? Why would he have even tried to kill the fake Batman in the first place, when leaving him to wreak havoc would have caused so much fun if Joker knew who he was?

[Zombie Superman]

Damn, son.

I think you're right.

And how about the fact that Morrison said The Black Glove will be "someone everyone in the world knows" or something to that effect.

Everyone knows how The Batman was born, even if they don't know the guy's name.

Excellent job deducing this one. I think it's really the ONLY way to go. Joker, Alfred, Thomas Wayne, etc., would be diminished by being The Black Glove, including the overall Bat-mythos.

But if it's Chill, then it adds new layers to an already rich mythology.

And that's one of Morrison's gifts.

Z\S/

[Jared H.]

I do take somethign back, though...

spoilers:

I could have sworn Joe Chill referred to himself as the King of Crime in "Joe Chill in Hell." Looking back over it, I cannot find where I saw that. I seem to have been mistaken.

end of spoilers

[hondobrode]

I actually gasped out loud reading this article and the excellent replies. I've been out of touch with current comics for the last couple of years as I prepare to sell most of my collection and pay down some bills but I still follow CBR and 'Rama daily. I can't wait to read all of this later !

I agree from what I've read it's probably Chill. That makes the whole thing so rich and awesome !!

[BoSoxJay]

I am hard pressed to not believe it's Darkseid.

He too wears "black gloves".

We have Mokarri and Simmyan presiding over Dan Turpin in "Final Crisis #4" and we are told that before an evil New God can assume a host body a precursor to that must happen: "The runination of a noble human spirit". Pretty much the same motivation Dr. Hurt cites for going after Batman.

We have this whole Black Glove plot going back to Batman's earliest days. In Final Crisis we have Darkseid "falling backwards through time".

Zurr En Arr is a refernce to an early case of Batman dealing with aliens. The Gods of Apokolips are aliens. The phrase Zurr en Arr triggers an involutary response in Batman. Much like the ALE does in Earth's populace. My guess is that Zurr en Arr is the ANti-Life Equation but Batman had a backup personality in place that negated the ALE from taking hold and thus blocked Darkseid's attempt at taking over Bruce's body so he had to turn to Turpin.

Other anecdotal ties that lead me to think this theory is true is thattMorrison is writing both.

There is a an old 4th worl character who is a red headed female fury named Jezebel.

The final fate of Batman will be seen in Final Crisis.

Bludhaven, which is essentially Gotham's neighbor and Nightwing's former protectorate, was specifically chosen by Darkseid to be ground zero of the ALE invasion.

As alluded to in #666 and throughout Morrison's run Darkseid fits the bill for the devil references. He is basically referred to throughout Final Crisis as the "God of Evil".

And, personally, as readers, we have seen Batman triumph over everything from White Martians, an Arkham Breakout, a Broken back, Earthquakes, plague, Lex Luthor and a posion Ivy Kryptonite controlled Superman so anything less than a Darkseid level character finaly being the thing to break bruce Wayne would totally be unacceptable.

[FBI Man]

I've only read the 'Black Glove' arc, and the 'RIP' arc so my guess is worse than others. But I think the Black Glove is going to be Bruce Wayne. My first piece of evidence is the line in ‘Black Glove’ where Bruce says he “wants to know what men who have everything do in their spare time.” He was referring to John Mayhew, but I also think Morrison directed it at Bruce Wayne. My only other piece of evidence comes from the first Batman comic I read. It was this little black and white graphic novel that I believe was written by Denny O’Neil and I can’t remember the artist. But anyway, it dealt with a hidden foe who was tormenting Batman. This foe knew detailed information from Batman’s life and dressed up in his father’s Bat costume (his father wore it to a Halloween ball. This is the same costume that Dr. Hurt is wearing in RIP.) Throughout the story we are led to believe that the villain is Thomas Wayne. However, the revelation in that series was that the villain was Bruce Wayne pretending he was his father. He had suffered some head injury in an explosion which somehow caused him to create an imaginary villain that waged war against Batman. Eventually Robin (Dick Grayson I believe) convinced him what was going on, and saved Batman. Since Batman has created a personality to war against himself in the past it seems like he could be doing so again.

[chrisgiff]

this was a great article and made me want to get out all the Morrison issues and read them again.

this thread has some really interesting theories. if it turns out to be Thomas Wayne, i really hope it is an "in Bruce's head" type thing like in the Denny O'Neill story mentioned above.

honestly, the Joker is obvious, but i wouldn't be upset because their feud is so classic at this point.

I guess I don't know enough about Joe Chill, other than he killed the Waynes. Can someone fill me in on issues/story arcs to read? Did he survive for a while and learn Batman's identity?

[Steve Price]

Apart from the characters' spoken assumptions, does it specifically say anywhere that the Black Glove is only one person? I only recall the Black Glove referring to itself as the "Black Glove", not "I", or "he". Maybe it's an organization.

What if the Black Glove is not one person but six? A palm with 5 manipulated fingers.

The Palm: The Monk This red-robed fiend with "the powers of Satan" hypnotically enslaved Gotham's elite until he was killed by the nascent Batman in the early issues of Detective Comics. The Monk satisfies Morrison's demonic allusions and suggestion that the villain has been around since the Batman's early days, and complements the Black Glove's stated preference for moving among Gotham's High Society.

The Fingers: Through Jezebel, Morrison asks who could possibly hate the Batman more than the young Bruce Wayne, whose childhood was sacrificed to the Batman's cause. Given Alfred's earlier recitation of Bruce Wayne's romantic resume, and that Wayne seems to specialize in women with means, motive and opportunity, I'm going with the "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" angle.

1. Jezebel Jet: For reasons that have now become obvious.

2. Raven-haired Gotham socialite Julie Madison: Bruce Wayne's
fiancee was one of the Monk's first thralls. She appeared almost exclusively
in red.

3. Vicky Vale: Alfred suggests that she knows about the goings on
beneath Wayne Manor. She appears, briefly, in R.I.P. as a redheaded TV
personality, obviously still carrying a torch for Wayne.

4. Silver St. Cloud: No red or black, here. Another Gotham It-girl who lost
Bruce Wayne to the Dark Knight. She, too, knows his secret.

5.Julia Pennyworth: Talk about having an axe to grind. If she still exists in
current continuity, Alfred's daughter lost her old man's attention to the
Wayne whelp, and Wayne's attention to the Batman. (I would consider Talia as an alternate, but she almost seems too obvious...)

I'm just spitballin' here. I look forward to the conclusion.

[ibnalxuffasch]

Steve, Morrison has said in interviews that there is an organization and then there is the Black Glove.

"At the bottom you have the Club of Villains who are working with the Black Glove. Then you have the Black Glove organization, which is a group of very wealthy people who we meet in the upcoming issue. And then above that you have the identity of the Black Glove, who is a person."

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