This volume collects the arc Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, which was run as single-issue chapters across nearly a dozen titles (See, DC? You CAN collect a series with some amount of logic! Go you!). Following Tim Drake's discovery of Bruce Wayne (alive, and now in possession of a suit that gives him near-super abilities), Bruce decides to test each of his former friends and colleagues. Under the guise of "The Insider," he stages a series of fake crimes and attacks, and judges the fitness of each of his students, before finally revealing himself.
I admit I was hoping for a little more plot and a little less punching in this collection. I mean, a MAJOR character has just returned from the dead, and all he wants to do is play mind games with his friends? He doesn't want to, I don't know, let them know that he's not dead so they can stop grieving?? I admit seeing Bruce's assessment of each hero is interesting, and the reveal is a little different each time (though in most cases, the test subject figures it out before Bruce ever reveals anything, which kind of takes the fun out of it). My favorite chapters were, unsurprisingly, the Tim Drake and Catwoman stories; the weakest point involved an overlong story involving a group of minor superheroes that Batman worked with once or twice, and inexplicably felt the need to test during his reunion tour. Strangely, though, Bruce never reveals himself to the (arguably) two most important heroes, Batman and Robin. I can only assume that part will appear more in one of the other collections (possibly one that I have on hold?).
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