"What Happens When A Batman DIes?", page 10, Detective Comics # 500

Overshadowed by "To Kill A Legend", the final story of "Detective Comics" 500th issue deserves its own share of attention. The first tale showed Batman's efforts to prevent his parents' deaths; the last one focuses on his response to his own. Whether it's an actual "near-death" experience or a hallucination of what Bruce Wayne would truly want to see in the afterlife, the mid-point scene is very telling for the character - he begins by accepting his own murder as a means of finally achieving peace from his lifelong war, but then he voluntarily returns to the battle, in memory of the Waynes. And it includes one of the best uses of Deadman's character in comics; the wordless last two panels of page 14 (as he realizes Bruce's choice) say it all. Congrats to Cary Bates, Infantino, and Smith for their strong conclusion to a landmark issue.