Batman: Year 100 is Paul Pope's vision of a possible future for Gotham City and its heroes. Taking place in 2039, 100 years after the publication of Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27. A lot has changed in this vision of the future, including the grandson of Commissioner Gordon, now a detective in his own right, chasing after the Batman or, presumably, some new iteration of the Caped Crusader, given how old Bruce Wayne would be at this point.

However, if Bruce Wayne is too old to be the Bat, then who put on the cowl? In Batman: Year 100, someone has taken up the mantle of the Caped Crusader in the future, and the mystery of who is the Batman in the year 2039 might not be outright said, but there may be enough hints to figure it out.

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The Batman from DC Comics' Batman: Year 100

In this future, Gotham City has become essentially a police state. Federal officers run an authoritarian district, arresting civilians whenever they feel like and the Gotham Police are just pawns to them. They see Batman not as a hero or even a myth, but rather as a big game to capture. Commissioner Gordon's grandson is pursuing Batman to question him about the mysterious death of a federal agent. Batman, who witnessed the murder, attempts to solve the crime on his own terms, ultimately uncovering a conspiracy involving the Federal Government and a flesh-eating virus.

Like in the regular DCU, the Dark Knight in Batman: Year 100 debuted in 1939, the same year he debuted in the real world. Following that timeline, Bruce Wayne should be over 130 years old, seeing as how he became Batman around his early 30s. When the story starts, Batman had been missing for nearly 30 years, indicating that Batman should already incredibly old by the time he put on the cowl. Yet he's able to beat up police officers and federal agents, leap impossible distances, and do it all without any external or internal mechanical augmentation. He's just a flesh-and-blood man in a suit. He isn't supernatural, despite the belief that he could be some kind of demon. So who is he?

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While investigating Batman, Gordon reviews documentation about Batman throughout history. He reviews voice data, information, and deduces that the person who is currently Batman sounds like the same man who was Batman when his grandfather was Commissioner. This, along with Batman's physical appearance, indicates to him that Bruce Wayne somehow survived into the modern era, without aging. The only way this could make sense is if Bruce Wayne either found the secret to immortal youth or somehow was able to clone himself.

This future Batman surrounds himself with recreations of his old crew including an orphan by the name of Robin. He has his own Alfred in the form of Kris, and his Oracle in the form of Kris's daughter, Tora. Much like Carrie Kelley as Robin in The Dark Knight Returns, the cast of characters falls into similar roles of those that have come before them. This, along with Batman's incorporation of vampiric teeth and other fear tactics, demonstrate how Batman is more of an enduring symbol to strike fear in evil than a single man, surviving from era to era.

Despite the future setting, this Batman has far fewer resources than his original counterpart. If Batman were Bruce Wayne, he would be unable to access any of his vast wealth, since Wayne should be dead. This Batman seemingly has no home and is far removed from the flashy tech that the Batman we all know uses. Instead, this Batman uses crude, simpler technology. If this was indeed a clone of the Dark Knight, he would have to rebuild everything the original Bruce Wayne had from scratch, which would explain the archaic tech.

When Batman is shot, he leaves blood behind, which leaves his allies worried, as his DNA could lead the Feds to his true identity. To make matters more intriguing, when Gordon is researching Batman on his family's old computer, he ultimately finds the key to all of Batman's secrets lies behind the password "Bruce Wayne." After reading it, Gordon understands all of the current Batman's secrets. So while nobody else might ever know who the Batman of Year 100 is, Gordon does and that's a good sign for the Gotham City of the future.

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