Today's new issue of Batman dropped some major revelations regarding the fate of Bruce Wayne following his climactic battle with Joker in the Endgame storyline. It seems that while Bruce survived his brush with death, his days as Batman are finished.

Issue #43 reveals (via a conversation between Alfred and Superman) that Bruce was actually dead for several hours following his battle with Joker. Eventually the remnants of the dionesium pool healed his body, but completely wiped his mind in the process. Bruce has no memory of his life, his parents' murder or becoming Batman. This reborn Bruce is content to live a humble life volunteering at a youth shelter and dating Julie Madison.Alfred makes it clear that without his memories or training, Bruce is physically incapable of taking back the mantle of Batman. Furthermore, Alfred has no desire to inflict that life on him a second time. Alfred then shows Clark an unfinished machine Bruce had been working on before his death - a machine that could clone a new body with all of Bruce's training and psychological torment intact. Alfred is content to let that machine gather dust, but it's probably safe to assume that when and if Bruce Wayne does become Batman again, the machine will be a key to his return.These were just some of the revelations in Batman #43, as writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo continue exploring Jim Gordon's tenure as the new Batman and the rise of a sadistic, inhuman new villain known as Mr. Bloom. We recently had the chance to talk with Snyder about this issue and the major changes he and Capullo have brought to the table in recent months. Scroll down to learn more about what's in store for both Bruce and Jim, how the series will connect to the upcoming weekly comic Batman and Robin Eternal and whether we might see Snyder tackle Joker for a third time.

Batman #43 cover by Greg Capullo

A lot better than I expected. [laughs] I think there was a moment where we first showed the robot suit, the bunny suit, when no one knew what the story was about, that I knew it was going to be challenging. That moment was probably the biggest backlash. But it still wasn't anything compared to what we got when we announced Zero Year. Zero Year was the worst. [laugh] Because I think we still had a ways to go proving ourselves on the book. And doing a yearlong origin story - nobody was up for that. But luckily it was well-received and all that, so I was very excited.For this one, I was prepared for more backlash, I think, than we got. And once people saw that it was Jim Gordon, they were a lot kinder. Once it started, honestly people have been very sweet to us. I'm very grateful. I'd probably be worse than they are when it comes to the elasticity of my own patience when someone is trying something this far left. I think they know - or I ope they know - that we would never do anything like this unless we had what we consider much better stories for the characters through it than going the other way.They seem to, yeah. The reviews of the series and everyone has been really sweet to us. I appreciate it very much.Yeah, it is. I think it's less even the private interests versus the public interests than how the suit is sort of deputized. It's public money filtered through the corporation that built it. Ultimately he's beholden to the people he serves. I think in that way he'll discover that there are a lot more strings attached than he realizes. The story in a lot of ways is about "What if Batman was created in the real world?". To be something we all found protection in as an extension of the sorts of things we put in place to make us feel safe in the city - the police, the local government, all the things we think of as "the system." What if Batman worked inside the law in this way?Ultimately, one of the things that's fun about the story to me is understanding why Batman has to be something that's almost fictitious and bigger than someone working within the law. Something that's legendary and almost can't exist within Gotham - almost make-believe.This story really looks at the city in a different state. That's a good question. I think the story is about the chasms that exist and can grow or close in the aftermath of a very difficult time. The story also references the aftermath of Zero Year in issue #44, the fill-in issue drawn by Jock that I co-write with Brian Azzarello. It takes place entirely right after Zero Year and the wake of another disaster. It examines these moments when people are really desperate to feel safe and to feel communal and to feel included and to have a voice. Those are the moments when a city can either come together and become something stronger than you expected, or the moments where very, very bad things can grow. That's what Mr. Bloom represents, for me, and what he exploits and exacerbates. All those tensions that exist between neighborhoods and races and classes. All different kinds of communities and structures that exist within the city.Well, I thought about it, and it really is just a matter of space and time. Their stories are parallel in a lot of ways. And, look, I'm a pretty long-winded writer in a lot of ways. Endgame and Death of the Family are crazy compact for me, and those are both six issues with backups and all that stuff. Most of the stories I've done have been 11 issues or 12 issues. This story is about nine right now. It'll probably be nine issues with an oversized finale - basically ten issues. Really, with #50 coming up and all that, and Greg and I both sort of looking at what we're going to do after - whether we're going to stay on the book or do other things. It's also a matter of making sure the story is paced well and fits well - kind of leaving nothing on the table. I just wanted to make it something that was one, giant examination of Batman through the lens of three characters - Bruce, Jim Gordon and Duke Thomas.