( CNN ) -- As everyone but the citizens of Gotham City knows , Batman is Bruce Wayne . But lately , he 's been Dick Grayson . And this month , he 's also Damian Wayne and Terry McGinnis . Will the real Batman please stand up ? This look at Batman 's past , present and future has been brought about by Grant Morrison , the Scottish writer and playwright behind the award-winning `` All-Star Superman . '' Morrison has masterminded a new direction for the character and returns to the 70-year-old `` Batman '' comic book series with its 700th issue Wednesday . `` I started to do a bunch of research , and I realized that every story had been told , '' Morrison said . He decided upon a psychological deconstruction of the character that would run over many issues and over two years , beginning with the story arc `` Batman & Son '' in 2006 . In order to bring Morrison 's master plan to fruition , to `` set up a whole new status quo '' for Batman , as he puts it , Bruce Wayne would have to be driven to the brink of insanity and ultimately killed , as he was in the mega-crossover story `` Final Crisis . '' For the past year , Bruce 's onetime ward Dick has been Batman , and his son Damian has taken over for Robin , in a Batman and Robin series lighter in tone than what we 've been used to in the past few decades . This has all led up to `` Batman : The Return of Bruce Wayne , '' currently in the middle of its six-issue run , in which Bruce -- or his consciousness at least -- travels through time on his way back to the present day . All of these plot threads culminate in the 700th issue , which tells stories of the Batman of the past ( Bruce ) , present ( Dick ) and future ( Damian ) , interpreted by three different artists . `` I wanted to sum up all of the things we love about Batman over the years and kind of see that moment where the Caped Crusader becomes the Dark Knight , '' Morrison explained . `` [ All of the stories ] connect in an interesting way . We also have a section looking at all the different future Batmen . It 's an attempt to do every version of Batman . '' Indeed , Morrison is hard-pressed to choose a favorite interpretation of Batman . He has a great appreciation for all of them , from the campy 1960s TV series to Frank Miller 's gritty 1980s graphic novel `` The Dark Knight Returns '' to the current movies directed by Christopher Nolan . `` Batman has been around 70 years . He 's been a comedy figure . He was a sci-fi superhero in the '50s . '' If he had to pick one , Morrison would go with the version of Batman as the world 's greatest detective , as seen in the 1970s stories written by the legendary Denny O'Neil . O'Neil is returning for a special one-shot story himself this month . `` We like to revisit the people that made the character great , '' said Dan DiDio , co-publisher of DC Comics ( owned by Time Warner , which is also the parent company of CNN ) . `` We pull him out of retirement every once in a while for Batman . It 's not an anniversary party without him . '' If that 's not enough , DC has two more Bat-related mini-series starting this month . One is `` Batman Beyond , '' based on the fan favorite animated series with Terry McGinnis as another future version of Batman . This series officially brings the character into DC Universe canon . `` The fans have been looking for this for a while , '' DiDio said . `` This looked like the perfect opportunity to reintroduce him . '' Meanwhile , the secret past of another once `` deceased '' character , Jason Todd , the second Robin , is explored in `` Red Hood : Lost Days . '' Is Jason more a hero or villain ? Morrison said , `` He 's an antihero , which is really good , and people like that . He 's not an evil villain ; he 's just a fallen superhero . '' As for Morrison 's plans , he 's sticking around the Batcave for a few more years . `` I kind of figured [ the story ] would end , but it kept developing strands that were interesting . '' After that , he 's pondering changing the status quo of a certain Amazon princess : `` I 've done my Superman story , and I 've done my Batman . ... It would be great to do one for Wonder Woman . ''
Presumed-dead Bruce Wayne is returning to Batman comic books . 700th issue of `` Batman '' is culmination of a years-long story arc . Writer Grant Morrison wanted to pay tribute to `` every version of Batman '' `` Batman Beyond , '' `` Red Hood : Lost Days '' among special Bat-related series .