Grant Morrison is enjoying a spell of notoriety. Following the publication of last week’s Batman comic, he is guaranteed a place in the superhero hall of fame as the man who killed the caped crusader.

The writer’s announcement that he planned to dispose of Batman sparked a frenzy of speculation and chat room buzz over what sort of grisly fate would befall the legendary hero. Rumours abounded that his loyal sidekick Robin would go over to the dark side and destroy him.

“It took me by surprise,” says Morrison, who writes the current series Batman RIP for American giant, DC Comics. “I thought a few people would sit up and take notice but 72 newspapers around the world picked up the story and suddenly there was all this excitement and nervousness.”

Now readers know the truth: Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, is shot by a villain called Simon Hurt who claims to be his father. As Hurt tries to escape in a helicopter, the wounded superhero launches himself at the helicopter, causing it to crash. The assumption is that Wayne dies too.

Or does he? Morrison hints that we’ve seen the last of Wayne. But what of Batman? “Well, do you really think a helicopter crash is enough to kill Batman?” he laughs. “The ultimate story of Batman is ongoing. Don’t forget he’s been around a while. He's 70 next year. The story of these characters is never ending.”

So instead of dwelling on Wayne’s death, Morrison is looking ahead to the vigilante crime fighter’s next incarnation. “We all know that the status quo will be restored but I have to make it as exciting as I can before we get there,” he says.

Morrison, currently writing future instalments of the series at his home in Dunoon, is relishing the fallout from his latest twist. It is not his first foray into slaying superheroes: he killed Superman in 1992. But he insists that exploring the characters’ mortality creates a more interesting story.

“Batman has packed an astonishing amount into his life,” he says. “If that had happened in one man’s life, what sort of man would he be? I wanted to take readers through this immense journey, so I did a huge amount of research into the stories of his past. I mean, Batman’s entire city has been burnt down, Robin has been killed — twice — and replaced. Imagine if a man actually had to deal with all that.”

A forensic attention to detail and fascination with the character is what makes Morrison, 48, stand out as a comic book writer. When he is working, at the home he shares with his wife and business manager,

Kristan, he is immersed in the lives of a disparate band of heroes and villains who become as real to him as friends.

Writing the current series has given him fresh insight into Batman, who first appeared on the crime-ridden streets of Gotham City in 1939, courtesy of artist Bob Kane. “The man’s mind is like a steel trap,” he says. “No genius can outwit him. I did a big psychological study of him going back to his childhood when he was infused with the belief that evil had to be stopped. It was great fun and I grew to love him in a way. He is such a shining example of humanity.”

So why kill off such a shining example? Does Morrison get bored of his superheroes once he has dissected their personalities? “No, it’s not so much boredom,” he says. “It’s more about tackling the big human stories behind the heroes and in these stories you always have to deal with the hero’s death. Look at Robin Hood. He dies. And King Arthur — they all do.

“But I don’t see the value in killing the character for the sake of it. I like exploring their mortality to see if they can survive in other ways. It gives them more depth.”

In poor Batman’s case this involved exposing his alter ego Wayne, a wealthy playboy and philanthropist, to humiliation and criticism. “I undermined his character to see if he could survive. And I had a villain using all his resources to destroy Batman. Yet Batman always overcomes everything, including the ultimate evil.”

Alone among superheroes, Batman doesn’t possess any superpowers — he can’t scale buildings like Spider-Man — but wages his secret war on crime with intellectual and detective skills. This is what Morrison believes makes him a superhero for a modern age. “Since 9/11 superheroes have become gigantic again. Americans were shocked and their imaginative response was to remember that they invented superheroes who can save the world,” he says. “Superheroes like Batman stand out as the last utopian visions of what people can be if they listen to their better natures.”

He also believes that it is less embarrassing now to be a comic book geek. “People can be more honest about it,” he says. “It is no longer such a closeted practice.”

As the online debate over what Morrison has done to Batman builds, the writer has already moved on. He is working on stories that will appear next spring. His contract with DC Comics has a year to run, then he plans to return to his own characters. “I’m keen to push the boundaries again — I have new ideas I want to explore.”

As for the caped crusader, he will live on in another guise, says Morrison. “His battle will never be over.”

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