I just had a re-read of Batman #666, and after reading Morrison's comments at CCI's Batman panel, the only logical conclusion i can come to is that the Black Glove is...
Satan?
Apologies if this has been mentioned before in another thread, but i don't remember seeing it and it's only after this weekend's comments that it seems to make sense. Morrison says he's the ultimate bad guy that everybody knows, and his run has been full of religious references throughout, not to mention the constant red and black colour motifs. And in #666, Damian - now Batman - explains:
"I know the Devil exists, or at least something exists that might as well be the Devil. I've met him."
He later explains that he made a pact with the Devil at fourteen years old - he sold his soul in return for Gotham's survival, which is presumably why he is flame-proof and bullet-proof.
And we know Dick Grayson will become Batman soon - i don't think that the line, "I knew I'd never be as good as my Dad or Dick Grayson" is intended to be ambiguous. And that's Dick lying dead on page 3 too, in the costume that now sits on display in the new Batcave / penthouse... and that's definitely Damian in the Robin suit beside him. So we know Dick and Damian will be Batman and Robin at some point, but not necessarily at the end of R.I.P... although it would make sense.
I know it's nuts, but i think the answers are all in this issue (there's more than i've mentioned above but i don't want to be here all day), and you can't put anything past Grant Morrison...
So i think i've just convinced myself that the Black Glove is Satan himself... or something that might as well be.
Just in case anyone doesn't know, Sikk didn't write this. He generally swipes all his comic talk from the Bloc or The Rama.
